Ed's Review Dot Com

FROSCH Entertainment, Bluegrass Films, DreamWorks,

Jason Bateman, Olivia Munn, T.J. Miller, Jillian Bell, Vanessa Bayer, Courtney B. Vance, Rob Corddry, Abbey Lee, Sam Richardson, Jamie Chung, Randall Park, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Karan Soni, Kate McKinnon, Jennifer Aniston

Clay (T.J.Miller) and Carol Vanstone (Jennifer Anniston) haave inherited their father’s server company, but Carol is acting CEO while Clay is managing their Dad’s flagship store. Carol, though, is very uptight and the complete opposite of Clay. Carol tells them that all spending is frozen and the annual Office Christmas Party has been cancelled and 20% of his staff has to be laid off. Clay’s response is that he’s on the verge of booking a multi-million dollar sale, and Carol agrees that if he pulls that off, the layoffs will be cancelled. But when Clay with his super IT employees Josh (Jason Bateman) and Tracey (Olivia Munn) visit the potential customer he doesn’t seem willing to sign with them. So Clay decides to throw the biggest, craziest, most insane Christmas party in history.

This is a really fun movie that is similar in many ways to a lot of the typical comedy of this genre. It’s got one disaster after another, and is a bit raunchy. There are a ton of other characters which have their own backstory that makes it interesting. A lot of the jokes are based on the tech industry, so I am sure I enjoyed a lot more than my wife and her sister who accompanied me. I thought there was a lot of good humor here. The movie was fast paced, and filled with good performances. And it’s an in theater Christmas themed movie. I really enjoyed it, and thought it was well worth watching. Not since Harold and Kumar’s Christmas has there been a quality, really funny, Christmas theatrical film.

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Open Road Films (II), Rice Films, Gulfstream Pictures,

Jennifer Aniston, Jason Sudeikis, Julia Roberts, Jon Lovitz, Kate Hudson, Timothy Olyphant, Britt Robertson, Aasif Mandvi, Sarah Chalke, Grayson Russell, Shay Mitchell, Margo Martindale, Loni Love, Ella Anderson, Cameron Esposito, Jack Whitehall, Lucy Walsh

Mother’s Day is an ensemble film, telling four different stories that all tie together in the end. There are many different kinds of mothers, and many different situations, but we all stop on Mother’s Day to remember and honor those special women in our lives. As this story unfolds, we meet different families and different situations, but all are touched in the end in different ways.

Directed by Garry Marshall, this is the same team that brought us Valentine’s Day and New Years Eve. It is a great cast, and it’s a very touching story. Each situation is unique, yet they manage to tie it all together in the end. It’s got funny moments, and of course, the cheesy romantic ones. It’s a very clever put together tale and was fun to watch. If you have seen these hinds of stories, there have been dozens, where a number of different stories come together in the end. This is a very good one. Julia Roberts does a very great job as a childless, driven TV host, as does Jason Sudekis as a single widower dad trying to raise his two daughters. Jennifer Anderson is really good as a divorced mom of two boys who is trying to deal with her situation. It’s a very well developed story line that comes together beautifully. This is a touching movie, and one I can highly recommend for anyone who is a mother, who has had a mother, or knows a mother. If you don’t fit into any of those categories, you’re out of luck. This film is a tribute to mothers. This is a really good film, and I recommend this, especially now that it’s on DVD.

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Abbolita Productions, Gotham Group, Starstream Entertainment,

Jennifer Aniston, Mos Def, Isla Fisher, Will Forte, Mark Boone Junior, Tim Robbins, John Hawkes, Clea Lewis, Charlie Tahan, Kevin Corrigan

Frank Dawson (Tim Robins) is a developer who has earned a lot of money rather unscrupulously. He’s a bit of a bastard, and his long suffering wife, Mickey (Jennifer Aniston) does her best to put up with his crap. Frank is off on another business trip which is really a tryst with his girlfriend Melanie (Isla Fisher) and Franks divorce papers are in the mail so that Mickey will get it while he’s away and he won’t have to deal with it. But things don’t go as planned when Mickey is kidnapped by a few quirky common thieves who lock her away and demand a million dollars from Frank who doesn’t want to pay. Things get really screwy in this drama with a side of comedy.

Jennifer Aniston is amazing, isn’t she? It’s because of her performance that this movie even works. As it is, she was really good. This story seems very, very similar to “Ruthless People” with Bette Midler and Danny DeVito where she was kidnapped from a husband who didn’t want her. But this is quite different. “Ruthless People” was done as a slapstick comedy with laughs coming every minute. This film, though very funny in parts, is much more dramatic and a lot more serious. The crooks who kidnap her are about as incompetent as “The Apple Dumpling Gang” but somehow they are clever enough to pull it off without being silly. Tim Robbins was perfectly cast as the uncaring husband and he did a good job, but the gem in this film has to be Isla Fisher who is really perfect as the mistress who has an angle of her own. There are twists and turns throughout the movie, and it’s actually a very interesting story. I was impressed by this film as a streaming movie (I haven’t found a place to buy it yet, but it’s available for streaming) and it was a pleasant journey watching this movie. I recommend this as an unusual relationship story with a side of crime and treachery topped with a heaping helping of comedy. If you find this one, give it a shot. If just for Jennifer Aniston’s performance alone it will be worth it.

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Cinelou Films, Echo Films, We’re Not Brothers Productions,

Daniel Barnz, Jennifer Aniston, Adriana Barraza, Felicity Huffman, William H. Macy, Anna Kendrick, Sam Worthington, Chris Messina, Mamie Gummer, Lucy Punch, Britt Robertson, Paula Cale, Ashley Crow, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Camille Guaty, Allen Maldonado, Camille Mana, Julio Oscar Mechoso

Claire Bennett(Jennifer Anniston) is in major chronic pain. She still manages to keep her sarcastic sense of humor, but her life is very lonely filled with narcotics and vodka. She belongs to a support group with others who are experiencing pain, but when one of the members commits suicide, Nina (Anna Kendrick), Claire sets out to investigate everything she can find about this girl.

You won’t know what happened to Claire, and try not to find out before you watch this movie. This is a dark tale of a great deal of pain and suffering, but there are many bright points. One is Silvana (Adriana Barraza) Claire’s housekeeper who is the one who cares for Claire the most. It’s hard to find out the cause of Claire’s situation, especially because she is always in a haze from the booze and drugs, but piece by piece we get clues of what happened. The very last second of the film is very poignant. Why is it called cake? Well, you’ll have to wait 1 hour and 15 minutes into the film to learn that piece of information. This is definitely the best performance I have ever seen from Jennifer Aniston. This is definitely a dramatic role, there is very little fun in it at all, but but she carries the story like a champ. There are also some other very good performances. There is a great deal to think about, and this is a very thought provoking character study. There is a very small but poignant scene with William H Macy as well that is very, very touching. Sam Worthington as Roy, Nena’s husband is also very well done. Jennifer’s character is so very lonely, but it’s discouraging how she chases everyone away that even tries to show her some compassion. This is an excellent film, and one that is very worthwhile. I highly recommend it as one of the best dramas I have seen in a long, long time. There is a lot of criticism of the movie, mostly from folks like don’t like the non-resolution of all the problems and issues. Some things that could take much more development in a mini-series are left out. But to me, I think that shows the brilliance of the writer and director. These kinds of problems don’t come to a conclusion in 90 minutes. These kinds of problems take decades to work through. But I think we are told plenty to give us lots to think about, and to decide where we think Claire is headed. I think it’s about right, the way it’s handled. And if you figure out the reason why every A in the titles is laying down sideways, feel free to let me know. I have an idea, but I’m not sure if I’m right.

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BenderSpink, New Line Cinema, RatPac Entertainment,

Chris Pine, Jennifer Aniston, Christoph Waltz, Kevin Spacey, Jason Sudeikis, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day

Nick (Jason Bateman), Kurt (Jason Sudeikis) and Dale (Charlie Day) are back where they left off. They have a new invention and are looking for the funding to make it happen for them. But when they’re swindled by a rich tycoon (Christoph Waltz) and his son (Chris Pine), they are in deep trouble. They have already hired a bunch of folks and rented a location, and now have no money to pay for any of it. So they hatch a plan to kidnap the son and hold him for ransom to get the money to finance their business. Of course nothing turns out as they planned, and they are the most inept and dumb characters since Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels. Even with the help of the kidnapee, these guys don’t have a chance of getting away with all the schemes they can think of in this comedy sequel.

The original Horrible Bosses wasn’t that great of film, and this one really tanked, But I have to admit, I enjoyed it all the way through. It was kind of a guilty pleasure. I guess it was my growing up in Pittsburgh when Curly, Larry, and Moe made their huge comeback on Paul Shannon’s Adventure Time that made me a fan of silly slapstick comedy. But I’ve always had a thing for those kinds of movies. When you go to see Horrible Bosses 2 you know exactly what to expect, and that’s what you get. Not a spot of intelligence as these dummies do one stupid thing after another. Jennifer Aniston reprieves her sex addicted character Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S. and she is getting pretty good at playing off Jason Sudeikis’ maniacal roles (such as the one in “We’re the Millers”) and though it’s a small role, she’s pretty funny too. I recently reviews “Dumb and Dumber To”, and I feel pretty much the same way about this one as I do about that one. You have to know what you’re in for when you choose to watch this, so why complain that it’s silly and low brow humor, as that’s what it is all about. I enjoyed seeing this one, and though it’s not superb cinema, it’s a laugh fest for you and your friend in low places, so stop with the snobbery and just forget all your troubles and laugh at these guys with me. I mean, really.

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