Ed's Review Dot Com

Ocean Blue Entertainment,

Ed Harris, Michael Peña, Eva Longoria, Amy Madigan, Aden Young

A former Arizona sheriff’s wife, Olivia (Amy Madigan) is killed while riding her horse along their ranch property near the Mexican border. When her husband Roy (Ed Harris) comes to find her, it appears to him that she was killed by some Mexican guys who were sneaking across the border, and he sets out to find them and see they are punished. But there are many layers to this film, and as he peels back layer by layer, the story may be quite different in the end.

This is, first and foremost, a western. Western’s are very rare in today’s cinema. That fact on it’s own is a big plus for the film. But I’ve seen several pretty good border crossing movies, and I truly think this is the best of the genre. This movie doesn’t really pick sides, but is an excellent look at all the different sides of the issue. As in real life, there is no black and white, but many shades of gray. The acting in this film is wonderful. Ed Harris is perfect as the ex-sheriff who is love with his wife, but who resents her kindness to the people who enter illegally. The story is very rich, and excellently crafted, and they told the story in a beautiful way. We know the truth from the moment it happened, but the truth, although Roy tries his best to find it for good or bad, is not the important thing. It’s how the facts affect everyone in a different way. I felt this was one of the best acted, best told stories I have seen in a long long time. This is a film that ought to be gathering much more attention than it did, and it’s certainly one of those hidden gems that come and go without attracting a lot of buzz, but if you’re lucky enough to stumble across it, it’s well worth your time. I really enjoyed this story, and I bet you will too.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Gulfstream Pictures, Red Rover International, ToonBox Entertainment,

Will Arnett, Brendan Fraser, Gabriel Iglesias, Jeff Dunham, Liam Neeson, Katherine Heigl, Stephen Lang, Maya Rudolph, Sarah Gadon, James Rankin

Surly the Squirrel (Will Arnett) has a bad attitude and can’t seem to get along with the other animals in the park. But he’s planning a big heist of peanuts from the processing plant, so he figures to con the others into helping him with the heist. But the humans are also planning a heist, as the processing plant is next to the bank. This creates a whole bunch of problems interfering with both jobs.

This animated adventure story covers the wild animals in the park trying to survive in the world filled with humans. With plenty of well known voices, lots of action, and some pretty darn good artwork, there’s a lot going for this story. It kind of felt like the old Don Bluth films from the Land Before Time series, and An American Tale. The feeling is similar. There are some drawbacks. There’s a lot going on here on many different levels. The film is pretty short. It doesn’t make it to 90 minutes, and so it seems really rushed. Animated films are usually pretty short, but if they’re going to take on all this material they need to give us a little bit more background on the characters. As it is, things happen so fast that it’s hard to keep it all straight. I would think the kids will really like this film. The look and feel is very good, and the artwork surrounding the characters is very good making it very realistic looking. I think there’s enough material to keep the grown-ups entertained as well. Since it’s rather unique in a lot of ways, its not a bad story, and I can recommend this as a family friendly animated film that is something a bit different.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Eyeworks Fine & Mellow, Film i Väst, Filmgate Films,

James Franco, Kate Hudson, Omar Sy, Tom Wilkinson

Tom (James Franco) and Ann Wright (Kate Hudson) are young married couple that are struggling financially. They want desperately to have a child, but can’t afford the treatments to make it happen. They rent their basement apartment to a guy who turns up dead, and who seems to be involved with some nasty characters. Tom and Ann find a bag full of money hidden in their basement and they are good people who just need a little help to get through a rough financial patch, so they decide to only use a little bit of it. But when the hoods show up looking for the cash, they are in big, big trouble.

This crime drama feels familiar. We’ve certainly been through this scenario before. But this movie is really well done. With James Franco, Kate Hudson, and Tom Wilkinson performing here, we know we’re going to get a first class performance from all of them. The don’t disappoint. They are really good. The back story on Tom Wilkinson’s character is so tragic and touching that we really feel for him, and his presence adds a lot to the film. The bad guys are bad, and the action and suspense are both extremely well done. If it were not for the familiarity of the story, this would have been a really top notch thriller. So we pretty much know where it’s going to go and how it’s going to end up, but for this film, it’s not the destination, but the journey that makes it worthwhile. I would call this a great film, but it’s certainly worthy of watching, and is very well done.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

General Film Corporation,

Chad Moffitt, Sonam Sherpa, John Wraight, Joshua Rutter, Daniel Musgrove, Erroll Shand

This dramatized documentary (with some archive footage of the real event) describes the 1953 climb of Mt Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay that climaxed in a 15 minute stop at the summit of the tallest mountain in the world. In 1953 it seemed likely that someone was about to conquer Everest, and the British, naturally, were desperate to be the first. Edmund Hillary was a British subject, though born in New Zealand, he was their last best hope to be the first. This film documents step by step, the climb along with the extreme dangers and hardships that they faced. The pride the Kingdom felt when one of their guys made it was massive. But as we learn, they were very, very lucky to survive.

This is called a documentary, although it is played, for the most part, by actors. This film was made in 3-D, but I did not see it on the big screen. I can’t comment on the 3-D effects, but it doesn’t seem to me to be a huge deal, although the conditions on the mountain are splendidly portrayed. There were other attempts as far back as the 1920’s, and the mystery that surrounds George Mallory’s attempt in 1924 ended in disaster as they were spotted very near the summit but never returned. In 1999 George Mallory’s body was found, but it is still unknown whether or not they ever made it to the summit. For a long time the mountain was unconquered until 1953 when Hillary and Norgay made, and photographed, the summit of the highest point in the world.

This film somewhat misses the mark. As you may have known, I was always fascinated by stories of Mt. Everest and the many successes and tragedies there. I have watched and reviewed a number of films about this particular trek. But this one is rather straight-forward with not a lot of emotion, explaining the technical aspects of how they made the climb, but is lacking in details about the people involved. The few news reels thrown in to authenticate things tell about as much of the story as the rest of the movie does. It does give you a pretty good feel of climbing, and uses Hillary’s own words to describe the challenges and risks they had to take. It’s an interesting story, but I don’t feel it’s even near the best account of conquering Everest. I think perhaps they put so much stock in the 3-D gimmick that they neglected to tell enough of the story to give you anything new that you don’t already know. I am very glad I watched it, as I am very interested in the subject, but I hesitate to recommend it very highly as unless you are really interested in the men on the mountain, you’ll probably be let down.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Raffaella Productions,

Julian Morris, Ben Kingsley, Jassa Ahluwalia, Jonjo O’Neill, Jake Curran, Tamzin Merchant

Young squire Gareth (Julian Morris) wants to be a knight, but he’s got to pay for the honor. He has no money, but when he sees a meteorite of gold falling from the sky on the “other” side of the wall, he sets off to find it. When his life is saved by dragon Drago (Ben Kingsley) their hearts are joined and if one dies, so does the other. Gareth sets out to defeat a wicked sorcerer and brings danger and trouble and a few friends back to the wall.

This is the 3rd film in this series, and believe it or not, I think I really liked this one much more than either of the first two. The first one was even voiced by Sean Connery, but the story seemed a lot better here, and the action and scenery was very good, and the actors really seemed to be giving it their all. This is a live action adventure and fantasy story that takes place back in the times of knights and dragons, naturally. The setting was perfect, and the action was fast and furious. This is a good family film. This one might be a bit scary for little kids, but certainly anyone teen-aged and older should enjoy this film. I think it was very well done, and I give it a good recommendation if you like fantasy and sorcery stories. Again, this may be the best of the series.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog