Ed's Review Dot Com

Korty Films, Frank Koenigsberg Productions,

James Cromwell, Barbara Tarbuck, Michael Learned, John Houseman, Ramon Bieri, Valerie Curtin, David Knell, Calvin Levels, Ruth Nelson, Beah Richards

Zoe Jensen is a recently divorced Mom who decides to survive by moving to San Francisco to find a job. Things are tough, but she manages to get by, but when she stumbles upon the church choir who are preparing to sing Handel’s Messiah for Christmas, she is intrigued. The choir director Ephraim Adams (John Houseman) is a harsh taskmaster though, and much quicker with the barbs and wise cracks than the occasional compliment. With her love of the chior, and the friends she makes through the choir members keeps her going, despite all the challenges she has to face.

This is a very dated TV Christmas movie. Surely Michael Learned was on the top of the heap with “The Waltons” and it was done in that time period. Therefore you’ll find it has the look of a 1980’s TV Movie. No special effects or camera tricks here, just a simple story. But it’s a pretty good story, especially as a Christmas film. The characters are real, and the drama is realistic. The crotchety old choir director is sure to have a heart of gold under there somewhere, and we know it’s all going to end up fine in the end. This film is now available on DVD, and it’s nice to see one of these made for TV films that is now around for us to enjoy it again. It’s certainly nice to go back to a much, much simpler time. I enjoyed the sentimental stuff of this film, and as one of the first Christmas movies I watched in 2014, this is a good start for our Christmas on TV Project.

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Happy Holidays for the FIFTH STRAIGHT YEAR from Ed’s Review,

Every year for the last five years, we’ve done a special thing in November and December called “Ed’s Christmas on TV Project” [Click here for the special page]

This year is no exception! Starting this week We’ll mix some holiday films in along with the regular reviews, but there is a list of hundreds of films that have already been reviewed. You’ll see them on the “Ed’s Christmas on TV Project” page, and you can recognize them as the titles will start with two snowflakes “**” in front of the name of the movie. These are films that appear on TV, on cable channels like Hallmark, and Lifetime, and all over the place. Many are available on demand and on Watch Instantly. I hope that if you are a Christmas Movie fan like I am, that this special list helps you find the gems among the clinkers are you enjoy your holiday viewing. Every year lots of new ones are released, and believe it or not, there’s still a few out there that I still haven’t seen. I’ll be scouring the schedule for new ones to add to the hundreds I’ve already done.

Season’s Greetings, everyone.

Ed Goettman

Stage 6 Films, Manis Film, Breaking Ball Films,

Susan Sarandon, Gil Bellows, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace, Donald Sutherland, Christopher Heyerdahl

Hazel Micallef (Susan Sarandon) is a small town detective in Canada. Things are not too exciting there and she hasn’t had much to do lately, but when a killer starts leaving gruesome scenes all around the countryside, Hazel is convinced there is more to it than just random killings. With some help, she sets out to solve the crimes and search for the person behind all the horror.

This is a familiar story. It has Fargo written all over it, in fact. Same setting, same female detective trying to stop the killings, same quiet backwoods country town. Yes, this definitely has Fargo written all over it. But on the other hand, also has Susan Sarandon in it. She is really very good, as always, in this role. It is a simple little serial killer flick and “The Calling” has a very specific special meaning here, which you will learn as you watch it. All in all, it’s quite suspenseful, loads of fun to watch Ms. Sarandon nail this character, and though it’s quite suspenseful, it’s all in good humor and a pleasure to watch. Certainly points get knocked off for the obvious stolen material, but the setting is beautiful, the acting is top notch, and it’s an enjoyable film. I enjoyed it, and found it was quite enjoyable, and I can recommend this movie for a great evening watching a crime drama on the couch.

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Summertime Entertainment (II), Prana Animation Studios, Prana Studios,

Patrick Stewart, Lea Michele, Martin Short, Hugh Dancy, Dan Aykroyd, James Belushi, Kelsey Grammer, Tom Kenny, Oliver Platt, Tacey Adams, Michael Krawic, Ayana Haviv

Dorothy (Lea Michele) returned to Kansas to find the place very much destroyed from the tornado that took her away. But before she could return to her home she was whisked back to Oz. Oz is in trouble. She looks for her friends, the Lion (James Belushi), the Scarecrow (Dan Akroyd) , and the Tin Man (Kelsey Grammer), but Oz is in danger from a new villain, the Jester (Martin Short) who has taken control. With some brand new friends and the help of Glinda the Good Witch (Bernadette Peters) she is ready to fight to save the Land of Oz and save her friends.

This animated version of Dorothy’s Return was a good attempt to bring back the magic of Oz with a new story. L Frank Baum wrote a number of novels about Oz, but I feel like this one came from a whole different imagination. This wasn’t a great film, nor will it stand the test of time. There are some really good things about this this movie. The music itself isn’t spectacular, but the voices are very good. We have some great talent playing the roles in this film. The story is a little too “Jack Frost” with Martin Short playing his evil character in exactly the same way. A jester, after all, is not the most fear inspiring character on the planet. He’s mostly childish and annoying and a lot like the typical Martin Short bad guy. The script is not too hot. That’s the biggest problem. It’s rather silly. I expected this to be a film that parents and kids could enjoy together, but rather I think most adults will find it a bit silly. That being said, I believe the younger folks will probably enjoy it. I guess this movie missed the sweet spot of people who remember and love the original that was replayed on TV every year, but would find this version too silly, and those that could enjoy the story, but don’t care much about the characters from the original. In any case, it is what it is, and certainly the younger folks will enjoy this film. If you have an interest in seeing it for curiosity’s sake, enjoy the music and the new characters. It’s not all that bad. But just don’t go in expecting a terrific story, because it isn’t. It’s certainly worth watching if you’re interested.

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Hannibal Pictures, Marco Polo Production, Patriot Pictures,

Nicolas Cage, Rachel Nichols, Peter Stormare, Danny Glover

Paul Maguire (Nicholas Cage) is now a respectable good citizen, but he has a very, very violent past. When his daughter turns up missing with no clue, Paul sets out to find her at all costs, even if it means getting his old gang back together to take on the biggest criminals in the city to get to the bottom of the story.

A new Nicholas Cage film popped up in my “recommended films” and I had never heard of this one. I streamed it just to see what it was all about. I was rather caught by surprise. This is, on one hand, a typical Nicholas Cage “bad-ass film” where he bites off his words and wreaks some havoc on some pretty evil characters, just like in the GhostRider films. But on the other hand there was a great deal of sophistication in the twists and turns as this film unwinds. Cage was actually really well suited for this role, and he did a really good job. The sorrow and pain that he can show, along with the extreme anger and violence, and the way he can switch back and forth in a second, was really grabbing. There is a lot of suspense as we work along with him to determine where his daughter went, and why she hasn’t come back home yet. The surprises are real, and the twists and turns keep you going. All in all this was a rather enjoyable time getting pulled into this mystery and trying to figure out the truth. I must say I enjoyed it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog