Origin Pictures, BBC Films, FilmNation Entertainment,

Jim Broadbent, Harriet Walter, Michelle Dockery, Emily Mortimer, Billy Howle, Joe Alwyn, Freya Mavor, Matthew Goode, Charlotte Rampling

Tony Webster (Jim Broadbent) is an elderly retired man, living alone since separated. Tony finds out that the mother of a girl he dated in college has passed away and left him a gift. But the attorney does not have it, but was able to find out that it was a diary. But it turns out that his ex-girlfriend has her mother’s diary and refuses to give it to him. This starts Tony into a long series of reflections on his youth and the choices he made. He starts making excuses to meet with his ex girlfriend who he left on very unpleasant terms and has not seen or spoken about in years. We see the events of his youth in a series of flashbacks, as Tony reminisces on the things that happened and how it has affected his life ever since.

I have long been a fan of Jim Broadbent, one of the seemingly nicest British actors I’ve ever seen. This is the Jim Broadbent show, as this film is right in his wheelhouse and he is really good. Many may not like it as it’s very slow moving, and very carefully thought out and performed. We get little bits of the story that Tony has been hiding all these years, and we find out some shocking events, both to his character, and to us, the audience. This is a very well crafted true to life story that develops a bit at a time, but never reveals too much at once. You have to be patient in getting to the bottom of the whole mystery, but it’s so well made that it’s very much worthwhile to spend the time to watch. If you enjoy great character study movies and are willing to invest the time to get to know Tony Webster, you’ll find this a very worthwhile film.

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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.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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FilmNation Entertainment, The Weinstein Company, Faliro House Productions,

Michael Keaton, Nick Offerman, John Carroll Lynch, Linda Cardellini, Patrick Wilson, B.J. Novak, Laura Dern

Dick McDonald (Nick Offerman) and Mac McDonald (John Carroll Lynch) were brothers who opened a drive in restaurant in San Bernardino, California. They were struggling with all the problems that come with Drive Ins, with the clientele and the car hops themselves, and the difficulty of keeping each of the menu orders straight. But the brothers came up with an idea they called Speedee Service where they trimmed down the menu to just Hamburgers, Fries, Milkshakes, and Soda, nothing else, but also a redesigned kitchen that allowed them to fill orders at the walk up window in about 30 seconds. Additionally they did away with all the silverware and dishes, and packaged everything in disposable wrappers in a bag designed to be totally disposable. Meanwhile Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton) was a salesman, struggling to eke out a living selling milkshake blenders on the road. But he was a big dreamer, and when he heard of the success of the McDonald brothers, he set out to see it for himself. They made a tenuous partnership and struggled to bring to fruition Kroc’s vision of the largest franchise in history, with a restaurant in every town, the McDonalds we know today. This docudrama tells the story of the recognized franchise king Ray Kroc from the eyes of the two brothers who actually invented the system.

The main character all are excellent actors. Michael Keaton did an excellent job as did Nick and John as the McDonald Brothers. Laura Dern also brought a lot to the movie with her role as Ray’s wife. She added quite a bit to the story as her role is very complex, but but she pulled it off very well. This is one of the better docudrama’s I have seen in a long time. I think most everyone is aware that Ray Kroc was the founder of McDonalds, but few people know the background of where the golden arches came from, originally. This movie is rather interesting because of the unusual path it took. Everyone wanted to tell the story of the McDonald brothers and how Ray Kroc ran over them with a steam roller, but this producer, director, and screen writer realized early on that Ray Kroc is the center of the film, and that it’s not all black and white. Without taking sides, it’s told from the McDonald Brothers point of view, but as you go through the film, there are no heroes and not bad guys, really. Everything is really grey as we come to understand how things happened the way they had to do. I highly recommend this film as I found it very well made, well told, and quite interesting. Give it a shot.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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21 Laps Entertainment, FilmNation Entertainment, Lava Bear Films,

Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma

Twelve mysterious flying objects from space arrive across the globe in a twelve different locations. One is in Montana in the U.S. Colonel Weber (Forest Whitaker) is responsible to find out what it going on and has a team that is trying to determine if there is anyone or anything inside and if there is, what they want with us. One thing for sure is these devices are not from this planet. Colonel Weber chooses Louise Banks (Amy Adams) an expert linguist and Ian Donnelly (Jeremy Renner) a top scientist, to head up the team that go into the ship and attempt to communicate with whatever they find in there. No one knows if they are coming to attack, or to make friends, or if there is some other motive, or if there is anything in there at all. This is a highly suspenseful sci-fi thriller.

This film arrived in the theaters in November of 2016, but with all the other big films coming out over the holidays, I missed this. While it’s still in the theaters, I wanted to make a trip to get to see it on a big screen. I’m glad I did. Though not quite as impressive as Passenger was, this is more of a scientific adventure. We get to witness the secret goings-on behind the scenes of this investigation and lots of things that would be held back from the public to avoid panic and chaos. It’s also not a mistake that they arrived in 12 different locations at the same time in all the top military countries. Discussions with the British, the Chinese, the Russians, and lots of other groups is critical to determine the proper response to the situation. This is a very well developed script, and played very well by the three top actors in this project. Amy Adams was really good as a scholarly and highly learned linguist and college professor. Jeremy on the other hands brings a scientific look to the problem, and the coordination between the two outlooks is portrayed very well and I found very believable. The suspense is very intense, and it was very well done. We only get bits and pieces of the story in the same manner as the characters. Each revelation is a surprise and very well portrayed. This is a excellent story to begin with which they turned into a really entertaining film. I was quite impressed with this film, and it was very though provoking. It made me think. I highly enjoyed this movie, and I do recommend it. The more you like science fiction and alien stories, the more you will likely enjoy this film, but I feel like it’s exciting enough for action-adventure as well.

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FilmNation Entertainment, Flashlight Films, The Kennedy/Marshall Company,

Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney, Holt McCallany, Wayne Bastrup, Jamey Sheridan, Jerry Ferrara, Sam Huntington, Anna Gunn, Autumn Reeser, Max Adler, Valerie Mahaffey

Director Clint Eastwood brings this biopic to the screen of the story of Chesley Sullenberger (Tom Hanks), pilot of the US Air commercial airliner that was forced to land in the Hudson River in New York City on a very cold January day with 155 people on board counting passengers and flight crew. All 155 were rescued due to a lot of luck and a lot of skill, but mostly a lot of hard work by the emergency first responders on the ground. Based on Sully’s book “Miracle on the Hudson” a great deal of the film deals with the aftermath of the event and the difficulties faced by Sully and his First Mate Jeff Skiles (Aaron Eckhart).

Clint Eastwood is one master at his craft. The way this film is put together from the first frame to the last is a work of art. With a mix of the events of those few minutes to the desperation in trying to get to the truth when everyone seems against him, this is a case of David vs. Goliath in epic proportions. The insurance company lost a plane, and they were very anxious to find blame somewhere. Riveting performances from everyone, from Hanks (who was fantastic) and Eckhart, to Laura Linney who played Sully’s wife, all the way down to the flight attendants, everyone did an excellent job. The realism was frightening. It was one of those films where you hold your breath for long stretches at the seconds seem like hours. Extremely well done, and a great film. I recommend this to anyone whether you remember that day or not. Very good job, guys.

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