Ed's Review Dot Com

Informant Europe SPRL, European Film Company, Umedia,

Jim Sturgess, Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten, Anthony Hopkins, Mark van Eeuwen, Tom Cocquerel, Jemima West

This docudrama is based on the real 1983 Kidnapping of Beer king Alfred Heineken, which in 1983 resulted in the largest ransom ever paid for a hostage. A group of buddies led by Cor Van Hout (Jim Sturgess) and Willem Holleeder (Sam Worthington). They planned this kidnapping for several years, and started off with a bank robbery to net them the money needed for the grandaddy of all heists, that of Belgian King of Hops himself and his chauffeur. Freddy is played by Anthony Hopkins They hold the captives for several weeks while they figure out a way to get off with all the money. This story follows the planning and execution of the kidnapping as well as the eventual outcomes and separation of the group.

This docudrama was hit pretty hard by the critics for a couple of reasons. I didn’t find it all that bad. The main complaints were how quickly the robbery and kidnapping happened. I think people were looking for a heist movie, which this wasn’t. Since this was a true story, they focused on the facts of the case. Most of the time is spent on the difficulty in keeping the hostages, and the trickiest part of the job, trying to pick up the ransom without being caught. Then after they have it, how to safely release the hostages and flee the country. Perhaps even more so, is the problem of keeping secrets from your family and friends. The extremes that these guys had to go through were ridiculous. This movie is a perfect mix between documentary and drama, but unlike a well written fictitious heist movie, this film goes deeper. They had real problems, and did not have a Hollywood screenwriter to bail them out. I felt the performances were pretty good, although I don’t know much about Alfred Heineken, but I must wonder if Anthony Hopkins was the right choice in casting to play him. He doesn’t seem a bit Belgian. Still, his role isn’t exactly minor ,but he doesn’t have a lot of screen time, and most of what he does is monologue since none of the kidnappers wanted to risk having him hear their voices. They kept silent around him. So certainly Mr. Hopkins has the chops to pull off the soliloquies. All in all, not a hit by any means, but at the same time, it was better than the average documentary on a subject. I enjoyed it, and I wasn’t disappointed, so if you are interested, give it a go.

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GNK Productions, Gotham Group, Rough House Pictures,

Kristen Stewart, Peyman Moaadi, John Carroll Lynch, Lane Garrison, Joseph Julian Soria,

Amy Cole (Kristen Stewart) is a soldier stationed in Guantanamo Bay where the worst guys from the Muslim extremists who carried out the attacks on 9/11 are held. She has the job to guard these guys and it’s a difficult job due to the fact that she’s the only female in her group. She is instructed to keep her distance from the detainees and never to give out her name or any personal information that they could use against her or her family. She tries her best to be a good soldier, but she’s drawn to Ali (Peyman Moaadi), one of the detainees who wants to talk with her. As she learns more about this man, she begins to wonder what is really true and who is a good guy and who is a bad guy. It’s not all that simple sometimes.

This is a rather good film that gives you a lot to think about. These are touchy subjects. Right off the bat, I am in no way a Kristen Stewart fan. In her typical role she is much like a cardboard cutout. But there is something about this part that really resonated off of her, and she did a splendid job. This was a great role for her and she did a really good job and I must say I was impressed. But the star of the film is Peman Moaadi who plays the detainee who wants the final Harry Potter book so bad. I guess the Harry Potter series was very popular in the camp. Peman brings a humanity to his role that is excellent. He brings humor to a humorless place, and yet has some deep soul searching moments, and some tragic moments that really impress. Basically the majority of the film is the discussion between the two through a little hole in the door. Of course getting close to a political detainee is forbidden and she’s taking a great risk and gathering some unpleasant attention by spending so much time with one prisoner. But the story is so well done, that when it’s over you’ll be sorry that it’s ending. I think the writer did an excellent job with this screenplay and with the help and inspiration of his actors they brought us a piece of thought provoking cinema that is really enjoyable to watch. It is rated R, and some bad things happen which certainly wouldn’t be appropriate for younger kids, but for those able to comprehend the ugliness of war, it’s a well done film. For Kristen Stewart haters who dismissed this film because she is the star, take a second look at it and give this a chance. This is certainly her best performance to date and it is a very thoughtfully done bit of film making. Recommended for mature audiences.

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BlackWhite, Sunlight Productions, Treehouse Films (II),

Kevin Costner, Octavia Spencer, Jillian Estell, Bill Burr, Jennifer Ehle, Andre Holland, Gillian Jacobs, Anthony Mackie

Elliot Anderson (Kevin Costner) is grieving. His daughter ran off when she was 17 with an older African-American guy who was a criminal, a crack user, and she died giving birth to her daughter. After she died, Elliot and his wife raised the little girl, Eloise (Jillian Estell) until a tragedy took her Grandmother Anderson away. When this happens, her paternal Grandmother, Rowena (Octavia Spencer) determines to challenge Elliot’s custody. Elliot wants the best for his granddaughter and does not want her exposed to her father’s life style, but his life is in turmoil and Rowena is determined to let Eloise experience the other half of her family.

This is a touching drama. It’s slightly about racism, how could it not be with the elephant in the room. But it’s more about pain and sorrow, with a strong dose of love mixed in. Never really heavy handed, the cast is really good. Kevin and Octavia are both outstanding actors who play their parts very well. Jillian is also perfect as the little girl. There are several other characters that add a great deal to the enjoyment of the movie. The struggles are played out very smartly, and the pain is really obvious. No one here is a bad guy and they all want the best despite their own limitations. This was a film that I found riveting, and I was deeply moved by it as I watched. I expected this to be pretty good, but it has far more to offer than I expected. This films shows both sides of Los Angeles and the good and bad in each. I really loved the way the story was unfolded and I was very impressed with the cast, the script, the location, and the story. This is one I highly recommend. If you have teens, watch it with them and talk about what you see. It is a very good film and I highly recommend it.

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Focus Features, Film4, Cowboy Films,

Jude Law, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, David Threlfall

Robinson (Jude Law) is a salvage recovery specialist. When he’s suddenly laid off from the company he has dedicated his life to, sacrificing his family and a normal life without warning, he’s very angry. But when he learns of an opportunity to lead a team mostly made up of Russian submariners under the Black Sea to steal millions in gold bars in a sunken German U-Boat, he jumps at the chance. But as they spend more and more time silently sneaking under the sea in a rickety old Russian sub, the teams start to turn on each other driven by misunderstanding and greed, things turn very dangerous.

This is a rather unique submarine voyage. The language barrier between the English sailors and the Russian crew brings us into the suspense, and it is a suspenseful journey. Yeah, there are some weak points, and the performances are not actually stellar, but everyone tries to pull together to give us an undersea adventure. Some of it was filmed in an actual sub, so it’s very authentic looking. The suspense if real, and it’s not actually a bad movie. It appears this has to be an indie film, and the tight shots in the crowded sub will feed your claustrophobia if you suffer from that. I am not really sure what just didn’t click for me in this movie. For some reason I was interested, but not invested in the story. It’s just hard to put my finger on it. The underwater action was good and suspenseful, and the danger seemed well enough. There were just some technical stuff that seemed really far fetched. Some parts were rushed, and the ending was a bit much to swallow. But all in all, I think it’s a good enough job to recommend if you’re interested, to give it a shot. If you’re interested in a classic heist story with the twist of taking place under the Russian navy in the midst of the Black Sea, then there’s enough to make this an enjoyable film.

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Red 56, Deep Blue Pictures,

Liam Hemsworth, Teresa Palmer, Aimee Teegarden, Chris Lowell, Max Adler, Austin Stowell

Mickey Wright (Liam Hemsworth) is a soldier in Viet Nam on an extremely nasty tour of duty. When they return from the field and collect the mail from home, he looks for a letter from Jane (Aimee Teegarden) his sweetheart. He finds the letter, but is shocked to learn that she is breaking up with him. Yes, it’s a Dear John letter. He is granted a two week R&R in Hong Kong with the rest of his men, but he makes up his mind to go AWOL (technically) and go back to the states to get his girl back. One of his closest buddies, Dalton (Austin Stowell) decides to risk everything to go back with him on this adventure to recover Jane.

This movie starts out with some fresh battle scenes in the fields of Viet Nam with some heavy duty scenes. Then we head back to the states and get a good look at the other side of the Vietnam situation. They are surrounded by people who spit on them or throw rocks, who despise the war and the army and who are convinced that the pair should head to Canada and renounce the army and the war. They guys need to take a good look at that. The performance by Liam Hemsworth is not bad, but it’s not really something in his wheel house. I thought Jane (Aimee) was really pretty awful. I understand that she has to play a crazy mixed up young adult, but she wasn’t very likeable. Most of what she did made no sense at all. The movie starts out with a great battle sure to create some action scenes for the trailers, but after a few minutes, it turns into a romance that isn’t really that dramatic nor is it comedic. In the end, they tried to throw in an action sequence of car chases and escape, but it doesn’t really add anything to the mix. My feeling is that this is a film that couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be. The blood and violence will turn off the girls and the long romantic chased and banter between the boys and girls will send the guys out for pizza. Nobody gets what they want out of it, and it sort of fizzles out. It seems to be schizophrenic and and bi-polar at the same time. I lived through the Vietnam era so I have a lot of familiarity with the times, but that still didn’t help me appreciate this film any more. I found that it was a fair try, but missed the mark in many ways, so I don’t highly recommend this one.

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