Ed's Review Dot Com

Felt Films, Taggart Productions, Votiv Films,

Mercy Malick, Jordi Vilasuso, Zachary James Rukavina, Kaiwi Lyman, Allegra Masters, Kevin Sheridan, Michael Nardelli, Michael McLafferty, Matt Corboy, Julie Benz, Autumn Federici, Sara Sanderson, John Edward Lee, Cesar Garcia, Lawrence Kao, Lisa Pelikan, Carter Jenkins, Molly Jackson

Fifty random people wake up inside a huge dark room with circles on the floor, one for each person to stand on. If they step off the circle, they are struck dead instantly. But as they stand on their circle, a ticking starts every two minutes and one of them is struck dead. Pretty soon they figure out that each person can wave their hands to select the person they vote for to die next, but no one can see any markers but their own, and you cannot vote for yourself. As the figure out the secrets, they begin to get to know the other people in the circle and just like a survivor episode, they try to work out what characteristics make the best choice to kill next. There are many different kinds of people, different races, different occupations, men, women, and children, and different ages. Does age matter? Should the women and children be protected, or are the oldest ones who have lived the longest first to go? There are many views and prejudices, but in the end, is it more about playing the others to protect yourself?

This is a mind blowing very cerebral study of human nature and how our experiences and prejudices affect our thinking. The stress is huge, as it’s no laughing matter as they try to figure out any reason to why this is happening. It takes place (except for the first and last scene) in the single room, in darkness, and could easily be performed as a stage play. There are no instructions and no voices other than the players themselves, and we are not really given much of a hint as to why they are doing this. It appears from the hints in the beginning and end that it is probably an alien abduction, but be have no contact with them, and we don’t know why, as none of this makes sense. This would be a horrible experience, and it’s terrifying to imagine being in that room. The script is awesome, and I was not able to recognize any of the people in the case. As a result, they were just random people with the luck of the draw as to why there were here. And the thought will hit you before it dawns on them, what happens when there are two people left and neither can vote for themselves? How long will this go on, and is there any way to stop it or defeat the game? The pressure sits on us throughout the movie, and it is something you will think about for a long time. My son knows I am a fan of sci-fi and mystery films, but especially those that make you think. I must thank him for putting me onto this movie after he found it and streamed it on Netflix, and he could not wait to talk to me about this film. Now that I’ve complete it, I look forward to discussing it with him to see what his take on it is, and what he makes of it. If you can find a friend to watch this with, it’s a definite plus to have someone to discuss it with! I think this is a very well make film and though there’s no car crashes or shoot outs, it’s a very intriguing movie that really makes you think. I actually really liked this movie.

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Atlas Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment,

Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, Daniel Wu, Anna Galvin, Ruth Negga, Clancy Brown, Dylan Schombing, Terry Notary, Callum Keith Rennie, Dean Redman

Based on the Blizzard video games, this high adventure film follows the story line of when the Horde came through a portal into the land of Azeroth which is run by the human race. Orcs come through because their world is in ruins and they want to wage war to take over the world. All of the bravery, magic, and strength will be needed to protect Azeroth.

This film is very well done. Blizzard is a classic company, and I generally am not a big fan of video games turned into movies, but this was technically superb. Special effects. The action is very good as are the battle scenes. I must admit I played World of Warcraft for a number of years, although I have never seen the earlier single player games, but seeing some of the locations was a real treat, although I must admit that I played the game completing quests and not paying much to the back story. I really enjoyed the action and adventure in this movie, and I think it was very well made, and as such, I recommend this movie. It was a lot of fun!

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Allison Shearmur Productions, Keep Your Head, Lionsgate,

Emma Roberts, Dave Franco, Juliette Lewis, Emily Meade, Miles Heizer, Kimiko Glenn, Samira Wiley, Marc John Jefferies

Vee (Emma Roberts) is a high school senior, and a shy wallflower type of girl. Her best friend, Sydney (Emily Meade) is outgoing and very popular, although she is hiding her own problems. Sydney introduces Vee to a new underground app called Nerve which is like Truth or Dare without the truth option. When joining the app, you choose to be a watcher or a player. By embarrassing Vee, she dares her into becoming a player, but once you start you cannot quit, and things escalate quickly as the dares grow more and more insane. This is a high action thriller right out of the pages of today’s social media world.

This was a very refreshing story, very modernistic, and quite suspenseful. Eama Roberts and Dave Franco are awesome as a team and Emma is really turning into a daredevil here. (Watch the special features on the DVD to see her experiences filming this.) The rest of the cast is very good as well. The action scenes are very well done and the special effects are awesome. All in all, this is a really spectacular film, filled with really good characters doing really crazy and dangerous things for fame and money, just like real life! The script is excellent. I would love to find the book, it seems like a really good read. The director team did a splendid job as well, and all the performers are really good, so this this is a solid film, and one I can recommend. See it.

D’Souza Media,

Dinesh D’Souza

Dinesh D’Souza, a brilliant scholar and conservative pundit sets to discover the truth about the early days of the Democratic Party and if their claims regarding their history especially regarding minorities is actually correct or if it is all misdirection. Then he looks at the history of the Clinton Family from before their were married up to the present run for President. Dinesh interviews some really scholarly people to understand the history and what is happening yesterday and today, and perhaps tomorrow. This is a documentary, but a very interesting story.

This was a fascinating and very interesting film, very well done, and very professional. The DVD contains the feature film, which is excellent in it’s entirety, but also has some very long interviews with three of the most interesting guests on the DVD that are very long, almost as long as the film itself. These full interviews are an excellent add as it serves two purposes. First you get a real understanding of what the person has to say, but you also get to view the way it is edited to fit into the running time of the film. The information that was cut was certainly as good as the parts that were used in the film. The two biggest takeaways for me were, 1- The Democrat party has had a long history of slavery and persecution of African-Americans especially. They were the ones that started and supported the Ku Klux Klan, and although Hillary mentioned the film Lincoln in one of the debates recently in explaining why you use a personal and a private persona to get things done in Washington, I think she missed the point. Lincoln had to use everything in his arsenal to get the thirteenth amendment passed, it was the Democrat Party who was fighting him all the way. 2 – My second takeaway is how the Clinton Family history. Since college, Hillary has been very motivated by seeking power. The two of them came from simple means, but all of their gigantic fortune has come from nothing but selling access to government. Throughout history, corrupt politicians have accepted money from companies and individuals for pork belly projects that brought businesses and jobs to their home districts. You might argue that it’s wrong, but it has always happened, but the Clinton gang is the first ever that did it for the sole purpose of building their own power and mostly personal wealth. They were also very happy to go to foreign companies, even hostile ones, and takes millions of dollars for their “charity” work in return for granting huge contracts and such for personal friends. Suddenly Bill Clinton is getting half a million dollars for a 45 minute speech, while his wife is working in the Senate or Department of State and there are many examples of how these humongous fees came in and immediately after a contact was awarded by Hillary to the donor country. I wondered why the Haitians are picketing the Clinton Foundation daily, only to find out that they took in Billions for charity to help Haiti to rebuild houses and infrastructure from the hurricane, and most of the money went to a friend of theirs to build a huge building in Norther Haiti which was not even affected by the hurricane. Those poor folks are yelling, “where is our money?”. I understand it now. All former presidents have given speeches after their presidency is over, but it is the first time that a former president has gotten these kinds of fees for speeches, while his wife is currently serving in the Senate and then the State Department, and possibly even the White House. I know liberals tend to wipe away all the claims of corruption and “pay for Play” but if you simply watch these interviews with people who are in the middle of things, you will see why. This is unprecedented in our Nation’s history. When Bill ran for President, he remarked that by electing him, we would get a bargain of two for the price of one. These two are certainly a tag team, and I have no idea that this will continue without any letup if Hillary wins the White House again. I was impressed very much by Dinesh’s work, and really wish it could be mandatory watching for every American. It was a must see. I was shocked by how much I didn’t understand.

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Allspark Pictures, Blumhouse Productions, Hasbro,

Henry Thomas, Annalise Basso, Elizabeth Reaser, Lulu Wilson, Parker Mack, Sam Anderson, Kate Siegel, Doug Jones

The Zander Family is having a rough time. Dad was killed by a drunk driver leaving Mom, Alice (Elizabeth Reaser) alone with two girls, Lina (Annalise Basso) and Doris (Lulu Wilson). They are struggling to pay the bills by offering psychic services like readings and seances, when Alice realizes her youngest daughter Doris may actually have the gift for real. Alice really wants to help people, perhaps to help herself with her loss, but is it really friendly spirits, or does their home have a much more sinister past than they are aware. Messing with spirits is asking for trouble, and they have a lot on the way.

This film is a prequel to the 2014 film Ouija starring Oliva Cook and Ana Coto [Click here for Ed’s Review] . If you haven’t seen or can’t remember Ouija, this is a good time to rewatch it, as this is the story what happened in the house about 50 years earlier. This story gives us the background on when the characters in the original movie were kids, and what happened to them so that the original films make more sense. This film is a bit better, although I really did enjoy the first one as well, but now the whole thing makes a lot more sense to me. The first one was kind of random, which a lot of people didn’t care for. This one is a formula film, and it’s produced by Michael Bay so there’s a lot of activity going on here. Henry Thomas, who I haven’t seen in a long time, is here as a Priest who presides over the daughter’s school and is trying to help them. When he’s on screen, he’s really good, but it’s not a huge part. The girls are excellent and really pull it off, especially the younger girl Doris. The film is really creepy and scary, but the weakness is probably the predictability of the story. It goes where you expect, and there aren’t many real surprises in the plot. But it does take place in the late 60’s which was a nice change, visiting my youth for a little while. I find it hard to think of the 60’s as a period piece, but I have to admit I’m really getting old! But the 60’s vibe was strong. All in all, I really enjoyed this film, and thought it was a decent Halloween Horror film. I liked the way it fit in with other movie, and that made it more enjoyable for me. If you’re a fan of horror, this is a really good one.

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