vinyarb

I was so stoked to see “Now You See Me”. Just think about it. A heist thriller, only with magicians planning the heists with cool sleight of hands and outlandish trickery!

And look at the cast! Jesse I’m CEO, Bitch! Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman! There’s even James Franco’s brother!

There was just so much going for it. Well, I guess it’s true that expectations inevitably kills satisfaction.

Four independent magicians, via a secret mysterious tarot card invitation, convene and form a collective group known as “The Four Horsemen”. After getting funding from insurance magnate Michael Caine, they open their show in Vegas.

For the finale of their opening show, they invite a member of the audience to help them “rob a bank”. He is teleported to a bank in Paris, activates an airduct, and the money is transported through the airduct out onto audiences in Vegas.

Voila! A Pepsi can! Which will play a crucial plot point in World War Z!

Following the show, FBI agent Mark Ruffalo was assigned to investigate the case. They had no evidence of theft, and had no choice but to free the horsemen. Mark Ruffalo then goes to seek the help of magic debunker Morgan Freeman to help explain their tricks in order to try and catch them in the act for their next show.

As can be expected of a game of cat and mouse, the cat is always a step behind, while the horsemen go through their acts. What is the ultimate play for the Horsemen? Who is the mysterious fifth horsemen, if you will?

Will the horsemen succeed in pulling off their final show, and reveal the end-game?

They do and it is, but The Prestige this is not.

At the end of the day, after all the smoke and mirrors have dissipated, you find that all you’re left with, is a dull fake thumb.

Rating: 4/10

With 2 terrorist attacks White House movies out within 3 months of each other, there’s bound to be lots of comparison between them both.

The premise for both films are very similar as well. The White House is compromised after a complex terrorist attack disables the defense system and holds the President hostage. It is up to one man to fight back and rescue the most important person in the world!

Olympus has Fallen consists of a more serious looking cast, with Aaron Eckhart playing the President, and Gerard Butler the one-man army. White House Down has Channing Tatum playing the hero, with Jamie Foxx as the POTUS.

Olympus has the more impressive action sequences, while WHD has the lighter, comedic touches that makes the film easier to sit through.

Pity, I think if both movies were mashed up, the result would have been one better, tighter film, rather than two very average actioners.

If push comes to shove, I’d say I enjoyed White House Down slightly more because it has more heart.

Also, Channing has a bigger.. gun.

Rating: 5/10