Why Watch? Because he first motion picture ever made was a short film. There are those that don’t like shorts. There are those that don’t like experimental. That’s all well and good, but we can all do with a little reminder that the first motion on screen was an experimental short. It makes sense that motion pictures didn’t burst forth from the head of D.W. Griffith fully formed, and like all infants, its first steps don’t at all resemble the mature being that stands before us now, over 130 years later. However, I was taught to respect my elders, and in taking 19 seconds out of your day, maybe you’ll find something mesmerizing in this image created by Eadweard Muybridge using 24 cameras set up to capture a horse in full stride. It is the birth of magic. What does it cost? Just 19 seconds of your time. Check out Horse for yourself:

When I hear that there’s a movie in the works called Magic, Magic I instantly think that it’s probably a movie about young witches, something going after all of that mystical-teenagers in love money. Well, despite the fact that it has just cast three hot, young actresses in key roles, Magic, Magic doesn’t appear to be that at all. According to Variety, “The pic revolves around a girl vacationing with her friends in a remote area of Chile who slowly starts losing her mental faculties.” Joining the already announced Michael Cera is Suckerpunch’s Emily Browning, Jack and Diane’s Juno Temple, and Maria Full of Grace’s Catalina Sandino Moreno. That’s one lucky Michael Cera. Magic, Magic is being directed by Sebastien Silva, a Chilean director who has seen success with small films La vida me mata, The Maid, and Old Cats. I haven’t seen any of Silva’s work myself, so I can’t vouch for its quality, but casting three gorgeous actresses for his new one is a pretty good strategy at getting my attention from here on. Production is scheduled to start late in the summer, so presumably we’ll be hearing more about this one soon. Until then I’m going to make it a point to stop thinking that I’m going to be seeing a movie about teenage witches every time I read the title.

There are few subjects that will bring back all the awkward memories of my middle school days, but the one always gauranteed to, is magic. That’s because I am a dork of the first order and made more than a few dollars cutting ropes up at parties and putting them back together again. But I never would have had the dedication or guts to do what the kids in Make Believe do. The documentary chronicles the lives of six teenagers as they prepare for a huge magic competition in Las Vegas. They come from all over the world, but they’re all outsiders. And only one of them can win. Check out the trailer for yourself:

I apologize for using abracadabra in the headline. I sincerely couldn’t help myself. But on to the information… Steve Carell has been attached to a comedy about Las Vegas magicians for a while now. It was originally put together in 2006, but now it seems to have some motion; a director has been attached as well. The film is called Burt Wonderstone and it is about Carell’s more traditional magic act being overshadowed by a flashy young upstart, resulting in a rivalry developing. It sounds like a cross between The Illusionist and The Prestige with a little Zoolander thrown in for good measure. Not bad. The director who is looking to sign on is Charles McDougall. Who is Charles McDougall, you ask? Shame on you! The man has won an Emmy! He’s a TV director who has worked with Carell on numerous episodes of The Office. In addition to that he has directed episodes of the brilliant Parks and Recreation, episodes of the show I haven’t seen The Tudors, and episodes of the unwatchable Sex and the City. His masterpiece is the Emmy winning pilot episode of Desperate Housewives. I say that with derision in my voice, but I’ve never seen an episode of Desperate Housewives. What do I know? Regardless, a guy who has directed episodes of several really good comedies is set to direct a comedy starring Steve Carell. That might be good. Of course, if they get Will Arnett to play the flashy young magician it will [Due to Content Scraping and Theft, we have been forced to try abbreviated feeds. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and woud very much appreciate you clicking through to view the full article on FilmSchoolRejects.com]

Now you’re looking for the secret. But you won’t find it because, of course, you’re not really looking. You don’t want to work it out. You want to be fooled. In the late 19th century, the magician Alfred Borden, “The Professor,” is on trial for the murder of rival magician, Robert Angier, “The Great Danton.” What the prosecution is trying to prove and what the consensus seems to say is that Borden, furious that Angier had stolen Borden’s “The Transported Man” trick, drowned Angier in a Chinese water torture cell on the evening of his final performance.

An evil wizard named Flagg seeks to subvert the Kingdom of Delain by placing a monarch in power that will listen to his every whim. With King Roland’s two sons – Peter and Thomas – Flagg sees an enemy to fear and a child to manipulate into the tool of destruction he needs on the throne.

In this exclusive interview, Cole takes Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi back to their middle school required reading list and gets the skinny on Clash.

Charles Carter is investigated in the death of President Warren Harding, duels with his nemesis Mysterioso, falls in love, out of love, in love again, and manages to escape life’s harshest dangers even when they have him bound in a straight jacket and thrown into the river.

A sci-fi epic seems like the logical choice, but an intimate character study would have been a far better choice. Hear me out.

With Half-Blood Prince being the, sigh, sixth film in the series, we figured everyone’s memory might need a little jogging before they go see it at midnight tonight.

It turns out that being a wizard is actually really dangerous. This wasn’t what I signed up for. I just wanted to turn invisible and sneak into the witches’ locker room and stuff like that.

Spoilers can be unavoidable. Especially if you go looking for them. But can you still be in with the in-crowd and not have your film experience ruined?