First of all, I haven't had Netflix for a few years, and when I did, I just had the DVDs mailed to me; I couldn't (or perhaps just didn't) watch stuff on my computer. Even though my computer is kind of a piece of crap and sometimes freezes up, Instant Play is still an amazing thing to me. It keeps track of where you are in the series, or even in the episode, so if your computer *does* freeze up, it will take you back to where you left off when you come back again! Amazing! The whole computer-freezing-up-thing does make me want to get a tablet of some sort, though, or a TV made after the year 1990 that lets you watch Netflix right on it. As I learned when I got my first SmartPhone a few months back, technology kind of just makes you want more technology. Oh, well.
House of Cards was the first series I watched upon my return to Netflix; I watched all thirteen episodes over the course about six days. Here are my thoughts, in no particular order:
1) Francis "Frank" Underwood is like the perfect role for Kevin Spacey, right? For most of my adult life, I have understood that Kevin Spacey is a good actor, yet I've felt vaguely like I hate him and have never quite been able to put into words why. I've talked with friends about this, and while not all of them have shared this view, I have found that he is a fairly polarizing actor. I know at least one person who loves him. I know another who has told me that she finds him scary-- not because of any one particular role, but just in general. Somehow, watching this, every single one of those attitudes toward him-- vague hatred, love, fear-- made sense. In the first few episodes, I thought he was a badass; he did what he needed to do to get results, but hadn't done anything particularly reprehensible yet. Then he started sleeping with Kate Mara's character (Zoe Barnes), and I started thinking he was pretty skeevy. Then he full-on MURDERED PETE RUSSO (Corey Stoll), and my mind was blown with how evil this guy is. The scary thing is that he is an evil *genius*; though I don't believe that murdering Pete was part of his overall plan, Pete's demise (falling off the wagon and into disgrace) clearly was. Which brings me to...
2) One thing I really love about this show is how you usually think you understand characters' motives, especially with Frank talking to the camera and cluing you in every once in awhile. Then you get more information, and you realize that they did things for a different reason than you initially thought. Example: Pete had defied Frank in some sort of minor way around the time that Frank basically set him up to get drunk before his radio interview. At the time, I thought Frank was just being all, "Well, I can't keep him in line anymore, so screw him. I'll set him up to fail and get someone else to do his job." Then you find out that he was ALWAYS setting Pete up to fail, and in fact chose him to run for governor because he knew he COULD set him up to fail. Again: mind blown.
3) In case you can't tell, Pete was my favorite, and I am still pretty sad that he is dead. Pete! With his bald head, and his kids, especially the daughter who didn't like to talk to him when his "voice sounded funny" because it "made [her] sad"! And he was trying so hard to be good, but he just couldn't beat that addiction, and he had Frank out there, you know, ACTIVELY PLOTTING HIS DEMISE! It seemed by the end of the season that he may have been in deeper than we were led to believe, but still: sad.
4) Kate Mara's character, Zoe, was another character who my opinion kept changing about throughout the season. I initially was pretty disgusted by her sleeping with her source and all. By the end of the season, though, I was really rooting for her, Janine (Constance Zimmer), and Lucas (Sebastian Arcelus). The early part of the season made it seem like everything Zoe (and to some extent the other journalists) was doing was just to advance her own career, and I was pretty dismissive of her. By the end, though, it became clear that the journalists were the only ones who were even trying to get to the bottom of everything and had ANY HOPE of exposing Frank. I'm guessing they won't be completely successful, but there's something to be said for at least trying to learn the truth and put it out there. I also kind of found myself feeling for Zoe with regard to Frank. Sure, she shouldn't have been sleeping with a source, or with any married man, for that matter...but she had no way of knowing the extent of the evil she was getting involved in. Damn.
Bottom line: I really enjoyed this, even though pretty much every character was at least a little bit shady. I started feeling a little sad when I realized I had only a few episodes left. Definitely enjoyed the experience of having a show that I could just watch an episode or two of when I had some spare time. Looking forward to the second season.
Monday, July 22, 2013
Thursday, July 18, 2013
thoughts on The Heat
Noteworthy previews: The To Do List, starring Aubrey Plaza, Rachel Bilson, and Scott Porter (a.k.a. Jason Street!!!), among others, and Runner Runner, a movie in which Ben Affleck threatens to feed Justin Timberlake to some crocodiles. I'm not kidding: I can't wait.
Anyway, so the plot/formula of The Heat is fairly standard buddy cop/odd couple stuff, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; The Other Guys also followed that formula, and it was hilarious. Here, Sandra Bullock plays the uptight, by-the-book one in the pair, while Melissa McCarthy swears a lot, roughs people up, and dresses and does her hair in such a way that Bullock's character twice mistakes biker dudes for her. There are several laugh-out-loud funny moments; McCarthy gets most of the best one-liners, but Bullock is also good as a character so lonely that she sometimes "borrows" her neighbor's cat for company. There are also a couple of gross-out moments (one involving a stabbing and one involving an emergency tracheotomy, which Bullock's character thinks she knows how to do because she once saw one performed on TV), as is unfortunately (or unfortunately for me, anyway) often the case in comedies. Anyway, I enjoyed it. I would be up for seeing more of the two of them as a crimefighting duo.
Anyway, so the plot/formula of The Heat is fairly standard buddy cop/odd couple stuff, which isn't necessarily a bad thing; The Other Guys also followed that formula, and it was hilarious. Here, Sandra Bullock plays the uptight, by-the-book one in the pair, while Melissa McCarthy swears a lot, roughs people up, and dresses and does her hair in such a way that Bullock's character twice mistakes biker dudes for her. There are several laugh-out-loud funny moments; McCarthy gets most of the best one-liners, but Bullock is also good as a character so lonely that she sometimes "borrows" her neighbor's cat for company. There are also a couple of gross-out moments (one involving a stabbing and one involving an emergency tracheotomy, which Bullock's character thinks she knows how to do because she once saw one performed on TV), as is unfortunately (or unfortunately for me, anyway) often the case in comedies. Anyway, I enjoyed it. I would be up for seeing more of the two of them as a crimefighting duo.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
thoughts on The Bling Ring
Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring follows a group of L.A. teens who rob a series of celebrities' houses (Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Lindsay Lohan, etc.). The houses are all so easy to get into that I would find the robberies unbelievable if this film weren't based on a true story. I'm used to these elaborate heist movies where the would-be thieves spend considerable time researching how to override or sidestep security systems; here, the teens simply find out via the Internet when specific celebrities are going to be out of town, then walk into their homes by way of keys hidden under the mat, through dog doors, or through back doors carelessly left unlocked. Once in, the teens basically just go shopping; they typically just take an item or two each, seemingly more interested in having things that are owned by celebrities and hanging out in their houses than in seeking out specific items, or the most expensive items.
I suppose that is what is compelling enough about the real-life story to make it into a movie: these kids are not your typical thieves, but rather a group of teens living just outside the celebrity world and wanting to find a way in. They party at the same clubs as people like Kirsten Dunst and Paris Hilton but don't personally know them. Two of the teens, Nicki and Sam (Emma Watson and Taissa Farmiga), are homeschooled by Nicki's mom, Laurie (Leslie Mann), and Laurie presents a "vision board" of Angelina Jolie as a role model that the girls should aspire to as part of a school lesson. Nicki and Sam also at one point discuss going on auditions for modeling and acting roles, but other than that, none of these kids seem to have any real goals or interests or really care about anything. After one robbery, they casually brag at a party that they "were at Rachel Bilson's," as if Rachel Bilson had invited them there. At another point, a character named Chloe (Claire Julien) gets a DUI, and she just laughs about how high her BAC was; there doesn't seem to be any concern about how this might affect her future. Even when the teens face charges for the crimes, Nicki talks about it as a "learning lesson" and uses the experience as an opportunity to get interviews/exposure. Another character, Rebecca (Katie Chang), asks, during her interrogation, whether the investigator has talked to the celebrities and eagerly wonders aloud what Lindsay Lohan said. Only one member of the group (Marc, played by Israel Broussard) seems to feel any guilt or unease about the robberies, and only he and Rebecca seem particularly upset about having been caught.
The end result is a movie that I found fairly disturbing. I can kind of understand why the kids are the way they are; the only parent we spend much time with is a complete flake, and most of the other parents seem to be largely absent from their kids' lives, which is maybe why they have so little fear of consequences. At times I almost got all "Kids these days!" about the movie, but not only are the teens in this movie not typical thieves, I also don't really believe they represent that many teens. If we were to believe that the teens in this movie are simply extreme examples of teens in a culture that celebrates/glorifies fame and wealth, the film could, theoretically, be making a statement about the perils of celebrity and surveillance culture. Because I believe the teens in this film are pretty far off the map in terms of morals, values, and life goals, though, I think it's basically just an interesting, well-told and reasonably well-acted story.
I suppose that is what is compelling enough about the real-life story to make it into a movie: these kids are not your typical thieves, but rather a group of teens living just outside the celebrity world and wanting to find a way in. They party at the same clubs as people like Kirsten Dunst and Paris Hilton but don't personally know them. Two of the teens, Nicki and Sam (Emma Watson and Taissa Farmiga), are homeschooled by Nicki's mom, Laurie (Leslie Mann), and Laurie presents a "vision board" of Angelina Jolie as a role model that the girls should aspire to as part of a school lesson. Nicki and Sam also at one point discuss going on auditions for modeling and acting roles, but other than that, none of these kids seem to have any real goals or interests or really care about anything. After one robbery, they casually brag at a party that they "were at Rachel Bilson's," as if Rachel Bilson had invited them there. At another point, a character named Chloe (Claire Julien) gets a DUI, and she just laughs about how high her BAC was; there doesn't seem to be any concern about how this might affect her future. Even when the teens face charges for the crimes, Nicki talks about it as a "learning lesson" and uses the experience as an opportunity to get interviews/exposure. Another character, Rebecca (Katie Chang), asks, during her interrogation, whether the investigator has talked to the celebrities and eagerly wonders aloud what Lindsay Lohan said. Only one member of the group (Marc, played by Israel Broussard) seems to feel any guilt or unease about the robberies, and only he and Rebecca seem particularly upset about having been caught.
The end result is a movie that I found fairly disturbing. I can kind of understand why the kids are the way they are; the only parent we spend much time with is a complete flake, and most of the other parents seem to be largely absent from their kids' lives, which is maybe why they have so little fear of consequences. At times I almost got all "Kids these days!" about the movie, but not only are the teens in this movie not typical thieves, I also don't really believe they represent that many teens. If we were to believe that the teens in this movie are simply extreme examples of teens in a culture that celebrates/glorifies fame and wealth, the film could, theoretically, be making a statement about the perils of celebrity and surveillance culture. Because I believe the teens in this film are pretty far off the map in terms of morals, values, and life goals, though, I think it's basically just an interesting, well-told and reasonably well-acted story.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
thoughts on This is the End
Jay Baruchel (all of the actors in this movie play versions of themselves, BTW) goes to visit Seth Rogen in L.A. Jay claims to hate L.A., and Seth's L.A. friends; he complains when Seth suggests that they go to a party at James Franco's house. They go anyway, and while they are there, the apocalypse begins; some people are raptured up to Heaven, while others (including a coked-up Michael Cera) are sucked down into Hell. Others, including Jay, Seth, James Franco, Jonah Hill, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Jonah Hill, and Danny McBride, are left to stick it out on Earth, where they will remain until they either a) do a good enough deed to be raptured up to Heaven or b) kill each other. These rules are never exactly spelled out, but the guys (who hunker down in James Franco's house) eventually figure it out. In the meantime, they (in no particular order) do all the drugs in the house; chisel through the floor to get to the jugs of water in the basement; are chased and attacked by demons; are visited by Emma Watson, who robs them with an axe after overhearing a disturbing conversation; and (and this was my personal favorite part) film a sequel to Pineapple Express, with Jonah Hill playing Woody Harrelson. Oh yeah, and eventually they have occasion to perform an exorcism. And also, when they finally leave the house, they have a run-in with a gang of cannibals (and Channing Tatum). And also, eventually there is a choreographed dance number with the Backstreet Boys.
In other words, it is basically a movie with few rules, where anything can happen at any time. Basically, any time you start to feel like things are getting a little bit tedious, something new happens to shake things up. Sometimes it's funny. Often it's crude. I laughed several times, but also was more than ready for it to be over by the end.
Probably the most interesting part of the whole thing was the group dynamic, and how it changes over the course of the movie. James Franco seems to be sort of in love with Seth Rogen (though nothing really ever comes of this; it just creates some funny/awkward moments). Jay dislikes everyone except Seth, but especially Jonah Hill. Jonah seems to be over-the-top nice, but secretly also hates Jay, to the extent of actually praying for his death. James hates Danny McBride; this starts out as more of a secret dislike, but grows over the course of the movie. Danny is generally obnoxious and disregards all of the rules the group tries to put in place.
I don't know. Like I said, there are some funny parts, and I like some of the actors in it, though not all. It seems like a better comedy about how people act when they're trapped together for a long period of time and facing the end of the world could have been made with the same cast, though. This all just kind of seemed random and thrown together.
In other words, it is basically a movie with few rules, where anything can happen at any time. Basically, any time you start to feel like things are getting a little bit tedious, something new happens to shake things up. Sometimes it's funny. Often it's crude. I laughed several times, but also was more than ready for it to be over by the end.
Probably the most interesting part of the whole thing was the group dynamic, and how it changes over the course of the movie. James Franco seems to be sort of in love with Seth Rogen (though nothing really ever comes of this; it just creates some funny/awkward moments). Jay dislikes everyone except Seth, but especially Jonah Hill. Jonah seems to be over-the-top nice, but secretly also hates Jay, to the extent of actually praying for his death. James hates Danny McBride; this starts out as more of a secret dislike, but grows over the course of the movie. Danny is generally obnoxious and disregards all of the rules the group tries to put in place.
I don't know. Like I said, there are some funny parts, and I like some of the actors in it, though not all. It seems like a better comedy about how people act when they're trapped together for a long period of time and facing the end of the world could have been made with the same cast, though. This all just kind of seemed random and thrown together.
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
thoughts on Before Midnight
Jesse and Celine (Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy), characters we first met in 1995's Before Sunrise and 2004's Before Sunset, are older now (Jesse mentions that he is forty-one; Celine is maybe a few years younger, based on a couple of comments she makes). Their lives have become more complicated than they were even in Before Sunset, when he was married with a son; now, Jesse and Celine have been together (though not actually married, we learn) for several years, have twin daughters, and seem to still be in love, though she accuses him of resenting the fact that being with her means that he is not in Chicago with his son.
I personally was a little confused, for much of the movie, on why she was so dead-set against even discussing moving there. From my point of view, a father really shouldn't live that far away from his children, and since Jesse also has children with Celine now and we are told that getting full custody of his son (Henry) and moving him to Paris with them isn't going to happen, them moving to Chicago seems like the only viable option. She seems to be afraid, though; several times in the movie, she adopts a "bimbo" persona that she claims is what Jesse secretly wants, and though I don't really see any evidence that that's true, she seems scared of losing herself, of living in his shadow, and that being in a serious relationship and having children will keep her from accomplishing what she really wants to accomplish in life. While it is easier to understand his point of view, and while his character is funnier and generally more likable, her concerns aren't invalid or completely out of left field.
Their discussion about their relationship-- what it is, where it's heading, what they feel for each other, what they want, how they've wronged each other, and whether they've betrayed each other over the years-- is incredibly compelling. The movie, like the others in the series, takes place over the course of less than a day, and largely consists of the two of them talking (though we meet Henry, Jesse and Celine's daughters (Nina and Ella), and the friends they are staying with in Greece). Yet I hesitated to get up and use the restroom during the movie because I didn't want to miss anything, and when it ended, I was disappointed that we didn't get to stay with these characters a bit longer. So far, the movies in this series have come out once every nine years, and I wouldn't be at all opposed to them continuing to come out with the same regularity. I really enjoy them, and don't think there's much else (if anything) like them.
Great movie. Would highly recommend.
I personally was a little confused, for much of the movie, on why she was so dead-set against even discussing moving there. From my point of view, a father really shouldn't live that far away from his children, and since Jesse also has children with Celine now and we are told that getting full custody of his son (Henry) and moving him to Paris with them isn't going to happen, them moving to Chicago seems like the only viable option. She seems to be afraid, though; several times in the movie, she adopts a "bimbo" persona that she claims is what Jesse secretly wants, and though I don't really see any evidence that that's true, she seems scared of losing herself, of living in his shadow, and that being in a serious relationship and having children will keep her from accomplishing what she really wants to accomplish in life. While it is easier to understand his point of view, and while his character is funnier and generally more likable, her concerns aren't invalid or completely out of left field.
Their discussion about their relationship-- what it is, where it's heading, what they feel for each other, what they want, how they've wronged each other, and whether they've betrayed each other over the years-- is incredibly compelling. The movie, like the others in the series, takes place over the course of less than a day, and largely consists of the two of them talking (though we meet Henry, Jesse and Celine's daughters (Nina and Ella), and the friends they are staying with in Greece). Yet I hesitated to get up and use the restroom during the movie because I didn't want to miss anything, and when it ended, I was disappointed that we didn't get to stay with these characters a bit longer. So far, the movies in this series have come out once every nine years, and I wouldn't be at all opposed to them continuing to come out with the same regularity. I really enjoy them, and don't think there's much else (if anything) like them.
Great movie. Would highly recommend.
Saturday, June 8, 2013
summer TV: Men at Work
So I used to sometimes start getting Netflix in the summer, or just rent a bunch of TV shows on DVD or check them out from the library, but the last two summers, it's randomly been all about reruns of Veronica Mars and The Big Bang Theory. However, twice now I have caught Men at Work, which features Danny Masterson, a.k.a. Hyde from That '70s Show and Michael Cassidy, a.k.a. Zach from The O.C. (Remember Zach? Remember when Seth went away to Portland or wherever without saying goodbye Summer, and when he came back, she was dating like a better-looking version of him? And Seth kind of begrudgingly liked him, and they wound up creating a comic book together? And we all kind of begrudgingly liked him, too, even though we wanted Seth and Summer to get back together? Anyway.).
The first episode of Men at Work I saw was kind of stupid; Michael Cassidy's character, Tyler, had a new girlfriend that he really liked, only he found out she'd had a threesome with his friend Gibbs (James Lesure), so he couldn't kiss her without picturing Gibbs. First of all, the threesome thing. Television would have us believe that at least one person in every group of friends has had one, which I don't think is true. Second of all, the whole "imagining your girlfriend as someone you really don't want to be getting intimate with" has been done a bunch of different times, and it's never that funny.
The second episode I saw changed my tune, and in fact had me commenting to people over the course of the next couple of days, "Have you seen that Men at Work show? It's funny, sometimes!" The plot of this episode was that they have all been invited to Neal's (Adam Busch's) girlfriend's dad's fifth wedding, though none of them really know why; Tyler makes some comment like, "The only reason a guy that rich would invite guys like us to do anything is if he was hunting us for sport." Wackiness ensues at the wedding. I found the following things interesting and/or funny:
1) Neal's girlfriend's dad (Neal's girlfriend's name is Amy, BTW) is played by J.K. Simmons, a.k.a. Juno's dad.
2) Amy's dad has flown in Amy's ex-boyfriend, hoping that she will want to get back together with him. The ex-boyfriend is played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who we last saw pop up randomly and awesomely as Max's roommate on Happy Endings. Mark-Paul Gosselaar!
3) Milo (Danny Masterson) is seated next to some random dude who offers him moonshine. The following hilarious conversations ensue:
Random Dude: Hi, My name's Darrell, with a D.
Milo: How else would you spell it?
Darrell: Oh, I don't know. I spell mine with a D.
Milo (after drinking some moonshine): Whoa. What is this, paint thinner?
Darrell: Not JUST paint thinner.
Woman Gibbs Tries to Hook Up With (about the moonshine): Is this safe to drink?
Darrell: What are you, a narc?
4) Everyone gets drunk on moonshine and wakes up the next morning very hungover and unable to remember the events of the previous night. However, Milo wakes up with a 3rd place soccer trophy ("Who got first and second?," he wonders), and there is a bottle of champagne at the door of their cabin with a note congratulating the "happy couple" on getting married; apparently, someone other than Amy's dad got married the night before. They initially think it was Neal and Amy, but MPG tells them that it wasn't. They then think it was Gibbs and the woman he met. Amy's dad shows up, however, and reveals that it was...Milo and Tyler (or as Amy's dad calls them, "the hobo and the pretty girl"). "That's weird," Milo says. However, though they're both straight, neither of them gets all, "What?! Why would we get married?! We're not gay!," about the whole thing, which was pleasantly surprising. Later in the episode, their friends catch them setting up an online wedding registry; though they plan to get an annulment, they're enthusiastic about the idea of getting some gifts first, and wonder if they can register for Knicks tickets. And of course, at the end of the wedding revelation scene, in which the characters slowly remember details from the night before, Darrell randomly pops out of a trunk all, "I had a great time this weekend. Oh, someone seems to have thrown up in your trunk."
So...yeah. I laughed out loud several times. I think it'll be a decent summer show.
The first episode of Men at Work I saw was kind of stupid; Michael Cassidy's character, Tyler, had a new girlfriend that he really liked, only he found out she'd had a threesome with his friend Gibbs (James Lesure), so he couldn't kiss her without picturing Gibbs. First of all, the threesome thing. Television would have us believe that at least one person in every group of friends has had one, which I don't think is true. Second of all, the whole "imagining your girlfriend as someone you really don't want to be getting intimate with" has been done a bunch of different times, and it's never that funny.
The second episode I saw changed my tune, and in fact had me commenting to people over the course of the next couple of days, "Have you seen that Men at Work show? It's funny, sometimes!" The plot of this episode was that they have all been invited to Neal's (Adam Busch's) girlfriend's dad's fifth wedding, though none of them really know why; Tyler makes some comment like, "The only reason a guy that rich would invite guys like us to do anything is if he was hunting us for sport." Wackiness ensues at the wedding. I found the following things interesting and/or funny:
1) Neal's girlfriend's dad (Neal's girlfriend's name is Amy, BTW) is played by J.K. Simmons, a.k.a. Juno's dad.
2) Amy's dad has flown in Amy's ex-boyfriend, hoping that she will want to get back together with him. The ex-boyfriend is played by Mark-Paul Gosselaar, who we last saw pop up randomly and awesomely as Max's roommate on Happy Endings. Mark-Paul Gosselaar!
3) Milo (Danny Masterson) is seated next to some random dude who offers him moonshine. The following hilarious conversations ensue:
Random Dude: Hi, My name's Darrell, with a D.
Milo: How else would you spell it?
Darrell: Oh, I don't know. I spell mine with a D.
Milo (after drinking some moonshine): Whoa. What is this, paint thinner?
Darrell: Not JUST paint thinner.
Woman Gibbs Tries to Hook Up With (about the moonshine): Is this safe to drink?
Darrell: What are you, a narc?
4) Everyone gets drunk on moonshine and wakes up the next morning very hungover and unable to remember the events of the previous night. However, Milo wakes up with a 3rd place soccer trophy ("Who got first and second?," he wonders), and there is a bottle of champagne at the door of their cabin with a note congratulating the "happy couple" on getting married; apparently, someone other than Amy's dad got married the night before. They initially think it was Neal and Amy, but MPG tells them that it wasn't. They then think it was Gibbs and the woman he met. Amy's dad shows up, however, and reveals that it was...Milo and Tyler (or as Amy's dad calls them, "the hobo and the pretty girl"). "That's weird," Milo says. However, though they're both straight, neither of them gets all, "What?! Why would we get married?! We're not gay!," about the whole thing, which was pleasantly surprising. Later in the episode, their friends catch them setting up an online wedding registry; though they plan to get an annulment, they're enthusiastic about the idea of getting some gifts first, and wonder if they can register for Knicks tickets. And of course, at the end of the wedding revelation scene, in which the characters slowly remember details from the night before, Darrell randomly pops out of a trunk all, "I had a great time this weekend. Oh, someone seems to have thrown up in your trunk."
So...yeah. I laughed out loud several times. I think it'll be a decent summer show.
Saturday, June 1, 2013
thoughts on Now You See Me
So, last night I dragged my still-hung-up-on-the-series-finale-of-Smash ass away from the Smash YouTube clips and Television Without Pity recaps and went out to see this movie. First of all: I rarely go to see movies at night, right after they come out. Movies get crowded. Second of all: apparently there are very few PG-13 movies out right now and all of the kids have already seen the new Iron Man, because there were A LOT of teens at this movie. Whew!
Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco (whose name I didn't know before looking it up for this review, who is apparently James Franco's younger brother, and who totally looks it) star as magicians of various levels of fame, various talents, and various levels of legitimacy. Woody Harrelson is a "mentalist" who seems to use his powers of "mind-reading" and hypnotism mainly to con people. Isla Fisher has a Vegas act where she is handcuffed, dropped into a tank of water, and then must get herself loose before flesh-eating piranhas are dropped into the tank with her. Jesse Eisenberg seems to be the most famous of the group, but in the opening sequence that introduces the characters, we only see him do a (granted, very impressive) card trick. Dave Franco seems to be the most low-level, as his opening trick amounts to pick-pocketing.
The four of them receive cards to go to a certain address at a certain time. One year later, they are on a Vegas stage; it looks as if they manage to, with the help of a seemingly randomly chosen audience member, rob a bank in Paris, even though the audience member is the only one who leaves the room, and he is only gone for a few minutes. How is this possible? An FBI agent played by Mark Ruffalo is tasked to find out, helped by an Interpol agent played by Melanie Laurent and eventually by a former magician played by Morgan Freeman.
It's really fun, you guys. As shown in the movie, magic is mostly an illusion...but it's still clever, fun to watch, and impressive if done well. The four of them may not have used magic to rob the bank...but how DID they manage to make millions of dollars fall from the ceiling of a Vegas casino? The film follows Mark Ruffalo as he tries to figure it out, and stop the group (who call themselves the Four Horsemen) before they commit more crimes. Along the way, we are treated to another New Orleans-set heist during Mardi Gras, some car chases, and some fun interrogation-room scenes in which the Four Horsemen frustrate the agents by freeing themselves from handcuffs, reading their minds, and other such tomfoolery. It's one of those movies where you know that you, the viewer, are always going to be one step behind the main characters, so you might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride.
I commented to my friends after the movie that Jesse Eisenberg pretty much always plays himself, or at least the same character, but that I always like him. In this movie, the same is actually kind of true of all of the actors; you will notice that in my recap, I only referred to them by the actors' names, and not the characters'. The truth is, I didn't even remember many of the characters' names, and most of the characters aren't really developed past the actors' more recognizable qualities. Jesse Eisenberg's character thinks he's smarter than everyone else and usually is. Isla Fisher is funny and charming; I've seen that woman pretty much singlehandedly redeem not-so-great movies (Confessions of a Shopaholic, anyone?), and while she doesn't get tons to do here, it's fun to see her in an ensemble of other likable actors. Woody Harrelson is funny and kind of smarmy. The fact that the characters aren't super-developed isn't a criticism in this scenario, though, because the fun of the movie is in the magic/heists/speculation about how they did it; the actors need to be instantly likeable and seem smart enough to pull something like this off while shady enough to be involved in crime. They all fit the bill.
Bottom line: fun, entertaining movie with a solid ensemble cast of actors. The other movies I've seen this movie have been BIG (Iron Man 3 and The Great Gatsby), and it was enjoyable to see something a little lower-key. I'd recommend.
Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Woody Harrelson, and Dave Franco (whose name I didn't know before looking it up for this review, who is apparently James Franco's younger brother, and who totally looks it) star as magicians of various levels of fame, various talents, and various levels of legitimacy. Woody Harrelson is a "mentalist" who seems to use his powers of "mind-reading" and hypnotism mainly to con people. Isla Fisher has a Vegas act where she is handcuffed, dropped into a tank of water, and then must get herself loose before flesh-eating piranhas are dropped into the tank with her. Jesse Eisenberg seems to be the most famous of the group, but in the opening sequence that introduces the characters, we only see him do a (granted, very impressive) card trick. Dave Franco seems to be the most low-level, as his opening trick amounts to pick-pocketing.
The four of them receive cards to go to a certain address at a certain time. One year later, they are on a Vegas stage; it looks as if they manage to, with the help of a seemingly randomly chosen audience member, rob a bank in Paris, even though the audience member is the only one who leaves the room, and he is only gone for a few minutes. How is this possible? An FBI agent played by Mark Ruffalo is tasked to find out, helped by an Interpol agent played by Melanie Laurent and eventually by a former magician played by Morgan Freeman.
It's really fun, you guys. As shown in the movie, magic is mostly an illusion...but it's still clever, fun to watch, and impressive if done well. The four of them may not have used magic to rob the bank...but how DID they manage to make millions of dollars fall from the ceiling of a Vegas casino? The film follows Mark Ruffalo as he tries to figure it out, and stop the group (who call themselves the Four Horsemen) before they commit more crimes. Along the way, we are treated to another New Orleans-set heist during Mardi Gras, some car chases, and some fun interrogation-room scenes in which the Four Horsemen frustrate the agents by freeing themselves from handcuffs, reading their minds, and other such tomfoolery. It's one of those movies where you know that you, the viewer, are always going to be one step behind the main characters, so you might as well just sit back and enjoy the ride.
I commented to my friends after the movie that Jesse Eisenberg pretty much always plays himself, or at least the same character, but that I always like him. In this movie, the same is actually kind of true of all of the actors; you will notice that in my recap, I only referred to them by the actors' names, and not the characters'. The truth is, I didn't even remember many of the characters' names, and most of the characters aren't really developed past the actors' more recognizable qualities. Jesse Eisenberg's character thinks he's smarter than everyone else and usually is. Isla Fisher is funny and charming; I've seen that woman pretty much singlehandedly redeem not-so-great movies (Confessions of a Shopaholic, anyone?), and while she doesn't get tons to do here, it's fun to see her in an ensemble of other likable actors. Woody Harrelson is funny and kind of smarmy. The fact that the characters aren't super-developed isn't a criticism in this scenario, though, because the fun of the movie is in the magic/heists/speculation about how they did it; the actors need to be instantly likeable and seem smart enough to pull something like this off while shady enough to be involved in crime. They all fit the bill.
Bottom line: fun, entertaining movie with a solid ensemble cast of actors. The other movies I've seen this movie have been BIG (Iron Man 3 and The Great Gatsby), and it was enjoyable to see something a little lower-key. I'd recommend.
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