Ed's Review Dot Com

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.

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Amazon Studios, K Period Media, Pearl Street Films,

Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick, Tate Donovan, Josh Hamilton, Anna Baryshnikov, C.J. Wilson, Heather Burns

Lee Chandler (Casey Afleck) is a lonely guy. He has a long history and has left home in Manchester along the coast to get away to the city where he works as a handyman for a string of apartments. But when he gets a call that his brother has just died from a heart attack, Lee heads home to Manchester to see what must be done. To his shock, his brother has named him as guardian for his teen aged son Patrick (Lucas Hedges) which he is ill equipped to handle. Determined to do the best he can for everyone, Lee is sorely burdened by certain events in his past that have affected his life.

This film is highly honored by the Hollywood Elite, and up for many awards, which is usually a sign of a problem. Then I start seeing FIVE STAR Reviews all over Netflix, and as I read them, they are rather stuffy as well. Then I notice that this is a Sundance film, and that explains why I was so disappointed in this film. There is a class of people who feel they are the true art lovers and who appreciate the nuances and such of a film like this. But I had a really hard time sitting through it. I wanted to be moved, but I couldn’t. Both the young Patrick and the grown version were highly unlikeable. Casey is in one of the worst roles I have seen, and this guy needs some Prozac right away. Flashbacks were all over the place, and very hard to catch on to what was going on. There are several characters in this film, including Michelle William’s character who I have no idea why they are important to the story. Perhaps I am too dumb to get it, but I just felt that this dragged on and on and on, and I was anxiously watching for the final credits when I could finally put this one back in it’s folder and mail it back. I really felt this was not worth the time that I invested in watching it. Watch it if you’re curious about all the awards, but be prepared to be bored to tears.

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Amazon Studios, Bleeker Street,

Michael Shannon, Kevin Spacey, Alex Pettyfer, Johnny Knoxville

Elvis Presley (Michael Shannon) had finished his stint in the Army. He was well established at this point, and needed something to keep himself occupied. Watching TV, he became obsessed by the troubles in the US, with civil unrest and rampant drug use. Elvis wanted a badge. He had a dream of becoming a CIA agent, and set off to Washington D.C. to deliver a handwritten letter to President Richard Nixon (Kevin Spacey). Surprisingly, the two had a famous meeting in the oval office, and this is the story of the events that led to that meeting and the results afterward.

This is a very interesting film. First, this is my first time (I think) viewing an Amazon Studios film. Yeah, that’s the Amazon.com people who like everybody else are jumping into content creation. This was the first feature film picked up by Amazon. Kevin Spacey was heavily involved in the production of this film, and does a hell of a Nixon impersonation. He was really superior in his portrayal of President Nixon. Michael Shannon does his best to try to be Elvis, but actually he doesn’t look or act much like Elvis and I have seen numerous Elvis impersonators (a few in this film, even) who can do Elvis better than he did. But that’s not a huge deal, as no one is really going to be Elvis. This is actually a fairly decent retelling of the what happened according to the folks who were there at the time. This is a small film, very low budget, and not even 90 minutes long, but still it’s an interesting story, one that I’ve heard tell of for most of my life since it happened in 1970, but something I was never really sure of what actually occurred. This was and interesting experience, and if you are interested, I certainly would recommend you watch it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog