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Hugh Jackman has a long list of acclaimed characters, from playing Wolverine in X-Men movies and the MCU, Robert Angier in The Prestige, the titular character in Van Helsing, and many more. But one of his movies that combines his love of doing musical and acting, The Greatest Showman, has been a controversial move, and now it's available to stream on Prime Video for fans to see.

The Greatest Showman chronicles the life of real-life figure Pt Barnum and elaborates on his journey to become a worldwide sensation in the show business. As his imagination and innovative ideas take him to the top of his game. The movie is full of foot-tapping songs, a talented ensemble cast, and thematically shines a light on the fact that where there’s will, there’s a way. Directed by Michael Gracey from a screenplay by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon, the period drama was a huge success,...

Films have a unique way of showing us how stories are built, broken, and reimagined, and nowhere is that more evident than in a well-executed plot twist. It reshapes the entire experience and forces audiences to question everything they have just seen.

A great twist flips the narrative on its head. It isn’t, however, just about pulling the rug out for shock value. None of it matters if the scene you’re building toward for the entirety of your film falls flat. We’re looking at you, the much dreaded, “It was all a dream.” Succintly put, a good twist builds on three very specific things – anticipation, revelation, and satisfaction – and it only hits hardest when it ties into your characters and themes.

In this instance, we’re taking ranking ten movies that make us sit up stunned with the realization that we’ve been played, perhaps in the best way possible.

If you’re a fan of cinema, you’ll know the name Christopher Nolan. The director is one of the very few modern filmmakers who still gets to bring bold, creative visions to life on a blockbuster scale. The reigning champ of the intellectual box office hit, Nolan has enjoyed a storied career in Hollywood thanks to his consistency in producing pulse-pounding cinema that also has the capacity to make you think. His obsession with the theme of time, invisible special effects, and multi-layered plot structures have dazzled film viewers for decades at this point.

Nolan studied English Literature, believe it or not, at University College London. While at university, he was the president of the Film Society and met his wife and future producing partner, Emma Thomas, on campus. His first feature film was 1998’s “Following,” but his career really took off with the groundbreaking “Memento” (2000). The Guy Pearce...

Christopher Nolan’s obsession with the perception of time has always helped create fantastical, character-driven modern-day epics that feel like rewatchable instant classics. But while all of his films garner a certain degree of respect from the fans, The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, often gets left behind in collective memory.

The Prestige (2006) [Credit: Warner Bros.]

The 2006 film, adapted from the 1995 novel of the same name, was one of Nolan’s first films that set him apart from the rest of Hollywood filmmakers. Not only did it establish the director’s fantastic hold over storytelling but also his ability to paint a compelling epic of human emotions surrounding grief, jealousy, death, and legacy.

Hugh Jackman delivers a plot twist unlike any other Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in The Prestige (2006) [Credit: Warner Bros.]

Bolstered by the success of Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan began to foray into genres that would define him for...

Christopher Nolan | Credit: HellaCinema/ Cc-by-sa-4.0/Wikimedia Commons

Apart from being a meticulously brilliant filmmaker, and creating thought-provoking films, Christopher Nolan is highly revered in the entertainment industry. His films are often praised for their complex storylines, grand cinematography, and direction. However, the actors’ performances are equally important to a movie’s success. All characters played well are imperative to a film’s success. And the perfectionist he is, Nolan makes just the right choices when it comes to his cast.

Furthermore, the British filmmaker’s ability to elicit great performances from actors has not only his films but also these actors’s careers. Here is a ranking of the top 10 performances from Christopher Nolan movies.

10. Aaron Eckhart as Harvey Dent/Two-Face in The Dark Knight (2008) Harvey Dent/Two-Face | Credits: Warner Bros.

One of the most iconic supervillains, Two-Face is materialised on screen by Aaron Eckhart in The Dark Knight. This...

Christopher Nolan is a master at executing a well-timed twist, and no twist was more brilliantly executed than the one he secretly gave away at the beginning of The Prestige. The 2006 psychological thriller starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, and Scarlett Johansson is typically regarded as one of Nolan's best overall movies thanks to its intriguing and well-crafted story, top-notch period visuals and mind-melting final act. The Prestige follows the rivalry between two up-and-coming magicians in 19th-century London, which grows deadlier over time as their acts become entangled with their personal lives.

While the entire plot of The Prestige is loaded with minor twists and unexpected appearances from both actors and historical figures, the final narrative turn came as a shock to many upon their first viewing. It's a poignant reminder of the dangers of obsession, along with the personal sacrifice that often comes with success--and whether that success is worth what it costs.

Crafting the perfect fantasy movie is a difficult task since so much can go wrong throughout the process. The genre is popular, but there are plenty of audiences who are easily turned off by too much magic and escapism, preferring films to feel more rooted in reality. However, a good fantasy movie understands that within the fantastical worlds and incredible magic systems, there are kernels of realism and universal truths about the human experience. It's the characters and their emotional journeys that are the most relatable and keep viewers returning to these otherworldly adventures.

For a film to be widely considered a fantasy movie masterpiece, it needs to be structurally flawless, visually engaging, and have a compelling appeal to the viewer's pathos. Plenty of films fall short, exceeding in one category, but getting too swept up in the creation of the world rather than the arcs of the characters. However,...

If you thought Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale's best team-up was The Dark Knight trilogy, then you must not have seen The Prestige. A tale of two dueling magicians — Bale's Alfred Borden and Hugh Jackman's Robert Angier — this 2006 psychological thriller challenges everything you think you know about magic, science, and even the narrative you're watching. "Are you watching closely?" is the tagline to this elusive motion picture, and it forces you to do exactly that. Only a year after Batman Begins hit theaters, The Prestige is a triumph of filmmaking that is arguably Nolan's very best — and considering it came out years before Inception, Interstellar, or Oppenheimer, that's high praise.

IMDb admittedly has a flawed ratings system -- one that's prone to review bombing and generally biased against genres like horror and romance -- but it still has its merits. For instance, its Top 250 list of films is pretty hard to argue with; from "The Shawshank Redemption" ranking at #1 to "Paris, Texas" making the cut, most people would agree that these movies are all, at the very least, pretty good.

The only real issue with the Top 250 list is that superhero movies are a little overvalued there. I can't complain that "The Dark Knight" is ranked #3 on the list, but I will indeed complain that "The Dark Knight Rises" is ranked #71. Sorry, but there's just no way "Dark Knight Rises" deserves to be over a hundred spots above "Catch Me If You Can." I'm not buying it; someone must've fudged the numbers.

For director Christopher Nolan, it'd be hard to...

Let’s be real here, predictable movies are fine when you want to sit back and relax while enjoying the movie without knowing every beat before it hits. But if you crave the thrill of not knowing where a story will go, or better yet, getting completely flabbergasted, then you’re in for a treat of twisty endings. These must-watch movies take you on a cinematic rollercoaster and drop a bombshell we never saw coming. You might think you know how it’s going to end, but, think again, because these movies only slap you with jaw-dropping reveal that hits so hard you’re left speechless.

From psychological thrillers to dramas that take dark and unexpected turns, these movies are mind-bending that makes you question everything. Well, to be fair, the purpose of these movies is to keep you glued to the screen and mess with your head. Just when...

Christopher Nolan is known for inspired casting choices, and one of his most genius, unconventional castings was a supporting player in The Prestige. Nolan blends unexpected casting with deep character work, resulting in performances that surprise and captivate audiences and critics. For example, the casting announcements for both Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight and Harry Styles as Alex in Dunkirk were met with skepticism, but the performances won over audiences. Likewise, Bowies portrayal of Nikola Tesla in The Prestige stands out as one of Nolan's best casting decisions.

In real life, Nikola Tesla was a Serbian engineer and inventor best known for his pioneering work in electricity, a rival of Thomas Edisons in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In The Prestige, which centers on the feud between two magicians, Bowies Tesla plays a small but pivotal role. The Prestige blurs the boundaries between magic and science,...

[ "The Usual Suspects," has a shocking twist revealed in Spanish, "Vaya, es un hombre!" which translates to "Oh, it's a man!" This line is spoken by a police officer when they discover the true identity of the main antagonist, Verbal Kint, who is actually the infamous criminal, Keyser Sze. Spanish speakers can easily understand the twist and the surprise element is lost for them. "The Prestige," has a twist revealed in French, "C'est une magie!" which translates to "It's magic!" This line is spoken by a character named Robert Angier, who is a magician in the movie. The twist is that Angier's assistant, Olivia Wenscombe, is actually his wife who has been helping him with his magic tricks. French speakers can understand the twist and the surprise element is lost for them.

Movies made in the United States can never resist using foreign languages as an easy place to squeeze in some foreshadowing.

Ranking Christopher Nolan’s Films: From “Tenet” to “Inception” and Beyond (Photo Credit – IMDb)

Christopher Nolan’s films have raked in over $6 billion worldwide. Yeah, he’s a big deal. Nolan’s filmography is like a unicorn—unique and mind-bending. His movies are a trip filled with math, crazy storytelling, mind-blowing effects, and sounds that’ll mess with your head. Ranking his films? Good luck with that. And hey, if you love a movie, who cares where it falls on the list, right? Just sit back and enjoy the ride.

12. Tenet (2020) Genre: Action, Scifi, Mystery & thriller Cast: John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Kenneth Branagh, Dimple Kapadia Runtime: 2h 30m Tomatometer: 69% IMDb Rating: 7.3/10 Available on: Netflix (India) Rent from: Microsoft $3.99 (US)

In Kyiv, the protagonist uncovers time inverting tech on a mission. He joins “Tenet,” discovering objects with reversed entropy. His target: Andrei Sator, a Russian oligarch with a...

Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige tends to fall between the stage boards when it comes to the director’s oeuvre. It’s not as blockbuster as his Batman trilogy or as critically acclaimed as Oppenheimer (which sold so well on Blu-ray it led to a major studio shortage) but it no doubt stands as one of his finest achievements: narratively, technically and, yes, magically. And it took years to get to the screen. Distracted and delayed off and on since the days of Memento, The Prestige would end up a feat that stands alone–ironically enough when you think about it…–in Christopher Nolan’s filmography.

But this is just the Pledge. So how did Christopher Nolan turn The Prestige into a minor masterpiece? How did he pull the rabbit out of the hat? Let’s find out: Wtf Happened to this movie?!

Christopher Nolan first got wind of The Prestige – Christopher Priest’s 1995 novel,...

Great sci-fi movies not set in the future offer alternative histories, revelations about the ancient world, and stories closer to home. By focusing on the present or the past, these movies easily combine sci-fi with other genres like steampunk, horror, surrealism, and Western themes. These movies blur the lines between sci-fi and related genres, creating visually enchanting narratives that explore themes of imagination, innocence, ambition, sacrifice, and the blurred line between illusion and reality.

Great sci-fi movies not set in the future subvert what audiences typically expect from the genre. Indeed, sci-fi is commonly associated with future timelines and showcasing the evolution of technology, society, and humanity itself. However, the future is just one of the many settings where sci-fi movies can tackle and develop these overarching themes.

The most important sci-fi movies ever made occur throughout the vast spectrum of both time and space, and there are many great...

Sitting at a comfortable 180 minutes long, Oppenheimer is by far director Christopher Nolan’s biggest and most accomplished film to date. The sheer scale of this film required the totality of Nolan as a filmmaker, as Oppenheimer combines nearly every theme and motif the auteur repeatedly returns to.

From his early days with Memento (2000) and The Prestige (2006) to his elaborate Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) and gambit of blockbuster mind puzzles, Nolan is pulling from his entire filmography when fueling the rocket ship that is Oppenheimer. It’s a momentous representation of Nolan as a filmmaker, all of his quirks and intuitions woven into the fabric of his cinematic universe.

However, this also includes some of Nolan’s shortcomings as a filmmaker. As prestigious as his career has been, Nolan’s filmography does not lack criticism. Though he excels at exploring the materially malleable ways film can alter our perceptions of reality,...

Thriller movies have a knack for delivering unexpected twists that leave audiences stunned and questioning everything they thought they knew. These mind-bending plot turns can redefine the entire narrative, challenge our perceptions, and keep us on the edge of our seats. This article will explore ten exhilarating plot twists in thriller movies that have captivated audiences and left them breathless with their sheer audacity.

1 ‘Fight Club’ (1999)

“Fight Club” (1999): The Unraveling Identity David Fincher‘s “Fight Club” takes us on a dark and twisted journey into the mind of an insomniac office worker named Jack (Edward Norton).

The film’s mind-blowing twist reveals that Jack’s charismatic alter ego, Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt), is a projection of his split personality.

Related: Brad Pitt Movies List: Ranked Best to Worst

This revelation shatters our understanding of the story and challenges our perception of reality, making it one of cinematic history’s most memorable plot twists.

Christopher Nolan’s movies are best known for addressing very specific themes, but there are also other trends in his works, such as killing off a love interest and using that to push the main character’s story forward. Most of Christopher Nolan’s movies are centered in metaphysical themes, exploring concepts like time, identity, and memory, often combining these with other themes (like dreams and how these can be manipulated) and sci-fi elements, which have made his works stand out, but he has also made sure to add a good dose of drama to the already complex stories of his main characters.

After making a couple of short films in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Christopher Nolan made his feature debut in 1998 with the neo-noir crime thriller Following, but it was Memento (2000) that gave the audience a good idea of what to expect from him in terms of visual and narrative style.

While The Prestige was generally well-received by fans and critics when it was released in 2006, its ending can be challenging to fully grasp. Director Christopher Nolan delivers his typically sharp intellect to the film's narrative, leaving a lot to unpack within The Prestige after a series of big twists and reveals. The film, based on a novel of the same name, follows two rival magicians in London named Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) who quickly descend into murky areas of morality in a bid to outdo each other's escalating magic tricks.

After Angier blames Borden for the tragic death of his wife, the two men become sworn enemies before eventually becoming locked in a deadly competition to pull off the ultimate illusion, known as The Transported Man. The Prestige's narrative is imbued with historical references that flesh out its dazzling late 19th-century setting, including a...

It wasn’t long ago that science fiction was deemed a niche interest, the ultimate form of nerdery. Yet fast forward to now, and it’s hard not to be astounded by how far we’ve come with geek culture permeating entertainment in significant ways. Science fiction has become so popular that you could even argue it’s the prevailing genre across pop culture—all thanks to its passionate fanbase.

Related: 10 Best Action Movies of All Time, Ranked by Viewers

Contrary to popular belief, the audience for science fiction is limitless. Going beyond mythologies and multiple universes, great sci-fi movies actually feature themes that are relevant in our world today. They just happen to be expressed through mythical creatures and extraterrestrial technology. This can be seen by the diversity of movies represented on the list of the greatest sci-fi films ever made.

The following ten highest-rated sci-fi movies are by no means an exhaustive list.

Christopher Nolan’s movies share themes, narrative and visual styles, and these and more have made way for a wild theory that explains how Nolan planned his career and divided it into three parts. Christopher Nolan’s career as a filmmaker began with short films in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with his feature directorial arriving in 1998 with the crime thriller Following. Nolan’s big break happened two years later with the psychological thriller Memento, which established three of his most frequently used themes: memory, time, and identity.

Following the release of Insomnia, Nolan explored the superhero genre with his Dark Knight trilogy, with The Dark Knight considered one of the best superhero movies ever made. Nolan has continued to leave his mark in film history with movies like Inception, Interstellar, and The Prestige, all of them addressing the aforementioned themes plus others like dreams and usually in non-linear...

Glass Onion just had a limited release before it becomes available on Netflix on December 23, and it's typically full of hilarious celebrity jokes and references. However, just like its predecessor, as the movie is about a murder mystery and is full of twists and turns, the opening sequence contains clues to some of those surprises, including the true identity of who the characters and audiences presume to be Andi Brand.

However, Glass Onion isn't the only clever movie that cleverly spoils its ending for viewers, and plenty of thrillers have cheekily pulled off the same trick. Whether it's subtle or totally in your face, these thriller movies couldn't wait to give away the showstopping reveal.

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

A lot of movies hint at a major character's death in the opening sequence, but never has a movie been so upfront about it since the classic Billy Wilder-directed movie, Sunset Boulevard.

"Batman Begins" proved that Christopher Nolan could helm a blockbuster and Christian Bale could be the star. Between their first two trips to Gotham City, they took a detour and worked together on a more modest film, "The Prestige," about two dueling magicians in Victorian London. Bale played magician Alfred Borden, opposite Hugh Jackman as Robert Angier.

One might think that since they'd already worked together, Nolan wrote the part with Bale in mind, but that wasn't the case. In fact, the director actually met with Jackman first. In a 2020 interview with Empire, Jackman said Nolan asked him which of the two lead roles he preferred. Jackman thought Angier was a better fit for him, so that's the part he got. Bale, on the other hand, had to lobby Nolan for the part of Borden. According to Nolan in a 2006 interview with IGN:

"Christian actually just called out of the blue.

Christopher Nolan’s new movie, Oppenheimer, will dramatize the events of the Manhattan Project. The main antagonist of the film will be the monolithic war machine that necessitated the construction of such a deadly weapon. But the villains of Nolan’s movies aren’t always so abstract. Some of Nolan’s villains are truly despicable, like abusive megalomaniac Andrei Sator in Tenet and the unscrupulous Axis powers driving the Allies off the beach in Dunkirk, but some of them are strangely lovable.

From The Dark Knight’s Joker to Inception’s Mal Cobb to The Prestige’s Robert Angier, there are many Nolan movie villains that viewers can empathize with.

Bane (The Dark Knight Rises)

Tom Hardy took on the daunting task of following up Heath Ledger’s Academy Award-winning Joker in the role of the next villain to terrorize Nolan’s Gotham. Hardy headlined The Dark Knight Rises with...

The release of Christopher Nolan's next film, Oppenheimer, is still many months away. It's certain to be a fascinating film examining a unique man. Until it is released, fans of Nolan will have to be content with the stories that have already been told by the talented director.

Each of Nolan's main characters are put in challenging positions that test them to the core of their being. Their personalities are revealed more completely with each trial they face, and some of them turn out to be more sympathetic than others.

Robert Angier - The Prestige

Angier unfortunately had to deal with the agony of losing his wife in a stage accident, so empathizing with him is natural at the start of The Prestige. However, he slowly starts to grow obsessed with revenge and turns into an entirely different, more unlikable, person.

Related: 10 Subtle Clues About The Twist Ending In...

Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer is less than a year away from release, but that still leaves plenty of time for fans to rewatch all of Nolan's other movies. Part of what makes his films so enjoyable is just how high the stakes are.

The villains in the stories Nolan tells are often terrifying and incredibly dangerous. It doesn't matter if the story is told on a large scale or small scale, the antagonists are forces to be reckoned with and are sure to stick in the minds of viewers long after the movie ends. With that in mind, here are 10 amazing villains in Christopher Nolan's films, ranked from least dangerous to most dangerous.

Robert Angier - The Prestige

Angier (Hugh Jackman) doesn't strictly have villainous intentions behind his actions in The Prestige, but the more obsessed he becomes with beating Borden (Christian Bale), the more dangerous he behaves.

Related: Hugh Jackman's 10 Best Movies,...

Christopher Nolan’s 2006 film The Prestige is obsessed with the cost of deception. Its two protagonists—rival magicians Albert Borden (Christian Bale) and Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman)—commit to deceiving audiences, but in the end, their deceptions reach far beyond the stage. In their final confrontation, Albert shoots Robert for framing Albert’s twin brother for Robert’s murder. Robert has faked his own death through a new technology he purchased from Nikola Tesla (David Bowie). The technology creates a clone, but as part of his act, Robert never knows which Angier will get to perform The Prestige (the …...

"In my travels, I have seen the future... And it is a strange future indeed. The world, ladies and gentleman, is on the brink of new, terrifying possibilities." This is how Robert Angier, introduces his magic act, 'The Real Transported Man' - by cloaking it in the guise of science. Later, it is revealed that he is actually obfuscating science in the semblance of a stage illusion and yet is also hiding it in plain sight (note the use of the word ‘real’). Devotion to ones endeavours is at the core of The Prestige, Christopher Nolan’s densest, most delightful film, and unpacking its many themes, a just past the decade mark of its release (it was released in the fall of 2006 sandwiched in...

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