Ed's Review Dot Com

FilmNation Entertainment, Gravier Productions, Perdido Productions,

Jeannie Berlin, Steve Carell, Jesse Eisenberg, Blake Lively, Parker Posey, Kristen Stewart, Corey Stoll, Ken Stott

It’s the 1930’s and Bobby (Jesse Eisenberg) is a a naive Jewish boy living with his Mom and Pop in New York City who dreams of going to Hollywood to experience a new life. Bobby’s Uncle, Phil Stern (Steve Carell) is a power agent working the biggest stars in Hollywood and is a very busy guy, so Bobby’s Mom calls in a favor and asks Phil to watch over him. When Bobby arrives, he fits into the glitz and glamor of 1930’s Hollywood very quickly, but it thrown for a loop when he meets Vonnie (Kristen Stewart) and he falls very hard. But things are complicated because Vonnie is dating a married man and things get complicated very quickly. This is a Woody Allen film.

When Woody Allen makes a film, there is certainly a specific feel and mood to the story. This is very classic Woody, a homage to old Hollywood which I feel Allen must find very appealing. And as such, with all Woody films, it could be hit or miss. This one wasn’t too bad at all. I think this movie out La La Lands “La La Land” [Click Here for Ed’s Review] . Ever since “The Artist” [Click Here for Ed’s Review] came out in 2011 and grabbed Best Picture at the Oscars, old time Hollywood has been in, and this is a very good period picture. Steve Carell does an excellent job as the power agent of the stars and he didn’t overplay it. He showed multiple facets to his character without missing the effects that being such a big shot would have on his personality. Jesse Eisenberg is also very well cast as the young Jewish boy longing for the bright lights and glamor of Hollywood either. What really surprised me was Kristen Stewart who I am usually unimpressed by. With all the wooden performances in the Twilight series, and the underwhelming disaster that was Snow White and the Huntsman, I had soft of given up on her, but she did a really good job in this movie, and I don’t know if it was Woody’s talent in pulling this performance out of her, or if she is really getting it, but I think she may have some really good performances in there waiting to come out. Great job. With the other characters too there are are some really good performances there. All in all, it was a nice simple film that took us way back to a much easier time and was a refreshing change of pace. I actually enjoyed this film, and unless you’re one of those who simply hate Woody Allen for his personal life choices, you may want to give this a try. It was an interesting story and felt like a trip back in time.

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Black Bear Pictures, Boies / Schiller Film Group, Hwy61,

Matthew McConaughey, Édgar Ramírez , Bryce Dallas Howard, Corey Stoll, Toby Kebbell, Craig T. Nelson, Stacy Keach, Bruce Greenwood

Kenny Wells (Matthew McConaughey) is a ne’er do well prospector with the dream of hitting it rich. With the help of his friend, the locate property in Indonesia and stake out a claim which looks like a really big deal. This looks like the big break he’s been looking for. But it’s complicated as the lies, secrets, double-crosses, and more pile up as everyone is out to take advantage of everyone else in this story based on real events.

The closest thing I can think of to McConaughey’s performance in this docudrama is Michael Keaton’s performance in The Founder. There are a lot of similarities in the stories, at least as far as the performances of the two actors. This is a very different story though, and I think Matthew did a good job transferring this character to the screen. This is one of those stories that is like a snowball rolling down a hillside that keeps growing bigger and rolling faster until it is able to flatten everyone. We’re not sure right up to the very last second who is the good guy and who is the sucker. It’s got twists and turns just like “The Sting”. It’s a roller coaster ride, that’s for sure, and a decent little film. It didn’t blow me away, but it sure kept interested throughout the whole film, and it surprised me after all in the end. This is a crime story most of all, but with lots of secrets. A serious game of one-ups pulled one after another. It’s a good enough movie if you’re interested in how NOT to make a million dollars.

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Marvel Studios,

Paul Rudd, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Judy Greer, T.I., David Dastmalchian, Wood Harris, Michael Douglas

Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) is just getting out of prison, and he misses his daughter. He’s determined to go straight, but he shortly finds that his ex-wife Maggie (Judy Greer) and her new guy, cop Paxton (Bobby Cannavale) and those who might give him a regular job, don’t get along very well with ex-cons. So out of desperation, Scott is convinced to try one last heist. But he’s been tricked into crossing paths with scientist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) who needs his help to fight the guy who ran Dr. Pym from the company he founded and has tried to steal his technology that could turn a human into a tiny creature, the size of an ant. With inside help from his daughter Hope (Evangeline Lilly) he’s able to convince Scott to redeem himself by turning himself into Ant-Man and trying to save the world.

Marvel has surely been on a roll. There is no doubt they are hitting home run after home run. Ant-Man is certainly a risk for them, but one that paid off highly. First of all, what about the history? Dr. Pym was Ant-man along with his wife who was The Wasp. But now Pym is on the sidelines. How can they cover that up? Furthermore, with all the other highly successful characters in this franchise, bring the Ant-Man is a risk, and then assigning it to Paul Rudd to carry is ludicrous. Well, I don’t know if the magic of Stan Lee or if these Disney/Marvel guys are just that brilliant, but they certainly pulled it off. Now this is not really the best of all the new Marvel movies, but it’s a damn good one just the same. Paul Rudd has the right degree of nice guy mixed with screw-up, laced with a little bit of bad ass to handle this, and this is perhaps the best performance of his career. He did an excellent job. The story is really fresh and brand new. Now, granted, evil genius who takes over the corporation and tries to sell the weapons of world domination to the highest bidder isn’t new, but the battles and encounters between the good guys and the bad guys is really well done. Scott has a bumbling group of buddies who create a lot of comedy as well, led by Michael Peña who was simply fabulous in this film. The time flies as we have so much fun, and everyone is so well cast. The action is extremely well done, and the CGI is blended in so well that you can hardly recognize that it’s not really happening in front of your eyes. I was blessed to see this in Digital Extreme size (not quite Imax, but a good challenger), in 3-D. The 3-D was smooth and also seamless so that you could hardly notice it, but it really added to the enjoyment of the movie. All in all, this is a must see for the summer. It’s the best I have seen so far, although there is some stiff competition yet to come.

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Alcon Entertainment, Black Label Media, Blue Sky Films,

Reese Witherspoon, Corey Stoll, Thad Luckinbill, Sarah Baker, Sharon Conley, Maria Howell, Joshua Mikel, Mike Pniewski

A family of boys and a girl are orphaned in southern Sudan when the war from the north comes to their village. They have been starving for years, and now the village is gone and so are most of their family members. They walk over 700 miles to Kenya to a refugee camp only to suffer more. But when they are selected to go the United States, they are chosen to go to Fargo, and an apartment has been found for the boys, though their sister was sent to Boston with another family causing them great pain. Carrie (Reese WItherspoon) is assigned to find work for them, but she finds a lot more as she begins to learn what these guys have been through and how much suffering there is in the world. This film is based on a true story.

This film has a very “Blind Side” feel to it. Reese Witherspoon excels in this kind of a role as somewhat overwhelmed and befuddled, yet with a great heart and a lot of compassion. The story is very touching, and the things we take for granted would be really strange for people coming from this kind of horrible live. There have been some criticism of this film as it doesn’t tell a lot about the war, and the atrocities that were inflicted on these people, and why they were at war in the first place. I can give them a pass on this, because this is not the story of the war in Sudan, but the story of the refugees and how they managed to survive. This is their story, and I’m sure there are thousands more similar stories. The story is really two parts. The beginning is about their life in Sudan and their attempt at saving their lives. Once they arrive in America, it’s a whole different story as they try to quickly learn and adapt to life here, which is much different. The cinematography is outstanding, the settings are stark, dry, and bare in Sudan, and make you quickly realize how different life is there. The character of these boys, their honor and respect comes through very well, and their misunderstandings and attempts to do what’s right, even without understanding anything about the culture here is touching. But the close relationships of the family themselves is the most stunning part of the story. This is an excellent film, and one that I highly recommend.

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StudioCanal, Silver Pictures, Anton Capital Entertainment (ACE),

Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Michelle Dockery, Scoot McNairy, Anson Mount, Corey Stoll, Linus Roache, Nate Parker, Jon Abrahams, Omar Metwally

Bill Marks (Liam Neeson) is a US Air Marshall on board a flight to London far out over the Atlantic, when he starts getting text from a terrorist who claims to be on the plane, and threatening that someone will die every 20 minutes until one and a half million dollars are deposited into a bank account. But not only does Bill have his share of unresolved issues, there seems to be a lot more going on that meets the eye. This is suspenseful cat and mouse game as Bill tries to convince his superiors that there is a threat, all the while trying to solve the ever changing puzzles that are in front of him.

I’m really getting to think that Liam Neeson is one of the best actors today. I can think of anyone else who can carry a suspenseful airplane drama like he can. We’ve seen a lot of dramas set inside the captive area of an airplane cabin, but none just like this. It’s “Non-stop” action and suspense all the way through. There are so many twists and turns all the way through. Julianne Moore has a smaller, but really interesting role as well, and it was a great addition to the cast. The rest of the people were also very good, so all in all it’s a good script and a very fast paced thriller. I really enjoyed this film, and I would recommend it to fans of great action and suspense.

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