Ed's Review Dot Com

Millennium Films, Nu Image Films, Dark Harbor Stories

Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Liana Liberato, Jason Clarke, Viola Davis, Noah Emmerich, Brandon Molale, Nicole Forester, Noah Crawford, Chris Henry Coffey

Annie (Liana Liberato) is a teen in a nice suburban family. She’s lonely and she’s a gifted volleyball player. Online she meets a guy Charlie (Chris Henry Coffey) who is a freshman in college on a volleyball scholarship. Annie finds her new friend is a perfect match for her, and she spends all her time talking and texting with him. But as the time passes, she finds out that he keeps upping his age and lie after lie unfolds. When he finally insists they meet at the mall, she finds out how old he really is, but because they are so alike, age doesn’t matter. Then Annie and her entire family have to pick up the pieces of her broken life while Annie still wants the defend the guy as misunderstood.

This is a chilling movie. It’s done in good taste, and is not too graphic for teens to watch. I think it’s great for the 16-21 year old crowd to see this and recognize the awful risks there are on the internet. This is not a bizarre occurrence that could only happen one in a million. This is a simple set of circumstances that could easily happen to anyone. We are taught to be polite and respectful, and wicked people can use these tendencies against us and we can easily fall into this trap. This is troubling for parents, and Annie parents did their best to raise their daughter in the best way they could, but when bad things happen, everyone wants to put the blame on themselves, but it’s not very helpful. Rather it’s necessary to get things back on an even keel and move forward, although not as easy as it seems.

I enjoyed this film, but at the same time it made me very uncomfortable just the same. Having just raised a daughter, I understand the problem from the parents side of things, but it’s easy to see how a wonderful child can be lured in very easily and you have to be constantly vigilant. It’s a tough thing to look at, but I think a well done film that gets right to the heart of the matter, and for this reason I give it a great recommendation.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Jim Cummings, John Cleese, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Jack Boulter, Wyatt Dean Hall, Tom Kenny, Bud Luckey, Travis Oates

This wonderful trip down memory lane brings Christopher Robin and his friends back to the big screen in a hand drawn animated feature. Poor Eeyore has lost his tail, and Pooh has run out of honey. Offering a reward of a honey pot for anyone finding a suitable tail for Eeyore (Pooh’s idea) sends everyone off to find something. But Christopher Robin is missing, perhaps stolen back the evil monster “Backson”, everyone is distracted trying to find Christopher.

Oh my goodness!!! What a wonderful, wonderful film. This must be the “fivest” of all the films I’ve seen this year. It’s short, barely over an hour, but comes with a fabulous short film about Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster which is a lot of fun. Then Winnie the Pooh starts, with Zooey Deschanel singing the classic Winnie the Pooh theme. She does a lot of the original songs in the movie, and they are wonderful. Immediately we’re in the world of Winnie the Pooh which looks and feels just like it did decades ago. The story feels the same, and the children love it. My grandson who is 2 years old has seen it 3 times already. He insisted on going again with “Grandpa” and I’m glad he did! But way above the level of the little kids who enjoy the story, the jokes are hysterical. I found myself laughing out loud a number of times, and I found this little film funnier than many of the comedies I’ve seen this year. The clever word play between the characters is amazing. There is one scene about whether Piglet can or cannot knot the ropes that is worthy of Abbott and Costello’s Who’s on First routine! Additionally the personalities of the characters are spot on. Tigger trying to make a reluctant Eeyore into Tigger-2 has Eeyore protesting, but “the most wonderful thing about Tiggers is you’re the only one”.

This is an AWESOME adventure like the classic Disney movies, and is well worth the 5 stars I HAVE to give it. Anyone should love this movie unless you have no inner child left. When my grandson said “Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo” very Tiggerish after the Tigger song, a lot of the people in the theater laughed. He was into it for the third time! It is an awesome job, and thanks for the hand drawn animation, it proves that you don’t need 3D CGI animation to tell a wonderful story and make a great movie. I can’t wait for this to come out on DVD as I have to own this one! I loved it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday August 9, 2011

• Paul
• Jumping the Broom
• Your Highness [Click here for Ed’s Review]
• Mars Needs Moms!
• Super
• The Last Godfather

Ruby Films, Focus Features, BBC Films

Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, Judi Dench, Jamie Bell, Imogen Poots, Sally Hawkins, Amelia Clarkson, Romy Settbon Moore, Tamzin Merchant, Holliday Grainger, Freya Wilson

Jane Eyer (Mia Wasikowska) had a horrible childhood as an abused child by a caretaker that had no use for her. School was just as bad, but Jane has a strong character. Jane is invited to the beautiful Thornfield House to serve as a governess for Mr. Edward Rochester (Michael Fassbender) who is owner of the estate. Soon Jane feels that she’s falling for her master, and suddenly flees the house. Edward returns the feelings, but is harboring a terrible secret. When she returns she finds Edward in a bad situation and must determine her path to the future. This is a brand new movie version of the classic Charlotte Bronte novel that has been loved for centuries.

I watched this film as a captive audience on a flight from San Francisco to Washington D.C. My opinion is that Mia Wasikowska was a charming Jane, and she is an excellent actress. Not “too” beautiful to ruin it, but very pretty as the girl who falls in love with her boss. In general I’m not a fan of these period pieces. People look very uncomfortable and times were a bit uptight for my liking, and I tend to get bored. But if you’re a fan of Charlotte Bronte and like this kind of movie, I believe it must be a very good version of the story. I think Mia was excellent, and having Dame Judi Dench in the film is a definite plus. Don’t be put off by my low rating on it, as I’m just not fond of these kinds of films, but if you are, you’ll probably like this new version of Jane Eyre so go for it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Brookwell-McNamara Entertainment, Enticing Entertainment, Island Film Group

AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Carrie Underwood, Jeremy Sumpter, Ross Thomas, Lorraine Nicholson, Kevin Sorbo, Craig T. Nelson, Chris Brochu

You may remember the story of Bethany Hamilton of Hawaii who was a budding surfing pro in the making who was attacked by a shark while surfing and had her arm bitten off. This is the movie version of her story of the loss and redemption of a good Christian girl in a good Christian family when something really awful happened that changed things forever. She went through a lot but made an attempt to return to the tournament circuit for herself, her family, and all the people around the world who looked up to her.

First and foremost, this is not a documentary. It’s a movie based on the book written by Bethany Hamilton. So it is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, but it appears to be pretty close to what happened. Bethany is played by AnnaSophia Robb who did an excellent job of handling the difficult role and she did an excellent job. Wearing a green sock so that her right arm could be removed by the camera must have been a hoot. Her parents are played by Dennis Quaid and Helen Hunt. They are pretty good in the role of a driving father who doesn’t want his daughter to give up and a caring mother who believes in the strength of her daughter but is torn by her dad pushing her so hard. This film deals with the depression and sorrow, the issues with the paparazzi who were unrelenting, and the hard work and determination to succeed because other people were behind her and wanted her to.

Bethany is a strong Christian girl, and so this is naturally a Christian movie. This irritates some people who resent anything that is about a particular religion. Isn’t there a part of the constitution that bans anyone in America anywhere talking about anything religious??? Oh well, it does, and if that offends you, then stay away. But there is no way to tell this story without the religious content as that is what Bethany is about. It’s also very predictable. The quarterback will through the impossible hail Mary pass with no time left on the clock to win the big game in the end. They always do. But way beyond that, this is a warm and touching film about a family that is traditional (as traditional as a Hawaiian family can be with Thanksgiving on the beach!) and values that are valuable. “Ohana means family”, Lilo told us, and that’s what this is about. Excuse the joke, but anyone in this family would give their left arm to exchange places with Bethany. There are also scenes of Bethany handing out food to the tsunami victims in Phuket. This is also a part of Bethany’s life. Her friendship with her best friend Alaina Blanchard (Lorraine Nicholson) is also a key to her story. Alaina couldn’t face Bethany after the attack, but their friendship eventually endured. This is a strong family values film, and aside from the shark attack which is a bit much for a little kid to watch, it’s great for families. They did the shark attack in the best way they could and it’s not overly graphic, but very shocking just the same. But all in all, this is a good family film with good values and strong family ties and is well worth watching. I would also like to be able to see a true documentary on the events and the aftermath. I should mention that Carrie Underwood also has a small role as the religious leader Sarah Hill, who is a mentor to Bethany. It’s nice that Carrie can get an acting role like this that is not too strenuous so that she can sink her teeth into the movie business, as I suspect she has a future there as well. She’s a nice person.

Also, during the closing credits the real people are shown in scenes that closely match those in the movie. This gives you a feeling of what inspired by true events really means. Good film!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog