AT THE MOVIES
When the end-of-the-year award predictions come out, be prepared for The Illusionist to top many lists. Stunningly directed by Neil Burger, sumptuously photographed, and hypnotically scored (by Phillip Glass, no less!), it is both an elegant love story as well as an edge-of-your-seat mystery-thriller with special effects that dazzle but never overwhelm the dramatic intent of the story. A young boy falls in love with magic, and his street skills entrance an equally young duchess, who becomes his best friend. Since commoners cannot consort with royalty, they are separated by force. Years later, the now-grown boy (Edward Norton) emerges as Eisenheim the Illusionist, a master of seemingly impossible feats of magic that confound the imagination and suggest assistance from the Great Beyond. (Not surprisingly, if the boy can grow up to be Edward Norton, then the girl can grow up to be as lovely as Jessica Biel.) The Duchess Sophie is engaged to a pompous prig, who happens to be Crown Prince Leopold, played with a marvellously unhinged edge by the always-entertaining Rufus Sewell. The romance between childhood sweethearts is rekindled--until a violent action sets all asunder. All of this would be pretty, quaint, and only mildly involving were the story not told from the vantage point of Chief Inspector Uhl, a modest but highly-intelligent and magic-loving policeman played by uber-actor, Paul Giamatti. In a classic tale such as this, Uhl is the equivalent of Victor Hugo's Inspector Javert in Les Miserables, a man driven to find out not only the secrets to a magic trick, but to solve a case that he knows may cost him everything he holds dear. It's the type of role that in other hands could become fussy, farcical and hystrionic, but Giamatti underplays just the right amount, both vocally and physically (with a superb trace of Viennese accent), grounding the film and making his efforts to get to the truth totally believable. This is a taut 110 minutes of sheer enchantment, at once old-fashioned and yet enormously immediate. It will be fun to watch on the home screen, but best to see it in a theater, where its visual splendor and dark atmospheric pleasures can best be appreciated--and with no call-screening interruptions from your answering machine at a crucial moment! You'll want to watch this one in "real time." (Rated PG)

Also recommended: Little Miss Sunshine, a comedy definitely not-for-children, with an offbeat style and a superb ensemble cast featuring such dependable presences as Greg Kinnear, Toni Collette, Paul Dano, the great Alan Arkin and the ubiquitous Steve Carell (whose excellent performance clarifies just why he is so popular!). And Abigail Breslin is quite fine as the little girl who is the lynchpin of this dysfunctional family road picture. Add in an engaging (or should I say disengaging) performance by a VW bus and you have a comedic gem. Delightfully rude at times but never overbearing, directors Joanthan Dayton and Valerie Faris have made a truly fun film for adults that is sweet-natured but always tart to the taste. We've all had runs of bad luck--but few have been filmed as effectively and humorously as this! (Rated R)