Magic, Magic

The American Alicia (Juno Temple) travels to Chile to meet her cousin Sarah (Emily Browning) and they immediately travel to a remote island with Sarah's boyfriend Agustin (Agustin Silva), his sister Barbara (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and their friend Brink (Michael Cera). Out of the blue, Sarah returns to the city and Alicia is left alone with the trio of Chileans that speak most of the time in Spanish. Soon the unstable Alicia is unable to sleep and becomes paranoid; she uses lots of pills and gets in a journey with no return.

"Magic Magic" is a weird and boring movie about a tale of paranoia. There is no story; therefore the screenplay is only a development of the storyline (unstable young woman travels to Chile and becomes paranoid with tragic consequences). The result is a hateful movie with non- charismatic characters, no story, no nothing but waste of time. My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "Viagem Sem Volta" ("Journey with no Return")

"She's not a bad person, I know her, she just needs a doctor for her hand." Alicia (Temple) is a young woman travels to Chile to visit her cousin and her friends. While there the friends begin to make her feel uncomfortable and she wants nothing more then to leave. What starts off as a fun vacation for her soon starts to unravel and becomes something out of a nightmare, for everyone. I will admit that I was kind of looking forward to this mainly for the fact that it looked like Michael Cera was playing a creepy bad guy. Without ruining anything he's not a bad guy but this is a very different part for him. I have to say that Juno Temple was great in this and should get some type of award. As far as the movie, from the opening shot the movie made you feel a little uncomfortable and never really let up at all. The camera work and the acting really leaves you feeling unable to relax and because of that the movie reaches a level of creepiness I wasn't ready for. Watching Temple start to unravel is mesmerizing and when the end finally comes you are left stunned and not sure what to make of what you just saw. A movie that leaves you thinking and wondering to me is the sign of a good movie. Overall, a movie that really comes out of nowhere and makes you feel uncomfortable the whole time, which in this case is a good thing. I give it a B+.

Juno Temple plays Alicia, a young American woman who has traveled to South America to share some adventures with her cousin, Sarah, played by Emily Browning. Sarah introduces Alicia to her boyfriend, Agustín, who is currently studying hypnotism, his sister, Barbara, and their mutual American friend, Brink, played by Michael Cera. Together the five of them begin to head for a remote island off the coast of Chile when Sarah is called to return to the city. Alicia then finds herself alone with her cousin's four friends, who speak more Spanish than English, in an unfamiliar land. As culture shock sets in, insomnia and paranoia take control as Brink desperately tries to seduce the emotionally unstable Alicia.

The chaos captured in the film is enough to induce a panic attack in some unsuspecting audience members. This is far from a fun film to watch, do not be fooled by Michael Cera's name. Cera does play the perfect creep though and is a surprisingly good antagonist, even if only in Alicia's perspective. Those looking for Michael Cera comedy in a horror flick are going to hate this. This is an indie psychological drama that will win over film festivals but the majority will despise it for being so obscure and frustrating to watch. No matter how good the film does get, the ending will leave you feeling a little cheated. But perhaps that is the point.

Magic Magic is a well-crafted nightmare in the shell of a story that could have been a romantic comedy adventure. There is so much that could be said to be wrong with the film and yet all the wrongs helped portray a mental breakdown better. It's a heart-breaking story that most people are never going to want to witness again, even if they liked the film.

Alicia (Juno Temple) visits her cousin Sara (Emily Browning) and her boyfriend Agustín in Chile. It's her first time outside of America. They with Agustin's sister Bárbara (Catalina Sandino Moreno) and his friend Brink (Michael Cera) go on a road trip. Sara had to go back to school before they arrive at the remote vacation house.

Michael Cera is an annoying prick and it's infuriating to watch him. He almost makes this unwatchable all by himself. He's an annoying jerk and he's so whiny about it. Of course, he's written that way and I can't complain about his acting. It does make it hard to stay with the movie. It does get to an interesting place as Alicia slowly breaks down. Agustin is also a bit annoying with the sleeping pills but he's nothing compared to Brink. If one can live with the annoyance, this is an ok movie.

Perhaps this movie only works if you've known someone with the kind of debilitating paranoia that Alicia (Juno Temple) suffers from. I don't know. All I can say is that I was glued to it from start to finish and I honestly feel that it was masterfully crafted and offers so much more than most people are giving it credit for.

I understand the backlash... it really is NOT a horror movie. But its not a showcase of intangible visual art-house dream-sequence garbage either, which is what I think people might imagine it to be when they read the synopsis. For me, it was never even the slightest bit boring.

If you want to see how mundane situations can be brilliantly transformed into nightmarish experiences for one character, while other characters awkwardly try to deal with it (and often provoke it), eventually watching this dynamic grow to high levels of darkness and intensity, well then this is the movie for you!

I wish more people could look a little deeper and appreciate the many layers and eccentricities of this movie! Like another reviewer mentioned, many of the scenes could be perceived as flat out hilarious. That is, if you can allow yourself to be simultaneously mortified and amused. This movie has the ability to provoke a wide array of CONTRASTING emotions. I've never seen anything quite like it.

It's not a movie for everyone. But if you read this review and still want to watch it, you'll probably think its pretty neat.