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The Prestige, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Prestige
Year of Release: 2006
Directed By: Christopher Nolan
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Piper Perabo, Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, David Bowie
Genre: Suspense/Thriller, Drama

Overview:
Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johansson are pure magic in The PrestigeRolling StoneMy Thoughts:
I thought this was a really stellar film.  It's a wonderful character study of two obsessed men, and how that obsession drives them to destruction.  The plot - without saying too much, about two rival stage magicians seeking to both one-up and destroy the other - moves from one twist to the next, opening up one layer only after you have become comfortable with the previous.  All of the cast do a great job, though Jackman and Bale have the most on their shoulders as the leads, and they carry it off spectacularly.  Michael Caine is also great, as is David Bowie, in their respective supporting roles.  It's quite stylish and sophisticated, as well as very, very good.  Highly recommended.

Bechdel Test:  Fail

Overall:  4/5

(From The Prestige on January 9th, 2014)

Home for the Holidays, a review by Danae Cassandra

Home for the Holidays
Year of Release: 1995
Directed By: Jodie Foster
Starring: Holly Hunter, Robert Downey Jr, Anne Bancroft, Charles Durning, Dylan McDermott
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Overview:
Director Jodie Foster dishes up a "heaping helping of holiday hilarity" (NBC-TV) with this laugh-out-loud comedy from screenwriter W.D. Richter about family, food and finding acceptance with the people you love. Home for the Holidays is a "wickedly funny" film that's "so true it hurts" ("Entertainment Today")!

In a span of 36 hours, Claudia Larson (Hunter) has managed to lose her job, make out with her boss and learn that her daughter (Danes) is planning to go all the way. But Claudia's fortunes actually take a turn for the worse when she flies home to endure an even more grueling trial: the family Thanksgiving! Beset by a neurotic mother (Bancroft), kooky father (Durning), eccentric brother (Downey, Jr.) and compulsively "normal" sister (Stevenson), Claudia struggles to maintain her calm. But as sparks fly, tempers flare and turkeys go airborne, Claudia manages to recapture the zaniness of her childhood and discover that the most important things in life are the memories she shares with family...and for that, she can only be thankful!

My Thoughts:
They say you can pick your friends but you can't pick your family.  And, if you could, would you pick the ones you have?  Often not, and that makes this film way more realistic than we generally want to admit to.  Too often filmmakers take the easy way out - the squabbling members realize how much they love each other and how important family is and hug it out.  That rarely happens in real life, and that makes this film an absolute gem.

Because everything doesn't work out.  At the end of the film all the problems in the family still exist.  Nothing miraculous occurs.  Even Claudia's romantic interest may not work out.  And that's okay.  We don't always need a happy ending and a fantasy story.  Maybe sometimes we need a dose of reality too.

Great performances from everyone in the cast, but RDJ steals every scene he's in.  (I may be biased here, he's a favorite of mine.)  Recommended for anyone with a crazy family for Thanksgiving.

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 3.75/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on November 26th, 2015)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Being Erica: Season Three (2010/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Just Bridge Entertainment (Netherlands) Director: Writing: Length: 585 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Dutch

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Another great season. In the beginning I wasn't sure I'd like the direction this season was going, but it turned out okay.
The second to last episode was a great episode, which really felt like a season finale. Including the feeling to want to see how it now continues. And I thought, great that there is another episode. I get to see it continue. But as it turned out it really was the season finale, and the last episode was a christmas special, which obviously disregarded the episode before that. It was obviously set before the finale. It's a typical special, which doesn't further the storyline and just takes the characters and setting to "teach" you the meaning of christmas. Not a bad episode, but I was left disappointed that I didn't get to the story continue.
Now I have to wait a long time to see it. The fourth (and last) season hasn't even aired yet in Canada.

#	Episode	Rating
01	The Rabbit Hole
02	Moving On Up
03	Two Wrongs
04	Wash, Rinse and Repeat
05	Being Adam
06	Bear Breasts
07	Jenny From the Block
08	Physician, Heal Thyself
09	Getting Wiggy With It
10	The Tribe Has Spoken
11	Adam's Family
12	Erica, Interrupted
13	Fa La Erica

(From Tom's Random Reviews on September 13th, 2011)