Now You See Me & This Is the End

Now You See Me

A perfect summer release, with equal parts suspense and fun.

Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco play a group of spunky magicians-turned-heist professionals under the close watch of an FBI official (Mark Ruffalo) and an ex-magician out to serve justice and disprove their tricks (Morgan Freeman).

Too much more would make for a spoiler, but it is certainly worth a watch if you can catch it in theaters or when it makes it to your movie rental platform/store.   


  
This Is the End

Actors playing themselves in a comedy about the end of the world.  Sounds awesome, right?

Think again.  For a potentially tasteless movie, this brought tasteless to a new level.

It wasn't all bad though.  It featured some really great cameos of celebrities that aren't usually known for their comedic work.

It had some really funny parts, but it ended up feeling like a chore to watch after a while with a great deal of forced humor.   

If you want to see it, I'd wait until it hits Redbox.






(The featured artwork is not my property.)


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Upcoming Review

World War Z

Man of Steel

Artwork property of WB Pictures

I will admit, prior to watching Man of Steel, I had mixed feelings.  On one hand, the casting was amazing (Amy Adams as Lois Lane, that's positively brilliant), but I had been disappointed when comparing DC to Marvel; it felt like a case of gloom vs. fun.

If you have skepticism about spending the money to see Man of Steel, you shouldn't.  It is one of the best made superhero films I have ever seen (and trust me, I've seen my fare share of the recent ones).  As I like to describe him, Superman (Clark Kent/Kal-El), is the perfect combination of Thor and Captain America...an attractive guy from a far away planet with a first-class dad and a passion for doing the right thing without killing everyone (not to mention his color scheme being quite similar to CA).

This film was a great way to start re-telling the story of Superman.  It provides a phenomenal back-story and evolution of his character that really allow any viewer to become fully involved in the hero's story.

As I mentioned earlier, the casting of this film was one of it's most memorable features.  There could be no better actress to play momma Martha Kent than Diane Lane, while Russell Crowe shines in the role of Jor-El (biological father of our beloved superhero).

To rave a bit more about my new big-screen favorite, the action scenes do not disappoint.  It is a fear of mine that action will get out of hand and detract from the value of the story of a film (looking at you Transformers 3).  With this newest portrayal of the Superman story, there is a successful balance of heart-pumping action with real cause for building smashing.

[Try it, you'll like it.]



Thank you for reading! 

Upcoming Reviews

Now You See Me

This Is the End

 

Man of Steel

Epic & The Hangover Part III

Epic
This film was animation gold! Featuring the voice acting of Colin Farrell,  Josh Hutcherson,  Beyoncé Knowles, Jason Sudeikis, Christoph Waltz, Amanda Seyfried, and so many more, the vision and message of this film was about as close to perfect is possible with a 102 minute runtime.  

It was fun, thoughtful, stunningly beautiful, and captured a message that is pertinent in today's society: that it's essential to embrace and protect all of the natural wonders of the world while they still exist.  

If you are looking to walk away from the theater feeling like you spent your money and your afternoon wisely, this would be great for you. 


The Hangover Part III
Few actors can tackle drug-and-alcohol-related humor with the ease and entertaining qualities that Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Bradley Cooper, and Ken Jeong bring to the table.  

I will be blunt here: It was better than the second but disappointingly not as good as the first.  As a third and final installment of the Hangover film trilogy, I was expecting more from the cast, stunts, and insane plot twists.  

It was okay, but not great.  For this one, I'd suggest saving your money and waiting until you can watch it on your couch.  



As always, thank you for reading!