Dark Horses

Four magicians - Daniel (Jesse Eisenberg), Henley (Isla Fisher), Jack (Dave Franco) and Merritt (Woody Harrelson) - get a mysterious summons that is later found to be from one Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine). The four maricians form the Four Horsemen - who put up a show in Vegas that unbelievably has a man from teh audience rob a bank in Paris, and distribute the largesse to the attendees. The act of crime, however benevolent, does not go unnoticed, and the quartet soon find tenacious detectives Dylan (Mark Ruffalo) and Alma (Melanie Laurent) hot on their trail. But is that really an accurate picture of the goings-on, or, in the true nature of magic, are we seeing less the closer we get? Now you See Me is no The Prestige, but what it lacks in dark noir intensity, it more than makes up in a never-a-dull-moment script with a cops-and-robbers sequence interspersed by some pretty spectacular magic shows

14/20

The Strangest Resistance

Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) gives a stunning performance in Tanantino’s latest – Inglourious Basterds, - that sees alternate history as two parallel and similar plots are hatched to put an end to the Third Reich. Rather limited in the insanity quotient, and actually serious in parts, the plot revolves around the Nazi-killer team led by Lt Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and their encounters. Typical chapter-based Tarantino narration – the first scene about the purge and introduction to the central character of menace, the long scene and encounter wrt Bridget von Hammersmark (Diane Kruger) in the basement, the showdown between Hans Landa and the German actress, are the most memorable. The inexplicable fact of Shoshanna owning a theater in the heart of Paris explained away rather trivially, the sharpshooter Pvt Frederick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) and his mixed emotions, the ramblings on Goebbels’ propaganda, the strange silouhette of Marcel and his giant pile of inflammable film make sure that Tarantino’s quirky touch is very much alive and kicking. A mellower, more circumspect Tarantino, but enough to keep fans engaged

15.5/20