Day 81 continued - Magic to Win (Hong Kong)

 

"The world consists of five elements: gold, wood, water, fire and earth. In the wizard world of 'Magic to Win', the story also revolves around the "Five Element Wizardry", portraying a story that surpasses our imagination. Kang Sengui (Raymond Wong), a university professor, is the Water Magician of "Five Elements Wizardry". Although he uses magic spells in his daily life, his superpower remains a secret. By accident, his power is transmitted to his student, Macy (Karena), who recklessly uses her newfound powers for personal gain and money-making"-Wikipedia

Another bad movie to review! The film was a bit of a joke, the acting was bad and comedy was a bit corny. The characters are mostly ridiculous, and you might laugh out of the sheer stupidity of a few of them. The worst thing about this film was its special effects which were on par with the special effects from the godawful live action adaption of Avatar the Last Airbender. The story was very easy to read, so this might be a good film to show children but I am sure many adults would be compelety bored if they watch this film.

0.5/5

Day 34 - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (British/American)

 

"Four kids travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion."

 

I couldn't help but to compare this film series to the Lord of the Rings series as they are both long running and full of fantasy plus the original authors were friends. There is a big reason why we remember Peter Jackson and not Andrew Anderson. This film isn't really epic despite its length and what happens in the film. It has a great start but it starts to feel rushed towards the end of the film. The effects were good for the most part, some didn't stand out as much which is good but bad at the same time. At parts some of the characters are annoying with no real purpose. I did enjoy the fact that Liam Neeson voiced Aslan the lion. The actress who played the white witch didn't really stand out and was basically plain. I did like the costume design and the design of the world. It is an enjoyable film that is watchable for all ages.

 

 

3/5

 

Little info

Aslan is a product of CGI, it took 10 hours to develop each frame of  him plus he has 5.2 million individual hairs.

The White Witch was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's Snow White

 

 

Day 1 - Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay (American Documentary)

"An in depth look into the mind and beginning of the magician Ricky Jay"

 

What an excellent documentary, it was well directed and everyone felt natural. There were no awkward interviews, only interesting statements about Ricky and his mentors. There are clips from his television appearances, movie roles and performances. It was a really interesting to have Ricky Jay be the main focus even when he was talking about his mentors you could feel the respect he had for them. An amazing man who has so many wonderful things to say and many acts to show us.

It felt like the documentary was older than it actually was (it was filmed in 2012) probably due to the budget of the film or the director wanting the documentary to look natural. It succeeded since the documentary as a whole was remarkable.

 

3/5

 

 

Info about Ricky Jay:

Was in the Guinness World Record book for being able to throw a playing card 190 ft at 90 miles an hour. He and his firm worked on the movies The Prestige, The Illusionist, Ocean's Thirteen, and many more.