Ed's Review Dot Com

Timnick Films, StudioCanal, Working Title Films,

Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, Oscar Isaac, Yigit Özsener, Daisy Bevan, Prometheus Aleifer, David Warshofsky

Chester (Viggo Mortensen) and Colette MacFarland (Kirsten Dunst) are a wealthy American couple in Athens. They’ve been traveling all over the world, but it turns out Chester has some unfinished business. The couple meet an American born, part time con-artist, tour guide Rydal (Oscar Isaac) who befriends them an forms a bond with them. But when the situation turns extremely dangerous, they are forced together to try to disappear into the small towns of Greece, their lives depend upon each other, though nobody can trust anyone.

This film is very beautifully set in the Greek countryside, and so visually it’s very nice to look at. There is a fair amount of twists and turns along the way, but I felt the entire story was a bit lacking. The story really isn’t fleshed out enough, and some of the suspense points feel really contrived and essentially a bit silly. I have seen far better films with similar stories that were done much better. Basically there’s not really anybody in this film to like or to care about, and whatever happens to these guys really doesn’t matter much. I just couldn’t get invested in the story, and the whole loser Americans trapped and lost in an exotic foreign location has been run into the ground for the most part. I’m a fan of Kirsten Dunst, but though she is probably the best character in this story, it’s not enough to save it. Oscar Isaac was probably the best character in the story, but we don’t find out enough about him to really know what his real purpose is, and when he tells us his motivation, I didn’t have a clue of whether he was sincere or just being a smart ass. All in all, I would suggest you skip this film. It’s not enough to keep you interested, and there’s really not much suspense here at all. Everything sort of just happens around you, but it all doesn’t mean much. Most of my rating points are for the scenery, not the plot.

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21 Laps Entertainment, Spring Creek Productions, Warner Bros.,

Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Rose Byrne, Jane Fonda, Connie Britton, Adam Driver, Timothy Olyphant, Kathryn Hahn

Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) is having a bad year. He just walked in on his wife and his boss in his bedroom, lost his home and his job, naturally, and then find out that his father has passed away. So even though Judd has not been home in a long time, he naturally flies back home for the funeral only to be told by his mother Hillary (Jane Fonda) that his father’s last wish was to have all four siblings home and to perform the Jewish ritual and sit shivah in the house for seven days. The problem is that though they start out nicely for a few minutes, old resentments and problems arise and set the family into a turmoil of epic proportions. There are so many surprises and secrets revealed that no one can keep up with it all. This is a very realistic dysfunctional family full of crazies, just like all of us seem to have. Can they make it through a whole week without something else awful happening?

This is one of those “relationship” movies that have been so popular over the years. This is, like some of the others, a collection of real starts brought together as a group in an ensemble movie. Truly it’s basically told through Judd’s eyes, but this is really about the entire extended family and everyone shines. The characters are marvelously developed and it’s truly funny. From the pranks that you can’t see coming, to the quirkiness of each different member of the family, it’s a laugh riot. I really have to say that I laughed a lot throughout the film, and I must say it kept me really entertained throughout. This is one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a while. There are some really funny sideline characters too that will make you laugh. With Ben Schwartz as a childhood friend of the family turned rabbi tries to play it straight and be serious (acting of course) the family tortures him and it’s a long running gag throughout the movie. It all feels very real, and painfully funny, and even though I am not usually blown away with Jason Bateman’s typical nice guy who gets dumped on by everyone, I really thought he shined through this movie and it was a good call to cast him. I found this highly entertaining and I recommend you give this movie a shot. I hope you’ll like it too.

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Lionsgate,

Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, Joelle Carter, David Andrews, Amber Stevens, Ana de la Reguera, Larisa Oleynik, Chris Ellis,

Jessie (Sarah Snook) is a young woman, pregnant and moving in with her sweetheart when a horrible accident leaves her in the hospital all alone. After several weeks in recovery she’s got no one to call but her estranged Father who still lives in the small bayou town in Louisiana where Jessie grew up. Dad has not been doing well since her Mom died, and it’s obviously very uncomfortable being staying there in her Mom’s old bedroom since it’s the only one on the first floor and she’s now in a wheelchair. But when Jessie finds some VHS tapes left by her mother, it starts her on a journey of nightmares and terror as a spirit is also in the house and is not going to let Jessie leave until she gets what she wants.

This is obviously a B horror movie, and one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. I enjoyed it so much, I took the time to watch it again with the filmmakers on the special features soundtrack. I learned a lot about what they went through to bring this movie to light. Some low budget horror is horribly done with cheap effects that is really boring, but not this story. First of all, they did almost all the effects in camera with either the actors or their stunt doubles. This gives a sense of realism to this film that most low budget horror films miss. I have to admit it may have been lovely redhead Sarah Snook who I was not familiar with previously, but now I’m a fan. She played this off perfectly, and was the perfect person to cast in the role of Jessie. The rest of the cast was very well done too, and so I have little to complain about the acting and dialog. I know they took great pains in tweaking this script in a way that did not depend on loud noises to make you jump, but rather took pains to develop the story. I have seen a lot of films that choose a run down old plantation that is so dark and spooky that it becomes the horror effect itself. You may notice they didn’t do that here. This home has obviously been neglected a great deal, but it not naturally scary in itself. We needed the slow build of tension to raise the terror level, and it was done well. Likewise, we’re not saddled with horrible maniacal creatures running around killing people right and left. Instead we’re faced with a real mystery of what possibly happened and poor Jessie is stuck in the middle of it without having done anything wrong herself. It’s one of those ghostly stories where someone wants the truth to come out and they just can’t rest until it’s done. This is filmed in a practical set, so the house inside and outside is used, the swamp is right outside the back, and everything is there, making it easy to shoot. The suspense is great, and I really enjoyed this film from start to finish. Fans of slasher gore films may not like the pacing of this film as they develop the story, but for me the tales of voodoo and the supernatural content was like a classic horror film of old, and I’m really glad that I got to see a film like this.

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Canal+, Ciné+, EuropaCorp,

Liam Neeson, Maggie Grace, Famke Janssen, Forest Whitaker, Leland Orser, Jon Gries

Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is back, as usual trying to mind his own business. He’s trying to be a good father to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) who lives with her Mom Lenore (Famke Jannsen) and her Step Dad. But when Bryan gets a call to meet his ex-wife, he steps out for bagels, and comes home to find her in his bed with her throat cut, and all the evidence points to him. He has only a day or so to figure out who really killed his wife while he goes off the grid hiding from the police force and Detective Frank Dotzler (Forest Whitaker) who are out to bring him in. This is the third and final segment of the series, which has been a rip roaring action trilogy of the best kind.

Liam Neeson is an amazing action star. Truly I think he’s one of the best, which is surprising in a way, but he can surely keep up with others much younger than he is. He’s basically in one scrape after another throughout the whole movie, and every time it looks like there’s no way out, he finds a way. This has been an awesome trilogy, from the very first when his daughter was kidnapped while on an overseas trip, and through the second where his wife was kidnapped to draw him out again and an adventure all over the world. This one pretty much stays close to home, no one gets kidnapped, really, but the setup and payoff is really awesome. I suppose it will be pretty easy to tell who the real culprit is right off, but the plot is rather sticky anyway, and the action is non-stop throughout. But the addition of Forest Whittaker was brilliant. His character’s wit and wisdom up against the sly dog Bryan Mills is something to behold. It’s obvious that both men have a high regard for the abilities of the other, and each one is just a man of character trying to do the right thing. The violence and gore is pretty high for a PG-13 movie, but it is one excellent action piece. There is one moment where Frank and Bryan are talking to each other on the phone where Frank asks Bryan to step aside and let the police force do their job, and Bryan asks, “What is your primary objective?” Frank replies, “To capture him and bring him to justice”. Bryan’s response “Mine is to protect the only one I have left” is the clue that there’s going to be an extremely exciting finish to the story! However, they threw in a really nasty hint of a sequel, so we’ll see if they’re going to really continue the story or not. I’d say it’s a coin flip which way it’s going to go.

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Gulfstream Pictures, Pupcake Productions,

Gabriel Iglesias, Jacqueline Obradors, Eddie Sotelo, Jeremy Ray Valdez, Ron White, Ray William Johnson, Tommy Chong, Julio César Chávez, Martin Moreno

Gabriel Iglesias, Hispanic comic sensation who often is mistaken for a Pacific Islander because of his size and the shirts he chooses to wear is doing his stand up show, filmed over two days in San Jose, California. Fluffy tells us stories that are really sincere, and then hits us with belly laugh after belly laugh as he performs his show to an adoring audience.

Gabriel has shown up in cameo and bit parts in a number of comedies lately, but mostly he’s well knows as a former West Coast, but now World Wide standup comedian. But he’s not by any means a joke teller, he’s a story teller. He has a funny look at life, and what must be much dismay to his family, he tells it like it is. With long bits about his weight, and recent weight loss, an update on his step son who is a child of technology and can’t seem to communicate with his Dad so well, to his troubles with the law and with his friends who inspire him to get into trouble, Fluffy tells us story after story that never gets tiring. I really enjoy this guy, and I think he’s one of the funniest guys out there. Certainly with his different point of view and experience, he’s not a blue comic and his shows are very PG-13, perhaps a little much for tiny tykes, but certainly age appropriate for anyone over the recommended 13, Gabriel is a clean comic who knows how to tell deeply personal stories without turning vulgar. This is a great introduction to Gabriel Iglesias, and whether you’ve seen him before or not, this is one standup movie you should watch.

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