Movie Review - Now You See Me

Now You See Me

Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Mélanie Laurent, Morgan Freeman, Dave Franco, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, Michael Caine, Michael Kelly, Common, David Warshofsky, and more.

Directed by: Louis Leterrier Screenplay by: Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, and Edward Ricourt Story by: Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt Cinematography by: Mitchell Amundsen and Larry Fong Original Music by: Brian Tyler

Premise: Four magicians receive a mysterious summon. A year later, they put on a huge show in Las Vegas and seemingly rob a bank in Paris with magic. The FBI and Interpol get involved, wanting to make sure to stop whatever the group is up to, though they have no evidence yet to make an arrest. (Rated  PG-13)

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Mark Ruffalo was fun as the befuddled and out of his depth FBI agent, whom, despite himself, might just start believing in something. Mélanie Laurent will make you want to believe. Woody Harrelson added a lot witty humor. Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman were awesome when going at each other and when working together.

2) Special Effects - Thumbs Up: This may sound weird, but there were a couple of places where I wished the special effects team had figured out how to make a piece of illusion or two with real components rather than CGI. The fact CGI was used stole, in my opinion, from the premise of what the film was about. When the group was on the stage and the sheets twirled up and around, it was too obvious they were CGI, so it took away from feeling of the show being an actual stage performance.

But aside from that, the special effects were very well done! The final trick and light display over the building looked great.

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: From the beginning the audience knows there's a fifth person. Even the symbol for the Four Horsemen is made of five squares. So half the fun of the film is trying to figure out who's behind it all. Clues for motivation are sprinkled throughout, but beware the false leads.

The part of the plot which most impressed me, however were the understated subplots. Several were running concurrently, but one especially means so much more than we initially realize until the end. Even magicians can be surprised by other types of magic. It was fabulous! Yet it's also so understated, it could easily be missed. But I felt it added a lot. And the same concept was done in a couple of ways to more than one person. So that was fun too.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: Some great 'gags' are in this film - a super fun fight in an apartment, big car chase through downtown New York, foot chase in New Orleans, escapes, explosions, and more. You'll also see the most bizarre, yet useful use of a kitchen sink grinder...ever.

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up:  "Now You See Me" used some great filming locations in Las Vegas, New Orleans, New York City, and Paris. With the large scope of some of the action and tricks, the cinematography showed it all from different angles and panning back enough to show the audience the whole scene. It was used especially well at the site of the third trick, giving the audience an amazing view of the moving art being flashed on the buildings.

Conclusion: "Now You See Me" is a fun ride. Between the magic, the great acting, and the mystery of what set all these things in motion, viewers will have lots to keep them occupied. Plenty of old tricks and new, and the more they show you, the more they reveal while giving nothing away.

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission)

Movie Review - The Avengers

The Avengers

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smolders, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Samuel L Jackson, Gwyneth Paltrow, and more.

Directed by: Josh Whedon Screenplay by: Josh Whedon Story by: Zac Penn and Josh Whedon Based on the comic books created by: Jack Kirby and Stan Lee Cinematography by: Seamus McGarvey Original Music by: Alan Silvestri

Premise: Loki has made a deal with an unknown alien force and so he's returned to Earth to recover the Tesseract, a recently uncovered energy source. He wants to use it to open a gate to Earth to let in his borrowed army, and then subjugate humanity so they may worship him. Nick Fury and SHIELD gather together a set of unusual but powerful allies in the hopes of recovering the Tesseract before it is too late.

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: Half the fun of the movie was watching all these great actors interact. I was ecstatic when I spotted Gwyneth Paltrow as her interplay with Robert Downey Jr. is always such fun to watch. Clark Gregg broadened his role as Agent Phil Coulson and proved that even agents can have a little bit of a geek inside them. Scarlett Johansson and her character were so much more than just the 'token female' of the film. She not only outfought most men, but she showed a devious, cold interior that will always get the job done. Cobie Smolders also showed the strength and competency of women as Nick Fury's second right hand. Mark Ruffalo conveyed tremendous amounts of feelings with just a look. Tom Hiddleston also gave a great performance as the aggrieved god Loki.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: Where superheroes are involved, you need super special effects - and the team that worked on them for the Avengers film were more than superb. From energy gates, to imploding secret bases, to alien invasion, explosions, and destruction, everything was very detailed, flawless, and best of all, believable.

3) Plot/Story - Total Thumbs Up: I've been following the works of Joss Whedon for a while now and he has yet to disappoint. He always knows how to play the audience and give it what it wants. Unlike other works where a combination of superheroes come together but get overshadowed by one or two key figures, Mr. Whedon and Mr. Penn managed to give equal weight to all those concerned, even Bruce Banner's alter ego, the Hulk.

The pace was brisk; all the details furthering the story. The only time it felt bogged down was during some bickering and then not for very long. Some viewers will not realize the staff has a lot to do with the escalation of frayed tempers, so the fact this wasn't mentioned by any of them later might hurt the story in their opinions but the later part of the film more than makes up for it.

Using the Hulk as comic relief during the combat sequences was genius! It gave depth to a character who normally has little to say and showed that he is more than the monster he appears to be. Captain America's instructions to the Hulk during the battle a master stroke of leadership.

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up: While some of the action is CGI, not all of it is. The actors and stunts people worked hard for their wages and it shows. In turn, this gave the audience an awesome and unforgettable set of action scenes. Good job everyone!

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: With a wide range of filming spots from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, to California as well as those created through virtual reality, they were strung together to create a viable world of great locations for our heroes to protect. The Stark building was amazing. The cinematography of the streets of New York swamped by invaders and the collapse of the research base will play in your mind for some time.

6) Costuming/Makeup - Total Thumbs Up: The heroes' costumes closely resembled the look of their comic book originals. Hawkeye was the only one who's uniform did not match in any way, totally missing his telltale mask, but I have to say that the detail paid to his bow and how he could program it to send signals to his quiver so arm his special arrows was fantastic. Thor's hair looked stringy and dirty for the full film, which seemed odd, but could have been a stylist choice. The wounds and bruises received and later maintained on all the characters were very well done. And when our heroes were finished, they looked tired and worn as they should have. Great job.

Conclusion: A fantastic, fun filled film. Definitely worth seeing in IMAX 3D and more than once if you can get away with it. (Sit through ALL the credits! There are TWO extra scenes!)

Rating: 4.75 pout of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Paying Full Price To See It Again!)