Now You See Me (2013)

Now You See Me (2013)

6/10

Starrring

Jesse Eisenberg

Mark Ruffalo

Woody Harrelson

Mélanie Laurent

Isla Fisher

Dave Franco

Directed by Louis Leterrier

Now You See Me is one movie I sense Hollywood is probably going to wreck. The reason? When I saw the ending, I knew right away that a sequel was in the works.

Now You See Me will remain in the minds of many as a movie everyone should see—if only Hollywood would leave it as a standalone film.

What makes this movie so good is the idea that I’m being fooled twice. I’m following a group of magicians who are mysteriously brought together by a secretive group called The Eye. Just as I’m being tricked by their Robin Hood-style antics, another twist is waiting for me at the end.

The movie is a masterpiece. Its focus is squarely on the idea of making the rich pay for oppressing the poor, and it never strays from that focus. From the very beginning, the movie introduces the players—both good and bad (depending on your perspective)—and immediately throws us into a rat race between the FBI and the Four Horsemen.

The plot revolves around four magicians:

• Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel Atlas, an illusionist and the ringleader of the Four Horsemen.
• Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney, a mentalist.
• Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves, an escapist.
• Dave Franco as Jack Wilder, a sleight-of-hand illusionist.

They each receive mysterious call cards inviting them to a meeting. When they show up, they meet as a group for the first time and are presented with a mysterious plan that sets them on a path to take money from the rich and give it to the poor.

In the mix is FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo), who teams up with an Interpol agent to chase the crew all over the place, trying to catch them in the act. Then there’s Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), a know-it-all former magician who has devoted his life to exposing the secrets behind the great magic tricks that leave us all in awe.

Now You See Me boasts an ensemble cast that will keep you glued from start to finish. Michael Caine plays Arthur Tressler, the wealthy insurance company owner, with masterful precision. Morgan Freeman also makes his presence felt as the annoying, unfulfilled magician.

But the man who stole the show for me was Mark Ruffalo. I’ll be honest—I’ve seen Mark in many films, but this is the first time I truly appreciated him as an actor. His portrayal of the Hulk in The Avengers was mostly overshadowed by the fact that the CGI Hulk was more fun to watch than Bruce Banner.

Go see Now You See Me—and don’t delay.

The Smurfs 2 (2013)

The Smurfs 2 (2013)

4/10

Starring

Neil Patrick Harris

Brendan Gleeson

Jayma Mays

Katy Perry

Directed by Raja Gosnell

First things first: any Smurfs movie is for kids. As an adult, the tendency to hate it will likely overwhelm your desire to like it. From a misguided kidnapping to wasteful one-liners, this is a movie for kids to watch when there’s nothing better on.

After seeing the first Smurfs movie, I promised myself I wouldn’t watch the second one. But when a friend waved the DVD in front of me, I thought, “What the heck—it can’t be as bad as the first.” And it truly wasn’t. While I wouldn’t recommend this movie in my sleep, I have to admit it’s miles better than its predecessor.

For one thing, the whole “Smurf this” and “Smurf that” was toned down (a welcome change), and the “La La” song wasn’t overused to the point of drowning me like it was in the first movie.

Also worth noting is the major improvement in the performance of the evil Gargamel (Hank Azaria). In the first movie, I felt his acting was the worst I’d seen that year, but in this sequel, his performance was redefined. Plus, we get to see other Smurfs involved in another rescue mission, this time to save a Smurf who got stuck in no man’s land.

This time, Smurfette is kidnapped by Gargamel, who wants to trick her into giving him the secret formula to turn his new creations into real Smurfs. Since the last movie, Gargamel has become a popular magician and has enlisted some help for his new plan for world domination.

He’s created two new Smurf-like creatures and wants to turn them into full Smurfs so he can extract their “Smurfness.” Remember, Smurfette was originally created by Gargamel himself until Papa Smurf turned her into a real Smurf. Now, Gargamel wants to turn her back to her naughty roots.

Another welcome change is the reduced presence of human characters, giving more room to appreciate the animation, which was top-notch. I have to give Sony a pat on the back for that.

The downside? It’s still a movie about Smurfs. I still find it hard to fully like this movie—I just can’t. But who am I to stop anyone from seeing it? There will be people out there, who will find the animation and characters sweet and were probably looking forward to seeing this sequel.

But for me, I will say watch at your own risk, though—I can’t vouch for it.