Ed's Review Dot Com

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Working Title Films,

Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, Caleb Landry Jones, Diego Luna, J.K. Simmons, Lukas Haas, Connor Hill, Bryce McDaniel

Chris Farraday (Mark Wahlberg) has gone straight. Formerly an infamous smuggler, and coming from a smuggling family (His father taught him the business) he’s now a legitimate businessman. But when his brother-in-law screws up and loses a drug shipment, Chris has to leave his family, sign up as a deck hand on a ship going from Panama to New Orleans to repay his brother-in-law’s debt, and to protect his family as well. But the Captain of the ship recognizes him and gives him the most difficult and disgusting tasks. But that’s just the least of the problems. The Captain has his eyes on him. The bad guys have kidnapped his family, and things change very fast as they try to stay one step ahead of disaster.

This is a rip roaring, action packed thriller, and one of Markie Mark’s best in many years! For a small film that got little interest, I was very impressed. There are twists and turns throughout, and we get faked out so many times. I was pretty impressed. The views of New Orleans and Panama are really good, but the action as this movie takes off is really impressive. And Kate Beckinsale is in the film!!!

Seriously, the action is intense, and the story, once it grabs you, doesn’t let good. So I was very surprised by this movie, as I had not heard of it before it came out on DVD. It was a pleasant surprise, and a hidden gem among a whole bunch of clinkers lately! And did I say, Kate Beckinsale was in the movie?

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Columbia Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Scott Rudin Productions,

Daniel Craig, Rooney Mara, Christopher Plummer, Stellan Skarsgård, Steven Berkoff, Robin Wright, Yorick van Wageningen, Joely Richardson, Geraldine James, Goran Visnjic, Donald Sumpter, Ulf Friberg

Mike Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a journalist who was convicted of libel and disgraced, but is offered a large sum to investigate a girl who has been missing and presumed dead for 40 years. Off he goes to a remote area to begin the investigation of the girl, a niece of a wealthy philanthropist and his very unusual family. Mike meets a young genius computer hacker with a photographic memory, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara) who agrees to help him investigate the missing girl. Together they piece together a puzzle of rape, torture, and murder that spans generations, and the evil and corruption is greater than either of them could imagine.

This was one of those strange stories that intrigues people. I truly expected a lot different because prior to the movie coming out I didn’t know anything at all about the books (a trilogy by Swedish writer Stieg Larsson) and expected perhaps a Chinese martial arts film or something. It turns out it was a very intense story of rather disgusting rich families who think they are above the law. On one hand I found the story rather intense, and I have to admit I was unable to look away in the almost 3 hours that it ran. Half way through I knew I needed to pause and take care of some tasks and finish the film later in the evening, but I just couldn’t stop until I figured out the solution of the mystery. But at the same time, at the end I felt a lot of “Is that all there is”. Perhaps that’s because it’s just the first book of a trilogy, and maybe there is still more story to tell.

My daughter told me this is a sad story with a sad ending. She was certainly right, as the final scene before the credits certainly fits in the story, but certainly hits you with a sucker punch in the gut that you don’t see coming unless you really ponder on it. The acting wasn’t bad. Daniel Craig was pretty good and Rooney Mara as the punk hard ass chick Lisbeth was certainly good. Then with great actors like Christopher Plummer as the head of the Vanger family who hires Mike in the first place, and Joely Richardson, and even Robin Wright (Princess Buttercup from Princess Bride and Jenny from Forrest Gump) are all good in their roles. So I’m really torn on this film. In many ways it was pretty darn good, and in other ways I felt it lacked something, but I just can’t put my finger on it. So I have to rate it in the “fairly decent” category so that you can make your mind up. If you like raw, shocking thriller mystery and crime, you’ll probably like it. If you’re looking for classic cinema and pure entertainment, it’s probably not a good choice. Without being very graphic, it’s certainly dark and evil and disgusting in a lot of ways, kind of like the evening news lately. So I give it a guarded recommendation, as I know a lot of people won’t be crazy about it. But I know others will really love it. Choose wisely. 🙂

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures,

Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Thomas Horn, James Gandolfini, Viola Davis, John Goodman, Jeffrey Wright, Max von Sydow, Zoe Caldwell, Stephen McKinley Henderson

Oskar Schell(Thomas Horn) is a very talented little boy. He’s an amateur inventor and is very smart, and very close to his father Thomas (Tom Hanks) who tells him stories of interesting adventures. One of his stories is about a mysterious 6th borough of New York that disappeared. Oskar’s Dad was killed in the 9-11 disaster and Oskar begins a downward spiral as he struggles to deal with the loss. But when he finds a mysterious key, he is certain there is a message that his Dad left for him, and he sets out on a quest to solve the mystery and find the secret message his Dad left for him. In the process he meets a lot of interesting people and is not only touched by them, but leaves his mark on them as well in this tale of loss and sorrow following one of our nation’s most horrible and tragic events.

This is a fairly unusual film. I felt it could have been a lot better, but I do have to give credit to the filmmakers for trying to do a film about this historical event, as there have not been much written about the aftermath of the tragedy. I was definitely anxious to see this DVD, but I was quite a bit disappointed. I am not sure what the biggest problem was. It should have been really emotional and touching, but it wasn’t. The characters were flat and one dimensional. There wasn’t a lot of heart, and I don’t feel like it really touched me. The ending didn’t make any sense at all to me, and I don’t want to say anything that will give it away, but when the mystery is “solved” I had no idea what they were talking about. I’m just not sure what the message or meaning of this film was supposed to be. I liked the story of Oskar trying to deal with the loss of his father, but then it spun off on this tangent that seemed to keep Oskar busy but didn’t seem to take the audience anywhere. I didn’t hate this, but I just didn’t feel much at all about it. When it was over, I just sort of shrugged my shoulders and said, “Oh well”. It’s not a story that stayed with me, nor did I think much more about it. Disappointing effort.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday June 12, 2012

• Sherlock Holmes:A Game of Shadows [Click Here for Ed’s Review]
• Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
• Good Deeds
• In Darkness
• Thin Ice

Film4, See-Saw Films, UK Film Council,

Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie, Hannah Ware, Amy Hargreaves, Alex Manette

Brandon Sullivan (Michael Fassbender) is a 30’s young executive who lives in New York City. He has a very serious porn addiction. His younger sister
Sissy (Carey Mulligan) comes in to visit, and it appears she has no plans of leaving anytime soon. The relationship between these two is really creepy, although there is nothing blatantly going on, but it totally messes up Brandon’s life. Between catching his sister in bed with his boss, and her catching him in a compromising situation, they have their struggles, but it appears both are kind of broken and need help just to get by. Whether or not they’ll be there for each other remains to be seen.

This is a very intense film. I know some people are really caught up by the close inspection of how seemingly random events affect their lives, but I’m not so sure they are really random. I have a feeling there is a lot more in the story that we are never told. This film on one hand feels like voyeurism at it’s worst on our part, and at the same time, a superficial slice of two lives without a point, nor a beginning or end to the story. Perhaps that’s what the director was going for. I simply was not that impressed with the whole thing. Michael Fassbinder’s acting was pretty good. He did a nice job with what he was given, but it wasn’t enough to carry the whole film. One guy can only do so much. I simply didn’t get too excited by this film and found it all rather pointless.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog