MOVIE: Rio (2011)

by benmweilertNo Comments
RioYear: 2011Rating: GLength: 96 minutes / 1.67 hours When Rio (2011) came out, I felt it was pushed into so many aspects of popular culture that 20th Century Fox Animation was trying to make it a hit by sheer cross-branding. Heck, there was even an entire Angry Birds game made for mobile phones that was filled with plot from the movie. Re-watching this film more than a decade later made me realize how generic this movie truly is. That it had so many trope similarities to Fox Animation’s Epic (2013) which came out a few years later, shows how formulaic these movies are. It seems every movie dealing with rare animals always has some kind of poacher as the villain. Finding Nemo (2003) did this. Madagascar 3 (2012) did this. Migration (2023) did this. Additionally, most movies set in “foreign” locales play up their cultural touchstones as a strong bit of advertising to the tourists who might watch the movie (or at...
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MOVIE: Now You See Me 2 (2016)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Now You See Me 2 Year: 2016 Rating: PG-13 Length: 129 minutes / 2.15 hours Sometimes the enjoyment of a particular film almost guarantees I’ll go to see the sequel. Now You See Me 2 (2016) is no exception. I really liked Now You See Me (2013) because the genres of “magic” and “heist” merge so easily together. Now three years later, and I certainly looked forward to this sequel, despite not knowing how the plot could advance any further than it had at the end of the first film. While the sequel did not disappoint, with numerous illusions, plenty of action, and loads of comedy, it felt like it was the same old gimmick as the original. Sure, there was a little more exploration into “the Eye”, but most of the plot of the second film centered on the consequences of the robberies from the first film (almost weighing it down, in my opinion). The addition of Daniel Radcliffe as a winking nod to...
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MOVIE: Now You See Me (2013)

by benmweilertNo Comments
Now You See Me Year: 2013 Rating: PG-13 Length: 115 minutes / 1.92 hours The key to a great heist film comes in three stages: the pledge, the turn, and the prestige. Wait, that’s the key to a great magician’s illusion. Actually, here’s the real trick: both are very similar in structure. Each requires a setup of events which lead to an amazing reveal, followed by an explanation of how the heist/illusion was performed. In Now You See Me (2013), both the heist and magician genres are found to be so closely related that it was nice to see them meld together so well. In a page ripped straight from Robin Hood, the main characters justify their thievery by stating that their actions are to right the wrongs done to the general public. Of course, when a movie uses CGI to enhance the magic of the actors, it’s just that much more fun to see how they are able to pull off each heist using...
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