Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (in theaters)

“Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” is reminiscent of certain notable reboot-sequels of the last decade. 

Legacy characters, most of whom haven’t been doing well since we saw them last, team up with new faces with a lot of potential. The plot evokes a classic film on the series, with a lot of nods to things that happened previously. There’s a mix of humor, danger and tragedy, along with several dramatic set pieces of the type the series is known for. 

And, just like those reboot-sequels, it’s entertaining but far from perfect. The new characters are great, but the girl doesn’t get nearly enough attention. The big twist is clever, but the pacing means the audience doesn’t get nearly enough chance to savor it. The magical interaction is fun, but it often comes in the place of character development. It’s fun, but not as much fun as it could have been. 

Telling you anything about the plot runs pretty quickly into spoiler territory, and this is one of those movies where spoilers definitely kill part of the fun. I will say you have to have seen at least one of the previous movies to care about this one, and if you haven’t seen the sequel certain bits won’t make sense. 

If you like previous movies in the series, or heist movies in general, it’s worth a watch. But if you’re not already at least a little bit enamored of the series, this isn’t going to be the one that makes you fall in love. 

Grade: Two and a half stars

Truth & Treason (in theaters)

Sometimes the hardest stories are the ones that most need to be told. 

That’s definitely the case with “Truth & Treason,” the story of a German teenager who was executed trying to wake his countrymen up to the evils of the Nazi party. It’s a tense, heartbreaking story, one that’s particularly relevant in today’s political environment. Though a more naturalistic touch with the script might have led to an even more powerful movie, the story and acting are strong enough to carry things all on their own. 

The movie follows 16-year-old Helmuth Hübener (Ewan Horrocks), a young member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints living in Nazi Germany. A member of Hitler Youth like all his friends, Hübener begins to question the regime when a friend of his is arrested and killed for being Jewish. With the help of a smuggled radio that lets him listen to the BBC and a city hall internship that gives him access to banned books, he and his friends distribute pamphlets trying to convince his countrymen of the truth. When the government gets wind of this, however, they send an investigator (Rupert Evans) to track him down. 

Horrocks is excellent as Hübener, capturing both the character’s innocence and intensity. Evans is chilling as the investigator, desperate to believe his own government’s lies so it can excuse the harm he’s caused. 

Matt Whittaker, who also directed a documentary on Hübener several years before, makes the movie a straightforward heroic thriller. Though the approach misses some potential nuance, it honors the memory of a young man who fought for truth no matter how much it cost him. 

May we be that brave today. 

Grade: Three stars  

Jenniffer Wardell is an award-winning movie critic and member of the Denver Film Critics Society and the Utah Film Critics Association. Drop her a line at [email protected].