Ed's Review Dot Com

Good Universe, Point Grey Pictures,

Seth Rogen, Zac Efron, Rose Byrne, Dave Franco, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Lisa Kudrow, Craig Roberts, Ike Barinholtz, Jake Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Carla Gallo, Halston Sage

Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) are a newlywed couple with a daughter. They live in a simple suburban home. The house next door is up for sale, and they take a lot of interest to see who the new neighbors will be, but when the guys from the fraternity move in and turn it into a frat house led by fraternity president Teddy Sanders (Zac Efron), things go from bad to worse to worst. They party all night, with loud music that keep everyone awake. At first Mac and Kelly try to be friendly with the boys and try to party with them to make friends and get their cooperation, but when that fails, they start escalating a war with the frat that spirals WAY out of control.

This is a hilarious comedy reminiscent of the old great comedies of long ago. It’s modern and fresh, and unique twist, but the gags run from slapstick to up to date technology gags that are right out of the pages of today’s college kids. To make it even more enjoyable, I have a bit of a story to tell.

We went up for Mother’s Day to UC Santa Barbara. My daughter had to work for a while, so my wife and I went to the theater closest to the school to watch a movie. The timing was wrong for everything else, but Neighbors was coming on at 8:15, so we chose it. We figured a Seth Rogen film would be a few laughs. The theater ended up packed, every seat full, all 20ish college kids. We were the only old people in the theater. Since I work in the IT field, I am up to date on new technology and so I got the jokes. But the frat jokes in particular, especially with the way things are today with the latest web sites and communication devices was especially funny to the young people because they obviously got all the jokes. I imagined watching this back at home in a theater full of adults with many of the jokes just going over their heads. Not this crowd. It was really interesting to see which gags cracked them up and compare to what it would be like seeing this without the theater filled with students. Anyway, needless to say, unlike the teens we often see at home, with the theater packed, the crowd was very respectful, quiet with no one texting or making phone calls and laughing at the right places. Though we were crowded, it was a really enjoyable experience.

Now back to the film. This is the kind of role that fits Seth Rogen perfectly. He plays the kid who’s grown up now and realizing that he needs to take some responsibility, but dropping back into his youth to party with the frat and play childish pranks trying to outdo each other. New parents have the problem of their close friends from the past living a wild and free single lifestyle when they have a child and a job and too much to do. The frat house next door, though a curse, also is a chance to step back into their younger days. The comedy is really good, the jokes are non-stop, and it’s a randy adult comedy that doesn’t let up. I really enjoyed this film and recommend it for comedy fans everywhere.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Weinstein Company, The, Jean Doumanian Productions, Smokehouse Pictures,

Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Juliette Lewis, Dermot Mulroney, Julianne Nicholson, Sam Shepard, Misty Upham

Violet Weston (Meryl Streep) has an addiction to drugs and booze, and now is suffering from Cancer. She’s tough to put up with, and her husband has finally had it and has walked out. Her daughters come back home to visit, and during the time together, all the family secrets come out and long built up resentments bubble out in a classic family battle. Each one is forced to look at herself and what they see is not all that pretty.

This is a story of a really, really dysfunctional family. Most people have no idea what it’s like to grow up like this, and the problems you have to face, but I can imagine it’s a lot more common than most of us might think. I was impressed with the acting put in by these excellent performers. What a stunning lineup of stars. But I wasn’t as impressed with the story line. I can’t put my finger on what I didn’t like, but the story is just uncomfortable. Now sometimes a story can be uncomfortable for a greater purpose. But in this one, I didn’t get that feeling at all. It was kind of like being on a double date with a friend and his girl when they suddenly get into a horrible fight. You’re trapped in the back seat with nothing to do or say to but just feel uncomfortable. That’s the kind of feeling I had here. I sat through it, but never really felt at ease. The relationships are badly broken. This is a very unusual character for Meryl Streep. You want to feel bad for her, but you just can’t, she’s not a nice character. It’s a very unusual film, and may be well liked by the right crowd, but as for me, I could have skipped this one. It’s ok, but just not that stellar.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday May 13, 2014

• Goodbye World
• Her
• I, Frankenstein
• Special ID
• Stalingrad
• Stranger by the Lake

Homefront Productions, Millennium Films, Mojo Films,

Jason Statham, James Franco, Winona Ryder, Kate Bosworth, Rachelle Lefevre, Frank Grillo

Phil Broker (Jason Statham) and his young daughter Maddy (Izabela Vidovic) move to a small Louisiana town after the death of Phil’s wife, looking for a quiet place to settle in. Phil is a retired DEA agent and is tired of the never ending battle against the drug lords. But it’s not in the stars for Phil to have a quiet life when Gator Bodine (James Franco) draws him back into the game, in this suspenseful thriller.

Jason Statham has been in a lot of action movies. This is perhaps the best I’ve seen him do. It has all the action and fighting that a Statham movie has, but he has a highly developed character as well. He gets to play a range of emotions, much more than his usual bad ass tough guy. Additionally there are a host of other characters that are really well done. The story is well written, and the Louisiana location is really beautiful, but the action is very suspenseful. All in all, this is a very good action movie with a lot of deeper stuff going for it. I really enjoyed this, and I do admit this is the best I’ve seen Jason Statham perform.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Fox 2000 Pictures, Sunswept Entertainment, Studio Babelsberg,

Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Sophie Nélisse, Ben Schnetzer, Nico Liersch, Barbara Auer, Levin Liam, Rainer Bock, Carina N. Wiese, Roger Allam

Set in the World War II days in Germany, Liesel (Sophie Nelisse) who was 9 when she was taken to live with her foster family. She steals books and shares them with others, teaching herself to read. Liesel is fascinated by the Jewish man who is hiding in their basement and makes a friendship with him. This is her story of trying to remain civilized in an uncivilized time and place.

This is probably the best World War II story since “The Diary of Anne Frank”. This is a story that young teens and teenagers can appreciate and learn about the holocaust. It is a touching story. It’s nicely done. The pace is not too fast, yet it doesn’t drag. It’s a dark and dreary film, but yet the hope and spirit of Liesel makes you understand that even in the horrible times, there is hope for humanity. This is based on a novel by Markus Zusak, and really turned into a touching film. I was very pleasantly surprised by the depth of this story. This is a really good film, and one I recommend.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog