Ed's Review Dot Com

Fairview Entertainment, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Walt Disney Pictures,

Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi

Disney brings us the live action Jungle Book based on their animated film based on Rudyard Kipling’s books. Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is raised by a pack of wolves until he gains the unwanted attention of Shere Kahn, the fiercest Lion in the Jungle. The panther Bagheera who found him, tries to take him back to the man village, but the journey is plagued with danger and the eventual meeting with Shere Kahn.

This live action version of the classic Disney film is by far the most successful of the animated to live films that Disney has been trying lately. Mostly I suspect this is due to the quality of the writing and the original stories. There are many surprises in this film and many things that have led to it’s huge success. First is Jon Favreau who is an excellent director who has outdone himself here. Second is the intense world developed by the animators of this stunning look at the jungle created on Disney’s lot in Burbank. The lighting, shadow, and details down to every hair is absolutely breathtaking. Then there’s the tribute to the original, while still making this a grown up totally different experience for those like me who have seen the original over and over again. The characters are mostly the same, and the major story points are pretty similar, but it juts off at a couple places that really makes this experience new. Then there’s the music. How can we beat Louis Prima’s “I Wanna Be Like You” or Phil Harris’ “Bear Necessities”. Well they did use much of the same music, though not all, but in a completely new and modern style that will let you remember the tune and the gist of the story, but with many new words and different sounds that make it feel like a new song in many ways. Unlike the cartoon, the music isn’t the main feature, but a background reminder of what you’re watching in a whole new light. Then there is the really exciting and fun voices. Bill Murray as Baloo and Christopher Walken as King Louie is fabulous. But all the voice talent is top notch, that’s for sure. Finally, the performance of Neel Sethi as Mowgli. There are whole clips on YouTube about how he was selected, and this kid is as unexpected as the stars of Slumdog Millionaire when it arrived on the scene. All the buzz is about this fellow, and he was unbelievably good. This is a must see film, so don’t miss out. Catch this one right away while it’s still in the theater on the BIG screen….the BIGGER the BETTER!!

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Chernin Entertainment, Crescendo Productions, Goldenlight Films,

Bill Murray, Melissa McCarthy, Chris O’Dowd, Naomi Watts, Terrence Howard,Jaeden Lieberher

Maggie (Melissa McCarthy) and her son Oliver (Jaeden Lieberher) are moving to a new home. Maggie is just recently divorced and in dire straits watching every penny. Their next door neighbor Vin (Bill Murray) is an ex soldier, retired, and taking care of his wife who is in a nursing home and doesn’t remember him. He an angry guy, drinks too much, lives with a Russian stripper/hooker (Naomi Watts) who is pregnant. When Maggie’s troubles grow, she calls on Vin to take care of Oliver after school while she’s at work, but he has no problem taking little Oliver to the horse races, to the bar, and to the strip club which probably isn’t such a good example. But Vin and Oliver become friends, and get along well.

This is such a touching story. Bill Murray does such a wonderful job of playing this angry old man who everyone knows has a heart of gold. This is probably the weirdest role Naomi Watts has ever done, Russian accent and all, but it it’s a real riot. In Russia they grown ’em tough, and she’s seen it all. This is also a perfect role for Melissa McCarthy who usually gets roles with lots of foul mouthed fighting and all the rough edges, but in this one she plays a single mom with the short end of the stick in a really heartbreaking way. She’s a woman who doesn’t deserve her fate, but is doing the very best she can despite the dumb ass she married. Everyone here is a pretty decent choice for their role, and this ensemble cast is a pleasure to watch. The humor is really good, Bill Murray is classic, and the whole thing wraps up with a heart breaking ending that will touch you to the core. All in all, this is a great comedy film, and I highly recommend it!

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Scott Rudin Productions, Indian Paintbrush, Studio Babelsber

Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori

A young writer (Jude Law) checks into the legendary Grand Budapest Hotel and finds it almost empty. He meets the man running the hotel who invites him to dinner for the story of why the hotel is still open and why he refuses to close it down. He then proceeds to tell the story of legendary owner Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) and his chief lobby-boy/personal assistant Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham/Tony Revolori). It’s a grand story of recovering a stolen masterpiece, and the battle over a family inheritance, set against the backdrop of a vastly changing Europe.

Wes Anderson (Director) is known for kind of “off kilter” films. When I watched this film, I think the other film that came to mind that reminded me of this style was “The Royal Tenenbaums”. Sure enough, another Wes Anderson film, as was “Moonrise Kingdom”, “The Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou. and even “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (which was one of my early reviews that got me in big trouble with a lot of people who loved this. I must admit Wes Anderson movies are a bit weird and hard to follow, but I must admit I kind of enjoyed this one a lot. First of all, there is a huge cast, with so many famous actors showing up to bring a lot of interest to the movie. Most of them are smaller parts, but still, they all add to the enjoyment. Then there’s the setting. Wes doesn’t like to do CGI that much, so most of what we see is either green screen, or more often models. The look of this movie is wonderful. The spectacular costuming and set design deserves a wealth of honors. The story if fast moving, and funny, even if many parts are ridiculous. Most of all, though this is based upon recorded history as to the larger events going on in Europe, it’s still a fantasy movie that really feels like we’re in a different magical world. All in all I found this a very interesting and enjoyable experience, and I am glad I watched it. If you can take the oddness of this film, you’ll probably enjoy it as well. If you seen it and have an opinion, feel free to use the comments section on this post, as I would be glad to hear different opinions on this movie. As for me, I liked it.

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Columbia Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures,

George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, Cate Blanchett

World War II is obviously wrapping up, and as the Nazi’s retreat, they are burning cities and towns to the ground and leaving nothing behind. In addition, they know that the world’s history is tied to the thousands of works of art throughout Europe in homes, museums, and such, so they have a definitive plan to steal and cart off, hide, or destroy everything they can get their hands on. The armed forces is naturally concerned about winning the war, so they’re not very much interested in art work. But Frank Stokes (George Clooney) convinces FDR to task him to put together a team of museum curators, museum directors, and art critics to go behind the enemy lines, find where the Nazi’s have hidden these treasures before the war ends, or the Nazi’s destroy the lot. It’s a tough task, but these guys are willing to risk everything to save the history of mankind. Based on the true story.

This is a very inspiring film. It’s a generous mix of big battles and war scenes, treachery and detective work, danger and loss. It is an exciting story, very well told and well acted, with a slew of top stars. There are funny moments, naturally, but mostly it’s a suspense filled war story. George Clooney directed and wrote the screenplay, and I must give kudos to him for that. He did an excellent job of presenting the story that kept it very interesting throughout. It’s highly entertaining, yet somehow educational at the same time. I learned a lot about an unknown part of the war for me. I had never thought about it before, but the history of man is truly told through it’s art. On a recent trip to visit my daughter at University of California, Santa Barbara, we were able to take some time to visit the Art Museum in Santa Barbara. She had been there before, but she wanted to take me as I have always wanted to visit an art museum but have never had the chance. I was really impressed with their collection of famous artists and pieces going back thousands of years from China and Egypt and other places. It was a real pleasure. After seeing this film, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the ancient European pieces were saved by this team of seven brave men. I completely enjoyed this film, and I highly recommend it to anyone who would enjoy the war story, or the hero story, or even the art story, as this one has something for everyone.

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American Zoetrope, A24, The Directors Bureau,

Charlie Sheen, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Katheryn Winnick, Patricia Arquette, Aubrey Plaza, Dermot Mulroney, Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Charles Swan (Charlie Sheen) is a very self centered, egotistical graphic designer who is deeply disturbed. He’s looking to find some kind of meaning, but he’s delving into his own imagination and mystical life to try to find something to hold on to. We, as the audience, are treated to the view of his active imagination and his struggle to make sense of out of his life.

This probably could be a biography of Charlie Sheen during the dark times when he was fired from Two and a Half Men. Charles Swan is really gone off the deep end. The movie descriptions always say he’s depressed because of the loss of his girlfriend, but I don’t believe that’s really the cause. It might be the trigger, but basically this guy is nuts.

I am one of the many who did not like this film. I admit, there are fans out there of anything, but this just did not go anywhere for me. I found it very pretentious, for no logical reason, and very boring. Seriously, this is one of the worst films I’ve seen this year, and not one I’d recommend to anyone other than the handful who have already seen it. In the words of “Men on Film”…. Hated it.

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