Archive for August, 2017

K. JAM Media, Persistent Entertainment, Vocal Yokels,

Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Catherine Keener, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, James Brolin

Alice Eckle (Jessica Biel) is a waitress in a small town. She is dating a policeman Scott (James Marsden) who has decided to propose to her. But a freak accident leaves her with a nail embedded in her skull inbedded into the brain. When she arrives at the hospital for emergency surgery, once the doctor (Bill Hader) learns she has no insurance, he throws her out. Alice sees a commercial for a junior senator, Howard Birdwell (Jake Gyllenhaal), so she heads off to Washington with the idea for a new bill to provide emergency health care for anyone who does not have insurance. But life in the Capitol is not at all what she expected, and she finds some very interesting effects of having a nail in your brain. Things get very complicated right very soon.

This is a movie that has bubbling in my queue for a couple years. I finally got enough “Very Long Wait(s) in front of it that it popped up in my mailbox. This is a light and funny film, with lots of decent characters. WIth the likes of Beverly D’angelo, Kirstie Alley, Tracy Morgan, and more, there’s plenty of funny stuff going on. This is a really weird movie as it’s really a morality play about the government and the dirty tricks, lies, and schemes that go on. There are some problems that held this movie back. A lot of it is a little silly. Well maybe I’d say a lot silly. A bunch of the jokes fall pretty flat, and many of the characters seem to be cardboard cutouts. I was entertaining, but not all that enticing. I wasn’t blown away with it, and I have a really hard time recommending this movie, but if you’re so inclined, it does a few decent moments, as long as you have nothing better to do.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Scott Free Productions, TSG Entertainment,

Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Amy Seimetz, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England, Uli Latukefu, Benjamin Rigby, James Franco, Guy Pearce, Noomi Rapace

It’s been nearly a dozen years since the disaster struck original journey failed and was lost, a deep-space ship is on it’s way to a distant planet with over 2,000 colonists, in order to populate this new world. Mid journey, however, Walter (Michael Fassbender) a robot who is manning the ship while everyone is in hibernation decides it’s necessary to wake up the crew because of an emergency. When they are about ready to head back to sleep, they intercept a message from a closer planet that seems really habitable. Thinking it might save them a lot of time, they decide to head there, only to learn it’s a huge trap and what started out as a colony mission has now turned into a search and rescue mission with heavy casualties.

I must admit that I have never been a fan of the Alien movies. I saw them when they came out, and I admit they were pretty scary and all, but I just never got involved in the story. When this sequel came out, I was not all that excited to see it, so I waited for it to come out on DVD> That may have been a big mistake, as this was a surprisingly good movie. This movie is very Star Trek-ky, but much more intense. The story was very solid and really kept me glued to the screen. I found the action to be very exciting, the battles were really good, and the level of suspense is set to vary high! I was very pleased with this film, and I thought it was very well done. The sets were excellent, and the planet was beautiful, and ugly at the same time, and though the ending was telegraphed a mile away. it still was enjoyable from start to finish. Fassbender stole this movie, but you’ll see why when you watch it. If you like sci-fi that is very suspenseful and mighty scary, you should watch this one. I actually enjoyed this sequel more than any of the other films in the series, really.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Alloy Entertainment, Itaca Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),

Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Ana de la Reguera, Taylor Hickson, Anika Noni Rose, Peter Benson

Madeline Whittier (Amandla Stenberg) has a very rare and severe immune deficiency issue that requires that she live in a sterile room, sealed from the outside. She lives with her Mother, Pauline (Anika Noni Rose) who is a nurse and with her caretaker Nurse Carla (Ana de la Reguera) during the day when her mother is at the hospital. When a new family moves in next door however, Maddy who is now 16, is smitten by the boy Olly (Nick Robinson) who lives next door. The two become friends which makes life in the bubble unbearable for Maddy as she tries to figure out if one moment of freedom is worth risking her life.

This was a really cute film, with lots of heartbreaking moments. This couple is doomed from the start, but we can’t help but root for a happy ending. The performances here were really good, and it was a nice ride watching this story. Maddy and Olly do a really good job, and it’s got it’s funny moments, and heartbreaking moments, and lots of suspense as well. The music is really good too. This is a bit better than your typical Lifetime Made-for-TV movie, but in the same vein, perhaps. IT is touching and inspiring, and I found it very entertaining. I can’t help but give it a thumbs up as a nice film for teens and sensitive adults. Great job guys.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), Media Rights Capital (MRC), Imagine Entertainment,

Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Jackie Earle Haley, Dennis Haysbert, Abbey Lee, Nicholas Hamilton, Katheryn Winnick, José Zúñiga, Ben Gavin, Michael Barbieri

Jake (Tom Taylor) is an usual young man. He has vivid dreams of a large tower in the center of the universe that is under attack, and he knows something terrible will happen if it is destroyed. He also sees a Man in Black, Walter (Matthew McConaughey) who is out to destroy it. But he also dreams of a man who is out to fight the Man in Black, Roland (Idris Elba), aka. The Gunslinger, who is out to destroy Walter and wave the universe. It turns out that Jake may have an imp9ortant role in stabilizing the universe and saving everything from a horrible ending.

This movie is based on a series of books by Stephen King, so I knew going in it was going to be a bit weird. It was a rather tough concept to fathom, but once you get into the action part of the movie, and get past the long setup, thing really start to click. I enjoyed this movie a lot, and seeing Matthew McConaughey as the ultimate villain here was quite a treat. It turns out he never says, Alright, Alright, Alright, and he is very un-Matthew McConaughey. Truth is, this may be my favorite role I have ever seen him play. Idris Elba is also very impressive as Gunslinger, and he’s awesome as always. But I thought Tom taylor did a really good job playing his role, and it made the whole movie. Special effects are very well done, and it’s an impressive story. All in all, this movie really clicks, and I really enjoyed it a lot. I can recommend this for all ages, as it’s a great story for young and old. Well, maybe not the real little kids who might get scared of some of the action scenes. All in all, this is a good movie and I recommend it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Bron Studios, Escape Artists, MACRO,

Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Jovan Adepo, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Mele

Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) and his wife Rose (Viola Davis) struggle to survive in the Hill District in Pittsburgh in the 1950’s. Troy works as a trash man in the city, and brings his pay home to his wife to struggle through another week. Troy is a harsh man, having had a very rough childhood without a father, then spending a stint in prison for being stupid, and now trying to make a go of it for his family. But his older son is estranged and doesn’t come home, and his youngest son has a passion for football and has a planned scholarship for college as a football player. But everything blows up, as the problems mount faster than Troy can deal with them, as it all comes crashing down in a thunderous climax.

This film got a lot of honors during last season’s awards season, and this is probably the best film of 2016 in my book. This is a film that I really wanted to see in the theater, but was never able to pull it off. Then when it came out on DVD, I had it at the top of my queue on the day it was released. NetFlix has been playing games lately where they will send you one less than the number of free items in you queue and make you wait an extra day for the last one. Due to that, Fences ended up on the “Long Wait” game, so I decided rather than going out to RedBox or to rent this ON DEMAND, I would keep it at the top of the queue and see how well NetFlix could do at getting a movie I really wanted to see. Months have gone by and I finally got it this week. This was really worth the wait. One of the lines in the movie is something like: “Some people build fences to keep people out, but some people build them to keep people in.” This movie is called Fences for two reasons. One is the fence that Troy has always been promising to build, but it’s also a metaphor for Troy’s family and how he is losing them while he’s trying to hold him. This film reminded me a lot of the classic “Raising in the Sun” and is a very touching and well performed film about the trials and tribulations facing poor people back in the 50’s that will ring true today. It is very dramatic, and has a lot of dialog, but is very well portrayed. Growing up in Western Pa in the 1950’s myself, I was able to understand the feel of the movie. It’s very Pittsburgh. The entire cast is superb, and there is a lot of harsh reality, but a lot of tenderness underneath that is hard to show. This is an excellent film, and a wonderful story that is very much worth the praise heaped on it. This one should have swept the Oscars, and it was robbed when it didn’t. I recommend you watch this one!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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