An international room of mirrors is stretching around the world this week to promote the sequel to 2013’s Now You See Me. Lions Gate Entertainment released a volley of posters internationally featuring the cast members from the film for Now You See Me 2. Along with the returning cast of Mark Ruffalo, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, Jesse Eisenberg, and Dave Franco, Daniel Radcliffe, Lizzy Caplan, and Jay Chou round out the all-star cast.
Now’s a good time to catch the original. It’s a fun romp that we reviewed previously here at borg.com.
If you missed out on the trailer, check it out here.
It must be hard to portray the art of being a magician on the big screen. The latest effort is The Transporter, The Incredible Hulk, and Clash of the Titans’ director Louis Leterrier’s Now You See Me previewed earlier at borg.comhere. It has much to offer by way of entertainment, the best reward being the cast, which manages to nail that very Las Vegas magic act schtick of “showmanship” that you only see in a good magic act. But can you give a theatrical audience a convincing magic show–actually trick us and surprise us in the same way someone like David Copperfield can make the Statue of Liberty disappear right in front of you, or how Teller distracts as Penn causes the very thing you’re staring at to disappear right before you?
Apparently you can’t do that in the movies–or at least no one has dazzled us in that way yet. But you can at least give us a good show letting us see different styles in which magicians practice their art.
Two recent contenders for the top of the “movies about magicians and magic” list are not at risk of leaving the top because of Now You See Me. The Illusionist, starring Edward Norton, Paul Giamatti, Jessica Biel, Rufus Sewell, Eddie Marsan, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and The Prestige, starring Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Michael Caine, and Scarlett Johansson released opposite each other in 2006, take on the same themes. But if you’re deciding between the two we think The Illusionist, from director Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent) is the better film, over the very typically over-the-top effort by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, Man of Steel, Inception) in The Prestige. It’s the payoff of Now You See Me that doesn’t quite cut it, despite some fun theatrics along the way.
G.I. Joe: Retaliation director Jon M. Chu is transforming another 1980s animated television series into a live action theatrical release. The series Jem ran three seasons and 65 episodes, between 1985 and 1988. Jerrica Benton was the secret leader of the glam rock, all-girl band in the original series. The band’s name, Jem and the Holograms, will soon be the title of the live action film. The original Jem prompted a successful toy line from Hasbro, one of the companies bringing the series to the big screen.
The magical elements of Jem do not appear to have made it to the new movie. In the animated series Jerrica projected a holographic image over her own to disguise herself. Aubrey Peeples (Sharknado), who could almost be a ringer for actress/singer Zooey Deschanel, now stars as Jerrica, who takes on the persona of Jem as her career in music takes off, thanks to a music producer played by Juliette Lewis. The 1980s brat pack star Molly Ringwald co-stars.
Isn’t that Ryan Hansen, Dick Casablancas from Veronica Mars, at the end of the trailer, getting an autograph from Jem?
