Magic is that unbelievably mysterious part of life that everyone wants to know about. Whether you are a skeptic or a believer magic will always leave you bewildered and wanting more. With so much hype around magic it is no secret that expectations for a film centered on the illusions of wonder would be so high. However, this hype did not scare Ed Solomon, Boaz Yakin, and Edward Ricourt from getting together and bringing the magic to the big screen. Summit, the same production company that brought us the Twilight saga, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and American Pie, gladly added this project as a notch in their belt.
An FBI agent and an Interpol detective must partner together to track a team of illusionists, publicly known as The Four Horsemen, who pull off heists during performances and reward their audiences with the money. J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), and Merritt McKinney (Woody Harrelson) make up the fiery quartet. The story follows the four of them as they go from solo acts to partners in crime. Each person receives a tarot card with directions on the back to an inner city apartment in New York. Later in the film it is revealed that this unknown source, from which they are getting all the instructions, is a secret organization called The Eye. After they receive these special blueprints the movie skips to a year later where you can see that success has become a big part of their lives. The performance that starts it all is the one where they rob a bank in France without leaving the stage in Las Vegas. This is when the FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) comes in. Rhodes is the typical overworked character who has seen his fair share of tragedies and the last thing he want...
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... the special effects or the action provided was the best I have ever seen but it flows really well with the story and that is something most movies cannot say. Everything in this film has a specific purpose and I think that is what sets it apart from the other magic films in the industry.
Overall I would say this film is well worth the money and time to watch it. One of the main things a movie must be is enjoyable and this movie is that. It provides an escape from real life where we are constantly searching for a problem into a world where the biggest problems are solved by magic. From beginning to end this movie will have your mind wandering and searching for every possible explanation for what you have just seen. With a fantastic cast, fun special effects and the twists that keep you on the edge of your seat this PG-13 film hits the market demand right on point.
The movie is set within a short space of time (almost real time) in which we see Four of the Six active members of a jewelry heist gone wrong dealing with the repercussions of their crimes. Amongst them is Mr. Orange, or, Undercover Cop Freddy Newendyke, as he’s revealed to be toward the end of the movie. He is the Undercover Cop, The Rat that everyone is talking about. Orange single handedly destroys their operation and essentially Joe Cabot’s criminals-for-hire business seeing as he died by gunshot in the end. However the operation costed Orange his life, or presumably so. That’s something I’ll get to later.
Movies produced by Disney are some of the highest grossing movies on the planet, and for a good reason. The characters are well developed, musical numbers are choreographed to a tee, and the animations (when there are any) are vibrant and realistic. Enchanted, released in 2007 (The Internet Movie Database), is no exception. What sets Enchanted apart from other princess movies of the genre, though, is the juxtaposition between Giselle, the fair maiden, and the “real world” she becomes immersed in, courtesy of the Evil Stepmother. Enchanted defies the “Disney princess” norms set by the industry by setting the film in the very-real New York City as opposed to a fictitious fairy-tale land.
Overall, this movie Cat O’ Nine Tails was not a very entertaining movie. The story was an interesting one to follow but the props and directing were subpar. The acting, however, was excellent and was the saving grace of this movie. I would not recommend this movie to anyone who is a regular moviegoer or who is a fan of Dario Argento because his directing is so bad. As a horror fan, this movie was an OK one.
With the help of superb editing, sound, mise en scene, and cinematography, this film cannot be topped. The fist scene of the movie creates an atmosphere that helps the viewer know that he/she will enjoy this wonderful classic. Throughout the movie there are surprises and fun that makes this a movie that people will want to watch again and again. Gene Kelly said it best when he said, "Dignity, always dignity. " That is what this movie has from beginning to end, dignity.
Therefore I will recommend it. I find the book enthralling, because of its underlying insurrectionary principle that just because someone announces their intentions and gets validation from other people, doesn’t mean you have to accept as right and you can contrast with their intentions and ideas. The reason I find the movie attractive and would recommend it is that of the nostalgic and euphoric feeling you may get as Walt Disney brings such a great book to life in Motion picture. That’s why I would recommend the book and movie known as Escape to Witch
was a spectacular film there were some things that I did not enjoy like, the
Faris, Wendy B. Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2004. 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. 21
Overall, the score was beautiful and appropriate, adding suspense and mystery at all the right times. The sound effects added psychological flavor to the story without drawing too much attention to it.
The book and the movie were both very good. The book took time to explain things like setting, people’s emotions, people’s traits, and important background information. There was no time for these explanations the movie. The book, however, had parts in the beginning where some readers could become flustered.
Equally, the film’s visual effects are stunning without being overwhelming or redundant. We do not see action sequences repeated from the first movie but fresh new twists that appear as visual candy. Many sequels simply mirror their predecessor in hopes of striking gold twice, only to fall short. Not so with X2. The filmmakers have taken what was essentially a good movie and built on its foundation to create a second movie, which is not just a flat reflection of the first, but a movie which can stand on its own.
Magic is the marvelous in reality. Everyday living is magic alone, trying to survive the rat race of today's society, yet the marvelous is there, too. Simpkins spoke of the marvelous, fantastic, and other things pertaining to magical realism (146). Simpkins states that magical realism appears to overcome the "limits" of realism (145).
In my own opinion I think this film is great. I think this because it
This quote essentially sums up the film that contains minimal special effects and an incredible plot that intrigues an audience to stay in their seats and watch a masterpiece.
Overall this film was exciting to watch and was good to help learn a little about the Elizabethan Era. Although the goriness is too much for someone who is sensitive to that kind of thing, you can still enjoy the movie. The costumes are eccentric, the set design is, although outdated, extremely detailed, and was a good movie if you were looking for something to watch and enjoyed a little bit of history in your life.
We have seen magic as a form of entertainment, from making someone disappear, to sawing a girl in half. But all great illusions have an explanation. “Magic, as we have seen, is about power- a seemingly magical power used and expressed by a skilled actor to create the illusion of miraculous happenings’. But the most mysterious part of magic is how these miraculous happenings are performed. The real power of magic lies within the native effects themselves (Blackstone, 117).