Ed's Review Dot Com

Village Roadshow Pictures, Warner Bros., Weed Road Pictures,

Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, Will Smith, Jennifer Connelly, Matt Bomer, William Hurt, Jessica Brown Findlay, Eva Marie Saint, Lucy Griffiths

Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) was an orphan child taken in by one of the servants of the devil and trained to be a master thief. When he breaks into to a rich Manhattan home to steal their goods, he suddenly finds he is not alone. The daughter, Beverly Penn (Jessica Brown Findlay) who is very ill is home alone. But when Peter lays eyes on her, he falls deeply for her and so begins the decade long love story of Peter and Beverly spanning generations.

This is a fairy tale story of good versus evil, magic and miracles, but most of all a love story. Epically spread over a hundred years or so, we get to watch this touching beautiful tale that really impressed me. With great actors in great roles, this is an epic love story that is sure to touch the heard of the darkest cynic. It’s well crafted, told slowly and unfolding piece by piece one step at a time. It will mislead you, break your heart, and bring tears to your eyes. Monumental storytelling at it’s finest, Colin Farrell is awesome. The relationship between Russell Crowe’s character and that of Will Smith will surprise you. This is an epic tale worthy of Princess Bride. This is simply a wonderful story, and one that I would really have hated to miss.

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Film4, Free Range Films, Le Bureau,

Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum, Olly Alexander, Judith Davis, Xavier De Guillebon, Brice Beaugier, Marie-France Alvarez, Charlotte Léo, Denis Sebbah, Sébastien Siroux

Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg (Lindsay Duncan) are an elderly couple who have found their relationship on rocky ground. Though they are together, they just don’t connect anymore and have little nice to say about each other. They come up with the idea to go to Paris, where they went on their honeymoon, to visit the same hotel and try to rekindle their romance. Jim seems willing, but Meg just doesn’t seem to want to try. We watch them struggle and fall, and get into more an more trouble. Then there are some hidden secrets that have to come out as they try to work this thing out to stay together or just go their separate ways.

This is not a very comforting movie, but I suspect it’s pretty realistic. We like romantic comedies tied up with a little ribbon and placed in a warm place beside the hearth. This movie hits you straight in the face about how they’re not young anymore. They started out, as everyone does, with big hopes and dreams, and somehow time has placed them in much more meager settings that they would have wished. Jim Broadbent is one of the best actors around. The rest of the cast was pretty good as well. There are quite a few funny moments. There is some tragic moments. But through out it all it’s mostly struggle. Jeff Goldblum has a relatively small role of a classmate of Nick’s many years ago. It’s an odd role, and one that’s kind of a mystery to figure out. We’re not sure what he’s really all about, and that’s good because it lets us have something to figure out. In the end, we don’t know where Meg and Nick are going to end up. That’s good too as it would be a far lesser movie if it told us. As it is, you are free to determine their future, as they are, only by your imagination. This was a smartly done film, and though, as I said, kind of painful to watch from time to time, it was really excellently played. It’s not a film for young people, as you probably just won’t get it if you’re under 30 or 40, but you’ll be here someday and it will all make sense. I thought it was a decent film, and one I was glad I chose to watch.

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Mulmur Feed Co. Production, Mulmur Feed Company,

James Cromwell, Geneviève Bujold, Campbell Scott, Julie Stewart, Rick Roberts, George R. Robertson, Barbara Gordon, Jonathan Potts, Zachary Bennett

Craig Morrison (James Cromwell) and his wife Irene (Genevieve Bujold) have lived decades in a small seacoast town in New Brunswick, Canada. He loves baseball, fishing, farming, and lumbering, not to mention that he was taught building by his father from the time he was a child. Irene is starting to show signs of dementia and the onset of Alzheimer’s. She’s getting really forgetful, and the things she does is getting dangerous to herself and others. When she falls down the stairs of their two story farm house, Craig has had enough, and decides to make some lumber in his mill, and build a brand new small one story house on their property. With only a vision in mind, and a lifetime of building experience he sets out to build a new home for them, but he is convinced that he needs a permit, which needs plans in advance to be checked by the town building committee. Craig’s children want them to go after more standard care for the elderly in an assisted living situation, but Craig is set on his plan to live at home. Though he can build a house far superior to the requirements, Craig is pushed to the limit by this over zealous building inspector until the government is ready to bulldoze his home and he finds himself in court.

I was deeply touched by this movie. It was such a stunning performance by all the actors in this little story. First of all, it is based on real life events. The real Craig Morrison recently passed away in New Brunswick. [Click here for his obituary.] James Cromwell will never be honored with an academy award for a small Canadian film, but he certainly deserves that recognition. The battle here is against government regulations to protect the stupid against a man’s right to do what he wants on his own property. Obviously the government bureaucracy is in it to protect their positions, so things like this can happen, but this is a wonderful love story, family story, and personal rights story. The entire thing was excellently made, and this is the kind of hidden gem that I constantly look for when watching movies. This is definitely one of those that you have probably never heard of, and I must encourage you to give this one a chance. This was such a remarkable story with such excellent characters that it really left me thinking about it for a long time afterward. I have been a fan of Genevieve Bujold since the 70’s but haven’t seen her in years. It was like a reunion seeing her again. She did an excellent job in this role and deserves accolades for her performance as well. This is one of those films that deserves our patronage, as it’s the kind of film we need much more of in this age of remakes, sequels, and brainless action films. I really loved this one.

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