Ed's Review Dot Com

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Columbia Pictures, Strike Entertainment,

Joel Kinnaman, Gary Oldman, Michael Keaton, Samuel L. Jackson, Abbie Cornish, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael K. Williams, Jennifer Ehle, Jay Baruchel, Aimee Garcia, Miguel Ferrer

Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman) is a Detroit cop in 2028 when he is critically injured in an assassination attempt. He has no way to survive, but OmniCorp, a huge corporation that is trying to convince the U.S. that their Robot law enforcement machines are the future. These machines are faster, smarted, are tied to the crime database, and can enforce the law as no human could. But the government of the U.S. to allow them on the street, even though they’ve won over most of the rest of the world. They see an opportunity to use a human mind and a robot body to meld the robot law enforcement robot with a human mind. But when they get too greedy, and when Alex finds some dirty officials high up in the program, they decide to terminate the project and are all set to turn off Robocop. With some help from his creator, he tries to save himself once again.

This is a remake of the `1987 film with Paul Verhoeven. When a remake is done, nearly 25 years after the original, there’s always a call for a comparison. I’m going to give that to you in just a moment. But first, let me talk to those who have never seen the original. This is a very exciting action movie with great CGI effects, fast paced, lots of battle scenes, and very intriguing to watch. It’s an excellent action film, and you’re probably best off watching this one.

Now, for the comparison. The original film had a really great impact on people because the techniques of the time were not as sophisticated as they are today. The battle between RoboCop and the ED-209 is one of the classic battles of all times. The impression this film left on those of us leaves us who are familiar with it with a fond memory. A new film is not going to compare well with that. But actually, if you can get past the fact that it is a new time, and take the new film on it’s own, it will give you a much more pleasant experience. The new film is snazzy with the CGI effects which takes a lot away from the human impact and influence that the original one gives us. I really love the original, and this one doesn’t nearly approach the feelings that the original gave us. But it still is a really good film. The first half, at least, explaining how and why it all happened, and looking closely to the change that it made on Alex and his family is especially interesting. But when the battle starts, it’s a huge CGI fest that is over the top that reminds me more of the Kung Fu films of the 70’s where 15 guys would take on the hero and the hero takes them all out. This is similar. They appear to be so in love the technology, that the story is hard to accept. It’s just blast and shoot and roll, with no real feeling. After while, you don’t really care, and there is no amazing battle between Alex and ED-209 like there was in the first one. If I was to take my personal choice of the two, I would prefer the first by a little, although I am really glad I watched the remake. I still have a yearning to go back and see the 1987 one again though and see if it was a good as I remember.

For those who remember the original, the line “I wouldn’t buy that for a dollar” was a pretty cheap tribute to the original, although I must admit that it made me laugh just the same. But I need to know what the heck Samuel L Jackson was doing? That made me think of The Hunger Games every time he popped up on screen.

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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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Inferno Pictures Inc., Don Carmody Productions, Caramel Film,

Seann William Scott, Jay Baruchel, Alison Pill, Marc-André Grondin, Eugene Levy, Liev Schreiber

Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) is a bouncer at a club, but isn’t contented. Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber) on the hand, is a well known hockey player who is an “enforcer”. That’s the guy who teaches the other team a lesson when someone needs his clock cleaned. Doug accidentally gets into a fight, and easily knocks out the other guy. Since this was witnessed by the coach of the Halifax Highlanders, Doug is offered a job as a hockey player. Only trouble is that Doug doesn’t know how to skate. But the coach takes him under his wing to protect his new star player, and before long Doug gets the chance to climb the ladder toward a final showdown with Ross that you know has to happen.

Stiffler (American Pie) is a character that Scott has a hard time losing. But here he goes again with another not too bright, but incredibly cool guy who wins you over in the end. This film is pretty predictable and standard fare, but hey, it’s the best hockey film I’ve seen since “The Mighty Ducks” I reckon. Scott plays it pretty decent, and some of the other characters are a hoot. This is actually a pretty decent movie, even though you’re like to find it in the bargain bin. It’s not very well known, but it’s certainly got its moments. I really enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone who likes dumb sports films with lots of fights (just like hockey) and some good fart jokes and that kind of thing. Certainly it’s sophomoric, but what’s wrong with that. A little left hook is just what you need sometimes to make you forget the problems of the world. Certainly not award material, but it’s just what it sets out to be…a dumb jock movie with lots of jokes and some blood on the ice. There are several well developed characters that I don’t want to discuss so you can get to know them yourself. If you’re in the mood for a totally brainless man flick, go for this one. It’s fun.

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Park Ex Pictures,

Jay Baruchel, Scott Speedman, Emily Hampshire, Anne-Marie Cadieux, Diane D’Aquila, Xavier Dolan

There is an old apartment complex in Montreal filled with an interesting cast of characters. But there is a serial killer on the loose an nobody trusts anyone. There are no clue as to who the killer is. Waitress Louise (Emily Hampshire) and widower Spencer (Scott Speedman) bond with new resident Victor (Jay Baruchel). This could be the most unusual triangle in history, and they could be in big trouble if they don’t figure out who the killer really is.

This is a NetFlix “Watch Instantly” film, but I happened to catch it on Cinemax. It sounded like a pretty good suspenseful thriller with a touch of horror. It was a huge disappointment. The story was really pretty weak. Not even close to the worst film, I’ve ever seen, but it really wasn’t that good. The characters were all pretty nuts, and try as I might I wasn’t really interested in what happened to any of them. In fact, by the end I was wishing the killer would kill all of them off. In fact, if the killer is actually one of the three, I was hoping for a murder-suicide, but all in vain. Basically when it was over, it was just over. There was no excitement, little suspense, and no real point to it all.

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Walt Disney Pictures

Nicholas Cage,  Jay Baruchel, Alfred Molina, Teresa Palmer

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