Stars Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla FIsher, Dave Franco Mélanie Laurent, Micheal J Kelly with Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine Directed by Louis Leterrier I do have a fondness for heist movies. The gathering of oddball individuals, each who have to be part of an intricate plan, the planning itself and not to mention actually pulling off the heist which is usually the fun part of the show. Just to add drama, there might be someone chasing down our 'heroes'. For spice, there might be a twist late in the game and a double cross or two - or three - that you might or might not see coming. That would depend on how formulaic the story / movie would get. And there, of course, the numerous variations on the theme, making it more a con game than an actual heist. Most of them have a sense of fun, particularly delving into the absurd (Who's Minding The Mint? (1967), the original The Italian Job (1969), How To Steal A Million, The Ladykillers (1955), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), even The Heist (1989 TV movie starring Pierce Brosnan) and The Sting (1973) come to mind). Some of the newer or more current movies also do have the sense of fun, but sometimes get brought down by being 'overloaded' (Ocean's Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen (2001, 2004 and 2007 respectively), The Ladykillers (2004), Tower Heist (2011)) Yes, there are more that I didn't list which are equally fun and cool (Either of The Thomas Crown Affair, The Italian Job remake, selected episodes of Firefly and the entire run of Leverage). Regrettably, I've yet to see reputedly one of the best heist movies, Rififi The trick for Now You See Me is that this is heist / con film being pulled off by the ultimate con-men - magicians. And while the plot does seem to be a con, the movie doesn't really play out that way. For one, we don't actually see the heist, or the plans. Instead, we do get one or two analysis on how the jobs were pulled off, and in that respect, a peek behind the curtain on how a magic trick or two was pulled off. The magic tricks in the movie are mostly inspired by David Copperfield, who was reportedly also consulted for this movie. The big opening illusion which features a teleportation trick is something I had seen Copperfield pull off in one of his TV specials, complete with the circular stage. Although Copperfield's version had the 'audience member' on a raised platform that was extended off the main stage and over the audience before he 'disappeared' from the hall and appeared in some tropical location to meet his son. The problem with a movie like this in this day and age is that, despite what some reports say that a majority of the magic was performed live on camera, it is difficult to distinguish the illusions from the digital magic. It doesn't diminish the effect on screen tho, and some of the magic does shine through. The stars do convincingly pull off most of their onscreen tricks for the most part, while performing their characters almost as an extension of their own personas. As such, it's nothing beyond what we've seen from the stars in the past. Director Louis Leterrier seems content with the stars he's got and isn't really pushing them to deliver any kind of outstanding performances. Leterrier does have a firm handle on the action as one would expect from the director of The Transporter or The Incredible Hulk. He did mention that after the Hulk movie and Wrath of The Titans, he wanted to get away from the heavy reliance on CG effects and sort of return to the 'smaller movies' he used to do. While there are lots of chases, the standout is the showdown when agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) catches up with Dave Franco's Jack Wilder - and some sleight of hand magic is used in the fight choreography. Still, the overall plot does lose a bit of it's cool steam towards the end once the (expected) twist rears its head in trying to explain why everything that has happened did happen. It feels like the writers might have trying a tad too hard to tie things together, finding some logical reason for the proceedings. The resolution, for me, puts the movie on a bit of a bum note, leaving quite a few loose threads hanging. It might be an acceptable resolution for some, and if you don't put too much thought into it, maybe it won't bother you too much. It's just that as Jesse Eisenberg's Daniel Atlas says in the film, "First rule of magic: always be the smartest person in the room." There is a danger to being too smart, particularly for a movie like this. In any case, the movie does manage to entertain and is slick enough to get away with most of it. There is fun to be had for sure and just maybe, checking your brains at the door might be a good thing.
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Stars (vocally) Colin Farrell, Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Christoph Waltz, Jason Sudeikis, Chris O'Dowd, Aziz Ansari, Steven Tyler and Beyonce Knowles Directed by Chris Wedge Eight years after his last directorial effort, the lacklustre Robots, Chris Wedge delivers a movie that does live up to its name. The tales of the fight for nature might have been done numerous times before. Comparisons that come here to mind range from Ferngully to Avatar, where we have the outsider - in this case, MK (Amanda Seyfried) - entering the invisible world of the forest dwellers to help them with their cause and fight against the evil who wants to take over the world or some such. While the Leafmen are identified as the heroes. I was hesitating to use them in the sentence before. They are the guardsmen to Queen Tara (Beyonce Knowles) who rules over a variety of 'citizens' while the bad guy, Mandrake (Christoph Waltz) has his army of Boggans. Jumping of from the book by William Joyce (who's also responsible for PDI/Dreamwork's Rise Of The Guardians), and expanded by Wedge and James Hart (who contributed to other cinematic adventures such as Hook, Muppet Treasure Island, The Last Mimzy and Lara Croft: The Cradle Of Life), the story runs the gamut of an epic adventure that would normally feature thousands of extras to fill in the size and scope. At the same time, the character story is focussed on loss and responsibility. Easy enough themes to aim at the target audience. So, epic and intimate at the same time. The stars do surprisingly well with the vocal calisthenics. Seyfried and Josh Hutcherson deliver their lines with aplomb, hitting the emotions as needed. Colin Farrell as the Leafman warrior running solo, the appropriately named Ronin, seems to shift through the accents a little from time to time while Christoph Waltz again shining as main baddie, Mandrake. Comic relief comes from a pair of slugs - or actually a slug, Mub (Aziz Ansari) who develops a crush on our young heroine, and a snail, Grub (Chris O'Dowd) who aspires to be a member of the Leafmen. Aside from Knowles, other singers who popped up include Pitbull as Bufo, and Steven Tyler as Nim Galuu, keeper of the archive. The animation by Blue Sky Studios (Wedge's company responsible for Rio, Robots and the Ice Age series - mascot Scrat now kicks off the company's logo much like the Luxo lamp for Pixar) delivers an incredibly lush world full on beautiful detail. My preferred cineplex didn't have the 3D presentation, but even then, you could see how the 3D would have played out. The design of the world and it's inhabitants, the scale of the two worlds in contrast, would be utterly impressive where the 3D is concerned. The details are in the nuances of movement, especially when the two worlds collide, and it's quite spectacular. Add to that the adventurous score by Danny Elfman and the computer generated world truly comes alive with grave danger and grand adventure. In all, the movie does deliver where it counts. It's an epic adventure with some grand ideas delivered in an easy and simple enough manner to entertain and thrill. Stars Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Luke Evans, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot, Gina Carano with Jordana Brewster and Elsa Pataky Directed by Justin Lin First of all, despite the title on the poster and promotional material, the title on screen was Furious 6, so I'm going with that. It also almost makes sense that the of the original team from Fast Five, only six are back, and that doesn't include the 'Samoan Hulk'. Gotta love the Japanese version of the title tho - "Wild Speed: Euro Mission" Now, back to pre-prepared thoughts… which you have to click through to the Wordpress site... Stars Chris Pine, Zachery Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Benedict Cumberbatch, Karl Urban, John Cho, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, Alice Eve with Peter Weller and Bruce Greenwood Directed by JJ Abrams Given the title, one could assume that the Star Trek sequel would go where many other sequels have gone before, tougher darker territory. (see the likes of The Empire Strikes Back or The Dark Knight). Well, for one, the intrepid crew of The Enterprise do face a tough and dark situation. Add to that the rather remarkable way the writers have managed to both cater to and subvert expectations. Director JJ Abrams and his crew did have the enviable task to match up with the most favoured of the Star Trek movies (The Wrath of Khan) and there was much speculation as to where the plot of Into Darkness would go. Although they did successfully revive the ailing franchise. Without going too much into the plot, most of the characters do get more to do this time around, each getting a moment to shine in the rather jam-packed story that is full of action and thrills and excitement. Much like with their previous attempt, there is a lot going on, racing along at a breakneck pace. Abrams directs with gusto, putting up some truly epic sequences moving about from the inside of a volcano to Earth (London and San Francisco) to the Klingon moon of Kronos. Yes, after being excised from the first movie, we finally get to check out the Klingons of this new version of Star Trek (and another fan-favourite creature as well).While it is definitely bigger, it has a hard time getting to better since what came before had already set a pretty high bar. It does get pretty close to that bar tho. I mentioned earlier about catering and subverting expectations, a part of that also lead to some bits that could seem hokey or over-cooked (certain knowing lines of dialogue for instance). And in trying to resolve a certain type of ending also leads to some very odd displacement, or dropping in, of plot devices. I'm trying not to spell some things out, but I'm sure you'll notice what Im referring to when you see it. I understand the need to drop in plot points to serve the story at later points, but it does seem odd when it's done in a 'sideways' bit that throws off the flow of dialogue or, at worst, a whole scene. While the main cast do well slipping back into their characters like a bunch of gloves, the focus would be on Benedict Cumberbatch being the newcomer and playing the 'villain' of the piece, as featured in the trailers. Cumberbatch, as expected, dominates all his scenes as much as he takes control of every situation within the movie. Also welcome is Peter Weller as a Starfleet Admiral who gives Kirk his mission this time around while Alice Eve fills out the eye-candy role as a significant character who really doesn't contribute much. (Said eye-candy scene being ridiculously snipped off - from a digital screening no less - for some weird reason, especially after an earlier scene that has Kirk being the typical womaniser he is. Several other bits of dialogue are also mysteriously snipped.) With the quality of the production up there, along with the still awesome score by Michael Giacchino, there is a feeling of this being like another episode of a TV series. At the same time, it also feels like an extension of the previous movie, so there's a sense of continuity. Everything that was great about the first movie continues here. Abrams does seem to be channeling his inner Spielberg at times tho (the opening chase in particular feels like it could very well be in an Indiana Jones movie). In all, it's still a romp of the highest order, shamelessly milking the emotions and catering to the die-hard fans (oh, the numerous references) while stomping about with some massive epic destruction going on. If anything else, it also sets up elements that can be picked up by following sequels down the line too. Stars Paul Walker, Naima McLean, Gys deVilliers Directed by Mukunda Michael Dewil Paul Walker is behind the wheel in this vehicular thriller… and it's not another Fast And Furious movie (that's yet to come). However, there is an interesting gimmick featured in the movie that's either gonna appeal to the casual viewer or completely drive them away because it also means the entire movie rests completely on Walker's performance. The conceit? The camera never leaves the car (at least until the the epilogue). Walker is Michael Woods, recently out of prison and already skipping the country off to Johannesburg to meet up with ex-wife Angie at the American Embassy (don't ask why, considering he broke his parole and lied to the ex). As the story kicks up, Woods picks up the titular vehicle from the airport and starts to make his way through the strange streets of Johannesburg, and with Hitchcock-style devilishness, soon gets caught up in something bad after a rather protracted set-up (some of which does came back into play later in the story). The conceit actually works given that the vehicle is a mini-van - it's a long while before we actually get to see what the vehicle actually is - and Walker does fine enough. That is, if you can tolerate him for the entire movie (close your eyes and maybe imagine it's Keanu Reeves instead). It is a bit of a difference watching a car chase scene from inside the car tho. Coming in under 90 minutes, and a fairly uncomplicated plot, the movie is a fair action flick that doesn't really demand anything from the viewer. Director Mukunda Dewli, who also wrote the script, manages to keep the pace and drive the story, but also does nothing in particular that stands out (beyond the basic conceit). It might serve the purpose of showcasing Johannesburg, as well as production work of the South African film crews. Lots of productions are taking place there these days. Overall, your patience for this movie does rest on several factors. Walker does have his fans, although his critics would outnumber them. The rather simplistic plot may do better on cable than on the big screen although some credit can be given for the conceit of having the entire movie take place from within the confines of the vehicle. Of course there would be questions in relation to the plot, but the simple answer to those questions would be "there wouldn't be a movie otherwise," and for some, it may actually be a preferable answer. Alternatively, there have been far worse movies as well. |
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