The Illusionist

The Illusionist Neil Burger   —   DVD / VHS product page Rating:

I saw this movie back when I visited Ed in South Jersey on Labor Day weekend.  Contrary to some bad reviews, I thought it was quite entertaining. 

The Illusionist is basically a mystery movie with elements of the supernatural.  It takes place in late-19th/early-20th century Vienna.  Paul Giamatti of Sideways fame plays the chief inspector, and Rufus Sewell plays a delightfully-hatable antagonist.  Jessica Biel is the stunningly-attractive love interest frequently appearing in films of this nature.  The acting was quality -- in fact, it was probalby the film's strongest quality.  The story progressed at a solid clip. 

My only complaint is that the plot was a bit too transparent to truly maintain the level of mystery it should have had, thought it took me until near the end for me to truly figure out what was going on. 

To make a short story even shorter, there are many worse ways to kill a couple of hours.  Check this out if you're looking for something to do. 

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