Movie Review - Free Birds

A movie about thanksgiving that hit Australia just after New Years is an interesting choice for late school holiday viewing (especially given the big guns of Frozen and The Desolation of Smaug hit a couple of weeks earlier).  So is Free Birds a winner or is it a turkey?

Free Birds sees independent thinker turkey Reggie (Owen Wilson), who appears to be the only turkey who is aware of his impending fate, officially pardoned by the President of the USA and taken to live at Camp David.  He quickly makes himself at home only to have his dream life interrupted by Jake (Woody Harrelson) who believes he had been sent by the great turkey to convince Reggie to go back in time to the first thanksgiving and "get turkeys off the menu".

This was an interesting one for me since one of the co-writers/producers is a regular on a podcast I listen to, as such I got to get a heap of info about the movie, well in advance, from Scott Mosier.  In case you don't know, he is a long time collaborator with Kevin Smith and was producer on Clerks, Clerks 2, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back and so on.  Trust me, this diversion is relevant to the following review.

It's hard to say much about this film.  The animation is solid, the performances enthusiastic, the plot is insane and it ticks all the boxes but there isn't that much new stuff.  A lot of the laughs come from slapstick routines and there are a few good one liners but it seems to be one of those movies that you just want to be a little funnier.  That is until you watch it with a bunch of kids.

The group I was with included two boys (9 and 6) and two girls (9 and 5) and they loved it.  Their laughter made it funnier for the adults and there was no doubt that they loved it.  I can see this being a party movie for a bunch of friends with a bunch of munchies.  Why munchies in particular?  Because I believe there will be another group Free Birds will appeal to...

To put it bluntly, this is a kid friendly stoner comedy and the influence of Scott Mosier's previous work is very obvious (see, I told you it was relevant).  From dopey "woah" moments to insane "WOO-HOAH" sequences and a smattering of references to other stoner favourites (The Bill and Ted reference was a personal favourite) along with a great role for the legendary George Takei this is one movie that will... compliment certain states of mind.

Oh, and make sure you hang around for the now compulsory credits scene.

So, if you are in the mood for a quiet evening with an entertaining animated adventure I'd suggest giving this a miss.  However if you want to entertain a bunch of kids and be able to laugh along with them then Free Birds can certainly be put onto your menu.

Alternative (Aussie) Title:  Stone The Turkeys!

Movie Review - Now You See Me

So what do you get when The Incredible Hulk tries to team up with God to take on zombie fighters Tallahassee and Columbus with occasional appearances by Alfred via Summer Bay?  Well, nothing like what you expect... or is it...

Now You See Me sees a group of four different magicians, J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg), Merrit McKinney (Woody Harrelson), Hanley Reeves (Isla Fisher) and Jack Wilder (Dave Franco), brought together by an anonymous hooded figure in order to stage performances where they appear to magically pull major bank heists and then give the audience the money.  They are stage managed by Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine), trying to be debunked by Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman) and being chased by a duo consisting of FBI Agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) and Interpol representative Alma Dray (Melanie Laurent).  You may have guessed that this isn't a detailed character piece.

Right from the outset this movie is, well, silly.  Everything is played as big as possible, as fast as possible and as busy as possible.  Terrible for any sense of believability or character development, but great for making sure you don't notice.

The main players certainly do a good job with their roles.  You can tell that they are enjoying themselves and no one takes their part too seriously which is a big plus for this movie.  As the action cuts from one group to another the actors make sure they get the most out of their parts.

As this is a movie at least partially about magic there is much discussion about misdirection and the phrase "the closer you look, the less you see" is used constantly throughout proceedings.  It is apparent that they wanted to apply this to the movie itself but it seems the makers were worried people might miss subtle hints and red herrings so we end up with a very ham fisted version.  The movie is continually going look at this, but what about that, hey can we really trust her or him or them, well these are the good guys or are they, etc.  The plot twists come thick and fast and this helps the final big reveal to carry some weight even after it is virtually shouted from the rooftops in the lead up.

Where Now You See Me shines is it's ability to have all of the above problems but still be a straight up, highly enjoyable romp.  It lays its cards on the table very early on and it is safe to say that those who enjoy the opening character montages (Woody Harrelson's being the highlight) can expect to have a good, if very silly, time.

I have decided to scrap the "in a word" finale and build on something I used in my World War Z review...

Alternative title - "Now You See Me/That/Him/Her/Them/This/The Other Thing Over There"