Ed's Review Dot Com

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday January 14, 2014

• +1
• A.C.O.D.
• Blue Caprice
• Carrie

Columbia Pictures, Mythology Entertainment (II), Centropolis Entertainment,

Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Jason Clarke, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Joey King

John Cale (Channing Tatum) is a policeman who is applying inside the White House today for his dream job in the Secret Service guarding the President (Jamie Foxx). The interview turns bad and he fails to get the job, and is quite disappointed. His daughter, Emily (Joey King) is with him so he can join with her to tour the White House. Coincidentally while he’s there, a group of terrorist attack the White House and take the President hostage, and while Cale didn’t get the job, he’s the only one who can possibly save both his daughter and the President who are being held hostage.

This film, on its own, is a pretty good action adventure film. Unfortunately it didn’t do that great in theaters, probably because it’s very close in subject matter to the Die Hard series, and a number of other great terrorist-hostage films. Air Force One springs to mind. So, though it was not worth spending big bucks to see this in the theater, it’s a really good popcorn/movie night film on DVD. The action is good, and the tension is really high. Edge of your seat excitement, and suspense is the order of the day. There are some minor weaknesses (other than stealing the plot if you hold that against them) like the fact that Jamie Foxx is not really a great President (although I guess with the entertainer we have currently in the White House, maybe it’s not too far off.) He’s certainly not Harrison Ford. Likewise, Channing Tatum is good enough as the cop/good guy, but he’s not nearly able to pull it off like Bruce Willis did in Die Hard. Still, I enjoyed the movie, it caught and grabbed my attention throughout, and it was an exciting film. I would definitely consider this a rental film, but it’s a good distraction for a little while.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Warner Bros., Legendary Pictures, Syncopy,

Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Christopher Meloni, Laurence Fishburne

The usual….Planet Krypton is in trouble and about to be destroyed, and Jor-El (Russell Crowe) must ship his son to Earth to preserve the race. Grown up, reporter Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) is faced with members of his own race trying to destroy earth. So as his alter ego, Superman, he fights back with the biggest challenge of his life.

Now you want to talk about a movie that did NOT need to be made? This movie adds nothing to the story, and is far weaker than the other movies. I am really not sure what is the motive behind the decision to make this inferior version of the story. This movie is just plain boring. I felt really disappointed as there was no meat to this story at all. There is no real personality to either Clark Kent or Superman, and it seems to get bogged down on trivial matters relating to the politics of Krypton and very little about the star of the film himself. All in all, this reboot of Superman is a bust and is very disappointing. Some have suggested it’s the worst film of 2013. If it’s not, it’s pretty high up there on the list. I see the list of potential Raspberry Award nominees is making it’s round, and though After Earth has a lot of traction and will probably sweep the Razzies, this is actually a much worse film than After Earth, and Superman here is a much worse actor than Will Smith’s kid if you can believe that. This is a waste of time and money, and one of the few I say to avoid at all costs!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

micro_scope,

Mohamed Fellag, Sophie Nélisse, Émilien Néron, Marie-Ève Beauregard, Vincent Millard, Seddik Benslimane, Louis-David Leblanc, Gabriel Verdier, Marianne Soucy-Lord, Danielle Proulx, Brigitte Poupart

Bachir Lazhar (Mohamed Fellag) is an immigrant to Canada from Algeria. When, at an Elementary School, a teacher commits suicide while the kids are in school, Bachir sees an opening to apply for the role as teacher to the students of the affected class. His own personal trials and agonies help him to assist his students in coping with the loss in this drama based on a play.

This is a heartwarming story. I really enjoyed watching it, but there are a couple things you should know. First, it is based on a play, so there isn’t a lot of scenery or beautiful locations. It simply takes place in the halls and classroom of the school. Secondly, the movie is in French, so you have to devote the time to watch the movie closely to catch the excellent discussion and dialog in subtitles unless you’re lucky enough to be familiar in the old French they speak in Montreal. If you are ready to put these two issues behind you, you’re in for a really well developed story. I’m not sure what makes playwrights different than screenwriters, but it must be the lack of visual queues due to the limitations of the stage that makes them develop richer and fuller dialog. These characters are very well developed. From those who knew the teacher involved and who felt a need to defend and protect her memory, to those who wanted to hold her responsible, to Mr. Lazhar’s view which based on his own back story is more like “S*** Happens”. The back story of his attempts to qualify for permanent residency as due to political asylum and his unique set of circumstances make him an excellent helper to the students affected by the tragedy. He’s had his share himself. But some do not approve of his methods. This is a well told story with great character development, not much action or suspense, but a good dramatic tale that must have been an excellent play before it was a movie. I can recommend this one for those of you who can handle a dramatic story (which is slow sometimes) told in subtitles.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

C Plus Pictures, La Pistola, Attic Light Films,

Kristen Bell, Mamie Gummer, Martin Starr, Alex Shaffer, Amy Madigan, Joshua Harto, David Lambert

Leigh (Kristen Bell) was her school valedictorian and had a job in the city as a reporter, but she’s not happy. She decided to throw in the towel and move back home with her parents. She doesn’t fit in very well, and it causes a lot of friction, but she takes her old job as a lifeguard at the pool, and starts up a relationship with a young boy that threatens to blow the whole family, and perhaps the whole town apart.

Leigh is afraid to grow up. It’s that simple. Being born female, she has the option of blowing off her career and her adult life and returning to her childhood. It’s clear her family is not too happy about her returning home, but she really doesn’t care. The fact that she starts hanging out with teenagers and trying to relive her childhood days is also a bit off putting. I couldn’t find any sympathy for this character, nor could I deal with her behavior. She needs to grow up. This is one of those movies that seems to just show us the everyday life of some characters without any resolution or judgement of any kind. Sometimes we like our movies to have a point. This really doesn’t. It’s just what it is. I agree with others that Kristen Bell nailed the character, but for what purpose? The time spent watching this could have been just as well spent watching the clothes spin around in the dryer. I didn’t absolutely hate this, but I didn’t care for it very much. To be honest, I really disliked Leigh, and felt like she deserved what she got, and much more. There are days when we’d all like to chuck it in and go back home again, but we don’t do it. We have mortgages and bills and taxes and families to care for, so we keep on getting up and going to work. This is life, and this romanticizing going back to relive your childhood is not very attractive. Leigh needs to grow up.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog