Ed's Review Dot Com

Music Box Films,

Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, Renan Ozturk, Jon Krakauer

Meru is a mountain in India. Not the highest, but perhaps one of the most difficult. At the top is a place called the Shark’s Fin which is virtually straight up, and very smooth. It’s probably the most difficult because it has all kinds of climbing. Due to the extreme altitude, all the high altitude equipment must be hauled up, but you not only have to climb the wall, you have all types of climbing to cross, so it takes a lot of equipment with no Sherpa to carry your stuff. These three expert, world renown climbers made the incredibly intense climb and filmed it so we can experience everything along with them.

This is another breathtaking film on the mountain. This documentary also contains a lot of background information about the people involved including their families. This is a unique film because it was done by the climbers themselves and they bring their own personalities into the film. There is something unique about these folks that are constantly pulled to the mountain and have to test their survivor skills over and over again for no great compensation. They just can’t seem to stop. These are the very best, and this movie is really interesting. It’s the closest I’ve come to real climbing myself.

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Lionsgate, Grindstone Entertainment Group, Gold Star Films,

J.D. Evermore, Joely Richardson, Bryce Romero, Aiden Flowers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rachel Whitman Groves, Carsen Flowers, Douglas M. Griffin, Dana Gourrier, Abigail Breslin, Jodie Moore, Raeden Greer, Laura Cayouette

A zombie apocalypse has struck the town, and tough father Wade Vogel’s (Arnold Schwarzenegger) beloved daughter Maggie (Abigail Breslin) has been infected. She realizes the danger she is to her family, so she runs off, but is captured and being held in a quarantine facility. Wade sets out to find her, and is able to persuade the town leaders to allow him to bring her home to care for her, but if she gets worse and becomes a danger to the family, he has to either bring her in to the quarantine center where she’ll be killed, or take care of it himself. But Wade is unable to accept the truth, that Maggie is serious trouble, and spends his time in denial until everything comes to a crashing climax.

This is an unusual science fiction movie that cares more about the characters than the horror. Most zombie films are all about the danger and the gore, and the chase to keep away from the monsters. This film is quite different, as the zombie disease is secondary to the feelings and pain that the family goes through, and that Maggie goes through as she loses herself little by little, but is somehow aware of the tragedy that is falling upon her and her family. It’s very touching and very moving and a very different zombie movie than you’ve ever seen before. Done with a minuscule budget, if not for the backing of Arnold who once he saw the script, knew it was meant for him created sort of a new career for the former Governor of California. As he says in his interview, there is no way he would have ever accepted this role in his younger days when success was measured in the number of kills and the size and quantity of big guns. But he has changed too as he’s matured and has a family or two of his own. He was so touched by the script, that he jumped all in and without his backing this probably could not have been made. As it is, it’s a very touching story with great emotional scenes that make you go through a whole range of emotions. Arnold was good, but so was Abigail who played a very difficult role and nailed it exceptionally. This movie was well worth the time I spent watching it, and though it’s mostly unheard of, it’s well worth looking out for it. Excellent.

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Just One More Productions, Exit Strategy Productions,

Joel Hogan, Megan Peta Hill, Josh Potthoff, Pete Valley

Three friends have a dream to be accepted for a survivor-like reality show, but they have to submit a video showing how well they work together, and that they are up for adventure. They decide to travel to Australia to visit a friend they haven’t seen since they were children, and to film themselves doing a dive in a shark tank surrounded by hungry sharks. But when a disaster happens to their ship, the three find themselves floating alone in shark filled waters waiting for some good luck in the way of a rescue from their dark situation.

This is the third, obviously, in the serious of Open Water movies. I have seen all three of these, although the only review I have written is for Open Water 2 [Click Here for Ed’s Review]. It’s hard to believe that the first one was in 2004, 13 years ago before Ed’s Review was even a thought. The first one was a very startling and interesting film, but actually Open Water 2 was even better. This third installment was one too many, perhaps, and I found a bit disappointing. After the successful suspense of Open Water 2, this one took to the “found footage” gimmick which doesn’t really work. That’s because they can’t possibly show everything from the point of view of one single camera, so they constantly cheat by throwing in other shots and we’re supposed to try to figure out who filmed it, and where the film came from. The whole back story of kids wanting to be on reality tv, and then ending up in a found footage flick is hard to swallow. The acting is not very solid, and the chemistry between these three is very ho-hum. Over in 80 minutes flat, it’s still plenty long for you to get bored with it and wish it to be over. IT does follow the format, somewhat, of the trilogy, but does come up a little short. Personally, I wish I had passed on this one as it wasn’t worth the time invested, and is especially a letdown after the last one. Choose “47 Meters Down” instead of this one, and you’ll enjoy it a lot more, in my opinion.

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2 Wolves Films, Strings of Films,

Josh Duhamel, Maria Bello, Laura Dern, Lucas Till, Kherington Payne, Tom Everett Scott, Jae Head, Sharlene Taulé

Very young, but popular N.Y.C. DJ Alex (Josh Duhamel) is on top of the world, but doesn’t realize how good he has it. Living with his single mom, Annie (Laura Dern) who has substance abuse problem herself, so Alex has the run of his life. But when an accidental overdose puts him in the hospital, his mother figures she can’t take care of him anymore, and has the court send him to live with his estranged father that he has never known in rural, very small town. He’s forced by the court to have a one hour weekly meeting with a local psychiatrist/parole officer. Alex doesn’t fit in very well, but finds he is a bit of a star to the local kids, and finds a way to fit in by assisting their school dance team with their music. In the meantime, he has to learn how to deal with his demons, and those that are out to get him while learning to fit in a whole new world much different that what he’s used to.

I found that this was a pretty decent film, and had the feel of a lot of the popular hip hop dance movies out there, crossed with the cheerleader movies, but with a mostly male point of view which made it quite a bit different. There are really good performances in this film. Josh Duhamel is very good as the troubled boy learning to be a better version on himself. Lucas Till is also very good knowing that he has his own demons, but trying to help in a most unusual way. Laura Dern is a good actress, but unfortunately doesn’t have much to do in this movie. That’s a shame, but she adds a lot to the part she is in. Perhaps the weakest part of the movie is that it is obvious where it is going, and there just aren’t many surprises, but it was still an interesting film to watch. The characters were well developed, the messages were loud and clear, and it was a chance to root for a stunning change in Alex’s life as he really deserved it. This film is rated R, honestly because of the drug use and one scene that was rather explicit, but was a good film for late teens and young adults who will identify with the characters in this story and will probably enjoy it very much. With the excellent cast, it’s worth giving it a whirl.

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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.

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