Ed's Review Dot Com

Bold Films, Odd Lot Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions,

Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, Albert Brooks, Oscar Isaac, Christina Hendricks, Ron Perlman

Ryan Gosling, in this film just known as “Driver” is a mysterious guy. He’s an excellent stunt driver who is able to pull off some awesome driving stunts. But in his down time, he’s an excellent getaway driver. If someone hires him, he will pick you up at the scheduled time, and get you away from the crime within a 5 minute window. But Driver meets another resident of his building, lovely Irene (Carey Mulligan) who is a single mom raising her young son. They become friends, and Driver helps her out, only to learn that her husband is in prison and just being released. Her husband is in a bad way, owing money to the mob, and so to free himself and his family from their influences, sets out on a simple robbery with Driver to pick them up, when everything goes wrong. Neither had any idea what a horrible mess they were getting themselves into, and it will try all Driver’s skill to stay one step ahead of everyone who’s after him.

This is actually a very good action film. As you may know, I’m not a fan of speed driving, car stealing films, but this has much more meat to the story than the typical “Gone in 60 Seconds” type of film. Ryan Gosling is a very introverted and shy person in this film who doesn’t speak much. This helps to make him much more mysterious. He’s got a lot going on, getaway driver, auto mechanic, stunt driver, he has a lot of jobs! He’s perfectly cast in this film, and it’s easy to identify with his plight as we go through the film. The rest of the cast is good too. There is plenty of story to go around, and yet there are breathtaking suspenseful car chases that are as good as any I’ve seen. This is an excellent rental for people who love action movies, especially the car chase movies. I can recommend it if you’re in the mood for a good action film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Incentive Filmed Entertainment, Next Films, Sierra Pictures (III),

Sara Paxton, Dustin Milligan, Chris Carmack, Katharine McPhee, Alyssa Diaz, Joel David Moore, Donal Logue, Joshua Leonard, Sinqua Walls, Chris Zylka

A group of college students take off on a weekend trip to a private island owned by Sara Palski’s (Sara Paxton) family. A beautiful mansion on a private island in Louisiana bordered by a salt water lake near the shore. What a perfect weekend for drinking, swimming, and general college debauchery. But when one of the friends loses and arm while water skiing, it becomes obvious that not only is there a vicious shark in the lake, but perhaps many, many hungry sharks. There is no cell phone reception out there, and the only ones who know she’s out there is a creepy sheriff who is an old friend of Sara’s and two really strange local guys, one of whom was Sara’s former boyfriend who she cut up with the propeller of her boat. They are in big trouble as they need medical attention and a lot of help, and have no way to contact anyone, and even if they can, they don’t know who they can trust.

This is a mediocre horror film. It is nothing more or less than what it sets out to be. Originally this was released in the theater in 3D as a gimmicky way of scaring up a few bucks. It didn’t do really great, mostly because there was a fair amount of competition. This is not a big enough film to attract a big mainstream audience to make a lot of money. But now it’s out on DVD and much most cost effective to watch, so is it a rental film? Well, it’s got pretty girls and handsome guys. It’s got college kids having a spring breakish kind of a good time on a gorgeous island. And it’s got blood, guts, and gore galore. So it’s got the basic elements of the typical teen horror flick, and it delivers on that level. Great acting is not so much present, nor is a splendid and clever plot. It’s fairly obvious with all the little horror flick bumps in the dark that make you scream. There were some effects thrown in for the 3D film that even required an itty-bitty rewind in order to see it again. So I rated this film right down the middle. If you’re looking for some substance, this isn’t it, for sure, but if you want a simple, mindless teen horror flick, then this gives you just what you pay for. Not bad, just remember the level that it’s on, and it doesn’t disappoint.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Lionsgate, Gotham Group, Vertigo Entertainment,

Taylor Lautner, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Jason Isaacs, Maria Bello, Michael Nyqvist, Sigourney Weaver, Antonique Smith, Denzel Whitaker

Nathan (Taylor Lautner) is a teen in a simple family. His father is tough, and expects him to be able to defend himself. But when surfing the internet, Nathan runs across his baby picture on a missing persons website. When he inquires from his parents, he’s faced with shock and surprise, but no denials. Then all hell breaks loose as Nathan is sent on a wild chase with Karen (Lily Collins) with no one he can trust, and everyone trying to get him. As he realizes that nothing he thought was true really is, he’s running for his life in a breathtaking adventure.

I wasn’t expecting a lot from this film. I expected another spy movie, which in it’s face, it is. But it was a lot better than I expected going in. Taylor Lautner did a good job of portraying a fearless and reckless abandon, along with a soft touch and a soft spot. He wants to do what’s right, but there’s just no one he can trust. The suspense is totally immersive, and there is a number of twists and turns to the story that caught me completely by surprise. I thought this was a very well done film, which is why I rated it as high as I did. If you like suspenseful dramas with lots of action and extreme chases, this fills the bill perfectly. This is one that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

DreamWorks Animation,

Jack Black, Angelina Jolie, Gary Oldman, Seth Rogen, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Jackie Chan, Dustin Hoffman, David Cross, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Dennis Haysbert, Victor Garber, James Hong

Dragon Warrior Po (Jack Black) has learned that he was adapted. Mr. Ping, the goose (James Hong), is not his real father. A new bad guy has come to town, an evil peacock who wants to wipe out the Furious Five and take over China. But he holds the key to Po’s past and his real parents. It’s up to Po to lead the Furious Five and find his ‘inner peace’ so that he is able to defeat the enemy and save China.

I finally found the time to watch this film. I’ve been waiting anxiously since I accidentally walked in on the Red Carpet premier at Graumman’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood last spring. The characters were well developed in the first film, but I have to say that I was really disappointed in it. Perhaps it’s a case where I simply expected to much for it to deliver.

The characters are fun, and the action is furious. But we’re not really involved in any of it. Another reviewer described it as like “watching someone else play a video game”. That is right on. That’s exactly what it’s like. The film was all jokes and action, but did not pull me into it in any way. I have to admit I was bored through most of it. About half way through I realized that I had stopped paying attention and had missed a half hour of the film by daydreaming, so I waited another day and started it over again. I still was not involved in the story, and it just couldn’t keep my mind on the story.

All that being said, I didn’t hate the movie, I was just disappointed as I expected more from Dreamworks. The characters are still lovable and friendly, and there is some real humor in them. James Hong is especially funny as Mr. Ping who’s obsessed with noodles and radishes. I am sure the younger folk will no doubt love the movie, and anyone who’s a big Jack Black fan, or really into Kung Fu cartoons will as well. I liked it, but was not by any means blown away by it. Worth a watch if you’re interested

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Millennium Films, Swingin’ Productions,

Kevin Bacon, Djimon Hounsou, Jirantanin Pitakporntrakul, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Ron Smoorenburg, Abhijati “Meuk” Jusakul, Byron Gibson, Weeraprawat Wongpuapan, Creighton Mark Johnson

Curtie Church (Djimon Hounsou) is a hired assassin, hired by a businessman to kill six men. His next job is to kill the lord of the human traffickers who killed his daughter. As Curtie seeks out the bad guys, he enlists the aid of Englishman Jimmy (Kevin Bacon) who supplies him with the special weapons needed to start a gang war helping him to kill the traffickers. While doing his job, he meets Mae (Jirantanin Pitakporntrakul), a young prostitute who guides him, torments him, and keeps vanishing when he needs her around. Through lots of intense battles, fast chases, and tough scrapes, Curtie, little by little, is able to free the girls and figure out what it’s all about.

This is a movie that took on a serious subject and tried to present the horrors of it. But it falls short on a number of levels. Kevin Bacon’s accent is atrocious, and every moment that he’s on screen is pure torture. Djimon Hounsou seems a nice enough guy, but I don’t believe his character. We need a Vin Diesel kind of guy for this role, although he isn’t horrible. The bright spot, perhaps, is Mae, as her character is very interesting, and it’s hard to figure out who she is and what she’s really up to. You’re going to figure it out 3 or 4 times only to be wrong. Good news is that it’s available on The Movie Channel, or other cable channels, a “Watch Instantly” film on Netflix, so it’s readily available for very low cost, but this is probably not good enough to warrant a slot in your DVD queue. Nice try, but it just didn’t cut it. This is not a very good movie in my opinion.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog