Ed's Review Dot Com

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday August 22, 2017

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• Scales: Mermaids are Real
• Showing Roots

Amazon Studios, Big Indie Pictures, Picrow,

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Cena, Laith Nakli

Matthews (John Cena) is a crack sniper, and Issac (Aaron taylor-Johnson) is his spotter. They have been called out by the pipeline contractors for assistance when an Iraqi sniper is picking them off. The boys can’t tell if they were attacked by a sniper or someone else, but they patiently and cautiously watch for any movement that there could be a sniper. Finally Matthews gets tired of waiting and heads out to examine the body when he finds out that it was a sniper and he’s still hiding out there. Isaac tries to help but gets pinned behind a crumbling wall with the sniper somewhere out there on the other side of wall. Matthews has been severely hurt, but Isaac tries to contact the base on the radio to ask for help, but he finds out the voice on the radio is not the headquarters, but actually the other sniper who is playing him. Now he’s pinned behind a way without any water, and the two are playing mind games with each other in a long drawn out cat and mouse game.

This a very dramatic film, but many will completely hate it. As for myself, I really loved it. There is a lot going on here but it’s all mind games. The sniper is very devious, and has figured out a way to lure people into his trap, just like Isaac and Matthews were caught. There are only two characters, plus the voice on the radio, and the location for the entire film is one little spot behind the wall in the desert. But there are so many levels of thinking and planning going on here, and it was a puzzle just waiting to put together. This really felt realistic, and it was a very suspenseful. I really enjoyed the story, and was very glad I watched it. Don’t expect “The Battle of the Bulge” here, it’s not an action movie. It’s very thought provoking though, and will give you a lot to think about.

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Pantelion Films, 3Pas Studios,

Eugenio Derbez, Salma Hayek, Rob Lowe, Kristen Bell, Raquel Welch, Rob Corddry, Rob Riggle, Raphael Alejandro, Mckenna Grace, Rob Huebel, Linda Lavin, Michaela Watkins, Michael Cera

Maximo (Eugenio Derbez) figures out early in life that working is not for him. He wants to be a gigolo and have rich women take care of him. But when his wealthy widow, Millicent (Linda Lavin) throws him out when she falls for a younger guy, Maximo is out. With no where to go he sets off to his sister Sara (Salma Hayek) to move in with her. But he soon sets his eye on another catch, Celeste (Raquel Welch) but he’s going to have to work really hard because he has some competition, and he’s not getting any younger.

This is a light and breezy Latin comedy, but I didn’t find it overwhelmingly funny. Yeah, the jokes are there, but it feels like most of it are inside jokes and you’re not in on the jokes. I suspect Latin folks would really enjoy this, mostly because they probably know someone like Max and Sara and can really relate. It was okay, and I suspect it was entertaining enough. I didn’t really get into it a lot, and I can’t highly recommend this, but it’s not really that bad. Rent it if you want. There are a lot of surprise guest shots in the movie, and it’s kind of fun to see them and try to figure out who they are.

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Michael Mailer Films, AMPM Enterprises, Tremendous Entertainment (II),

Alec Baldwin, Demi Moore, Dylan McDermott, Viva Bianca, James McCaffrey, Eden Epstein, John Buffalo Mailer, Steven Prescod

Mark Dutchman (Dylan McDermott) is a hot shot businessman who is in big trouble for some shady dealings and is facing quite a stint in prison. His wife Suzanne (Demi Moore) had no idea what was going on, but was pulled in and assigned to perform public service or be thrown into jail like her husband. Bill Oakland (Alec Baldwin) is a top bestselling author who was at the top of his game when a terrible auto accident cost him his wife, and his site. Now blind, he relies on volunteers to read to him so that he can keep up with his work. Suzanne is assigned to him, and she simply cannot stand the guy. But if she refuses him, she will have to go to prison, so she decides to make the best of it. During the time they spend with each other, she is able to look closely into her life and see how empty it is. As spoiled, manipulative, and downright disagreeable as Bill is, though, the more time she spends with him, the more she realizes there is a place in her life that he can fill. But when Mark manipulates the system and gets out of jail, a huge confrontation is on the horizon.

This is a fairly interesting concept, and certainly Alex Baldwin, as much as it hurts me to admit it, did a pretty decent job playing Bill. I think Demi’s part could have been better cast, and there certainly are a lot better choices for Mark than Dylan McDermott, but the basic concept wasn’t bad. I think the thing that hurt this movie the most was the slow pacing. It felt like a stage play, as a lot of it simply took place in the reading room and there were long retrospective monologues without a lot of stuff going on. Another missed opportunity with a pretty decent concept that isn’t executed very well. Though it’s not a horrible movie, a few improvements may have made all the difference. This film was more of a disappointment and is probably not worth the time to invest in it unless seeing Demi Moore in her underwear for no reasonable purpose is your thing. I would suggest giving this one a pass.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

ChubbCo Film, Blackbird, Code Red,

Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Adepero Oduye

Former Teacher Paul (Steve Coogan) and his wife Claire (Laura Linney) meet for a very fancy dinner with his older brother, politician Stan Lohman (Richard Gere) and his wife. But there is another reason for the meeting and it’s not social. Their children have committed a horrible crime that has the city in an uproar, as it was caught on a security camera. But the kids have not yet been identified, so the problem is for the parents to decide what to do about it. How far are they willing to go to protect their kids, and what is the truth about the event? Was it a stupid mistake, an evil deed, beyond their control, or something that just got a little out of control. There is a lot to think about and a lot to decide, and the four people have four different opinions on what to do.

This is another example of a great story gone to waste. As this started out, I really expected it to be an interesting movie, but boy was I disappointed. The longer this movie went on, the more boring it went. The story is that the writer of the novel would not even attend the premier because he was so disappointed with the way the film was made. I wish I had skipped this one. The actors are really talented, and I don’t really know why this failed so bad for me. It just never got rolling and it was really dreary. I wanted to smack them all as time went on. I’m not sure if it was the screenplay or the directing, or what, but it simply didn’t work. Worst film I have seen n long, long time. Skip this one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog