The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

A critical and financial flop, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone had potential but, just couldn't deliver the laughs. Released in 2013 and starring a decent cast of Steve Carell, Olivia Wilde, Steve Buscemi, and Jim Carrey it would go on to only make about $27million off of a $30million budget and currently holds a 37% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The films plot is about two friends-turned-magicians, Burt Wonderstone (played by Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (played by Steve Buscemi). After ten years of performing the same act in Las Vegas, Burt and Anton's friendship has become strained and the act has gotten stale. Matters are only made worst by the fact that there is a new, hot, magic act on the scene. Jim Carrey plays a street-magician named Steve Gray, a character obviously inspired by guys like Chris Angel and David Blaine. Gray's tricks are meant to be shocking and gross and gritty as opposed the Vegas glitz and glamour of the Wonderstone act. With this fame and attention that Gray is receiving, Burt and Anton decide to try their own stunt-trick called "The Hot Box". The trick would involve the two me being locked in a class box, lifted up by a crane, and left to sit in the hot Vegas sun for a week. Of course, the whole thing goes horribly wrong and this leads to Anton leaving the partnership. Humiliated, out of money, and with his longtime partner gone, Burt needs to rediscover why he fell in love with magic to begin with and hopefully revive his career. 

Despite a few moderately funny moments, this film plays it way too safe. Carell is a decent actor (I like The Way, Way Back which he was in and that came out the same year) but, I've always thought his comedy was kind of bland. The movie is competently made and certainly not unwatchable. However, the story and the comedy just didn't work well enough for me to give this one a recommendation.
1.5 out of 5

The Devil's in the Details

The Devil's in the Details is a crime-thriller about an ex-soldier who is kidnapped by a drug cartel as part of an elaborate plan to rob another cartel. This soldier, Thomas (played by Joel Mathews) is chosen because his sister is a cop, his father is a judge, and his brother is a border patrol agent. So Thomas has connections to all the right people to orchestrate this heist.

It's an interesting premise but, overall, this movie isn't very good. Ray Liotta who plays an ex-Navy Seal and Thomas' psychiatrist does a fine job in the film but, unfortunately he's only playing a supporting role. The rest of the cast is a mixed-bag, with Joel Mathews probably being the weakest of the bunch. The film itself is a bit of a jumbled mess; poorly directed, with a halfhearted attempt at a twist, and an unsatisfying ending. However, despite it's shortcomings, I did find the movie engaging enough that I watched it all the way through without ever reaching for the remote to turn it off. 

I don't recommend The Devil's in the Detail's, unless you're like me and will just watch anything with Ray Liotta in it.

I give this one a 1.5 out of 5.

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

2013's G.I. Joe: Retaliation is a bit of an odd movie from a production stand-point as it serves as both a sequel to 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra but, it also acts as a sort of reboot for the franchise. About half of the cast are holdovers from the first film but the leader of the 'Joes', Duke (played by Channing Tatum), is killed off early in this movie and replaced with 'Roadblock' (played by Dwayne Johnson). If it sounds a little confusing, don't worry. I watched the film with my wife and 7yr old son, neither of whom saw the first film, and they weren't lost during this one.

The key conflict in this one involves a villian named Zartan (played by Arnold Vosloo) using some nanotechnology to impersonate the President of the United States. The goal of this is to get the other world leaders to give up their nuclear weapons so 'Cobra' can rule the world. Oh, and the Joes of course are the only ones who can stop this. If you look past the exploding firefly robots, ninjas, and Dwayne Johnson's magnetic charisma, you'll find it's the pretty basic 'Good vs. Evil', 'the fate of the world is at stake' plot you'd probably expect from a G.I. Joe movie. 

Overall, while there are a few really cool scenes, this is little more than a big, dumb, action flick. However, if you're just in the mood for that type of movie (and I think most of us feel like that from time to time), then kick back with a bowl of popcorn and enjoy all of the gun play, explosions, and ninja fights G.I. Joe: Retaliation has to offer.

2.5 out of 5

Carrie (2013)

2013's Carrie is a film adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name. This story was most famously brought to the big screen in 1976 by director Brian De Palma and that version stared Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and John Travolta in one of his very first roles. Now, as a disclaimer I've never read the Stephen King novel all the way through and I haven't seen the '76 film in many years. So there isn't going to be a lot of comparing and contrasting of the 2013 film to either one of those versions.

The basic framework of the story is still the same as in previous iterations; Carrie is a shy, teenage outcast who is often bullied at school. Her home life is just as bad (if not worse) as she lives with her over-bearing, religious fanatic, mother. As the story moves along Carrie starts to notice that she has telekinetic abilities. She starts to explore these powers and even gains a little bit of confidence. However, when a cruel prank at the high school prom results in Carrie being drenched in pig's blood, all Hell breaks loose...

Overall, I think this is a decent movie. I like Chloe Grace Moretz portrayal as Carrie and Julianne Moore is ok as her mother. The biggest knock against the movie, for me, is that the film is safe and efficient. It's the same story told again, hitting all of the expected beats, with little new added other than some minor updates.

It's a fine movie and I was entertained, but it's not a 'must-see' and not as good as the 1976 version in my opinion.

I give this one a 3 out of 5.

Tomorrow You're Gone

Tomorrow You're Gone is a 2013 crime-thriller starring Stephen Dorff, Michelle Monaghan, and Willem Dafoe. Honestly, based on the cast and the description on the back of the Blu-ray case, I thought this film was going to be right up my alley. Unfortunately, despite all of this, the film a bit of a dud.

The premise of the movie is that a man named Charlie (played by Dorff) has just been released from prison but he's not completely free yet. Charlie still owns a debt to a man known as 'The Buddha' (played by Dafoe). To settle this debt Charlie has to murder a guy for 'The Buddha' but, this is a movie, so things don't go quite as planned... Fairly early on in the film Charlie meets this woman named Florence (played by Michelle Monaghan) and she's probably the best part of the whole film. 

This movie could've worked but, it just doesn't. It's a bit too much style over substance, Dorff just isn't the right actor to carry this film in my opinion, the 92 minute runtime seemed like it was twice that, and the stakes just never felt real while I was watching it.

I was hoping that this was a hidden gem that had just flown under my radar but, that wasn't the case. I can't recommend this one.

1 out of 5

Escape Plan

Despite my love of all things 80's-action, never got around to this 2013 film starring two of the 1980's biggest action icons Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. 

Escape Plan has a fairly basic premise; Ray Breslin (played by Sylvester Stallone) works as a specialist with a security firm, testing the reliability of maximum security prisons. It's established early on that there is no prison he cannot escape from. That is until he excepts a job trying to escape from a new type of prison designed specifically to be Breslin-proof. Once in the new prison, codenamed 'The Tomb', Breslin quickly realizes that he's been played and this time he doesn't his team as safety net to extract him from the location. The movie takes a couple of twists and turns, people aren't who they say they are, etc. so I won't spoil the plot for anyone who hasn't seen it and wants to.

Even though the film is far from perfect, I do think it's worth checking out. The cast is pretty good for the most part; alongside Stallone and Schwarzenegger, the film also stars the likes of Vincent D'Onofrio, Jim Caviezel, and Sam Neill (a big plus because Sam Neill isn't in enough movies). The actual 'escape plan' is, of course, pretty convoluted and relies as much on luck as anything else. 

 Is it Stallone's best? No, but it's never boring and overall, I had fun with it.

I give it a 3 out of 5.

Also, if you're a fan of Stallone and/or Schwarzenegger,

 then check out "10 Sylvester Stallone Movies Everyone Should See" and "10 Arnold Schwarzenegger Movies Everyone should See" on this site.

Today's Movie: Paranoia

Paranoia is a 2013 thriller about corporate espionage going on between rival cell-phone companies, and for a film called "Paranoia" there is surprisingly very little tension throughout. I didn't see this one in the theater and chances are you didn't either, because this film bombed hard at the box-office. However, I thought it might have just enough good stuff tucked within to be decent. The movie does boasts a pretty strong cast featuring Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman, Amber Heard, and Richard Dreyfuss. Unfortunately, the lead character Adam Cassidy is played by Liam Hemsworth who was not up to the task of carrying this film.

The plot is pretty straight forward; Adam is a tech-savvy, every-man who is doing his best to take care of his sick dad. Then, one day after being fired, his former boss forces him to steal secrets from a competing company otherwise Adam will be turned over to the police for credit card fraud. Adam agrees, and the next hour is an uninspired, and unoriginal journey to the end credits. Now, I don't know for sure if a better director or different writers or a better lead actor could've taken this story and made something great, but it could've be a lot better.

I give this on a 1 out of 5. 

Don't waste your time.

A Brief Review of 'Phantom'

 

Phantom is a 2013 Cold War thriller that is "inspired by true events". The film stars both Ed Harris and David Duchovny but, despite having some good actors in leading roles, the movie is a bit of a tough watch. 

The plot involves the Soviet Union using a new device called 'The Phantom', which is mounted to a soviet submarine, with the goal of starting a war between the U.S. and China. The Phantom device can disguise the sub's acoustic signature to make it appear on radar to be any number of other ships. Thus, the Soviets can make it seem like the Chinese have launched a nuclear attack on the U.S. and start a war. The plot is a bit clunky and, surprisingly, almost completely devoid of tension. You will feel every minute of this 98min runtime. Plus, the effects are not good.

Overall, this is a perfect film to pop in on a lazy Sunday afternoon... if you want to take a nap.

I give it a 1.5 out of 5

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