A+E Studios, ChickFlick Productions, JuVee Productions,
Viola Davis, Jennifer Lopez, Shea Whigham, Andre Royo, Chris Chalk, Julius Tennon, Aml Ameen

Lila (Viola Davis) is a bright hardworking single Mom living in the inner city where she’s working hard to raise her children to do right and have good moral values. Her oldest son is shot and killed in a drive by shooting that sends Lila into a tailspin causing her to go into a very deep dark place. She worked for the city, but is on an extended leave due to the tragedy. She’s attending a support group of Mothers who have lost children, and meeting an interesting but bitter woman Eve (Jennifer Lopez) who has lost a child as well. The two form a friendship to try to determine who is responsible for the death of their children since the police are not making any headway. The form a tight bond and become partners in search and retribution.
This is actually a “small” movie that stirred my interest when it went into the theaters but wasn’t a big enough splash to make me run out to see it first run. Now that it’s on DVD I was anxious to see this film and see what it is all about. For the Eve character, Jennifer plays a very angry woman who is goading Lila to take action due to the lack of response from the authorities, whereas Lila, who cannot bring herself to tell the group that she really wants revenge for the death of her son, is much more grounded and unwilling to go too far other than to find out what happened. This brings a great conflict between the two characters who are very close, but like the little devil on one shoulder and the little angel on the other shoulder depicted in our childhood cartoons, Eve takes the devil’s side and Lila takes the angel side. It’s a struggle to see who will win out. That portion of it is quite interesting, thought provoking, as well as entertaining to watch. With Jennifer Lopez who does a really great job here, and Viola Davis who is another very good actress, we have all the talent we need for the emotional roller-coaster here. The story is very well written, and there is a surprise twist near the end to what really happened and how different characters were involved that I did not see coming and caught me blindsided, but in retrospect I should have seen it coming. It was a well filmed, well acted, well written, and well edited film that is still a small detective piece with a lot of really good quality at a meager budget. If you are fan of action/suspense thrillers, then I recommend this film as one that you probably, like me, passed over in theaters, and I suggest you watch this one for a good evening of intense suspense.
EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog
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LD Entertainment, Fortress Features,
Josh Stewart, Emma Fitzpatrick, Lee Tergesen, Christopher McDonald, Shannon Kane, Tim Griffin, Andre Royo, Randall Archer, Johanna Braddy, Navi Rawat, Brandon Molale

Arkin (Josh Stewart) is held captive by an evil madman known as the Collector. He somehow manages to escape and is free of the house of horrors when he is kidnapped in the hospital by mercenaries hired by Elena’s (Emma Fitzpatrick) wealthy father who is paying them to rescue his daughter who is also being kept for “The Collection”. So Arkin has to go back into the house of horror and risk his life again to try to save Elena or die trying.
This movie is really gory and violent, and very bloody. It’s also pretty silly and a direct derivative of the Saw franchise. It’s nearly identical. The same premise of killing people in extremely gruesome manners that are highly technical and very unique is what Saw is all about. This movie is the exact same thing. But it’s not that scary, and really not worth the effort. If you’re a fan of the Saw series, there are so many of them, you might as well watch one of the originals. I just didn’t think this film was worth the time I spent watching it.
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Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Lucasfilm, Partnership Pictures,
Cuba Gooding Jr., Terrence Howard, Nate Parker, David Oyelowo, Ne-Yo, Elijah Kelley, Bryan Cranston, Tristan Wilds, Lee Tergesen, Method Man, Andre Royo

Terrence Howard and Cuba Gooding star in this biographical documentary about the famous WWII Tuskeegee Airmen, part of the 332nd Fighter Group, and all black World War II unit that were the best escort pilots in the service of their country. Known as Red Tails, they fought the Nazis in Europe while they fought racism at home. This true story covers the fight they had to gain respect in a time when black men really didn’t get to be a part of the real military, but were assigned to less significant roles. These brave heroes fought the for the right to fight like the real ace pilots they were.
This is not a perfect movie by any means. If you want to pick it apart you surely can find lots of things to complain about. Cliche ridden, with a very mediocre score, and with some really corny scenes, it’s not overly exciting. I think if they really failed on this script it was because they are trying too hard to tell a story that needs to be told. This is a lot like the old documentaries we used to see and not like the big budget WWII fighting ace films that came along a lot later. I think the actors gave it a commendable try, but the script wasn’t quite crisp or fresh enough to make this a great little film. But it was, as I said, probably a story that needed to be told. The feeling I got was similar to the religious broadcasting that they used to put on TV in Sunday Mornings in the 50’s and 60’s. It was a requirement to keep their license for the stations to broadcast so many public service hours every week, and the relegated these to Sunday morning and very late at night (think “Sermonette”). They did it because they had to, and it was a good thing to do, but they didn’t really put their heart and soul into it. It was sort of just done in order to get it out of the way. That’s how this film felt to me. I think it’s well worth the time watching it as a rental, but it won’t be really exciting unless you are really a WWII buff and already know the story. Still, I’m glad I saw it, and it was worth the effort. I give it a lukewarm recommendation at best.
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This Is That Productions, Ambush Entertainment, Crimson Bolt
Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page, Liv Tyler, Kevin Bacon, Gregg Henry, Michael Rooker, Andre Royo, Sean Gunn, Stephen Blackehart, Linda Cardellini, Nathan Fillion

Frank D’Arbo (Rainn Wilson) loses his wife Sarah (Liv Tyler) to a drug kingpin Jacques (Kevin Bacon). While in the throes of depression at the loss of his wife, he thinks he hears the voice of God who tells him to don a costume and turn into The Crimson Bolt! Frank has a desire to set the world right, and takes his bumbling superhero character to heart, but his weapon of choice is a pipe wrench. In the beginning this is just silly, but he actually wields a pretty mean pipe wrench. Soon he meets Libby (Ellen Page) who is a clerk in a comic book store but who figures out that Frank is The Crimson Bolt. Tagging along after him, and taking upon herself the title “Boltie” she becomes his sidekick much to Frank’s chagrin. What follows is a raucous, yet heart felt romp through the realms of crime and punishment.
This is another regular man, loser, wanna be superhero. This genre has been done before. But Rainn Wilson in his most cynical “Dwight Schroot” mood, and is really funny while he’s being introspective. This guy plays sarcasm like a Stradivarius! Ellen Page is also good as the wanna be sidekick, and she’s got her sarcastic self going as well. This is not totally original, but still is a pretty funny film, and they do some serious introspection that makes the whole thing worthwhile. I enjoyed it. If you are bored with the depressed loser guy trying his hand at super hero-dom, then stay away, but if you can handle another one, this one, I think, put last year’s “Kick-ass” to shame. Rainn and Ellen did an excellent job together.
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