Ed's Review Dot Com

GreeneStreet Films, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Touchy Feely Films,

Paul Giamatti, Paul Rudd, Sally Hawkins, Amy Landecker, Tatyana Richaud, Adam Phillips, Colman Domingo, Halley Feiffer, Peter Hermann, Curtiss Cook

Dennis (Paul Giamatti) is a basic thief. He was just released from 4 year in the slammer and is anxious to get back to his wife, Therese (Amy Landecker) and daughter Michi (Tatyana Richaud), but Therese has told her daughter that her father died from a horrible undefined cancer. Dennis wants to go straight but can’t find work anywhere, so he hooks up with his former partner Rene (Paul Rudd) and the two plan a trip to New York City to sell trees to make some cash. It doesn’t go too well, and the two guys soon find they love the same woman, and run into challenge after challenge just trying to survive till Christmas.

This film was just released on DVD in time for Christmas 2013. It was a nicely done tale of a couple of losers trying to something somewhat noble this year. Both would like to get out of the crime careers they have started, but it’s hard to change your ways cold turkey. The life of a tree salesman can be tough. I had the opportunity of talking to one of the guys here in LA who sets up a stand every year in the local Office Depot parking lot. The year before he hired a high school kid to stay overnight and watch the stock of trees, and the kid took off with his friends and he lost over 200 trees in one night. From then on he works the lot all day and sleeps there all night. His wife drives in to bring him meals and for 6 weeks he never leaves the parking lot. Well, being in New York City trying to do this isn’t very easy either, and they have their share of challenges. But trusting each other is hard too as they have a long history. They have a lot of adventures. This is a character made for Paul Giamatti. I’ve been a fan of his work since I first remember seeing him as Pig Virus in Howard Stern’s “Private Parts”. This is the kind of role simply made for him, and he tears into it with fervor. Paul Rudd is good in his role too, as he’s supposed to be a bit of a jerk, with a bit of a nice guy rolled into one which he also pulls off pretty well. The rest of the cast is basically there to fill up the screen, but this is really a buddy film between the Paul’s. Dark in a lot of ways, and sometimes pretty sad, but it’s a really good film. The ending kind of redeems it for us, and leaves us with a bit of cheer. This isn’t a cheery Christmas caper to entertain. This is a deep film, but very well done and quite though provoking. I am really glad I watched this, and I recommend this one. It’s a film that’s way beneath the radar, but it sure deserves some love, as it’s a very well produced story.

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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Chernin Entertainment, Dune Entertainment,

Sandra Bullock, Melissa McCarthy, Ben Falcone, Taran Killam, Kaitlin Olson, Thomas F. Wilson, Michael Rapaport, Bill Burr, Demián Bichir, Tony Hale

Ashburn (Sandra Bullock) is an uptight FBI agent who is sent to Boston to track down a ruthless drug lord. While there, she is partnered with Mullins (Melissa McCarthy) a loud mouthed, reckless, and crude Boston cop. The two are like oil and water as they team up to go after the bad guys while really irritating the heck out of each other in this extremely funny “buddy cop” movie.

I was impressed with how funny this movie really was. I didn’t expect too much when watching a movie like this, and expected it to be a bit on the corny side, but it actually was very funny. The situations as well as the jokes were really good, and this movie had a lot of heart. These two really worked well together, and they played off each other masterfully. The script is really fresh. The movie was filmed in Boston, and the location added a lot to the enjoyment of the movie. It’s fast paced, very clever, and great fun. This is one of the best roles Sandra has played in a long while, and Melissa can be overwhelming sometimes, but she was very good in this movie.

The only downside for some people is that there is a lot of foul language in the movie. This can be annoying to people who don’t appreciate that language, but it is funny. Otherwise, it’s a pretty non-offensive film. The R rating is probably mostly due to the language. If you are in the mood for a really good side splitting comedy, this is certainly a good one. I recommend it, aside from the constant stream of expletives, mostly from Ms. McCarthy.

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Mandate Pictures,

Julianne Hough, Russell Brand, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Holly Hunter, Iliza Shlesinger, Kathleen Rose Perkins, Alyshia Ochse

Lamb (Julianne Hough) is a young christian woman who was raised in a strong christian home. Sheltered from the world, things went well until a plane crash left her with burns over 2/3 of her body which caused her a major crisis of faith. After a falling out with her family and the church, she heads off to Las Vegas to experience the world, and to check of her “Sin Bucket List” of things she wants to try. Along the way she finds two new friends that help her to sort out her issues and gain some balance.

Julianne Hough did a great job in this movie. I really didn’t know what to expect when I got this film, and I was very pleasantly surprised. Her bitterness at the accident and pain was well portrayed, and gave us an insight into her character. She really wanted to go wild and throw it all aside, but just couldn’t because of the values she had be raised with, and the fine line between these values and her desire to experience the other side of life. Octavia Spencer’s depressed lounge singer character, and Russell Brand’s optimistic bartender character were perfect companions as well, as they were well aware of the dangers of the wild side of life, and guide her through the situations with real caring and concern. This trio of characters pass through a range of emotional issues protecting lamb while allowing her to think she’s going wild. The story is well told, and is an interesting look at a slice of a person’s life. Very interesting, and well acted. The Las Vegas settings are as much of a character too, as the human characters. All in all it’s a very well told tale, and a nice little movie. As I said, I was pleasantly surprised by this film, and I enjoyed watching it very much.

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Alchemist Productions, Ken Kragen Productions

John Billingsley, Bonita Friedericy, Adam Hicks, Jim Jackman, Eric Lutes, Richard Riehle, Mindy Sterling, Susan Wood, Travis Flory, Alisha Mullally, Jordan-Claire Green

During the depression, Emma O’Connor (Jordan-Claire Green) is asked by her father, who is struggling, to live with an Aunt in a small town where the mayor has just outlawed dogs. Her “Aunt” doesn’t want her, and she rescues a stray dog and rescues him from the dogcatcher. Emma makes friends with the town’s crazy dog lady who lives just out of town, and uses the magic of Christmas and the love of the dogs to teach the town the true meaning of the season.

This is a surprisingly good family film that has a lot of things going for it. Jordan-Claiare does a great job as the Little Orphan Annie character who wins you over in the first few minutes. She, like a lot of youngsters did during the rough days of the depression, hated her situation, but gritted her teeth and made the very best of it that she could. THe mayor was a bit over the top with his evil “grinchness”, and his brother, the dogcatcher took his character straight from the bumbling thugs in 101 Dalmations for sure. But most kiddie films have their share of silly shoved in to please the kids. The dogs are stars too. How can you dislike a good doggie movie? So all in all, this is a very worthwhile family oriented Christmas film that is well worth checking out.

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Warner Bros., Esperanto Filmoj, Heyday Films,

Sandra Bullock, George Clooney

Dr Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer who has signed on to the space program to continue her work when her grant was cut. She is partnered with Matt Kowalski (George Clooney) who is an old timer, with lots of experience as an astronaut, and an attitude to boot. Alone with a third engineer, they are working to repair an experiment on the Hubbel Space Telescope when they are struck by space debris and knocked free of the satellite and flying untethered freely through space.

This is an absolutely stunning movie. One of the reviewers said that anyone could have played the roles of Ryan and Matt and it would still be a great movie. That was my thoughts exactly too, as I watched this film in 3D. But we’re lucky that they spent the money to get Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, since that only makes it even better. But there is absolutely no arguing that the view is the absolute star of this film. There’s a lot of suspense, and, frankly speaking, some far out ideas of how to move the plot forward, which is all well and good, but it’s certainly the views of the various space vehicles, sunrise and sunset from space, and the views of the Earth that are stunningly beautiful. I was blown away by the simplicity and the beauty of this movie, and it was a surreal experience to see it on a big screen in 3-D.

I remember as a small boy, sitting in the Buhl Planetarium on the North Side of Pittsburgh, watching the stars projected on the screen way above our heads. This was a memory that has stayed with me for 50 years. This film is the same kind of feeling. You don’t have to keep up with the dialog, as there isn’t a lot. Mostly poor Ryan talking to herself to keep her sanity. When Matt asks her what she likes the most about her first trip into space, her reply is simply, “The Silence”. The absolute silence of outer space is awesome. But simple scenes of these two flying across the sky with billions of stars in the sky is simply breath taking. This is certainly a special experience, and one that I’m really glad I didn’t miss. I really loved it, and will not soon forget the feeling of seeing this on a big screen in spectacular 3D. I would highly recommend watching this on a big screen if at all possible. It was a wonderful film.

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