Ed's Review Dot Com

LD Entertainment, Affirm Films, Columbia Pictures,

Joseph Fiennes, Tom Felton, Peter Firth, Cliff Curtis

This is the tale of Lucius (Joseph Fiennes) a ranking Roman Tribune who was present when Jesus was crucified on the mountain. He was a witness to the death and burial in a tomb of the body. Under orders from Pontius Pilate (Peter Firth) after the urging of Caiaphas (Stephen Greif), Lucius orders guards around the tomb for three days to assure the the followers of Christ do not manage to steal the body to make people believe he has risen from the dead as he promised. When the body is missing, Lucius sets out to find the followers and solve the mystery, but he is certainly not ready for what he is about to learn.

This is a good solid film that covers the story of what happened after the resurrection of Christ and the following days until the Ascension and beyond when no one knew what was really happening. It is a historical tale and a biblical story, but seems to very well done. The story isn’t preachy in the least, and seems to feel much more like a documentary based on Lucius’ point of view. There are some outstanding characters. Kudos to Stewart Scudamore as Peter, who does a magnificent job. In fact, all of the characters are very good. The story is solid, somewhat “Hollywood-ized” at that, but still a very solid film. This is a film that could be enjoyed as a Roman historical drama without the buying into the religious overtones at all, but this was really made for the Christian believer who would enjoy the events following the crucifixion up through the Ascension. The cinematography is excellent, and the feel of the Holy Lands is very real. This is a wonderful story and this is a film that you might want to see, just for the experience that it gives you. I highly recommend this film for families and people of all ages.

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Blumhouse Productions, Chapter One Films,

Kevin Bacon, Radha Mitchell, Lucy Fry, David Mazouz, Ming-Na Wen, Paul Reiser

The Taylor family comes home from the Grand Canyon bringing something back! The family consists of the Father (Kevin Bacon), and the Mother (Radha Mitchell) and two children, anxiety ridden drama queen Stephanie (Lucy Fry) and autistic son Michael (David Mazouz). An ancient curse has befallen the family causing havoc and destruction unless the find out the cause of the curse and rid themselves of it before it’s too late.

This is a solid horror film with surprisingly good acting from all the major characters. I expected, walking in, a cheesy B horror movie with no budget and no special effects. That’s not what i got. Surprisingly, the acting was good, the effects were really well done, and the suspense was on point. What is holding this movie back is the fact that there are only so many horror films to write and it’s really, really hard not to look like a rip off of something else. The plot of this film has been done many times over. Still, I enjoy a good horror film, and this one satisfied me. I did not run out screaming it’s praises as the best film I’ve ever seen, but it was exactly what I wanted. The suspense was real, and the story made sense. There was a general feeling of dread over what would or could happen to this poor family that grew and built up until the end. Meanwhile, there was some good old fashioned scares that came from things you didn’t expect heightened by a loud sound at the right moment. I typically call these cheap scares, but in this case they worked, although I’m not sure I could put a finger on why. There are a lot of haters out there toward this film, mostly because of the similarity to other films of the same genre, but I don’t see how this could be helped. I enjoyed the film, I admit to it’s flaws, but I didn’t really case as I had a good time and that’s all that mattered. If you’re a fan of horror, then this is not a bad investment of your time.

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New Artists Alliance,

Brandon Routh, Caity Lotz, Ben Feldman, Dane Cook, Tom Cavanagh, Grant Bowler, Sally Pressman, Fernanda Romero, Dominic Bogart

As this movie begins, the base commander is holding a press conference to explain a 400 day mission that a select group of astronauts are about undertake in a buried mock up of a space ship underground. To assess the effects of being trapped in a tiny cylinder simulating deep space with no chance to get out, the group sets out to complete the mission. But it’s a difficult mental and physical experience and it brings a number of surprises. To fully test the crew a series of surprise tests is thrown at them in the way of mock failures and they are tested on their ability to cope and solve solutions sometimes without the help of mission control. But when they suddenly lose connection with the outside, tension grows as they wonder if this is really a test, or is it something much more catastrophic.

This, like any concept film, has its lovers and its haters. I really enjoyed the film, but did not get sucked into the tale, but took it much more cerebral in thinking about the effects of what they were portraying. The haters hate this movie because it offers no resolution, and I don’t mean a cliff-hanger ending. What I mean is that we’re not told what really happened. There are major issues between some of the characters that could be just a dream, or just mental health issues, or it could be a simulation for real, and the ending could have happened or been an elaborate setup. Expecting a resolution you get none, and you have to think your way through it. I think I know what I believe, but I’m not sure that I am right, but I have worked my way through the film, and appreciate the attempt to make this open ended and to allow you to interpret. There have been a few good films like this. Now, I must admit, usually I hate movies that don’t have a point, and just end. Sometimes it drives me crazy. But this time I found it much better that it allowed you to figure out what you will. It presents what it shows, and no interpretation follows. There is a lot of clues, such as the very ending frames of the picture, but those can be interpreted a number of different ways. The haters blame the writer and director for being lazy and not resolving the film, or give us enough clues to know what he intended. But perhaps these folks are being lazy in waiting for someone to tell them a story with a nice surprise ending that wraps it all up. To be honest I enjoyed the experience of not knowing what it really was. I also enjoyed reading the 3 or 4 or more major theories on what it all means. It’s an interactive movie that you have homework to do after it’s over. The story is not in the actors, nor is it in the presentation or the dialog. It’s not in the sets. It’s all there for you to absorb, but the point of the story is in your mind, and there’s time for you to work it out after it’s over. I’m ready to watch this one again.

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Columbia Pictures, LStar Capital, Material Pictures,

Chloë Grace Moretz, Nick Robinson, Ron Livingston, Maggie Siff, Alex Roe-Brown, Maria Bello, Maika Monroe, Liev Schreiber

Cassie Sullivan (Chloë Grace Moretz) is a typical high school girl who is experiencing the last normal day of her life. An alien ship arrives and parks over Ohio and begins 5 waves of attacks in increasing severity to destroy life on Earth. Not knowing what they’re after, survival becomes extremely hard as the world changes forever. When Cassie’s parents are lost and her little brother missing, Cassie sets out to try to stay alive avoiding the “Others” while trying to rescue her little brother.

I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for good alien movies. I’ve been a fan of them all my life. And this is a pretty good one. Some people are going off about how this is the greatest film of all times. I suspect these are younger folks who haven’t seen a lot of these over the years. The classics going back to the 50’s and even before have already used all the gimmicks in this plot, and it is all too familiar. That’s what’s keeping me from giving this a super high rating. There aren’t any real surprises here for all of us who have been through these films over the years. But what’s different about this is the character that Chloe Grace brings to her portrayal of Cassie. She really nailed it, and this is totally her movie, for sure. Cassie is brave and strong and unafraid, but yet we have lots of emotion from her character from horror to sadness, to loneliness, to desperation. She carries the film with the help of some other strong performances as well. The story is well woven around the different twists that the plot takes, and though they’re easy to see coming, they are still fun to watch develop. The biggest issue I had with the DVD is simply that most of the middle of the movie is so dark, that I really thought I was watching the radio. I suggest if you don’t have a dark room, to watch this dvd after nightfall. It’s scary, and very suspenseful, and well put together. The scenery is really nice (when it’s daylight!). The action is hot and heavy, and as I mentioned before, the suspense is very high. I really wanted to catch this in the theater, but was never able to find the time, but watching the DVD was a good experience, so if you haven’t seen it, and you like a good little sci-fi space creature thriller, give this one a spin in your DVD player. It was well worth it.

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Conglomerate Media, Lensbern Productions,

Thomas Ian Nicholas, Jon Heder, David Henrie, Jodie Sweetin, Armando Gutierrez, Arthur L. Bernstein, Ayla Kell, Hunter Gomez, Taylor Gray, Kate Katzman, Flora Bonfanti

Based on the book of the same name, this film follows Walt Disney youthful dreams and plans through the hard years starting out as an animator and following his dreams through several huge failures before discovering a little fellow named Mickey and making the famous statement that “It all started with a mouse!”

I really enjoyed this film very much. I have always been a fan of Mr. Disney, especially since I was born at the right time when he was reaching the peak of his success. I was one that ran home from school every day to get there in time to watch the Mickey Mouse Club on TV each afternoon. During the years I worked at the studio, when I would walk through the Legends Plaza I would stop at the plaque with Annette Funicello’s name and handprints, as Annette was my first celebrity crush when I was 10 like everyone else my age. I have heard the early stories of Walt’s difficult life, and his attempts to learn the animation business that was just starting. He was taken advantage of by much wiser and more crooked corporate folks and learned the hard way that the only way to survive was to own his own content, a lesson that he never ever forgot through the rest of his too short life. Thomas Ian Nicholas did a superb job as Walt, and I was duly impressed. Jon Heder played Roy Disney, and was Jon Heder. Many people did not care for Jon’s portrayal, but Roy was not a very vibrant character in real life either, and was the much needed money man who kept Walt’s fantasy from soaring out of control and crashing and burning. Roy kept Walt under control and often held him back from being too out there by bringing it back home many times. There are so many stories and anecdotes from Walt’s life, so keep in mind that this is a very focused look at a decade from the time Walt set out on his own to be an animator until the first Mickey cartoon was finally shown. It does not cover the big animated successes, Disneyland, the Burbank studios, Disney and all those things which are very well documented in many other films, particularly Disney’s own “The Reluctant Dragon” which shows the whole process in great detail at the new studios in Burbank (at the time). This film looks at live in Marceline, and Kansas City, and Walt’s first Laugh-o-gram studios. It follows the trip to California and the final setting up of the Hyperion Ave studio. Most of the time the guys worked out of a garage. It also helps us to get to know many of the early guys who worked with Walt to build his studios, many of which were lifetime friends and companions, and some who back-stabbed him and left to work for other companies. No one was as successful in the end as Walt was, but there were many hard times along the way. This film is available for streaming now that it’s been released on DVD and is easy to find. Aside for the great historical information, the film is also a heart-warming story of how sticking to your hopes and dreams can pay off with lots of hard work and willingness to fail before you can succeed. This was an excellent film, and I highly recommend it to all who may be interested.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog