Ed's Review Dot Com

Amasia Entertainment, 3311 Productions, Circle of Confusion,

Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth, James Ransone, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund, RZA

Martha McKay (Anna Hendrick) just caught her boyfriend cheating and is extremely depressed when she meets a guy named Francis who seems to be Mr. Right (Sam Rockwell). Mr. Right though has a secret. He’s a top notch hitman who has turned against those that hired him and now they are all rather upset with him and trying to kill him. Because Martha is now in the picture, the two of them have to try to survive as this relationship takes a very strange turn.

This is a very weird and quirky movie that is really so absurd that is it quite funny. Sam Rockwell plays the deadpan character who just shakes of his own actions with a shrug while the world is crumbling around him. Anna Kendrick’s character likewise is very complex. She goes through a range of emotions all across the spectrum. Yes, this is an absurd comedy, but like many others that came before, this one kept me very interested. This one is way off the beaten path, and I was really surprised at the quality of the performances in this little movie. I had never heard of it before, but found it quite enjoyable in a quirky way. It’s a strange story, but the irony of the situation is played out very well. This is a good little movie.

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Annapurna Pictures, Likely Story, Media Rights Capital,

Channing Tatum, Steve Carell, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Michael Hall, Sienna Miller, Vanessa Redgrave

In 1999 the news screamed out the story of the richest man in history to be convicted of murder, when John DuPont (Steve Carell) heir to the DuPont chemical fortune was sent to prison for murdering David Schultz (Mark Ruffalo) in the driveway of DuPont’s guest house where he and his wife and children were living. The Schultz bothers, older brother David, and younger brother Mark (Channing Tatum) were a couple of the best gold medal winning wrestling champions in US History. This film is Mark’s story of how we met John DuPont and John’s efforts to buy his way into Olympic wrestling in a effort to maintain a level of importance. He opened the Foxcatcher facility and trained many US Olympic wrestlers there with the help of the Schultz brothers. This is the story of what happened and though we may never know why it happened, at least it is an interesting tale of the events of that day that shocked the country when the new came out.

This is an interesting biographical film. Like most Hollywood versions of true story, it is based upon the events that happened, but not absolutely true to all the facts. What we have though is a very strong cast acting their way through a fascinating story. Steve Carell was even nominated as best actor for his performance, a very somber role for the usually funny Mr. carell, but certenly within his wheelhouse for sure. Channing Tatum gave a really strong performance as did Mark Ruffalo. Even Vanessa Redgrave gave a charming performance as John DuPont’s mother, even though it’s very short. It is still a great performance. Critics of the film call it slow. It does certainly plod along, and at 2 hours and 15 minutes, it probably could have been shorter, but I didn’t find it boring at any point. The time was well used to develop the characteristics of each of these characters, and with the star cast, it takes time to fully develop that. In the end, even at over 2 hours running time, it feels like we’ve missed some of the facts, and it was off to Wikipedia to learn more about the story. I give credit to the writers, directors, and producers for presenting a great feature film on the subject, and am really impressed with the level of acting that went into it. I found it an interesting story, and recommend this film to those who enjoy biographical historical tales that are stranger than fiction.

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Company Films, Emmett/Furla Films, Fortitude International,

Keanu Reeves, Ana de Armas, Christopher McDonald, Big Daddy Kane, Mira Sorvino,

Detective Galban (Keanu Reeves) is a detective, a widower with a young child he just can’t seem to care for. He finds his partner dead deep in the subway and immediately sets out to find out who killed him. But the more he learn, the more it looks like his partner was not a very good cop, and was involved in a lot of dirty stuff. But his partner’s wife, Janine Cullen (Mira Sorvino) wants answers, yet the force wants Galban to leave it alone, as if more is found out about his partner’s past, it could deprive the wife and child of his pension. But everyone close to the case turns up dead, and he is led to a young devout Latina girl, Ana (Isabel De La Cruz) seems to have witnessed a miracle, and finding out what she knows may solve the case, but it could make her end up dead too.

This is a very strange little cop drama, and Keanu Reeves really did a decent job in this dark and depressing role. He’s fighting demons and it shows on the surface. The relationship between him and his partners wife is also intense, as not only is she dealing with the sudden loss of her husband, but at the same time dealing with the fact that he might not have been a very nice guy. Well, to complete the hat trick, Ana has her own past demons that she has shut out but need to come forward. Her husband is in Iraq and she is living with her husband’s Mother and sisters who are not very understanding of her situation either. This really is a dark story, and a bit depressing, but aside from that, it is a pretty good story. The characters are familiar, but very well developed. The acting is good, and it’s a pretty suspenseful movie. It borders on the supernatural, which makes it a very interesting film. It is R rated, and some of it is pretty intense, so definitely for mature audiences, but if you like a little different twist on a dead partner revenge story, this really isn’t half bad.

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Cube Vision, Universal Pictures, Will Packer Productions,

Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Olivia Munn, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, Tika Sumpter, Sherri Shepherd

Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) is about to get married to detective James Payton (Ice Cube)’s sister making them future Brother’s-in-law. But after Ben’s success in the last film, he is chomping at the bit to become a full fledged detective like his brother in law. But he’s just out of the police academy and not ready yet. When James has to take a road trip down to Miami to interview the technical nerd who has broken into the phone of a drug lord, he decides somewhat reluctantly to take Ben along simply to prove to him that he’s not detective material. Naturally things go awry, and the pair end up in a dangerous cat and mouse game with some real bad dudes.

With this sequel that starts immediately after the first film, you get exactly what you would expect. This is no pearl, but it is what it is. Kevin Hart is a pretty funny guy, and he knows how to make you laugh when he’s not annoying the crap out of you. Ice Cube is a really good, dry and serious, all business straight man, and then the story is just a vehicle to allow these guys to do what they do, and they do it very well. Trouble is we’ve seen this already, and it’s very similar to every other buddy cop movie where one is a bumbling but good-hearted Jerry Lewis guy who fouls everything up, and the other is a sometimes borderline mean, but always serious Dean Martin straight man. Like Abbott and Costello of the old days took half hour vaudeville routines and turned them into feature films, this vaudeville “standup act” is made into a movie as well. That’s not to say that it’s not a good story or even a good movie. But what you expect is what you get, and I can see how this would irritate the heck out of a lot of people. So I’m not giving it a glowing rush out and rent it rating, but I am saying if you find Cube and Hart a funny standup act, you’re bound to enjoy this film. So use wisdom in deciding whether to invest the hour and a half or not on this film, but if you like slap stick funny movies, by all means go for it.

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Broad Green Pictures, Film Science, A24,

Kai Lennox, Patrick Stewart, Mark Webber, Imogen Poots, Macon Blair, Callum Turner, Joe Cole, Alia Shawkat, Eric Edelstein, Anton Yelchin

A young punk rock band in the Pacific Northwest is having a rough time making a go of it. When they get an opportunity to play a gig for a remote location owned and run by a gang of skinheads, their plan is to get in and get out in a hurry. But a fluke causes them to see something they shouldn’t and the group is locked in a room with no change of escape until they are put out of the way because of what they have seen. What should have been a simple show turns into a desperate fight for survival.

This is one of the most unusual horror films I’ve seen in quite a while. This is a very graphic and gory film. It’s quite intense. Patrick Stewart plays the owner of this club and it certainly an interesting role for him. This guy is unlike anything you have seen from Patrick Stewart in the past. This movie was in limited release is certain theaters, and we were lucky enough to catch this in L.A. The suspense is crushing. Your heart is in your throat through much of this film. The suspense is extremely intense. It’s a very powerful story. But aside from the tension of the capture and escape, there is still a lot about the lives of the band members and what they are going through. And of course there’s the music which fits the movie very well. The music adds to the suspense as it’s very unsettling. There are a lot of additional characters that are very well developed and quite interesting. There’s a lot going on for this low budget thriller. Due to the extreme intensity of this movie it’s not for everyone, but it was an interesting and a suspenseful experience for sure.

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