Archive for March, 2011

DreamWorks Animation, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Red Hour Films

Will Ferrell, Tina Fey, Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, David Cross, Justin Theroux, Ben Stiller, Jessica Schulte, J.K. Simmons

When a cunning supervillain, Megamind (Will Ferrell) finally kills his crime-fighting nemesis Metro Man, he and his minion suddenly find life boring and uninspired. His whole life was built around trying to defeat his enemy, and now that he’s gone there is absolutely no reason to go on. So he creates a new enemy, Titan, (Jonah Hill) who seeks to destroy the world, forcing Megamind to play the hero role for once in his life.

This was a good effort from DreamWorks. I do think I like Despicable Me better, and certainly this is nowhere near the level of Toy Story 3, but it was a good effort. This is the story of Megamind for sure. It borrows from lots of other stories, but manages to keep it fresh. Megamind should have been the supreme power on earth (like Superman) but Metro Man beat him and ended up being the good guy. So Megamind decides to be the evil one. Beaten time after time by Metro Man and stuck in jail time after time, he still loves the fight. When he manages to defeat Metro Man finally, he finds there is no meaning in life anymore. This would be like if Wile E Coyote finally caught and ate the Road Runner. What would he do with the rest of his life? That’s Megamind’s dilemma and he handles it in the same bungling way he does everything.

Will Ferrell does a decent job as Megamind. He managed to underplay the voice and is not the typical character he plays so annoyingly. Tina Fey did a fine job as the reporter (the Lois Lane role), and Jonah Hill as her cameraman who turns into Titan is passable. He is such an annoying character, that I don’t think it’s Jonah’s fault it’s annoying, it’s written that way! I’m sure there’s enough meat in this film to keep the adults involved, and it’s a good family film to enjoy together (much like Toy Story 3 was). That’s a plus for this film,as a lot of time the parents can’t stand to watch the drivel they turn out for kids. This one is adult enough so you won’t get bored.

As I stated, this is not a perfect film, but I think it’s enough to make it worth a watch, and I do recommend it, especially for animated movie fans and for parents with kids.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Appian Way, Random Films, Warner Bros. Pictures

Amanda Seyfried, Gary Oldman, Shiloh Fernandez, Billy Burke, Lukas Haas, Michael Shanks, Julie Christie, Virginia Madsen, Michael Hogan

A little village in the woods has had a problem for many, many years. A fragile peace with a werewolf keeps them alive, but when there’s a full moon, no one goes out after dark. The best animal in the village is chained out as a sacrifice to the werewolf, and it’s been okay for many years. There is a family in town with a somewhat feeble minded father, so it seems, and a Mom with a dark secret. There are two daughters, The older is in love with Henry (Max Irons) but he’s in love with Valerie (Amanda Seyfried). Valerie on the other hand is in love with the woodcutter Peter (Shiloh Fernandez). Henry is wealthy, so Valerie has been betrothed to Henry against her will, so Peter and Valerie have determined to run away. Suddenly, however, the werewolf turns and kills Valerie’s older sister setting the town in a panic and dashing Valerie’s and Peter’s plan to run away. The village sets out to find and kill the werewolf, but fail, so they bring in Father Solomon (Gary Oldman) who has personal experience with fighting werewolves.

Amanda Seyfried is really cute in this role, and she plays it very well. I’ve been impressed with her in the last couple movies she’s starred in. This is a mysterious thriller, more than a horror film. It’s PG-13, so no real blood and guts. The werewolf is a fantastic wolf-like (more than human) CGI creature who is very convincing. But mostly there are flashes of what we can’t clearly see which scare the heck out of the audience. The sights and sounds are great. It’s a very suspenseful who-done-it, and fun to see it early on so you can try to figure out who the werewolf is. Of course it has to be someone who knows the village very well and they throw enough mis-clues at us to keep us guessing until the end. It was very fun to watch. But that is not to say it is perfect. Several flaws show themselves very clearly. There are some holes big enough to drive a tank through. But this is a fairy tale after all, so we’re going to have to suspend some of our critical thinking and just enjoy the film. Valerie’s mom is not very well played. It’s over acted to extreme, and her father is likewise both a dumb cluck and loser. Grandma is also a strange lady who lives out in the woods by herself, because since Valerie’s grandfather passed away, she has preferred to live all alone. That, of course, gives Red Valerie Riding Hood a chance to go on her way to Grandmother’s house through the woods. Grandmother is played very well by Julie Christie who is one of the strangest and brightest parts of the film.

All in all, it’s well directed and well played for the most part. I enjoyed it very much and it appeared most of the audience did as well. It was suspenseful, shocking at times, and very fun to watch. This was one film that was worth the money to watch on the big screen!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Altitude Films

Conrad Anker, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Natasha Richardson, Hugh Dancy, Alan Rickman, Leo Houlding

The Wildest Dream is a labor of love for Conrad Anker who discovered the body of George Mallory about 10 years ago. For decades, people have wondered whether George Mallory was the first person to reach the summit of Mt. Everest, the tallest mountain in the world in the early 1920’s. Sir Edmund Hillary is credited for being the first person to reach the summit (and return) in 1953 albeit from the south side which is supposedly much easier to climb. (The south side was not permitted in 1924.) The last sight of Hillary he was a short way from the summit at the second step, a difficult climb straight up. Today this is done by climbing a ladder, but in 1924 there was not way up but to climb by hand. Then clouds came in and obscured the view of the pair again, and when they never returned no one knew if they made it to the summit or died before reaching it. 75 years later Hillary’s body was discovered by Anker, many of his personal effects were found. One thing missing was his camera which he promised to take a picture from the summit. If the camera is ever found, it might solve the mystery, but another item clearly missing was a picture of Hillary’s wife which he had promised to leave at the summit when he made it.

Anker became very curious about the possibility of the climbers making it to the summit, and using the items of clothing and boots found on the body of Mallory, he designed clothing as close to what they wore as possible, and set out to recreate the climb of the second step clothed as Mallory was. He and his climbing partner nearly froze, but they did manage to both climb the second step, even though they had changed back to modern day equipment by this point. But at least they proved that it was possible to make this climb.

This documentary is very well done. It covers the life and history of George Mallory and his family and includes letters and writings of George and his beloved wife Ruth, as well as interviews with descendant grandchildren of Mallory. It merges footage from the 1920’s with the modern day climb in a very interesting montage of a movie. The views are breathtaking and you actually end up feeling like you know George Mallory and what made him make 3 attempts at Everest and a willingness to lose his life in the effort.

Certainly an excellent documentary for anyone interested in what it takes to take on this mountain, narrated by Liam Neeson. It looks so easy, yet is so difficult.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Bona Fide Productions, Echo Films, Mandate Pictures

Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Thomas Robinson, Jeff Goldblum, Patrick Wilson, Juliette Lewis, Scott Elrod, Todd Louiso, Caroline Dhavernas, Kelli Barrett

Kassie (Jennifer Aniston) and Wally (Jason Bateman) are best friends. I think it’s clear that both of them would like to be more than friends, but Wally has an aversion to anything getting serious. In fact, he’s a very negative person, quite the pessimist and a hypochondriac, looking for the worst possible outcome of any situation and as a result has determined a life living alone. Meanwhile Kassie is also very unlucky in love and has decided that it’s time to have a child without a daddy. But the thought of walking into a sperm back and picking an anonymous donor with no history does not appeal to her. Kassie sets out to look everywhere for the perfect donor while Kassie’s friend Debbie (Juliette Lewis) decides to throw her a big conception party and invited all their friends. Wally shows up and feeling depressed takes a mind altering substance (herbal) and a LOT of drinks and ends up making a dreadful switch of his sample for the one from the donor. Naturally he was so drunk he can’t remember what happened that night, and everyone goes on not knowing that Kassie’s son is really Wally’s. Seven years later they meet again, and Wally can’t help but notice that 6 year old Sebastian is a LOT like him.

This is an unusual romantic comedy as it is told from the guy’s point of view. Wally knows he has to make this right, but he knows that by trying he’s going to lose everything. This is also an awesome cast. Jennifer Aniston is perfect as Kassie and she’s so adorable as this desperate woman who wants to be a mom more than anything. Jason Bateman is also wonderful as Wally as he can play this kind of pessimistic, fearful, and afraid guy very well. The two nutty friends are also perfect. Juliette Lewis plays a ditzy Debbie that is a wonderful friend to Cassie but takes things a bit too far sometimes. Her role was very small, but it was expanded for her to improve the film a lot. Also Wally’s friend is Leonard played by Jeff Goldblum. This character is a nervous version of his “Jurrasic Park” role who gives Wally good advice, but in a very understated way with great Jeff Goldblum lines like, “That’s good. You did I good thing, I think”. The cast is excellent. But perhaps is the 6 year old Sebastian (Thomas Robinson) who does a fantastic job in a very big role in the latter part of the movie. All in all, this is a nice film, and I enjoyed it a lot. I recommend it for when you’re in the mood for a light romantic comedy for a change.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday March 22, 2012

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