Archive for July, 2015

Furthur Films,

Michael Douglas, Jeremy Irvine, Hanna Mangan Lawrence, Ronny Cox

Ben (Jeremy Irvine) is a nice young man. He’s recently graduated from High School and is wondering what to do with his life. He lives in a remote area of the Mojave Desert, and he makes a few extra bucks guiding big game hunters around the desert for their adventures. But Ben’s girlfriend is off for college and Ben is not sure how to deal with the separation. He has no money for school and no idea what will become of him other than a life of poverty like his childhood has been. When a very wealthy CEO, Madec (Michael Douglas) arrives and asks for Ben to guide him into the desert to find and kill a big horn sheep for his collection, Ben reluctantly agrees. But when Madec accidentally kills an old local prospector, his first thought is to offer Ben a solution to all his problems. But then, a change of hearts sets them out on a cat and mouse game across the desert that will be life or death for Ben. How good is he really at survival in the desert?

This film hit me as a real surprise. I had never heard anything about it, and yet it was a very interesting story. Michael Douglas was an excellent choice as the arrogant rich bastard who is so used to getting everything his way at any cost, you really learn to hate this guy. Jeremy Irvine, on the other hand, as Ben, is a really good guy, but you wish he wasn’t so wishy washy and easy to control. He doesn’t like conflict, and though he’s a good guy, he lets this rich guy walk all over him. This is basically a two person story. Of course the desert itself is a character of it’s own, and I can’t imagine being stuck out there with no supplies and no way to make it back. The intensity of this story is amazing, and the interaction between these two is very well shown. The points of view and the desert scenery is really fantastic. This is a survival film, first and foremost, and as such, it’s quite suspenseful. Hitchcock like in it’s plot, things pile up against Ben one after another until you can’t help but wonder if it’s possible for him to pull out of this. The story is quick paced, very exciting, and extremely well filmed. This is definitely a hidden gem of a movie that caught me very much off guard. I enjoyed it, and if you in the mood for a thriller, I would recommend you seek this one out.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Mad Chance Productions,

Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Luke Grimes, Jake McDorman, Kevin Lacz, Cory Hardict, Navid Negahban

Chris Kyle (Bradley Cooper) was a young man who grew up with a religious father who was very strict with them. He grew up strong and straight and true with a real desire to do what’s right. He was about to become a professional cowboy, traveling the rodeo circuit with his younger brother when 9/11 changed everything. Outraged by the terrorist actions of this date, Chris put his life and his new family on hold to become a Navy Seal in Special Operations and head to Iraq. He was blessed with a sharp eye and became the most proficient sniper in history. His primary goal was to protect his Marines and see that they were able to get home safely. The multiple tours took a toll on him and his wife, and when it was over, he tried to find purpose in his life, and he spent the few years he had left trying to help other soldiers, and writing a memoir of his experience. This documentary produced by Clint Eastwood is based on his biography in his own words.

This was a decisive film. Clint Eastwood is loved by many and hated by the rest. His own life would make a wonderful movie, but he does know how to tell a story. His attention to detail in this film is amazing and we experience the horrors of war in first person. I am not sure if Bradley Cooper was the perfect casting choice, but he has the look of Chris Kyle, and I felt he did a good job in the role. He’s a good actor, and seemed to throw himself into the world. In some ways it’s nice to see an American hero like this along with his faults and weaknesses. They are not superheroes, but regular guys doing their best who are able to accomplish amazing feats, but who are not perfect. The controversy about this film seems to be based upon political lines. The pacifists don’t like the idea of making a hero of a killer, but the soldiers will be there doing their job regardless, and the enemy had snipers as well. We would have had many more casualties if there were not men like Chris who put their skills to test to protect our boys. This was a very noble thing to do. I was very, very impressed with the work done on this film and with the story that was told, and the fact that is is nearly a pure documentary. I think it’s good that a story like this can be told in a feature film so that more people are able to see it. If it were a true documentary and not a docu-drama, it would not have received the widespread audience that it did. The story is a tragedy, and I like the way Clint did not spend a lot of time on the tragedy at the end, but just stated the facts as the movie was closing. I would have appreciated a bit more about the occurrence however, and immediately went to Wikipedia to understand more of the events of that day. But since this work is based on Chris’ writings, obviously it wasn’t in the book. I understand why Clint cut it off as he did. I think this was a very well constructed film, and I truly felt like I had witnessed something awful, yet very important. Congratulations to all the people involved in this movie and I appreciate your outstanding efforts to bring this story to life. I highly recommend this film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Saban Films, Code Entertainment, Freedom Media,

John Travolta, Christopher Plummer, Tye Sheridan, Jennifer Ehle, Marcus Thomas, Anson Mount, Abigail Spencer, Travis Aaron Wade

Raymond Cutter (John Travolta) is the worlds best art forger, but he’s been in prison away from his father Joseph (Christopher Plummer) and his son Will (Tye Sheridan). But his son is not well and Ray would do anything to get back home to spend some time with him. So he makes an impossible deal with a big time gangster to paint of forgery of a Monet painting, then break into the museum and steal the original, and replace it with the forgery in return for buying his way out of prison.

This crime story jumped out of the screen and captured my attention. Truthfully I have never been a huge Travolta fan, and he has made some rather bad movies over the years, but he did a really good job in this one. He is an art forger, and a criminal, but still cares about his son and he pulls this off very well. The two have a tight bond by the end of the film. These three together is actually a pleasure to watch. Typical scam and heist films like this one have a lot of twists and turns, and this one is no different, and it was pretty interesting all the way through. I found the story fresh and fun to follow. The script was well done, and the actual heist was really suspenseful. All in all I found this a good film. and if you enjoy a good robbery, mixed with a story of three generations trying to find their common ground, give this one a try.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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