Year: 2013
Genre: Heist thriller
Director: Loius Leterrier
Plot: Four David Blaine wannabes execute a series of heists while being pursued by a determined FBI agent.
The gist: Have you ever seen a heist movie where the thieves don't succeed? No? Well, me neither. Now You See Me does not change that unfortunately.
Did I just give away the ending? No, there are still a few twists here and there. I only wish it were interesting enough to make this film worth watching.
So we have four street magicians who each can do what David Blaine does so well (and better I might add) being recruited by a mysterious person to carry out high stakes robberies. A no-nonsense FBI agent teams up with an Interpol agent to catch them with the help of a magic debunker.
The problem here is most of the characters are either poorly written or not likable enough, with only Woody Harrelson's mentalist and Mark Ruffalo's FBI agent standing out. Louis Leterrier films the whole thing at such breakneck speed, the audience doesn't even get to enjoy or fathom completely what's going on before he moves to the next point, and the next, and so forth.
The twist itself is weak and overall makes little sense to what we just saw beforehand, at least for me it was.
The good: As mentioned, Ruffalo and Harrelson stand out. There's a decent car chase scene in the middle portion of the film. Melanie Laurent is all right as the Interpol agent but isn't given much to work with.
The bad: Jesse Eisenberg plays the Mark Zuckerberg version of David Blaine. Boring. Isla Fisher and Dave Franco are wasted. Michael Caine was wasted even more. Morgan Freeman was given a role much lower than what he's capable of. Someone a little younger would have been more suitable. And as above, the too quick pace, the lame twist, poor characters etc.
Verdict: Now You See Me trips over itself trying to be smart, and doesn't really offer anything new when it comes to heist films. Any excitement it generated vanished faster than the money the Blaine copycats stole. Skip this. (2.5/5)
Year: 2013
Genre: Comedy
Director: Seth Gordon
Plot: A man loses his identity after getting duped into giving his personal information to a female stranger over the phone, and must find her to reclaim his life and job.
The gist: Identity Thief is a lot like Due Date, as in it's a road trip comedy pairing off two people who have nothing in common, and they have to get somewhere. In this case, Jason Bateman is the poor sap who was stupid enough to give up his personal details to Melissa McCarthy over the phone.
She takes control of his credit cards and starts a spending spree, so he locates her and tries to get her back to his city across state lines so that she can face justice and he gets his life back. Predictably, this is where the two would normally get into various shenanigans and bond over their pasts etc, as most road trip comedies do. Problem is, it's just not funny.
Seth Gordon tries his best to throw the duo into all sorts of supposedly funny situations, but most of them don't stick. If you think watching a fat cowboy take his pants off or finding a snake crawl up someone's jeans or watching someone rub McCarthy's legs while she pretends to have a cramp is funny, then go see this. I didn't think it was funny.
The good: Bateman and McCarthy at the very least work well off each other, the former as the straight and honest guy and the latter as the conwoman with a sad past.
The bad: As stated, it's not as funny as it could have been. The potential was there, but mostly wasted.
Verdict: It doesn't quite work as a comedy, despite the leads' best efforts. Pass on this. (2.5/5)
Year: 2013
Genre: Crime thriller
Director: Danny Boyle
Plot: An art auctioneer helps a band of thieves steal an expensive painting, but after an altercation with their leader, he can't remember where he hid it. They seek out a hypnotherapist to help him remember, with deadly consequences.
The gist: If I had to compare Trance to any film, I would name The Prestige or Side Effects, because they all share the same quality, which is fooling you into thinking you'll know how it ends, but you don't.
James McAvoy plays Simon, an art auctioneer who helps a band of thieves led by Franck (Vincent Cassel) steal a very valuable painting, but after he gets his head knocked, Simon forgets what happened to the painting. So they seek out a hypnotherapist, Elizabeth (Rosario Dawson) to help jog his memory. As she continues to work, secrets come to the surface and distrust starts to build, and nothing is what it seems.
Danny Boyle does a great job putting the film together, using good camerawork throughout and cleverly blurs the screen a bit when any character is in hypnosis or dreaming, giving the audience a first person look into their minds. However, despite the many surprises, Boyle's direction does suffer a bit from a few inconsistencies, like Simon narrating the situation in the opening sequence, but at the end of the film it turns out that it's not really his perspective that matters the most. Maybe this is in line with the above mentioned "fooling" technique, but it is rather strange.
The good: McAvoy is great as Simon, showing a side of him I've rarely seen. He just gets better with every film. Cassel is also good, playing a guy who isn't the exact same bad guy he's known for. Also the above mentioned camerawork, direction and plot.
The bad: As good as Rosario Dawson was, I think the film would have benefited from someone who can look vulnerable and dangerous at the same time, and Dawson seems to fit the former more than the latter.
Verdict: A smart thriller overall. A little rough around the edges but worth checking out. (3.5/5)
Year: 2013
Genre: Drama thriller
Director: Eric Heisserer
Plot: A father desperately attempts to keep his newborn baby alive during Hurricane Katrina.
The gist: This was one of Paul Walker's last films before his untimely death recently. It's good to note that unlike his buddy Vin Diesel, he does attempt to try other genres outside of his Fast & Furious series.
Hours stars Walker as Nolan, a man whose wife dies after giving birth to their daughter, who is five weeks too early and has to be put into an incubator until she can breathe on her own. Unfortunately for him, Hurricane Katrina blows in and takes out the power, forcing Nolan to find ways to keep his daughter alive as the entire hospital evacuates.
His only hope is a manual generator which he connects to the incubator, and he has to spin it every 3 minutes or so to keep it going. In between, Nolan tries to find help or connect with his daughter, or recall memories of his late wife.
I like the story here, kudos to writer and director Eric Heisserer for coming up with it. It's a different take on films like 127 Hours and Cast Away, where a singular character carries most of the film alone. The cinematography is also commendable.
The good: Walker does great work here as Nolan. He basically has to act by himself a lot here, and he's solid in the role. I would have loved to see him do more roles like this, it's unfortunate that he's no longer around.
The bad: Heisserer's script needs a bit more work, as it goes against logic several times in deliberately giving Nolan obstacle after obstacle to overcome. The most obvious one would be Nolan trying to get a backup generator in a flooded room working, while having to go back to the incubator to charge it every 3 minutes. The story improves when the looters show up in the third act, but it's not enough to cover this weakness up. The ending is also rather predictable, making the film look like a TV movie.
Verdict: It's a decent drama to be honest, and Paul Walker does a great job here. But it could have been better with a smarter script. (3/5)
Year: 2013
Genre: Suspense thriller
Director: Brad Anderson
Plot: A 911 operator attempts to save a kidnapped girl's life when she receives her call, and eventually realises the culprit is someone from her past.
The gist: WWE Studios usually puts out crappy films starring one of their wrestlers, but it's nice to note that this one isn't too bad. Of course, it helps that Halle Berry is in it.
Berry plays a 911 operator who inadvertently causes a break-in victim's life and resorts to training rookie operators until one day, a kidnap victim calls the centre and she tries her best to help. She eventually discovers the kidnapper is the same man who killed the break-in victim earlier.
Credit should be given to Brad Anderson for successfully keeping the audience on the edge of their seats for most of the film's running time. Kudos also to the filmmakers for authentically presenting the world in the 911 operating centre, also known as The Hive. It's truly fascinating watching how operators handle multiple crises with ease.
The good: Halle Berry excels in the role of Jordan, the 911 operator who is determined to save the victim, and portrays her tension in true convincing fashion. Abigail Breslin is also solid as Casey, the kidnap victim, though she screams and sobs a tad too much at times.
The bad: A huge suspension of disbelief is required for the last 15 minutes of the film, when Jordan literally goes from being a 911 operator to a detective. And that ending is especially over the top.
Verdict: Despite its unbelievable final 15 minutes, The Call is mostly entertaining. Something you can take a look at if you have 90 minutes to spare. (3.5/5)
Year: 2013
Genre: Crime thriller
Director: Ruben Fleischer
Plot: In 1949 Los Angeles, a group of cops join forces to take down crime boss Mickey Cohen, off the record.
The gist: Based on the talent involved, this one had a lot of potential. The success of this film was surely hampered by the Aurora theater shooting, but partly also because said potential was wasted by the filmmakers.
Director Ruben Fleischer at least does a decent job with the action sequences, the best being the final fight at the film's climax. But he moves the film too fast for the most part, editing heavily on many scenes till the emotional impact and plot continuity gets lost.
It also doesn't help that the script suffers from some pretty bad lines. Sean Penn's Mickey Cohen actually gets to say "Here comes Santa Claus!" right before engaging in a firefight.
I felt that if they put more focus on the relationship between the squad members and less on Ryan Gosling's relationship with Emma Stone, the film would be so much better.
The good: Josh Brolin and Ryan Gosling make good leading men, if only they had formed a memorable partnership in the film, that would be awesome. Mireille Enos also deserves mention as Brolin's wife, she was good. Kudos also to costume and set design that made the era look authentic on screen.
The bad: The script, as mentioned. Sean Penn was too over the top as Mickey Cohen (why does he have to kill or beat somebody whenever he gets angry?). Despite all the time spent on Gosling's affair with Stone, it still feels superficial.
Verdict: It's a decent retro crime flick which could have been as good as The Untouchables, but wasted all its potential. (3/5)
Year: 2013
Genre: Horror, sci-fi
Director: Jeff Renfroe
Plot: After a malfunctioning weather machine plunges the world into an ice age, underground colonies are built by the remaining survivors. When Colony 5 sends a distress signal, the leader of Colony 7 decides to respond by going there with a small team, only to discover a group of cannibals have taken over.
The gist: It's funny that I had watched this just 12 hours before I saw Snowpiercer, as the similarities are obvious. But The Colony is a horror flick, which is the main difference.
Unfortunately, this film doesn't even come close to being as good as Snowpiercer. Director and co-writer Jeff Renfroe shamelessly borrows ideas from other similar flicks such as 28 Days Later, 30 Days Of Night and more importantly, Aliens. The casting of Bill Paxton is a clear homage to that.
Thing is, borrowing ideas from other films isn't too bad if they can work, but Renfroe doesn't even try to make the best use of them. He merely touches on certain elements like survival of the fittest, leadership, tragic pasts and the possibility of a safe haven elsewhere, but doesn't follow up on them.
His pacing and story telling is also way off as he spends the first 45 minutes or so setting up his plot, which is half the film, then rushes to end it in the final third, with a ending that makes you go "That's it?".
The good: Kevin Zegers is all right as lead protagonist Sam, with Charlotte Sullivan providing some eye candy as his love interest. At least the rest of the cast, including veterans like Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton, are decent enough with what they're given.
The bad: The script and overall direction, which totally wasted the acting talent involved. The CGI snow was kinda bad since the fakeness was rather obvious. And as mentioned, lack of originality.
Verdict: A bad film that wasted every potential it had. Skip this and watch Snowpiercer. (2.5/5)
