Now You See Me

SUSPENSE/THRILLER

The Closer You Get, The Less You See

8.5 out of 10 | DVD

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Rated: PG-13  Language, some action and sexual content
Release Date: May 31, 2013
Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes

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Director: Louis Leterrier
Writers: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, Edward Ricourt
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco, Melanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Common

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SYNOPSIS:  An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

REVIEW: Louis Leterrier, known for his breakout directorial debut with Jason Statham's The Transporter and the ambitious but less well received Clash of the Titans reboot, returns after a three year hiatus to bring together a clash of another kind - law enforcement vs. a quartet of thieving magicians. Written by Ed Solomon (Men In Black), Boaz Yakin (Safe), and newcomer scribe Edward Ricourt, Now You See Me combines the thrills of illusion and misdirection with the cat-and-mouse chase of predators and prey.

Magician J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg, 30 Minutes or Less), mentalist Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson, The Hunger Games), escape artist Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher, The Great Gatsby), street entertainer and pick pocket Jack Wilder (Dave Franco, Warm Bodies) are drawn to an apartment in New York City by tarot cards that each finds in their possession. Triggering a mechanism that instructs them with holographic images, the quartet become part of something larger by becoming the Four Horsemen. Sponsored by benefactor Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine, The Dark Knight Rises), the quartet become a huge act in Las Vegas. When their final grand illusion, 'Rob a Bank' delights the audience by raining 3 million Euros on them, the FBI led by agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo, The Avengers) and Interpol agent Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent, Night Train to Lisbon), start their manhunt to get evidence on The Four Horsemen's next heist. As the magicians move on to other cities, Rhodes enlist the help of former magician and current magic rebunker Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman, Oblivion) to help his team. As Atlas and the Four Horsemen stay ahead of the FBI and Interpol at every turn, is there anything anyone can do to stop the Horsemen?

A cross between George Clooney and Brad Pitt's Oceans 11 and Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman's The Prestige, Now You See Me as a film of grand illusion, misdirection, and thievery. Thaddeus explains why agent Rhodes is being played for a fool over and over again by the Horseman, explaining to Rhodes and to the audience the tricks of the trade as he tries to debunk the Horseman's next trick.

Eisenberg plays to his strengths, putting on a character of false bravado and putting on an air of confidence that masks a sense of insecurity. The former popular master mentalist, played by Woody Harrelson, is so cocksure in his abilities that he alienates himself from the rest of the group. Dave Franco plays young upstart street magician and pickpocket Wilder excited to be chosen to be with some of his idols. And finally, the escape artist and illusionist Henley played by Fisher is the final beautiful and capable piece of the puzzle. Michael Caine's Tressler funds the extravaganza, Morgan Freeman's Bradley pulls back the curtains on the illusions, Mark Ruffalo's Rhodes believes in only when he can see, and Melanie Laurent's Alma Dray takes almost everything on faith.

But who is the fifth Horseman? Dray banters around the name Shrike, a magician and illusionist from the 70s who died during one final and fatal illusion. Throughout the film, the audience is guessing as to the fifth Horseman's identity. What is this person's motivation? What drives them to steal money from banks?

Any good magic trick will leave an audience amazed, wondering how the trick took place. Not many of us believe in magic, but the art of illusion and the suspension of disbelief is part of the dying art form of the craft. As street magicians become more popular and magic shows on the Las Vegas strip become less popular, the art of illusion is still paramount. Sometimes the illusion itself is enough, not the mechanics of the trick behind it.

Now You See Me is a carefully crafted illusion, coupled with a cat-and-mouse game between magician and law enforcement. At the end all will be revealed, but the sleight-of-hand of getting there is worth the price of admission.

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The Great Gatsby

DRAMA, ROMANCE

Old Sport

9.0 out of 10 | MOVIE, DVD

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Rated: PG-13 Some violent images, sexual content, smoking, partying and brief language
Release Date: May 10, 2013
Runtime: 2 hours 22 minutes

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Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writers: Baz Luhrmann, Craig Pearce, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Leonardo DiCaprio, Joel Edgerton, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Elizabeth Debicki

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SYNOPSIS:  A Midwestern war veteran finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor.

REVIEW: Baz Luhrmann, famed screenwriter/director of Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, and Strictly Ballroom, returns to feature films in a big way after a string of short films. Re-teaming with longtime writing partner Craig Pearce, they adapt the frequently remade story written by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire, Brothers) stares out the windows of a sanitarium, morbidly unhappy with his life. When the doctor tries to coax out of him a memory of a better part of his life, Nick reminisces about a man he once met that was filled with hope and vigor. That idealistic young man was named Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio, Django Unchained). Carraway describes Gatsby as being of the new wealth, meeting him in the summer of 1922 on Long Island, New York. Throwing more than lavish parties at his home for the greater populace, Gatsby holds a mystery close to his vest that Carraway wonders about. Carraway rents the smallish cottage next to the Gatsby estate where both of them are able to look across the bay at Carraway's cousin Daisy Buchanan's (Carey Mulligan, Drive) house. Spending most of his time trying to become a decent stock and bond broker on Wall Street Carraway soon finds himself swept up with the extravagant parties that Gatsby throws. Where did this man named Gatsby come from? What are his motivations? What are the mysteries behind the man who some say is a relative of the German Kaiser, an assassin, or a secret agent? And what is his fixation on the lovely Daisy Buchanan, wife of old money heir Tom (Joel Edgerton, Zero Dark Thirty)

Writer/director Baz Luhrmann, known for his inventive interpretation of Romeo + Juliet, takes on one of America's most treasured pieces of literature. Robert Redford and Alan Ladd have made their mark in versions of The Great Gatsby. Luhrmann uses his unique style of directing to weave an original tapestry of his own. Using the backdrops of the heady days of the early 1920s Luhrmann creates the gorgeous locales of Long Island and New York City, adding in wonderful costumes, and all the glamour and glitz that the Roaring 20s provided.

The cast is spectacular, spectacular! Although DiCaprio's Gatsby doesn't appear right on away in the story he does steal the show as the title character. With every slick back of his hair, every reference to his friends as 'Old Boy', and every glance or glare speaking volumes more than the elegant Fitzgerald dialogue, DiCaprio proves again why he is an A-lister. Joel Edgerton holds his own as he Errol Flynn-esque Tom Buchanan who Gatsby battles against for a specific treasure that he owns. Edgerton is both imposing and charismatic as a heir of old money. Tobey Maguire is the perfect choice of the young man Carraway trying to make his way to world caught between these two titans of wealth. The female cast is equal to the task as objects of affection and of objectification by these men and their boys club. Isla Fisher (Rise of the Guardians) is Myrtle Wilson, a kept conquest of Tom Buchanan who knows how to party to excess. Carey Mulligan, a busy young actress, sparkles with innocence and a secret knowledge of how the world works as the object of affection, Daisy. And rounding of the main cast is Elizabeth Debicki as the golf starlet Jordan Baker, poised and postured as if made of porcelain. 

As one who was never forced to read 'The Great Gatsby' in high school literature class I was able to go into the viewing of this film with complete innocence. Like Nick Carraway I was wide-eyed with wonder at the decadence and debauchery that came with money. I could go on about The Great Gatsby as a literary allegory for the 20s and the gateway to the Great Depression of the 30s, but I am more impressed with what I enjoy onscreen. From the cinematic spectacle of it all, to the musical score and use modern rap, pop, and R and B, to an incredible cast roaring with the 20s, The Great Gatsby enthralls with mystery, misdirection, lost romance, and the excess that preceded a depression that proved greater than Gatsby could ever become.

Old money or new money, it doesn't matter. No matter what social and economic circles we travel, there is always drama that exceeds our great expectations. The Great Gatsby is one of the best dramatic and visually appealing films so far this year.

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Rise of the Guardians

Stay Frosty

★ ★ ★ ★ out of 5 buckets | Matinee and DVD

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Rated: PG - Thematic elements and some mild scary action

Release Date: November 21, 2012

Runtime: 1 hour 37 minutes

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Director: Peter A. Ramsey
Writers: David Lindsay-Abaire, based on the book by William Joyce
Cast:  Chris Pine, Hugh Jackman, Alec Baldwin, Isla Fisher, Jude Law, Dakota Goyo, Khamani Griffin, Kamil McFadden, Georgie Grieve, Emily Nordwind

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SYNOPSIS: When an evil spirit called Pitch becomes bent upon taking over the world by inspiring fear in the hearts of kids everywhere, the legendary spirits of Christmas, Easter, dreams, teeth and frost must unite to take on the threat.

REVIEW: Direct to DVD director of Monsters vs Aliens: Mutant Pumpkins from Outer Space, Peter Ramsey, goes to the big show with his first full animated feature release. David Lindsay-Abaire (Robots, Inkheart, the upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful) adapts author William Joyce's book 'The Guardians of Childhood' into an animated action adventure featuring some of the most iconic holiday or mythical childhood legends that parents tell their children stories about. 

Hundreds of years ago, an invisible elemental spirit (Chris Pine, Unstoppable) came into being, unsure of who he was or what his purpose was. The only thing he was sure of what what his name was the name given to him by the Man in the Moon - Jack Frost! Now in the present day, as Jack Frost enjoys making blizzard conditions and giving kids snow days from school, an ancient menace named Pitch (Jude Law, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows) has reemerged to challenge the current Guardians. Consisting of the Russian Santa Claus North (Alec Baldwin, Rock of Ages), a Tooth Fairy named Tooth (Isla Fisher, Rango), the Bunny of Easter (Hugh Jackman, Real Steel), and Sandy the Sandman of Dreams, the Guardians are dedicated to the cause of keeping the children of the world safe and filled with hope and wonder. Now, with Pitch looking to fill the children of the world with grief and fear, the Man in the Moon urges the Guardians to enlist the help of Jack Frost in their defense of the world's youngest. But can the Guardians count on a reckless elemental who just wants to have fun and wants to be recognized?

The animated Rise of the Guardians, based on the book 'The Guardians of Childhood', is a unique perspective on those mythical ideals that our parents have told us stories about. North, the embodiment of the Spirit of Christmas is not just a jolly, big-belled man in a red suit with white fur trim. He is a Russian-esque imposing figure armed with powerful magic and two swash-buckling swords. Like a Russian nesting doll North is jolly, but also fearless and filled with wonder. The Australian accented Bunny, armed with boomerangs and Aborigine markings, takes his task of hiding colored eggs and marking the advent of spring and of hope on Easter Sunday very seriously. Tooth, the director of thousands of hummingbird sized tooth fairies collects thousands of teeth each day in exchange for coins. The pint-sized silent Sandy uses his golden wispy sands to fill childrens' heads with their favorite dreams. Jack Frost, with all of his Final Fantasy white locks and wooden staff, knows how to make sure kids have fun - at the expense of a few adults sliding and sliding around. He seems reckless, but at his core he loves the children just as much as the 'big guys'. The question is... will the belief of the world's children be enough to power the Guardians against the evil of Pitch?

Pitch Black is a formidable adversary to the Guardians. He is the harbinger of fear and was a dominate force in the world in the Dark Ages. When the Guardians emerged as forces for good, Pitch's powers were diminished and he was cast into obscurity. But as Pitch's machinations come to bear against the children, every ounce of power the villain gains takes away from the Guardians energies and their ability to combat Pitch's fear-mongering.

The animation is superb! All of the characters are designed to the utmost details to embody the spirits they portray. Pine, Baldwin, Fisher, Law, and Jackman bring their respective characters to phenomenal life. The worlds created for each of the Guardians takes every mythical character in a direction unseen before, The action sequences are choreographed and rendered beautifully, every camera angle and fluid movement eliciting the proper thrill, dread, or smiles. For every dark moment that Pitch puts into play, director Ramsey balances with intriguing or comic moments.

Rise of the Guardians is the perfect action-packed holiday film in the spirit of the classic move formula where the heroes have to save the holiday. In this film, though, the stakes are higher as our beloved mythical characters are not just saving the holiday, but the hope and happiness of all children and the Guardians' own existence. Maybe a little scary for the smallest of our future generation of dreamers and believers, Guardians will otherwise delight parents and children alike.

Rise of the Guardians takes holiday animation to the next level, giving the audience thrills, spills, and chills along with a fine story of perseverance and redemption. Jack Frost may be nipping at your nose, but he also has a free spirit and a warm heart.

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Rango

There's A New Chameleon In Town

[Johnny Depp, Isla Fisher, Abigail Breslin, Stephen Root, Ned Beatty, Bill Nighy]

image from BeyondHollywood.com

RANT: Today was an odd day. I did get to the gym early enough so that I would have time for breakfast and getting a good seat at the theater. I did get breakfast at 11am just when McDonald's was changing the menu boards. But my housemate met me for her Bacon, Egg and Cheese Bagel and we chatted until 11:30, which changed my arrival to the theater. Once in the theater, I was forced to switch seats four times to 1) escape bad angles to the screen, 2) escape kids kicking the back of my chair, and 3) get away from a seat that was being saved for someone.

SYNOPSIS: A chameleon falls out of the back of a car - and into the Mohave desert - where he comes upon a Wild West town with residents in need of hope, a sheriff and water.

Director of the first Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, Gore Verbinski reteams with his Captain Jack Sparrow actor Johnny Deep to use his voice talents as a chameleon looking for adventure - and finding more than he bargained for in a Wild West town in the Mohave desert.

Writers John Logan, Gore Verbinski and James Ward Byrkit bring animation to the Wild West, and the classic western to animation. But serving Rango as an homage to the best of the genre is only the beginning. Sure, Shane, Blazing Saddles, and Clint Eastwood's Man With No Name films are cited or intertwined into the tale, but Gore Verbinski introduces other films to Rango as well. The trained (and untrained) eye will see Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Star Wars: A New Hope, Deliverance, Transformers, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End - even The Day of the Triffids - somewhere along the tale. What results is pure pleasure and excitement!

Every character is so detailed and rich, every western film stereotype turned into something both recognizable and mesmerizing. In some cases, the character type is more quickly apparent then the desert creature playing it. From Alfred Molina's portrayal of a roadkill armadillo channeling Don Quixote to Bill Nighy's classic black hat honor-bound villain Rattlesnake Jake; from Ned Beatty's corrupt aged turtle politician to Isla Fisher's pure, tough, but naive lizard Ms. Beans; from Stephen Root's spot-on work with several western characters to Abigail Breslin's pig-tailed opossum child Priscilla hanging onto the hope of a strange new sheriff - every portrayal is captivating.

And as rich and detailed the characters, even more so is every plank, every dusty bottle hanging from a mobile, every grain of sand blowing through the dried out town. Every camera shot invokes classic western sensibilities, infuses modern action techniques like slow motion, humor or awe. Everything that Verbinski has learned is poured into this film.

Some of the humor is directed to children as deftly as a close range revolver shot, some more general and widespread like a shotgun blast of buckshot. When asked what name he goes by, Rango responds with avatars, pen names, and boasting one of the few men with a maiden name.

If you love westerns, go see Rango. If you love all of Johnny Depp's offbeat work, go see Rango. If you love well-crafted animation, go see Rango. If you love good cinema, definitely go see Rango!

Worth: Matinee and Blu-Ray

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