Ed's Review Dot Com

American Zoetrope, FR Productions,

Colin Farrell, Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, Oona Laurence, Angourie Rice, Addison Riecke, Emma Howard, Wayne Pére

Corporal John McBurney is a Union soldier in the last stages of the Civil War who was injured, but lay dying in a forest from his wounds. He’s found by a little girl who brings him to where she lives, an all girl school run by Miss Martha (Nicole Kidman) and the teacher, Edwina (Kirsten Dunst). Miss Martha does her best to patch him up, but as he begins to make a recovery, whether to turn him over to the Confederates as a prisoner or to allow him to recover in the Virginia Mansion becomes a hard question, especially when he’s the only man in a house filled with females. Trouble is sure to follow.

I got to see an early screening of this film on July 4th, and my wife has been very anxious to see it after seeing the previews. I had no knowledge of the 1971 Clint Eastwood version of this film, and it looked like a really decent period romantic drama set in a southern plantation during the war. But as the movie started and the name Sofia Coppola, Director scroll across the screen as feeling of dread struck me in the gut. I turned to my wife (There were only about 5 of us all together in the theater) and whispered, “Oh no!” Dear Sofia has ruined a great many good stories, and this was wasn’t any different. What a terrible disappointment. With such an amazing cast, Colin Farrell, Nichole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, there is tons of talent. The concept of a Union soldier recuperating in a southern mansion filled with women and girls is a great concept, but nothing much develops. I don’t know if there’s nothing in the script, or if it’s just really, really bad editing that makes this such a boring film, but it’s a major bore. The Confederate soldiers show up a couple times with a bunch of kids and a Union deserter hiding out and NOTHING happens. Then the end is extremely unsatisfying with a big dramatic setup for the finish that fizzles out like a dud. There is some hope that something major is going to occur in the ending, but it’s such a soft pedal that it’s completely unworthy of the story. This is a really sad missed opportunity and a real mess of a movie. I have a feeling that this movie, when it finally is released, is going to fizzle just like the ending of the film. all in all, from now on I’m going to stay far away from anything directed by this person. I was really disappointed. I’m going to try to find the 1971 film, to see what was done with the story on that attempt, and if I can find it, I will let you know if it suffers with the same problems that the remake has, but I can hardly think it could be any worse. . I recommend that you skip this one!

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Treehouse Pictures, Aversano Films, What If It Barks Films,

Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Jessica Lucas, Alysia Reiner, Josh Pais, Emily Meade, Mackenzie Davis, Tina Benko

Jason (Zac Efron) has three close friends, Daniel (Miles Teller) and Mikey (Micahel B. Jordan). Jason is a bit of a player, but when he is dumped he and his buddies make a pact that they will not get involved with anyone, but simply play the field. But it becomes difficult to keep their promise as all three meet their own perfect girl while trying to pretend it didn’t happen.

This romantic comedy is really more of a bromance film as really most of the story is about the three guys. This is a very predictable story and certainly will feel familiar. It’s an ok film, and I didn’t hate it at all, but just felt it is not really worth the effort. Unless you’re a big fan of the actors here, I bet Zac has a lot of fans out there, it’s probably a waste of time seeking this one out. On the other hand, though, it is available on cable, and you might catch it on TV for free like I did. In that case, it’s not all that bad a way to burn 90minutes or so.

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Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world famous neurosurgeon. But when he is in an auto accident, he finds he has lost the use of his hands for surgery, so he’s willing to go through anything to regain the use of his hands. Once he is introduced to The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) he learns that there is more to the universe than what he can see, and he becomes her student to take her place as leader of the spiritual universe.

This is another in the string of new Disney made Marvel Studios pictures. This one I did not care for in the least. Not only is the formula exactly the same as all the others, but I particularly did not like the Doctor Strange character. Dr. House plays a grumpy old M.D. on TV, but we all know he has a good heart underneath the gruff exterior. But Strange is so freaking obnoxious that I pretty much cheered against him throughout the whole film. The special effects are pretty, but it’s done way better in Inception. Basically Dr. Strange is annoying and an extreme narcissist. The Ancient One is a cocky little sucker, and the bad guys are not really bad, and who knows what all the point is to all this. Basically I found it very minimally enjoyable, and I wished I had skipped this one. They are running these stories into the ground, and this was one of the worst of the lot. Enough superheroes. Let’s find some good stories to tell like we used to have. TV is looking better all the time.

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Annapurna Pictures, Archer Gray, Modern People,

Annette Bening, Elle Fanning, Greta Gerwig, Lucas Jade Zumann, Billy Crudup

The late seventies in Santa Barbara, California finds Dorothea (Annette Benning) as a forward thinking single mother raising her child of the sixties, teen Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) who is struggling to become a man. Dorothea feels unprepared to offer him her advice so she calls upon two women of different generations, Julie (Elle Fanning) and Abbie (Greta Gerwig) to train him in how to be a man and to resolve his issues.

This is a very slow moving story. It’s a lot about feminism told from a male point of view, I guess, and it develops really slowly and somewhat pointlessly as it plods along. Somehow I felt like the writer had something to say, but just couldn’t get it together. Some people (mostly ladies I presume) really seemed to enjoy this film, but I found it to be over the top boring. We watched as everyone’s life unraveled but without any real point. In the end, everyone goes their way, and we are none the richer for it. Elle Fanning was really good and did a great job. The rest of the cast was adequate. It’s just that it was such a weird story that went nowhere. I didn’t enjoy this movie very much, so I suggest you skip it.

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DreamWorks Animation

Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Russell Brand, Gwen Stefani, James Corden, Ron Funches, Kunal Nayyar, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Cleese, Zooey Deschanel, Christine Baranski

A race of sad, grumpy creatures called Bergens have never had happiness. But there is a race of treasure trolls that live nearby, and when one of the Bergens ate a Troll, he felt happy, so the Bergens started a tradition of eating trolls on a holiday called Trollstice, the only day that they could experience happiness. This year the young prince is scheduled to taste his first Troll, but when he tastes it he finds it’s fake, and the real Trolls have escaped. The Bergens want to find the Trolls to bring them back, but the Trolls are running for their lives to find freedom from this awful holiday.

This is an animated film from Dreamworks, the team that brought us the Shrek movies, but this story based on the toys kids used to have called Treasure Trolls is not another Shrek, unfortunately. This is a dark story that even little kids will understand that the monsters are EATING the trolls. This is really a bit dark, and there is no real interesting story that keeps the adult interest either, so I didn’t find it very good. I think perhaps they were out after the audience of middle aged adults that would remember these toys and look back with a fond remembrance of them to pull in an audience, but even as a rental, this movie had not oomph. They have a marvelous cast, and it’s kind of a shame, but it just did not ever get off the ground for me. A lot like the smurfs, but with much less story power and nobody eats the Smurfs. All in all I thought it was a bust, and not worth the rental. I could be wrong, and there could be an age of older children, especially boys who could find this cool, but for the most part, I don’t think the kids are going to like this very much either. Wait for something better to assault them with. Skip this.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog