Now You See Me 2013 9 out of 10

Now You See Me  2013  9 out of 10

Slight of hand and misdirection.  The plot of the movie follows 4 magicians that show up to a meeting after receiving a mysterious invitation.   Cut to four years later the group is now a big act performing in Las Vegas.  As a part of this act they pull off a bank heist in Paris while on stage.   This stunt gets them under investigation with by the FBI agent played by Mark Ruffalo --is in intent on catching them in the act. 

This movie does a great job of mixing the world of Magic with a heist movie.  The movie was interesting and entertaining and had you guessing the whole time trying to figure it out. Like a Magic act it was full of red herrings and misdirection.   It also had a mysterious element of a secret society as a part of the plot which gave it additional depth.    I don’t feel like I can really go on to discuss the plot for fear of spoiling it.  The film wasn’t spoiled for me so I don’t want to spoil it for anyone else.     I’ll just say that I really enjoyed the film and I’m looking forward to the sequel, which I hear is in the works.

The cast was excellent:  Morgan Freeman, Michael Cane, Woody Harrelson,  Isla Fisher,  Jess Eisnberg  and Mark Rufallo.  The magic acts were cool and the action scenes were exciting.

I actually enjoyed the heist aspects of this film more than all of the Ocean’s eleven sequels –only the original from that series did it better in my opinion.

I can see how some people will be upset at the end of the film and complain about the twists and turns the film takes and how they don't buy it.  I choose not to overthink it and just enjoy it for what it was --a fun and magical heist movie  - but I can definitely see how the films resolution will leave many cold and unhappy with how it concludes.

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5 Against the House 1955 4 out of 10

5 Against the House  1955  4 out of 10

A good cast and some good acting are lost in this uneven and odd heist movie.  The movie couldn't decide what it wanted to be.  I recorded it in hopes of seeing a good heist movie, but the heist when the film finally got around to it was really weak.  The perfect crime it was not...by any stretch.  

The film starts out with four college students (Suspend your disbelief now because  several of the actors have to be in their mid 30's) in Reno for a little fun.  After witnessing a failed robbery attempt of the casino they had back to school.  The film has some witty dialogue and funny interactions between the characters and seems like it will be a lighthearted comedy.  The beautiful  Kim Novak stars as one of the college buddies girlfriend's that he hopes to marry and she is a bright spot in the film.

 About halfway through the movie  the tone of the film takes an odd turn.   The rich kid gets bored and decides that it would be fun to rob the casino just for kicks and the character of Brick (played by Brian Keith) starts having some issues related to his time in Korea.  The guys decide to rob the casino in Reno and drag their reluctant   buddy that is in love and his gal along for the heist against his will.  The light tone of the film disappears completely and it becomes about dealing with Brick's post war problems.   The heist happens and is a complete disappointment and the ending is just an odd footnote.  I probably would have given this movie an even lower rating if the dialogue and acting hadn't been good.   The heist itself is about a 2 out of 10