OTT sensation Jitendra Kumar is all set for his next release – the Netflix sports comedy drama movie ‘Jaadugar’, which is set to stream on the OTT platform from 15th July onwards. For this article, we have compiled a list of five must-watch magic-based Hollywood movies to watch on OTT before Jaadugar arrives on Netflix. We have tried to include a mix of popular and relatively underrated films and have excluded ‘Doctor Strange’ and ‘Harry Potter’ films as most of you might have already seen them.
Now You See Me, 2013 (Streaming on Netflix, Lionsgate Play)
The film revolves around the adventures of a team of highly skilled magicians led by the charismatic Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg). Called the Four Horsemen, the talented illusionists rob the accounts of the corrupt people and give the money to their audiences. But with FBI agent Dylan Rhodes (Mark Ruffalo) on their trail, will the next performance of The Horsemen be their last? Or there is more to their story than meets the eye?
The Prestige, 2006 (Streaming on Amazon Prime Video)
Helmed by eminent filmmaker Christopher Nolan, the movie revolves around the fierce rivalry between two nineteenth-century magicians (played by Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale). After an unfortunate incident, their partnership turns into enmity which is fuelled by vengeance. In their obsession to outwit each other’s magic shows, the two magicians go to great lengths, and both make huge sacrifices in the process.
The Great Buck Howard, 2008 (Streaming on Lionsgate Play)
The comedy drama movie features Colin Hanks as a budding writer Troy Gable, who drops out of law school and enlists to be an assistant to a once-glorious magician Buck Howard (John Malkovich) despite his father’s (Tom Hanks) resistance. How Troy assists Buck for the magician’s glorious comeback with the help of a publicist (Emily Blunt), form the rest of the film’s plot.
Oz the Great and Powerful, 2013 (Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar)
It’s a spiritual prequel to the 1939 Oscar-winning musical fantasy film ‘The Wizard of Oz’. The film features ‘Spider-Man’ actor James Franco in the lead role of a circus illusionist and conman Oscar Diggs, who finds himself in the majestic Land of Oz. There, he is believed to be the hero the enchanted place desperately needs. But the three witches namely Theodora, Evanora, and Glinda think otherwise. Will Oscar be able to transform against all odds into the powerful Wizard of Oz?
Aladdin, 2019 (Streaming on Disney+ Hotstar)
The live-action musical fantasy film was Guy Ritchie’s take on the iconic character. The plot follows a street smart and adorable thief Aladdin (Mena Massoud), who falls for the beautiful Princess Jasmine (Naomi Scott). Later he finds a magical lamp containing a powerful genie (Will Smith), who grants him three wishes. But Aladdin must also fight the power-hungry, evil sorcerer Jafar and prevent the latter from overthrowing the Sultan’s rule and from acquiring the lamp.
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