The Illusion-less

Last night Mike and I went to see The Illusionist. We were excited that Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti had opposing roles. We were sure the movie would be delightful. "A twist ending like I've never seen," is one of the things I read. I also read that Jessica Biel does well in comparison to the two male leads, two actors whom I consider to be among the best alive today.

What a disappointment. As the plot gets rolling, we're introduced to an obvious set-up for a twist ending, but I held in there. Surely the twist would be far better than the false, fake-out twist they were setting up.

It wasn't. The twist that you see coming by midway into the movie is the only twist there was. "Twist ending like I've never seen" might apply if this movie came out before The Sixth Sense, before Fight Club. But in this post-twist world of movies, The Illusionist was a big yawn.

I am hardly ever disappointed by movies. I usually find something about them that I like. I am hesitant to say I dislike anyting. "It was entertaining," Mike said, "even though you knew exactly where it was going."

My money was better spent the night before last, on Jackass Two. At best performance art and at worst a bunch of morons just trying to get rich, it was entertaining. The audience alone made it fun. There was a drug-bust midway into the movie; police officers removed five baggy-clothed kids. I was carded on the way in, as were lots of other people. Parents had to accompany their kids but often didn't sit with them. During the previews, two teen boys sat down on the other side of Mike and immediately began chugging bottles of cough medicine. The mother and father on the other side of me kept whispering to each other. She covered her eyes through 20% of it.

It makes me feel young to have enjoyed Jackass more than the stylings of Norton and Giamatti. And it makes me feel old to have had that thought.