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Death Defying Acts

2007

Gillian Armstrong

Catherine Zeta-Jones, Guy Pearce, Timothy Spall, Saoirse Ronan ...

4.8

6,737

Thriller. Romance. Drama It is 1926, and Harry Houdini is the most famous performer in the world. Audiences flock to watch him perform his amazing stunts. But the man behind the legend is a tortured soul, having been unable to hear his mother’s dying words. He offers a $10,000 reward to anyone who can contact his mother from beyond the grave. When a beautiful but deceptive psychic, Mary McGregor, and her sidekick daughter, Benji, take the challenge, Harry is ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Dennis Harvey Variety	"A handsome contraption that’s never very engaging, let alone convincing."	NEU
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"It never seems to come alive with any believable interplay of characters; the movie locks itself into a watertight tank of a premise, and the handcuffs won't come off (…) Rating: ★★ (out of 5)"	NEG
United States	Neil Genzlinger The New York Times	"What doesn’t click here is the relationship between Ms. Zeta-Jones and Saoirse Ronan (...) The story, though (...) is intriguing, and Mr. Pearce’s performance (...) helps sell it"	NEU
United States	Dana Stevens Slate	"A minor but satisfying entry in the 'what if' historical-fantasy genre"	POS
United Kingdom	Anna Smith Empire	"Despite the confused tone and underwhelming romance, this pretty little picture entertains in the main thanks to the intriguing subject matter and top turns from Zeta-Jones and Ronan (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 5)"	NEU

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