magic | the m0vie blog

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – The Girl in the Flower Dress (Review)

Posted on October 25, 2013 by Darren

The first few episodes of any new show are about finding the right balance, striking the right tone. You experiment a bit, you figure out what works and what doesn’t, you try a number of new things knowing that only a few will pay off. The problem with Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. isn’t that none of the show’s experiments are coming to fruition. It’s that the show seems completely afraid to try anything new at all.

The Girl in the Flower Dress is the show’s fifth episode, but it already feels like something of a reheat, taking the best parts of The Pilot and The Asset, and synthesising them into a single familiar story.

The problem is that the best bits of The Pilot and The Asset weren’t anything to write home about.

A chip off the old block…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: american dream, art, Board game, brian michael bendis, captain america, Chan, Coulson, Gregg Clark, magic, NCIS, Phil Coulson, Ruth Negga, Skye, stan lee | 11 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Now You See Me

Posted on June 25, 2013 by Darren

Now You See Me hinges on its final twist. How you react to that twist will define what you think of the movie. Cynics would argue that it’s a rather trite and cliché way of wrapping up a generic mystery with flash distracting from substance, with director Louis Leterrier frantically trying (and failing) to paper over the ever-widening cracks in narrative logics. Others will forgive it as theatrical excess, acknowledging that – though crucial – the denouement isn’t all that is worth appreciating in a magic trick. True magic is an artform, a narrative worth appreciating for technique and wit as much as to grasp the final turn.

The last act might let it down a bit (quite a bit), but Now You See Me spends most of its runtime as an enjoyable romp watching charming people engage in amusing set pieces. There’s a showmanship to it, an energy and flair. Leterrier often feels like he’s cobbling the film together as it threatens to rocket away from him, but there a pulpy energy that manages to hold the house of cards together until the last possible moment.

Lighting up the room…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Dave Franco, film, Isla Fisher, jesse eisenberg, louis leterrier, magic, mark ruffalo, Morgan Freeman, Now You See Me, Performing Arts, Plot twist, woody harrelson | 5 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Phantom of the Opera (1943)

Posted on November 1, 2012 by Darren

The Phantom of the Opera is something of an outlier in the Universal monster movie blu ray collection. It’s the only film in the collection available in colour but, more than that, it’s really the only film in the collection that doesn’t have a serious claim to being the definitive big screen adaptation of its source material. I have to admit I’m a bit disappointed that they didn’t include the 1925 adaptation starring Lon Chaney in the title role, as it’s certainly one of the forerunners to the subgenre that would be launched by Dracula in 1931. The 1943 version of Phantom of the Opera is easily the weakest film in the set. Although not without its charms, it feels just a little bit too mangled and messy to try be a classic horror film.

In the gutter, looking at the stars…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Christine, Christine Daaé, Claude Rains, Edgar Barrier, film, Hollywood Reporter, Incest, magic, Movie, Music of the Night, non-review review, Opera, Performing Arts, Phantom, Phantom of the Opera, Raoul, review, universal monsters | 2 Comments »

The Prestige & Schrödinger’s Magician: Would the Real Robert Angier Please Stand Up?

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Darren

No one cares about the man who disappears, the man who goes into the box. They care about the man who comes out the other side.

– Robert Angier

I am a big fan of Christopher Nolan. Anybody who regularly reads the blog will attest to that. I believe, genuinely, that he’s one of the best directors working today. However, my favourite Nolan film is a rather eclectic choice. I appreciate all his films, but I think that The Prestige stands as the pinnacle of the writer’s work to date. After all, in a career built around movies exploring the power of narrative, it’s hard to resist the film that compares cinema to magic. I think it’s a deftly-constructed and cerebral film, one of the few movies that still intrigues and confounds me when I stick it on. Of course, the narrative is relatively straight-forward once Nolan reveals the technique and the tricks in the final act, but I always find it rewarding to chew over the implications in the film, the story of two dueling magicians who take their rivalry as far as possible, and even beyond that.

Are you watching closely?

Note: By its nature, this post will include spoilers for the film. I have written a review of it, in case you are looking for a recommendation. It’s the most divisive of Christopher Nolan’s films, and I’d recommend seeing it at least once – love it or hate it, it’s a film that you won’t quite forget.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: arts, batman begins, Christopher Nolan, Christopher Priest, film, magic, memento, Michael Caine, Movie, nolan, prestige | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Illusionist (2010)

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Darren

It’s hard to fault The Illusionist on a technical level. The film is truly beautiful, not only capturing the beauty of its surroundings in wonderful animation, but also produced with a magical sense of artistry and genuine romanticism. Although one can readily spot the hints of CGI used to help realise director Sylvain Chomet’s vision, the animation feels remarkably and endearingly old-fashioned. The limited use of dialogue throughout adds a strange and ethereal (almost fairy tale) quality to the whole thing. Still, there’s something that feels a bit strange about the whole thing, as if the story – although trying to distract us with flair and bright colours and a clever wit – is a truly depressing saga. Some might suggest that it is “bittersweet”, but I couldn’t help but find the outer “sweetness”nothing but a superficial attempt to distract from a truly bitter core.

It's a kind of magic...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: animation, arts, Edinburgh, Jacque Tati, magic, paris, Scotland, Sylvain Chomet, The Illusionist, The Illusionist (2010) | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Darren

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince represents a fairly significant improvement in quality from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It seems the movie franchise is finally getting a handle on this sort of serialised story-telling, as the movie serves more as a collection of sub-plots leading into Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows than it does as a story in its own right. However, there’s a sense that the series is getting a bit better at balancing all the competing demands for screentime, and it even manages to explain the title mystery, albeit in a slightly off-hand manner (almost as an after-thought).

Storm clouds are gathering over Hogwarts...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alan rickman, Albus Dumbledore, Death Eater, film, harry potter, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (film), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, HarryPotter, helena bonham carter, Hogwarts, jim broadbent, JK Rowling, Lord Voldemort, magic, michael gambon, Movies, non-review review, ralph fiennes, review, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton | 4 Comments »

The Starman Omnibus, Vol. 4

Posted on March 11, 2010 by Darren

It did take me a while to get into the series, but it’s hard to describe James Robinson’s fantastic superhero saga as anything other than mandatory reading material for anyone with an interest in the genre, its history or its evolution. Starman was the comic book of the nineties, and a fresh look at an already classic concept. Alan Moore picked apart the superhero genre in Watchmen, declaring that the medium was growing creatively bankrupt. Robinson seems intent to prove otherwise. Brick by brick and strand by strand, Robinson has painstakingly given us one of the most interesting and complex creations in the medium. Often exploring and questioning the roots and the clichés of the superhero genre, Robinson is prone to revel in them. If we are interested in the evolution of the genre, Starman is the book for you.

Everything is better with Nazis...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: batman, captain marvel, Comics, dc comics, hellboy, james robinson, magic, power of shazam, review, science, starman omnibus, starman omnibus volume 4, the power of shazam, The Starman Omnibus, the starman omnibus: volume 4, tony harris | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: The Prestige

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Darren

Last week we caught The Prestige on Network 2. It’s a breath-taking movie that tends to get lost among 2006’s other magic-themed outings (Scoop and The Illusionist). A well-crafted magical treat, I think that the film might be Nolan’s most well-crafted to date. And – a little to my surprise, I must admit – my girlfriend enjoyed it as well.