Reviews

If you know City Hunter, watch the movie. You won't regret it. The casting is great and it is a true joy to watch an animation come to live. Better than One Piece live action, which was superb.

If you don't know the anime, watch a few episodes first, before you get on the movie. The artwork, soundtrack of the first seasons and movies, is like a stepping stone of what made anime today. This show was along the time of Ranma 1/2, Saint Seya, and all that other good stuff.

I collected all the manga and cd's in the 90's and 00's, big fan of the show. Now in my 40's I just enjoy watching an amazing live action translation that does the show justice.

The show makes you guessing and produces satisfying answers (usually the case with book adaptations). The acting was good, but I felt Craig was a mid-cast.

The story balances on the edge of realism and the religiously theme dipped fantasy. It does that very well.

I highly recommend this show, in contrast to all the cloning of 90's tv "elevated" with PG13 for the audience that grew up, this show actually took a shot at entertaining us with a smartly and well written plot.

I'm hoping there will be a season 2, but I fear this show is not cut out for the mass that likes junkfood, reality dating shows and Marvel/DC/Starwars/rehash.

The Prestige is about two rivaling magicians that started as colleagues, but an unfortunate even led them to be enemies obsessed with the others failure. Then they go through great lengths to sabotage and steal the other person's tricks, for revenge and for a magicians honor.

The movie is entertaining, because the setting/scenario is quite original - except that there is also the Illusionist, but that movie has a different theme - and Christopher Nola directed it. It made the story telling very interesting. However as the twist and turns unfold, you start to expect a brilliant ending, I call that the 'Wow'-factor. You remember watching Memento and at the end you find out he already avenged his wife and you go Woooowwwww in your mind ;-) The 'wow'-factor in The Prestige is disappointingly low as they use unrealistic elements to do the ending that you're not prepared for in the beginning. The let you expect it's all science behind the illusions and tricks, but then half-way the movie they come with something new and scientifically speaking, utterly nonsense.

So set yourself for one of the most entertaining movie right now, and you'll enjoy it even more if you don't take the movies realism serious. Great acting from Christian and Hugh that alone is worth the time.