Magic In The Media - Movies

Movies have always influenced my life choices. I started working out because of the Rocky movies, Van Damme showed me how impressive martial-arts can be and The Joker taught me that it's okay to laugh at my own jokes.

When it comes to magic (not special effects/flying snitches), there have been a few movies worth checking out, all from recent years. I'm not saying none of these took advantage of Hollywood SFX, but they are more-or-less based in reality.

• The Prestige - In my opinion, this is the absolute best movie about magic. The rivalry of two 19th century magicians escalates and plays out over years, right up to an incredible revelation. Then another incredible revelation. The magic is believable, and the cast is impressive.

• The Illusionist - Another enjoyable movie about the life and love of an 18th century magician. Another intelligent movie with a decent twist, but some magic which might be just a little too magical.

• The Incredible Burt Wonderstone - Overlooked comedy about two Las Vegas stage magicians who fail to move with the times. Definitely worth a watch.

• Now You See Me (1&2) - Fun crime capers with some absolutely ridiculous magic being performed.

• Redbelt - This is a martial-arts based drama, however, it features a great character played by Cyril Takayama who displays some nice sleight of hand. In fact, the DVD extra with Cyril really made me want to step up my prestidigitation game. You can watch that clip here… https://youtu.be/PSRPfeBLgDs

Let me know your favourites, in the comments.