Ed's Review Dot Com

Walt Disney Pictures, Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Infinitum Nihil,

Johnny Depp, Javier Bardem, Geoffrey Rush, Brenton Thwaites, Kaya Scodelario, Kevin McNally, Orlando Bloom, Stephen Graham, Martin Klebba, Golshifteh Farahani, David Wenham, Paul McCartney

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) is back in the 5th installment of the most successful franchise based on a Disneyland Attraction of the lot. Captain Jack has been marooned on the land, and is taking up time drinking, fooling around, and the occasional theft, like this one where he’s robbing a bank. Jack seems very unhappy, but those that are looking for him have not given up hope. Rumor is that he’s dead, but not only the English Navy is looking to capture him, but the Ghost Ship full of dead pirates lead by Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) is out to put an end Jack and his crew and to break the curse on them. And of course Captain Barbossa (Geoffrey Rush) would like to kill Jack as well. But there is a new twist. Henry Turner (Brenton Thwaites) son of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom)and his wife (from the very first movie) is out to fulfill his Dad’s dream by capturing a hidden object that can break ALL the curses. Of course only Jack Sparrow is able to find it, but he and a young lady named Carina (Kaya Scodelario), who has a rather famous parent herself, are leading the pack to find Jack to find the object if none (or all) of the others don’t find him first.

It is amazing that a fifth movie in the franchise movie has just been released. Time has flown by so fast since we set out on this journey. This movie relates back to the original film, and as such, it is a lot better, in my opinion, than some of the other sequels. The story is really simple, but the effects are getting better and better as each film develops. Technology is pretty advanced today, and they have learned to bring the CGI in, but it a way that is not obtrusive, without ruining the effort. It’s hardly noticeable most of the time, until you realize you are looking at a ghost shark that is nothing but a skeleton, or a sunken ship that somehow rises and floats along without much structure at all, mostly holes. The action is exciting and practically non-stop, but the story is solid enough to keep our interest in what is going on. I was very impressed with this movie, and I was glad I saw it on opening day on a BIG screen in a reclining chair with a huge bucket of popcorn with my Diet Coke. The sound was awesome, and the 2+ hours flew by so fast I forgot to get bored. I highly recommend this film as probably the biggest film of the summer and a great way to spend the holiday weekend. Be sure to see this film in the theater. It’s worth every penny!

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Apaches Entertainment, La Trini, A Monster Calls,

Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Lewis MacDougall, Liam Neeson, Toby Kebbell

Conor (Lewis MacDougall) is a young boy struggling with life in the private school where he is being bullied by some of his classmates. A horrible tragedy has struck, and Conor’s Mum (Felicity Jones) and his Dad (Toby Kebbell) have separated and Dad lives in the U.S. Conor is staying with his Grandmother (Sigourney Weaver) who is very strict and quite cross. To keep his sanity, Conor has a tree monster friend (Liam Neeson) who has promised to tell him three stories, then Conor must tell the fourth to solve his problem and relieve his pain. In the end, Conor must face the truth of his situation.

This was a very surprising film. It looked like a typical kids fantasy story, but is much, much more. This is a very difficult story to tell and to make it interesting enough for adults, yet not too extreme for younger folks. This is not a fantasy science fiction-y fairy tale, but a true life story of love, loss, death, and pain, told in a gentle way. The power of this story is impressive, and the director J.A. Bayona did an amazing job of bringing this story to the screen. Lewis MacDougall was absolutely amazing as Conor. He deserves a lot of praise for the professional way he played his role. Sigourney Weaver, of course, was fantastic too. In fact, the entire cast was really awesome. This is such a touching story, and one that was so very well presented, that I was really moved. The Monster in this film, is mostly real as well, with many different pieces of the tree built as practical set pieces that could be used for filming. Kudos for not resorting to CGI for most of it. Excellent choice. I have to recommend this film, a great fantasy, with such a powerful story that you’ll never forget it. This is a must see film.

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Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world famous neurosurgeon. But when he is in an auto accident, he finds he has lost the use of his hands for surgery, so he’s willing to go through anything to regain the use of his hands. Once he is introduced to The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) he learns that there is more to the universe than what he can see, and he becomes her student to take her place as leader of the spiritual universe.

This is another in the string of new Disney made Marvel Studios pictures. This one I did not care for in the least. Not only is the formula exactly the same as all the others, but I particularly did not like the Doctor Strange character. Dr. House plays a grumpy old M.D. on TV, but we all know he has a good heart underneath the gruff exterior. But Strange is so freaking obnoxious that I pretty much cheered against him throughout the whole film. The special effects are pretty, but it’s done way better in Inception. Basically Dr. Strange is annoying and an extreme narcissist. The Ancient One is a cocky little sucker, and the bad guys are not really bad, and who knows what all the point is to all this. Basically I found it very minimally enjoyable, and I wished I had skipped this one. They are running these stories into the ground, and this was one of the worst of the lot. Enough superheroes. Let’s find some good stories to tell like we used to have. TV is looking better all the time.

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Genre Co., The, Benaroya Pictures, 120dB Films,

Anthony Reynolds, Owen Teague, Clark Sarullo, Stacy Keach, Isabelle Fuhrman, Samuel L. Jackson, Erin Elizabeth Burns, John Cusack

Clay Riddell (John Cusack) is in the airport when he notices everyone who is on their cell phone screaming, then turning into maniacal killers killing themselves and everyone around them. A strange signal pulses though the phones turning filling everyone on their phone with incredible rage. Those not on their phone at the time, soon called 911 or someone at home to find out what was going on and were exposed to the sound. Clay escapes the airport, but sets out on his way to determine what happened to his wife and son who were home at the time of the cell phone attack. He runs across Tom McCourt (Samuel L Jackson) who is a locomotive engineer and they team up to try to survive the pockets of murderous monsters that are everywhere. The try to figure out the rules of how to deal with this problem while trying to stay alive.

This is based on a novel by Stephen King. I haven’t had the opportunity to read the book yet, and from those who have read it, the film pales in comparison to the book, but not having that to compare it with, I really enjoyed this film. It seems that Stephen King has a problem with Hollywood producers doing a weak job of migrating his books into films. I liked the fact that this was a zombie movie with living zombies. It was an interesting twist, as though these folks were clever and fast instead of stupid and slow like the typical zombie. In typical King fashion, we’re not going to get all the answers. He seems to like to tell the story of what happened and let you draw your own conclusions as to the whys and hows. The suspense was intense, although this is more of a science fiction story than a horror story. But King is like that too, typically. This is a really intense story, and the pair of Cusack and Jackson really go well together. This movie has a lot of people who dislike it, but for me it’s one of the better modern Stephen King movies I’ve seen. I enjoyed the scares and the suspense, and found it a very enjoyable little film. For Sci-Fi and Horror buffs, why not give it a try.

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Blinding Edge Pictures, Blumhouse Productions,

James McAvoy, Anya Taylor Joy, Betty Buckley, Jessica Sula, Haley Lu Richardson, Sterling K. Brown, Kim Director, Lyne Renee, Brad William Henke, Sebastian Arcelus, Neal Huff

Kevin (James McAvoy) is suffering from a Split Identity Disorder. His doctor, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley) is treating him with a little success, but is only aware of 23 of different personalities. Unfortunately there is a 24th that she is not aware of. When one of Kevin’s personalities kidnaps three girls, he takes them to a basement that is securely locked, soundproof and not easy to escape from where he holds them and prey’s on their minds until #24 shows up to do horrible things to the girls. This M. Night Shyamalan psychological thriller hit theaters this week and is certainly very suspenseful and quite shocking.

I have had a love/hate relationship with Mr Shyamalan. Some of his work I really liked, and some I just did not get. Surprisingly my list of the ones I didn’t like are on many people’s favorites list, and likewise, those I really liked, many people despised. This one I got a real jolt out of. The best thing about M. Night Shyamalan is that you must know as little as possible about the film going in, and try to see it right away before the ending gets spoiled. A couple times he has truly broken my mind. Sixth Sense is something I NEVER saw coming until the “Oh Crap” moment at the end. The Village was also one of my favorites as well because I never could see what was coming when the poor girl got out of the forest. What a shock that was to me. This one is not quite as shocking, but it was very, very suspenseful and I enjoyed every second of this film. Jame McAvoy had a blast playing all these different characters, and he slipped between them so perfectly that we really got to learn the personality of each of them as if they were separate people. Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy) really nailed this movie. I have seen here is several very suspenseful movies, particularly in The Witch and in Morgan which I really thought was a gem. She is a wonderful little actress, and I will do my best to watch out for her in the future. I thought this film was very suspenseful and quite entertaining, and I didn’t see the reason for all the hate. The public seems to like it though, as it has won the first two weeks, although granted there isn’t a lot of stiff competition at this time of year. This is rated PG-13, but it would be pretty darn scary for kids under 13, so I would take that into account. There was a small child in the theater when we watched it, not a toddler, but definitely elementary aged, and it seemed a bit intense for someone that small. It is actually a though provoking suspense film, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. It was a pleasant evening.

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