Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday February 10, 2015
Aldamisa Entertainment, Kilburn Media,
Jon Favreau, SofÃa Vergara, John Leguizamo, Scarlett Johansson, Oliver Platt, Bobby Cannavale, Dustin Hoffman, Robert Downey Jr
Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) is a chef. He’s always been a chef, but now he’s starting feel cramped. He works for Riva (Dustin Hoffman) who insists that he server his menu and Carl has no room to be creative anymore. But when he has a run in with food blogger, Ramsey Michel (Oliver Platt) he ends up getting fired. His ex-wife Inez (Sophia Vergara) thinks he ought to get a food truck, but he’s not even considering that, until things get really desperate and he has to find his heart again.
This is a very good little film, funny in parts and very touching in other parts. The key to this film is the cast, as every single one of them is really good, and it’s quite an ensemble. The humor is right on target, and the situation is rather unique and quite fitting in these days of dozens of cooking shows on TV. If you think the food critic’s name is Ramsey Michel by accident, I’m certain it wasn’t! The cast really dives into this script and everyone delivers at top notch. I found the time flying by, and I thought after it was over how much I enjoyed the time I spent watching this. Everyone in the large ensemble cast is really good, and every one of them is very well cast. Each one adds to the enjoyment. This is a small part for Dustin Hoffman, but he really adds a great deal to the enjoyment of the film. This is perhaps the best fun I’ve had watching him since “Hook”. The relationship between Carl and Inez is hysterical too, with much of that due to Sophia’s characterization. It’s spot on. Every now and then you find one of these little films that didn’t gather much momentum and it’s a real pleasure to get to find one of those. The screenplay was superb, very well written and directed, and the settings in the south from Miami to New Orleans to Texas and so on were really fun. All in all it was a pleasure to watch this film. I’m not really sure why it pulled the R rating. That seems a bit harsh, but perhaps there was some language in there that didn’t catch my attention, but this is more grown up humor anyway and probably not as much fun for the younger folk. If you are in the mood for an intelligent comedy with a great cast, I can recommend this one for you!
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
WhiteFlame Productions,
Evan Rachel Wood, Scott Speedman, Treat Williams, Kate Burton, J.K. Simmons, J. Omar Castro, David Jensen
Jay Wheeler (Scott Speedman) was always the bad kid. He got no respect from his father (Treat Williams) and is the only one of the family estranged from the rest of the family. Jay’s brother is about to be married, and Jay mouths off about his new girlfriend who’s a nurse, and promises to bring her home with him to meet the family for the wedding. Jay’s screwed up again, and is doing community service mopping floors in the city’s psychiatric hospital, but he can’t find anyone willing to be his date to the wedding. But when he meets a young mental patient Daisy Kensington (Evan Rachel Wood) who has fallen for him, when she decides to run away from the hospital, he decides to take her to the wedding. Of course she has been raised by a mother (Carrie style) who kept her locked away from the world, so this pretty young girl is absolutely not prepared to meet this judgmental family and try to fit in to their rich lifestyle.
This is a raucous comedy, mostly due to the work of Evan Rachel Wood. I have always been a fan of her work, but she really shines in this film. She’s the real humor and fun in the whole story. She is so awestruck by everything that happens, and her attempts to try to fit in a hilarious. This is a real hidden gem of a movie, as the humor is really good. There were a lot of laughs throughout, and it’s lighthearted and fun. We get to grow with Jay as he learns what he really is, and that he’s not what his father has always told him he is, when he meets someone with a worse mother and his father was to him. It has a lot of heart and is very comfortable, but with a great dose of good humor. As a PG-13, this film could have gone way too far, but as it is, it’s not vulgar or rude in any way. I obviously had never heard of this movie, and as a small independent film, it is way off most people’s radar, but I was really pleasantly pleased with this, and I have to recommend this one as a very well done indie comedy.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
Smart Entertainment, Blumhouse Productions, Nuyorican Productions,
Jennifer Lopez, Ryan Guzman, John Corbett, Kristin Chenoweth, Bailey Chase
Claire Peterson (Jennifer Lopez) is a High School literature teacher with a teenaged son, Kevin (Ian Nelson). His father, Garrett (John Corbett) is not living with them as he’s been caught fooling around and they are trying out a trial separation and considering divorce. A young stud Noah Sanborn (Ryan Guzman) moves into the house next door to care for his aging uncle, but though he quickly makes friends with the Petersons, his history has been well covered up. It turns out that his secrets and Claire’s lonliness is a recipe for disaster, and it might take the entire family down with them.
This thriller is the female version of “Fatal Attraction”, boy. Talk about a psychopath. Jennifer does a really good job carrying this movie and naturally looks wonderful. Ryan is playing a 19 year old, but he must be a real hunk as well, so there’s plenty of eye candy for both the males and the females. The suspense is really good, and though the last five minutes might disappoint, the climax of the film is good. Movies today have strong leading ladies who can take care of themselves. I don’t think there’s any way Fatal Attraction or Play Misty for Me could be made in today’s world. We’re looking for a woman who’s kicking butt and taking names. Jenn is certainly fit enough to pull that off. Her son, played by Ian Nelson is a wimpy whiny kid who reminds me a lot of Norman Bates in the Bates Motel TV show, but that’s the role he’s given, I have to give him props for playing it well enough. Even Kristin Chenoweth somehow tuned down that voice that de-calcifies your spine to the point where she was not a distraction. This is about the best role I’ve seen her play, and I hope she gets lots more opportunities to play a normal person and not the annoying cartoon character that they typically stick her with. Good job! I have to admit that I enjoyed this film. I didn’t really know what to expect when I walked in as it was my wife’s choice, but I couldn’t picture JLo in a horror flick. Though it was quite horrifying much of the way, still it was not a horror film. This is straight mystery and suspense and very well done. I recommend this one.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
Reno Productions,
Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, Cara Buono, Kristen Connolly, Mike O’Malley, Stephen Lang, Will Rogers, Theo Stockman
Darcy (Joan Allen) and Bob Anderson (Anthony LaPaglia) have been in a good marriage for 25 years. They own Bob’s father’s rare coin business and he loves traveling all over the country looking for good buys on rare coins. But when a deep dark secret comes out and Darcy becomes aware of it, she has no idea how to handle it. The secret is so deep that it may destroy their whole lives in this Stephen King thriller.
Stephen King’s short story transitions to film and TV is rather hit and miss. Personally, Stephen King is not my favorite horror fiction writer, but he has done some fantastic work. Some of my favorite books and movies have been based on King’s work. This is certainly not the greatest thing he’s ever written, but it’s a pretty good one. We are shocked when we discover the secret, and the suspense builds and disbelief grows along with it. This brings a couple major ethical decisions to life, and we tend to ponder the choices along with the characters in the story. All in all it’s not really horror as much as it is suspense and mystery, but it’s a darn good crime thriller. With lots of character development and plenty of meat in the story, this is a film worth watching. Now that it’s available for streaming from NetFlix, it’s not even a requirement to take up a spot in your DVD queue. If you’re a fan of thrillers, then you gotta catch this one. It’s pretty good.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
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