Archive for February, 2017

Hartbeat Productions, Universal Pictures,

Kevin Hart

This film is a recorded stand-up performance by Kevin Hart in front of 50,000 screaming fans at Philideplhia’s Lincoln Financial Field, an outdoor arena. Kevin is from Philly and so it’s a homecoming for him. This film broke records as the first time a stand-up comedian filled an NFL stadium to capacity. It was an amazing night!

There is a little wrap-around story of Kevin as a James Bond style super spy that features a lot of cameo appearances. But essentially this film is really just a stand up show, but certainly a very funny one. Kevin is very funny, and his tales of current events and human nature really rock the house. Everyone appeared to have a really good time, and I don’t think this performance was any less than the classics by Richard Pryor or Eddie Murphy. If you enjoy stand-up comedy and Kevin Hart, then I’m sure you’ll enjoy this film. It was an incredible show.

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Bron Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, Follow Through Productions,

Nate Parker, Armie Hammer, Aja Naomi King, Jackie Earle Haley, Penelope Ann Miller, Gabrielle Union, Aunjanue Ellis, Colman Domingo, Dwight Henry, Roger Guenveur Smith, Mark Boone Junior, Esther Scott

The Birth of a Nation is the story of a real character, Nat Turner (Nate Parker) who as a child was found to be an educated fellow who could read and write, even though raised as a slave on a plantation. Nat became a preacher, and was paid to preach to the other slaves to convince them to work hard and listen to their masters to avoid trouble. But after events that turned Nat into a rebel that hated the treatment of his people in the south and caused him to start a bloody uprising that killed scores of white men, women, and children, until a battalion caught up with him and his men and they were all brought to pay for their rebellion. Based on a true character, this is harsh look at the terrible treatment of slaves and former slaves that occurred in the South in 1831 before the Civil war.

This was an interesting film, that is difficult to criticize without casting a very dim light on yourself. First let me say that the brutality and abuse that did occur was very horrible and unexcused, but I’m not sure that this is a completely accurate vision of what in particular happened this time. Historically Nat Turner did head a bloody uprising 1n 1831, but he was despised both in the North and the South due to the killing of little children and women along with the true slave masters. This film certainly does take one side of the story and makes a very shocking story that may be quite a bit embellished as to what really happened in this instance. Nate Parker, who plays Nat Turner, wrote the screenplay and the story and directed the film besides being the primary actor in it. It has a rather weird vibe to it. Though it’s obvious a brand new film, the style and feel of the movie made you think you were watching one of the old 70’s movies, just by the look of it. It wasn’t really very well put together, and it seems to suffer a bit from one guy having to do everything. Perhaps a bigger team would have helped. Still, it’s very touching and moves you to the core, but I’m not sure if we’re being played or if there’s really much truth to this one particular character and his portrayal historically. Likewise, the title, The Birth of a Nation is a political and racial hot button due the to D.W. Griffith 1915 film about the death of Lincoln and the birth of the Ku Klux Klan which is unfortunately a racist white supremacist one sided film that was certainly made to excuse the Klan, make them heroes, and appeal to the racists that existed, and to create many more of them. Now 1915 was a long time ago, but it seemed to be created to stir people up and tell a very incorrect and lopsided tale of who were the heroes and who were the villains. This film, was most likely given the same title to invoke some of the hatred toward the original film and start people off with a particular point of view. I don’t really think this movie is very fairly told either, as I doubt the true character of Nat Turner was really presented here. It was a really flat one sided portrait that simply appears to fire people up to protest. It doesn’t feel like a historical analysis or a documentary, but a one sided attack with no effort to show any balance. Now I can understand how this could happen, as it is a very touchy subject, and one that we really have to deal with in a rational manner. I just feel like this is throwing gasoline on a house fire and doesn’t serve a really good purpose other than to promote hatred. It’s a shame, as I certainly have seen other films that depicted the horrors that happened through a lot of the South at the time, and as a child of the 50’s I’ve seen it in person and on TV and in people I actually know. It’s an ugly thing to judge someone by the color of his skin, but it’s ugly either way, and we need to come together, not try to drive a wedge in to stir up the radicals and make them develop more hatred. With all that’s going on in our nation these days, it’s hard to tell what it all means. Maybe my own fear of being labeled is causing me to feel uncomfortable at this portrayal, and I really wish I had the opportunity to see Nate Parker and find out if he really hates me because of my skin color, or if he’s actually a really nice person who would like to talk to me as well. I would hate to prejudge that, but going by what I see in this film, I don’t think he’d like me very much. Most all ‘isms suck, but racism is one of the worst. In summary, I’m glad I saw it, but I’m just not sure how to react to what I saw.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday February 21, 2017

  • Air Bound
  • Bad Santa 2
  • Beauty and the Beast
  • Hacksaw Ridge
  • Manchester by the Sea
  • Nocturnal Animals

Author: EdG

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Endgame Entertainment, Vendian Entertainment, KrautPack Entertainment,

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood, Logan Marshall-Green, Timothy Olyphant, Ben Schnetzer, Lakeith Lee Stanfield, Rhys Ifans, Nicolas Cage

This biographical drama covers the life of Ed Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) for a period of about 10 years until he shocked the world by showing the world the scope of the data the U.S. Government was collecting on private citizens. It covers his love of his job with the CIA, and his relationship to his girlfriend Lindsay Mills (Shailene Woodley) which was doomed from the start because he couldn’t divulge what he was up to without putting her in danger, and she knew very well something major was going on, but had no clue. With a lot of background on the time, and the technical data collection, and the life in the CIA, it’s a very technical look into the events and the motivation behind what happened. Whether you look at Snowden as the devil, or as an American Hero, this will give you the background of what really went on.

I was a bit disappointed in this movie, although I have been anxious to see what it had to say. I think I have figured out why I was disappointed as I struggled to figure out why. I do not think I have ever seen a movie made by Oliver Stone that I was not disappointed with. I don’t mean to say he’s not a good director, or that he is not an amazing talent, but I am saying that his movies never seem to work for me. There must be something on a personal level that make these movies never click for me, even though I have always been excited about the subject matter. It’s just one of those things I guess. So what did I find wrong with this film? Well, typically when you watch a movie about a historical event you are given enough background for even a layman to understand what it all means. From the housing bubble and the stock market crash which was explained to us in a way that I was able to understand, to even the crash and investigations covered in the movie Sully which dealt with complicated issues of whether or not the right choices were made or not, was fairly easy to follow. But I feel, after this one, that I couldn’t really follow the technical gobbledygook that was thrown out at us at a feverish pace. Yet great detail of Ed’s relationship to Lindsay was explained in great detail which doesn’t seem to really have much to do with the story or the motives of Ed Snowden. I found at times it was really slow and hard to stay interested in, and at other times the scope and magnitude of the data that was being gathered was overwhelming and went past me way too fast. I suppose I could get more out of it by watching it again, but I am not sure I want to put myself through the slow parts again. I think it’s a very interesting subject and one very worthwhile to learn about, but I’m afraid this movie is a missed opportunity to explain the story to us normal folks out there. I work in IT and I still found it hard to follow. It’s a shame.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Fox 2000 Pictures, Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation,

Zach Galifianakis, Isla Fisher, Jon Hamm, Gal Gadot, Michael Liu, Maribeth Monroe

Jeff Gaffney (Zach Galifianakis) and his wife Karen (Isla Fisher) are about the coolest family in the neighborhood. But when the empty house was sold to new people and when they moved in, Tim Jones (Jon Hamm) and Natalie (Gal Gadot) were about the most perfect couple anyone had ever seen. Jeff was out to make friends right away, but Karen was a bit concerned that something didn’t seem right. But Karen was right as it turned out that they were out after criminal mastermind, Scorpion (Patton Oswalt) But before they know it, curiosity killed the cat, and Jeff and Karen are in deep in the middle of the incident and they have no clue whether the neighbors are the good guys or the bad guys.

This rather humorous little spy film is a lot of fun. It’s got a lot of the same gags and plot moves that most of these types of movies have, but the delightful thing about this one is the quality of the performances of everybody in the cast. Zach can really get on your nerves if he’s not in the right role, but this one suited him perfectly as he played it neither too goofy or too straight, but followed the line of a normal guy who is in over his head. He did a great job. Isla Fisher is one of my favorites though, and she was also very good in this role. These are the most well suited roles for them I have seen. Jon Hamm was nearly perfect in his role of the guy who hates his job, but knows he has to make the best of it. He plays a very sarcastic Tim Jones in a very Patrick Warburton kind of way and was very good as well. Gal Gadot I was not so familiar with, but she play Boris’ Natasha in a very good portrayal of the foreign spy girl who keeps her husband on his toes. All in all, it was a very good story played by an excellent cast, and I am surprised this this wasn’t bigger in the theater. But this is a perfect rental, and very much worth watching, so give them some support by renting this and have a very enjoyable evening laughing with them throughout. Yes, you’re going to figure out what’s going to happen early on, but it’s still a great deal of fun to watch it evolve.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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