Ed's Review Dot Com

KatzSmith Productions, Lin Pictures, New Line Cinema,

Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Bill Hader, Isaiah Mustafa, Jay Ryan, James Ransone, Andy Bean, Bill Skarsgård, Jaeden Martell, Wyatt Oleff, Jack Dylan Grazer, Finn Wolfhard, Sophia Lillis, Chosen Jacobs, Jeremy Ray Taylor

All of the “Loser’s Club” of Derry, Maine have grown up and moved away except for Mike Hanlon (Isaiah Mustafa) who has stayed in Derry. Mysteriously (at least to me) they have all forgotten about the things that happened, but Mike remembers and has been studying the weird happenings. But suddenly, on queue, 27 years later, young people are beginning to disappear again, and it appears Pennywise (Bill Skarsgard) has returned on schedule. Mike calls every one of the childhood friends and asks them to return to Derry to fight Pennywise once again. All but one return, and the terror of their childhood returns.

This is a sequel to the earlier IT movie from 2017 which was a remake of the original. This is a LONG, LONG movie, the longest horror movie to receive a regular release. In many ways it was interesting to watch, but it did seem to go on and on and on. The horror of the first film wasn’t really there this time, and it was more about the Loser’s Club members crying over how hard their lives have been and how much they want to go back home. Pennywise is hardly in the 3 hours of this film, and when he is, he’s not near as frightening as he once was. We have to sit though all the angst of the characters one by one as they self reflect and try to remember the past and how they screwed up both back then and today in their lives. It’s a psychological drama piece more than a horror film. And did it say it goes on and on and on? I was rather disappointed in this sequel and really feel like it wasn’t necessary to make this. It seems a lot self serving for the author and the producers to do this, and it seems like they pushed the cash cow a bit too far. I wasn’t really impressed with it and can’t really recommend it. I mean, if you watch a lot of movies, and have the time to spend on this thing then it’s probably worth it to see how the story progresses, but I don’t feel like it was really that good to invest the time into this. I would suggest you just skip it, unless you’re really interested, or really bored, either one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Skydance Media, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Fosun Group Forever Pictures,

Will Smith, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Clive Owen, Benedict Wong, Douglas Hodge, Ralph Brown, Linda Emond, Ilia Volok, E.J. Bonilla, Victor Hugo, David Shae, Theodora Miranne, Diego Adonye, Lilla Banak, Igor Szasz

Henry Brogan (Will Smith) is a crack hired assassin who is the best in the world, working for undercover government operatives and sent on missions all over the world. He is simply the most outstanding sharpshooter in the world. But when Henry wants to retire, he suddenly finds himself being hunted by a younger assassin who seems to anticipate his every move. As he falls deeper into the shadows, he learns that the fellow hunting him is a much younger version of himself, who was cloned from his DNA a few decades ago just for the possibility that he might someday be too old to continue.

This action film is, unfortunately, the usual rogue agent fighting an evil government group who has gone bad and who are trying to kill him rather than bringing him in. This is a common theme on these types of films. (Think of all the Jason Bourne films for example.) But this is a bit unique as Will gets to play both roles with the help of a lot of special effects. Junior (Henry’s clone) is really creepy to look at sometimes. This film had a long, long time in the works being made, and many other actors were attached to the project before Will eventually got it. It might have been a different movie with one of the other actors, but Will actually didn’t do bad in this film. If anything, it failed to really dig into the real motives behind the decisions made by the characters, and though Junior had been lied to, he didn’t really react too reasonably when faced with the truth of the situation. The action sequences were outstanding and the chases, crashed, and explosions were stunning, but it was a bit shallow. Still, it didn’t come out that bad, and was a really decent movie to watch. All I’m saying is that with a few tweaks, it could have been better, but it still works. It is a good example of this secret agent type of drama, and has all the necessary parts. Maybe it’s not necessary to run out and see this for $15.00 a ticket, but I would definitely see this as a rental down the line. Will Smith did a good job here, and he didn’t have either of his kids in the movie to his credit (except for Jaden’s song in the soundtrack). All in all a decent action flick and worth the effort to see.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

BRON Studios, Creative Wealth Media Finance, DC Comics,

Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Shea Whigham, Bill Camp, Glenn Fleshler, Leigh Gill, Josh Pais, Rocco Luna, Marc Maron, Sondra James, Murphy Guyer, Douglas Hodge

Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a very poor man, living in a run down tenement in Gotham City with his aged mother Penny Fleck (Frances Conroy). He makes a few bucks any way he can, working as a clown trying to sell product or to entertain children. But Arthur’s dream is to be a standup comedian. His idol is Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro) who is the late night talk show host on Gotham TV. But things are not easy for Arthur, and things keep going from bad to worse. His social worker (Arthur definitely has mental issues) is taken away during budget cuts, and when Arthur loses his job, there is not much left to live for. An odd turn of events makes Arthur take on his alternate ego of “Joker” and things looks very bleak for his future.

This is a stunning film. It is not at all pretty, and is very caustic and violent at every turn. It will turn your stomach as you realize the crap a poor man in Gotham has to go through just to survive, and this is the background story of the arch-enemy of Batman, The Joker. We see what made him turn into the deranged villain he was, and we also learn a lot of what we though was true was actually not what happened at all. This film was extremely coarse, but very, very well done. I was stunned at the performance Joaquin turned in here, and I think he’s looking at a great number of awards this season! This has to be nominated as the best performance by a lead actor. It’s really that good. The film is excellent, and has some excellent performances, but Joaquin steals the show and is extremely outstanding. I was deeply moved by this film, and I personally think it was an amazing experience to see this movie that is simply based on one character out of the batman series. This really helped me to understand Joker, and I will certainly not soon forget it. I didn’t expect much when I went to see this film, but I was really touched. I recommend this to anyone who can handle the extreme violence and the very sad things that happened to this poor fellow. I will never think of Jack Nicholson again when I think of Joker. Joaquin was THAT GOOD!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Roth Films, Walt Disney Pictures,

Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Harris Dickinson, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sam Riley, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ed Skrein, Robert Lindsay, David Gyasi, Jenn Murray, Juno Temple, Lesley Manville, Imelda Staunton, Judith Shekoni

Maleficent: Mistress of Evil is the sequel to the 2014 film Maleficent. You can read my review of that film here:. Aurora (Elle Fanning) is now ready to be married to her true love, Prince Philip (Harris Dickinson) and the hope is that with the marriage of the Aurora who was raised by Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) and Philip who was raised by his mother, the Queen (Michelle Pfeiffer) that the two kingdoms can be united (The human world and the world of the faeries), and that there can finally be peace. But when the king is struck by another curse, it appears that the split between the worlds cannot be healed and all out war is the only option.

This is a very strong follow up to the original film, and it still follows the same story line of the first film which is somewhat different than the fairy tale we thought we knew. As in the first film, there is no pure good or pure evil and life is a lot more complicated that that. Again this story is Angelina’s film, and though both Michelle and Elle turn in fine performances, again Angelina is truly the star and it’s her movie! She is well prepared to carry the film and in this movie she really shines, even more than in the first. There are really great war scenes in this film, and yet there is a lot of laugh out loud humor and it’s bound to be spell binding for both young and old. This is truly and awesome performance and it is very well done. The imagery is spectacular, and the minor characters are outstanding (and very cute) and some tributes to the original film (both the animated and the first Maleficent film) are really good. The special effects and CGI are outstanding, and this is a film well worth watching on the big screen! I am including the extended trailer for your enjoyment:

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Mythology Entertainment, Vinson Films,

Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Czerny, Andie MacDowell, Melanie Scrofano, Kristian Bruun, Nicky Guadagni, Elyse Levesque, John Ralston, Liam MacDonald, Ethan Tavares, Hanneke Talbot, Celine Tsai, Daniela Barbosa

Grace (Samara Weaving) is a young bride who finds out on her wedding day that her ultra rich in-laws have a custom that anyone who joins the family must play a game on their wedding night due to an ancient curse from generations ago. Anyone who doesn’t play the game will die and the rest of the family will die as well. Unfortunately Grace picks the “Hide and Seek” game which turns into a deadly hunt to find and destroy her before dawn. What follows is an intense and suspenseful blood bath, literally!

This brand new film is rather unique, although similar in style so some older familiar movies, but this one has a ton of comedy mixed in with the horror that makes it a unique and an enjoyable experience. Samara Weaving steals the show and is excellent in this role, and the rest of the cast is a collection of misfits that make it a very strange family, indeed. You would never realize that Samara is actually Australian since she plays an American perfectly. I found the suspense to be not quite as intense as I would have liked, but I did really enjoy the funny parts quite a bit. All in all, it was very captivating, and it was really hard to predict what would happen next. There are some really nice touches in the film, including the quirky “Hide and Seek Song” that is played a couple times in the film. All in all, this is a really quirky film that was really fun to watch, so I do recommend it. It reminds me of the movie “Clue” in many ways due to the fun to be had in watching people get wiped out. Additionally, this is one where you want to see it as soon as possible as there are some surprises in this film that you don’t want to be tipped off in advance for sure. Have a fun time and go see it while it’s still in theaters!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog