Ed's Review Dot Com

Rialto Film,

Terrance Hill, Bud Spencer, Boots Southerland, Ruth Buzzi

Travis (Terrence Hill) has not been home to visit Mama (Ruth Buzzi) in ten years because she set free all the horses he worked hard to steal. He hates his brother Moses (Bud Spencer), but that’s ok because Moses hates him back just as much. But Travis is home, and Mama is going to make sure the brothers get together or die trying. The two start out doing good things, but when they get setup and Moses is sentences to hang from the neck till dead, things go a bit wrong. What follows is mayhem, fights, flirting, dirty tricks, and lots and lots of beans, beans, beans. This is another Bud Spencer/Terrence Hill films after a 9 year hiatus, and though the guys are older, they’re just as bad as ever.

Certainly the “Trinity” series of movies was classic. These spaghetti western films are almost mockeries of themselves, but certainly well worth checking out. This was supposed to be the third in the series, but it didn’t get made for many years due to some supposed legal hassles. But it’s available now, and it is certainly well worth checking out. These characters are superb, and Terrance is the little guy, amazing quick draw, and fast talker who can weasel his way out of anything. Bud on the other hand is a huge monster of a man who can knock a guy out with a fist to the top of the head, or can take a shot with a four by four without flinching. These guys are hysterical. Ruth Buzzi has a little role, as Mama, but she is funny as always and is the only one who can handle these two. This is a very unusual Christmas film, but one of that is very welcome due to the strength of the original characters. Even Spaghetti Westerns can use a bit of Christmas cheer and a carol or two once in a while!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Hop, Skip and Jump Productions, Princessa Productions, Von Zerneck Sertner Films,

Amy Smart, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Jayne Eastwood, Benjamin Ayres, Richard Fitzpatrick, Jennifer Kydd, Alexander De Jordy, Stephan James, Joe MacLeod

Kate Stanton (Amy Smart) is a single girl in the city facing a really hard day. Her step mom who she just doesn’t like, has set her up with a blind date, Miles Dufine (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) whom she knows is going to suck, but has just learned that her ex-boyfriend who she still plans to get back again, Jack Evans (Benjamin Ayers) is back in town and she’s waiting for a call from him to try to win him back. Unfortunately things go badly, and to her surprise, she wakes up on the floor of the department store and it’s Christmas Eve again. Every night at midnight time goes back again, and she wakes on the same floor of the department store to live Christmas Eve all over again until she gets it right.

Yes, this is a worn out premise. There have been many “relive the day till you get it right movies” most prominently being “Groundhog Day”. It seems there are only half a dozen Christmas stories anyway, and they all borrow from these themes. But I was really pleasantly surprised with this one. It was great to see how Zack from “Saved by the Bell” turned out. I knew it was him the moment he stepped into the frame. Amy Smart is a great actress and this role is just simply perfect for her. The thing I think that impressed me most about this was the relationships though between Kate and her Dad and Step-Mom, and the great way they deal with their differences. It was not corny or too over the top as these kind of movies tend to get. This one is really interesting all the way through, and had a lot of new ideas on the subject of how to make it a great day for everyone. There are so many external characters in Kate’s life that she didn’t even notice, and that’s one of the things that made this film interesting. It seems that each pass through the day and dates of Christmas Eve show us new characters and situations that make it never grow tiresome. I really enjoyed this movie, and suggest you look for it if you’re a fan of Christmas movies. It’s available on to stream from a number of sites, including NetFlix, and well worth seeking out.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Marlboro Road Gang Productions,

Kerry Bishé, Connie Britton, Edward Burns, Heather Burns, Marsha Dietlein, Noah Emmerich, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Anita Gillette, Tom Guiry, Ed Lauter, Michael McGlone, Nick Sandow

This is the story of a large Irish family and the events around their Christmas celebration. There are 9 kids, scattered all over and all with their own issues. Most of it revolves around their father who walked out on the family many, many years ago. Mother has never forgiven him, and he’s not welcome around her house, but this year he has asked for permission to spend Christmas Day with the family. He has a big announcement to make, but no one is anxious to forgive him or to let him come into their lives again.

This is another dysfunctional family Christmas story, but with a lot of good things going for it. The family members are interesting, and their problems are many. They do love and care for each other, but all seem to prefer a disconnected life rather than the pain of being together and realizing what they have missed. The story is good, the acting is good, and the character development is very well done. Kudos to the screenwriter who put this together. There are other movies like this. It’s not an original story, for sure, but very touching and well done. This film is out on DVD this year, and is available for streaming as well. I enjoyed the Christmas spirit of this awesome family who is trying to keep things together and to make it through another year. I enjoyed this movie and I think you should add it to your Christmas movie play list.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Happy Holidays once again from Ed’s Review,

Every year for the last four years, we’ve done a special thing in November and December called “Ed’s Christmas on TV Project” [Click here for the special page]

This year is no exception! Starting this week We’ll mix some holiday films in along with the regular reviews, but there is a list of hundreds of films that have already been reviewed. You’ll see them on the “Ed’s Christmas on TV Project” page, and you can recognize them as the titles will start with two snowflakes “**” in front of the name of the movie. These are films that appear on TV, on cable channels like Hallmark, and Lifetime, and all over the place. Many are available on demand and on Watch Instantly. I hope that if you are a Christmas Movie fan like I am, that this special list helps you find the gems among the clinkers are you enjoy your holiday viewing. Every year lots of new ones are released, and believe it or not, there’s still a few out there that I still haven’t seen. I’ll be scouring the schedule for new ones to add to the hundreds I’ve already done.

Season’s Greetings, everyone.

Ed Goettman

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday November 12, 2013

• The Attack
• Barbara
• Blackfish
• Grabbers
• Man of Steel
• Paradise
• Prince Avalanche
• Turbo