THE PRESTIGE

THE PRESTIGE: Two nineteenth century magicians (Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman) compete in a bitter rivalry that spirals out of control, and leads them into a dark world of sabotage, revenge, and obsession....

Overall, THE PRESTIGE is a really good movie. It’s got a cool concept, great performances all around the board, and is generally very well crafted. But there are some big plot holes and confusing points that keep this film from achieving "masterpiece" status among Christopher Nolan's other works, such as MEMENTO and BATMAN BEGINS. THE PRESTIGE is more on par with INSOMNIA... It's good, but not great.

Click here after you see THE PRESTIGE for a discussion!

THE DEPARTED

THE DEPARTED: Bostonian crimelord, Frank Costello (Jack Nicholson), sends a spy (Matt Damon) to infiltrate the State Police department. In the meantime, the Police have sent Costello a spy of their own, a tough "Southie" by the name of Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio). Both sides desperately try to flush each other's rat before it's too late...

What better way to start this site with a bang than THE DEPARTED! This film is absolutely fantastic. It's raw, brutal, and relentless... all trademarks of Martin Scorsese at his best. Great performances by DiCaprio and Damon, whose vulnerability and frantic desperation heighten the tension of the film and make it work as well as it does. Nicholson is great as always, but Mark Wahlberg and Alec Baldwin really steal the show with their supporting roles. It's two and a half hours long, but doesn't feel that way, as you get sucked right into the riveting cat and mouse (or I should say "rat") games between Nicholson, DiCaprio, and Damon. There is a lot of graphic violence, so I wouldn't necessarily take young kids, but otherwise it's definitely worth seeing in theaters!

Click here after you see THE DEPARTED for a discussion!

Welcome to TWO CENT CINEMA!

The best place to stop on by for quick movie reviews BEFORE you lay down your ten bucks... and then come back AFTER the movie for an in-depth analysis and discussion of the film!

Instead of using the boring old five star system, I figured... Why not rate films by criterion that actually say something about the films themselves? Therefore, I came up with:

The TWO CENT CINEMA "ACES" METER:


A: Acting - Were the performances good?
C: Craft - How was the directing, cinematography, music, etc.
E: Entertainment - Was this film fun to watch?
S: Story- Was the film well written?

A penny will be placed above each criterion that is executed well within the film being reviewed. Thus, a perfect film would look like this:



Enjoy the site, and don't forget to add your TWO CENTS!