Ed's Review Dot Com

Avenue Pictures, Ananta Productions, Metalwork Pictures,

Garrett Hedlund, Richard Jenkins, Jessica Brown Findlay, Anne Archer, Jennifer Hudson, Jessica Barden, Terrence Howard, Amy Adams, Daniel Sunjata, Sterling Jerins

Jonathan (Garrett Hedulnd) is a Los Angeles based musician who travels home to New York because his estranged father, (Richard Jenkins) has decided to take himself off life support where he’s dying of cancer. The family including Mom (Anne Archer) and his sister, really can’t accept that he is really going to die. He was given six months to live over 10 years ago and beat the odds. The range of emotions the family has to face from each of the family members is wildly different. To add to the problem Jonathan and his father have not seen each other in many years, and his denial was helped by the friendship of a young lady in the same hospital who is dying of bone cancer, and the friendship they build as they bond to each other is touching. This certainly cries for the creation of a new category “Tear-jerker” as that is truly what this remarkable movie is.

This is truly a tear-jerker, and one that is very hard to watch, but extremely worthwhile. It is difficult to watch because with the R rating, they can take us through the whole range of feelings this poor family has to go through. There are many question raised and each one is fully answered as we delve through this film. There are so many characters and dynamics and even though it is not overly slow paced, the development of each character was really well explained. We learned where they came from, and why they feel what they feel, and all the actors are able to pull the heart strings as their feeling vary from scene to scene as they must face what will happen in two days. The clock ticks very slowly as we go through the many farewells and last goodbyes as the characters really put forth a fantastic performance. This kind of feels like a play in some way, as it does have a lot of dialog and only a few settings, but the motion picture really adds to the story in a huge way. It’s very well done, and unless you are facing or have recently faced the untimely death of a love one, which would make this hit too close to home, I highly recommend this for adults and older teens. This is an extremely well done story and an great life lesson that we all need to see. Though it feels sometimes like we’re too close to the family and should give them some space, it is very highly moving and you should see it.

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Also Known As Pictures, Manis Film, Papagjika Salloway Productions,

Bella Thorne, Frank Grillo, Aaron Tveit, Kyra Sedgwick, François Arnaud

Hazel (Bella Thorne) is a young lady with very severe agoraphobia who hasn’t set foot outside her house in years, living with her mother (Kyra Sedgewick). Finally Hazel has agreed to go to a resort/treamtment center/sanitarium(?) way out in the middle of the desert. The driver is used to these kinds of patients, and has built a sort of cave in the back of the van where she can hide in darkness and hopefully silence in order to survive the journey. At the last minute, Mom decided to come along just in case of problems. Before they arrive at the destination though, some gunmen show up and stop the van out in the desert, and the only way to survive is if Hazel can escape and face her terror and hike out of the desert for help.

This is an unusual movie. This is basically a showpiece for Bella Thorne, and she has to carry the entire movie. It’s a very suspenseful story, though very simple and not overly complex. The condition that Hazel has to deal with is portrayed very expertly by Bella, and I felt she did an outstanding job. She carries the film on her own. Some of the characters are cartoonish, and rather shallow, but Bella is able to carry the weight of the script and character development problems and turn in an outstanding performance. The depiction of her crippling disability makes me finally feel what it must be like to be so terrified of being outside your safe place. The suspense is really edge of your seat stuff, and I really enjoyed this film. On the edge of horror, this is really a suspenseful drama and not quite a horror film, but still I was really frightened as I watched this film. I don’t stream a whole lot of films, but this was one of the ones I have seen lately that impressed me enough for a 4 star review.

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Huayi Brothers Media, Lakeshore Entertainment, STX Entertainment,

Lauren Cohan, Rupert Evans, Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle

Greta Evans (Lauren Cohen) is a young American woman hiding out from the abusive ex by taking a job for a few weeks as a nanny for an English family Mr. and Mrs. Heelshire (Jim Norton, Diana Hardcastle). Their son Brahms is an unusual fellow. When he was eight years old there was a terrible fire, and Brahms didn’t make it out, so the family keeps a doll named Brahms as their son, and expects Greta to watch over him while they take a holiday for a few weeks. But Brahms has very specific rules and though Greta’s only assistance comes from the grocery boy Malcom (Rupert Evans), it is soon quickly aware that as she disobeys the rules once the parents are gone, Brahms is very angry. This new horror film was a nail biter.

There were a lot of good movies to see, but due to the trailer, I just had to see this film right away. I was not disappointed. I don’t know why dolls are creepy, but this one as did Chucky and Anabelle before, really gave me the creeps. Filled with never-ending tension and lots of screams, the theater actually applauded this when it was over. On the other hand, we were at an early evening screen that was filled with young teens who were definitely the rudest audience I have seen in a long time. Talking out loud throughout, and going up to the back to make shadows on the screen were just a couple of their annoying pranks. But aside from that (and many thanks to the gentleman who yelled “Shut Up” as loud as he could), I really enjoyed this movie. I’m a horror buff, and I can see where a lot of folks may get turned off by the way things are rather simple, but I felt is was quite creepy. This is Lauren Cohen’s first attempt as the lead in a horror film, and I felt she did a great job. She reminds me a lot of Jamie Lee Curtis way back in the original Halloween with here fresh approach to being first laughing, thinking it’s a joke, to realizing that her life is in danger and this is deadly serious. She fights well, and stand up like a hero instead of letting everyone else rescue her, and she’s tough, yet very charming and sweet. I thought the story was original, with a couple twists along the way that turn things around several times. I enjoyed this one, and regardless of what the critics say, I recommend this one as a great way to scare yourself half to death.

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Coup d’Etat Films, Sandbar Pictures, Abandon Pictures,

Tye Sheridan, Olivia Thirlby, Logan Miller, Ezra Miller, Nelsan Ellis, Michael Angarano, Keir Gilchrist, Jesse Carere, Miles Heizer, Gaius Charles, Nicholas Braun, Brett Davern, Benedict Samuel, Callan McAuliffe, James Frecheville, Ki Hong Lee, Moises Arias, Matt Bennett, Johnny Simmons, Harrison Thomas, Billy Crudup, Jack Kilmer, Thomas Mann, James Wolk, Chris Sheffield

In 1971, a Stanford University professor began an experiment, selecting 24 college students to participate in a study of the effects of incarceration on both the inmates and the guards. The participants were divided into two groups, guards and inmates, and the inmates were arrested by the local police force and brought to the “jail” that was setup in the basement of the psychology building on the university. What followed was a horrid experience for the nameless “inmates” who were psychologically tortured by the mock guards. The study was expected to last for 14 days, but did not make it near that long as the professor was urged to stop it after less than a week due to the horrifying impact on the kids who volunteered for this study. Much of what we know today is known from this infamous experiment, and many laws were put in place to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. This docudrama tells the story extremely realistically and is one of the most amazing stories of psychology gone awry.

This is similar to “The Experiment” that was released in 2010 which was loosely based on the same events, but this one is more like a documentary than fiction. The realism of the events are told in a straight forward “in your face” style that will surely shock you as well as educate you. Not much was known about whether your nature and background makes you more of an inmate or a guard, but in this experiment we found that the role you are “assigned” has a lot to do with how you act. There is a great deal of psychology included, and be sure not to miss the two special features on the DVD if you can. One covers the science of the experiment and is told by the actual professor who conducted this test. The second is about how they brought this experience to life in the video. It seems very close to the real story, as close as possible from an event from 1971, but that is probably because it is based on the book written by the professor who conducted the experiment and he plays a big role in advising and supervising the movie. This is a harsh story, and is filled with a lot of torture and very bad language. Not for the faint of heart or for the young folk, but this is one of the classic psychology studies that students today still learn about in school. This is a hard hitting and powerful film that is sure to affect you for a long time.

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Gary Sanchez Productions, Good Universe, Paramount Pictures,

Will Ferrell, Mark Wahlberg, Linda Cardellini, Thomas Haden Church, Hannibal Buress

Brad Whittaker (Will Ferrell) is a happily married man, working at a smooth jazz station, and step-dad to his wife’s (Linda Cardellini) kids. But Brad has one concern. Due to a freak dentist accident he cannot have children of his own. When the children’s biological father, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) shows up though, Brad feels threatened. As Dusty tried to weasel his way back into the family, the competition keeps escalating until everyone life is threatened by these two. This Will Ferrell/Mark Wahlberg family comedy is just what you’d expect from these two.

I must say this is one of the best Ferrell movies I’ve seen in a long time. I found this one really pretty funny. The whole concept is rather clever, and it shows Will at his finest. All 5 of the main characters (Brad, Dusty, Sara, and Thomas Haden Church as Brad’s boss Leo, along with Hannibal Buress as Griff, the handyman who also moves right into the family are classic together. These are a group of wonderful characters that all shine. The two kids are pretty good as well, and all in all it’s a perfect cast for this type of rip-roaring comedy. The jokes and slapstick moments keep on coming from start to end, and the time flew by. This was a very well done little film, and I enjoyed it very much. My wife and her sister had tickets for the LA Lakers – Golden State Warriors game at Staples Center, and, being the designated driver, I got to kill some time watching this film at the Regal Theater at L.A. Live, right underneath the Staples Center. I am really glad I chose this film, as it was a very enjoyable evening. That is a really nice theater, and that added a lot to the experience. Loved it.

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