Alan Dee’s movie preview: The Internship, Now You See Me, Chasing Mavericks

Looking to bring a bit of Wedding Crashers sparkle to a comedy of modern times, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson team up again in The Internship.
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in The InternshipOwen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in The Internship
Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in The Internship

They’re a couple of old-school sales schmoozeres who could sell a barrel load of bacon at a bar mitzvah – but when boss John Goodman decides to shut up shop because all his customers are buying from online alternatives rather than his smooth sales force, they’re left high and dry.

There’s not much call in the modern job market for middle-aged men with little understanding of the commercial possibilities of cyberspace.

But that doesn’t stop them talking their way into internships at Google, who could use some warm product placement PR round about now, what with all those uncomfortable stories about miniscule tax bills and servers opening their secrets to secret service spooks.

Unfortunately, if they want to hang around for more than a brief spell of work experience they have to proof they are a match and more for superbrainy geeks half their age. Can they do it? What do you think?

It’s the first time the two leads have been on set together since The Wedding Crashers made such a mint and there’s no denying that they’re easy to watch in a buddy comedy. If you were expecting anything remotely surprising, though, you had best log on elsewhere.

There are some serious stars on show in Now You See Me, a tight thriller with master illusionists right in the middle of the story.

There’s a quartet of clever stage tricksters, including Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, who round off a showboating display in Las Vegas by somehow transporting a member of the audience into a bank vault where he helps himself to a stash of cash which is then distributed to the punters to punish the bank’s misdeeds. Hoorah for the little guy!

Banker Michael Caine is not amused, as you might expect, and he is even less happy when Morgan Freeman realises that the stunt was just a distraction from what the quartet are really cooking up. It’s a diverting adventure that won’t stay long in the mind, but the novelty of the storyline and the confidence with which the whole thing is presented makes it a decent bet.

In Chasing Mavericks Gerard Butler plays a legendary surfer who rescues a young lad from the sea.

The kid grows up to be obsessed by surfing and determined to tackle the biggest waves around, so the older man reluctantly takes him under his wing to teach him how to achieve his goals without ending up six feet under. It’s based on a true story and the best thing about a fairly obvious tale is the stunning watersports footage.