Ed's Review Dot Com

Felt Films, Taggart Productions, Votiv Films,

Mercy Malick, Jordi Vilasuso, Zachary James Rukavina, Kaiwi Lyman, Allegra Masters, Kevin Sheridan, Michael Nardelli, Michael McLafferty, Matt Corboy, Julie Benz, Autumn Federici, Sara Sanderson, John Edward Lee, Cesar Garcia, Lawrence Kao, Lisa Pelikan, Carter Jenkins, Molly Jackson

Fifty random people wake up inside a huge dark room with circles on the floor, one for each person to stand on. If they step off the circle, they are struck dead instantly. But as they stand on their circle, a ticking starts every two minutes and one of them is struck dead. Pretty soon they figure out that each person can wave their hands to select the person they vote for to die next, but no one can see any markers but their own, and you cannot vote for yourself. As the figure out the secrets, they begin to get to know the other people in the circle and just like a survivor episode, they try to work out what characteristics make the best choice to kill next. There are many different kinds of people, different races, different occupations, men, women, and children, and different ages. Does age matter? Should the women and children be protected, or are the oldest ones who have lived the longest first to go? There are many views and prejudices, but in the end, is it more about playing the others to protect yourself?

This is a mind blowing very cerebral study of human nature and how our experiences and prejudices affect our thinking. The stress is huge, as it’s no laughing matter as they try to figure out any reason to why this is happening. It takes place (except for the first and last scene) in the single room, in darkness, and could easily be performed as a stage play. There are no instructions and no voices other than the players themselves, and we are not really given much of a hint as to why they are doing this. It appears from the hints in the beginning and end that it is probably an alien abduction, but be have no contact with them, and we don’t know why, as none of this makes sense. This would be a horrible experience, and it’s terrifying to imagine being in that room. The script is awesome, and I was not able to recognize any of the people in the case. As a result, they were just random people with the luck of the draw as to why there were here. And the thought will hit you before it dawns on them, what happens when there are two people left and neither can vote for themselves? How long will this go on, and is there any way to stop it or defeat the game? The pressure sits on us throughout the movie, and it is something you will think about for a long time. My son knows I am a fan of sci-fi and mystery films, but especially those that make you think. I must thank him for putting me onto this movie after he found it and streamed it on Netflix, and he could not wait to talk to me about this film. Now that I’ve complete it, I look forward to discussing it with him to see what his take on it is, and what he makes of it. If you can find a friend to watch this with, it’s a definite plus to have someone to discuss it with! I think this is a very well make film and though there’s no car crashes or shoot outs, it’s a very intriguing movie that really makes you think. I actually really liked this movie.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Atlas Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, Blizzard Entertainment,

Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell, Ben Schnetzer, Robert Kazinsky, Daniel Wu, Anna Galvin, Ruth Negga, Clancy Brown, Dylan Schombing, Terry Notary, Callum Keith Rennie, Dean Redman

Based on the Blizzard video games, this high adventure film follows the story line of when the Horde came through a portal into the land of Azeroth which is run by the human race. Orcs come through because their world is in ruins and they want to wage war to take over the world. All of the bravery, magic, and strength will be needed to protect Azeroth.

This film is very well done. Blizzard is a classic company, and I generally am not a big fan of video games turned into movies, but this was technically superb. Special effects. The action is very good as are the battle scenes. I must admit I played World of Warcraft for a number of years, although I have never seen the earlier single player games, but seeing some of the locations was a real treat, although I must admit that I played the game completing quests and not paying much to the back story. I really enjoyed the action and adventure in this movie, and I think it was very well made, and as such, I recommend this movie. It was a lot of fun!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Chernin Entertainment, Scope Pictures,

Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Samuel L. Jackson, Allison Janney, Rupert Everett, Judi Dench, Chris O’Dowd, Ella Purnell, Terence Stamp, Kim Dickens, Milo Parker

Essentially a fantastic story about a young man, Jake (Asa Butterfield) who is very close to his elderly grandfather, but can’t seem to connect with this own father. When grandfather Abe (Terence Stamp) is killed under mysterious circumstances, Jake and his father head over to Wales to find the orphanage where Grandpa Abe stayed as a child, and Miss Peregrine, the odd mistress of the home about which Abe has told stories to Jake since he was a little child that would certainly make Mary Poppins jealous. Miss Peregrine and the children who live in the home have many secrets, mostly very dark, about those who want to destroy them, monsters and all sorts of misfits all around. Jake needs to find out that he’s someone special after all, just like Grandpa promised.

This is a live action adventure by Tim Burton. Yeah, when you see Tim Burton’s name producing a film, you know it’s going to be quite strange, and this is certainly not an exception by any means. This is one really weird story, and fans of Burton will surely love the weirdness more than anything else. But it’s a damn good story too, and though it is quite unrealistic most of the way, it does have a certain charm to it, plus a cameo by Dame Judy Dench too. All kinds of supernatural things abound, and nothing is ever as it seems to be. But underneath it all, it’s a familiar story of a young boy who feels out of it like he’s not anybody special, who needs to come to grips with the hero in him. Now I was an avid reader in my youthful days, and though I have lost that due to a huge lack of time to read anymore, I still respect those whose passion is the printed page. This, as I understand, is a wonderful book, and the movie does not follow the story very closely and departs across many of the characters. I can’t comment on that because I have not read the book, so my review of this is only of the film, and I really liked it. I splurged the extra three bucks for a pair of 3D glasses and the 3D was pleasurable. I really enjoy that technology and rarely am I disappointed in the 3D effects. After a few minutes, you get into the story and begin to forget that it’s actually 3D which is I think a good thing, but I have to admit that I was very enthralled with this film and enjoyed it very much. Certainly a can’t miss for Tim Burton fans, but anyone who is a fan of quirky adventure stories that are certainly out of the ordinary would, I think, enjoy this movie as well. This is a well received film by the public, and I am very happy to give my full recommendation to this one. It is PG-13 and there are some creatures that would be scary for little kids, but for Teens to Seniors, this is a good little movie.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Resolute Films and Entertainment, The Harold Greenberg Fund, Telefilm,

Gillian Anderson, Haley Joel Osment, Rufus Sewell, Victor Garber

Gabriel (Rufus Sewell) was a brilliant scientist who left on a business trip and just disappeared. His son, Erol (Haley Joel Osment) and his grandfather (Victor Garber) work together to figure out what happened to Gabe. What they found was that he had found a way to cross into another time line, and wanted to talk to Albert Einstein, planning to return immediately, but something happened to him so for the last 12 years life has gone on without him. It’s up to Erol to figure out if there is a way to recreate his father’s work and find out the truth of what happened.

I am a sucker for time travel stories. It’s one of the most fascinating concepts to me, and as a result, I loved the intense detail they put into the story and the process by which things happened. The paradox of time travel, (What happens when you change something) has always been a favorite concept for me to think about, ever since I was a child. Haley Joel Osment is excellent in his role as the troubled genius that has the smarts to figure it out, but must deal with the consequences if it doesn’t turn out as expected. Life will certainly be different if he succeeds, and what will the costs be? The story unfolds and as always happens in a time travel movie, you have to think through the consequences of messing with time. It’s not heavy, and the story is told quickly, but is very deep emotionally, and doesn’t judge. Too many sci-fi stories, especially time travel stories have too much moral lessons and not enough fun. I guess Rod Serling and Gene Roddenberry taught us that good sci-fi must have a moral to teach us. Other than the “There’s No Place Like Home” theme, this is a movie with a very interesting story, a really great cast, excellent music (The theme is awsome), and is very solidly put together. I really enjoyed this one, and I must recommend this movie as one that is really a hidden gem! I don’t know where this film has been since 2014, but I’m glad it finally made it to the top of my queue. Great job, guys!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Carpenter B, Bad Robot, Warner Bros. Television,

James Franco, Sarah Gadon, George MacKay, Chris Cooper, Cherry Jones, Daniel Webber, Kevin J. O’Connor

Jake Epping (James Franco) is a school teacher in 2016. He finds a way to travel back in time, but it always takes him to October 1960 to the same place and the same time. He can return, and anything that was changed remains changed, but when he goes back through the portal, everything resets the way it was. He is on a mission to stop Lee Harvey Oswald (Daniel Webber) from killing J.F.K. on 11/22/63 so he has three years to wait to prove that Oswald was the shooter, and to try to stop him before he can do it. But time pushes back when you try to change things, and time is a powerful foe.

This is based on a novel by Stephen King, and was planned for a big budget Hollywood film, but the producers determined that it needed more time than that, so they developed an 8 episode, 8 hour mini-series. Starring and produced by James Franco, this is a really neat little time travel story. Stephen King has his own bizarre way of developing a story, and this is pure King. When people write a time travel story, it’s usually either to kill Hitler or to save Kennedy. But they are all the same. You can’t change history or things fall apart. You can’t count on King to follow the rules though, and this is not really ever predictable. There are some really creepy characters, like an old man who keeps telling him “You shouldn’t be here” that gives you the creeps. Plus there is a romance blooming when Jake bumps into Sadie (Sarah Gadon) in 1960 which causes him a lot of distress. This is not a Twilight Zone episode that wraps up in 30 minutes. This is an 8 hour marathon, so we get many characters that we get to see developed, and many side bars and tangent stories that make it good. When it comes down to the last episode, it’s really quite exciting. How cool it is to have this on 2 DVD’s so that we can binge watch them all in one long day! I really enjoyed this film, but, of course, I am a total sucker for time travel stories. It’s something that has stuck with me since I was a youngster. I had never heard of this TV series, and was really interested when I found it in the new releases this week, and very happy I took up 2 spots in my queue for this story. I recommend it for those of us who love a good science fiction thriller once in a while. Keep in mind though, that even though it’s based on the real images of 1963, this is total fiction, so don’t expect to solve the Kennedy assassination while watching this film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog