Ed's Review Dot Com

Disinformation Company

Anthony F. Aveni, Walter Cruttenden, Benito Venegas Duran, Graham Hancock, John Major Jenkins, Lawrence E. Joseph, Jim Marrs, Alonso Mendez, Daniel Pinchbeck, Douglas Rushkoff, Alberto Villoldo, John Anthony West

This documentary takes a long hard unflinching look at the end of days, December 21, 2012. The Mayan people used multiple calendars. One was knows as the long calendar which calculates the cyclical history of the world and ends on Dec 21, 2012. This day is significant for several reasons, one, it’s the first day of Winter, the shortest day. Another thing is the unusual lineup of the planets and the sun. Third is that it’s at a climax of a very active period of solar activity, solar flares, and the like. This is a scientific piece, interviewing a variety of minds, from Mayan experts, to astronomers, authors, and historians and the like to get their views on why this time is significant and what it might mean.

There seems to be a clamoring for doom and destruction tales of all kinds. People would like to belive that Nostradamus sat in a chair centuries ago and saw what is happeing in our day. It is easy to take words that are gibberish and apply them to things that have already happened and jump to the conclusion that matching statement to future events means they will happen. I remember watching Johnny Carson as a little kid and seeing “The Amazing Kreskin” doing his predictions. Guys like this make lots of predictions and if one happens to come true, nobody remembers the hundreds that don’t. Kresin told us with a wave of the hand and a profund “harrumph”….”I predict that the next president of the United States will be Henry Cabot Lodge”. I remembered that one.

I lived through the end of the world on 1/1/2000 unscathed, (even though all the rides were shut down at 11PM at the local amusement parks for our safety). I sat at work and watched as the clock clicked 11:59:59 TO 12:00:00 and nothing happened. What did we expect–Cars crashing, fires breaking out, elevators falling hundreds of stories to the ground!!! I lived through the collapse of Niagara Falls years ago that was going to kill hundreds of tourists and sink one of the Maid of the Mist ships. I lived through the giant earthquake that was going to devistate Southern California a few weekends ago due to the largest high tide in recent history, and so forth.

This is not a very good documentary. It is interesting in many ways, and the general concensus of most of the “experts” is that life will go on after Dec 21, 2012 so we should pay our mortgages and taxes, and that the Mayans were trying to tell us of a new “golden age” of civilization, not the end of days. But still, this documentary is full of theories and guesses and lots of “it has been said” statement without any backup. If you’re interested in the way scientists think, it might be worth catching on Netflix Watch Instantly, but I don’t think it’s worth renting unless you are really interested in the subject.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

National Geographic Explorer

Rodd Houston

Rodd Houston narrates us through this National Geographic Explorer episode called “The Science of Dogs”. This TV documentary views the extreme rapid evolution of dogs in a very short period of time evolutionary speaking. It’s a close look at the relationship between man and dog, and even into the dna to attempt to determine how we were able to evolve all these different species in such a short time. It also looks at what this mutation of the genes of our canine friends has cost them. The same “slippery” genes that allow vast difference in size, shape, and such, has also introduced genetic problems in certain breeds like blindness, deafness, bone deformities, etc. It also looks at the differences between the wolf and the dog. It seems that dogs are 99.8% identical, and all the differences between great danes, collies, chihuahuas, and dachshunds comes from differences in the last .2%.

There are also very interesting looks as specific experiments in developing breeds of dogs for very specific uses; how dogs can be used for identifying cancer, drugs, explosives, and other types of things. There is a very interesting experiment where a couple raised a group of dogs and a group of wolves from birth, and they can experiment on the two groups in the same way. In an interesting experiment, the showed how a wolf sets about to solve a problem by himself, and a dog, on the other hand, would give up very easy and depend on the human for assistance. There are some very interesting reasons why dog is man’s best friend. Not only have the been helping us for centuries, but the experimentation of the dog genome is very useful because of the ability of a dog to evolve very quickly. By having 2 litters a year, it speeds up the process even faster, and developing ways to help genetic problems in dogs may very well help us to correct genetic problems in humans.

This is a very interesting documentary, and a fascinating hour learning a lot of new things about our closest animal friend. I found it all very intriguing and quite entertaining. I gained a lot of respect for my dogs behavior and why he’s like he is. I also learned a lot about the value of “the mutt” and why a pure breed is not always the best thing for the dog. I highly recommend this documentary for anyone who is interested. It is an excellent episode of Explorer.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Constellation Entertainment, Rising Star Entertainment

Randy Travis, Eric Roberts, Ernest Borgnine, Vaughn Taylor, Paul Tinder, Garry Marshall, Jerry Doyle, Stella Stevens, Alec Medlock, Steve Nave

Jack Fowler (Randy Travis) is a gentle guy very much in love with a lady who’s future in-laws want nothing to do with him. They were about to run away together when Jack decided to leave to protect her. Little did she know that she was expecting twins. Meanwhile a drunken gunslinger mistakes Jack for Jack Cole. Unable to convince him that he’s got the wrong man, Jack is forced to defend himself. This turns him into an outlaw and the man’s family is all out to kill him. He ends up in prison, but when he’s released, everyone is out to kill him. He’s trying to hide out, but the real outlaw Jack Cole may be the most dangerous of the lot.

The Long Ride home is a very well done Western. Unlike the made for TV westerns, this one is done up Hollywood style. The photography is stunning, the score is excellent, and the acting is really good. Randy Travis does a great job in this film, and backed up by characters played by the likes of Ernest Borgnine, Eric Roberts, Stella Stevens and others. There is no bad language in the film, and the violence is very old time western. It’s a great return to the old days of great family western stories. The values are clear, and the good guys are good guys. It’s nice to see a film with good characters and moral values. I watched this on NetFlix Watch Instantly. I enjoyed it a lot. If you like Westerns, this is really good one!

[The only trailer I was able to identify does not allow embedding, but click here to visit it on YouTube]

Mongrel Media, Mulmur Feed Company, Téléfilm Canada

Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, Campbell Scott, Ryan Allen, Jim Annan, Chris Benson, Jodi Brooks, Caroline Cave, Gabriel Hogan, Grace Lynn Kung, Chuck Shamata, Richard Waugh, Ulla Friis

This film opens with the question, “What if you found out you had only one day to live, or one week?” Ben Tyler (Joshua Jackson) begins with a visit to the doctor who delivers some devistating news. Ben is not sure how to deal with it. He’s engaged to Samantha (Liane Balaban) but is doubting whether he really loves her or not. She is very controlling, and he is starting to feel like he is getting married just because he’s supposed to. Serendipitously nearly getting killed and at the same time meeting a guy with a classic motorcycle to sell, Ben decides to buy it and head off across Canada from Toronto to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way he tries to stop by at some beautiful sites, and some absurd tourist stops where a small town wants to be on the map because of the “Worlds Largest” something or other. Ben also meets some strangers who teach him a lot and some natural wonders. The story is in the cross country journey, but underlying it all is Ben’s life and presumed approaching death, and what it all means.

This is a Canadian independent film, and fits the mold of most independents. It’s fairly deep, although very interesting, and the ending doesn’t really wrap things up completely, but it gives you a lot to think about. Ben asks a stranger how he could tell he was in love. The guy tells him, if you have to ask the question, you’re not. Then Ben searches his soul as to why he asks the question in the first place.

It’s a simple and endearing film, although somewhat dark, mostly it shows the degrees of despair, pain, and hopelessness Ben feels. His Mom and his Fiance want him to come home desperately, but Ben feels he has to find himself.

This is a nice DVD and is also available on Netflix Watch Instantly. I felt it was a solid film, and very worthwhile watching. It gives you some introspect into what your own life means and what is really important to you. I had a very nice evening watching this film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Fox 2000 Pictures, Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures

Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, Hank Azaria, Josh Gad, Gabriel Macht, Judy Greer, George Segal, Jill Clayburgh

Jamie Randall (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a drug rep for a major drug company. It’s a dog eat dog world, and he has to compete every possible way. This includes glib talking and romancing the ladies, bringing gifts and bribes to the lady. On one of his calls he runs across a patient, Maggie Murdock (Anne Hathaway) who is very aloof and hard to get to know. She refuses to let anyone get close to her in any way. But Jamie gets under her skin, and she tries every way possible to chase him away. But she has a secret problem that she doesn’t want to share. She is ill, and not getting any better.

This is a touching story. It will definitely touch your heart. Why we love who we love is something no one understands, but Jamie does love her. But in a meeting of other patients and families, a man with a wife with the same problem advises him to go upstairs and pack everything and leave a nice note as it’s not going to ever get any better. This is a close look at the medical industry and the drug industry. It’s not a pretty picture, but that’s only part of the story. The romantic story between Jamie and Maggie is also very touching. It’s a nice romance with a strong message to tell. This is an R rated film, and it does earn it. I had a lot of bedroom scenes, but that doesn’t take away from the strength of the story. This story is set in 1996 when the drug Viagra was first introduced. A lot of the story is about the introduction of Viagara and the impact it had on the world.

I would recommend this film for anyone not offended by the nudity and sexy scenes here. If you can get past that, it’s a pretty good story. It is kind of difficult to know what to feel from time to time as it does switch quickly back and forth between the romantic story and the cutthroats of the medical industry, and the pain felt by the victims of the disease. Some people have called it “disjointed”. I can see this criticism, but I felt it was still a pretty decent story after all.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog