Showing posts with label Isla Fisher. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Isla Fisher. Show all posts
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Now You See Me (M)
THE CLOSER you look, the less you see. A concept that plays on the perception we read too much into a situation, overthinking unnecessarily to solve a problem. It’s an interesting analogy applicable to many things in life, and as a running motif in this film from Louis Letterier becomes something of an epiphany.
The mystery of the unknown is something that enraptures humans as we believe there is something greater than our own existence. Much of that curiosity is satisfied in the simplest of ways by people who try to make us believe they can dance on the rope between what is real and fantastical.
We really want to reassure ourselves these people are the real deal. And some do take their act to a heightened level for your amazement. But there are those who exploit people for their own benefit, or perhaps for what they think is the greater good.
Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg), Merritt (Woody Harrelson), Henley (Isla Fisher) and Jack (Dave Franco) don’t know what their greater good is. But from their work as street performers, they know believing is their best chance at success.
A year after they were brought together by an unknown enterprise, their game has reached Las Vegas as quartet The Four Horsemen. In front of a live audience at their first show, they rob the regular local bank of a Parisian tourist.
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| Photo: thedailycougar.com |
The smart script by writers Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin and Edward Ricourt continually raises doubt about who is trustworthy. Everyone is being played in the game of perfecting the big crime, just as when we watch a trick.
The story moves quickly as the team progress with their plan and the authorities fall behind in their attempts to catch them. It’s no surprise really, when they have, as they say, nothing up their sleeve to battle the likes of these guys.
Why the Four Horsemen do what they do is not explained as the plot thickens, and you can’t help but question whether their leap of faith is out of desperation. There are small instances where their bond from completing the task is evident, but otherwise the team come across as smooth operators.
Eisenberg plays the cunning ringleader with attitude similar to that in his breakthrough role in The Social Network. Harrelson is amusing as a mentalist with a bit of cheek, while Fisher and Franco are somewhat relegated to taking a backseat. Ruffalo has the most to contend with as Dylan faces opposition, uncertainty and unexpected romance.
Letterier presents the story well, handling the twists in the script with deft care. The magic continues to the final act, where all is neatly revealed. Or is it?
Rating: 3.5/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) and Rotten Tomatoes from Saturday 10/8/2013
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEW? See what I thought of The World's End.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Rise of the Guardians 2D (PG)
LORE to a child is one of the most prominent bases ((plural of basis)) of believing in life. While Santa Claus and the Easter bunny may be linked to religious occasions others like the tooth fairy are still just as revered by children. Yes, they might be inadvertently bribed by the promise of riches for that one, but the intent remains the same.
So where then does Jack Frost fit in? A relative loner who wanders around the world creating cold weather, he’s not often a storytime favourite or really at the hearts of most children. To base him as the central character for this kid-friendly venture is risky, but the support of the perennial favourites promotes a universal idea that everyone deserves to be seen.
Being known and cared about is something that Jack Frost (Chris Pine) is desperate for. Here he’s portrayed as a teenager, using his days to observe children while wishing he could play games himself and have a real purpose.
His true calling comes soon enough when the man in the moon appoints him as the fifth guardian of the world’s children, joining North (Alec Baldwin), Bunny (Hugh Jackman), Tooth (Isla Fisher) and the Sandman.
Jack Frost’s appointment is a response to the imminent threat of Pitch Black (Jude Law) – the Boogieman, who is staging a coup and taking the happiness and safety away from children to replace it with fear and nightmares.
It’s a scary world to see the lights of Earth go out, and it fast becomes a dire situation for the guardians. Jack Frost is a lost soul as he begins his crusade with them, still unsure of his place.
There’s some tension with Bunny that gets him going, but Jack Frost takes time to settle into his newfound position. Chris Pine voices him with slight frustration and wrangled tension, a teenager unsure of his place and whether he can shoulder some of his new responsibility.
In his directorial debut Peter Ramsey uses the content of William Joyce’s The Guardians of Childhood in a fun manner as Baldwin, Fisher and Jackman get their crazy on with some varied portrayals of the guardian poster kids.
Scarier elements will take adults as captive as the children, Law holding a subtle dominance as the baddie amid seamless animation that draws you in. Also in cinemas in 3D, the film holds true with a moral message to believe in bigger things. Nice for the kiddies, still a fun watch for their guardians.
Rating: 3.5/5
*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 15/12/2012
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The Nutty Professor (1963)***
Anyone from Generation Y is likely to know the story of one nutty professor through Eddie Murphy from the mid-90s, but true credit for this story of multiple personalities falls squarely on the shoulders of Jerry Lewis.
Of course, he was inspired by works of the horror genre before him to concoct the story of university professor/scientist Julius Kelp, buck-toothed and the scapegoat for everyone’s jokes. Only Stella (Stella Stevens) has respect for her teacher, and he in turn is revealed to have hidden feelings for her.
Kelp’s frustration at being unaccepted culminates in a potion that turns him into Buddy Love, a good-looking, smooth and talented alter-ego. But his hopes at gaining Stella’s affections turn sour as he can’t stop himself from being one of cinema’s most arrogant characters, not to mention the effects taking the potion is having on him.
As Julius, Lewis is as whiny as a spoilt five-year-old, but for some will still manage to delight with his wise-cracks; alter-ego Buddy is irritating enough to make you wonder just why Stella sticks around. But Lewis gels it together nicely to create an ending unexpectedly sad, metaphorically speaking out for all those who are bullied, young and old, as he realises his lesson.
MISSED LAST WEEK'S REVIEWS? See what I thought of Pitch Perfect and A Nightmare On Elm Street.
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