Magic Magic (2013)

Pretty Good

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

This is a very good movie. The character development is great and the tension seems unbearable at times. Its a movie that has more affect with the second viewing because once u know the outcome, you can see every little creepy nook and cranny. This film follows a young and probably immature girl who goes on a vacation with her older cousin and a few of her older friends. This girl thought she would have fun but it turns out she just couldn't handle it. There are many things that remind me of my childhood, as I have been in the shoes of the protagonist and the antagonist at times. That moment when ur surround by older kids and you think they are always laughing at you. Or that moment when you are the older kid and can tell the girl is uncomfortable but keep it up for no reason. Just cuz ur older and apparently to you, cooler too. Being isolated and feeling trapped can cause a person to really lose their grip especially when they are struggling to fit in. But this movie is so much more than that. The film slowly builds to an extreme level of tension and as the viewer you are scared to see what happens next. Its an example and testament to times when you think you have a clue but you don't. The older kids were certain they knew what Alicia needed. They were a little too certain,for tge wrong reason. They didn't really read the signs. This is a powerful movie for youths to watch. A powerful message on bullying and a powerful message on paranoia, Magic, Magic truly stands tall in its genre. It IS a horror movie and in the best kind of way possible.

There's really no reason for the low scores. Bare in mind they are usually accompanied by 'it wasn't what I was expecting' and 'I didn't understand it'. It's not complicated or pushing any boundaries but this is a good film with some horribly unlikeable characters and for me, some really upsetting/uncomfortable scenes. The lad out of Superbad has done a great job of switching up his typecast and portraying a convincing horrible character. This isn't a spoiler, you can get it from the synopsis but I think the film does a great job of showing how your previous experience, comfort zone, expectations and social anxieties can have such an effect on how different the same experience can be for people and how your own preconceptions fears can.....well just mess up a good time for everyone.

Interesting and unusual.A mousy girl suffers deadly anxiety amongst strangers who react in ways that provoke her decline.Not much of a logline, but this is brilliantly observed. The touches of social awkwardness, fear, delusion, psychosis are really well played by the actress, and I found her completely convincing. That's the first time I've seen a film bothering to show this kind of character, who goes into a mental frenzy because she's so fearful of the harsh company of others, the constant evidence of death. Very sad.And the rest of the cast does a great job weaving a web of cruelty, contempt, indifference, caring.The end is bizarre, and I suppose the abortion subplot should have tied in more tightly with the death. All the pills and the doctoring, from the psychiatrist prescriptions through the friends to the witchdoctors, only hasten the inevitable. I suppose that makes the title a sarcastic dig at our efforts to treat mental illness. That's something to reflect on, so I mark it up.Music excellent,

So this is supposed to be a thriller. Really!? If you're expecting a plot that twists and turns and keep you on the edge of the couch in suspense, do NOT bother with this! There will be some spoilers below here so if you don't want to have something revealed, now is the time to stop Reading!Lets summarize this Movie. A girl suffers from quite a severe mental illness (never explained what in the Movie). She's on a truck load of medication and somehow she gets to go with her cousin to South America with people she never met(you don't know in the beginning that she's mentally ill, but it becomes clear very soon)!? So, wait. Is she alone in the World? Who the hell lets their kid do this? It's mind numbingly stupid and unrealistic! Well let's bypass that "Little" thing and continue. She tells no one of her condition and apparently whoever let her go on this trip hasn't told her cousin about this. Yeeeeah right!? Again, who is believing this? She starts to behave erratically and weird, and also the people she is with is acting a bit weird too, as too not "give away" that she's ill. And no, it's not difficult to figure that out even though they try and "hide" it! So, they try and build up a suspense where you're not supposed too know if she's crazy or they are and it's a snooze fest since you already figured that pout a long time ago. At the end we have the Little twist with the Mapuche (not sure of the spelling) "shamanism". Oooooh, maybe she is possessed or something. Spoiler of the end coming up now!!!!!!!!!Nope, she has taken some medication, and some she apparently stopped taking, she is sleep depraved and she gets some kinda tea to drink. Some medication was muscle relaxers and she chokes on a huge tea leaf and no one notice since there's a shamanism going on at full blast and people are freaking out. Annnnd the end.Thriller? No definitely not! A drama that's trying to explore a "damaged" mind and the breakdown? Yeah, I can agree with that. If you usually have a hard time figure movies out, and enjoy slow obvious storytelling with basically no suspense (if you are one of those people you probably think it's incredibly suspenseful though), this is the movie for you. I gave it a 3/10. It gets 2 Points for decent acting and 1 pity point because it's almost Christmas ;)