Abracadabra

Well, they finally figured out how to title a sequel: Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (2025). Except this coming after Now You See Me 2 kind of spoils the effect. 

This one starts with an underground Four Horsemen magic show in a warehouse. The four magicians bring a volunteer on stage, and then merge into his body, performing their tricks thriugh him. The big trick is to steal the phone of an asshole crypto-bro and distribute his account to everyone at the show.

After the show, the volunteer and two other young people are walking home. You see, the Horsemen were just deep-fake projections, the volunteer (Dominic Sessa) was an impressionist, the girl (Ariana Greenblatt) was an audience member who pickpocketed the phone, and Justice Smith was the hacker and behind the scene guy. We learn a lot of this because Horsemen ringleader Jesse Eisenberg shows up. He has a mission from the Eye, the shadowy magician crime-fighting organization. It is to take down diamond dealer Rosamund Pike. The rest of the crew won't be available - for reasons. Probably because Eisenberg is a dick.

Pike, with a fulsome South African accent, is the owner of the top diamond mines in the world. She keeps her prices high by converting dirty money from arms dealers and despots into clean gems. She owns the world's largest diamond, and displays it at a party. And of course, Eisenberg and the new kids steal it. And they get away because the other Horsemen show up: Jess Franco, Woody Harrelson, and Isla Fisher. 

So what next? A coded message directs them to a magic-themed mansion, where they meet Morgan Freeman, and search for clues. But the police show up, and half the group is captured. 

It goes on like this for a while, with puzzles, tricks, cold-reading and peril. It ends (SPOILER) with all the Horsemen (including Lizzie Caplan, who was replaced by Isla Fisher in the second movie) and the three new guys together, all back in the eye and ready for another adventure.

Will there actually be another adventure? Now You See Me: Now You Don't: 2? This entry was a bit tired, and maybe didn't hold together as well as the first two. I liked the new guys, but not sure if we really need eight Horsemen. The personal relationships didn't seem to be very strong. And the twists and tricks seemed a little weaker, although the finale was pretty sweet. 

We'll see. I'll probably watch it if it comes out.

Dragons All the Way Down

Just a quick note on Dragon Fist (1979), a Jackie Chan movie that Amazon Prime suggested the we "finish watching" = we auto-started this and you didn't watch it - why?

Anyway, Jackie is a student at a good martial arts studio, but another teacher shows up to challenge the master. This teacher beats master so badly that he dies. So Jackie takes his master's wife and daughter to go get revenge.

But when he gets to the other teacher's school, he apologizes sincerely, and reveals that he has cut off his own leg as penance. Jackie isn't really satisfied, but what can he do? Fight a one-legged amn?

So Jackie settles in with his late master's family. To take care of them, he goes to work for another master, and gets into the war between this guy and another master. When he figures out who the bad guys are, it might be too late.

This is a relatively early film for Jackie Chan. It's a bit on the dark side, with no real good guys once the master is killed. There aren't any jokes or funny stunts or fights. Some of the fights seem a little weak, although Jackie delivers throughout. Director Lo Wei is pretty influential (Fists of Fury), but I don't this is one of his best. It doesn't use Jackie to his best advantage. But still fun 

All for One

I'm a sucker for a Three Musketeers movie, so I was pretty psyched for the recent French version: The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan (2023).

I should give a quick plot synopsis, but it's pretty much the story that you know. I also won't be listing the cast, because I don't recognize a single actor, except Vincent Cassel as Athos and Eva Green as Milady. A few points of interest:

• In the first scene where D'Artagnan fights in the inn courtyard, he is shot and left for dead, and has to crawl out of his shallow grave. The whole fight takes place in a rainstorm, and there is a lot of mud.
• Porthos tries to seduce D'Artagnan - yes, he swings both ways, sometimes with Aramis (?).
• There was a bit more Cmdr. Treville in this one - he even fights with the Musketeers sometimes. 
• It ends on a cliffhanger, with Constance abducted and D'Artagnan knocked out.

This was a decent swashbuckler, with some nice modern touches. I thought the amount of dirt, mud, and brown clothing a little excessive. But mostly I found it a little generic. Athos was olde than the others,  but Aramis isn't particularly handsome and Porthos wasn't that portly. D'Artagnan didn't have a lot of character either. Even Milady was a bit plain. 

A lot of the time, I found myself comparing this to the Richard Lester version, which was much more vivid, with stronger characters and clearer motivations. Maybe the problem was that I was watching in translation, and missing some of the subtleties. Maybe this just wasn't my style. 

But I'll probably watch the sequel. 

Ghost Face

This was a random pick Ghost Killer (2024) - Japanese action with a comedy twist.

It starts with a fight in an alley - four against one, Masanori Mimoto, in fast, almost silent hand to hand combat. Mimoto has defeated the four when he is shot.

Then we meet Akari Takashi, an ordinary college girl who works in a restaurant and has terrible dates with "influencers". On her way home one day, she notices a shell casing and picks it up. It came from the bullet that killed Mimoto in the opening. 

When she gets home, she meets her friend Ayaka Higashino, whose boyfriend has been knocking her around. When they go inside, she sees Mimoto in the apartment and freaks out. But Higashino can't see him - he's a ghost. It appears that he can't be released from the mortal coil until he can avenge himself. And he will need her help.

First, he shows her that he can help her. It turns out that he can take over her body and use his excellent fighting skills to help her beat up bullies like Higashino's boyfriend. He was a paid killer for an "antisocial organization". She doesn't like the association, but it does turn out to be handy. 

There are two things going for this movie. First is the fight choreography, by directort Kensuke Sonomoto, who seems to be getting a good name in the action genre, along with Yugo Sakamoto, who wrote this. The second is the "average college girl" dropped into the yakuza milieu. There are some cute scenes where she is punching someone out (under ghost control), and complaining about how much it hurts her fists. 

I enjoyed this, although I'm not sure how well they executed on this second part. Not sure they have the Japanese teen girl thing completely figured out. Or maybe it's me that's wrong. But the action was flawless. I'll definitely look up a few more of their films. 

Everyone Knows It's Windy

After watching Spinal Tap II, we had an urge to watch A Mighty Wind (2003). We mainly wanted to refresh our memory and then watch the commentary track.

This is a Christopher Guest mockumentaty, much in the style of Spinal Tap. A great manager of folk acts has died, and his son (Bob Balaban) wants to put on a memorial concert with his biggest bands: The Folksmen, The Main Street Singers, and of course, Mitch and Mickey. 

The Folksmen are Harry Shearer, Michael McKean, and Christoper Guest (same lineup as Spinal Tap). They are basically the Kingston Trio, three preppy guys singing train songs, phony calypso and of course, songs of the Spanish Civil War. 

The New Main Street Singers are basically the New Christie Minstrels, and have a similar complicated back story. The original band was a neuf-tet, a combo of a quartet and a quintet. The reformed around the one surviving member, and the new group includes a long-time fan, an ex-porn star, now witch, and Parker Posey, daughter of a founding member, taken in off the streets. Their sound is peppy and polished. 

Then there's Mitch (Eugene Levy) and Mickey (Catherine O'Hara), a romantic duet who had broken up years ago. I'm reminded of Richard and Linda Thompson, but more so to Ian and Sylvia. My reason: Mickey and Silvia (Love is Strange) x Ian and Silvia (Four Strong Winds) = Mitch and Mickey. After the breakup, Mickey settled down, married an catheter salesman and model train enthusiast. Mitch went insane - but he's doing much better now. He can koind of talk coherently and everything. 

Their big song, A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, has them kiss at the last chorus. But will they on the night, or will they leave the audience hanging? Or will Mitch even show up?

Now, I was alive and a fan during the big Folk Music Scare of the 60s. I have continued to be, and it's plain that these guys love the milieu as much as me, or anyone. They get so many little details right. For example, when they are interviewing O'Hara as Mickey, the camera holds on her twisting the clunky rings on her hands. This could just be a character beat, but it also reminded me of Joan Baez, whose partnership with Bob Dylan was famously fraught. Just adding another layer. 

The music, by the way, was great - and the actors played their instruments and sang their own songs. In fact, they sang them live on film, and according to the commentary, some scenes used the first take. The members practiced alone, then came together to play the song, and that's what was used. Mitch and Mickey's Next to You is a particularly sweet song. 

This isn't even to mention Fred Willard as a lame ex-kid star, or Jennifer Coolidge as ... it's hard to say what she is. And many more great improvisors in tiny scenes.

A mighty good film. 

You Know, For Kids

The Blank Check podcast did their Coen Brothers series a while ago. But I still hadn't rewatched The Hudsucker Proxy (1994), and had the urge, so pulled it out.

It is set in New York, 1958. Tim Robbins is a recent college graduate from Muncie, Indiana. He has come to New York to find work, but everything on offer requires experience. But fate, and the city wind, blows an ad for a mailroom job at Hudsucker Industries. He is hired and introduced to the chaotic, rule-bound, cut-throat world of the Hudsucker mailroom. 

Meanwhile, in the boardroom at the top of the Hudsucker Building, the annual report shows that the company is thriving in all areas. But the chairman and founder takes this opportunity to climb up on the conference table, take a long running start, and jump through the window to his death. 

One of the directors, Paul Newman, realizes that the founders shares will be sold to the public in a months time. The board will lose control of the company - unless they can depress the stock price by enough so that they can buy up the shares. All they need is a patsy - a figurehead so dopey it will scare off investors.

While the board is brainstorming nincompoops, Robbins is tasked with delivering a Blue Letter - a top-priority communication between board members to be delivered directly into Mr. Newman's hand. But when he gets to see Newman, instead of delivering the letter, he shows him his big idea: a sketch of a circle. "You know, for the kids." Newman has found his patsy, or proxy. 

So Robbins becomes the President of Hudsucker Industries. The press is puzzled - girl reporter Jennifer Jason Leigh thinks he's a phony, just pretending to be an idiot. She goes undercover as another Muncie girl, looking for a chance to get ahead. It's right out of Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. 

Leigh is the hero of this movie for me. She does a brilliant Katherine Hepburn mid-Atlantic accent, while talking thirteen to the dozen in snappy patter. The newsroom scenes with buddy Bruce Campbell and editor John Mahoney are very faithful to the screwball comedies this is clearly referencing. I've mentioned Mr. Deeds, but you get plenty of His Girl Friday, and even a touch of The Lady Eve. I've heard that the Coens' direction was mostly, "Faster."

So this was a lot of fun, although maybe Robbins could have been a little less clueless. I'd call it lesser Coen, which just shows how good their films are. 

Chin Chin

As I mentioned, Ms. Spenser visited Ischia, Italy, which inspired us to watch The Talented Mr. Ripley. The movie was filmed partly in Ischia, which they called "Mongibella". Coincidentally, a local shop had an sale on some Italian blood orange juice, brand name Mongibella. So I bought some, and made a simple cocktail:

Mongibella

3-4 oz. blood orange juice

2 oz. gin

Mix in a highball glass with ice. Add

1 dollop of pomegranate molasses (can sub grenadine)

Top with sparkling water