Ed's Review Dot Com

Cappa Defina Productions, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films), Fábrica de Cine,

Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds

In the 16th Century Japan had over 300,000 Christians. In a move to ban western ideas from Japan, the Emperor banned the religion and began to persecute not only the priests who served their congregation, but the Japanese Christians as well to drive them out of the country. Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) was one of the greatest priests in Japan, but he has disappeared and not heard from in many years. Two young Portuguese Priests, Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garrpe (Adam Driver) beg for the opportunity to go to Japan and determine what could have happened to Ferreira. Reluctantly they are allowed to take with them a drunken Japanese guide who promised to lead them to where Ferreira was last seen. But upon arrival, they find it extremely dangerous and filled with hardships for both them and for their tiny flock. They have to endure much torture and see so much suffering before they are able to learn the truth of their former mentor.

This is a very long and very dark tale with lots of extreme cruelty and lots of gory torture and death. These are Catholic priests and so this is definitely a religious film. These facts will make films like this difficult for some people. But this is a Scorsese film, and a labor of love for him since it took nearly 30 years to bring this to life. The novel is from 1966 so it is an old work, and this was made once before in 1971. This one is very authentic looking, although it was filmed in Taiwan, not in Japan, but the look and feel is very well done. The dark rocky shores lead you to believe you are in Japan This is a long movie, but kept me enthralled throughout. The story was told with such stark realism that you could almost feel the suffering. It was hard not to shed a tear or two during some of the endings. This also a morality play with no black and white, but many, many different shades of gray. Each person has a breaking point and how far can they be pushed before they will have to break. It also shows how extremely hard the Japanese people were. All in all, this is a really amazing story, and a new epic tale worthy of the great biblical films of long ago. This film did not get a lot of traction in the box office, and I think that’s really sad because there is an awful lot to love about this adventure, but I think some built in prejudice against Scorsese himself, along with the religious aspect of it affected a lot of the negative about it. I felt it was extremely well done, but people don’t want to see a movie about the Catholic church unless it’s got an exorcism or two in it, and a monster or two. Sad, because this was a very good film.

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Lucasfilm, Bad Robot, Truenorth Productions,

Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow

It’s some time since the last part of the story, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is missing, gone off to seek solace and to try to understand what has happened. The resistance is in hiding and trying to rebuild. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is now a General in the resistance, and with the help of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca they set out to try to follow the trail of Luke to get his help. Darth Vadar is long gone, but a new dark lord Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has risen to power and will do anything to stop them, and the empire has a new secret weapon that is well hidden and will make the death star look like a firecracker.

This long, long awaited sequel to Star Wars continues the story far into the future and is the seventh in the series. As everyone remembers parts 4,5,6 were first, then years later Lucas brought the warmth of Jar-Jar Binks to the world in the parts 1 – 2 – 3. I am not a Star Wars fanatic, nor do I hold the harsh view on parts 1, 2, and 3 that some people have. I find myself in the middle. I thought all 6 of the films were not all that bad, although I do nod to the originals and I do feel George Lucas went a bit overboard with the special effects in the prequels that left the meat of the story in the dust with all the sparklies and explosions. Now the world was waiting with baited breath to find out if Disney was going to be able to handle the pressure after purchasing the rights to the Star Wars franchise and their first attempt to finish the story with 3 more films. I think most people were hoping for the best, but secretly expecting Disney to screw up big time. Well, they did, in my opinion, a very good job of staying true to the original series, and though I thought a few things were a little strange in the first viewing, as time passed and with additional exposure to the new film, I’ve really come to the conclusion that they really nailed it. I am anxious for the next film and the one after that. This is a must see film, whether you’re a fan of the original films or not. This is a worthwhile story with lots of fun and action, but with lots of serious life issues as well. There is plenty to talk about after seeing this film, and it’s going to be another big part of the world’s culture for years and years to come.

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21 Laps Entertainment, Spring Creek Productions, Warner Bros.,

Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Rose Byrne, Jane Fonda, Connie Britton, Adam Driver, Timothy Olyphant, Kathryn Hahn

Judd Altman (Jason Bateman) is having a bad year. He just walked in on his wife and his boss in his bedroom, lost his home and his job, naturally, and then find out that his father has passed away. So even though Judd has not been home in a long time, he naturally flies back home for the funeral only to be told by his mother Hillary (Jane Fonda) that his father’s last wish was to have all four siblings home and to perform the Jewish ritual and sit shivah in the house for seven days. The problem is that though they start out nicely for a few minutes, old resentments and problems arise and set the family into a turmoil of epic proportions. There are so many surprises and secrets revealed that no one can keep up with it all. This is a very realistic dysfunctional family full of crazies, just like all of us seem to have. Can they make it through a whole week without something else awful happening?

This is one of those “relationship” movies that have been so popular over the years. This is, like some of the others, a collection of real starts brought together as a group in an ensemble movie. Truly it’s basically told through Judd’s eyes, but this is really about the entire extended family and everyone shines. The characters are marvelously developed and it’s truly funny. From the pranks that you can’t see coming, to the quirkiness of each different member of the family, it’s a laugh riot. I really have to say that I laughed a lot throughout the film, and I must say it kept me really entertained throughout. This is one of the best comedies I’ve seen in a while. There are some really funny sideline characters too that will make you laugh. With Ben Schwartz as a childhood friend of the family turned rabbi tries to play it straight and be serious (acting of course) the family tortures him and it’s a long running gag throughout the movie. It all feels very real, and painfully funny, and even though I am not usually blown away with Jason Bateman’s typical nice guy who gets dumped on by everyone, I really thought he shined through this movie and it was a good call to cast him. I found this highly entertaining and I recommend you give this movie a shot. I hope you’ll like it too.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog