Ed's Review Dot Com

Everest Entertainment, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Groundswell Productions

Paul Giamatti, Amy Ryan, Bobby Cannavale, Jeffrey Tambor, Burt Young, Melanie Lynskey, Alex Shaffer, Margo Martindale, David W. Thompson

Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) is a part time wrestling coach and a down on his luck lawyer. Business is bad, and he’s in financial trouble. But Mike is hiding it from his wife. One of his only clients is an elderly man whose about to be made ward of the state and sent to a nursing home, but it turns out he has a lot of money. Mike’s idea is to become guardian of the man, and keep the money provided in his role of guardian. But suddenly Leo’s (Burt Young) grandson shows up, and it turns out he’s a great wrestler. Mike thinks it’s the perfect situation where he can also take in the grandson, keep the old man’s money, and put the grandson on the wrestling team, keep the office open, and his wife will be none the wiser. That is until the old man’s daughter, fresh out of rehab suddenly arrives to derail everything.

I’m getting to be a big fan of Paul Giamatti. In fact, ever since I first saw him as “Pig Virus” in the Howard Stern film “Private Parts” I’ve been a fan. But he seems to get better and better appearing in very quirky films. This is one of those. Mike is a nice guy, who’s trying to keep everything rolling. But he’s taking advantage of everyone in the process and being dishonest to everyone. Mike’s got to take a good look at his flaws and decide if it’s worth the effort to clean up his life. But at the same time, it’s really funny. There is such humor in Paul’s character. Everybody here has an agenda, and the interplay between the two assistant coaches is hilarious. Also Leo and his Mom Cleo (played brilliantly by Melanie Lynskey) are really good. Leo hates his mom because she’s never been there for him, and loved her drugs and drinks more. Now she’s still in it for herself. It’s a twisted feel good film, and is strong in values, but the mix of comedy makes it really unique. Yes, it’s quirky, but very good. I really enjoyed this film, and so it’s a Win-Win for the producers/actors, and the audience. 🙂

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Cloud Eight Films, Everest Entertainment, Darlow Smithson Productions

James Franco, Kate Mara, Amber Tamblyn, Sean Bott, Koleman Stinger, Treat Williams, John Lawrence, Kate Burton, Lizzy Caplan, Clémence Poésy , Rebecca C. Olson

Aron Ralston (James Franco) is a mountain climber who made an awful mistake. Hiking in Utah, he has way too much confidence in his abilities. He took off on a hike without letting anyone where he is going. Hiking in a narrow canyon as rock slide pins him by the arm, way down in the canyon. He is unable to free himself and sets in for the long haul. Finally he has no other choice but to cut off his own arm to escape. This is the true account of the experience of the real Aron Ralston who appears in the closing credits.

This is a pretty decent adventure story. Similar to [Buried] the story of an American in the Middle East who was buried alive, this movie pretty much takes place in a small crack in the rock. There is a lot of things that had to be added to fill up the time, but it does keep you interested in the story. I can see why James Franco got nominated for a lot of awards. It is an exciting and beautiful film. The photography is stunning, and it’s a beautiful place. It’s hard to imagine being in a position like that. How Aron was able to survive this ordeal is beyone me.

I enjoyed this story, and I do recommend it for anyone who likes outdoor adventure films. This is certainly a story of survival agains massive odds. Is it the best film of the year? No. Not even close, but it’s worth watching for sure.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Everest Entertainment, Cha Cha Cha, Mockingbird Pictures

Alexandria Salling, Connor Kramme, Annette Bening, Eileen Ryan, Samuel L Jackson, Naomi Watts, Cherry Jones, Kerry Washington,  David Ramsey, Kay, D’Arcy, Bradford Alex, Jimmy Smits, Elipida Carrillo, Simone Lopez, Carla Gallo

Mother and Child is one of those trilogies in a single movie stories.  It’s basically about 3 women.  First is Karen (Annette Benning) who became pregnant when she was 14 and gave the baby up for adaption.  Now 35 years later, she’s always regretted what she has done and is a very bitter, actually mean, person.   The second is her daughter, Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) who has grown into a woman with hardly any heart.  She’s a tough cookie and doesn’t trust anyone, especially men, but not opposed in the least to use her attractiveness to gain whatever advantage she can.  She went to Mexico for a tubal ligation when she was 17 and was shocked when she suddenly turned up pregnant.   The third story is about an African American wife who wants a child but cannot have one.  She and her husband are given the opportunity to adopt, but later complications arise.  The mother decides to keep the baby and the husband decides something even worse.

This is a typical indie type film, very, very slow to develop.  In one way the story is very cut and dried and you’re certain where it’s going to end up.  But there are a number of surprises coming along, and not what you would expect.  The way the lives of the three women cross is really strange and amazing.  There are twists and turns galore.  Truly it’s very ironic and very sad, and I would say depressing in a lot of ways.   This is not a friend family feel good picture by any means.  It’s very dark and deep, and it develops very, very slowly.  If you stick with it to the end, you will see that it’s very well written and the actors are very good as well.  But my fear is that a lot of people are not going to want to stick through the whole thing to get the the twist ending where two people meet who you would never have expected to get together.  If you like deep sincere indie films, you’ll like this one I’m sure, but be warned that it is a very slow developing relationship picture and not an easy thing to watch.  If you’re looking just to be entertained, this isn’t it, but if you don’t mind working through an intense film, it’s good.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog