Michael Cera Signs On For Indie Film 'Magic, Magic'

Michael Cera

Young star of all things indie these days Michael Cera has signed on to a new project which will be his first major role since Scott Pilgrim Vs The World.

The film is called Magic, Magic and will be a move to more serious roles for Michael Cera who is normally associated with comedies. The film will follow a young woman who goes on holiday to Chile with her friends and begins to break down mentally. Her friends subsequently ignore her until it is too late. It is unclear where Cera will fit into this as yet but it sounds a much more moving film than we normally see Cera in.

The Chilean writer/director Sebastian Silva will write the script and direct the film. There is no start date as the

Eisenberg Confirmed For Woody Allen Film

On Tuesday I reported that Alec Baldwin was all but set to be confirmed as the new star of Woody Allen's newest movie and also that Jesse Eisenberg was set to take the lead role. Today MSN Movies reported that the rumour had been confirmed and that Eisenberg had bagged the lead role in the Allen project that will be shot in Rome. This came along with confirmation that Ellen Page, Alec Baldwin and Penelope Cruz will also star in the project. The as yet untitled film will surely now attract more attention as the man of the hour (Eisenberg) joins the cast. Everything he touches since 'The Social Network' seems to be turning to gold recently and his inclusion is sure to get people paying to see this one when it comes out.  The young Ellen Page will also bring a young audience to the film after her roles in recent blockbusters such as 'Inception'.

The chemistry that is possible between Eisenberg and Page should be a notable part of the film and I'm sure we will see a form of love interest here. Page worked so well with the geeky understated Michael Cera when they starred together in 'Juno' and has found a similar co-star in the form of Eisenberg. The two are talented when it comes to quick paced witticism and should work off each other well. If Allen manages to form an interesting story around the pairing this film could be one to watch out for.

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Year One (2009)

Ridiculous - 2.5/5

So I saw this film the other night called 'Year One' and I can say that I was enjoying it for about the first 5 minutes but then I realised how idiotic it was an spent the rest of the film enjoying a few cheap laughs and enduring a ridiculous plotline. The weird thing about this film was the about of big names it attracted. Despite a laughable plotline there seemed to be a lot of famous acting talent on board. This included the main two male character Jack Black and Michael Cera, David Cross, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Vinnie Jones, Hank Azaria and Paul Rudd. Ok, so they may not be some of the biggest names, but when you look just at comedy films they are all well known. Except Vinnie Jones, I have no idea why he was in this.

Jack Black was his normal annoying self and Michael Cera somehow managed to play his stereotypical shy and understated character even whilst being dressed as a caveman. I think this film comes as a black mark on Cera's career which has included some brilliant films including 'Superbad' and 'Youth In Revolt'. These films he can take pride in but I think this one was a slight embarrassment. However, Cera was the best character in the film, and provided far more entertainment than Jack Black managed to.

To sum up how poor this film was I would say this: I think the most entertaining part of the whole thing were the outakes. In terms of outakes, they were pretty good. In terms of a film, it was pretty poor. When I started the film I actually thought I was going to enjoy it but alas it spiralled uncontrollably down into the realms of unmemorable films. This one is one to miss. A message for Michael Cera: stick to what you're good at.

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Youth In Revolt (2009)

Cera does dual personality well - 3.5/5

So I saw this film last night called 'Youth In Revolt'. The reason I had been looking forward to this film was because I thought I would see Michael Cera in playing a bad-boy image much unlike many of his other films. We only saw fleeting glimpses of this persona but it was enough. I enjoyed seeing Cera's dual personality and I think he portrayed the alter ego Francois with flair. I wouldn't have thought Cera would be able to pull off a moustache wearing, cigarette smoking womaniser for one second so it was a nice surprise to see him in a role such as this, even if it was only for a bit. His performance as the intelligent, witty, shy and understated character Nick Twisp also did him justice. This is the type of role we are used to seeing Cera in and I was worried it could become a tad repetitive. However, he manages to bring something new to this role; whether it was the inclusion of a dual personality that allowed him to achieve this.
The actual storyline I thought was slightly off at times, major events seemed to happen while passing us by in a flash. However, it managed to stay coherent and funny throughout. You do find yourself asking a lot of questions throughout the film about how Nick Twisp has escaped the law, but I suppose we are meant to thank the brashness of his alter ego for this. The inclusion of beautiful well animated scenes integrated into the film added an indie touch to the proceedings which I actually liked. Ray Liotta's cameo role, as do many of his smaller roles, left much to be desired however.
I feel as if I may be leaning to much towards male actors in this blog, so lets give a hand to Portia Doubleday's performance in the biggest film of her career so far. She was both charismatic and captivating and it seemed like it was meant for the audience to have the same reaction as Nick Twisp when she broke the news about having a boyfriend at the start of the film. Going back to Michael Cera for a minute; this is the type of audience reaction evoked by Cera's geeky and understated performances. We end up rooting for him. This ultimately led to the ending being just what we expected and hoped for.
Would I recommend it? If you're a fan of 'Juno' you'll love this.