Now You See Me

Now You See Me is a brilliant idea for a movie. It centres around the idea of four magicians utilising their skills to rob money from different places and share it with their audiences. It all hinges on the four main characters played by Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fischer and Dave Franco, who I am happy to report are the best thing about this movie.

Woody Harrelson is a stand out. You can see how much fun he is having with this role, and its amazingly entertaining and somewhat believable. The way he spouts his 'mentalism' and the way he bounces off the other actors as he does it was my favourite thing about the movie. Not far behind him is the very intriguing Jesse Eisenberg who has that fast talking, magician like face and again is somewhat believable in being the smartest guy in the room (the first rule of being a magician). Isla Fischer plays a great character who started as a lowly assistant but is now right up there with the others, but Dave Franco has to be one of the most underused characters Ive ever seen in a film? He is obviously just a plot device and it was a bit disappointing to see. How about we throw in some smaller roles for Sir Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman and we are on the way to a stellar cast!

Aside from the cast the opening of this movie is excellent. It builds intrigue, introduces the characters and has a great time doing it. I was sitting there with a big smile on my face totally engrossed. Then comes the first big show and the alarm bells started ringing. They use CGI for most of the tricks. And bad CGI. I mean, if you are trying to do a movie about tricking the audience, how can you cop out and use obvious fakery such as CGI? It was the start of growing disappointment as the movie wore on.

You see, the whole film is setup for a payoff at the end. You as the audience is sitting there in expectation awaiting the reveal to hopefully squeal with delight and clap you hands together. But if you set a movie up like that, you HAVE to deliver. You cant have half a great movie and be done with it. Im not sure if its a casting issue, a script issue, an editing issue or a little bit of everything but by the end (even though I didn't guess the right twist) I was just left feeling flat.

SCORE: 5/10

IMDB Info for Now You See Me

White House Downnnn!!!

Mutha Fucka!!!!!

This should have been called Die Hard:  White House Mother Fucking Down... Bitch.

I'm not even going to try and compare Channing Tatum (man his parents must have hated him) to the legendary Bruce Willis... but hey... you gotta give him points for trying.  This definitely has a similar feel to the franchise.

As Human Traffic would say... Absolute cheese on toast BOLLOCKS but goddamn I hate to admit it was bit of fun.   Directed by Roland Emmerich who gave us that beautiful piece of cinema - Independence Day but since then has been pretty disappointing with shit like Day After Tomorrow and 2012... bleahhh..

I hate to admit it but as my tastes 'mature' and I enjoy more artsy stuff... I still get sucked into action porn like this.  If  I was to go in blind I would have said directed by Michael 'The Mother Fucking' Bay for sure...

Don't really know what else to say about it really.  The usual story, the usual characters, huuuuuge mother fucking special effects budget.   The best acting award goes to the young daughter... Tatum and Foxx take notes boys.  (Just kidding Jamie.. you were a'ight in Ray and definitely Unchained)

Can't forget Maggie Gyllenhaal though...anyone who has seen Secretary will know what I'm talking about.  Yizzles.

Anyway, as far as big budget action goes this certainly does the trick.  It doesn't belong with the greats but it's definitely a decent bit of eye candy.

7/10

IMDB Info


P.S - Wine intake was quite high for this one so sober viewers maybe take a point or three off :)

P.P.S - Apologies for all the 'Mother Fuckers'...  I think I just really wanted Jamie Foxx playing the President to spout it off a few times.  Never happened by my count :(  What is the world coming to?

#AdlFF: Particle Fever

Particle Fever is a documentary that seems to have been created over the last 5 years or so around the creation of the Large Hadron Collider for CERN in Switzerland. If you have not heard of the LHC it is the single biggest science experiment mankind has ever undertaken costing $6 Billion Euro's, taking over 20 years from concept to go live and using one third of Switzerland's entire power consumption when its running.

When its switched on, its also the coldest known thing in the universe running at close to minus 200 kelvin. This is cooled by liquid helium running around its 27Km circumference in pipes surrounding tubes with protons flying through them at nearly the speed of light.

Gravity

What is going on here? Three 9/10 movies in a week .. what a week of movie watching! I was struggling to decide whether or not this was an 8 or a 9 which might sound worrying but the thing is, if I'd seen it during any other week other than the one I saw Rush in, it would have been a no brainer. It's just such a different flick that I felt confused about my feelings at the end. Plus I felt like running screaming from the theatre and throwing myself on the ground and just gripping handfuls of dirt, squeezing them through my fingers and feeling them fall to the ground so close to my face!

The Conjuring

The Conjuring is a damn good horror movie.  Flawless filming and production help create a perfect combination of tension, creep and scares further supported by some really interesting characters and locations. Some might argue this is just another haunted house tale however when it's done well ... who cares! 

What makes this film even more interesting is that it's based on real people - Lorraine and Ed Warren. Real life paranormal/demon hunters associated with such cases as Amityville and Haunting in Connecticut (both of which also made it to film).  Reading up on them after the movie I was surprised to find they were quite respected and are reported to have helped many people over the years with 'supernatural' problems.  I'm a sucker I know, but I love seeing 'Based on real events' at the beginning of a horror - it just makes it easier to relate to the story...  Horror is no place for skeptics.

Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga are brilliant playing the Warren's.   Their chemistry on screen is great.  Lorraine is the medium and Ed is the warrior and together they make a powerful team.  If the movie is accurate Ed was the only non-ordained person authorized by the Catholic Church to perform exorcisms.

I also want to make reference to the audio.  It is always one of the most important factors in a good horror film and The Conjuring absolutely nails it.  The key tension sounds were just so clear and defined - for example a simple loud knock on the door almost made me double check someone wasn't knocking on mine. 

Oh, and then there's the doll.  If your creep-o-meter doesn't spike to max when this damn thing comes on screen, there's something wrong with you.  *shudder*


Give me this over the modern torture porn any day.

My only criticism with this movie is it made me break one of my good wine glasses.  Watching horror in pitch black is a must however next time I must remember to pause it on a light frame when needing a loo break.  The walk back was trecherous!

If you're a fan of haunted house style horror then definitely give this a go.  I would compare it to movies such as Poltergeist, Insidious and maybe even The Others.  Like all good horror, watch it alone and in the dark.

9/10

IMDB Info

Rush

Rush is a simply brilliant movie. Ron Howard has been one of my favourite directors since A Beautiful Mind, he has a distinctive style that resonates extremely well for drama and emotional stories, so to go on an action packed, Formula One racing movie was an interesting move.

However, if Ron has shown one thing its that he really knows how to handle an epic production. I can feel how much fun he must have had putting this movie together. The research and planning is phenomenal! I was lucky enough to see this with a mate who is an F-1 fanatic and he was filling me in on all these little details that were in the background and how important they were in real life (thankfully they weren't necessary to know to move the story along) and my mind was blown. Apparently there was a six wheeled F-1 car in the 70's! WTF?!?! And its in this movie. Apparently sponsorship wasn't really done before this period of time and all of the sponsorship thats in the movie is as real as it was in the day. You will see Marlboro, Heuer, Texaco and all of the real brands splashed across the cars and the outfits which makes the whole deal feel real.

More than the research and attention to detail though is the attention to the acting of the main characters. Daniel Brühl looks just like Niki Lauda. Its mesmerising. His performance is spectacular and the makeup after his accident is spot on. When you see some of the real footage your mind does a bit of a double turn as you can realise how closely matched he was. I think Chris Hemsworth was supposed to be the 'main' character but for me Daniel Brühl stole the show.

Thats not to say that Chris's performance is lacking. He is a really beautiful man and its put on full display here with his charisma dialled up 13 notches, his million dollar smile flashing everywhere and his very convincing explanation of why racing car drivers are so idolised by us mere mortals. Its because they live so close to death, and that is what makes us shiver as we see them, see them truly living and living more than we ever will when on the track. The beauty in that statement is that Daniel's portrayal of Niki Lauda is the complete opposite. He is the German who calculates the percentages and anything over 20% danger to life is unacceptable. The simple beauty in these two very opposing, but realistic ways to live life and drive a Formula One car is what drives (no pun intended) this movie along. Without top tier performances from these two lead actors it would fall in a heap, but on the shoulders of Daniel Brühl and Chris Hemsworth it shines!

I really can't recommend this movie enough. And I really can't stress enough it should be seen on the big screen. There were only 5 people in the cinema tonight, on late night shopping, at a blockbuster movie. I know its been out a couple of weeks, but come on people. If we don't keep going to see these amazing films, we are going to be lumbered with Transformers 57, Avengers 35 and some other Marvel retread, DC Comics cross over crap every year and nothing as special as this will ever be made again.

Ron Howard is amazing, but he is only a mortal and wont be able to make movies one day. Once he is gone, the list of people capable of creating films like this will dwindle by one and I can't think of many non Zack Snider-esque big budget directors left who will take these risks. If we don't show the money people we want them, we wont get them, so get out and see this beauty of a film and sit back and relish that these super heroes were real people with real skills and could still capture the imagination of the world without needing a brand and a toy catalogue to make them exist.

SCORE: 9/10

IMDB Info for: Rush

Where are you?

Just a quick post to apologise for the lack of posts.   Guy and I are still trying to pick up our lives since the final episode of Breaking Bad.   Trying to answer such questions as

- What to look forward to with no new season of Breaking Bad?
- How long will it be until someone can create such a masterpiece?
- What can fill the void?

I think the answer for me is Game of Thrones but the new season is still a while off.  Walking Dead?  Yeah not bad.  Dexter?  Not hearing good things about this last series which is a shame to wrap up a decent show poorly.  

Recently started Californication which is a good choice after Breaking Bad.  Its lightheartedness is good contrast to the BB intensity.

Also watched the first episode of 'News room' which was pretty great actually.  There's also the new Kevin Spacey show house of cards.   Oh and Homeland Season 3.    

Looks like we will be ok after all however it's hard to go back to speed when you have tried cocaine.

Not much to report on the movie front.  Have watched a few over the past weeks:

Disconnect
An interesting film about modern life with a bunch of intertwining story lines.  Very similar to 'Crash'.  Worth a watch and great different very serious role for Jason Bateman.  7/10

IMDB Info


Pacific Rim
This was a pretty entertaining film.  Big budget, simple but satisfying story and some interesting characters.  It also has the colourful flare that Del Toro brings to all his films.   Don't expect anything too deep but just enjoy the cheese. 7/10

IMDB Info


Curse of Chucky
Was looking forward to this one as I had heard it felt more like the Chucky films of old rather than the more recent Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky etc.    I have to admit it was decent, but unfortunately didn't quite have the charm of the originals.   I guess its hard to compete with childhood memories.   6/10

IMDB Info


There's been a few more but I can't think of em... so couldn't be that great :)
Anyway, back to Californication...