Ed's Review Dot Com

3311 Productions, 21 Laps Entertainment, Story Ink,

Anna Kendrick, Craig Robinson, June Squibb, Lisa Kudrow, Stephen Merchant, Tony Revolori, Wyatt Russell, Maria Thayer, Thomas Cocquerel

Four friends are planning a wedding. Eloise (Anna Kendrick) is set to be Maid of Honor for her Boyfriend’s brother who is the Groom, and her good friend who is the Bride. But just weeks before the wedding, her boyfriend breaks up with her via text. Heartbroken, she is staring at the invitation and trying to decide whether to go or not. Finally she decides to show up, but she finds she’s been relegated to “Table 19”, the worst table in the house kept for those who don’t matter. When the wedding day arrives, Eloise gets a chance to meet the other “losers” who were sent to Table 19. Most of them don’t realize their lack of status, but as time passes, they find each reveal their story and each one is quite interesting. Meanwhile, things get rather sticky for Eloise as her ex is there along with her former friends, but no one is interested in her. As the chips fall where they may, this group of six set forth to make as much mayhem as possible.

Anna Kendrick, as usual, does a really good job in this film. Some of the other guest at Table 19 are also very good. Lisa Kudrow, Craig Robinson, Margo Martindale, and more, bring a lot of back stories as to why they’re at the loser table as well. Plus there’s a little romance or two in the air that helps to move the movie along. It’s a little bit funny, there’s some clever comedy here, but it’s not the funniest movie I’ve seen. It could have been better, but at least it was interesting enough to keep me focused on the whole movie. It’s not a hysterical laugh fest, but it is kind of cute and is worth watching. I enjoyed it, so if you’re looking for a little romantic comedy, this reminded me of some classic sit-coms on TV and so it’s harmless fun.

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Paramount Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),

Adam Scott, Gillian Jacobs, Chevy Chase, Craig Robinson, Clark Duke, Angela Kerecz

The gang is back, but when Lou is shot, the gang decides the they have to go back in time to find out who did this, and stop him. But the tub does not take you where you want to go, it takes you where you NEED to go, so the guys end up 10 years in the future to stop the one who traveled “back” to shoot Lou. Good thing the hot tub still works.

This is the “long awaited” sequel to 2010’s Hot Tub Time Machine. It’s the same old gang, minus John Cusack as Adam, but we get the addition of Adam Scoot to play Adam Jr. in the future. This is a raunchy sequel to the equally raunchy original movie, but it isn’t hitting on all cylinders. First and foremost, the plot is really nutty. They are so confused with going to the future to fix the past which is the present is so confusing that even they lose the way. The concept of time travel in a Hot Tub was very unique and original in the first movie, and the issues problems with the paradox of time travel and the uniqueness of the idea was very fresh in the original. Now it’s not original and they lost sight of the original. The whole plot is really screwed up here. It’s funny in some parts, but not nearly as good as the original. So we’re stuck with some good actors doing the best they can with a weak story. Five years to develop a sequel and it still didn’t measure up. So what do I say about Hot Tub Time Machine 2? Well, it’s funny in places. Adam Scoot and Craig Robinson are especially good, but many of the jokes and gags fall flat, and the nasty stuff is hit or miss sometimes. A few times they seem to go a little too far. So it’s a good film to skip, cause you don’t really need to see this one. But if you really like the first one and you’re interested in a bunch of clowns bouncing through time with basically no purpose, then give it a try. It’s not horrible, it’s just not very good.

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Imagine Entertainment, Jagged Films, Wyolah Films,

Chadwick Boseman, Nelsan Ellis, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Dan Aykroyd, Craig Robinson, Lennie James, Jill Scott, Tika Sumpter

Chadwick Bosseman plays James Brown as he starts his career as part of a group, but quickly shines and shows his independence as he becomes the “hardest working man in show business” and “the King of Soul”.

Chadwick does a fantastic job of portraying a very difficult character to play. James Brown certainly lead a difficult life. Nothing was ever easy for him, mostly due to his own attitude. I was never a huge fan when I was younger, but as I got older, I began to appreciate the contributions James Brown made to rock and soul music and the quality of his talent. This was a really interesting biopic and I learned a lot about him watching this movie. In fact the movie was good enough that immediately after watching it I was on-line reading more about this interesting life. If you’re into biographies, or you’re into James Brown, this is a great chance to learn more about it. I can recommend this movie as one that was very interesting and quite enjoyable and educational to watch.

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Columbia Pictures, Point Grey Pictures, Mandate Pictures,

James Franco, Jonah Hill, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson, Danny McBride, Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, David Krumholtz

Jay Baruchel is coming to Los Angeles to hang out with Seth Rogen and party, party, party. They decide to go to a big party at James Franco’s house, but unexpectedly the apocalypse happens, and the rapture has begun. None of these guys at the party (a slew of Hollywood stars) were taken to heaven, so they have to figure out a way to survive. But they soon come to realize that they are all too stupid to figure out what to do. Bickering and fighting all the way, till they finally figure out the secret to surviving the destruction.

This is done like a mockumentary. I say that because all of the actors play themselves. But this is a disappointing very silly and useless film. I was kind of looking forward to this film from the previews, but it turned out to be a mess. I just did not get the whole point of this movie. I didn’t think it was very funny, and the running around and overacting, over-reacting, and just plain yelling at each other reminded me of a high-school drama class improvisation activity. Very childish, not that funny, and just plain a disaster all around. This reminds me of the Barbara Ann recording where it was done at a party, in one take, with all the mistakes, missed lyrics, giggles and goofing around left in it. This is a party movie too, just a bunch of stars getting together and hacking out a “comedy” without any goal in sight or any purpose at all. I would definitely recommend avoiding this film at all costs. This is the worst film I’ve seen in a long time.

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Mosaic Media Group, Mimran Schur Pictures,

Anna Kendrick, John Francis Daley, Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, Ana Gasteyer, Calum Worthy

The rapture has happened, and half the world is gone. The rest who were left behind are dealing with some tough stuff, with meteors, blood rain, cricket like creatures who insult you, and annoying sarcastic foul-mouthed crows. Two teens, Lindsey (Anna Kendrick) and Ben House (John Francis Daley) are left behind, trying to start a sandwich cart, and getting by. But Lindsey is a virgin, and attracts the attention of the antichrist, Beast (Craig Robinson) who wants to marry him. So it’s Lindsey and Ben against the Anti-Christ trying to save themselves and their families in this raucous, blasphemous comedy.

When I was a little kid, I carried my papers around my paper route every night, rain or snow. I lived in the country, so it was a long walk between houses. I took my coins that I got every week and bought records, as I love music, and every month a Mad Magazine. As I got bigger, I even got my own subscription to Mad. When I got a little older, I kept reading Mad and also subscribed to National Lampoon. Perhaps this is where I developed and honed my sarcastic sense of humor. I get myself in trouble when I talk to someone who doesn’t know me who doesn’t expect me to say exactly the opposite of what I really mean. I don’t typically watch So You Think You Can Dance, but my wife does religiously. There was a moment in this years tryouts when a tiny little girl named Malice was auditioning and didn’t hear something that the judges asked her. She said, I’m sorry, “I’m a little deaf”, and Nigel asked her, “Are you really?”. Without skipping a beat she said, “Yes, I can’t hear from one ear” and he said, “For Real” and she said said “No”. Everyone was a bit stunned, but I thought it was hysterical. This film is not the funniest film in history. When you put it up against some really funny comedies, this one doesn’t give you non-stop funny lines. But there is a sarcastic nature to this film that I find hysterical. It’s like I know they realize they are being ridiculous, but I know that half the people watching don’t get the joke and just don’t have a clue. These guys picked a subject that cannot be really made fun of, and lampoon it to the max. This is not anti-religion, nor is it bashing religion. In fact, it has nothing at all to do with religion. It is, however, taking a serious subject and making a tongue in cheek rip-roarious comedy about it. This is like Monty Python taking on Jesus’ brother in The Life Of Brian, or Dudley Moore with his Wholly Moses where he accidentally eavesdropped on the burning bush and thought God was talking to him. This takes on the rapture with some very, very, very sarcastic and raunchy humor. Personally I thought Monty Python and the Holy Grail was the funniest movie I have ever seen, and my little brother and I were literally on the floor laughing even during the opening credits. have seen people sit through the movie and never crack a smile and call it the worst piece of trash ever. That’s because they don’t have the sarcasm gene. The plan for overthrowing The Beast is so ridiculously planned out step by step, that when Lindsey says, “What could possibly go wrong?” we’re sure she means everything will. If you have the sarcasm gene, and can’t get grossed out by irreverent humor to the nth degree, this is going to be funny. If you’re a “pucker butt” then don’t even start with this one. I thought it was really funny. God appears in this film. He’s not in the list of credits above, and I’m not going to tell you who God is, but it had to be him!

[Note: This is the “red band” R rated trailer]

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