Every year around this time, we try to watch as many of the Oscar nominees as we can. Of the 40 or so movies, we'd only seen eight, so this month is going to be jam-packed with mainstream movies.
Last night, we watched
The Illusionist. Since is was nominated for cinematography, we decided that we would concentrate on the lighting and color palette of the film. On that level, the movie did not disappoint. The plot, for the first half of the movie, was predictable (and telegraphed), but the wonderful acting of Norton and Giamatti kept my attention. In the second act, the plot became less plausible, yet so much more interesting. While the
ending was slightly ridiculous, it was also entirely satisfying. Not a bad start for my catch-up month.