Ed's Review Dot Com

Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Dylan Sellers Productions,

Kenny Wormald, Julianne Hough, Dennis Quaid, Ziah Colon, Ray McKinnon, Miles Teller, Ser’Darius William Blain, Patrick Flueger, Andie MacDowell, Maggie Jones

Young rebel (?) Ren MacCormack (Kenny Wormald) comes into a small town run with an iron fist by the town elders led by conservative preacher Rev. Shaw Moore (Dennis Quaid). Rev Shaw’s Daughter, Ariel (Julianne Hough) is a sexy blonde on the edge of her sexuality and attracted to bad boy Ren from the start much to her father’s dismay. The town has outlawed dancing as it leads kids into trouble, but Ren makes it his goal to win Ariel, change her father’s mind, and hold a dance for the poor underprivileged youth of the town.

This remake of of the 1984 version with Kevin Bacon and Lori Singer as the teens, and John Lithgow as the uptight preacher is another remake that didn’t need to be made. I never thought the original was such a wonderful film, but it wasn’t too bad, and somehow it really resonated with a lot of the children of the 80′s. I didn’t think the original was nearly as good as Dirty Dancing was, even though there were some similarities. But this remake just didn’t need to be made.

The down sides are that they twisted and turned the story on it’s side, to try to make it hip for 2011. But they lost a lot of the drama and redeeming qualities of the original trying to make it today!!! Secondly the soundtrack was rather weird too. The mix of songs in the soundtrack seemed like they were trying to find something for everyone from Slim Whitman to Fifty Cent. It didn’t cut it. Julianne Hough has finished her run as a dancing instructor on DWTS, and is ready to move on to acting, and she’s as cute as a button, and maybe someday will turn out to be a decent actress, but she’s not ready yet, especially for this role. But she’s cute. Dennis Quaid did a decent job as the preacher man, but they watered down his role to make it more relevant to the hip hop fans I guess they thought would flock to this film. They didn’t. Trying to compete with John Lithgow’s performance is a tough challenge.

So I have an idea for them to try in the future. Remember how in the “old days” Walt Disney used to re-release his movies every 7 years, because he thought that every 7 years a new generation of kids came along that had never seen the film? Well that doesn’t work so well today, because of DVD’s and Cable TV, and instant downloads, but, when the meeting starts up about “Let’s do a remake of Footloose, because a lot of people loved it in the 80′s. But if you remake it, you have to pay the crew, and all the actors, and everyone, so simply release the original to the theaters. (Maybe you can spend a few bucks to spruce it up and convert it to digital and all that). Then those that never saw it, can go to the theater and enjoy it again. But I think the only ones who loved this remake version were those involved in making the dang thing. What a disappointment that never needed to be done. What a waste.

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BBC Scotland, Creative Scotland, Head Gear Films,

Simona Mauriello, Claire Greaney, Suzanne Coyle, Brogan McKay, Julia O’Rourke, John Whitehurst, Joe Bitter, John Carey, Sandun Verschoor

Jig is a documentary looking at the preparation for, and performance at the 40th Irish Dancing World Championships. From small kids just starting out, to near professional older teens, these kids work day and night to perfect their skills in the precise footwork it takes to compete in the World Championships. Irish dance is a unique performance art, depending all on the footwork, and it is a grueling sport. We look closely at the people who are fierce competitors. We see the extreme love they have for the sport as well as the sacrifice, pain, and suffering they go through to perfect their game. Each of the characters has his or her own story, and their situations are different. This is a look at the championships start to finish.

This is a well shot story, and very good if you’re interested in Irish dancing. However, if you’re not, there’s not much else here. There is a fair amount of suspense over who will win. It’s especially interesting watching the little girls compete. But they don’t ever explain the scoring system in the least, and it’s very weird. There is a whole page of numbers, and the scores are like, 27, 6, 1215, 82. I watched the tense contestants waiting as the scores were read, and they would suddenly erupt like they knew they won, while I had no clue what was going on. In other sports like gymnastics, figure skating, and the like, the announcers tell us the basics of the scoring system and it’s fairly simple. “Sally needs at least a 127 to take first place” In this sport, it could have used a little bit of explanation. Otherwise, there’s no real suspense or excitement. The dancing is very good, and the people are interesting, for sure, but it’s just no captivating unless you’re into the dancing. So beware if you’re not interested in a dancing documentary, as you could be bored to tears if you’re not. But if you are, this is a great way to learn the basic requirements of Irish dancing.

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Ryan Murphy Productions,

Dianna Agron, Lea Michele, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chord Overstreet, Darren Criss, Chris Colfer, Cory Monteith, Jane Lynch, Heather Morris, Kevin McHale, Amber Riley

This was a 3D Concert documentary shot during the Summer of 2011 at the Glee Live! tour. This film basically contains three things. First is background stories of the devoted fans of Glee. Second, it’s a documentary about the Glee cast and where the come from and how they feel about the show. Third, it’s a lot of music from the concert. Really good songs that suit the cast very well.

Directly off the top I’ve got to say I’m not a Glee fan. I can’t figure out what’s the point of these kids covering songs that are not as good as the originals mostly. The back story of the show and the war with Jane Lynch is pretty silly, as is the drama about who is homecoming queen, who’s gay and who isn’t. These folk are good enough singers, but when you have the original, why the excitement about a copy? But I get that it’s entertainment, and there’s nothing wrong with following the show. It’s not any worse than any other soap opera on TV, and it has decent music, even if it’s all covered. So I have not beef with Glee fans. This movie is actually like seeing the concert, if you weren’t able to see it. The background about the obsessed fans is a little creepy, but no more so that Trekkers or Star Wars fanatics.

So my basic attitude is that if you’re a fan of the show, you’ve probably already seen this movie, sitting in the front row of the multiplex with your 3D glasses on. If you haven’t seen it, you’re probably left wondering, like I am, what the big deal is, and you probably don’t even want to rent this. So I’ve included the link to the 3D Blue Ray version of the film from Amazon.com, so that if you’ve already seen it, and simply HAVE To have it in your collection, you can get the 3D version. For the rest of us, there are frequently concerts on TV or live concerts near you that would be a better use of your time than watching this DVD. I found my feet tapping to the music as I multi-tasked during this movie. My wife seemed to enjoy it as well, although I did notice she was playing games on-line while the film was on, so she want’s that into it either I guess.

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Alcon Entertainment, Farrell Paura Productions, Gospel Truth Pictures,

Queen Latifah, Dolly Parton, Keke Palmer, Jeremy Jordan, Kris Kristofferson, Jesse L. Martin, Courtney B. Vance, Dexter Darden

In a very small Georgia town, a choir is performing in a Praise music contest. Suddenly their director, Bernard Sparrow, takes ill. We learn that he was the beloved choir director, but as he has suddenly passed away, the pastor wants the choir to continue. The board chooses Vi Rose Hill (Queen Latifah) who is always at wits end with the major benefactor and rich lady of the congregation, Bernard’s wife, G.G> Sparrow (Dolly Parton). This sets of a battle between these two. Vi Rose has a very beautiful 16 year old daughter who is one of the best voices in the choir, Olivia Hill (Keke Palmer). G.G. has a young grandson, Randy (Jeremy Jordan) who has arrived to live with her with a reputation as a troubled teen, but he is also a good musician. As the choir prepares for the competition, a Romeo and Juliet love affair begins between Olivia and Randy which everyone wants to nip in the bud.

This new film is about gospel music, but it’s not really about pushing Christianity. In fact, these folks seem about as worldly as the rest of us, except that they really love to sing. Obviously there is a lot of conflict, and the film is full of colorful characters. It’s really funny, but the humor is very pg-13. This is really a fun movie, and it’s good fun. It’s down home Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres kind of humor, but there are some things that stand out as NOT an issue. Although the congregation is half black and half white, there is no real mention of race anywhere. The movie is color blind, and what color a person is has no meaning to the story. Kudos for that! Also, there is a lot of bickering and fighting, but it’s all done with love and caring. It’s standard family and friend type fights, but nobody goes over the line to meanness. There are also several side stories going on that adds a lot to the movie. But most of all, the music is really special! Not since Sister Act, has a movie about gospel singing contained so many great musical numbers. It’s one of the most outstanding features of the film. The performance at the national finals is well worth the price of admission by itself.

It’s a good-hearted movie that has a lot of warmth and humor, and good lessons. It’s not deep or thought provoking. It’s just good old fashioned entertainment. I think they did a wonderful job, and I hope people will take time out from their busy lives, and relax and enjoy this for a real different change of pace.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Paramount Pictures