Ed's Review Dot Com

Tashmoo Productions, Amber Entertainment, Belladonna Productions

Willa Holland, Amy Jo Johnson, Tatanka Means, Elise Eberle, Cynthia Stevenson, Lucien Dale, Forrest Fyre, Russell Means

Davey Wexler (Willa Holland) is a young lady still in school, and loves her life in Atlantic City with her parents and her little brother. But when her father is killed in a robbery, and her mother finds herself lost and in deep grief and taking too many pills, she decides to take Davey and her brother to New Mexico to live temporarily with her sister’s family. But her mother seems to be slipping further and further from reality and Davey is getting more and more frustrated and having a really hard time fitting in at the new school. Davey goes for a journey to the canyon, and meets a strange guy named “Wolf” (Tatanka Means) and they hit it off in a very beautiful friendship. Wolf is a secretive and has walls as high as Davey’s but he still manages to teach her to look at life from a different point of view and to face and overcome the many obstacles in her life and to change her point of view completely. This is a touching and classic book by world famous author Judy Blume and her husband Lawrence Bloom wrote the screenplay and directed this heartwarming story.

This is another of those films that I missed years ago in it’s release due to Netflix’s DVD throttling practices and it finally bubbled up to the top of my queue. What a wonderful story and very well done performances. A lot of it is filmed on location in the mountains of New Mexico. This is a perfect story for preteen and early teen girls, like most of Judy’s books, and is a perfect story for them, but the value of the softly told story, definitely not in your face, I found I really enjoyed it as well. It has much of the feel of a Wonderful World of Disney TV movie from back in the 60’s but is much deeper than those. Wolf is, of course, a native American who has a lot of love for his culture and heritage, and a few secrets of his own. He did a wonderful job in performing this role, and was perfectly cast. Willa is an amazing actress. I have to admit I was very impressed with her performance. She can portray pages of dialog with just her expression and when she’s wordless, is some of the best moments in the film. From shock, to pain, to frustration, to worry, to love and caring, it’s all there in the emotion her face can portray. She was superb in this movie and is building a large volume of work. The location and the majestic scenery is also stunning. All in all, this little film is an excellent hidden gem that I didn’t know about, but was very happy to stumble upon. It was a pleasure. This is one of those films, that, when it was finished, I went back and watched it all over again with the commentary by Judy and Lawrence Blume, which was every bit as good as the movie itself. The love and caring they put into this story, and the hard work and dedication the cast put into playing the part, makes this a very worthwhile film to watch. Look for it.

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Chernin Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,

Kate Winslet, Idris Elba, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney, Waleed Zuaiter

Alex Martin (Kate Winslet) is a photographer, working a story in the NorthWest, but on her way home for her wedding to Mark (Dermot Mulroney) who is anxiously waiting for her back East. A storm has grounded all flights and there’s no way out. But Alex gets and idea to charter a plane, and finds a doctor, a neurosurgeon named Ben Bass (Idris Elba) who is desperate to get back for a surgery on a little boy, so Alex invites him to share the cost and take the plane flown by gritty old pilot Walter (Beau Bridges). But when a tragic accident brings the plane down on top of a snow covered mountain in Idaho, far from any civilization, they find out that the pilot has not filed a flight plan, and neither of the two have called anyone to let them know they were flying. Fighting terrible odds, injuries, and horrible weather, the two must depend on each other, and Walter’s dog who was in the plane with them, to figure out how to survive in this hostile and deadly environment, or die trying.

This movie, especially with the trailer, looks like an adventure/survival movie, which it is, of course, but it’s much more than that. The accident and the survival attempts are merely the backdrop for this intensive character study of the two characters, plus the dog, of course. It is in depth character development. The two have to depend on each other, but each have their own personal problems that affect who they are and how they react. They find they are very different from each other, and extremely different personalities, mainly because of what they do, and what they have experienced in life. Yet, without each other, neither has a chance of making it out. There is a lot of suspense, and some beautiful Canadian mountain views, and some intense struggles every day for the weeks they are stranded together, but they really find that they are strangely attracted to each other, but neither knows if it’s because they really care for each other, or if it’s the unusual circumstances that they find themselves in. The acting in this film is definitely Oscar worthy for both of them, and there is really only the two of them through 99% of the movie. Just when you think it’s over, it turns on it’s side again and goes on for another half hour. It’s beautifully filmed, a wonderful story, but it’s all about the actors in this movie. They deserve all the praise I feel they are about to get for these superb performances. This is a must see film.

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Castle Rock Entertainment, Resnick Interactive Development,

Hugh Grant, Marisa Tomei, Bella Heathcote, J.K. Simmons, Chris Elliot, Allison Janney

Keith Michaels (Hugh Grant) was a famous screenwriter who is really down on his luck. His last few movies have bombed, and he can’t find work anywhere. Perhaps this is due to his wife running off with the producer of his hit movie, and taking their son with her, and the excessive drinking that followed. Now as hard as Keith’s agent tries, she can’t find anything for him, until an opportunity to teach writing at a small Northeastern college gives him a chance to to make a few bucks. Keith decides to take it easy, packs his class with really hot girls and a few really ugly guys, starts right off with an affair with the prettiest of his students, and gives the class a month off on the first day. But a single Mom of two girls, Holly Carpenter (Marisa Tomei) trusts him and builds a relationship and guides him to some serious introspection until he can realize that there’s more to his life than the thought. But by the time he figures it out, it’s far too late.

This is a decent Hugh Grant movie about a guy who’s enjoyed success, and lost it, but is a bit of an asshole looking down on the people doing the job he is forced to do by his own screw-ups. This is a really common situation, and the formula is that the guy needs to be cut down a few pegs, and then learn the error of his ways. Well this film really follows that formula to the T. That’s one of the problems as to why it was not a break out success a couple years ago when this came out. What does make this stand out as a video rental or cable movie is the excellent acting throughout. Hugh Grant is as good as we would expect, and this is the kind of role he’s well suited for. But the characters around him are the ones that really make the movie stand out. It’s all in the casting in this case. J.K. Simmons plays the department head who is stuck in a house with five women, his wife and four daughters. The way he plays the love/hate of this awful situation is genius. Allison Janney, on the other hand, is on the ethics committee, a strong harsh woman who is a militant feminist and a bit of a literary snob, who is Grant’s chief protagonist. She is excellent in this role. Meanwhile, the other students and teachers are also well done. Marissa Tomei is really good as the Jiminy Cricket conscience character, and the lovable next door neighbor/co-teacher is very well played by Chris Elliott as well. With a gang like this, it makes it a really interesting adventure made out of a very common formula. I enjoyed this little movie, and the fact that it is like a whole bunch of other movies really didn’t bother me due to the quality of the cast. Though not a very original film, it was worth the wait and this was an enjoyable movie. Give it a shot.

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Alloy Entertainment, Itaca Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),

Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson, Ana de la Reguera, Taylor Hickson, Anika Noni Rose, Peter Benson

Madeline Whittier (Amandla Stenberg) has a very rare and severe immune deficiency issue that requires that she live in a sterile room, sealed from the outside. She lives with her Mother, Pauline (Anika Noni Rose) who is a nurse and with her caretaker Nurse Carla (Ana de la Reguera) during the day when her mother is at the hospital. When a new family moves in next door however, Maddy who is now 16, is smitten by the boy Olly (Nick Robinson) who lives next door. The two become friends which makes life in the bubble unbearable for Maddy as she tries to figure out if one moment of freedom is worth risking her life.

This was a really cute film, with lots of heartbreaking moments. This couple is doomed from the start, but we can’t help but root for a happy ending. The performances here were really good, and it was a nice ride watching this story. Maddy and Olly do a really good job, and it’s got it’s funny moments, and heartbreaking moments, and lots of suspense as well. The music is really good too. This is a bit better than your typical Lifetime Made-for-TV movie, but in the same vein, perhaps. IT is touching and inspiring, and I found it very entertaining. I can’t help but give it a thumbs up as a nice film for teens and sensitive adults. Great job guys.

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Michael Mailer Films, AMPM Enterprises, Tremendous Entertainment (II),

Alec Baldwin, Demi Moore, Dylan McDermott, Viva Bianca, James McCaffrey, Eden Epstein, John Buffalo Mailer, Steven Prescod

Mark Dutchman (Dylan McDermott) is a hot shot businessman who is in big trouble for some shady dealings and is facing quite a stint in prison. His wife Suzanne (Demi Moore) had no idea what was going on, but was pulled in and assigned to perform public service or be thrown into jail like her husband. Bill Oakland (Alec Baldwin) is a top bestselling author who was at the top of his game when a terrible auto accident cost him his wife, and his site. Now blind, he relies on volunteers to read to him so that he can keep up with his work. Suzanne is assigned to him, and she simply cannot stand the guy. But if she refuses him, she will have to go to prison, so she decides to make the best of it. During the time they spend with each other, she is able to look closely into her life and see how empty it is. As spoiled, manipulative, and downright disagreeable as Bill is, though, the more time she spends with him, the more she realizes there is a place in her life that he can fill. But when Mark manipulates the system and gets out of jail, a huge confrontation is on the horizon.

This is a fairly interesting concept, and certainly Alex Baldwin, as much as it hurts me to admit it, did a pretty decent job playing Bill. I think Demi’s part could have been better cast, and there certainly are a lot better choices for Mark than Dylan McDermott, but the basic concept wasn’t bad. I think the thing that hurt this movie the most was the slow pacing. It felt like a stage play, as a lot of it simply took place in the reading room and there were long retrospective monologues without a lot of stuff going on. Another missed opportunity with a pretty decent concept that isn’t executed very well. Though it’s not a horrible movie, a few improvements may have made all the difference. This film was more of a disappointment and is probably not worth the time to invest in it unless seeing Demi Moore in her underwear for no reasonable purpose is your thing. I would suggest giving this one a pass.

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