Ed's Review Dot Com

ContentFilm International, Echo Lake Productions (I), Piccadilly Pictures,

Malin Akerman, John Cusack, Liam Cunningham, Hannah Murray, Lucy Griffiths, Bryan Dick, Richard Brake, Joey Ansah

Former black ops agent Emerson Kent (John Cusack) just did a very uncomfortable job, and it kind of burned him out. He is assigned to a cushy job protecting a numbers station and a young lady Katherine (Malin Akerman) who is the only one manning the remote station. Numbers stations send out codes in numbers to agents and it is highly classified. But this station has been compromised, and not only is someone trying to mess with the message she is sending, but they intend to see that both Emerson and Katherine are not left alive to tell the story, in this spy action thriller.

I didn’t expect a lot out of this film, but I was pleasantly surprised. It wasn’t hard to watch at all, and the story was really unique. There’s a lot of suspense of the kind when you are not sure who is who, and what is real and what is lies. There’s a lot of action and danger, and it’s a unique story. The whole back story of the Numbers Station is really interesting. This movie grabbed my attention at least, and though it is not a blockbuster film, it was well worth it as a rental. This is even available as a “Watch Instantly” film from NetFlix. If you like spy thrillers with lots of action and suspense, then this is not all that bad, and worth seeking out. The actors are very decent, and even though this doesn’t seem to be exactly in John Cusack’s wheelhouse, he actually pulled it off very well. He’s kind of deadpan, but when it counts, he’s as bad as the best of them. This was a very pleasant surprise and well worth the rental.

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Harbinger Media Partners,

Lynn Collins, Michael Ealy, Bruce McGill, Kwesi Boakye, Diego Klattenhoff, Cedric Pendleton

Samantha Crawford’s (Lynn Collins) life is shattered when her husband is suddenly killed. Warned by the police to leave it to them, she has some hints as to where the killer resides, so she heads into a really tough section of town to see if she can solve the crime herself. Though warned that’s it’s very dangerous there, her life doesn’t mean much to her without her husband anyway, so she continues. While there she has a couple chance meetings a man who runs a shelter to help the inner city kids, and another man who may be the key to finding her husbands killer.

This Christian drama is heavy on the story and very light on the preaching. Perhaps the Christian filmmakers have learned that putting heavy proselytizing in a movie turns the people off that it’s supposed to benefit. As a result, a lot of the religious movies are only seen by the heavily “organized Christian community” and don’t accomplish what they set out to do. This film, like several others I have viewed in the past few years is far from preachy in any way. Yes, it has characters with good values and moral attitudes, and some bad guys with good hearts, and some downright evil people, but there’s no, in your face, preaching in this movie. Instead, it’s a really good story where you can see the dangers of jumping into conclusions, and where you have to do what’s right and just hope in the end, good things will come. This movie has a moving story that is very rich on many levels, and it’s not one that will turn off people who don’t want to be preached to. I suggest you give this one a look if you’re interested in a good story with some decent values. It’s available on DVD and “Watch Instantly” on NetFlix, and many other places, and is well worth tracking down. The performances are pretty good, and it’s not cheesy or milquetoast in any way. It’s a very decent story.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday June 4, 2012

• Escape From Planet Earth
• A Good Day to Die Hard
• Identity Thief
• It’s a Disaster
• The Last Ride
• Mental
• Warm Bodies

Mutual Film Company, Paramount Pictures, Skydance Productions,

Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, David Oyelowo, Richard Jenkins, Alexia Fast, Robert Duvall, Werner Herzog, Kristen Dalton, Nicole Forester, James Martin Kelly, Dylan Kussman

Jack Reacher (Tom Cruise) is an ex-military cop who has a special hatred for a military sniper who killed in Iraq but seemingly got away with it. But when suddenly 5 random people are killed by a sniper, the police a quick to identify this guy as the killer. While in prison though, he sends a message out “Get Jack Reacher”. Jack sees this in the news and heads to town when the defense attorney (Rosamund Pike) reaches out to him to help her with the case. Reacher is convinced the guy is guilty, but agrees to search for the truth to prove his guilt, but is drawn into a much bigger plot that proves the 5 random people may not be as random as he thought in this suspenseful crime drama.

This movie looked like it was going to be really big when the first trailers hit the big screen. You probably remember the funny scene in the trailer where Reacher is driving like mad to escape the cops when he walks away from the car and blends into the crowd. It looked like it picked up a lot of buzz at that point, and it’s a Cruise flick, after all. Well it didn’t. I’m not sure why this didn’t tear up the box office, but there perhaps a couple reasons. Maybe it was due to the blockbuster films out at the same time, and the competition buried it. Furthermore, this is a highly intelligent crime drama, and despite the thrilling car chase and a great deal of suspense this is a much deeper movie than the typical Fast and Furious ridiculous CGI 7 story car leaps, 200 yard bridge jumps, and pseudo cosmic nuclear explosions. Nope, this is not all flash and boom, it’s actually got a very good story behind it. Perhaps we’ve become numb by the huge CGI explosions and such, I’m not sure. But now that Jack Reacher is out on DVD, there’s no reason not to go after this film right away as a rental. It’s a good psychological thriller with a great plot and really good acting. I’m definitely not a Cruise fan, but he was very good as Jack Reacher. I would much prefer this movie to any of his Mission Impossible adventures which are low on story and high on explosions. This film has some really good bad guys, and it’s hard to know as you go through who’s on which side, but it’s clear that Jack is going to sort it out at the end. I recommend this film if you’re in the mood for a crime thriller that will challenge your brain for a change instead of only eye candy.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

LD Entertainment, Mark Gordon Productions,

Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Kerry Washington, Dennis Haysbert

Jeff Land (Tobey Maguire) is a doctor, living a boring but comfortable life in the suburbs with wife Nealy (Elizabeth Banks). But Jeff isn’t very happy. He has a child and his wife seems to have lost all interest in him. They’re never intimate anymore, even when the kid is asleep, so Jeff turns to internet porn to satisfy his needs. Furthermore, as pesky group have raccoons have decided to dig up Jeff’s yard, doing major damage reminiscent of Bill Murray’s character in “Caddyshack”. Like groundskeeper Carl, Jeff takes on a war with the raccoons that takes up his time. But he further strays into cheating with a couple different neighbors, and finds himself in deeper hot water due to his urges and the way he tries to satisfy them, in this dark comedy that hits home in a number of way to most of us.

This is basically a peep into the male psyche on two levels. The lengths we men will go to fight dragons and wage our own war once we get an idea in our heads. Jeff could probably solve the raccoon problem with one phone call, but instead he gets obsessed with fighting the war himself. The second is the length we will go to to satisfy our cravings when we’re missing the love and attention at home. Instead of battling the problem in his marriage and trying work things it’s, it’s easier to bury yourself in other dangerous endeavors.

This is an interesting departure for Tobey Maguire. He’s obviously known for his portrayal of Spiderman, which was pretty awesome, but outside of Seabiscuit, we haven’t been able to see a lot of stuff from Mr. Maguire. He plays this role pretty well, and does a fine job. My problem with the film is that it’s a bit slow, and though it has a few interesting parts, much of it is like watching paint dry. Laura Linney is good as the lonely neighbor who offers herself up as one of Jeff’s conquests, but aside from that, there’s not a whole lot going on here. All in all, it’s a fair film, and has some interesting character development, all in all, there’s just not enough going on to keep it from falling flat. If you’re interested in the subject, or a fan of Tobey Maguire, give it a shot, but for most of it, there’s better stuff out there. This is available on Watch Instantly on NetFlix now, so it’s easy to give it a try if you’re interested and see if it appeals. But for the most part, I shrug my shoulders, and say, “Oh, well.”

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog