Ed's Review Dot Com

Indian Paintbrush, Jeff Brothers Productions, Mr. Mudd,

Jason Segal, Ed Helms, Susan Sarandon, Judy Greer, Rae Dawn Chong

Once there were two brothers. Pat (Ed Helms) is the “good” son who is ambitious, hard working, and doing quite well in the business world. Jeff (Jason Segal) on the other hand, is a major screwup. Living in his mother’s basin, he spends all time living in his mother’s basement, and believes that everything happens due to some cosmic cause and effect. His mom is having a birthday and wants only one thing. For her son Jeff to get out of the basement and run a simple errand for her. This is much harder than it ought to be, as wrong number sends Jeff on a wild goose chase looking for the person who was supposed to answer the phone besides him. Meanwhile Pat is sick of his brother’s antics and it seems to be irritating him to no end. His world seems to be coming apart as he seems to have caught his wife in a compromising situation, but when the brothers and Mom and the “girls” are all present at a catastrophic event, perhaps Jeff’s weird beliefs aren’t so weird after all. Is this his destiny after all?

This is one of those weird, off the wall films. Kind of reminiscent of Dumb and Dumber, this film shows that TV actors can turn out a pretty decent comedy film too. Ed Helms (The Office), Jason Segal (How I Met Your Mother) and Judy Greer (Mad Love, Two and a Half Men) are all in active TV roles, but all do an outstanding job in this very quirky comedy. It’s a very strange story, but is decently funny. It’s not an award winning script, but it’s still well done with what they have here. Nothing ends up like you’d expect, and the smart one isn’t a smart as everyone thinks he is, and the dumb one isn’t near as stupid as everyone thinks. It’s a little bit a romance with a moderate amount of comedy mixed with a bit of heartwarming stuff, and what we end up with is a decent little B film that was off everyone’s radar. This is not a great movie, but one that you probably missed and a very decent rental! Well worth checking out.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

ML Delphi Premier Productions, TriStar Pictures,

Molly Ringwald, John Zarchen, Randall Batinkoff, Pauly Shore, Michelle Downey, Kenneth Mars, Patricia Barry, Miriam Flynn, Conchata Ferrell

Darcy Elliot (Molly Ringwald) is a budding journalist who is a popular superstar in her senior year. She lives with her single Mom who wants more to be her friend than her Mother. She has a boyfriend Stan Bobrucz (Randall Batinkoff) dreams of being an architectural engineer and has been hoping for a scholarship to CalPoly, and with his grades, he’ll probably make it. He lives and works with his Dad and Mom. They’re worried about going to colleges very far apart, but not surprisingly Darcy ends up pregnant. Darcy’s Mom is devastated because it will in convenience her, and she wants an abortion. Stan’s parents are Catholic and they insist on giving the baby up for adoption. But Darcy and Stan decided to get married and work things out by themselves causing them lots of grief.

Everyone knows Molly Ringwald from her excellent work in “The Breakfast Club”, “Pretty in Pink” and of course the classic “Sixteen Candles”, but I doubt very many people remember this film. Well, it is a bit sappy like a good romantic comedy usually is, but it’s a pretty good story supplemented by some pretty darn good acting. It’s hard to figure out who’s the more spoiled of these kids, but in the end it’s simply that they’re too young. Both are very good kids, and they love each other very much, but the stress of being children who need to act like adults is very tough.

This is a “After-school Special” on steroids and has both good and bad news about teenage pregnancy, but it’s a sad story even though it’s got a lot of happy moments. This is a classic 1988 film, and it’s age shows, but the story is good enough for today’s headlines. This is a chance to see some serious drama out of Molly, and is one of the best of that time period for her. This is well worth watching if you can find it. It’s on Netflix and occasionally available on pay cable.

I do not have a trailer for this film, but here is a scene from the film from YouTube.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

A Hot Dog, Apatow Productions, Relativity Media,

Paul Rudd, Jennifer Aniston, Justin Theroux, Alan Alda, Malin Akerman, Ken Marino, Joe Lo Truglio, Kathryn Hahn, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Lauren Ambrose, Todd Barry

George Gergenblatt (Paul Rudd) and his wife Linda (Jennifer Aniston are a young New York City couple who have a major setback when George is suddenly unemployed. With nowhere to turn, they move to Atlanta to live with his brother and his wife, only to realize he is really, really annoying. The stumble upon Elysium, a shangri-la community of left over hippies that features a vegan cuisine and free love, and is run by and elderly man named Carvin (Alan Alda) They share everything and “all you need is love”. Fitting into the compound may be a lot more difficult than either of them imagined. The free love aspect seems like a great idea to George, but when Linda tries it out, it’s a lot harder to deal with.

This is a mediocre film, that even with it’s R rating, still has the feel of a TV movie. It’s got some humor and some raunchy moments, mostly is just mediocre. Not a really bad film, but certainly you couldn’t call it good either. Sometimes there is a hidden gem that you missed. This isn’t one of those. It reaches for nostalgia and misses altogether. The kind of humor in this film is repeatedly driving vehicles into the lake. If you ask me, this is not worth your time. If you try to sit through it for the occasional aged bare rear end, you’ll find you wasted a lot of your time. Don’t bother.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Indian Paintbrush, American Empirical Pictures, Moonrise,

Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Harvey Keitel

Sam (Jared Gilman) is a Khaki Scout of on an island in New England at a scout camp. Suzy (Kara Hayward) is a lonely girl who loves to read and looks at life through binoculars. The two of them decide to set off on an adventure and run away to follow an old trail around the island setting of a panic among the scout troop run by Scout Master Ward (Ed Norton) and with the town folk lead by Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis). The two decide to elope and get married while an epic storm bears down on the island.

This film by Wes Anderson is, like all of his film is kind of weird. For this reason, even though it’s still in theaters, it’s kind of hard to find and did not get really wide release. But it’s definitely a worthwhile film. It reminds me a lot of the Lemony Snickett’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” or Louis Sacher’s “Wayside school” series of books. It’s very quirky and was made in the same manner. Shot on 16mm film, it’s got a real weird vibe to it. But it’s a really cute growing up film, and a touching romance between these two young people. It’s puppy love at it’s best with a great cast and a sweet story.

The film is set in the year 1965 although it could be almost anytime. It’s set on a fictional island, and the colors are drab and brown and beige through most of the film (with a few exceptions) which adds to the mood a lot. Though very strange, it feels oddly comfortable in a way. Throughout the story Suzy reads from her collection of children’s books, and it feels as though the kids are living their own children’s book as the pass through this adventure.

Now this film is definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, that’s a given. A lot of people will hate it. But if you’ve got an interest in a very off-beat unusual movie with a harmless story of innocence, this is it. If you liked Polar Express or Where the Wild Things Are, this is very similar in feel to both of those films. For me, I enjoyed it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Columbia Pictures, Laura Ziskin Productions, Marvel Enterprises,

Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Irfan Khan, Campbell Scott, Martin Sheen, Sally Field, Embeth Davidtz, Chris Zylka, Max Charles

This reboot of the Spider-Man legend takes us to a much darker place, but gives a lot more sensible explanation of what is going on. Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield)’s mother and father bring him to his Aunt May and Uncle Ben (Sally Fields and Martin Sheen) to live for a while when they have to deal with a serious problem. Their house has been broken into by someone trying to find the key to his work and the answer to a puzzle that could not only be worth billions, but could save the lives of thousands and tens of thousands of people. They never return. Peter grows up and faces his own issues, but accidentally finds an old briefcase that was left with the answers in a secret compartment. Peter sets of to discover what it all means, and what happens to him is no fluke, but has been planned. Peter meets Gwen Stacy at school where he’s admired her for a long time and they find themselves attracted, but when Peter is turned to Spider-man, and Gwen’s father Captain Stacey of the NYPD has an intense hatred of this Spider-Man character, things heat up in a hurry. Not to mention that Gwen works for Peter’s Dad’s old partner, Dr. Curt Conners (Rhys Ifans) who is playing with fire trying to splice animal and human genes together, he sets off a horrible monster on New York and it’s up to Spidey to save the city.

This is definitely a 5 star film! In my opinion it’s much better than the other Spider-Man films combined. This is for many obvious reason. First, with the work of actors like Sally Field and Martin Sheen, their characters add levels of depth to the roles and make these minor characters a big part of the story. Furthermore Emma Stone is perfect for GWEN and she actually runs circles around the part played by Kirsten Dunst. This is hard for me to say because I am a big Kirsten Dunst fan, and typically like her very much, but Emma is such a perfect choice for this and she adds a ton to the role. Not to mention that there is much deeper and heartfelt romance in this story compared to the first ones.

But I am not saying this is a romance either, as the action and graphics are eye popping, and the mix of live action and CGI is so seamless that you can’t tell in anyway when it switches. It’s fantastic. You so believe it until suddenly you realize that what is happening cannot possibly be happening and it has to be CGI, but it’s so smooth a transition that it’s not noticeable. Then of course, the drama element, danger, and suspense is off the charts as well. This is such an awesome script. And then Andrew Garfield who we may possibly remember from The Social Network and some other smaller film and tv roles is a virtual newcomer to be playing this role and he, too, is perfect for the most part. Some of the time, as Spider-man he gets a little whiny and annoying….(spider-man should keep quiet when he’s in costume for the most part) he’s perfect when he’s Peter Parker. He plays the innocence of Harry Potter, the brains of a scientist, and the confusion of a young man trying to find his way, yet is able to get so angry that he’s completely believable. Andrew was a great choice.

I saw this in IMAX 3D, and it was really well worth it. IMAX 3D glasses have gotten so comfortable that within a few minutes I completely forgot I was wearing them. And the 3D is eye-popping in this film, and the sound literally shook the seats. Romance, dark evil, a boy who is learning what it means to be responsible, great action and adventure, stunning CGI and photography, giant screen, perfect sound system and a suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat for nearly 2 1/2 hours. Comedy? At least a dozen times the audience laughed out loud. There is a lot of good comedy in this film Mix in some horror, science fiction, and supernatural and you have a great film. WOW, there is no reason not to go out and see this one right away!!! And this is from a guy who doesn’t normally get excited over superhero films!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog