Archive for July, 2014

Maven Pictures, Anonymous Content, Ambush Entertainment,

Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, Matt Dillon, Darren Criss, Christopher Fitzgerald, June Diane Raphael, Natasha Lyonne, Bob Balaban

Imogene (Kristen Wiig) is a failed N.Y. Playwright who’s failed career and suicide attempt causes her to be forced to move back home with her wacky Mom, Zelda (Annette Benning) and her new far out boyfriend George (Matt Dillon) who claims to the “The Bousche” (George Boushce, get it?) from the CIA. To add further insult to her situation, she finds a strange man, Lee (Darren Criss) who sings in a Backstreet Boys Cover Band living in her old room. Her life goes from bad to worse as everyone believes she’s insane and a suicide risk, but everyone around is literally driving her crazy for real.

This movie was a pleasant surprise. I didn’t expect much. I found it streaming on NetFlix and it sounded a little bit interesting, but I found it really entertaining. The biggest problem I had with it was that Kristin Wiig, although a great actress and comedienne, seemed much too old to play a character this young. Now perhaps the story was about a somewhat more mature lady, but the way she acted and behaved, she gave me the impression she was in her mid 20’s. That was really the only part that didn’t strike me as just right. But she did a good job, and carried the movie, although this is an ensemble cast for sure and there are some big names and great characters in this little film. Matt Dillon is actually hysterical in his role as Zelda’s boyfriend and does a great job. Darren Criss also plays his role well, and Annette Benning is stellar. All in all this is was a much, much funnier movie that I ever expected, and I really found myself interested in the story and how it was going to work out. I was very pleased with this film, and if you’re in the mood for some silly and lighthearted comedy, this is an unusual story that comes in from left field and wraps up nicely in the end. I enjoyed it, and I’m glad I invested the time to watch this.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Industrial Entertainment, Nazz Productions, Primary Pictures,

Abigail Breslin, Sean Bean, James Purefoy, Alexa PenaVega, Lew Temple, Jake Busey, J.D. Evermore, Ritchie Montgomery

Hannah Lee Baker (Abigail Breslin) is a smart teenager, but living in the sticks with some rough people. She lives with her sister and her addict uncle and sets off to be a carrier for an awful crime boss Uncle Frank (Sean Bean) who is extremely ruthless and runs the family with a strong hand. Hannah’s outlet is chess, which she plays with passion, but when she falls for Wild Billy (James Purefoy) who is a enemy of Uncle Frank, things get pretty dangerous for Hannah in a hurry.

This was an underwhelming movie. I have no idea what Abigail Breslin is doing in this film. It’s overly violent and vicious for no good reason, filled with highly unlikable people all around, and after about the first 25 minutes I was wishing the Feds would roll in and carry off this entire bunch to put us all out of our misery. I really thought this was a meaningless story, mostly annoying, and just not fun. I never got into the story, as it was so disjointed and all over the place. I just couldn’t care about the characters or the story. I am not sure how the title “Wicked Blood” fits in here, as it sounds like a horror film. Blood may refer to relatives as there were some really wicked uncles and cousins in this sucker. But I would have titled it Effed Up Family to give you more of an association to what it’s about. If you can imagine the Dukes of Hazzard if they all ran meth labs and sold drugs. I just really didn’t like this movie, and I’d say avoid it like the plague!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Modoc Spring,

Mekhi Phifer, William Sadler, Sterling K. Brown, Derek Roché, James McCaffrey, Rebecca Creskoff, Lizzy DeClement, Bernadette Quigley, Luke Robertson, Marisa Brown

A small town sheriff and his deputies receive a call about the first ever bank robbery in this little town at the same time as a mysterious African-American stranger shows up in town. He has a rather combative attitude and is not helping himself very much with his wise-cracks and claims of racism. But he’s a black stranger in a white town. The suspect has a slew of secrets and is not very worried until his partner who is part of the plan does not show up when he’s supposed to. Things turn very deadly quite quickly and nothing is what it appears to be.

This is one of those hidden gem, indie movies with a really perplexing story. The subject is whether or not the town is racist, and if they treat a black suspect differently than a white one. But like an onion, you peel off layer by layer to find something else underneath. There is so many layers to this story, and it’s beautifully told. Not a mainstream movie by any means, but many reviews give away too many secrets, so I am purposefully keeping this as vague as possible. Essentially there are many tales to tell here, and everyone ends up taking a hard look at themselves. It’s excellent acted by a variety of very good actors who develop the characters very well. I think we have to give a great deal of credit to the screenwriters as well, as it’s a really good little script. Don’t judge the movie by police protocol and there are certain unbelievable elements to the story, and it depends a great deal on coincidence which is pretty far fetched, but there is more than one turn in this movie. I watched it streaming on NetFlix, but you can find this movie many places. It was well worth the time I spend on it. Most streaming movies at NetFlix are either very old classics or not too hot, but this was one that really sparked my interested. I found myself intrigued by the story, and though I didn’t expect a lot going in, I was really touched by the ending of this story. This is one I highly recommend for the classy way this story unfolds. Excellent job, guys.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday July 15, 2014

  • All Cheerleaders Die
  • The Angriest Man in Brooklyn
  • Appleseed: Alpha
  • Blue Ruin
  • Cesar Chavez
  • Dom Hemmingway
  • Heaven is For Real
  • Make Your Move
  • Sabotage
  • The Suspect
  • Transcendence [Click here for Ed’s Review]
  • Tyler Perry’s The Single Moms Club

Author: EdG

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Columbia Pictures, Strike Entertainment,

Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Aimee Garcia, Miguel Ferrer

Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is a Detroit cop in 2028 when he is critically injured in an assassination attempt. He has no way to survive, but OmniCorp, a huge corporation that is trying to convince the U.S. that their Robot law enforcement machines are the future. These machines are faster, smarted, are tied to the crime database, and can enforce the law as no human could. But the government of the U.S. to allow them on the street, even though they’ve won over most of the rest of the world. They see an opportunity to use a human mind and a robot body to meld the robot law enforcement robot with a human mind. But when they get too greedy, and when Alex finds some dirty officials high up in the program, they decide to terminate the project and are all set to turn off Robocop. With some help from his creator, he tries to save himself once again.

This is a remake of the `1987 film with Paul Verhoeven. When a remake is done, nearly 25 years after the original, there’s always a call for a comparison. I’m going to give that to you in just a moment. But first, let me talk to those who have never seen the original. This is a very exciting action movie with great CGI effects, fast paced, lots of battle scenes, and very intriguing to watch. It’s an excellent action film, and you’re probably best off watching this one.

Now, for the comparison. The original film had a really great impact on people because the techniques of the time were not as sophisticated as they are today. The battle between RoboCop and the ED-209 is one of the classic battles of all times. The impression this film left on those of us leaves us who are familiar with it with a fond memory. A new film is not going to compare well with that. But actually, if you can get past the fact that it is a new time, and take the new film on it’s own, it will give you a much more pleasant experience. The new film is snazzy with the CGI effects which takes a lot away from the human impact and influence that the original one gives us. I really love the original, and this one doesn’t nearly approach the feelings that the original gave us. But it still is a really good film. The first half, at least, explaining how and why it all happened, and looking closely to the change that it made on Alex and his family is especially interesting. But when the battle starts, it’s a huge CGI fest that is over the top that reminds me more of the Kung Fu films of the 70’s where 15 guys would take on the hero and the hero takes them all out. This is similar. They appear to be so in love the technology, that the story is hard to accept. It’s just blast and shoot and roll, with no real feeling. After while, you don’t really care, and there is no amazing battle between Alex and ED-209 like there was in the first one. If I was to take my personal choice of the two, I would prefer the first by a little, although I am really glad I watched the remake. I still have a yearning to go back and see the 1987 one again though and see if it was a good as I remember.

For those who remember the original, the line “I wouldn’t buy that for a dollar” was a pretty cheap tribute to the original, although I must admit that it made me laugh just the same. But I need to know what the heck Samuel L Jackson was doing? That made me think of The Hunger Games every time he popped up on screen.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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