Ed's Review Dot Com

Weinstein Company, The, Battle Mountain Films, Spring Creek Productions

Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Craig T. Nelson, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, John Doman, Tonye Patano, Cady Huffman

The Company Men is the story of corporate downsizing and primarily the effect on three families. Bobby Walker (Ben Affleck) is an up and comer who bases his self worth on his success in his job. He’s a bit cocky and certainly lives a “perfect” life, but quite a bit extravagant. It hits him very hard when he is certain it will only be days before he finds a new job, only to learn that there are new MBA graduates every year willing to work for much less than he was making. Jack Dolan (Kevin Costner) is his brother-in-law who wants to help, but he’s a blue collar construction guy with little in common but a sarcastic and bitter attitude toward Bobby who he thinks has never worked a day in his life. Gene McClary (Tommy Lee Jones) is one of the original founders of the corporation, and his defense of decency and fairness causes him to be on the outside looking in too, as well as Phil Woodward (Chris Cooper) who is nearing 60 and deep in debt providing the fine life for his kids in college and finding it impossible to survive and find new work at his age. All in all, this is a sad film about an aspect of modern life that has touched everyone in these times.

This is a film that will hit home to a lot of people. It’s very sad, and very true I’m afraid. We all know someone from this film. The way each one of the characters handles it is different and some do better than others. It’s sad to see Bobby enter into the company paid “resume writing, find your next job” seminar as a cocky smart-alec who thinks he’ll be out in a couple days, and then the weeks and months drag on and on. Maria Bello plays Bobby’s wife and is a strong support system for him. That helps very much in a situation this bad. This is a very well acted film, and I think this is one of Affleck’s best performances. All the others are great too, especially Tommy Lee Jones as a very disappointed man with virtue and values watching the jackals devouring his life’s work for their own profits. I really enjoyed the story. It’s direct and too the point, and not too preachy. Each of the characters are what they are, and nothing more. I think this was one of those hidden gems that got overlooked in the theater, and maybe will do better in the DVD market. It’s a worthwhile story with a lot to think about. I enjoyed this story very much.

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Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions, Scott Rudin Productions

Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Dakin Matthews, Paul Rae, Domhnall Gleeson, Elizabeth Marvel

Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murders the father of spunky 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) who then hires alcoholic U.S. Marshal Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to help her exact revenge. Well, Rooster, a one eyed (wears a patch) fat man is better at whiskey and lounging around than hunting bad men, but when Mattie informs him that she’s been told he has “grit” he sets out to find Clancy and bring him back for $100.00. They run across a Texas Marshall named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) who is on the same quest for Tom Chaney. Danger and adventure follows them all the way as the true comedic hatred of Rooster and LaBoeuf is hysterical, and Mattie is a quick witted as either of the other two and a match for them both. Chaney better high tail it out of there, cause this posse ain’t givin’ up anytime soon.

True Grit, the original came out in 1969 which was the year I graduated from High School. I remember the hoopla of the film and it made John Wayne even bigger in our eyes. The original was a classic, so why would anyone want to try to outWayne, Wayne??? And who’s going to succeed with a rip-roarin’ western in 2010? Well, the Coen Brothers made all the difference in this film. Also Jeff Bridges put John Wayne out of his mind, and did a crotchety old philosophizing man hunter of his own that isn’t anything like The Duke. And as a result, at no time in the film are you comparing the two. Duke played it way differently, and to Bridges credit, he came up with a whole new character that is very outstanding. He completely deserved all the accolades he got for his performance in this film. Matt Damon, on the other hand does not have a lot to live up to. Come on! Wichita Lineman Glen Campbell may be able to put out some milquetoast quasi country songs in the 70’s, but an actor he wasn’t. So Damon is spared the need to compete, and he pulls of the smug self serving Texas Ranger perfectly. He never stops reminding everybody how hard it is to live in Texas. and how soft they have it in Arkansas. The rivalry between LaBeouf and Reuben Cogburn is hysterical. Also they appear to have gone back to the book, and did not try to copy the original exactly, much to their credit. Of course the story is very familiar, but some things are different. LaBeouf’s outcome is changed in this version.

Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld is excellent as the “wise beyond her years” 14 year old. Kim Darby was ok in the original, but came off a bit old for the part. Hailee is nearly perfect and some of her negotiating skills make my head spin. She’s a real character. All in all this is a rollicking fun western from the old days that did well in the main stream. If you somehow missed it in the theater, now is the time to catch it on DVD or BluRay or however you prefer to take your movies these days. It’s a modern throwback to the old days when movies were bigger than life, and some of the cinematography in this film is out of this world. The famous scene late in this movie where Rooster races back with snake bitten Mattie for help is stunningly filmed. This is the iconic moment in the film, I suspect, and a great deal of attention to doing it wonderfully was paid. This is not a film to miss.

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Circle of Confusion, IndieVest Pictures, Olive Prods

Steve Buscemi, Romany Malco, Sarah Silverman, Peter Dinklage, Tim Blake Nelson, John Cho, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Aviva, Isabel Archuleta, Stephen Eiland

John (Steve Buscemi) was a gambler. Now he’s an insurance investigator and is sent with a partner Virgil (Romany Malco) to investigate a crash victim. The crash victim is a wheelchair-bound stripper (Emmanuelle Chriqui) and is trying to collect a big claim for her lost stripper wages. Loosely based on Dante’s Inferno, John has to pass through the levels of his personal “hell” by confronting the demons in his life. After escaping Vegas, he’s being tempted along the way, and one by one he meets some very strange characters.

This is a pretty funny little film. This is another NetFlix “Watch Instantly” film, and a nice little indie flick. Steve Buscemi gets to show off his nervous “Don Knott’s” like character that he is so very good at. Constantly afraid of his own shadow and running from situation to situation with a “nanny-like” babysitter Virgil who is really over his head here and trying to keep up with John’s chenanigans all the way along. John has a girlfriend, sort of, who is back in the office with the boss, Peter Dinklage. John’s girl is played hysterically by Sarah Silverman. With all this talent, it has to be funny, but it’s also quirky and very, very strange from time to time! Nothing is quite like it seems, and the only thing we know is that we don’t know anything. It’s a little indie film that’s fun. At least your luck couldn’t possible be a bad as John’s so it’s got that going for you. I bet you don’t like the ending though.

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Worldview Entertainment

Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Mariann Mayberry, Aidan Quinn, John Savage, Campbell Scott, Titus Welliver, Karen Young, Bill Sage, Asher Grodman

Harry Sweeney (James Sheridan) and several of his friends were together in the military in Vietnam many years ago. During that time, on a drunken bender, something awful happened that nearly killed one of five. THey put this out of their minds and have lost contact for decades. Suddenly Harry gets a call from Tom Kelly (Steve Buscemi) who is on his deathbed. He is terrified that he is going to hell for what they did, and begs Harry to find the one they nearly killed and apologize before him before he dies. Reluctantly Harry agrees and sets out on a quest to find the other 3 including their victim. During the quest, he brings all of them back into the horrible thing that they have all been trying their best to forget.

This is a Netflix Watch Instantly film, and is a very interesting dramatic film. There are lots of secrets and things these guys are trying to forget, but it becomes important for them to remember to try to make things right. It’s a very dramatic story, dark in some ways and certainly very touching. As youths they did something they want to wipe out of their memories, but sometimes you have to get to the truth before it’s too late. I think this is a pretty interesting little film, and certainly not bad for a “watch instantly” film. It’s got some decent acting, especially Steve Buscemi, although his part is small, and Jamey Sheridan in the lead role. He’s tough on the outside, but much softer and gentler on the inside. If you like a film with good character development, then this is a good choice.

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Columbia Pictures, Original Film

Seth Rogen, Jay Chou, Cameron Diaz, Tom Wilkinson, Christoph Waltz, David Harbour, Edward James Olmos, Jamie Harris, Chad Coleman, Edward Furlong

Britt Reid (Seth Reid) is a screw up son of a rich owner of The Daily Sentinel, a privately owned Newspaper, but Britt has no ambition and likes to sleep in and party all the time. Suddenly his father is stung by a bee, and dies. Britt now owns the paper, but is not very well equipped or interested in handling it, but finds the long abused Asian mechanic/coffee maker who is a talented inventor, but was ill treated and under appreciated by Britt’s father. His name is Kato (Jay Chou). The two of them decide to get revenge on Britt’s father but in the process notice a couple being attacked by a gang. The step into the fray and teach the gang members a lesson, but end up on the front page of the paper as unknown crooks. When temp secretary Lenore Case (Cameron Diaz) shows up as Brett’s assistant, the team is complete, and they decide to become “The Green Hornet” and pretend to be outlaws who are really good guys.

This was co-written by Seth Rogan and the writer of Superbad (Evan Goldberg), and really hit the Green Hornet story (from the original radio show and later a TV show with Bruce Lee as Kato) with a super dose of comedy. I rate this movie pretty high, as I found it a hoot to watch, but I understand why it kind of foundered in the theaters. It is a little bit superhero and little bit comedy, but maybe not strong enough in either camp to be a hit with the fans of one genre or the other. But I thought some of it was really funny. There is lots of slapstick humor, but at the same time, the rivalry between Kato and Green Hornet is very cleverly done, with both of them lusting after Cameron Diaz who isn’t interested in either of them. It has some stellar car chases and a bad guy who is extremely funny (Robert DeNiro/Joe Pesci style) although he’s Russian. “You don’t think I’m scary? Why don’t you think I’m scary? That really upsets me that you don’t think I’m scary.” This is Benjamin Chudnofsky (Christopher Waltz). He is funny in how he takes offence to people who aren’t afraid of him, and yet takes the criticism and comments to heart and tries to change to meet people’s expectations.

Kato’s inventions are hilarious, and as I said before the tribulations these two “co-superheroes” give each other reminds you of Inspector Clouseau (Peter Sellers) from the Pink Panther series and his housekeeper who pulls a Kamikaze attack on Clouseau every time he comes home. This is similar, but reminds you of the same. All in all, I really found the humor not over the top (Like Superbad or Hangover) but very clever, but with a taste of action and adventure at the same time. Perhaps not a big hit in the theater, but certainly a very worthwhile rental now that it’s out on DVD.

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