Ed's Review Dot Com

ChubbCo Film, Blackbird, Code Red,

Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Adepero Oduye

Former Teacher Paul (Steve Coogan) and his wife Claire (Laura Linney) meet for a very fancy dinner with his older brother, politician Stan Lohman (Richard Gere) and his wife. But there is another reason for the meeting and it’s not social. Their children have committed a horrible crime that has the city in an uproar, as it was caught on a security camera. But the kids have not yet been identified, so the problem is for the parents to decide what to do about it. How far are they willing to go to protect their kids, and what is the truth about the event? Was it a stupid mistake, an evil deed, beyond their control, or something that just got a little out of control. There is a lot to think about and a lot to decide, and the four people have four different opinions on what to do.

This is another example of a great story gone to waste. As this started out, I really expected it to be an interesting movie, but boy was I disappointed. The longer this movie went on, the more boring it went. The story is that the writer of the novel would not even attend the premier because he was so disappointed with the way the film was made. I wish I had skipped this one. The actors are really talented, and I don’t really know why this failed so bad for me. It just never got rolling and it was really dreary. I wanted to smack them all as time went on. I’m not sure if it was the screenplay or the directing, or what, but it simply didn’t work. Worst film I have seen n long, long time. Skip this one.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Archer Gray, Maiden Voyage Pictures, MindSmack Productions,

Elizabeth Banks, Josh Lucas, Chloe Sevigny, Boyd Holbrook, Jacob Lofland

In a small town which survives by the coal mine, and accident kills all the men underground but one, the survivor, finds himself embroiled in the fallout of the accident. There is an inquiry, and he is the main witness, but if the company is found responsible, the town could not survive. Shortly after, a teen boy disappears and the Survivor and the Mother of the boy (Elizabeth Banks) who is a lonely wife of a mine executive join together to try to find the boy. As the web is spun, more and more secrets are being hidden.

This has been an interesting week, with no big Hollywood releases, but a number of indie films that are quite unique. This is another of those. This is a dark story of a town in trouble, built on one industry where everyone depends on the mine for their survival. There are a number of mysteries (and some that we are let in on that is a mystery to the townsfolk), and as the secrets pile up things get stickier and stickier. It’s gloomy, and it’s very depressing. I felt sad when this was over, yet it was a very compelling story. The script was well done, and not all the answers are given to you and it makes you think. I pondered this one for quite a while after it was over. I was impressed with Elizabeth Banks and her performance in this film. She carried us through a range of emotions and did a really good job. It certainly was not an easy role. Basically this is a film of character development and the focus is on the characters. There’s little action and the main emphasis is on the feelings of the characters. Keep that in mind as you go in, because though a disaster has just taken place, this is not a disaster movie. Rather it’s an effects of the disaster movie. This is a unique story, but if you give it a chance, it isn’t half bad.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog