Ed's Review Dot Com

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.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE), Media Rights Capital (MRC), Imagine Entertainment,

Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Claudia Kim, Fran Kranz, Jackie Earle Haley, Dennis Haysbert, Abbey Lee, Nicholas Hamilton, Katheryn Winnick, José Zúñiga, Ben Gavin, Michael Barbieri

Jake (Tom Taylor) is an usual young man. He has vivid dreams of a large tower in the center of the universe that is under attack, and he knows something terrible will happen if it is destroyed. He also sees a Man in Black, Walter (Matthew McConaughey) who is out to destroy it. But he also dreams of a man who is out to fight the Man in Black, Roland (Idris Elba), aka. The Gunslinger, who is out to destroy Walter and wave the universe. It turns out that Jake may have an imp9ortant role in stabilizing the universe and saving everything from a horrible ending.

This movie is based on a series of books by Stephen King, so I knew going in it was going to be a bit weird. It was a rather tough concept to fathom, but once you get into the action part of the movie, and get past the long setup, thing really start to click. I enjoyed this movie a lot, and seeing Matthew McConaughey as the ultimate villain here was quite a treat. It turns out he never says, Alright, Alright, Alright, and he is very un-Matthew McConaughey. Truth is, this may be my favorite role I have ever seen him play. Idris Elba is also very impressive as Gunslinger, and he’s awesome as always. But I thought Tom taylor did a really good job playing his role, and it made the whole movie. Special effects are very well done, and it’s an impressive story. All in all, this movie really clicks, and I really enjoyed it a lot. I can recommend this for all ages, as it’s a great story for young and old. Well, maybe not the real little kids who might get scared of some of the action scenes. All in all, this is a good movie and I recommend it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Bron Studios, Escape Artists, MACRO,

Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson, Jovan Adepo, Saniyya Sidney, Christopher Mele

Troy Maxson (Denzel Washington) and his wife Rose (Viola Davis) struggle to survive in the Hill District in Pittsburgh in the 1950’s. Troy works as a trash man in the city, and brings his pay home to his wife to struggle through another week. Troy is a harsh man, having had a very rough childhood without a father, then spending a stint in prison for being stupid, and now trying to make a go of it for his family. But his older son is estranged and doesn’t come home, and his youngest son has a passion for football and has a planned scholarship for college as a football player. But everything blows up, as the problems mount faster than Troy can deal with them, as it all comes crashing down in a thunderous climax.

This film got a lot of honors during last season’s awards season, and this is probably the best film of 2016 in my book. This is a film that I really wanted to see in the theater, but was never able to pull it off. Then when it came out on DVD, I had it at the top of my queue on the day it was released. NetFlix has been playing games lately where they will send you one less than the number of free items in you queue and make you wait an extra day for the last one. Due to that, Fences ended up on the “Long Wait” game, so I decided rather than going out to RedBox or to rent this ON DEMAND, I would keep it at the top of the queue and see how well NetFlix could do at getting a movie I really wanted to see. Months have gone by and I finally got it this week. This was really worth the wait. One of the lines in the movie is something like: “Some people build fences to keep people out, but some people build them to keep people in.” This movie is called Fences for two reasons. One is the fence that Troy has always been promising to build, but it’s also a metaphor for Troy’s family and how he is losing them while he’s trying to hold him. This film reminded me a lot of the classic “Raising in the Sun” and is a very touching and well performed film about the trials and tribulations facing poor people back in the 50’s that will ring true today. It is very dramatic, and has a lot of dialog, but is very well portrayed. Growing up in Western Pa in the 1950’s myself, I was able to understand the feel of the movie. It’s very Pittsburgh. The entire cast is superb, and there is a lot of harsh reality, but a lot of tenderness underneath that is hard to show. This is an excellent film, and a wonderful story that is very much worth the praise heaped on it. This one should have swept the Oscars, and it was robbed when it didn’t. I recommend you watch this one!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Movie Rentals Releasing Tuesday August 22, 2017

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
• Scales: Mermaids are Real
• Showing Roots

Amazon Studios, Big Indie Pictures, Picrow,

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Cena, Laith Nakli

Matthews (John Cena) is a crack sniper, and Issac (Aaron taylor-Johnson) is his spotter. They have been called out by the pipeline contractors for assistance when an Iraqi sniper is picking them off. The boys can’t tell if they were attacked by a sniper or someone else, but they patiently and cautiously watch for any movement that there could be a sniper. Finally Matthews gets tired of waiting and heads out to examine the body when he finds out that it was a sniper and he’s still hiding out there. Isaac tries to help but gets pinned behind a crumbling wall with the sniper somewhere out there on the other side of wall. Matthews has been severely hurt, but Isaac tries to contact the base on the radio to ask for help, but he finds out the voice on the radio is not the headquarters, but actually the other sniper who is playing him. Now he’s pinned behind a way without any water, and the two are playing mind games with each other in a long drawn out cat and mouse game.

This a very dramatic film, but many will completely hate it. As for myself, I really loved it. There is a lot going on here but it’s all mind games. The sniper is very devious, and has figured out a way to lure people into his trap, just like Isaac and Matthews were caught. There are only two characters, plus the voice on the radio, and the location for the entire film is one little spot behind the wall in the desert. But there are so many levels of thinking and planning going on here, and it was a puzzle just waiting to put together. This really felt realistic, and it was a very suspenseful. I really enjoyed the story, and was very glad I watched it. Don’t expect “The Battle of the Bulge” here, it’s not an action movie. It’s very thought provoking though, and will give you a lot to think about.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog