Ed's Review Dot Com

Goddard Textiles, TSG Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox,

Jeff Bridges, Cynthia Erivo, Dakota Johnson, Jon Hamm, Cailee Spaeny, Lewis Pullman, Chris Hemsworth, Nick Offerman, Russell Crowe, Alvina August, Mark O’Brien

The El Royale is a run down hotel on the border between Nevada and California near Lake Tahoe. Half of the rooms are in one state and the other half are in the other, decorated especially for each state, but there is a red line running down the middle of the main lounge that divides the room in half. The hotel used to be a hot destination, but is dying since they lost their gambling license and all the slot machines are out of order. Now no one stays here. A tired old priest (Jeff Bridges) shows up at the same time as a lounge singer (Cynthia Erivo) who is staying at the El Royale because it is very cheap. When they enter the lobby the find the hotel empty except for a traveling salesman who is also looking for an attendant. Over time, a few more people show up, but nobody is what they appear, all are hiding deep secrets, and things are going to go bad due to a whole bunch of bad choices as well as a great number of misunderstandings, and it truly is Bad Times at the El Royale for everyone.

I was intrigued by the trailer and really wanted to get to see it in the theater, but for some reason I never made it. I was excited when this was released on DVD, and was anxious to see it. It was well worth the wait, and I’m glad I finally got to see this. In fact, it was so much fun, I watched it twice. This is a mystery from start to finish, and it was really fun trying to figure out who the people really were. As you go along, as soon as you figure it out, you find out you’re completely wrong. As the pieces are revealed bit by bit, the puzzle comes together, and it was a really exciting movie. This reminded me a lot of “The Hateful Eight” in the way that nobody actually was who they claimed to be. This was a very insightful film, very dark, but yet somehow really beautiful. The way they built the set completely from scratch, and built the entire lobby building as a single set, allowing them to do long and complex shots in a single take without a cut. It was very well crafted and I enjoyed the movie twice from start to end, and really enjoyed the extra features that were were included on the DVD with info about how and why the film was made the way it was. The actors were superb. Jeff Bridges and Jon Hamm were outstanding. Cynthia Erivo did all the singing herself, and she was exceptional. Though this movie is pretty dark, there are enough puzzles and loose ends to keep us very interested in what’s going to happen. I am glad they didn’t tell us who was in the film at the end. I’m sure I know, but I’m only guessing. I really enjoyed this film.

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Universal Pictures, Original Film, Dark Horse Entertainment,

Jeff Bridges, Ryan Reynolds, Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stephanie Szostak, James Hong, Marisa Miller, Robert Knepper, Mike O’Malley, Devin Ratray, Larry Joe Campbell

Recently deceased cop Nick finds himself at a crossroads. His only valid choice is to agree to join the Rest In Peace Department, an after death police squad and return to earth to help find and convict his murderer. But he’s obviously not allowed to look like himself, because it might scare anyone who knew him, so he appears as an old Asian guy and is partnered with rough veteran dead policeman Roy (Jeff Bridges) who’s been dead a long time, but knows the ropes. What follows is a buddy cop action adventure comedy.

I had visions of Men in Black and Beetlejuice in my mind as I watched the previews of this movie, but when I watched it I was kind of disappointed. It’s definitely a knock of of those two movies, but not as good as either one of them. There are a few chuckles here and there, but it did not capture my attention at all. Having been anxious to watch this, perhaps that’s why I was let down, because my expectations were too high. Perhaps if you set out with low expectations and expect a little time burning comedy action flick with the twist that the main characters are already dead, you can enjoy it better, but I did expect more bang for the buck. Jeff Bridges is adequate as the old veteran burned out cop having a lot of tricks under his sleeve based upon his long existence and experience. Ryan Reynolds did not hit the mark with his performance. Given the fact that he came from the police force in life, he should have had the skills to be an R.I.P.D. cop, but he struggles to keep up throughout the film. Basically, unless you’re willing to accept the lack of a script and the bad performances and bad jokes that come this it, this is a good film to skip and keep looking for something a bit better for your time.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

LivePlanet, Walt Disney Pictures

Jeff Bridges, Garrett Hedlund, Oliva Wilde, Bruce Boxleitner, James Frain, Beau Garrett, Michael Sheen, Anis Cheurfa, Serinda Swan, Yaya DaCosta, Elizabeth Mathis, Kis Yurij

Sam Flynn’s Dad, Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges) disappeared years ago when Sam (Garrett Hedlund) was only a kid.  Now he’s 27 and rightfully should be the head of his father’s empire.  But he’s kind of lost his way and though he’s a computer genius, he’s wasting his time away pulling an annual prank on the company.  But a contact from Alan Bradley (Bruce Boxleitner) and he’s pulled back into his father’s disappearance.  Finding a secret room in the old Flynn’s Arcade, he is transported into the grid and finds himself looking for allies and trying to locate his father, and fighting off the mistaken programs that were created that are running wild.

TRON was one of my favorite films back in the early days of computing.  Since I’ve been in IT since the mid 80’s I was always fascinated with the concept and vision of the original film.  Then to see Tron: Legacy is going back in time and seeing the world again as it has evolved.  It’s more modern and advanced about as much as the real world technology has advanced.   Everything works a lot the same, but it’s much faster and more dangerous these days.  The visuals and action are stunning, and folks who are fans of the original will probably love to see how it’s aged in these 20 some odd years.  The effects that were done to make Jeff Bridges look 25 years younger got a lot of press too.  It is resonably so, since it is really kind of creepy.  He looks like the characters in CGI films like Polar Express or Jim Carrey in A Christmas Carol last year.  They look sort of real, but sort of fake at the same time and it’s disconcerting.  But it is a computer created character that has not aged since that time, so it makes sense inside the game that Clu is a little different looking (ok, A LOT different looking) than Flynn.  They also made him look young in the real word flashback as well, but it’s short and done in a way that is not near as creepy as Clu is. So I think it’s fine the way they did it, amazing really.  As I said, the action is fantastic, and the graphics are worthy of all the time and money Disney put into it.  There are those who hated the original Tron, and so it’s doubtful that those folks will be impressed with this one either, but for those of us who loved the orignal, it’s wonderful, and I suspect it will pick up lots of new younger fans that cannot remember the original.  I was very impressed and enjoyed every minute.  And at just slightly over 2 hours, it’s EPIC without being a bladder buster!  I am a fan of both Flynns.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

20th Century Fox

Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell

I really enjoyed this movie.  I have been anxious for it to arrive on DVD since I heard about it at the Oscar’s last year.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Jeff Bridges isn’t always on top of his game, but he did an amazing job in this movie.  Heartwarming,  it was very “A Star is Born“ish in a way, and all the way through Jeff reminds me of Kris Kristofferson in a lot of ways.  But the story is very complex.  I loved the way Colin Farrell played his character.  He should have been very stuck up, proud of what he was, and eager to step on poor Bad (Jeff Bridges) on the way up, but he wasn’t.  He appreciated, and he cared, and he was a genuine nice guy.  This makes you get angry with Bad, but watching him struggle, you turn from disliking him to pitying him, to rooting for him.

Jeff and Colin did the singing in the movie, with the help of a singing coach, and they did a way better than expected job of singing the music in the film.  It was quite believable and it was a nice touch that they did their own.  The music was good, especially if you have a hankering for horsey tunes in the first place.  It’s good country.  But my wife who is NOT a country fan, still loved the movie because of the strength of the story.

It’s a story that’s been done before, and done very well, but this one is a bit unique, and really gives a feel for how hard it is to give up you life to live on the road driving from town to town to simply sing your old songs with a pick up band of local kids.  It’s got to be a hard life that many musicians know.

I recommend this movie as one of the best rentals I’ve had in a while!