Ed's Review Dot Com

Perdido Productions,

Alec Baldwin, Cate Blanchett, Louis C.K., Bobby Cannavale, Andrew Dice Clay, Sally Hawkins, Peter Sarsgaard, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tammy Blanchard, Max Casella, Alden Ehrenreich

Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) was a Manhattan socialite, on top of the world. But when her world came crashing down, she lost everything, and she has no idea how to survive as a normal person. Flat broke, she head to San Francisco to move in with her sister. But though she tries to get a job and live a normal life, her hangups over her rich past keeps popping up to sink her.

This is a very neurotic film. Cate Blanchett does a really good job as the nutty sister. Surprise, this is a Woody Allen film, so it makes sense that it’s utterly neurotic and stars a lost soul who fails at everything she tries to do. I actually enjoyed watching this. I’ve not been crazy over Woody’s films, but this one is better than most of the ones I’ve seen lately. It’s like the typical Woody film, so if you’re not a fan of his films, you might have a tough time with this one. Woody does Manhattan very well, but I haven’t seen him nail the lifestyle in San Francisco as well as this. Andrew Dice Clay appears in a role as the boyfriend of Jasmine’s sister. He’s really good. The sister’s are both looking for love in all the wrong places, and it’s a typical Woody film with it’s share of chuckles, along with some serious problems. Not for everybody, but if you do enjoy Woody’s everyday paranoid and inferiority complex, this is one of his better movies in a long time.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Scott Rudin Productions, Michael De Luca Productions, Trigger Street,

Tom Hanks, Barkhad Abdi, Barkhad Abdirahman, Faysal Ahmed, Mahat M. Ali, Michael Chernus, Corey Johnson, Max Martini, Chris Mulkey, David Warshofsky, Yul Vazquez, Catherine Keener

This film, based on real events covers the 2009 hijacking of the Meaersk Alabama container cargo ship by Somali pirates. The Alabama was carrying relief food and water and goods to the people of Somali. They were sailing in risky waters and followed the proper protocol for attempted piracy, but still ended up in a serious situation. This is the minute by minute account of the actions of the Captain (Tom Philipps), the crew, and the pirates as the events unfold in major action and suspense.

There has been a little controversy over the accuracy of the events told in the story. I’m sure there are a lot of liberties taken to make this into a Hollywood blockbuster. If I were one of the sailors aboard the ship, I might take a little offense at the changes from actual events. But as a dramatic telling of the story, this is an excellent movie. Certainly the artistry of Tom Hanks adds a lot to it. He plays the Captain in a remarkable way. The major story is about the Captain and the leader of the Pirate band, and how both are riding a wave of events that are completely out of their control. Neither can really do anything but play out the drama. In the words of Captain Philipps, “We all have bosses.” This is the true meaning of the story. But in getting there we’re placed in a marvelous adventure filled with suspense. This is a roller-coaster ride of emotions from start to finish and one of the finest films of 2013. This is one you should NOT miss.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog