Archive for September, 2011

Focus Features, Pathé Distribution, Medusa Film

Stephen Dorff, Elle Fanning, Chris Pontius, Erin Wasson, Alexandra Williams, Nathalie Fay, Kristina Shannon, Karissa Shannon, Laura Chiatti, Lala Sloatman, Amanda Anka, Michelle Monaghan

Johnny Marco (Stephen Dorff) is a mega movie star, injured doing a stunt in his last film, and living a worthless life living in the Chateau Marmont in LA, watching TV, playing video games, drinking and doing drugs, and hiring strippers to pole dance in his room. Not much of a life. The only worthwhile times are the times when his 11 year old daughter Cleo (Elle Fanning) pops in for a visit. But suddenly one day Cleo stops by to stay. Mom has decided to split to take some time to “find herself” and Cleo has nowhere to stay. Johnny needs to review his life and determine what’s important. But the two are more alike that they know.

The opening shot and the last shot are some kind of artistic metaphor for Johnny’s life. Other than that, this is the slowest film I’ve ever seen. Now there are redeeming qualities. It’s a beautiful view into the life in Los Angeles. This is an extremely slow film, with many very long shots of nothing happening. Many people hate this, as most of the time NOTHING is going on. We get to watch Johnny sitting on the couch, lying in a lawn chair, floating on an raft, and driving and driving and driving and driving. There’s not a lot of dialog. It’s definitely an artsy film. It’s one of those weird films that people either rather 5 stars or 0 stars, nothing in the middle. This is because either you like this kind of story, or you don’t. If you hate slow moving stories where nothing is happening, you’ll probably hate this. But if you enjoy “fly on the wall” kind of stories, this is a hard look into Johnny’s life and in a bigger picture, a look at what a waste it is if a person focuses on themselves with no concern for anything but themselves.

This movie did not move me. I was pretty much bored throughout, although I did finish the movie. Though there were some parts that were somewhat interesting, for the most part it seemed pointless. There is no real story. There is no beginning and no end. It’s one of those “day in the life” movies. However, as I said, there are lots of people who love those kinds of films, so it’s up to you.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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IDTV Film, Samsa Film, Nederlandse Christelijke Radio Vereniging (NCRV)

Karina Smulders, Anna Drijver, Waldemar Torenstra, Pleuni Touw, Petra Laseur, Elise Schaap, Willeke van Ammelrooy, Rutger Hauer, Mykola Allen

Bride Flight (The name comes from the practice of importing brides to New Zealand from Holland in the 1950’s. The planes were called “Bride Flights”) is the story of three women who met when they emigrated to New Zealand to become War Brides. While on their journey they become friends with Frank (Waldemar Torenstra ) a handsome cowboy who intertwines in the lives of these three women forever. Later, after Frank is gone, the women return to his funeral, and have a chance to reconnect and see where their lives have gone and how they changed from the first time they bonded as young potential war brides.

This is certainly a beautiful movie. It is Dutch, but it takes place in New Zealand, so much of the movie is in English, but many parts are in Dutch. Like real people in the situation of being in a strange land, they pop in and out of their native tongue on a regular basis. The Dutch portions are subtitled so we can read along.

The country of New Zealand is very beautiful, so the scenery and cinematography is wonderful. It’s a beautiful film. It’s also a pretty heavy drama with lots going on. It takes a great deal of concentration to follow the story and keep up with what is happening. You have a lot to get familiar with the backgrounds before you can sit back and enjoy the scenery. It is more of a chick flick in a way, as it’s a strong character piece with love stories, and heartbreak and disappointment galore, but its a lot deeper than that. It was interesting to learn of two new cultures at once, that of New Zealand where they ended up and Holland where they started out. Many of their problems are just like today when immigrants land in a foreign land.

All in all it’s a pretty slow developing story, but a very rich one. If you want action and adventure, this will bore you to tears, but if you love deep character driven stories, this was a multiple award winning Dutch film, and therefore something way out of the ordinary for what you are used to.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday September 27, 2011

  • Transformers [Click Here for Ed’s Review]
  • L’Amour Fou (Documentary)
  • Carlos
  • Go For It

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    Aspen Entertainment Group

    Matt Prokop, Randy Wayne, Jillian Murray, Robin Blazak, Vanessa Angel, Lara Flynn Boyle, Jareb Dauplaise, Frank Drank, Jim Ferraro, Bryce Foster, Ricardo Gil


    Tyler (Matt Prokop), Dick (Randy Wayne), and Tom (Jareb Daupliase) are best buddies in a dead end town in Arizona when Tyler suddenly gets dumped by his girlfriend because he wants to wait and she has “needs”. Dick Richards hears from a friend of his that Aspen, Colorado is full of older ladies (Cougars) out looking for young guys to have affairs with, and they decide that this is the way to go! They pack up and head out for Colorado, although Tyler is a bit reluctant. The moment Tyler comes into town, he spots Penelope (Jillian Murray) who is his age, and is in love at first sight. He sets out to win her, only to be sidetracked by his buddy Dick who insists he go out Cougar hunting with some disastrous results for everybody.

    This is a raunch teen comedy, and unfortunately not too good. However, it’s not as bad as some, and not as raunchy as some, although there is a lot of nudity and a good bit of bathroom humor, for sure! It has its share of filth which is par for the course for these types of films. This is fairly low budget. It’s hard to believe they claim to have spent 5 1/2 million on this film, but most of it must have been getting the whole bunch up to Aspen where it was filmed on location. It has all the usual scenes for this type of film, and is a copy of just about everything you’ve seen before. Not much new here, but with that being said, there were some truly funny parts. Those who say there’s nothing funny here have just watched too many of these raunchy teen romps and are bored with them. There are a few surprise moments that are truly funny. Obviously there are better films in the same genre to watch, but if you’re looking for a new one. This is available on NetFlix “Watch Instantly” (at least for now) and is a cheap thrill in that respect. Not a very good job by the actors, but then again, what do you expect? If you’re into “poop” jokes, this one certainly has that! There is an old dirty joke around about a patient in the hospital with SWAN tattooed on his private parts. One of the naughty nurses comes back to report that it doesn’t say “Swan” it actually says “Saskatchewan”. This joke must have inspired the gag in the beginning of this movie. It is truly disgusting and sets the tone for the rest of the film, that’s for sure!! If you can sit through that whole sequence, then the rest of the film is a breeze. Good luck should you decide to waste 90 minutes on this video.

    EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

     

     

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    2S Films, Alcon Entertainment, Wild Ocean Films

    Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield, John Krasinski, Steve Howey, Ashley Williams, Geoff Pierson, Jill Eikenberry, Jonathan Epstein


    Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a successful lawyer. For years she’s been best friends with Darcy (Kate Hudson) Way back in Law school she was study mates with Dex (Colin Egglesfield), whom she had a crush on and never got over, but Darcy moved in and they started dating. Now Darcy is engaged to Dex, and while at an engagement party, Rachel mentions that she always had a crush on Dex which surprised him. They ended up involved and both feel terrible about it. So Rachel is planning to be the maid of honor for the wedding of her best friend to a guy she just spent the night with. Talk about complications. This is a complicated story that needs to unravel piece by piece.

    This is a fine romantic comedy. Kate Hudson is not very likable here, and she’s a bit of a flake. She uses Rachel and has always topped her in everything. Dex is also a rich kid but a bit of wimp, following orders and doing what he’s told to do. Rachel is the sweet one here, but she has not been able to develop her own identity and is always doing what she’s told to do as well. John Krasinski is also in this film (Jim from The Office) as Ethan who has always carried a torch for Rachel, but knows she fell in love with someone else. It all works out in a way, but not in the way I expected. It’s a good story, and Ginnifer is getting to be a really good actress. She carries this film very well, and we get to know her character really well. The jokes are funny, and the situations are funnier. When you start out telling lies, you certainly do weave a tangled web! There is a short scene at the ends during the credits that is a bit of a surprise and is well worth waiting for.

    All in all, I enjoyed this “chick flick” for the strong story and the deep character depth each one shows. It was a good film, and one I liked very much.

    EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

     

     

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