Ed's Review Dot Com

Paramount Pictures, Flynn Picture Company, Fremantle Productions,

Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Priyanka Chopra, Alexandra Daddario, Kelly Rohrbach, Jon Bass, Ilfenesh Hadera, Hannibal Buress, Rob Huebel, Pamela Anderson, Belinda, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Jack Kesy, Amin Joseph, Charlotte McKinney

Mitch Buchannan (Dwayne Johnson) is the leader of the Baywatch team of lifeguards on the Bay. It’s Spring and time to tryout a bunch of new folks for the Summer, but screw-up double Gold Medal Olympic swimmer Matt Brody has been assigned to perform his public service as a lifeguard on the beach. Immediately he and Mitch are at odds with each other. But the main thing on Mitch’s mind is to solve the crime syndicate that has moved in and is taking over the entire bay. Fighting the local police and the corrupt city officials, Mitch and the team can’t help but trying to figure it all out despite all the messes they make.

Hollywood has had a very hard time trying to turn amazingly popular TV series into a feature film. This is another one that is going to have a tremendous uphill battle trying to gain any traction in the theater, and may end up being mostly a rental flick at that. But that’s because it has really hard competition to fight to gain a shot at some attendance. Let it be said that on Saturday Night here in the Los Angeles area, the theater was full except for a couple seats on the very front row. But Baywatch may be more popular here in it’s original stomping grounds. Nationally it seems to have struggled, but it might pick up as word goes out that it’s not nearly as bad as all of us thought it would be. I admit I assumed this was going to be awful, but surprisingly (at least to me) it wasn’t that bad. It’s childish humor, with it’s raunchy jokes and such, but it had a half way decent story line, good supporting cast, and some really funny situations. It was simply fun to watch. The challenges to win a place on the squad were reminiscent of classic summer movies like Meatballs, and other summer camp movies like that. The mystery was rather bland and easy to predict, but the chase scene was very well done, and a lot of fun. I really had a good time watching this, and for once came out of the theater wish a smile and a clear mind, all problems put away for a little bit. For the sheer entertainment, I would recommend this as a change of pace for all the superhero movies of the summer.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday May 30, 2017

• Before I Fall
• The Blackcoat’s Daughter
• Collide
• Fist Fight
• The Shack

Legendary East, Atlas Entertainment, China Film Group,

Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Andy Lau, Hanyu Zhang, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Gengxin Lin, Kai Zheng, Xuan Huang

William (Matt Demon) is a European mercenary who will fight for whomever offers the most money. He’s on a mission, with some of his men, to find out the truth about the black powder that those in China supposedly have to protect The Great Wall from the Mongols. So they show up just as they Chinese under their commander, Lin Mae (Tian Jing) is about to go into a major battle. They are captured and put into the dungeon, but it turns out the battle is a lot more sinister than the Mongols invading. The Chinese have been hiding that they are actually defending their country from some nasty alien creatures who, if they overtake and conquer the soldiers, will spread over to the whole world. William decides to join the Chinese to fight, and uses his skills to help Lin Mae to destroy the Queen and hopefully win the battle.

This is a very intense action film with great action sequences. It’s an odd story. Some years ago I picked up a science fiction paperback from the 99 cent store and found it to be the story of a modern day man who had the unfortunate incident where he passed through a portal to an iron age, medieval like kingdom in need of a leader, but there was also a pathway to a futuristic society. When I finished the book, I found out it was a trilogy, and I searched a bookstore and found the second novel with ease. When it came time to read the third book in the trilogy though, I was hooked on the story, but quickly found that Tor Books, the publisher had discontinued the book which was out of print, and not available anywhere. I was devastated until my oldest son found a copy in a rare book shop and he bought it for me. That unusual story of three different realities, past, present, and future, reminded me a lot of this film. What appears to be a very decent period piece of life centuries and centuries ago, immediately turns into a futuristic science fiction movie and it blew my mind. The special effects, particularly the alien creatures themselves, are quite impressive, and the battle scenes defending the wall are quite entertaining. The action is fierce and vicious, and it’s certainly very lifelike. I didn’t expect a lot out of this movie, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how really good it was. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and though the theaters had this one in and out in the blink of an eye, for a DVD rental (if anyone still does that anymore) or a streaming evening, it’s very well suited. If the you like Lords and Ladies, Asian customs, and outer space bugs, this one has it all. I promise an interesting evening.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Black Bear Pictures, Boies / Schiller Film Group, Hwy61,

Matthew McConaughey, Édgar Ramírez , Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell, Craig T. Nelson, Stacy Keach, Bruce Greenwood

Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) is a ne’er do well prospector with the dream of hitting it rich. With the help of his friend, the locate property in Indonesia and stake out a claim which looks like a really big deal. This looks like the big break he’s been looking for. But it’s complicated as the lies, secrets, double-crosses, and more pile up as everyone is out to take advantage of everyone else in this story based on real events.

The closest thing I can think of to McConaughey’s performance in this docudrama is Michael Keaton’s performance in The Founder. There are a lot of similarities in the stories, at least as far as the performances of the two actors. This is a very different story though, and I think Matthew did a good job transferring this character to the screen. This is one of those stories that is like a snowball rolling down a hillside that keeps growing bigger and rolling faster until it is able to flatten everyone. We’re not sure right up to the very last second who is the good guy and who is the sucker. It’s got twists and turns just like “The Sting”. It’s a roller coaster ride, that’s for sure, and a decent little film. It didn’t blow me away, but it sure kept interested throughout the whole film, and it surprised me after all in the end. This is a crime story most of all, but with lots of secrets. A serious game of one-ups pulled one after another. It’s a good enough movie if you’re interested in how NOT to make a million dollars.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Infinitum Nihil,

Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin McNally, Orlando Bloom, Stephen Graham, Martin Klebba, Golshifteh Farahani, David Wenham, Paul McCartney

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back in the 5th installment of the most successful franchise based on a Disneyland Attraction of the lot. Captain Jack has been marooned on the land, and is taking up time drinking, fooling around, and the occasional theft, like this one where he’s robbing a bank. Jack seems very unhappy, but those that are looking for him have not given up hope. Rumor is that he’s dead, but not only the English Navy is looking to capture him, but the Ghost Ship full of dead pirates lead by Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) is out to put an end Jack and his crew and to break the curse on them. And of course Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) would like to kill Jack as well. But there is a new twist. Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom)and his wife (from the very first movie) is out to fulfill his Dad’s dream by capturing a hidden object that can break ALL the curses. Of course only Jack Sparrow is able to find it, but he and a young lady named Carina (Kaya Scodelario), who has a rather famous parent herself, are leading the pack to find Jack to find the object if none (or all) of the others don’t find him first.

It is amazing that a fifth movie in the franchise movie has just been released. Time has flown by so fast since we set out on this journey. This movie relates back to the original film, and as such, it is a lot better, in my opinion, than some of the other sequels. The story is really simple, but the effects are getting better and better as each film develops. Technology is pretty advanced today, and they have learned to bring the CGI in, but it a way that is not obtrusive, without ruining the effort. It’s hardly noticeable most of the time, until you realize you are looking at a ghost shark that is nothing but a skeleton, or a sunken ship that somehow rises and floats along without much structure at all, mostly holes. The action is exciting and practically non-stop, but the story is solid enough to keep our interest in what is going on. I was very impressed with this movie, and I was glad I saw it on opening day on a BIG screen in a reclining chair with a huge bucket of popcorn with my Diet Coke. The sound was awesome, and the 2+ hours flew by so fast I forgot to get bored. I highly recommend this film as probably the biggest film of the summer and a great way to spend the holiday weekend. Be sure to see this film in the theater. It’s worth every penny!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog