The Illusionist

Updated Movies to See Right Now

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Lou Tayor Pucci and JK Simmons in The Music Never Stopped

The best bets in theaters now are the combo thriller/love story The Adjustment Bureau and the Baby Boomer-friendly The Music Never Stopped.

Cedar Rapids is a fun and unpretentious comedy. Nora’s Will is a wry family dramedy, which is also now playing on HBO Signature as Cinco Dias Sin Nora (Five Days Without Nora).

Oscar winner The King’s Speech is on my Best Movies of 2010 and is still kicking around in some theaters.

For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

You can see trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick is The Fighter. For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV this week include two all-time greats,  Lawrence of Arabia and All About Eve on TCM.

Movies to See Right Now

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Nora's Will

The Must See film right now is The Adjustment Bureau, a first rate love story embedded in the action thriller genre.  The Music Never Stopped is a crowd pleaser that opens this weekend.

Cedar Rapids is a fun and unpretentious comedy. Nora’s Will is a wry family dramedy, which is also now playing on HBO Signature as Cinco Dias Sin Nora (Five Days Without Nora). The Illusionist is the wistful and charming animated story of a small time magician who drifts through an ever bleaker array of gigs while helping a waif blossom.

Oscar winners True Grit, The King’s Speech and The Fighter are on my Best Movies of 2010 and are still kicking around in some theaters, as is Oscar nominee 127 Hours.

For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

You can see trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick is Hereafter. For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV this week include Sleeper, The Natural and Shock Corridor on TCM.

This week’s Movies to See Right Now

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Oscar winner Natalie Portman and Natalie Portman in Black Swan

You can still see Oscar winners True Grit, The King’s Speech, Black Swan and The Fighter and Oscar nominee Another Year. They are on my Best Movies of 2010. 127 Hours and Biutiful are also good movies out now. The Illusionist is the wistful and charming animated story of a small time magician who drifts through an ever bleaker array of gigs while helping a waif blossom. Cedar Rapids is a fun and unpretentious comedy.  Kaboom is a trippy sex romp.  Nora’s Will is a wry family dramedy.

For trailers and other choices, see Movies to See Right Now.

You can see trailers of upcoming films at Movies I’m Looking Forward To.

My DVD pick is Fish Tank. For my recent DVD choices (including trailers), see DVDs of the Week.

Movies on TV this week include D.O.A. and The Searchers on TCM.

The Illusionist – wistful and charming

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Sylvain Chobert (The Triplets of Belleville) made this wistful animated charmer from a screenplay by the French master director Jacques Tati, who died in 1982.  The Illusionist tells the story of a small time magician whose act no longer appeals to a postwar audience.  As he prospects for an ever bleaker array of gigs, he drifts through show a biz detritus of seamy dressing rooms and broken talent.  He meets a girl, who attaches herself to him to escape her drab existence.  The magician selflessly works to help her blossom.  It’s an innocent and sweet tale made bitterweet by the harsh grimness of his situation.

I wasn’t a big fan of Triplets of Belleville, but here Chobert strikes every note perfectly.  It’s an essentially silent film that captures the tone of Tati’s Mr. Hulot’s Holiday.  (Indeed, when the magician drops into a movie theater, it’s showing Tati’s masterpiece Mon Oncle.)   It’s a fine movie with a sweetness that is rare in modern cinema.