Review: "Now You See Me"

The belief in magic is, I imagine, looked down upon by many. If you're a child, the tricks performed by illusionists are puzzling, intriguing and entertaining. To be completely fooled as a kid is ok. Once you reach a certain age, it's assumed that you've matured a bit. You understand the truth about Santa, accept that Pro Wrestling is a show, and hopefully, appreciate magic on the showmanship level only.

In Now You See Me, a magician actually points out the foolishness of charging him with a particular crime. To do so would be admitting that magic is "real". Another character accepts that what she sees are just tricks, but enjoys the feeling she gets from them. She speaks of having a little faith in the unbelievable, and being a more tolerable person because of it. A professional trickster that calls you stupid for thinking what he does is real and an adult woman who just goes along with the tricks despite knowing that they're just tricks. What was it that Obi Wan Kenobi said about fools?

The crime I mentioned above was part of a Las Vegas stage performance. Calling themselves The Four Horsemen, these four (of course) showmen play out a trick where they transport a man to a European bank, and have him rob a safe. The FBI and Interpol investigate, but are always just a few steps behind this crew. Are they modern day Robin Hoods, or is there something more to their act?

Well, that something more is the trick (or twist) the movie has up its sleeve. A very short sleeve. I don't mean that the finale is easy and cheap but that the whole story is. The way the tricks unfold are implausible and kinda dumb for a popular magic act to achieve. They go to lengths like hypnotizing a man days in advance, switching out real money with flash paper and guessing that an entire audience were victims of an insurance company. Sure, I get it that the performances are just a cover for what they're "really" doing, but what they're "really" doing is "really" not clever. 

Jesse Eisenberg plays one of the Four Horsemen, in what I would call the best acting of the movie (the neurotic tendencies I would expect from him are swapped for confidence and flash). He regularly says that the closer you look, the easier it is to trick you. When a character is seemingly trapped in a car chase on a bridge, we see how the crew pulled off his escape. And it's something straight out of the Fast & Furious mentality. What worked in a movie that could care less about smarts, doesn't work in a movie that depends on you believing it's smart.

This must be similar to the problems people have with the new Star Trek movies. Every personality and theme from the original shows and films are heightened to almost extreme lengths. Whatever subtlety there used to be is gone. Nothing is subtle about Now You See Me, which would be ok (it IS a movie about flashy stage performers pulling off heists) if the tricks played out in and by the story hadn't been delivered in a Happy Meal. 

Now I remember; "Who's the more foolish, the fool, or the fool who follows him?" Fun razzle dazzle is fine and all, but only if you don't ask questions. When I was a kid, I hardly ever accepted something without being a little inquisitive. And you know what? I grew up to like movies ranging from the thoughtful to the silly. You CAN have fun while being mature. No need to be a Toys R Us kid forever.

2/5 *s

@NOFS Review: "The Innkeepers"

The Innkeepers (film) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Have you ever been tricked into watching an internet video that scares you out of your seat? You know the kind; the description suggests a shocking event (girl gets kidnapped, a car accident, something supernatural, etc), but when played, you get a quiet and somewhat boring setting. Then…BAM! A monster or ghost bursts into the frame, screeching something horrific that almost pops your ear drums. This practical joke just about works every time.

“The Innkeepers” plays this scenario out in its first few minutes. The joke is played on Claire, a young front desk clerk at an old hotel, by her coworker Luke. The pair are working the hotel’s final weekend before closing, and are bored as all hell – though it’s suggested that they’re bored even under normal circumstances. They perform the daily tasks with a sigh, just waiting to get back to the only interesting thing about work; finding evidence of the ghost that is rumored to haunt the hotel.

The two leads remind me very much of Dante and Randal from “Clerks”. No, they’re not as vulgar, but they are equally stuck in life. While Luke seems a bit content with his position (much like Randal), Claire begins to realize that she has no aspirations outside of the hotel – what will she do with herself after the place shuts down in a few days?

Almost as a way to find the answers to her own existence, Claire seeks out the ghost that too is stuck in the hotel. She doesn’t really have a goal in terms of freeing the spirit or anything like that; I think she just wants to know it’s there. Maybe to reassure herself that she’s not alone? Maybe to just have a cool story to tell? 

Much like the video that tricked Claire, the movie is more fun and whimsical than scary and creepy. Yes, there are a few scare moments, but, in the end, you’re left with a smile instead of a nightmare.

It’s funny to me how two thirds of “The Innkeepers” reminds me of a movie like “Waiting…” minus the toilet humor, but one thirds feels like the more suspenseful moments of “Shutter Island”. I can’t say this is a horror film, but it does have it’s moments – the real terror isn’t that there IS a ghost, but that there MIGHT be a ghost. That, and is working a dead end job better than working amongst the dead?

"The Innkeepers", presented by the New Orleans Film Society, will be playing at Chalmette Movies from March 25th to March 27th.  

3/5 *'s