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Reviews
Desperate Acts of Magic (2013)
Great Slight of Hand & Slight of Heart fun...
No spoilers here. Read & then go enjoy the movie.
Sometimes you hear people say about movies, "Well, they don't make'em like they used to."
This one is. Simple, fun, well-made. If you like romantic-comedies with a splash of magic, then pull up a seat and check this out.
I hear they showed this at the Magic Castle in Hollywood and that must have been a lot of fun.
A dash of romance, a lot of comedy and a little mystery make this movie easy to recommend.
Don't expect splashy CGI effects, those are not here. But there are some pretty impressive magic tricks to see. Earlier this year the movie "Now You See Me" came out and it was fun for almost the opposite reasons that this is fun. That was just outlandishly silly and as long as you let yourself go with it, it was enjoyable.
This is not outlandish, it's just honest entertainment made with good integrity.
Apparently it's up on iTunes now, so that probably means it's up pretty much everywhere. I would recommend this.
The Institute (2012)
Imagine if the Darhma Initiative from LOST was real...
Imagine if the Darhma Initiative from the TV series LOST was real...
Aren't you hooked right there? Well, I think that's how I felt watching The Institute. Hard to believe that this actually happened.
Fascinating and thought provoking. Ultimately it does make you think that modern life has hollowed out existence to the point where creating an all-consuming "game" would be the thing that sparks people back to reality.
And like the other reviewer commented, what is reality these days?
Honestly I was pulled in by the deliciously beautiful artwork. But the trailer had me about 10 seconds in, when I knew I needed to watch this to find out what the heck this is all about.
I supposed it would be nice if the ultimate objective of all this was really to create a better world, but maybe just giving people a little inspiration to be adventurous is doing just that.
When I rented the movie this morning it had just become available on iTunes and now it's up to like the top 10 in the Documentaries section, which is pretty amazing.
Maybe the game is still afoot? Maybe the Jejune Institute really is still out there pushing people's buttons.
A mystery wrapped in an enigma shrouded in subterfuge.
Gamers out there might want to put down their joysticks for 90 minutes and snack on this absurdly fun real-life game. Although apparently the people in this experiment did not like to think of it as a "game."
And I guess they are right -- just as in LOST, if you experienced it, then I suppose to some degree it is "real."
Before Sunset (2004)
Superb, extraordinary, radiant & rewarding.
Mr. Linklater, Mr. Hawke and Ms. Delpy have caught romantic lightning in a bottle with this delectable continuation of Celine and Jesse's life stories.
Rich, ponderous, rewarding. Brave film-making. Courageous acting. It all deserves to be remembered and awarded.
The two standout scenes. One is inside of the sedan with both Jesse and Celine making brief, mutually unnoticed, gestures to console one another. Each reaches out to touch the other but pulls back, hesitant to physically acknowledge what they are mentally feeling. The other is silent as they wind up an apartment building stairway.
I saw this premiere at the LA Filmfest. The crowd seemed touched, but typically Los Angeles in not knowing quite what to do when confronted with a film so deeply felt.
Superb, extraordinary, radiant and utterly, completely, hopelessly, hopefully romantic.
A must see for those who believe that life is fullest in it's details, not it's broad strokes.
Van Helsing (2004)
Colossally Silly!! Evil Ewoks??
This special effects sodden would-be box office colossas is merely colossally silly and sadly empty. The ONLY aspect of this tentpole that holds up to hype is the fantastic, eye-popping Art Direction.
What's with the armada of Evil Ewoks? Hysterical.
Kate Beckinsdale's uber-thick Transylvanian accent is a hoot. And she looked far more ravishing and compelling fighting werewolves in UNDERWORLD (where the CGI werewolves were also more convincing).
The much hyped threesome of Dracula's brides embody the director's confusion throughout this movie: they are either flesh and blood spouting inspid lines of dialogue, or difficult to watch hideous flying creatures meant to make 14 year old boys drool.
Too bad Stephen Sommers doesn't realize his audience isn't just 14 year old boys. A quick blast to the top of the box office will wither as word spreads about another HULK-like flop.
Total Box-Office Prediction (after 2 months): $178 million.
This version of Dracula just plain sucks.
I suppose the studio has to ask themselves whether they really want to make a TV show out of this crap.
Buyer beware.