Ed's Review Dot Com

Walt Disney Pictures, Tim Burton Productions, Infinite Detective

Eva Green, Colin Farrell, Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito, Nico Parker, Finley Hobbins, Kamil Lemieszewski, Alan Arkin, Joseph Gatt, Sandy Martin, Sharon Rooney, Deobia Oparei, Roshan Seth, Jo Osmond, Jessie Vinning, Douglas Reith

Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) was once a circus star, but an injury during his service in the war drastically changed him. The owner of the circus, Max Dedici (Danny DeVito) is struggling to survive, but when his new elephant has a baby elephant, he hires Holt to take care of them. But the newborn has enormous ears, and Max is really angry because the oversized ears make the elephant a joke and he is the laughing stock of the circus industry. But there is more to Dumbo than just his giant ears, and with the help of a partner and a high wire artist, Collette (Eva Green) Dumbo may be a star after all and save the circus. This is the Tim Burton live action version of the original Disney 1941 animated film, Dumbo.

Tim Burton really put his touch on this movie, changing, and adding a lot to the original movie. First there are rules. The primary one is that animals do NOT talk in real life, so so talking mice, talking crows, or talking elephants. But there is a lot of tribute and homage to the original film, and though the music is not a primary part of this movie, unlike the animated film, it is used wisely and adds a lot to the movie. I was not completely blown away, as some of it was rather odd (with Tim Burton at the helm, how could that not be true), but I still really enjoyed the experience, and I do like these live action versions of the classic cartoons. Colin Farrel was really good in his role, and this was one of the highlights of the movie. This is a new character, and the emphasis on the cast of sideshow freaks is a also something that was added, but with a full length film, a lot has to be added. The original cartoon was only one hour long which won’t cut it in the theater today. All in all, I really enjoyed the film, and I think it was a relaxing evening watching this film. I recommend this one for the whole family.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Blumhouse Productions, Dentsu, Digital Riot Media,

Jessica Rothe, Ruby Modine, Israel Broussard, Suraj Sharma, Rachel Matthews, Charles Aitken, Steve Zissis, Caleb Spillyards, Sarah Yarkin, Laura Clifton, Wendy Miklovic, GiGi Erneta, Phi Vu, Tenea Intriago, Kaleb Naquin

In Happy Death Day (the original film) Tree Gelbman (Jessica Rothe) has finally stopped waking up every day in a strange guy’s dorm room, and reliving the same day over and over again, each time ending by getting killed by a guy in a baby mask. As this sequel takes off, another of the friends claims that it’s now happening to him and he’s getting killed every day by the same guy, and reliving it over and over. Tree and rest of the gang, mostly science nerds, set out to solve Ryan’s (Phi Vu) problem and get involved in the problem as they finally realize what caused the strange things that happened to Tree and are now happening to Ryan. There are many more consequences to what is happening and it’s extremely important for everyone that they find a solution, but that’s not going to be easy.

The second in what is supposed to be a trilogy, this movie answers a great many of the questions that we had in Happy Death Day. At the end of it, there were a lot of questions left open as to how the hell this was happening and why Tree was caught up in the middle of it. This film is probably even better that the firs tone which I also rated four starts. Now granted, i enjoy horror films, and always have, but this group is much better that they average slasher film. Blumhouse has been putting out some pretty good horror films of late, and they are doing a great job of turning out entertaining scary movies. Kudos guys. This is a thoughtful story, and not overly gory, but highly suspenseful and really worth the price of admission. Be sure to see the first one though before this one, as it really will be more enjoyable that way. If you can see them close together, that’s the best, as you will certainly have questions after the first one this the second installment will answer. If they do have a third segment, it will be interesting to see where they go from here, but all in all, this was a good horror film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Matt Tolmach Productions, Radar Pictures, Seven Bucks Productions,

Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, Missi Pyle, Rhys Darby, Tim Matheson, Maribeth Monroe, Marc Evan Jackson

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a sequel to the original Jumanji of over 20 years ago. Technology has changed since the original board game that was played by the kids in the original bringing Alan Parrish back from the jungle. In those days it was a board game, but apparently it had been updated at some point over the last 20 years to a video game console. A group of high school kids decided to give the game a try, and all four of them are pulled into the jungle where Alan lived during the time that he was trapped in the game. When they are sucked into the game, hence into the jungle itself, they become their characters that they chose in the original game. Here they are trapped unless they are able to complete the challenge and end the game.

This review was started over a year ago, and never completed. I wanted to say some things about this film, and now that it’s been out for a year or two, I still feel my observations might be of some value, so I decided to finish it. First of all, many folks did not like this film, for one reason or another, but I found it rather interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, the humor was here 100%. It was really funny from time to time. Secondly, some of the action seemed corny or contrived, but this is supposed to be a video game and as such is filled with different levels and scenarios. I felt this was appropriate for the situation. There are also some fun references to the original movie. Many people do not remember, but in the original movie, though Alan was stuck in the jungle for years until someone rolled a “six” or “eight” to free him, we never saw anything of what the jungle was like. The animals and characters from the jungle crossed over to our world, but we never went the other way. This time we get to see the jungle world, and even the place where Alan lived while he was stuck here. During the time Alan lived there he made friends and became somewhat of a hero over there. All in all, I found this to be really fun, and at this late date, if you haven’t seen these movies, I would suggest watching both of them back to back so that you can remember the important parts of the original. If you have seen the first one, but not this one, then I still recommend going back and watching the original again, so it’s all fresh when you watch this sequel. I think both movies are classics and ought to be enjoyed.

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Lawrence Bender Productions, Little wave Productions,

Isabelle Huppert, Chloe Grace Moretz, Maika Monroe, Jane Perry, Jeff Hiller, Parker Sawyers, Brandon Lee Sears, Arthur Lee, Rosa Escoda

Frances McCullen (Chole Grace Moretz) is a waitress in an upscale Manhattan restaurant who lives with her roommate Erika (Maika Monroe). She is suffering the recent loss of her mother. One day she finds a purse left on the subway, and decides to return it to the owner. When she arrives at the home of Greta Hideg (Isabelle Huppert) she finds her a friendly, if not a little lonely, elderly lady who invites Frances in for coffee. They both find a friend in each other, until it becomes obvious that there is much more to Greta than meets the eye, and she has some really serious issues. Frances tries to cut the friendship off, but Greta isn’t that easy to get rid of.

This is one of the nicest thrillers I have seen in a long while. Chloe has turned into an amazing actress and she really does a great job in this film, but Isabelle Huppert is absolutely amazing in her role as the crazy lady. Her performance is completely terrifying and she gets a lot of credit for pulling this off perfectly. Sometimes the villain takes it way over the top, but her performance is just understated enough to keep us on the edge of our seat. The other cast members did a good job too, and maybe the credit goes to the screenwriters for such an excellent script. Anyway, it’s a Gothic type thriller right of the pages of the present Manhattan as the backdrop is very well chosen as well too, as it does a lot to add to the story. If you’re a fan of high energy thrillers, this is a great example of the genre, and one I would highly recommend. Excellent job!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Goddard Textiles, TSG Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox,

Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Chris Hemsworth, Nick Offerman, Russell Crowe, Alvina August, Mark O’Brien

The El Royale is a run down hotel on the border between Nevada and California near Lake Tahoe. Half of the rooms are in one state and the other half are in the other, decorated especially for each state, but there is a red line running down the middle of the main lounge that divides the room in half. The hotel used to be a hot destination, but is dying since they lost their gambling license and all the slot machines are out of order. Now no one stays here. A tired old priest (Jeff Bridges) shows up at the same time as a lounge singer (Cynthia Erivo) who is staying at the El Royale because it is very cheap. When they enter the lobby the find the hotel empty except for a traveling salesman who is also looking for an attendant. Over time, a few more people show up, but nobody is what they appear, all are hiding deep secrets, and things are going to go bad due to a whole bunch of bad choices as well as a great number of misunderstandings, and it truly is Bad Times at the El Royale for everyone.

I was intrigued by the trailer and really wanted to get to see it in the theater, but for some reason I never made it. I was excited when this was released on DVD, and was anxious to see it. It was well worth the wait, and I’m glad I finally got to see this. In fact, it was so much fun, I watched it twice. This is a mystery from start to finish, and it was really fun trying to figure out who the people really were. As you go along, as soon as you figure it out, you find out you’re completely wrong. As the pieces are revealed bit by bit, the puzzle comes together, and it was a really exciting movie. This reminded me a lot of “The Hateful Eight” in the way that nobody actually was who they claimed to be. This was a very insightful film, very dark, but yet somehow really beautiful. The way they built the set completely from scratch, and built the entire lobby building as a single set, allowing them to do long and complex shots in a single take without a cut. It was very well crafted and I enjoyed the movie twice from start to end, and really enjoyed the extra features that were were included on the DVD with info about how and why the film was made the way it was. The actors were superb. Jeff Bridges and Jon Hamm were outstanding. Cynthia Erivo did all the singing herself, and she was exceptional. Though this movie is pretty dark, there are enough puzzles and loose ends to keep us very interested in what’s going to happen. I am glad they didn’t tell us who was in the film at the end. I’m sure I know, but I’m only guessing. I really enjoyed this film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog