Ed's Review Dot Com

Marlboro Road Gang Productions,

Max Baker, Kerry Bishé, Edward Burns, Matt Bush, Brian Delate, Marsha Dietlein

Johnny Rizzo (Matt Bush) is a young man, engaged to be married. He’s working his dream job, a radio announcer with a sports talk show, but not making any money. But his fiancee is very used to living the good life, being spoiled by her father who is supporting the two of them. They decided Johnny must take a new job, a boring cardboard box factory job, but one that will pay him three times his wages. Hating to see Johnny throwing his life away, his Uncle Terry (Edward Burns) invites him out to the Hamptons for a weekend to try to save him from an awful mistake. After he meets a charming young lady there, he has to look deep into his soul to determine the right thing to do. While he tried to be good, everyone tries to turn him bad.

This is a decent film, actually. I found myself unable to pull myself away from the film. Matt, as Johnny does his best Ralph Macchio, Karate Kid impression, but he does nail the character. Maybe he’s a little too good, but he’s one of us miserable nice guys who gets walked over by everyone else. Terry is a little too bad, on the other hand, although I’ve known guys almost this bad. He’s pulling an Eddie Haskell impression out of his repertoire. But bring it all together and it’s believable. This is a Watch Instantly film on Netflix and perhaps can be found on cable from time to time, but it’s a fairly decent waste of an hour and a half, and a bit of a surprise to me. I didn’t expect it to be nearly as good as it was, and though I was expecting to bash it from the start, before I knew it I was pulled in and actually cared how Johnny worked this thing out. If you have some time to kill, you could do a lot worse than this one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Hopeful Monster, Chaos Productions, String And A Can Productions,

Sarah Livingston Evans, Jared Edwards, Anna-Marie Wayne, Nancy P. Corbo, Edward Gusts

Start with four young people driving through the country, when something goes wrong, they are stranded and suddenly being attacked by a vicious monster. You might expect this to be the ordinary horror film, but suddenly things change, and we find ourselves in the middle of one of the strangest love stories since “Phantom of the Opera” or “Beauty and the Beast”. In fact, this is a retelling of the Beast saga in a different time and place.

This is in some ways a romantic love story told in the midst of blood and guts. As such, it’s completely unique, but it just doesn’t quite work. It’s like mixing spaghetti and pudding together in a bowl and chowing down. It just doesn’t seem to work together. Some people may enjoy the blood and gore, but will be bored silly with the strange love story. Meanwhile, some folks will enjoy the love story, but will be turned off by the ugly blood and guts part. It just doesn’t seem to go together. I once read a novel about 3 worlds. There was a place in modern times where a gateway opened with a path to an ancient world without electricity or modern inventions where a war was going on with another world that was a futuristic outer space world with all kinds of technical advances. The story took place in all 3 worlds. It was a fascinating way of blending 3 stories and settings into one, but it ended up not being a very big hit. This was because it was really a jumble of logic and rules. I was able to find book one of this trilogy in the bargain bin. Then I was able to find the 2nd book, but alas the 3rd book of the trilogy was out of print. I was finally able to locate it in a “rare books” location and payed a huge price to complete the story. I was even able to email the author and discuss it with him. I think the way to enjoy a movie like this is similar to what I did. Don’t go into this looking for a horror film or a love story, but look at it as a work of art. This is a mash-up of the two forms, all fitting into the “Beauty and the Beast” mold in a new way. If you enjoy it for the art it presents, then you’ll probably find it an interesting piece of film making. But if you go into it as a “normal” film, you’ll probably be deeply disappointed.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Locomotive, Points West Pictures, Red Granite Pictures,

Adam Scott, Jennifer Westfeldt, Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Chris O’Dowd, Megan Fox, Edward Burns, Lee Bryant, Michael Dean, Ilana Levine, Derek Cecil

Two best friends, Jason Fryman (Adam Scott) and Julie Keller (Jennifer Westfeldt) are happy just being friends. But both see an advantage to having a baby, but don’t want to mess up their friendship with romance. So they decide to have a baby as partners, and to share the responsibilities without the hassles of romance. Looking at their friends who are married, none of them seem to be really happy. But when Jason meets a really perfect girl in Mary Jane (Megan Fox) and Julie decides it’s time to settle down with her new flame, complications in the arrangement pop up all over the place. Is it right to raise a child without a family? Can child rearing be a business venture? These questions are answered with lots of humor and comedy mixed in for good measure.

I was not highly impressed with this film, but at the same time, it wasn’t all that bad. This is definitely a rental, no doubt about it, but as a simple date night DVD, it’s not half bad. The acting is decent and the dynamics of the married folks (especially between husband Jon Hamm and wife Kristin Wiig) is pretty funny. I was amused throughout the film, but it was never over the top funny. Basically it’s pretty good. The timing between these two is really awful, and every time one of them nearly gets it together, the other one screws up. This gives us a lot to watch and enjoy and a lot of realization that life isn’t all that easy. The casting is really well done, and the script isn’t bad, so it’s a nice little romantic comedy that is a different look at the situation that I’ve seen before, and I think it’s well worth the price of a rental. I enjoyed it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

BBC Films, UK Film Council, Kudos Film and Television,

Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked, Kristin Scott Thomas, Tom Mison, Catherine Steadman, Rachael Stirling, Tom Beard

A Sheik with a boatload of money and a hankering for fishing has a dream of building a dam, building the necessary streams and cages for salmon, and a desire to bring fishing to the desert despite everyone’s doubts and objections. He also dreams of bringing a peaceful pass time to a violent place, so he hires a British aide in Harriet (Emily Blunt) who approaches the British government for assistance. Timing is right because the Brits need some kind of good news out of the mideast, and so Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) is assigned to make it happen despite the odds. This is a story of trying to succeed against all odds.

This is one of those films that really has no chance at the box office. People want huge explosions, super powers, and the like. This is a slow story. But wow, is it beautiful! The cinematography is stunning in this film. The desert is really something to look at, and I can only imagine how wonderful it would have been to see in wide screen. But even on a small screen, it was beautiful. The story also is very good. Emily Blunt did a great job in her role, and Ewan McGregor was also very good. The two work together against all odds, and the chemistry between them is quite good as well. This is not a complex movie. In fact, it’s really simple. It’s a man’s dream to make his country better by bringing a peaceful pass time for people to learn. Unfortunately not everyone wants peace. Likewise, the government decides to exploit his dream, which is also not very pleasant. Angry at being forced into this farce, Dr. Jones soon learns that there is some magic left in life if you give it a chance.

This was very much a “feel good” film, very nice to watch, and highly recommended for a family night film. If you want to enjoy a fun evening, pop this one in, make some popcorn, and sit back and enjoy it! It’s one of those hidden gems that everyone missed at the box office that is well worth tracking down on video!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

DreamWorks SKG, Saturn Films, Varsity Pictures

Eddie Murphy, Kerry Washington, Cliff Curtis, Clark Duke, Ruby Dee, Allison Janney, Ariel Winter, Justina Machado, John Witherspoon, Jack McBrayer, Jordan-Claire Green

Jack McCall (Eddie Murphy) is a fast talker. He’s a literary agent, and wants to sign the new book of the latest Indian Guru at any cost. He strikes up a deal, makes some huge promises and promptly finds it all falling apart. When he arrives home, he finds a strange tree in his yard. The tree loses a single leaf for every single word he utters. Jack needs to learn the consequences of the things he says.

I went into this film not expecting much. Poor Eddie’s had a rough time lately, and I was afraid this would be horrible. It appears a lot of people agreed, because it came and went without any attention whatsoever. So when it arrived on DVD, I figured it was worth taking a chance on it. It’s a very small and understated film. I expected crazy, over the top humor. It wasn’t. It was very low key, with good jokes and humor that fit the story, but with a touching story that really gets to the point. It reminded me of Liar Liar in a way, but was still unique in the way Eddie played it. I expected that it was a curse set upon him by the guru, but it appears it was simply Karma teaching him a lesson. It was a hard lesson for poor Jack to learn, but in the end, he found out what is really valuable and what is trash. This is not the kind of movie you run out to spend $13.00 to see in the cinema, but it’s well worth watching on DVD. I recommend you take a quiet even and pop this one on and see what you missed. One of those hidden gems that we miss in the theater and DVD gives us a chance to enjoy. This is not Beverly Hills Cop or The Nutty Professor, but it’s definitely worth watching and enjoying.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog