Archive for September, 2017

Paulilu Productions, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE),

Scarlett Johansson, Kate McKinnon, Jillian Bell, Ilana Glazer, Zoƫ Kravitz, Paul W. Downs, Dean Winters, Demi Moore, Colton Haynes, Ty Burrell, Karan Soni, Natalie Gold

Jess (Scarlett Johansson) is running for office and highly involved in the campaign, much to the chagrin of her fiance. But since she’s about to be married, her college friends put together a bachelorette party in Miami that is bound to be way over the top. These four plus one, Jess’ new friend Pippa (Kate McKInnon) from Australia is along for the party. Drugs, drinking, dancing, are just getting started when Alice (Jillian Bell), Jess’ freshman roommate accidentally kills the stripper, they make the fatal decision to hide the body to give them time to think. From that point everything goes off the rails as things get worse and worse all night in this raucous prenuptial dark comedy.

This is a fun romp that is just like a zillion others. That is the down side of this film, but on the upside it is filled with really good performances. If you had told me Kate McKinnon of SNL could play a whole feature film in an Australian accent, I wouldn’t have expected much, but it is hysterical. She really is pretty good at it. Jillian Bell is one of the funniest comediennes I have ever seen, and she was really good at this role that usually goes to Melissa McCarthy or Rebel Wilson, but she was really perfect for the maid of honor role here. The story is predictable, but still fun to watch and certainly there are plenty of laughs to go around here. This is a funny film, probably not worth a $13.00 movie ticket, but well worth a rental fee. I enjoyed this movie and it’s a good female Hangover type film that is fun from start to end.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Orange Pictures, Shotgun Pictures, Universum Film (UFA),

Susan May Pratt, Richard Speight Jr., Niklaus Lange, Ali Hillis, Cameron Richardson, Eric Dane

Six friends and a baby are in Mexico on a holiday aboard a luxury yacht looking forward to a wonderful time. Amy (Susan May Pratt) and her husband James (Richard Speight Jr.) and their baby Sara have joined Dan (Eric Dane), the reckless one of the group and his new girlfriend Michelle (Cameron Richardson) and their froends Zach (Niklaus Lange) and Lauren (Ali HIlls). They were college friends and are looking to a swell reunion and to celebrate Zach’s 30th birthday. They stop for a dip in the ocean but are soon horrified to learn that through their fooling around, they forgot to lower the ladder and now are trapped on the side of the ship with no way to get back into the boat. Stranded at sea, able to touch the boat, but they may as well be miles away, as with horror, they realize the baby is still on the boat.

There is a series of three Open Water films. The first one was about a couple of people who were part of a scuba diving group that got left behind out in the ocean without any way back in the heavy shark infested waters. Open Water 3 will be released in a few weeks on DVD and is the third installment. I’m looking forward to that one as well, but this 2006 one came and went and I didn’t even realize it, until I saw the 3 on the new one. So I dropped this into my queue on a lark, figuring to catch up on this 2006 film before the new one is released. I was glad I did. This is an independent film, and the only connection to the first film is the ocean. Otherwise, this is a completely different story, and it was rather interesting. Now I suppose that true sailors will find that it’s really silly and that there is a very simple solution to being stranded on the side of your yacht, but I’m not of a nautical nature, so I will just accept that they’re stranded out there. Then comes the questioning of whose fault it is, and what in the world they could do to solve the problem. This is really point of view camera work, and it’s bound to make you think about what you would do if you were in that situation. This is a small film with a basically unknown cast, made by folks who love to make movies, and it shows. The suspense if very good and the movie’s not that long, so it evolves quickly and is a pretty good escape film that allows you to relax and enjoy the ride. This is another hidden gem of a movie that I didn’t even know existed, but the suspense and pure terror of the plight of these folks made it really fun to watch. Give it a try, it’s a good one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 


 

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Mockingbird Pictures, Dominion Pictures,

Bryan Cranston, Jennifer Garner, Jason O’Mara, Beverly D’Angelo, Ian Anthony Dale, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Isaac Leyva, Victoria Bruno, Ellery Sprayberry, Tracey Walter

Howard Wakefield (Bryan Cranston) has a good job, a loving wife in Diana (Jennifer Garner) and two little girls. He lives in the suburbs and it appears like his life is in order, but internally he’s falling apart. One night he follows a racoon up into the little storage room above the garage, and he just snaps. He watches the family from the little window above the garage and just can’t get the gumption to go inside. Finally he falls asleep, and when he wakes in the morning, he decides that going inside now will cause lots of problems explaining where he was all night, so he hangs out. Days turn into weeks and weeks into months as Howard hides out watching to see what will happen to his grieving family. As time passes, the danger of being discovered grows and it gets harder and harder to determine what in the world to do, but his fantasies bloom as he imagines what would happen if he were to return.

This is a dream I imagine most men have had many times. We all daydream about how to disappear off the face of the earth without a trace just to be able to start over again. But it would also be tempting to hide out and simply watch how your family and friends deal with it. Just like Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn hiding out in the balcony and watching their own funeral, I think we’ve all dreamed about that. This is a very unusual movie. Very few characters, and most of the time is dealt inside Howard’s head as he works through his failure in life and what in the world to do get out of the mess he’s made, or if he even wants to get away. Cranston gives this his very best, and he does a great job. Jennifer Garner also pulls all the heart strings as she waits for him long suffering though the whole ordeal. The suspense builds as we know there is no way to get out of this, although I must admit the ending was a bit of a disappointment. But this is a film about the experience, damn the consequences, and not finding out what happens makes the ending more poignant. It makes you think about what would happen if you were discovered, or returned, or simply never went back. It gives us all a lot to think about. There are a few other minor characters that offer a lot to the story, but this is basically a story of Howard and Diana, and it doesn’t stray far from the main story. This was an interesting film, and certainly one I have never heard of before, but found quite entertaining and thought provoking. Another hidden gem of a film. I feel for this guy!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Castle Rock Entertainment, Resnick Interactive Development,

Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Bella Heathcote, J.K. Simmons, Chris Elliot, Allison Janney

Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) was a famous screenwriter who is really down on his luck. His last few movies have bombed, and he can’t find work anywhere. Perhaps this is due to his wife running off with the producer of his hit movie, and taking their son with her, and the excessive drinking that followed. Now as hard as Keith’s agent tries, she can’t find anything for him, until an opportunity to teach writing at a small Northeastern college gives him a chance to to make a few bucks. Keith decides to take it easy, packs his class with really hot girls and a few really ugly guys, starts right off with an affair with the prettiest of his students, and gives the class a month off on the first day. But a single Mom of two girls, Holly Carpenter (Marisa Tomei) trusts him and builds a relationship and guides him to some serious introspection until he can realize that there’s more to his life than the thought. But by the time he figures it out, it’s far too late.

This is a decent Hugh Grant movie about a guy who’s enjoyed success, and lost it, but is a bit of an asshole looking down on the people doing the job he is forced to do by his own screw-ups. This is a really common situation, and the formula is that the guy needs to be cut down a few pegs, and then learn the error of his ways. Well this film really follows that formula to the T. That’s one of the problems as to why it was not a break out success a couple years ago when this came out. What does make this stand out as a video rental or cable movie is the excellent acting throughout. Hugh Grant is as good as we would expect, and this is the kind of role he’s well suited for. But the characters around him are the ones that really make the movie stand out. It’s all in the casting in this case. J.K. Simmons plays the department head who is stuck in a house with five women, his wife and four daughters. The way he plays the love/hate of this awful situation is genius. Allison Janney, on the other hand, is on the ethics committee, a strong harsh woman who is a militant feminist and a bit of a literary snob, who is Grant’s chief protagonist. She is excellent in this role. Meanwhile, the other students and teachers are also well done. Marissa Tomei is really good as the Jiminy Cricket conscience character, and the lovable next door neighbor/co-teacher is very well played by Chris Elliott as well. With a gang like this, it makes it a really interesting adventure made out of a very common formula. I enjoyed this little movie, and the fact that it is like a whole bunch of other movies really didn’t bother me due to the quality of the cast. Though not a very original film, it was worth the wait and this was an enjoyable movie. Give it a shot.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 


 

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