In 2013 we go the first film in this series, in which a group of street magicians who called themselves The Four Horsemen took the law into their own hands, and did an amazing heist on two continents, plainly appearing to be in both places at once. Now they are up against an even more aggressive adversary, Walter Mabry (Daniel Radcliffe) who turns out to be the son of Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) on whom the Horsemen made the big sting in the first film. Much more is at stake this time as Daniel, Merritt, Jack, and Lulu, played respectively by Jessie Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, and Lizzie Caplan go from being the scammers to the ones being scammed in an amazing trick involving teleportation of which they are the victims. Caine is back again as Tressler, more diabolical than before, and the magic has been stepped up a notch. Excellent film - and we get great insight into how some of these tricks are don. Rated 14A.
George Clooney is Lee Gates in this film about the world of television, high finance, and winners and losers. Gates anchors a financial show on television in which he picks hot stocks and recommends them to his audience, often having the principals in the businesses on the air as his guests to support his picks. Arrogant and self-assured, he makes for a most difficult star, as his producer Patty Fenn, long suffering and challenged by his unpredictability, works to make the show a success even though Gates is fond of just winging it. During one live show, what appears to be a workman appears on the set – and has a gun. He holds Gates hostage, live on the air, and straps the TV host into a suicide bomber's vest. The man is Kyle Budwell (Jack O'Connell), and he lost his entire financial life following Gates' stock recommendations. The stock tanked and Budwell had everything on the line – his house, his retirement savings, and a small inheritance – all gone, and now he wants revenge. An excellent hostage caper with a couple of nice twists. Rated 14A.
In this low-budget horror movie, Kevin Bacon is Peter Taylor, husband, father, and hard-working businessman. On a family trip to the Grand Canyon, the three kids, in the waning light, go exploring while the adults sit around the campfire. Little Mikey, their youngest son, gets separated from his siblings, falls into the canyon, but appears back at the campfire apparently unharmed and acting as if nothing ever happened. When they get home, strange things begin to happen. A tap turns itself on and off. Black handprints appear out of nowhere, and there are noises in the walls. Could this have something to do with the strange rocks that Mikey found in the canyon after his fall, and brought home? Right … so now everything is haunted, hallucinations become real, and everyone is at risk. Not a bad chiller at all! Rated 14A.
This six-part series directed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulon Rouge) is original and exclusive to Netflix this month, and is the streaming services most expensive and most elaborate project to date. Set in The Bronx in the 1970s, it tells the story of a group of inner city youths who become the leading, bleeding edge of what will eventually become rap and techno-pop. It spins out like a fairy-tale, part fantasy and part street life with a talented young cast. For the "oldsters,' you will recognize Jimmy Smits in a key role, one of the few characters over the age of 21 who appears in this story. Rated 14A.
This series from the F/X Network makes its debut on Shomi with a raunchy look at a somewhat over-the-hill burned out rock musician (Dennis Leary) who gets a second chance at making it big 20 years later, due to a string of circumstances that involve the appearance on the scene of a highly talented daughter (Elizabeth Gillies) he didn't know existed. Their relationship is non-existent initially, but soon she becomes the catalyst that has him try to get the band back together. Dennis Leary is also co-creator of the series. Rated 18A.