Now You See Me

This movie is fun. It has a Las Vegas feel with fast action, glitter and stunning magic shows. Their illusions are grand and very complicated but not subtle. Compared to The Prestige, a turn of the century movie about rival magicians, whose magic is sublime, Now You See Me is overplayed. What The Prestige did with a rubber ball Now You See Me needed an FX team CG masters. Some of the set ups in Now You See Me rival scenes from Mission Impossible.

Basically this movie is a caper wrapped in magic. There is a main plot and subplots but the stitching is not flawless. We are told the heart of magic is misdirection; divert the audience’s attention. This movie cannot get out of its own way. You get a pretty good idea of who’s who before the movie’s end. The secret of the story leaks out before its culmination.

The cast is wonderful, but no one does a star turn. They all work well together. Jessie Eisenberg has a stylish goatee and coiffed hair but he is still nebbish. Woody Harrelson plays the heavy. He is the mentalist (hypnotist), who uses his ability for one very funny and unexpected scene. Mark Ruffalo is outside his usual placid self and a bit rough. He still must have some of that Hulk juice coursing through his veins. Morgan Freeman could sleep walk through this part, but it is always a pleasure to see him. Then there is Sir Michael Caine, not one of his more memorable roles. He is the mean fat cat with the dough. Michael Caine played in The Prestige so maybe the producers were hoping to tap into his juju.

The movie was shot in Las Vegas, New Orleans, Paris and New York. Visually the film is very appealing. The car chases in New York are impressive, considering the mangled crashes take place where many of us drive.  The finale is shot in Queens in a building used by graffiti artists. It is a real spectacle to see how the building is transformed in a night light show. The location of the building is referred to as the Five Points. The Five Points is located downtown Manhattan near Chinatown not in Queens. Another failed attempted at misdirection. 

The Hangover 3 - Mr. Chow's Peanut Pecker

The Hangover 3 should have hung it up. The first and second films were the epitome of bad taste. From Stu’s predilection for she male hookers to Mr. Chow’s peanut pecker to a masturbating capuchin monkey; we were embarrassed to laugh but we did. The Hangover 3 script is lazy and mean. Gratis violence was used as a substitute for humorous writing.  The producers probably knew this was their swan song and put minimal efforts into making this movie in the spirit of the earlier movies. In an opening scene involving a live giraffe, a stunt that works in a Looney Tune cartoon was in bad taste in a live action flick. How bad is a Hangover movie when it is accused of bad taste?

Mr. Chow, Ken Jeong, has a key role in this movie and drives the plot. He is obnoxious and foul mouth, which is acceptable. However, his erratic personality zig zags from a cocaine haze to a stone cold hit man.

I am always happy to see John Goodman in a movie. He is Every Man and people relate to him. Here he is a just prop. His persona contributes nothing to the movie. Any fat guy with aviator sun glasses could have played the role. As a tie in the original movie Black Doug makes a cameo appearance and as quickly disappears.     

Alan is lost in his ADHD and off his meds. His stunts are consistent with the last two films but they fail to launch the comedic pulse of this movie. He has a love interest in this movie, Melissa McCarthy. She has purple hair, runs a pawn shop and is just short of elder abuse. She and Alan fall in love at first sight. Why, who the hell knows. I guess at 40 it’s time for Alan to get laid.

Bradley Cooper looks like he does not want to be here. If this was done after Silver Linings Playbook he must be thinking of damage control. Ed Helms, as Stu, does not loss a tooth or gain a tattoo but he still has his trademark high shriek which punctuates the film.

As opposed to the last two films, there are no salacious pictures needed to be destroyed after viewing. So before the credits started to roll I left the theater, but noticed no one else was exiting. Going back in, I saw there were final embarrassing scenes rolling. Since this is the final Hangover movie it is only appropriate the last shot should be of Mr. Chow’s peanut pecker. Or was that the monkey’s pecker?

Star Trek Into Darkness - I Squealed Like and Eight Year Old Girl

Star Trek into Darkness is an excellent movie. It has the three necessary elements of good film making; good directing, a good story and good acting. J.J. Abrams keeps up a rapid pace moving from one script element to another. The plot is multi-leveled and takes a while for the scenes to make sense. I broke my self-imposed rule and bought a 3-D ticket. Only once or twice was I so frightened by flying 3-D space junk that I squealed like an eight year old girl. Other than does two incidents 3-D was ineffective.

What was appealing about this movie was besides Kirk and Spock, the rest of the cast were given room to grow. Simon Pegg, as Scotty, plays a more heroic role aside from the usual comic relief he provides. Zoe Saldana, who plays Uhura, has more face time (and lip lock) with Spock and they get into lover’s spat; poor Spock has no clue (welcome to my world). Bones is his usual miserable self, kvetching to everyone. There is a new blond chick with a PhD who comes in handy later on. It was nice to see Peter Weller’s (his Robo Cop acting is still in tack) return to the screen; he plays Admiral Marcus of Star Fleet. Kirk is as usual impulsive, making life and death decisions on instinct and flouting the rules. No matter the outcome, these actions put him in bad stead with Star Fleet and go unappreciated by Spock even when they benefit him.  The cast has good chemistry and enjoys working together.

There are two couples on the Enterprise, Spock and Uhura and Spock and Kirk. Both quarrel and do not understand each other. It is difficult to tell which relationship frustrates Spock the most. But the bond is strong.

I cannot repeat the name of the bad guy since it will give away too much of the plot. He sounds British, but has good teeth which could be part of a disguise. He is a one man wreaking crew.  His attacks seem random at first but they come together latter in the movie.

Thankfully the Klingons are back and they are as angry, ugly and pissed off as they were on TV. Sadly their scene was brief, but hopefully in the next sequel (and there will be a sequel) they will have a larger role. There are so many Klingon jokes waiting to be launched. 

The Great Fitzpatrick...I Mean The Great Gatsby

I went to this movie with a bad attitude presuming it would be pretentious and overwrought. It was in some parts, but in other parts it was a well done. The problem with the movie it is inconsistent. Parts of it were cartoonish and silly. I think the director Baz Luhrmann, who directed Moulin Rouge, injected the Great Gatsby with scenes that worked in Moulin Rouge but stumbled here.

Parts of the movie were very annoying. The movie is shot in 3D. Since my senior citizen ticket did not cover 3D, I skipped it. Instead I squinted my eyes for the same effect, almost. For a 3D shot, Baz swept the camera over the water for the sensation of movement; it really does not work in 2D. Another gimmick was floating letters in the clouds when Toby Maguire was writing. 3D belongs with Disney not here.

In some scenes Baz shot the actors as giant heads. DiCaprio’s head looked like a huge bobble doll. He used this technique too often and it became irritating. To add a fresh dimension to the film part of the sound track includes hip hop (Jay Z sang, fo shizzle)

Visually the film was very attractive. The mansions and gardens were opulent rendered with the aid of computer graphics. The parties were shot in vibrant colors and the dancing was frenetic. The grimy sections of Long Island City were depressing and this was reflected in the hopelessness of their inhabitants.

I was forced to read this book in high school, but I do not remember the story; which is great since everything is new again. Gatsby is obsessed over Daisy pining for her for five years even building his mansion across the sound from hers. He anonymously sends her flowers and secretly goes to parties where she is. In today’s parlance Gatsby is a stalker. Overall the acting is pretty good. DiCaprio plays Gatsby with insecurity and he is too anxious to please. Carey Mulligan glows on the screen and projects porcelain frailty. She is the object of desire for Gatsby and her philandering husband. The husband is played by Joel Edgerton, who is a very good actor (Kinky Boots and the Warrior). To her husband Daisy is just a possession and he bitterly does not want to lose her. Then there is Spiderman, Toby Maguire. He is wide eyed and in taken in by Gatsby’s wealth and personality. Maguire is skeptical of Gatsby but remains loyal to him.

Leaving the movie I heard some faint applause, but it did not catch on. The applause was halfhearted like the movie. 

Iron Man 3 - Babes with Big Bombs are the Best

Since this is the third installment of the Iron Man franchise we know the characters. Robert Downey Jr. still has his swagger and wise cracks. Gwyneth Paltrow looks a bit more corporate but still impeccably appointed (I think she is taller). Don Cheadle has been upgraded with his own Iron Man suit. Jon Favreau does not direct this film but he brings back his role as Happy Hogan. He is no longer the chauffeur but is head of security at the Stark building with a badge fetish. He has a minor role but he brings good humor.  

      

The main villain is the Mandarin, played with much relish by Sir Ben Kingsley. He looks like a ghetto version of Emperor Ming from Flash Gordon. He has a non-descript Western accent (so sorry Charlie Chan) which does not go with the outfit.  Guy Pierce is a bio chemist industrialist whose products are dubious. He has great hair but a real hot head. There is also a young kid, Ty Simpkins, who becomes Downey’s sidekick and is a bit of a mechanical prodigy himself. From their performances it is obvious that these actors had a lot of fun doing the movie. Their joy will grow as the box office soars.

As expected there is a lot of action. There are explosions, assassinations and destruction from the Mandarin. In this movie there is not one Iron Man but a whole score of them (robots for the most part). Even Paltrow suits up; she looks like an extra from Tron.  In many scenes Tony is not in his suit and to fight the bad guys he improvises weapons from Home Depot. Most of the action involved fighting, with and without suits. There was an amazing aerial stunt that was quite impressive.

The script is simple. Its purpose is to manage the mayhem. There is not much plot development. The focus is on the bad guy and his unique weapon and Tony trying to stop him (I hope I did not give too much away). There is one sub plot so poorly woven into the script that it looks like a cheap patch. Action movies can be kinetic and also have a rich story like the Dark Knight or Star Trek (the movie).

Should you see it; sure. Since this is a guy movie plots are no obstacles as long as there are guns, babes and bombs (babes with big bombs are the best). Since this movie is critic proof I am sure my words just bounced off Iron Man. I might mellow by Iron Man 4.