Now You See Me …and…

June 10, 2013 by Usha Pisharody 6 Comments

… hold your breath; Now You Do. 🙂 Okay, I got you thinking it was going to be a movie review, right? Right. It is. 😛 Except this is what I’d call the usual Non Review I do. The disclaimer I usually add too, should be in place. But since it’s exhausting, for you (and me :D), not to mention boring (for you, definitely 😛 ), to read it with each of those movie/book posts I do, appearing to cringe for my lack of knowledge of technicalities, and doing the right-brain leave-logic-out-of-it thingy, I shall add it to my sidebar. Soon. Till then, you’ll have to refer to the disclaimer from this link, from my previous “review post” (link).

0920 Hrs, on a workday, there I was with Neeti and Kiran, watching, for the very first time in my life, the first day first show of a film. Now You See Me.

Now You See Me is one movie I thoroughly enjoyed. There. In a nutshell, my review is done 🙂 But then, the child in me, that was entertained wants to tell you more, and even the spoiler, of the twist in the tale, in the tail 😀 (But, of course, I won’t ) And that’s what you get with Magicians, Illusionists, a dark history, a cult that appeals to the trickster, Detectives, Interpol, and of course, let us not forget, the Money from Bank Heists showering down upon an unsuspecting audience 🙂

Reviews in newspapers and IMBD would perhaps deflect your attention toward cliches reworked and non-existent storyline, and the usual yada yada… 🙂 I’ve never gone with reviews, thankfully, perhaps because the movie-goer that I am is basically a child, a wide-eyed child, who still has a bit of wonder left. So, the next question forming in your mind is whether I like ALL the films I see. I don’t. But I’m fascinated nonetheless, with each effort. Not very discriminating, right? Right, again. You still want to read? 😆

“The closer you look, the less you’ll see”, is the tagline. And, for most part, you try to delve too deeply, and double guess, I guess you’ll be rather disappointed. I was taken for a ride, and I enjoyed it very much, thank you. Yes, I’ve already said that. But the bonanza of some marvellous special effects that help to create the magic, and the fast paced dialogues add to the charm. Let your imagination take over.

The Four Horsemen, as the individual Magicians call themselves, after they form a sort of show, with Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) as their backer, have different skill sets, and are as different from each other as is possible. Three men and one woman. A card specialist (Jessie Eisenberg, of the Social Network fame), a Mentalist (Woody Harrelson, who I thought of only as a villain, 😛 ),the Lady Houdini ( Isla Fisher 🙂 )  and the one with the fastest hand (Dave Franco) – these people are brought together by a hooded watcher who delivers tarot cards, a time, and a location for them to meet. The Tarot Cards show ‘Love’, ‘ The Hermit’, ‘The High Priestess’ and ‘Death’.

A year later, they have an act. And the first (?) of them involves a heist, at a French Bank; the money of which showers down on an unsuspecting audience. In the ensuing scramble, and the discovery of the robbery, daylight, public robbery, the police get involved, and also a charming French Detective. Dylan Hobbs (Mark Ruffalo – Hulk, from The Avengers 😀  How I loved him!!! 😀 ), and Alma Vargas (Melanie Laurent -the young Shoshana from ‘Inglorious Bastards’ ) are investigating; also, constantly hovering is Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) , the one man who wants to expose these Illusionists for what they are. That’s his speciality. (Thank you Google, for giving me the cast, and the characters’ names :D)

The four are investigated, and interrogated, of course, and this forms a really witty part of the film. Not having any evidence of their involvement in what happened a continent away, they are free to go. But followed and watched, all the time! Obvio!! 😛 (that’s the YJHD effect 😛 )

Cut to a brief glimpse of Thaddeus’ oeuvre – how he has built himself up as the one man who will show the public what a lot of fools they are to believe in what they see. But then, Ah! The Closer you look, the less you see!’ Irony strikes here. We’re told of a certain Lionel Shirke who tried to comeback, after being exposed by Thaddeus, but sadly was never seen again, after being lowered into the river in a safe in which he locked himself, from which he was to emerge, unscathed. It’s moment we come back to time and again, for now we know that the Four Horsemen have a Fifth, and we wonder, and we wonder, at who it could be.

The second show they put up, reveals more. The police are ready to arrest them in case of any attempt to break the law, rob, whachumacallit. And they do. In style. In front of the whole jingbanglot. 😀 Cool.

Now, of course, they’re wanted, hunted, and… on the run. Obvio. 😛 So who gets who? And how are they caught? The Fifth Horseman? Is that an Illusion too?

For a fun evening, when you willingly suspend disbelief, go and watch this. I liked the racy pace, and found the cult-thing a bit confusing; but what I liked the most was that even though some tricks were explained, most of the inferring of the whodunnit, and whowasitreally is left to us. 😀 I remember talking of it, way way into our drive home from Q Cinemas, with Neeti and Kiran.

What you have to believe is what happened next. 😀

The same day, we went for the next film. Another first. Watching two movies, back to back 😀 This time, it was ‘After Earth’. Manoj Night Shyamalan’s. Will Smith’s. Jaden Smith’s.  And we wondered, and wondered, long after, why the heck we had to watch it on the same day as the Magical Movie. 😀

Still ‘After Earth’ has its moments. There were actually times when I almost jumped out of my seat. The suspense pans well, on occasion. Will Smith is grim. Jaden Smith could act. He doesn’t really, in this film. 😛 But the locales are breathtaking. And the tagline is catchy. ‘Danger is Real. Fear is a Choice’ Plus a few other lines. It’s still a well made Sci Fi Film, about 1000 years after Earth has been abandoned, and all the creatures on Earth being now evolved into being that want to hurt humans.

Will Smith and Jaden are father and son in the film as well. (Obvio 😛 ) It’s about improving their relationship, while trying, at the same time, to learn to deal with fear. The sub-plots, I mean. I won’t spoil it further, with any more details. 🙂

But, just don’t see this on a day you’ve seen something really entertaining. 🙂

Till the next Non Review then.

My Recommendation? “Now You See Me” Definitely. “After Earth”, if you’re a Smiths’ Fan, and want to pass time 🙂

10 June, 2013
Pictures courtesy the innumerable ones on Google Search 😀