Now You See Me (2013)

4/5

Now You See Me is a deliciously devious con/heist movie with an engaging cast of characters and compelling story. A group of four magicians (Eisenberg, Harrelson, Fisher, Franco) are brought together by a mysterious stranger to perform a series of grand illusions, with the ultimate goal of Robin Hood-esque bank-robbing. A local cop (Ruffalo) and Interpol officer (Laurent) chase after them, wondering the whole time what their true motives are. And what their final act will be.

What makes this movie so fun is the sense of wonder you get watching the actors perform. The movie is not so much about magic as it is about deception, manipulation, and subverting expectations. You don't really concern yourself with how the illusions were performed--instead you find yourself focusing on the misdirection and the acting. Eisenberg delivers arrogance to perfection (only to be outdone by Freeman's know-it-all cockiness). Franco endears with his youthful charm and innocence, making him the most sympathetic character in the whole movie.

Now You See Me is riveting from beginning to end, thanks to a well-crafted story and well-paced editing. But the film ultimately fails in the finale. The big reveal at the end is terribly unsatisfying. Quite frankly, the twist just doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Yes, it is possible for everything to be explained as it was, but it is fantastically absurd and illogical. It feels as if it were written in an effort to confuse and surprise the audience, not in an effort to be true to the world it creates. But, strangely enough, none of that changes my enjoyment of the film. It is still eminently watchable and utterly delightful.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1670345/

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

4/5

Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds is a stunning film, but it is by no means Tarantino's best. The story follows several tracks that all converge on one night for the premiere of a German propaganda film called Nation's Pride (fake trailer here). The first track is that of a group of merciless Jewish Nazi-killers known as The Basterds, led by Lt. Aldo Raine (Pitt). The second and third tracks concern a young Jewish girl named Shosanna (Laurent), who just barely escapes with her life after SS Col. Hans Landa (Waltz) kills her entire family. There are a few more tracks involving actors and actresses and translators and Hitler as the movie closes in on its explosive finale, but I'll leave that to you to experience when you watch it.

One thing that really irked me was that the intro credits, the musical style, and even the chapter narrative structure are all straight-up stolen from, or at least strongly reminiscent of, Tarantino's last stand-alone project, Kill Bill. The problem is that those aspects weren't even the best part about Kill Bill, which leads me to believe he's running out of creativity. For example, the Samuel L. Jackson narration, which probably seems cool on paper, ultimately feels empty on screen (mostly because he has nothing important to say). Also, while better than most movies, the dialogue in Inglourious Basterds isn't as luscious as I know he's capable of, and I feel the replay value will probably suffer as a result. Despite these disappointments, Tarantino is effective at building tension from simple situations and maintaining it over a 2.5 hour movie through stellar cinematography, lighting, and editing, which are all up to his usual exquisite form. I definitely recommend this movie to Tarantino fans, just understand that there's nothing revolutionary about it. In fact, it sits rather low on my ranking of Tarantino films. But it's still a quality film that's worth watching.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361748/