Ed's Review Dot Com

Katalyst Films, Lionsgate

Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck, Catherine O’Hara,  Katheryn Winnick, Kevin Sussman, Lisa Ann Walter, Casey Wilson, Rob Riggle, Martin Mull

Killers is a silly movie, but it’s really funny.  This is a farce.  Ashton’s character, Spencer, is a highly paid hit man.   He works on the enemies of the state.   Suddenly he meets the girl of his dreams, and vice versa, while on a misson to Nice.   Jen (Heigl) is on vacation with her parents after a nasty breakup, when she meets Spencer.  A whirlwind romance and they get married.  Spencer is out of the business.  He wants no part of it, but as in all movies of this sort, naturally he’s going to get a call, and get sucked back in.   Then the fun starts.  Nobody is who they seem, and everyone is out to kill Spencer for a huge bounty.   So they can’t trust anyone. 

It’s rolicking good fun with gun battles, car chases, and lots of betrayal and double-crosses.

This movie is just plain fun.  Ashton Kucher is not a brilliant actor, but he’s pretty good here as he’s not challenged with much.  Tom Selleck is hysterical with a portrayal of Spencer’s father-in-law that reminds us of Robert DeNiro in “Meet the Parents” mixed with Steve Martin in “Father of the Bride“.  It’s one of the funniest roles I’ve seen Selleck in, and it was good to see him again in something really funny.

I recommend this movie if you want to just enjoy some laughs at a rediculous premise and not look for anything too deep!  It’s certainly not cerebral by any stretch of the imagination.

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Chubbco Film, Senator Entertainment Company, Lleju Productions

Samuel L. Jackson, Carrie-Anne Moss, Michael Sheen, Martin Donovan, Gil Bellows, Brandon Routh, Stephen Root, Benito Martinez, Yara Shahidi, Sasha Roiz

Unthinkable makes you think about just that, the unthinkable.  This is not a factual story, it’s more of a morality play where you must determine your own values and beliefs.  What would you do?  How far would you go?   There were these types of films back in the old days.  Films like  Fail Safe and Collossus were making us think about war and technology and what if we go too far.  Even films like Logan’s Run, Soylent Green or Omega Man are mankind out of control and going too far movies.  I’m sure you can think of others like this.  In this one we look terrorism right in the eye.  We have to decide if we’re going to let them win, or do we put away our values and beliefs to win?  What is the cost?  Is it worth it?

Samuel L Jackson plays “H”, an out of the mainstream terrorism interrogation specialist.   Nobody authorizes what he does, but no one tells him not to do it.  We don’t get to know much about the motivation of this man, and whether he’s very good or very evil, or just plain insane.  He seems to want to make each of the characters justify his barbarianism in some way or another.  But why?  Is it because he knows he’s right and wants confirmation and acceptance, or is it because he’s crazy and wants to put the responsibility on someone else.

You’ll never really find this out.  We just know that something awful is about to happen, and it involves terrorism and the death of millions of Americans, and they guy who was caught, wanted to be caught?

There’s plenty of suspense, and plenty of action and gory torture and blood.  There’s also no way not to spend the time looking into your own heart to see what’s in there.

There was an old short story about a man who ran the drawbridge at a remote section of the railroad.  Normally the drawbridge is up for the boats to pass, but his job is to be there at his post when the train arrives to lower the bridge and allow the train to safely pass.  This is not a very realistic story, but it’s a morality play.   The man is at his post, about to lower the bridge and notices his child playing on the tracks.  Try as he may, the little child could not hear and the train was about to arrive.  Lower the bridge and kill the child, or save the child and kill hundreds of strangers on the train.  This is the dilemma.  Is your child worth more than the hundreds of strangers you don’t know?

That’s kind of where we are here?  How far do you go?  When do you lose your beliefs?  Is anything justified to save millions of people when there is no time?

There are many things that are pretty rediculous in this film.  The ending especially is really far fetched.  But it’s for the purpose of making you think about it, and what would you do?   Truly suspensefully, it’s a great story, and well acted.  Samuel L Jackson plays the bad ass about as good as anyone on film today!  It’s well worth watching and a lot to think about afterward.  Do it!

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River Road Entertainment

Kristen Stewart, Dakota Fanning, Michael Shannon, Stella Maeve, Riley Keough, Scout Taylor-Compton, Alia Shawkat, Johnny Lewis, Tatum O’Neal, Brett Cullen, Hannah Marks

This is a biopic of Cherie Curry, not Joan Jett.  It looks like it ought to be Joan’s movie, but though Kristen Stewart does a good job of playing her, she’s not the focus of the movie.   This means that Dakota Fanning (Cherie Curry) is the focus.  In the special features, Dakota talks about how much fun it was to play a real person.  She’s never done that before.  Well, she has now, and believe it or not, she actually carried it off.  If you don’t belive me, check out Cherie Curry on You Tube. 

There are also some special features with interviews with Cherie herself.  She wrote the autobiography and assisted Dakota through the making of the movie.  She has lived an interesting life.  The events of the film cover 2 years.   Cherie started with Joan and the Runaways at 15, but 18 it was over.   Cherie fell into a world of drugs and fell hard.  Finally, after nealy dying, she pulled out of it and went through rehab and spent time helping others avoid the pitfalls she fell into.  Believe it or not, she’s now know for chain saw wood carving!   Quite a long way from practicing in an old trailer and singing Cherry Bomb!

The characters are gritty, and the rock and roll is good.  The soundtrack is great if you’re  a fan of the genre.  I have never been a rock fan, soul music was my forte in the 70’s when this all happened, but it was an interesting story to hear how it all happened.  And according to those who lived it, it’s very accurately portrayed.  The music business is hard, and nobody wanted to see an all girl rock band in 1975, but Joan and Cherie and the rest certainly paved the way.

If you’re a fan of biopics or rock and roll, you’re bound to enjoy the history of this film.  If you are bored with the subject, then there’s not much else to the movie, it’s just a story of how they met, and the two years that turned them into Rock and Roll superstars.

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Color Force, Dayday Films, Dune Entertainment III

Zachary Gordon, Robert Capron, Rachael Harris, Steve Zahn, Devon Bostick, Chloe Moretz, Karan Brar, Grayson Russell, Laine MacNeil

I have seen the kids series in the bookstore.  No I haven’t read them.   This is a film for Nickelodeon and Disney Channel kids.  It’s perfect for kids in middle school which is where the story takes place.  Greg is a wimp.  He knows it, but he survives on his skills and his wit. 

Adults can like this film, but mostly it’s going to be a hit with the kids.  Some of the things these kids go through, I’m sure the kids see every day.  It’s interesting how all schools have the “urban legends” like the “Cheese Touch” in this movie.  Nobody knows how it got there or where it came from , but even the janitor sweeps around it.  The Legend of the Cheese Touch is one of the best parts of the movie.

It seems Greg gets into trouble ever which way he turns, and watching him wriggle is the fun of the movie.  One event after another in the year of a middle school student is what we get.  And at the end of the year, greg thinks it was all worth it.

I rated this movie pretty high because i was positively pleased with the way it was done.  None of the actors are really known, but they all did a pretty good job.  Kids will enjoy it the most, but if you have some kids to take with you, it’s going to give you an excuse to go.  All of us have had the experience of being in middle school once, and we’re going to identify.  We’re going to get a guilty pleasure out of watching what happens to this poor kid.  But he takes it well.

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Marv Films

Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer, David Bradley, Iain Glen, Jack O’Connell, Ben Drew, Joseph Gilgun, Liam Cunningham, Charlie Creed-Miles, Sean Harris, Jamal Downey

What to say about Harry Brown?  Well, if there was a movie close to this, it would be Gran Torino.  This is a similar story.  I was drawn to it because I have always been a fan of Michael Caine’s work.  In this movie Harry Brown, (Caine) is a old timer, living in a very violent and dark neighborhood.   He pretty much turns a blind eye to what’s going on, and spends him time reminiscing with his close friend and having a drink at the local pub.   Harry’s best friend’s wife is very sick and in the hospital.  He goes to visit, but refused to pass through a tunnel in the park which is a hangout for gangs and drug dealers.  Some really nasty stuff goes on, but Leonard, Harry’s friend is murdered, but the police don’t want to deal with it.  So Harry decides to put his IRA military training to work by cleaning up the neighborhood under his own terms.

This is a harsh film which deserves the “R” rating.  There is some very graphic scenes.  It’s also got some action, but action is not the key to this film.  It’s rather slow starting, and plods along.  But you get to know Harry and his friends really well, and you learn why the bad guys need dealt with.

It’s a great revenge movie, and is a very fulfilling if you wait with it, and invest the time with it.

Not everyone is going to like this movie.  If you want fast paced action and lots of excitement, this takes a bit long to get to the point.  But it’s a good small budget indie film with great performances by everyone, and for an older dude it’s certainly paced at our speed.   Rambo it isn’t, but it is a worthwhile piece of artistic film work.

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