Ed's Review Dot Com

Millennium Films, Gerard Butler Alan Siegel Entertainment, LHF Film,

Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Alon Aboutboul, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Melissa Leo, Radha Mitchell, Jackie Earle Haley, Sean O’Bryan, Waleed Zuaiter

President Asher (Aaron Eckhart) is in London along with many other world leaders to attend the funeral of the British Prime Minister who mysteriously died. Suddenly a major terror attack breaks out killing many and destroying most of the cultural landmarks of London. The President has been captured and his only protection is a secret service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) who was with him when he was taken. Terrorists have taken the upper hand and the forces of good have to try to foil their attempt to bring chaos to the world.

I can imagine the thrill the folks had at the close of World War II watching great films about the bravery of the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who defeated the Axis powers in this horrible war. These movies were built around the real events of the great battles of that war. Today, things are much different today. We chip away at the enemies day by day, but we don’t have the great victories to cheer like they did in the past. So today we get fictional accounts of grand events that have not really happened. We don’t have much to celebrate anymore, it seems, and our brave heroes are out there, but we are much more concerned about what’s happening with JayZ and Beyonce or Kim and Kanye, and the rest. This is a grand adventure, very graphic with lots of blood and gore, but with lots of excitement and suspense. The acting of the good and bad guys is very good, and the action is non-stop. It’s got a great soundtrack, and super explosions and special effects. This is a very good film, if you like adventure, and well worth checking out.

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Stereo D, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,

Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman, Liam Hemsworth, Jessie Usher, Maika Monroe, Sela Ward, Judd Hirsch, Angelababy, Joey King, Vivica A. Fox, Brent Spiner, Charlotte Gainsbourg, William Fichtner, Deobia Oparei, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Patrick St. Esprit

Twenty years have passed since the original battle for freedom from the aliens was fought. There is a new lady president (to show it’s fiction) and the original President Whitmore is much the worse for wear, but his daughter has grown and is now an emissary to the white house. Captain Hiller is long gone, but his son, Dylan (Jesse T Usher) is a crack pilot and ready to step in to his fathers shoes to fight off the aliens once again who have come back, this time more than double the size of the last time. This time Earth has no chance, but they are going to give it their best shot. They have been improving over the last 20 years, but have they done enough?

This is a big budget blockbuster summer film that falls a little short. There is no way to match the scope of the first one, which caught us all by surprise. They did a really good job of bringing back the major characters and it’s easy to age them 20 years, since the original was released in 1996, 20 years ago! The story is done very well, and the characters are good. Furthermore, the special effects are extremely well done. The battle scenes are awesome, and I was totally entertained throughout the entire film. It’s a very well done movie, and very worthwhile to watch. So why the bad press, and the less than stellar box office? Well, there is no choice but to compare this to the experience 20 years ago of the original, and that’s a no win situation. If you were to watch these back to back now, it would become very clear how well done the new one is, and how the old one is 20 years old, but this is not a remake, it’s a sequel. A long after 20 years in the making sequel. I think they did an excellent job as well, and if this was a brand new story, It’s probably five stars, but you can’t help but compare the feeling you had coming out of the first one, completely exhausted and blown away, and the way you come out of this one thinking, “It’s not as good as the first one”. I probably is better, but can never be seen that way. It’s just a fact of human nature that the awe and wonder of the first one can’t be recreated. But I am glad to know what happened to this alien bunch and can’t help hoping they get what’s coming to them. Just don’t let the naysayers get to you, and go see it while you can.

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Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios,

Jason Bateman, Ginnifer Goodwin, Shakira, Alan Tudyk, Katie Lowes, Tommy Chong, J.K. Simmons, Octavia Spencer, Idris Elba, Jenny Slate, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake, Raymond Persi, Jesse Corti, John DiMaggio, Tommy ‘Tiny’ Lister

The animal kingdom has evolved. In the city of Zootopia, predators and prey live happily side by side with no animosity. Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a bunny, who dreams of becoming a real police officer in Zootopia and is anxious to leave the carrot farm of her parents and head out to the big city. After graduating highest in her class at officer’s school, Judy is assigned to parking detail. But when she insists on being give a chance at a missing persons case, with the help of her new found friend Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) to solve the case, she stumbles on a bigger problem, and ends up making a mess of it in this new feature from the Disney Animation team.

This is a very, very well done film. Using traditional animation in a wondrous way, Disney goes back to the truth that it’s not the beauty of the animation, it’s the depth of the story. This is one very well told story. It is similar, in a way, to lots of other tales of a youngster starting out trying to prove their worth with all the cards stacked against them, but this story is really enchanting and it pulls you right in to the heart of the matter. Never boring, I think this is a film that kids and grown ups are going to enjoy side by side. The writing is very good, and that, along with the excellent animation and good voice actors makes a good film. This is one of the better ones of the latest batch of kid’s animation, and one you should make sure the kids get to see. It has great values, good lessons, and yet is very entertaining. Judy is one of the neatest characters to come along in a long time. I highly recommend this movie for all ages. I promise you will absolutely love Speedy, the Sloth

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42, Fire Axe Pictures, Kriti Productions,

Jeremy Sisto, Sarah Wayne Callies, Javier Botet, Logan Creran, Sofia Rosinsky

Maria (Sarah Wayne Callies) and Michael (Jeremy Sisto) live on the other side of the world with their daughter Lucy (Sofia Rosinsky) and Son Oliver (Logan Creran). When a horrible tragedy befalls them, Maria and Lucy survive, but Oliver has died. Not able to get past the loss of her son, Maria pulls away from the family and is struggling to survive. An elderly Hindu woman promises Maria that an ancient ritual can give her the opportunity to speak one last time to her son behind a locked door in an ancient shrine, but she must promise to not open the door, no matter what happens. But overcome by grief Maria opens the door and brings terror and destruction to her family in return.

This is one of the most unexpected surprises I have had in a long time. This is a first rate horror film with an honest to goodness really creepy plot. Set in India, this touches on some of the Hindu beliefs and practices which are probably pretty new to most of us, which gives this film a really good anchor to build on. The actors are very good, and though they are essentially TV actors, they have the chops to give this one all it needs! The little girl is also excellent, and one of the best kid actors I’ve seen in a long time. The story itself is unlike anything I’ve seen, and it’s nice to get a current horror film that is so exciting and new. I was very impressed with this film, and had to watch it several times I enjoyed it so much. If you want a good old fashioned believable horror story that will truly scare the bejeezus out of you without relying on loud noises and startles to simply make you jump, but to chill you to the bone, this is perhaps the best classic horror film I’ve seen in a long, long time. I highly recommend this movie for any horror fan, and this is a gem of a scary flick that appeared out of nowhere. This film can truly create nightmares.

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Columbia Pictures, Ombra Films, Weimaraner Republic Pictures,

Blake Lively, Oscar Jaenada

Nancy (Blake Lively) misses her mother who recently died from cancer. She is looking for some alone time, and she just quit medical school and fled to Mexico searching for a hidden “secret” beach that her mother loved. But things go wrong when she runs into a very angry and persistent shark who would like more than anything to have her for lunch!

This is a solo shot for Blake Lively who really throws herself at it will all her abilities. It’s a very hard role. Stranded at a remote beach with little hope of survival. This is a highly suspenseful film, with beautiful scenery and a very ornery shark. It’s a tough role to play, with lots of activity and a whole range of emotions. This is hardly classified as horror, yet it’s not a mystery, though it is very suspenseful. All in all it’s a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions. The packed audience was completely silent for long periods when there was little sound on the screen, and it was kind of eerie. Suddenly the shark would appear, and everyone was screaming again. All in all, this is a pretty good film. I really enjoyed the suspense and found a lot of times, I was holding my breath without knowing it I was so into the story. That is rare for me, and and an interesting experience. It’s not very often I get sucked into a film so completely, but this is an immersive movie, in more ways than one. I really liked it and I would like to recommend this one.

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