Ed's Review Dot Com

Cube Vision, LBI Entertainment, Rainforest Films,

Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, John Leguizamo, Bruce McGill, Bryan Callen, Tika Sumpter, Lucius Baston, Gary Owen, Julisita Salcedo, Jay Pharoah

Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) is a mall guard who is entering the police academy who really wants to be a real cop. He’s engaged to Angela (Tike Sumpter) who has an over protective big brother, veteran cop James Payton (Ice Cube). James doesn’t like or respect Ben very much, so he puts together a plan to invite Ben on a “Ride Along” and set him up with the most horrifying and disgusting cases possible to scare him into quitting. But Ben is insistent, and when they accidentally walk into a very dangerous situation, Ben has to use all his video game skills to try to keep them alive.

This is a buddy copy comedy, and it’s actually pretty funny. Kevin Hart is one of the funniest guys on the planet these days, and Ice Cube’s acting experience is extensive, so they actually make a really good pair. It’s a lot similar to the other films in the genre, like 48 hours, and some others, but it has an interesting twist in it. They include the rabid gamer deal with Hart, and the fact that he’s a wanna be cop, and isn’t in on the joke, is rather unique. It’s a well done buddy comedy and one I recommend very highly. It’s clever, fresh, and really funny. I enjoyed watching it a lot, and it was one of the better new DVD’s I’ve watched in a while. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a better comedy, and it’s even par with some of the Owen Wilson, Jackie Chan stuff. Lots of excitement and adventure, and plenty of chuckles all the way through. A very well done comedy and one you ought to catch on TV or DVD when you can.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, TSG Entertainment, Samuel Goldwyn Films,

Ben Stiller, Kristen Wiig, Shirley MacLaine

Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller) is the magazine guy who is responsible for the photos that get sent in from the field. Somehow he lost shot 25 which the owner has determined should be the last cover before the magazine folds. But Walter is a boring guy, attracted to one of his co-workers Cheryl (Kristen Wiig), but is too shy to approach her. But Walter has a fantastic imagination and spends his days daydreaming of romance, adventure, and excitement.

I just don’t know about Ben Stiller. I really love him at times and in certain movies, but he then comes out with klinker after klinker. I was mildly looking forward to this movie, as I remember fondly reading James Thurber’s short story in Grade School and enjoying the story. I was not impressed with this movie. Technically a remake of the 1947 Danny Kaye film, this is a total update and modernization of the story. But I totally felt “ho-hum” through the whole thing. The snappy wit didn’t come through, and neither did Stiller’s personality. In fact, his sidekick, played by Patton Oswalt, at the office was a lot funnier than he was. Wiig also didn’t have much comedy to do. Now perhaps they weren’t going for comedy, but if they weren’t, I don’t get the point. Probably the best character in the film is the photographer played by Sean Penn. Who would have thought Sean Penn would be the high point in a comedy? But his part is really small and he’s not on-screen very much. This film was just a bad idea and not very well executed which the box office showed, and is another strike for Ben Stiller. This is another case where he tried to do everything, including directing the thing. Maybe that was a mistake. I’m not sure why this was green lighted, but it makes a much better short story than a feature film. I just did not connect with this movie, and I don’t really recommend it. It was a waste of talent.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Ecosse Films, Le Pacte, Film i Väst,

Naomi Watts, Naveen Andrews, Cas Anvar, Douglas Hodge, Geraldine James, Charles Edwards, Juliet Stevenson, Daniel Pirrie

This docu-drama covers the last two years of Princess Diana’s (Naomi Watts) life when she divorced Prince Charles and fell in love with Pakistani heart surgeon Hasnat Khan (Naveen Andrews) which was not to be. She spent her final days in a relationship of sorts with Dody Fayed (Cas Anvar) until the fatal trip through Paris which led to the accident that caused her death. This biopic covers this particular period of her life which perhaps is less known than the rest. This is a dramatized discourse of her comings and goings, so I would imagine there is a fair amount of poetic license here, but the basic facts of the failure of her marriage and the distance and separation she felt, as well as real affection for Dr. Khan which may have been nearly as tragic as her death.

This is certainly not a perfect picture by any means, but Naomi Watts did a really good job playing the role. She did a good job convincing me she was Diana, and though not a look-alike, she still caught the mannerisms, accent, and characteristics well enough to make me forget it wasn’t the real Diana. Likewise, the story is fairly good, even if not perfect. There’s no way to satisfy everyone with a person of such recent history who is remembered by everyone. The movie does spend a lot of time with Dr. Khan and their relationship, but it had to be a really tragic time for her, as she was completely in love with man who just couldn’t deal with the notoriety of hanging with the former Princess of Wales. (I would a assume after her divorce she lost that title, although not knowledgeable of Royal Family affairs being a Yank, I couldn’t tell you for sure). Some critics feel that there was way too much time spent with the Khan relationship and way too little with Dodi Fayed. I agree Fayed was certainly far more colorful and as a result much more interesting. But it’s really interesting that the little I knew about Diana and her life, I wasn’t even aware of this, and I was confused for a long time until I figured out what was really happening. The focus on this film is more on that relationship, so whether or not we like it, it’s natural that more focus would be on this part of her life. But all in all, it was an informative and an interesting story. There’s no doubt that even decades after her death, she is still loved by people all over the world. There are other movies about her life, but this one is new, available for streaming all over the place and including NetFlix. It’s also very inexpensive to own, so if you are interested to learn more about the last years of Diana, rather than the gory details of her death, this is a pretty good drama. I enjoyed it, and though not blown away, I am glad I watched it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Cinedigm, TinRes Entertainment,

John Cusack, Rebecca Da Costa, Robert De Niro, Crispin Glover, Dominic Purcell, Sticky Fingaz, Martin Klebba, David Shumbris

Jack (John Cusack) is a hit man, and is given an order by his boss Dragna (Robert DeNiro) to retrieve a bag, specifically without looking inside, and head to a seedy motel in the Bayou to wait for further order. He is told to stay in a specific room. But when he gets there, unexpected things start to happen and he finds out he is not alone there. This is a dark and dreary crime story with a large dose of blood and guts, not for the faint of heart.

John Cusack is rather decent in this film. But it definitely is not a film that will please everyone, by any means. The general impression of “The Bag Man” is to love it or hate it. Oddly enough, I dropped in right in the middle for some reason. The story is not really strong, and there are some really big plot points that are hard to figure out. Why would a ruthless killer have such a soft streak in the midst of his killing spree? Don’t expect to ever figure out what is in the bag. It’s a prop device that is not really used and sort of glossed over in the end. But it is a realistic look at the ugly life of a criminal. This must have been a week for Bayou movies, as well. This is the second in a row I watched this week. It’s gritty and horrendous. It’s gory. It’s ugly. There is not really a story of redemption. This has a film noir feel to it, with a large dose of indy story-telling. But it is what it is, and if you can handle the extreme violence and gore, it’s not a horrible movie by any means. But this is not a family film and is loaded with bad language and lots of bad behavior, so viewer beware.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday June 3, 2014

• Blackout
• In the Blood
• Lone Survivor
• The Motel Life
• Parts Per Billion
• RoboCop
• Small Time
• Son of God