Ed's Review Dot Com

Felt Films, Taggart Productions, Votiv Films,

Mercy Malick, Jordi Vilasuso, Zachary James Rukavina, Kaiwi Lyman, Allegra Masters, Kevin Sheridan, Michael Nardelli, Michael McLafferty, Matt Corboy, Julie Benz, Autumn Federici, Sara Sanderson, John Edward Lee, Cesar Garcia, Lawrence Kao, Lisa Pelikan, Carter Jenkins, Molly Jackson

Fifty random people wake up inside a huge dark room with circles on the floor, one for each person to stand on. If they step off the circle, they are struck dead instantly. But as they stand on their circle, a ticking starts every two minutes and one of them is struck dead. Pretty soon they figure out that each person can wave their hands to select the person they vote for to die next, but no one can see any markers but their own, and you cannot vote for yourself. As the figure out the secrets, they begin to get to know the other people in the circle and just like a survivor episode, they try to work out what characteristics make the best choice to kill next. There are many different kinds of people, different races, different occupations, men, women, and children, and different ages. Does age matter? Should the women and children be protected, or are the oldest ones who have lived the longest first to go? There are many views and prejudices, but in the end, is it more about playing the others to protect yourself?

This is a mind blowing very cerebral study of human nature and how our experiences and prejudices affect our thinking. The stress is huge, as it’s no laughing matter as they try to figure out any reason to why this is happening. It takes place (except for the first and last scene) in the single room, in darkness, and could easily be performed as a stage play. There are no instructions and no voices other than the players themselves, and we are not really given much of a hint as to why they are doing this. It appears from the hints in the beginning and end that it is probably an alien abduction, but be have no contact with them, and we don’t know why, as none of this makes sense. This would be a horrible experience, and it’s terrifying to imagine being in that room. The script is awesome, and I was not able to recognize any of the people in the case. As a result, they were just random people with the luck of the draw as to why there were here. And the thought will hit you before it dawns on them, what happens when there are two people left and neither can vote for themselves? How long will this go on, and is there any way to stop it or defeat the game? The pressure sits on us throughout the movie, and it is something you will think about for a long time. My son knows I am a fan of sci-fi and mystery films, but especially those that make you think. I must thank him for putting me onto this movie after he found it and streamed it on Netflix, and he could not wait to talk to me about this film. Now that I’ve complete it, I look forward to discussing it with him to see what his take on it is, and what he makes of it. If you can find a friend to watch this with, it’s a definite plus to have someone to discuss it with! I think this is a very well make film and though there’s no car crashes or shoot outs, it’s a very intriguing movie that really makes you think. I actually really liked this movie.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

New Line Cinema

Jessica Alba, Kathy Bates, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Hector Elizondo, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner, Topher Grace, Anne Hathaway, Carter Jenkins, Ashton Kucher, Queen Latifah, Taylor Lautner, George Lopez, Shirley MacLaine, Emma Roberts, Julia Roberts, Taylor Swift

Ok, I listed about 10% of the cast.    I don’t know if I’ll still have room for the review.  🙂    Never since It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, have they hauled out this many stars for a single movie.  If you’ve never seen that one (how could you not?), go get it. It’s a lot funnier than this is.

Of course it was made to be seen on Valentines Day, and it was made in LA, so it’s more of a Valentine present to LA than to the public.   This is a lot of fluff mixed in with a lot of sweet, a lot of tears, a lot of hearbreak, a lot of “Aw gee” moments.  There are a zillion stories going on, and you have to try to follow all of them.  Every trick in the book is going to be used to bring everyone together in the end.  But bring them together they do.

If this film suffers from anything, it’s from trying to do TOO MUCH.  Maybe a couple of the stories could have been left out, and it would be a little easier to follow.  But since they put them in, you just have to try to follow.

All stages of love are represented here.  And they all end up fitting together.  It’s not classic film making and it’s not deep or thought provoking, but it is a delightful romantic comedy.  If you hate romantic comedies, then you might be one of the haters of this film.  But if you don’t expect Sheakespear, and just go with the flow, it’s a cute, suprisingly funny little Valentines Day romp that will not disappoint.