"Everything you have seen here has been an illusion."

The Illusionist - a movie starring Paul Giamatti, Edward Norton, and Jessica Biel. Edward Norton is an illusionist in the early 1900s Vienna. As a child, he befriended Jessica Biel a local duchess. He is separated from her by her station in life and physically - he is sent away and travels the world learning his craft. Years later, Edward Norton returns to Vienna. Paul Giamatti plays an investigator, who at first, is quite taken with Edward's show. Jessica attends Edward's show with her finance - a cruel arrogant crown prince - and is uniquely reunited with her childhood friend. At this point the movie takes off as the two fall in love, a man's jealousy and anger leads to irrevocable acts, and Edward's fame explodes.

I liked this movie. Far more than I thought I would. It was an excellent ride - love, mystery, death, and a period piece to boot. My only complaint was the style of the filming. I wish they had used the sepia film sparingly. I understood the attempt to cloud the entire film in mystery and shadow, but it ended up annoying me and taking away from the story in parts. But since, for once, my complaint is not really editorially related, I would recommend this film to almost everyone. It's good.

"There's nothing to fear."

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind - an early Studio Ghibli production - Japanese animated film at its finest and weirdest. The film is a warning, much like Princess Mononoke, of the perils of pollution and not caring about the environment.

Nausicaa is the princess of the Valley of the Wind. She has a gift for calming the large killer insects that inhabit the polluted forest near the valley. There are neighboring valleys whose leaders are violent. They attack the Valley of the Wind because it has prospered even so near a tainted forest. Nausicaa is their hope, their leader, and their wind glider.

This film features the voices of Patrick Stewart, Shia Leboef, and Uma Thurman. It is an entertaining film, a film to be heralded and digested. We as humans can not gone on as we have. Additionally, in this world humans are not alone. I would say this is a film that should be watched.

"Of course not. But I can tell which sugar has not been used."

Mostly Martha - an interesting German film, upon which the American film No Reservations was based upon (or copied word for word, but I digress). No one who has crossed over into American or British film is in this movie.

Martha is an uptight chef. She rules her kitchen with an iron fist. She butts head with the owner of the restaurant where she works. Her attitude has forced her into therapy. Martha's world is flipped upside down when her sister dies and Martha is left to raise her niece. Martha is also forced to deal with changes at work when an Italian chef has come to assist her. Martha sees this as a subtle coup to her power. Martha is forced by her niece and new chef to experience life.

Overall I enjoyed this film. Visually it was engrossing - the viewer could not always tell when Martha was at work or in her home kitchen. Stunning. The plot left some things to be admired but I still would recommend it as an entertaining and highly fun food film.

"My eyes have been opened, I can never go back."

Thirteen Conversations About One Thing - the one thing is happiness. This is an ensemble piece with several interwoven storylines. There are a number of stars in this film Matthew McConaughey, John Turturro, Amy Irving, and Alan Arkin. The film does not unravel in chronological order and at points seemed a little difficult to follow.

It was interesting to see how each of the storylines would intersect. There is the hot shot lawyer, the professor who is having an affair, two young cleaning women, and a man who works for an insurance company. There are a few other people who interact with the main five persons.

The movie plods along at a slow pace. It is not a happy film but it is one that cause the viewer to think. Is happiness more about luck? Is someone who is happy only an accident waiting to happen? Or if your life is not what you would have made it, are you only around the corner from something great?

I'm not sure I would give this film a sterling review. It needed some editing and beefier storylines for some of the actors. However, this maybe the cup of tea for some, so I can't write it off completely.

"I'm not a dwarf! I'm a little girl. And actually I'm the tallest in my class."

The Chronicles of Narnia - I had this book read to me as a child. The delightful thing about this movie was remembering what was going to happen seconds before it unfolded on screen. This was an excellent movie and it captured exactly how I pictured the book in my head when my Mom read it to me.

The Chronices of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - is about four children Lucy, Susan, Edmund and Peter. It takes place during World War II when the children of London were sent to the safety of the country. The children are housed by a reclusive Professor with a large estate and of course the wardrobe. It is through this wardrobe that Narnia exists. Lucy, the youngest of the four, is the first to enter Narnia. When she returns the others do not believe her. Eventually the four find their way to Narnia and are caught up in a war against the White Queen. The children are befriended by talking animals, fauns, centaurs and Father Christmas himself. They are to fight on behalf of Aslan and to take their place in the prophesy of two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve who will rule Narnia.

Everyone was great in this film. The little girl who played Lucy did not annoy me in the at all . I sometimes am annoyed by child actors who over act or just irk me with their inability to actually act. But all of the children fit their parts. Tilda Swinton is excellent as the white witch. Even the cgi was pretty good, the story itself is engaging which made the cgi blend well with the flow of the movie. I would say this is definitely a worthwhile movie to rent. Watch it!

"But if you do something will you call me?"

The Station Agent - an extremely slow independent film. The film centers around three characters Finbar, a dwarf who is knowledgeable about trains and inherits a Station House, Joe, a Cuban hot dog cart owner who sets up shop across from Finbar's new abode, and Olivia, an artist who is separated from her husband and dealing with her grief over losing her son.

The three are in different stages in their life. Finbar tries to isolate himself from others in his obsessive knowledge about trains and yet is pulled slowly into the lives of those who surround him. Joe is desperate for companionship. He is isolated from those he knows while he manages his father's hot dog stand until his father recovers from an illness. Olivia is dealing with both the dissolution of her marriage and the loss of her son.

The film is littered with secondary characters that delight, amuse, and disturb the viewer. I don't know if I really liked the film itself. I did like the message which said to me that no person is an island. Each person is both annoyed and happy that the other two have wormed their way into their lives but each, except maybe Joe, is unsure what to do with these people now that they want to overstay their invitation. Overall an interesting if slow slow slow moving film. .