The Disaster Artist

The astounding achievement here is not the meticulous reproduction of scenes--or mis-scenes, if you will--from Tommy Wiseau's disasterpiece The Room; it's the level of sympathy and understanding that the Franco brothers are able to produce for the unyieldingly idiosyncratic auteur. They clearly admire something in the determination--or, perhaps, chutzpah--of the severely untalented would-be movie star; maybe they recognize some piece of themselves in Wiseau, a sense of "there but for the grace of God..." Indeed, by making a comedy about the making of the unintentional comedy, the brothers, one could argue, have actually been derivative of a work that would otherwise be a target of sheer mockery. As for this movie, it is funny, though not non-stop laughs; occasionally, the recreation is cringeworthy, sort of like watching scenes from the UK version of The Office (Wiseau and David Brent have a lot in common). All in all, the whole package is entertaining enough to make this film a good watch, especially if you stick around for the ending--when clips from both films are played side-by-side for comparison--and the post-credits scene, where the doppelgangers meet. Hopefully, everyone who is this hopeless can have his or her moment of triumph--and perhaps this flick can light that way.

Now You See Me

I think I might be a sucker for magic tricks. I usually enjoy those specials on TV where some magician gets a laugh or two from passers by with some elegantly clever trick, so it's no surprise that I found this flick to be entertaining. Much of the goings on rely on obvious movie hokum (there's no way live performers could pull off such elaborate stunts), and the ultimate resolution kind of stinks (somewhat preposterous, although perhaps sharp viewers could have seen it coming), but it's the splash and dash and elan that carries the day (not to mention a couple of very easy on the eyes ladies to brighten up the screen). The cynic wants to say no, but the pragmatist just says "to hell with it, just enjoy the show."