Ed's Review Dot Com

Columbia Pictures, Point Grey Pictures, Mandate Pictures,

James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, David Krumholtz

Jay Baruchel is coming to Los Angeles to hang out with Seth Rogen and party, party, party. They decide to go to a big party at James Franco’s house, but unexpectedly the apocalypse happens, and the rapture has begun. None of these guys at the party (a slew of Hollywood stars) were taken to heaven, so they have to figure out a way to survive. But they soon come to realize that they are all too stupid to figure out what to do. Bickering and fighting all the way, till they finally figure out the secret to surviving the destruction.

This is done like a mockumentary. I say that because all of the actors play themselves. But this is a disappointing very silly and useless film. I was kind of looking forward to this film from the previews, but it turned out to be a mess. I just did not get the whole point of this movie. I didn’t think it was very funny, and the running around and overacting, over-reacting, and just plain yelling at each other reminded me of a high-school drama class improvisation activity. Very childish, not that funny, and just plain a disaster all around. This reminds me of the Barbara Ann recording where it was done at a party, in one take, with all the mistakes, missed lyrics, giggles and goofing around left in it. This is a party movie too, just a bunch of stars getting together and hacking out a “comedy” without any goal in sight or any purpose at all. I would definitely recommend avoiding this film at all costs. This is the worst film I’ve seen in a long time.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday August 8, 2013

• After Earth
• Curse of Chucky
• Europa Report
• The Hangover: Part 3

Also Known As Pictures, Benaroya Pictures, Animus Films,

Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde, Zoe Saldana, Ben Barnes, J.K. Simmons, John Hannah, Nora Arnezeder, Michael McKean, Zeljko Ivanek, Ron Rifkin, Liz Stauber, Gianpaolo Venuta

Rory Jansen (Bradley Cooper) has always striven to be a writer. His writing was pretty good, but he just wasn’t able to make it, and was about to give up, when he accidentally finds a manuscript, neatly typed, in an old briefcase. Rory quickly types it into his laptop, claiming it was his work, and it is a great novel. He soars to the top of the charts and his star is rising fast in the literary world, but deep inside he knows he didn’t write it. When he meets and old man (Jeremy Irons) on a bench who has a copy of his book, he begins to tell a story to Rory that will change his life. The consequences to him of plagiarizing this book has far reaching effects to this basically honest, but torn up man.

The Words is a very touching story. When the old man starts telling the story, we get to visualize the story and the meaning of the work, and we find ourselves drawn in to exactly what Rory has done. But do we really? This is a very thought provoking film, and the ending is very unsatisfying, in a way, because it’s so open ended. You can ponder for weeks about what the ending means. It’s intentionally (I feel) left open ended to allow you to ponder about what’s fact and what’s fiction. Just one hint though, as I don’t want to give a way any spoilers, but the first few minutes is rather confusing unless you’re paying attention very closely. In the very beginning, Cory (Dennis Quaid) is reading his story about Rory (Bradley Cooper) who is the main character in the story. But Rory gets to hear a story from “the old man” which is a story in a story in a story. This film twists you and turns you and flops itself upside down several times, but this is a awesome movie.

It’s hard to classify, as many people file it under romance, which it really isn’t though there is a love story in it. Some put it under the thriller category, and although there is a bit of suspense, it’s certainly not mainly a suspense movie either. What it’s really about is ethics and the result of going against your conscience. Without really judging, it’s about the results of making a bad choice and having to live with it. There’s a lot going on here, and it’s a very cerebral story, but I did really enjoy it. I was touched by the beauty of this well crafted work. The story is the king here, and it’s a great story. The actors do a wonderful job telling the story, and the deeper we get pulled into the action, the more we like it.

If you are a fan of car chases and big crashes, or side splitting comedy, this isn’t for you, but if you like a well crafted character piece with lots to think about, and well developed characters, this is an excellent film. It feels a bit rushed, as it could have been a lot longer, but I think it was done this way to keep it at a reasonable length. That is the only complaint I could offer. But the story is so good, that I found myself fascinated by the entire movie. I liked this one!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Emperor Motion Pictures,

Jay Chou, Nicholas Tse, Ling Peng, Bing Bai, Andy On, Carl Ng, Jared Robinsen

Jon (Jay Chou) is a agent on a mission to pick up and escort a dangerous criminal to another country. On the way, a traitor turns on him and Jon is shot in the head, and has a serious prognosis. He finds out from his Mother that he has a brother who lived with his father in Malaysia, so Jon heads out to visit his brother who is involved with a criminal group who is threatening the world with a dangerous virus which can be used to blackmail country leaders to bid for the cure. The brothers unite and try to stop the group from releasing the virus in this action thriller.

This is a foreign film, partly Chinese and partly in English, but with subtitles throughout. The action is non-stop. It’s a run and gun thriller to the nth degree. However it does suffer from some of the things a foreign film tends to have. Not all of it makes a whole lot of sense. It’s a bit disjointed, and made me wonder why did they do that, a number of times. Also, it seems odd that a couple of brothers would be out fighting a couple of bad guys over viruses that would terrorize and infect the entire world. Normally it’s a huge world health organization out fighting to preserve the health of the world, not just a couple brothers. It’s like a mixture of movie types. It just made me wonder all the way through. Geez, guys, get some help! But all in all it was a high action adventure, and if you’re a fan of these high energy flicks, then this is probably one worth watching, as it has a lot of action and is much better than a lot of other foreign attempts to copy Vin Diesel. But for the most part, it wasn’t that interesting and I found myself bored, as I like a bit more story, and less gunfire in my films. So I’m rather ambivalent on this one, not hot or cold, just kind of left lukewarm on it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Dimension Films, DZE, Brad Grey Pictures,

Charlie Sheen, Molly Shannon, Lindsay Lohan, Simon Rex, Ashley Tisdale, Jerry O’Connell, Kate Walsh, Heather Locklear, Roland Powell, Chris Elliott, Katt Williams, Terry Crews, Erica Ash, Marisa Saks

Dan Sanders (Simon Rex) and his wife Jody (Ashley Tisdale) bring home their lost nieces and nephew into their home to raise as their own. But as time passes paranormal things quickly escalate so that they place hidden cameras around the house to find out what is going on. This naturally reveals that they are being haunted by a demon who is after the children. The Scary Movie franchise is back to spoof the latest horror films in pop culture, such films as Black Swan, the Paranormal Activity films, Hunger Games, Inception, and many others.

The Wayans brothers are gone, Anna Faris is gone, but a bunch of new stars have signed on for this joke-o-rama. This is a typical Scary Movie movie, like the 4 that came before it, although this one is a bit more movie satire and a lot less really gross stuff like some of the older one have been. Very much like Airplane spoofed the Airport movies, this one sticks to skewering the films and a little less with the most disgusting stuff. Yet it’s funny. I don’t know why I like these kinds of movies. But I have always been a sucker for satire, ever since the days when I was a kid who read every issue of Mad Magazine. Some of the funniest things I remember are things I learned from Mad. These movies aren’t going to give you much learning, or life lessons, but it is kind of an enjoyable evening watching this film, and trying to identify the films they’re lampooning. Not much redeeming social value, but just giggly fun. If you’re a fan of these types of movies, then this is pretty good. If you find them sophomoric and stupid, then that’s what this is too. So it’s up to you. I found it really humorous and enjoyed watching it very much, but I have a funny spot for these satirical movies.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog