Ed's Review Dot Com

American Zoetrope, A24, The Directors Bureau,

Charlie Sheen, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Katheryn Winnick, Patricia Arquette, Aubrey Plaza, Dermot Mulroney, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Charles Swan (Charlie Sheen) is a very self centered, egotistical graphic designer who is deeply disturbed. He’s looking to find some kind of meaning, but he’s delving into his own imagination and mystical life to try to find something to hold on to. We, as the audience, are treated to the view of his active imagination and his struggle to make sense of out of his life.

This probably could be a biography of Charlie Sheen during the dark times when he was fired from Two and a Half Men. Charles Swan is really gone off the deep end. The movie descriptions always say he’s depressed because of the loss of his girlfriend, but I don’t believe that’s really the cause. It might be the trigger, but basically this guy is nuts.

I am one of the many who did not like this film. I admit, there are fans out there of anything, but this just did not go anywhere for me. I found it very pretentious, for no logical reason, and very boring. Seriously, this is one of the worst films I’ve seen this year, and not one I’d recommend to anyone other than the handful who have already seen it. In the words of “Men on Film”…. Hated it.

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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday May 28, 2013

• Dark Skies [Click Here for Ed’s Review]
• Generation Umm
• Lore
• The Numbers Station

Daybreak Pictures, Film Four, Free Range Films,

Bill Murray, Laura Linney, Olivia Colman, Samuel West, Elizabeth Marvel, Elizabeth Wilson, Eleanor Bron, Olivia Williams

In the 1930’s, President Franklin D Roosevelt (Bill Murray) was reunited with his distant cousin Margaret “Daisy” Suckley (Laura Linney) who were very close. Rumor had it that she was his mistress. Meanwhile the King and Queen of England have arrived for a visit and to request FDR’s support for the coming war in Europe. At first Bertie and Elizabeth think perhaps the Americans are making fun of them, but as time passes, they begin to feel at lot more welcome. This is a close look into the life and times of FDR, his human side, and the troubles he faced.

It was nice to Bill Murray take on a role like this. When playing a character so familiar in people’s minds, it’s difficult to nail it. Bill doesn’t quite “nail it” but he does a decent job. I have seen a lot of other actors take on FDR, usually in a small part of a bigger picture, but Murray has to play him though nearly every moment of the movie. Well, he certainly is taking a lot of flack about it, and I think that’s unfair, as he did a pretty decent job, and I am impressed at his skill. But the story, those barely interesting, is not a grabber. There is no great events happening here, just a week in the life of the President and the King. I think this would be fairly interesting after watching The King’s Speech, as it does give us a bit more insight into King George than it does to FDR I suspect. But it is a decent investigation into the difference between the British Monarchy and our American President. If the USA was to ever have a dictator, it probably would have been FDR.

I can’t outright recommend this film for everyone, as it’s certainly very dry through most of it, and if you’re not interested in the historical value, you’ll probably find it really boring. On the other hand, if you’re a history buff, want more background on The King’s Speech, or interested in life in the 30’s, it’s a pretty good view into that period. I’m split down the middle on this one.

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Automatik Entertainment, Baby Way Productions, Cutting Edge

Marlon Wayans, Essence Atkins, Cedric the Entertainer, Nick Swardson, David Koechner, Alanna Ubach, Dave Sheridan, Liana Mendoza, Affion Crockett, Jamie Noel

Malcolm (Marlon Wayans) is a young guy who is really excited that his sweetheart, Kisha (Essence Atkins) is moving in with him. He’s got tons of new video equipment and is interested in getting freaky when it become clear Kisha brings some heavy baggage with her with a paranormal creature following her to the house. Freaky things, happen alright, but downright mysterious with crashing pans, flying objects, and continued torture by the spirits in the house. This is a comedy parody of the Paranormal Activity films.

I like Marlon ok, but when they were passing out the talent, I’m afraid he wasn’t at the front of the line. He has to carry this film, which is a typical comedy slapstick parody of movies that lend themselves to parody, but I didn’t really think it was all that funny. Most of the jokes all of us would come up with ourselves if we sat down to think of how to do a parody of Paranormal Activity. There was really nothing at all original here, nor was there anything particularly clever. As a result, it started out with hope and just sort of deflated as it went along. Close enough to the originals to be “just like” them, and the humor just didn’t go anywhere. All the jokes are about Malcolm not getting laid. That gets old after 10 minutes. Really, if you’re looking for a horror parody, if that’s your thing, skip this one and go back and watch the original Scary Movie films. This one just doesn’t have nearly enough originality to hold water, and the parody is so thin, it hardly qualifies. I just really was disappointed in this film.

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Di Bonaventura Pictures,

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Forest Whitaker, Johnny Knoxville, Rodrigo Santoro, Jaimie Alexander, Luis Guzmán, Eduardo Noriega, Peter Stormare, Zach Gilford, Genesis Rodriguez

Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) is the leader of the largest drug cartel in Mexico, but he’s in prison in the US. During a transfer from his cell in Las Vegas he makes a spectacular and daring escape. Obviously his henchmen, of which there are an army, are ready for whatever happens to lead him home. Meanwhile, Sheriff Ray Owens is retired from his LAPD detective position where he’s seen way too much crime and suffering, and has settled in to the sleepy little town of Summerton Junction, right on the Mexican border. The FBI is convinced Cortez is running to the border crossing, but Summerton has no border crossing so it seems that is not even an option, but Sheriff Owens smells something fishy and uncovers their plot to spring Cortez across the border, but it won’t be without a fight if the Sheriff and his band of deputies have anything to say about it.

This is simply an action film. There have been lots of these, and this is Arnold’s first attempt back on the big screen since his last role as the Governor of California. It tanked in the box office, and I’m not really sure why. Of course I didn’t plunk down my money to see it in the theater either, as I guess I expected it to stink as well as everyone else. I’m kind of sorry the word of mouth didn’t bring this film the attention it deserves. Now granted, the story is a straight line cat and mouse chase without a lot of twists and turns in it. It’s not very cerebral in that sense, just an action film like many of the Arnold films of old. But there is a great deal of care given to developing the characters, from the bad guys to the good guys to the better guys. The attention to the depth of character means that we really can despise the villains, and cheer the heroes. Arnold, of course, is sick and tired of all the violence, and looking just to settle down in peace, but he’s tough as he needs to be in the end. But his collection of curious town folk and deputies are really well developed. We get to know these people, and care about their survival. Everyone does their best. Johnny Knoxville is mostly known for being a fool, as part of the Jackass gang. But Johnny is the weakest character in the film, and that’s too bad because he really does an excellent job. Obviously he’s going to play a joker, but he’s as good a comedy sidekick as they come, and he should have been given much more to do in this film. The little bit they did give him he plays flawlessly. Forest Tucker is also underused in the film, but I understand that he’s just there to play the sincere but incompetent FBI leader to Arnold’s bad ass sheriff. He does that well enough in the end. All in all, this is a fireball of action and masterful driving of a couple really awesome cars. It is what it sets out to be, a high speed rollercoaster ride from start to end, and it does it very well. I enjoyed this movie.

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