HOUDINI

Starring: Adrian Brody, Kristen Connolly

Directed By: Uli Edei

Rotten Tomatoes score: 44%

    The youngest "Best Actor" winner at the Academy Awards at 29 years old, Adrien Brody, stars as Harry Houdini in this 2 part series originally airing on the History channel. Although its been 13 years since he won the most prestigious award in acting, Adrien Brody still shows flashes of great acting chops in this bio-pic of Harry Houdini. At the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards Houdini received two nominations, one of which had Adrien Brody being nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie. I enjoyed part 1 of the series more than part 2, because it showed Houdini's origins as a young boy named Eric Weiss who was enamored with traveling magicians. Eric Weiss grew up and changed his name to Harry Houdini after his favorite magician Robert Houdin, and later becomes the world’s greatest magician performing for everyone including celebrities and royalty. It was very interesting to learn that Harry Houdini was recruited by MI5 (the British equivalent to the CIA) to do missions and spy on the Kaiser in Berlin. Additionally, the series allows Houdini to perform his tricks, then rewind as Houdini narrates to show the audience the simplicity of how the tricks were actually pulled off. This was one of the highlights of the series, as it reminded me of Robert Downey Jr's Sherlock Holmes' slow motion breakdown of what he is about to do, or what he has done. The trick and explanation where Houdini makes the old bell tower ring in front of the Russian royal family and Rasputin, was one of the best scenes in the movie. There were a lot of tricks and escapes in this movie that were pleasantly revealed to the audience, adding to the satisfaction of the viewing experience. Some of the best tricks were: catching a bullet with his teeth, making an elephant disappear, escaping from being chained up in a police jail cell, and jumping off a bridge into freezing cold water.  It was well directed, and made great use of fast paced zoom in shots and super slow motion to tell the story. This movie is one of those cases where the critics are too hard on a movie as RT only gave it 44%, but I will stand up for this movie and say it is very watchable, and entertaining. Overall, I give "Houdini" a 7 out of 10 for being well acted, well directed, and showcasing a quality story set in the early 1900's.