Ed's Review Dot Com

New in theaters this weekend Friday July 20, 2012

• The Dark Knight Rises
• 30 Beats
• Hara-Kiri:Death of a Samurai
• The Queen of Versailles
• The Well Digger’s Daughter

NOTE: I would like to share my horror and outrage at the coward who shot up the theater at the midnight showing of “The Dark Night Rises” in Colorado last night. At least this time they have the shooter in custody and perhaps we can get a look into this twisted mind to find out what made him choose to do this. My heart goes out to the victims and especially to their families, and to the hundreds who had to witness this stupid act.

The highlight of the week, of course, is the release of Dark Knight Rises, which is the final third of the Batman trilogy starring Christian Bale as “The Bat”, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, Michael Caine as Alfred, and Tom Hardy as the new villain, Bane. This is sold out at midnight across the nation at over 2500 screens and here in LA people are still lining up for 1AM, 3AM, and 6AM showings. It will be a monster hit for sure.

The rest of the “also rans”….the films that are unlucky enough to open on the same day as Batman are, “30 Beats”, starring Jennifer Tilly is a love story during a heat wave in New York City…or is it more of a sex story than a love story? “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”, a Japanese film, aka “Ichimei”, which is a story of honor and duty as well as revenge and disgrace of a poor samurai in ancient Japan. “The Queen of Versailles” staring David and Jackie Siegel, which is a documentary about a billionaire family’s rise and fall during the real estate bubble when they built the largest house in the United States. Finally there’s “The Well Digger’s Daughter” which is a romance about a widower living with his six daughters during WWI. This is a French film and is a remake of a 1940 film.

Last Weeks top Box Office:

1 – Ice Age: Continental Drift
2 – The Amazing Spider-Man
3 – Ted
4 – Brave
5 – Savages

Indian Paintbrush, American Empirical Pictures, Moonrise,

Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Harvey Keitel

Sam (Jared Gilman) is a Khaki Scout of on an island in New England at a scout camp. Suzy (Kara Hayward) is a lonely girl who loves to read and looks at life through binoculars. The two of them decide to set off on an adventure and run away to follow an old trail around the island setting of a panic among the scout troop run by Scout Master Ward (Ed Norton) and with the town folk lead by Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis). The two decide to elope and get married while an epic storm bears down on the island.

This film by Wes Anderson is, like all of his film is kind of weird. For this reason, even though it’s still in theaters, it’s kind of hard to find and did not get really wide release. But it’s definitely a worthwhile film. It reminds me a lot of the Lemony Snickett’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” or Louis Sacher’s “Wayside school” series of books. It’s very quirky and was made in the same manner. Shot on 16mm film, it’s got a real weird vibe to it. But it’s a really cute growing up film, and a touching romance between these two young people. It’s puppy love at it’s best with a great cast and a sweet story.

The film is set in the year 1965 although it could be almost anytime. It’s set on a fictional island, and the colors are drab and brown and beige through most of the film (with a few exceptions) which adds to the mood a lot. Though very strange, it feels oddly comfortable in a way. Throughout the story Suzy reads from her collection of children’s books, and it feels as though the kids are living their own children’s book as the pass through this adventure.

Now this film is definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, that’s a given. A lot of people will hate it. But if you’ve got an interest in a very off-beat unusual movie with a harmless story of innocence, this is it. If you liked Polar Express or Where the Wild Things Are, this is very similar in feel to both of those films. For me, I enjoyed it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday July 17, 2012

• The Three Stooges
• Lockout
• Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
• Friends with Kids
• Casa De Mi Padre

Columbia Pictures, Laura Ziskin Productions, Marvel Enterprises,

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Irfan Khan, Campbell Scott, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Embeth Davidtz, Chris Zylka, Max Charles

This reboot of the Spider-Man legend takes us to a much darker place, but gives a lot more sensible explanation of what is going on. Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield)’s mother and father bring him to his Aunt May and Uncle Ben (Sally Fields and Martin Sheen) to live for a while when they have to deal with a serious problem. Their house has been broken into by someone trying to find the key to his work and the answer to a puzzle that could not only be worth billions, but could save the lives of thousands and tens of thousands of people. They never return. Peter grows up and faces his own issues, but accidentally finds an old briefcase that was left with the answers in a secret compartment. Peter sets of to discover what it all means, and what happens to him is no fluke, but has been planned. Peter meets Gwen Stacy at school where he’s admired her for a long time and they find themselves attracted, but when Peter is turned to Spider-man, and Gwen’s father Captain Stacey of the NYPD has an intense hatred of this Spider-Man character, things heat up in a hurry. Not to mention that Gwen works for Peter’s Dad’s old partner, Dr. Curt Conners (Rhys Ifans) who is playing with fire trying to splice animal and human genes together, he sets off a horrible monster on New York and it’s up to Spidey to save the city.

This is definitely a 5 star film! In my opinion it’s much better than the other Spider-Man films combined. This is for many obvious reason. First, with the work of actors like Sally Field and Martin Sheen, their characters add levels of depth to the roles and make these minor characters a big part of the story. Furthermore Emma Stone is perfect for GWEN and she actually runs circles around the part played by Kirsten Dunst. This is hard for me to say because I am a big Kirsten Dunst fan, and typically like her very much, but Emma is such a perfect choice for this and she adds a ton to the role. Not to mention that there is much deeper and heartfelt romance in this story compared to the first ones.

But I am not saying this is a romance either, as the action and graphics are eye popping, and the mix of live action and CGI is so seamless that you can’t tell in anyway when it switches. It’s fantastic. You so believe it until suddenly you realize that what is happening cannot possibly be happening and it has to be CGI, but it’s so smooth a transition that it’s not noticeable. Then of course, the drama element, danger, and suspense is off the charts as well. This is such an awesome script. And then Andrew Garfield who we may possibly remember from The Social Network and some other smaller film and tv roles is a virtual newcomer to be playing this role and he, too, is perfect for the most part. Some of the time, as Spider-man he gets a little whiny and annoying….(spider-man should keep quiet when he’s in costume for the most part) he’s perfect when he’s Peter Parker. He plays the innocence of Harry Potter, the brains of a scientist, and the confusion of a young man trying to find his way, yet is able to get so angry that he’s completely believable. Andrew was a great choice.

I saw this in IMAX 3D, and it was really well worth it. IMAX 3D glasses have gotten so comfortable that within a few minutes I completely forgot I was wearing them. And the 3D is eye-popping in this film, and the sound literally shook the seats. Romance, dark evil, a boy who is learning what it means to be responsible, great action and adventure, stunning CGI and photography, giant screen, perfect sound system and a suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat for nearly 2 1/2 hours. Comedy? At least a dozen times the audience laughed out loud. There is a lot of good comedy in this film Mix in some horror, science fiction, and supernatural and you have a great film. WOW, there is no reason not to go out and see this one right away!!! And this is from a guy who doesn’t normally get excited over superhero films!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

First Point Entertainment, Katonah Pictures, Perfect Weekend,

Brittany Snow, Evan Ross, Christian Serratos, Jonathan Michael Trautmann, David Oyelowo, Justin Martin, Sharon Morris, Anna Enger

Based on true events, this is the story of 4 young people, two boys and two girls, who made a series of choices in one evening that changed their lives. Through intercuts, the story of two boys, one a young black man who has chance to go to college and make something of himself, but keeps getting pulled back into the gang that runs the neighborhood especially by his friend, a young white male who wants nothing more than to be accepted in the gang. A carjacking gone wrong escalates as one bad choice after another follows until they are all involved so deep that they can never get out. This is a film that has a subtle message of what real respect means, and how we have to pay consequences for making stupid decisions sometimes.

This film is a thriller and a pretty good crime story with a kind of redemption and yet payback in the end, but a really fair ride along the way. The story is harsh, and pulls not punches. Each individual has his own agenda and makes their own decisions which often makes things escalate and get worse. It’s a mediocre film, since it’s not a big budget Hollywood production, but it’s a decent little film and well worth watching if you’re interested in a tale of life in the projects and a good strong boy who has his sights set high, but keeps getting pulled back into what he never ever wanted to be.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog