SNITCH
Cast: Dwayne Johnson Susan Sarandon Barry Pepper
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Running Time: 112 min
It can be quite a
challenge to create and develop an intriguing, suspenseful action thriller,
which captivatingly interweaves entertaining stunts with strong character
relationships that emphasis some of the most important contemporary social
issues. Thankfully writer-director Ric Roman Waugh has just about managed that
with his new drama, ‘Snitch,’ and in the process finally achieves the almost
impossible – it shows Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson can act.
Through Johnson’s emotional portrayal of his character’s intense bond with his son, together with a credible look at the manipulative nature of US politicians and the struggle former offenders face when released back into society, the film balances the motivations of the characters with the stunts expected of an action film. ‘Snitch’ follows John Matthews (Johnson), the owner of a successful construction company whose young son, Jason (Rafi Gavron), is set up for a drugs bust by one of his friends. Although Jason is a first-offender, he faces up to ten years in prison under strict mandatory American sentencing laws.
To reduce his son’s sentence, John makes a deal with the federal prosecutor, Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), who is eager for a major publicised drugs cartel bust, towards boosting her election chances. John recruits one of his employees, Daniel James (Jon Bernthal), an ex-con who served time a narcotics conviction, to help him build a case against a local drug dealer he previously worked with, Malik (Michael K. Williams).
John hides his reasons for setting up the meeting with Malik from Daniel, who is afraid of going back to prison and jeopardising the safety of his family. An intriguing game of cat and mouse/double bluff emerges with potentially serious ramifications for all involved. Johnson is well-cast as a father who was willing to make any sacrifices necessary in order to protect his son, even if it means single-handily shooting down a dangerous drug cartel and put his own life at risk.
Primarily known for action-packed thriller and family-friendly nonsense output, the actor shows his versatility here in a captivating and gripping piece of work.
Through Johnson’s emotional portrayal of his character’s intense bond with his son, together with a credible look at the manipulative nature of US politicians and the struggle former offenders face when released back into society, the film balances the motivations of the characters with the stunts expected of an action film. ‘Snitch’ follows John Matthews (Johnson), the owner of a successful construction company whose young son, Jason (Rafi Gavron), is set up for a drugs bust by one of his friends. Although Jason is a first-offender, he faces up to ten years in prison under strict mandatory American sentencing laws.
To reduce his son’s sentence, John makes a deal with the federal prosecutor, Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), who is eager for a major publicised drugs cartel bust, towards boosting her election chances. John recruits one of his employees, Daniel James (Jon Bernthal), an ex-con who served time a narcotics conviction, to help him build a case against a local drug dealer he previously worked with, Malik (Michael K. Williams).
John hides his reasons for setting up the meeting with Malik from Daniel, who is afraid of going back to prison and jeopardising the safety of his family. An intriguing game of cat and mouse/double bluff emerges with potentially serious ramifications for all involved. Johnson is well-cast as a father who was willing to make any sacrifices necessary in order to protect his son, even if it means single-handily shooting down a dangerous drug cartel and put his own life at risk.
Primarily known for action-packed thriller and family-friendly nonsense output, the actor shows his versatility here in a captivating and gripping piece of work.
Now You See Me
Cast: Jesse Eisenberg (J. Daniel Atlas), Mark Ruffalo (Dylan Rhodes), Woody
Harrelson (Merritt McKinney), Mélanie Laurent (Alma Dray), Isla Fisher
(Henley Reeves), Dave Franco (Jack Wilder), Common (Evans), José Garcia
(Etienne Forcier), Michael Caine (Arthur Tressler) and Morgan Freeman
(Thaddeus Bradley).
Director: Louis Leterrier
The Prestige is a film with a
constant reminder for the audience to be "watching closely". Beyond
that though, cinema film being the magic trick that it is, has a difficult time
conveying the excitement and pleasure of the art form of magic, since one quick
edit is the equivalent of pulling the wool over the audience's eyes. We love
being genuinely fooled on the screen just as we enjoy the "how did they do
that" experience of watching a skilled magician.
However, what I and I’m sure you too do not appreciate is being taken for an idiot - especially in the smug, self-satisfied and nonsensical way that this pile of dross “Now You See Me” attempts to get by feebly attempting to manipulate anyone with working eyeballs and an even more functional brain. As with any all-star cast assembled for a heist picture, a prologue introduces us to the crew put together by a mysterious hooded figure with a variety of tarot cards.
Michael Atlas (the hideously annoying Jesse Eisenberg) is a street magician who uses his talents to meet girls. His former assistant, Henley (a glossy all-American squeaky-clean anodyne nonentity in the most nauseating way) Isla Fisher, is now an escape artist. Merritt Osbourne (Woody Harrelson – what were you thinking man?) is a ‘mentalist’ hustling for cash as is spoon-bender and petty thief (the bland forgettable Dave Franco). A year later - with help from benefactor Arthur Tressler - with a performance texted in by Michael Caine no less, (words fail me about you now, Sir Michael) - their big plan is in motion, beginning with an elaborate ruse in Las Vegas where they seemingly teleport an audience member to his bank in Paris and unleash a barrage of cash into the auditorium.
Apparently it was more than just another trick when the bank's vault is revealed to be empty. Called in to investigate is Dylan Hobbs (Mark Ruffalo would you believe) whose macho tactics do not phase their unusual suspects. Brought in to help is wet-behind-the-ears Interpol agent, Alma Vargas (Mélanie Laurent), and the man who has made a career out of exposing magicians' secrets Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman – help!) was in the audience that night, being asked to put away his camera when the next show freely invites all forms of video and social media. Whether it’s the money he makes on a ridiculously lucrative online download or the pleasure of believing he's the smartest man in the room, Thaddeus takes a gleeful approach to breaking down the scheme of The Four Horsemen; delightfully informing Dylan that everything is leading up to a grand finale.If only paying customers watching “Now You See Me” could actually believe that statement.
As you try to decipher what the ultimate goal of all the characters are before nodding off, it is easy to get sidetracked into determining where the film's actual goals lie. Christopher McQuarrie described his screenplay to The Usual Suspects as "a big, well-structured magic trick" and the similarities between it and this dismally re-concocted piffle by Edward Ricourt, Boaz Yakin and Ed Solomon are notable. From the hard-nosed detective trying to piece together the puzzle, to the mystery man pulling the strings, a comparison to Bryan Singer's film would be a compliment if it was not an abhorrent insult the other way around.
The heroes and anti-heroes of heist pictures from Ocean's Eleven to The Italian Job (and their remakes) had genuine personalities, even if only on a one-dimensional level. This execrable drivel “Now You See Me” seems to be relying on the simple presence of so many recognisable faces to fill in the gaping blanks on precisely where the rooting or caring interest lies. The magicians seem to have good intentions on their side despite the whole sorry bunch of them never developing more than the selfish personas we meet in the first ten minutes. Whatever preparation these hustlers were put through in the year prior, not only did it involve concocting the tricks but also apparently, how to become world-class thieves, stunt drivers and pugilists. Meanwhile, Ruffalo's detective must have spent that same year perfecting being annoyed at every aspect of his job. With his character as the film's fulcrum, his point of view of disbelief and mistrust of seemingly everyone he encounters is thrust onto the audience who has already been given a few cards up their sleeves that already puts us several notches ahead. The ill-conceived prologue immediately alerts us to a puppet master. Just as Freeman's magic spoiler gives us the secrets of how they did it, the more important "why" is given merely one possible solution and the complicated stupidity of that motivation builds to a mindnumbingly trite conclusion that really is the final insult.
“Now You See Me” preaches that in the world of magic it helps to be the smartest person in the room. Nearly anyone with a pair of eyes qualifies. "Are you watching closely?" uttered regularly in The Prestige is given its own generic makeover here while the magic tricks performed could only be achieved with the naked CGI of cinema. How can we trust a film that does not trust our internal logic about what is actually possible in the real world on a stage. Any justification for breaking the fourth wall towards the audience and presenting the whole enterprise as some direct show for us still cannot uphold the rules of the real world in which the film takes place. Characters acting in a false manner to others just to fool some imaginary third party who may be looking on, is as bad as a living room magician from primary school telling their spectators to close their eyes while they head off to hide the ball.
However, what I and I’m sure you too do not appreciate is being taken for an idiot - especially in the smug, self-satisfied and nonsensical way that this pile of dross “Now You See Me” attempts to get by feebly attempting to manipulate anyone with working eyeballs and an even more functional brain. As with any all-star cast assembled for a heist picture, a prologue introduces us to the crew put together by a mysterious hooded figure with a variety of tarot cards.
Michael Atlas (the hideously annoying Jesse Eisenberg) is a street magician who uses his talents to meet girls. His former assistant, Henley (a glossy all-American squeaky-clean anodyne nonentity in the most nauseating way) Isla Fisher, is now an escape artist. Merritt Osbourne (Woody Harrelson – what were you thinking man?) is a ‘mentalist’ hustling for cash as is spoon-bender and petty thief (the bland forgettable Dave Franco). A year later - with help from benefactor Arthur Tressler - with a performance texted in by Michael Caine no less, (words fail me about you now, Sir Michael) - their big plan is in motion, beginning with an elaborate ruse in Las Vegas where they seemingly teleport an audience member to his bank in Paris and unleash a barrage of cash into the auditorium.
Apparently it was more than just another trick when the bank's vault is revealed to be empty. Called in to investigate is Dylan Hobbs (Mark Ruffalo would you believe) whose macho tactics do not phase their unusual suspects. Brought in to help is wet-behind-the-ears Interpol agent, Alma Vargas (Mélanie Laurent), and the man who has made a career out of exposing magicians' secrets Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman – help!) was in the audience that night, being asked to put away his camera when the next show freely invites all forms of video and social media. Whether it’s the money he makes on a ridiculously lucrative online download or the pleasure of believing he's the smartest man in the room, Thaddeus takes a gleeful approach to breaking down the scheme of The Four Horsemen; delightfully informing Dylan that everything is leading up to a grand finale.If only paying customers watching “Now You See Me” could actually believe that statement.
As you try to decipher what the ultimate goal of all the characters are before nodding off, it is easy to get sidetracked into determining where the film's actual goals lie. Christopher McQuarrie described his screenplay to The Usual Suspects as "a big, well-structured magic trick" and the similarities between it and this dismally re-concocted piffle by Edward Ricourt, Boaz Yakin and Ed Solomon are notable. From the hard-nosed detective trying to piece together the puzzle, to the mystery man pulling the strings, a comparison to Bryan Singer's film would be a compliment if it was not an abhorrent insult the other way around.
The heroes and anti-heroes of heist pictures from Ocean's Eleven to The Italian Job (and their remakes) had genuine personalities, even if only on a one-dimensional level. This execrable drivel “Now You See Me” seems to be relying on the simple presence of so many recognisable faces to fill in the gaping blanks on precisely where the rooting or caring interest lies. The magicians seem to have good intentions on their side despite the whole sorry bunch of them never developing more than the selfish personas we meet in the first ten minutes. Whatever preparation these hustlers were put through in the year prior, not only did it involve concocting the tricks but also apparently, how to become world-class thieves, stunt drivers and pugilists. Meanwhile, Ruffalo's detective must have spent that same year perfecting being annoyed at every aspect of his job. With his character as the film's fulcrum, his point of view of disbelief and mistrust of seemingly everyone he encounters is thrust onto the audience who has already been given a few cards up their sleeves that already puts us several notches ahead. The ill-conceived prologue immediately alerts us to a puppet master. Just as Freeman's magic spoiler gives us the secrets of how they did it, the more important "why" is given merely one possible solution and the complicated stupidity of that motivation builds to a mindnumbingly trite conclusion that really is the final insult.
“Now You See Me” preaches that in the world of magic it helps to be the smartest person in the room. Nearly anyone with a pair of eyes qualifies. "Are you watching closely?" uttered regularly in The Prestige is given its own generic makeover here while the magic tricks performed could only be achieved with the naked CGI of cinema. How can we trust a film that does not trust our internal logic about what is actually possible in the real world on a stage. Any justification for breaking the fourth wall towards the audience and presenting the whole enterprise as some direct show for us still cannot uphold the rules of the real world in which the film takes place. Characters acting in a false manner to others just to fool some imaginary third party who may be looking on, is as bad as a living room magician from primary school telling their spectators to close their eyes while they head off to hide the ball.
