2008 Woodie Awards
Reviews of Recent and Upcoming DVD Releases
MCT Campus
Issue date: 2/26/07 Section: Arts & Entertainment
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The ads would have you believe "Babel" is a two-hour Brad Pitt vehicle that showcases him
at the top of his acting game. But while the second part of that pitch can certainly be argued, Pitt is merely one leg of a 142-minute monster that uses a single, terrible
mistake to set in motion four connected but mostly self-contained stories from vastly different corners of the world. "Babel"
is a (mostly) non-politicized exploration
of misunderstandings and other inevitable products of cultural and lingual barriers. It's also a work of extraordinary filmmaking,
giving incredible life to its characters and storylines and having a great knack for cutting away just when you least want it to, only to do the same thing to the scenes that follow when it cuts back. Pitt and Cate Blanchett do a fine job, but so do Gael
Garcia Bernal, Adriana Barraza, Mustapha Rachidi, Boubker Ait El Caid, Said Tarchini and especially Rinko Kikuchi. If you don't
know any of those names going in, you likely will heading out. In a multitude of languages (including sign language) with English subtitles where necessary. No
extras.
"The Prestige" (PG-13, 2006, Touchstone)
A good magic trick comes in three parts. First, there's a declaration of integrity known as the pledge. This is followed by
a moment of peril _ a disappearing volunteer, a woman sawed in half _ known as the turn. Assuming the trick is done right, the turn then gives way to the prestige,
which saves the trick from peril and leaves 'em ooohing and ahhhing. We appear well into the turn as "The Prestige" opens
with one magician (Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier) drowning in a locked aquarium while
his rival (Christian Bale as Alfred Borden) watches him die. But if you pay respect to the film's opening sentence, you already know better. "The Prestige" goes backward, forward and occasionally in circles while delivering one extremely engrossing
deconstruction of a professional rivalry that's fraught with grave, deeply personal side effects and obsessive self-destruction. It's also gifted with a prestige of its
at the top of his acting game. But while the second part of that pitch can certainly be argued, Pitt is merely one leg of a 142-minute monster that uses a single, terrible
mistake to set in motion four connected but mostly self-contained stories from vastly different corners of the world. "Babel"
is a (mostly) non-politicized exploration
of misunderstandings and other inevitable products of cultural and lingual barriers. It's also a work of extraordinary filmmaking,
giving incredible life to its characters and storylines and having a great knack for cutting away just when you least want it to, only to do the same thing to the scenes that follow when it cuts back. Pitt and Cate Blanchett do a fine job, but so do Gael
Garcia Bernal, Adriana Barraza, Mustapha Rachidi, Boubker Ait El Caid, Said Tarchini and especially Rinko Kikuchi. If you don't
know any of those names going in, you likely will heading out. In a multitude of languages (including sign language) with English subtitles where necessary. No
extras.
"The Prestige" (PG-13, 2006, Touchstone)
A good magic trick comes in three parts. First, there's a declaration of integrity known as the pledge. This is followed by
a moment of peril _ a disappearing volunteer, a woman sawed in half _ known as the turn. Assuming the trick is done right, the turn then gives way to the prestige,
which saves the trick from peril and leaves 'em ooohing and ahhhing. We appear well into the turn as "The Prestige" opens
with one magician (Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier) drowning in a locked aquarium while
his rival (Christian Bale as Alfred Borden) watches him die. But if you pay respect to the film's opening sentence, you already know better. "The Prestige" goes backward, forward and occasionally in circles while delivering one extremely engrossing
deconstruction of a professional rivalry that's fraught with grave, deeply personal side effects and obsessive self-destruction. It's also gifted with a prestige of its
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