Ed's Review Dot Com

Bluegrass Films, Fake Empire, Universal Pictures,

Alex Pettyfer, Gabriella Wilde, Bruce Greenwood, Joely Richardson, Robert Patrick, Rhys Wakefield, Dayo Okeniyi , Emma Rigby

David Elliot (Alex Pettyfer) is a bit of a loner, living with his single dad, a very blue collar kind of guy. When he meets Jade Butterfield (Gabriella Wilde) in school, he falls for her very hard, and they are instantly attracted to each other. Puppy love comes on fast and furious, but Jade’s parents have real plans for her. They’re wealthy and have connections and though at first they’re okay with this crush, they decide it’s best to separate them. But they soon find that young people are very stubborn when it comes to young love, and things go south pretty fast.

First of all, I’m probably not a good person to review this, as I was really blown away by the original film in 1981. In fact, I was so touched by the film, that I immediately went out and bought the book and read it. This film was certainly shocking in 1981. The hippie generation was now, for the first time, dealing with family life and family values. Jade’s parents were very progressive thinking, smoking pot, living the hippie lifestyle. When their high school child is caught having sex with her boyfriend in the family living room in front of the fire, Mom decides to watch and reminisce her “free love” days of the 60’s and says nothing about it. That was stunning in 1981 as my Mother would have killed me twice, then skinned me alive, and then killed me again. But by the time I saw it, it was the 80’s, not the 60’s and I had a family of my own, and it caused me to think for the first time of how I was going to reconcile my values and morals on my kids when they were old enough. This 2014 version is not shocking or stunning. The subject has been dealt with 30 years ago and it’s not really relevant today. They tried, rather desperately to bring this up to date and make it seem fresh, but it didn’t accomplish that. Plus I’m sorry to say the actors in this film right down the line were far inferior to the original ones. But I give them the benefit of the doubt that it’s tough to really get into a 1980 story that is not a “period piece”. This is another example of a remake that didn’t need to be remade. I don’t think, in this case, that the 1981 movie is far superior to the 2014 one. It’s not really that. It’s just that the story is not worthy of a remake 33 years later. I also have no idea why they changed around the ending so drastically and completely changed the story. I was shocked by that and completely confused as the new one didn’t make any sense to me at all. I have no idea why they did that.

If you are interested in the story, the 1981 version is available for download all over the place. No need to go out an pay for this inferior replica. It’s not worth it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday June 17, 2014

• 13 Sins
• Almost Human
• The Attorney
• Authors Anonymous
• Ernest & Celestine
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Jimmy P
• Joe
• The Lego Movie
• The Machine
• Walk of Shame

Columbia Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures,

George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, Cate Blanchett

World War II is obviously wrapping up, and as the Nazi’s retreat, they are burning cities and towns to the ground and leaving nothing behind. In addition, they know that the world’s history is tied to the thousands of works of art throughout Europe in homes, museums, and such, so they have a definitive plan to steal and cart off, hide, or destroy everything they can get their hands on. The armed forces is naturally concerned about winning the war, so they’re not very much interested in art work. But Frank Stokes (George Clooney) convinces FDR to task him to put together a team of museum curators, museum directors, and art critics to go behind the enemy lines, find where the Nazi’s have hidden these treasures before the war ends, or the Nazi’s destroy the lot. It’s a tough task, but these guys are willing to risk everything to save the history of mankind. Based on the true story.

This is a very inspiring film. It’s a generous mix of big battles and war scenes, treachery and detective work, danger and loss. It is an exciting story, very well told and well acted, with a slew of top stars. There are funny moments, naturally, but mostly it’s a suspense filled war story. George Clooney directed and wrote the screenplay, and I must give kudos to him for that. He did an excellent job of presenting the story that kept it very interesting throughout. It’s highly entertaining, yet somehow educational at the same time. I learned a lot about an unknown part of the war for me. I had never thought about it before, but the history of man is truly told through it’s art. On a recent trip to visit my daughter at University of California, Santa Barbara, we were able to take some time to visit the Art Museum in Santa Barbara. She had been there before, but she wanted to take me as I have always wanted to visit an art museum but have never had the chance. I was really impressed with their collection of famous artists and pieces going back thousands of years from China and Egypt and other places. It was a real pleasure. After seeing this film, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the ancient European pieces were saved by this team of seven brave men. I completely enjoyed this film, and I highly recommend it to anyone who would enjoy the war story, or the hero story, or even the art story, as this one has something for everyone.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Serendipity Point Films, Nomadic Pictures,

Ryan Kwanten, Sara Canning, Will Sasso, Catherine O’Hara, Ryan McPartlin, Kristen Hager, James A. Woods, Raoul Bhaneja, Jennifer Baxter, Barb Mitchell, Anna Quick

Leo Palamino (Ryan Kwanten) is a failed writer. He stood his ground when his publisher and friend, Neil (Will Sasso), told him he needed to make some changes, and the book failed. Now a dishwasher, Leo’s wife writes a blog called “Why You Suck” about him, and of course it became a huge hit, followed by a book everyone read, and a movie deal. People everywhere know Leo as the guy who’s wife wrote a blog about him. But just as his wife walks out on him, Leo notices a bride across the street about to head to the church for her wedding with Mr. Right, a rich successful man who will certainly keep her happy. Leo naturally falls in love with the bride and spends the rest of his days stalking her and trying to convince her that a guy who is all wrong just might be the right one after all.

This was a surprising film for me. I expected nothing from it, and was really blown away. This is a really clever, heartwarming, and extremely funny little romantic comedy. The premise is absurd, but it totally works. The characters are really wonderful, and the back stories are really good. We get to know them, and we can feel the pain as Leo fouls things up over and over again. I laughed with Catherine O’Hara, one of my favorite comedienne’s all the way back to the Second City TV days. She plays the bride’s mom who is not welcome at her daughter’s wedding, and is a pleasure as she steals every scene she is in. This is a really funny film, quite fresh, and was a blast to watch. I was really sad when it was over. Considering the low expectations I had before I watched it, it was certainly a gem that I had never heard of. Every now and then one of these hidden films surprises us and really works. This was one of those. I recommend it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Nostromo Pictures, Antena 3 Films, Telefónica Producciones,

Elijah Wood, John Cusack, Kerry Bishé, Tamsin Egerton, Allen Leech , Don McManus, Alex Winter

Tom Selznick (Elijah Wood) is one of the worlds most talented concert pianists. He has not performed in five years because of a disastrous melt down in a performance of an reported unplayable piece that is so hard that only one or two people have ever been able to play it. He was going to try it again in this performance, but decided it best to set it aside. His wife, Emma (Kerry Bische) is a famous actress and is in the prime box seat of the theater to make her appearance and to watch her husband’s performance. But as he is about to take the stage, he finds a note on his sheet music stating that he must play this piece, and he must play it perfectly. If he plays one wrong note, a sniper in the shadows will shoot his wife before his eyes, and then shoot him. This sniper makes himself known, and Tom knows he is telling the truth, but he is petrified of trying to play this piece perfectly.

This film is a real tough one to analyze. On one hand, the script is laughable and there are holes big enough to drive a convoy of trucks through. You really have to set your wits aside to sit through this silly premise. John Cusack plays the desperate villain in this movie, and he’s hardly on screen, but we get to hear him. The problem is that in the end of the film, he has to talk us through the story and all the motives and reasons for what he has done. That’s the part that gets really silly. But on the other hand, this film is really, really nicely made. I can’t imagine if there was a decent story how wonderful this film would have been. The suspense and the tension build and build. The cinematography, mood, lighting, and camera shots are worthy of Hitchcock himself. The technical details of the film are so good, that it almost makes up for the lack of a good script.

We are able to watch wizards fly on brooms and ride from an invisible platform hidden inside the train station. We’re able to watch vampires and werewolves fight and the undead sparkle in the sunlight. If we can put aside our belief for these kind of fantasy stories, then we ought to be able to do it for a film like this. If you can pull that off, I can promise you’ll really enjoy watching this. For some reason, we insist that if the subject is something serious, that it must be perfectly accurate. Well this isn’t. If you can’t put aside belief, you’re going to rip this to shreds and hate it. So that’s the choice you must make here. If you can suspend reality and just enjoy the ambiance and the excellent technique, give this a try and you might enjoy it as I did.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog