Now You See Me 2

For F*** Magazine

NOW YOU SEE ME 2

Director : Jon M. Chu
Cast : Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Lizzy Caplan, Mark Ruffalo, Jay Chou, Daniel Radcliffe, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Sanaa Lathan
Genre : Action/Adventure
Run Time : 2 hrs 10 mins
Opens : 16 June 2016
Rating : PG (Some Violence)

The Four Horsemen ride again with new tricks up their respective sleeves in the sequel to Now You See Me. It’s been a year since the events of the first film, and Daniel Atlas (Eisenberg), Merritt McKinney (Harrelson) and Jack Wilder (Franco) have been lying low, awaiting instructions from The Eye, the secret society into which they were inducted. FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Ruffalo) attempts to keep up the charade of pursuing the Horsemen while secretly leading them. Replacing Henley Reeves, who grew tired of waiting, is the enthusiastic Lula (Caplan). The Horsemen’s new mission is to expose the unethical practices of smartphone manufacturer Octa, but a spanner is thrown in the works by Walter Mabry (Radcliffe), Octa’s reclusive co-founder. The Horsemen find themselves in Macau, and must seek the help of magic shop proprietor Li (Chou) as Mabry forces them to pull off a nigh-impossible heist. In the meantime, both former benefactor Arthur Tressler (Caine) and magic debunker Thaddeus Bradley (Freeman) seek their vengeance on the Horsemen.

            Jon M. Chu replaces Louis Leterrier in the director’s chair for the second instalment of what studio Lionsgate is hoping shapes up to be their next big franchise. If the first film offered up flashy spectacle and a plot comprised of puzzle pieces that did not quite fit together in hindsight, Now You See Me 2 gives audiences more of the same. The screenplay by Ed Solomon ties itself into knots that do not untangle despite giving the appearance of doing so. This might seem like a film that imagines itself to be far smarter than it really is, but the more likely scenario is that the filmmakers are well aware that these movies will not hold up to scrutiny and that audiences will be content with revelling in the moment. Chu brings slickness and swagger to the proceedings that ever so slightly papers over the gaping plot holes. The director’s dance movie expertise is evident in several sequences that are elaborately choreographed, but ultimately more dizzying than dazzling.

            The first film’s greatest asset was its cast, comprising actors whose charisma and charm could almost rival that of Danny Ocean and his 11, if only the Four Horsemen weren’t outnumbered. Isla Fisher was unable to reprise the role of Henley Reeves due to her pregnancy, so Henley was written out and Lizzy Caplan steps in as new character Lula. The danger with these characters is that being showmen, they’re all egotistical and obnoxious to different degrees. Harrelson seems to be having twice as much fun as before, but comes across as irritating rather than actually funny. Atlas’ haughty, twitchy nature is something Eisenberg has no problems conveying, but Atlas has had to eat some humble pie since the events of the last film, and Eisenberg convincingly portrays that character development too. Caplan is a likeable performer, but her “over-eager new girl” shtick does also wear on the nerves after a while.

Rhodes’ charade is up and the audience knows that he is not only on the Horsemen’s side, but actively leading them. Ruffalo gives the role far more effort than it deserves, and his presence does elevate the material. Quite amusingly, Ruffalo becomes the latest Hollywood actor who has to pretend to be adept at speaking Mandarin Chinese. As the primary antagonist, Radcliffe isn’t exactly easy to buy as someone who would be able to run rings around the Horsemen. The actor has explored his darker side in other film and stage projects, but there’s supposed to be menace behind Walter’s smile, menace that Radcliffe is unable to muster.

It’s abundantly clear that Chou’s inclusion and the Macau setting merely serves to pander to Chinese audiences. Veteran actress Tsai Chin (not to be confused with the Taiwanese singer of the same name), who plays Li’s grandmother Bu Bu, is a far livelier screen presence than Chou. The film calls upon Caine and Freeman to provide gravitas while not doing very much at all, something the iconic actors do without breaking a sweat.

            Now You See Me 2 alternates between being supremely entertaining and frustrating. There’s glitz, glamour and eye candy effects work galore, but twist after twist after twist does not a truly engrossing thriller make. That’s the paradox: it does not hold up to close examination, yet invites audiences to do so. Ultimately, your enjoyment of Now You See Me 2 is contingent on just how willing you are to be taken on a ride. You’ll get bamboozled, but you just might have fun in the process.

Summary: Now You See Me 2 doesn’t make a lot of sense, but the first movie convinced general audiences that making sense isn’t the goal here. The goal is to entertain while misdirecting, and this has entertainment and misdirection in spades.

RATING: 3 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

For F*** Magazine

BATMAN V SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE 

Director : Zack Snyder

Cast : Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Jeremy Irons, Gal Gadot, Holly Hunter

Genre : Action/Adventure/Fantasy

Run Time : 2 hrs 32 mins

Opens : 24 March 2016

Rating : PG13 (Some Violence)

The following review is spoiler-free.

Superheroes collide with shattering force in the second film in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). It has been 18 months since Superman/Clark Kent’s (Cavill) battle with General Zod in Metropolis. Clark has moved in with fellow reporter Lois Lane (Adams), and Superman has gained both admirers and fervent detractors. Falling into the latter camp is Gotham City’s Batman/Bruce Wayne (Affleck), billionaire industrialist by day, ruthless vigilante by night. His butler Alfred (Irons) advises against taking rash action, but Batman is convinced that Superman’s power, if left unchecked, will lead to global annihilation. Also plotting to take down Superman, albeit for more selfish purposes, is young tech mogul Lex Luthor (Eisenberg). Luthor lobbies Kentucky senator June Finch (Hunter) to support his R&D efforts in developing a deterrent to use against Superman, while Finch calls for Superman to explain himself before the senate. In the meantime, Bruce’s curiosity is ignited by the presence of Wonder Woman/Diana Prince (Gadot), an elegant and capable warrior of yet-to-be-determined origin.

2013’s Man of Steel left critics and fans sharply divided, and it’s an understatement to say that this follow-up has quite the burden to bear. There’s no question that DC is playing catch-up to Marvel at the movies and there was the valid fear that Batman v Superman would be overstuffed to make up for lost ground. Batman v Superman does have apparent flaws, but a conscious effort is made to incorporate a substantive depth that the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) doesn’t yet possess, outside of Netflix anyway. Character motivations make plenty of sense, conflicts are given context, major disagreements are not conveniently settled and the main criticism of Man of Steel, the wanton destruction caused or at least enabled by Superman, is directly addressed. Characters wax philosophical on the nature of god and man, the implications of nigh-unlimited power and notions of justice. This may come off as portentously logy to some, but to others, these are icons worth delving into.

Much has been made of the film’s 152-minute running time. Structurally, it is front-loaded with plot, with the bulk of the action being slathered on thick towards the conclusion. This reviewer did not feel the film was too long, and the character development we get during the first two acts is very satisfying. However, some audiences are bound to be fatigued and hard-pressed to care all that much about the climactic battles if they’ve already tuned out while Bruce is at the Batcomputer decrypting a hard drive. The Senator Finch subplot also proves largely extraneous.

Full disclosure: this reviewer is a massive DC Comics fan and is able to appreciate director Zack Snyder’s interpretation of seminal imagery and plot points from the source material, most notably The Dark Knight Returns. Nothing in this film made us throw our hands up in the air, crying “they just don’t get it!” Because of the sheer breadth of these characters’ history in the comics, there’s no way to please everyone, and this reviewer found that the interpretations of Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman feel like they belong in the same cohesive universe.

Any time Batman and Superman are in the same piece of media, the former is bound to steal the limelight from the latter. Affleck’s casting was controversial, with many deeming him insufficiently intimidating. This version of Batman is a grizzled veteran who’s 20 years into his crime-fighting career, employs a dazzling array of high-tech gadgets and is driven and obsessed. Good enough for us. Sure, he displays a sadistic streak, branding criminals with his bat insignia, but then again, Michael Keaton’s Batman shoved clowns into potholes, leaving them to explode as he grinned. There are references to allies and rogues, Batman’s relationship with Alfred gets sufficient play. Irons brings both the wry charm and the gumption to stand up to Batman that are integral to the Alfred character. The Bat-centric action sequences are strongly reminiscent of the recent Arkham video-game series, which this reviewer feels contained some of the best sequences of Batman in combat ever presented.

Superman is variously referred to as a “god” and a “devil” and Cavill continues to dig for the humanity behind the iconography. While he might lack the acting chops to flesh out a truly compelling Superman, particularly when pitted against Batman, it’s good to see Clark juggle the heroics and his reporter day job. There’s also the element of class warfare: Bruce is the scion of a wealthy family; Clark was raised on a farm in Kansas and works the daily grind as a journalist. There are some genuinely sweet moments that Cavill shares with Adams. While we do get to see Lois in the thick of it doing a good deal of snooping around, the main purpose the character serves is to get rescued and get rescued and get rescued. Lois had a significant role in the proceedings in Man of Steel, but is side-lined a little because of everything else occurring in the story here.

Eisenberg’s performance is the biggest problem this reviewer has with the film. This is meant to be a reinvention of Lex, traditionally more of a quiet schemer type. Lex’s reworked back-story, which sees him as a young tech mogul who has reshaped his father’s aging company into a Silicon Valley power player, is just fine by this reviewer. Many of the character’s lines are clever and his actions and appropriately devious. However, Eisenberg’s twitchy jumpiness is unable to convey the deep-seated menace one of the most iconic DC supervillains should inherently possess. His words and actions are despicable enough, but his mannerisms diminish their impact.

Wonder Woman’s presence here reminded this reviewer of Black Widow’s role in Iron Man 2. Since there’s so much already afoot, the character’s first big screen appearance is more of a pointer to her upcoming solo film, with several clever allusions to Diana’s roots in Greek mythology being included. The moves she busts during the final fight, her entry onto the battlefield heralded by Tina Guo’s rocking electric cello solo, are sure to elicit cheers. That’s the standout bit of Hans Zimmer and Junkie XL’s soundtrack for sure. Gadot does not have too much to do here, but her blend of mystique and strength fits Wonder Woman just fine. The product placement is toned down considerably from Man of Steel; the most obvious instance being when Wonder Woman boards a Turkish Airlines flight – a visible jet, if you will.

Many were worried that that the film might spend too long setting up the upcoming Justice League movie, but it turns out that we get fleeting glimpses of the superhero team’s future members; said glimpses are tantalising and memorable. Just as the titular heroes grapple with each other, this film grapples with doing these iconic characters justice while serving up bombastic spectacle. It falters on several occasions, but this reviewer appreciates how the DCEU is setting itself apart from the MCU. The three-episode arc of Superman: The Animated Series in which Batman and Superman first meet does have far more of a focus than this film has, but this live-action event should not be written off lightly and we’ve got our fingers crossed for how the DCEU proceeds from here.

Summary: Packed with as much thematic pondering as super-powered fisticuffs, Batman v Superman might be a chore for some to sit through, but it’s clear the filmmakers have not taken this clash of titans lightly.

RATING: 3.5 out of 5 Stars

Jedd Jong 

Rio

RIO

2011

Starring the voices of: Jesse Eisenberg, Anne Hathaway, Leslie Mann, Rodrigo Santoro

Directed by: Carlos Saldanha

            Blu (Eisenberg) is a Spix’s macaw, captured as a baby by illegal animal smugglers and shipped to the States – but he’s lucky enough to have been delivered to Minnesota and comes into the care of Linda (Leslie Mann), a kind, intelligent and beautiful bookstore-owner. He’s the last male of his kind. Independent, free-spirited and sultry Jewel (Hathaway) is also a Spix’s macaw. She is the last female of her kind.

Ornithology professor Tulio (Rodrigo Santoro) comes to Linda, requesting that she bring Blu to Rio de Janeiro to meet Jewel. They have to get to know each other, as Blu’s city-pet ways annoy Jewel even as she warms to him. However, the real threat is the vicious smugglers on both their feathered tails.                               

A remarkable piece of storytelling and a success on every level from the animation to the humour, the music to the madcap action sequences, Rio is a very polished film. The story flies straight on, never losing its aim, right to an edge-of-your seat sequence onboard the smugglers’ plane, right out of the best action thrillers. It opens with a sequence straight out of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid”: birds singing and dancing happily – cut immediately short by them being brutally trapped and ruthlessly spirited away.

This opening scene establishes the tone effectively: colourful cartoony spectacle leavened with a sensitively well-told (and surprisingly un-preachy) conservation message. The script is sharp, almost every line side-splittingly hilarious. The film looks utterly gorgeous, native Brazillian director Saldanha offering not only gorgeous vistas of the Carnivale and the majestic Christo Redentor statue, but also an unflinchingly gritty look at the favela slums and the dirty world of underground wildlife trading.

The voice cast is uniformly superb. Jesse Eisenberg is the standout in addition to being the lead. The Academy-Award nominee plays a nerd, just as he did in The Social Network. However, unlike his character Mark in that film, Blue is a nice, “adorkable” one – bookish, socially awkward, but very sweet, his initial lucklessness with the girl reminding this reviewer of himself. Hathaway provides a wonderful foil for him, feisty and sultry, but also sensitive and kind when required – and, she showcases her golden pipes in several musical numbers.

The main human characters of Linda and Tulio are also a joy to watch, the both of them also sharing a romance that progresses as sweetly and realistically as that of the two birds. Every other character in the film serves a purpose too. Usually, ensemble-cast animated films are a big waste of voice talent, but here none of the characters are superfluous, from the villainous sulphur-crested cockatoo Nigel (Jemaine Clement channelling Tim Curry at his deliciously evil best), to Rafael (George Lopez), a gregarious, family-man Toucan who is always on hand to offer the hapless Blu some much-needed love advice. Also listen out for Tracy Jordan, Jamie Foxx, Will.i.am., Jake T. Austin and others.

A wholly stunning experience not to be missed, Rio is packed with astonishing visuals, a good well-told story, comedy, romance and poignancy. This is something you wish every animated film was, and you could be well forgiven for mistaking this for a Pixar film. Yep, it’s that good.

SUMMARY: Ratatouille meets The Little Mermaid and Princess and the Frog with some Beauty and the Beast and Up thrown in, and deserving of the mean score of all those films.

RATING: 4/5 STARS           

Jedd Jong

The Social Network

Just caught this film on DVD, having missed it while it was in theatres.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

2010

Starring: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Armie Hammer, Josh Pence

Directed by: David Fincher

Relativity Media/Trigger Street Productions, Dist. Columbia Pictures

When news that this film would be made was first released, the internet was aflutter - but mainly with skepticism. The names seemed solid enough - David Fincher as director, Aaron Sorkin as the scribe, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross scoring - but, understandably, everyone asked "how would one make a movie about Facebook? Who's going to watch that?"

The thing is, The Social Network is not about Facebook. It's perhaps like saying Raiders of the Lost Ark was about the Ark of the Convenant. We all know "Raiders of the Lost Ark" was about Indiana Jones, Marion Ravenwood, Belloq, Thot...but lest I digress, the genesis the success of this movie is in deciding the route to take.

The film is based upon the book "The Accidental Billionaires", by Ben Mezrich. Mezrich has had another of his books turned into a film before, and that film was the awful 21. That's the thing - when I heard of 21, I desperately wanted it to be something like The Social Network turned out to be.

Spurned by his ex-girlfriend (Rooney Mara), gifted but very unlikable Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg (Eisenberg) spitefully creates “facemash”, a website to rate the appearance of the campus femmes. And so begins his rollercoaster journey to becoming Time magazine’s 2010 Person of the Year and the second-youngest billionaire alive (Dustin Mokowitz, the first programmer and coder for Facebook, is eight days older than Zuckerberg) His best friend Eduardo Saverin (Garfield), the affluent and influential twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (Armie Hammer, Josh Pence as stand-in) and freewheeling and charismatic Napster founder Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake) all become chess pieces in the grandmaster's game – and pieces will fall off the board.

David Fincher is known for being able to spin engaging yarns that affect on a psychological level, and pull audiences along for the ride. The Social Network is no different. From the get-go, it's a kinetic, mile-a-minute experience, akin to watching a high-quality action film - only that there's not one explosion in The Social Network. With a screenplay like Aaron Sorkin's, it doesn't need any at all.

"The Social Network" is slick and a complete filmgoing experience - it feels like a great amount of effort was put into every aspect of production. Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield carry the film ably, natch, and have immediately become hot commodities in Hollywood - the former nominated for a Best Actor Oscar (up against the likes of Colin Firth and Jeff Bridges), the latter the new Spider-Man. Indeed, Garfield gave off a strong Peter Parker-type vibe, changing my early opinions about The Amazing Spider-Man (after seeing that horrid costume).

Stylistically and aesthetically, the film is pretty much perfect, glamourous and sexy – Director of Photography and Fincher alum (from Fight Club) Jeff Cronenweth’s cinematography is smooth and cool, the film fashioning itself as an exclusive inside look behind the scenes, giving us hoi polloi a peek at the world of sex, drugs and money surrounding Facebook’s genesis. However, that’s the thing – it looks too pretty to feel like it’s based on a true story. Indeed, most of the film does feel like conjecture, but it doesn’t matter because it tells a good story. The Social Network probably didn’t set out to be a documentary anyway.

I feel that Jesse Eisenberg’s Mark Zuckerberg turns out to be one of the greatest screen villains of all time, in the company of the likes of Anthony Hopkins’ Hannibal Lecter, Heath Ledger’s Joker, and Malcolm McDowell’s Alex. I'm in no position to say if the real-life Zuckerberg is indeed anything like this portrayal, but either way Eisenberg did an astounding job. When characters who display traits of Asperger’s Syndrome feature in movies, they’re usually very nice deep down, or quirky and odd but likable. Zuckerberg as portrayed here is anything but – ruthless, cold, incredibly intelligent and with barely a shred of sympathetic quality until the very end of the film and Eisenberg nails all these qualities in this intense and absorbing turn.

The way the film presents it, the only true “good guy” swimming in the sea of sharks is Eduardo Saverin, as played by Garfield – probably because the real-life Saverin was the only member of the Facebook team who served as consultant to author Ben Mezrich. Still, Garfield is charming, real and puts his game face on to tackle the screenplay, and wins.

The supporting cast is strong, including Justin Timberlake’s suave, self-assured turn as Napster founder Sean Parker. Timberlake is a better actor than given credit for, but he can only play one type of role well. Good thing then that Sean Parker is exactly that kind of role.

However, I do question the decision to have Armie Hammer portray both Winklevoss twins, his visage digitally pasted onto body double Josh Pence to achieve the effect. Sure the CGI looks almost flawless, but it does sometimes (blasphemous as it sounds) remind one of any of the awful Eddie Murphy comedies where he insists on playing both characters. Hammer is a decent actor, but try as he might he was unable to sell the idea of two separate characters who look and sound alike but are otherwise individuals.

Aaron Sorkin, master of the “walk-and-talk” genre as displayed in The West Wing, gives us a “run-and-talk” instead, his screenplay demonstrating incredibly brisk and astute pacing, throwing in the right amount of technobabble so we can tenuously believe the computer know-how that went into creating the website, and also developing compelling, complex characters that you just can’t look away from.

Ultimately, the film is much like a modern-day retelling of Mary Shelly’s “Frankenstein” – of how a brilliant, misunderstood and possibly evil genius created a monster, a monster that escaped his control, granting him fame and fortune by way of invading the lives of 600 million people around the world – and for so effectively getting such a frightening reality to take strong roots in the minds of such a mass audience, The Social Network is exceedingly praiseworthy.

RATING: 4/5 STARS

Jedd Jong