Ed's Review Dot Com

K. JAM Media, Persistent Entertainment, Vocal Yokels,

Jessica Biel, Jake Gyllenhaal, Catherine Keener, James Marsden, Tracy Morgan, James Brolin

Alice Eckle (Jessica Biel) is a waitress in a small town. She is dating a policeman Scott (James Marsden) who has decided to propose to her. But a freak accident leaves her with a nail embedded in her skull inbedded into the brain. When she arrives at the hospital for emergency surgery, once the doctor (Bill Hader) learns she has no insurance, he throws her out. Alice sees a commercial for a junior senator, Howard Birdwell (Jake Gyllenhaal), so she heads off to Washington with the idea for a new bill to provide emergency health care for anyone who does not have insurance. But life in the Capitol is not at all what she expected, and she finds some very interesting effects of having a nail in your brain. Things get very complicated right very soon.

This is a movie that has bubbling in my queue for a couple years. I finally got enough “Very Long Wait(s) in front of it that it popped up in my mailbox. This is a light and funny film, with lots of decent characters. WIth the likes of Beverly D’angelo, Kirstie Alley, Tracy Morgan, and more, there’s plenty of funny stuff going on. This is a really weird movie as it’s really a morality play about the government and the dirty tricks, lies, and schemes that go on. There are some problems that held this movie back. A lot of it is a little silly. Well maybe I’d say a lot silly. A bunch of the jokes fall pretty flat, and many of the characters seem to be cardboard cutouts. I was entertaining, but not all that enticing. I wasn’t blown away with it, and I have a really hard time recommending this movie, but if you’re so inclined, it does a few decent moments, as long as you have nothing better to do.

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Fox Searchlight Pictures, Cold Spring Pictures, The Montecito Picture Company,

Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Wincott, Jessica Biel, James D’Arcy, Ralph Macchio, Kurtwood Smith, Richard Portnow

This biopic is about Alfred Hitchcock (Anthony Hopkins) and his wife Alma (Helen Mirren) and is set in 1959. Alfred has run low on ideas, and the studios are trying to force him into directing pictures that are really way too mainstream for Hitch. Meantime, he hears about a new book, a work of fiction based upon the life of serial killer Ed Gein and decides this novel has to be his next picture. The studio disagrees, so Hitch sets out to do the picture on his own, waiving his director’s fee, and paying the entire $800,000 budget on his own.

Anthony Hopkins does a great job portraying Alfred Hitchcock, one of my favorite directors of all time. This is just a small slice of the life of Hitch, and hardly mentions all the stuff that happened before this, with his British career, which was awesome, and by the time period of this film, Hitch is old. Most people think he ought to just retire, but he’s having none of that. It also was a time when his wife and partner got really tired of his stubbornness and failure to listen to her, so it is also a bad time for their marriage. Psycho is arguably Hitch’s best film, and it is a very interesting time when he redefined himself and horror cinema at the same time. Since Paramount had no plans to promote this debacle, Hitch did the promotion himself and developed some interesting methods of setting the buzz for this film in motion. As such, lines were huge, and the film earned over 33 million despite it’s $800,000 budget and no studio help promoting this film.

Warning! If you haven’t seen Psycho, the DON’T watch this film until you’ve seen it. Psycho is a very unique film and definitely one not to miss, but watching Hitchcock first will completely spoil the film as it gives away huge spoilers in the plot. This film also debunks several of the myths that surrounded the making of the film. Helen Mirren’s role as Alma, Hitch’s wife, is very well done too. This woman was his muse and he could never have done what he did without her, but she must have had to endure a lot keeping him happy. We’re watching the making of Psycho, so several other key characters have a lot to do in this film. Janet Leigh is played by Scarlett Johansson, one of the weak point of the film. Hopkins is much more Hitchcock than Scarlett is Janet Leigh, but she does at least look a bit like her. Jessica Biel is here too, as actress Vera Miles who played Janet’s sister in Psycho.

All in all, this film shows us a lot of the genius that was Hitchcock, and it is very entertaining. I’ve always been a fan of his work, but now I feel like I know the man a lot better. He was a complex man who has many facets, and this helps us get to know a lot more about him. The scene of Hitchcock watching Psycho in a theater with a packed audience is very touching and one of my favorite moments of the film. Though he was a genius, like all of us, he was very insecure and just couldn’t risk joining the audience, though their reaction meant the world to him.

This is a beautiful movie, and captures Hollywood of 1959-60 perfectly. I really enjoyed this film, and recommend it for anyone who is at all interested in either Psycho or Alfred Hitchcock. It’s a wonderful movie.

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Eclectic Pictures , Evil Twins (I) , Millennium Films,

Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Noah Lomax, Dennis Quaid, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones, James Tupper, Judy Greer, Abella Wyss, Grant Goodman

George (Gerard Butler) used to be a star soccer player. Now he’s fallen upon hard times. He’s renting a guest house and way behind in his rent. He’s trying to move into sports announcing, but not having much luck. Mostly he disappoints his son, Lewis (Noah Lomax) and his ex-wife Stacie (Jessica Biel). But now he’s trying to be a better Dad and shows up at his son’s loser soccer team with a coach who knows nothing about the game and lots of incorrect instruction. So George volunteers to take over as the coach of these losers and not only makes a hit with the kids, but all the soccer mom’s are giddy with glee to have this guy as their son’s coach. George has to walk the fine line between all the ladies throwing themselves at him while trying to build a relationship with his son, when a few events make it very, very difficult for him.

This is a film that has been done before. I mean, it’s almost directly a copy of the Bad News Bears or The Mighty Ducks except in this film George actually loves soccer and wants to be a coach. But it is a soccer movie which isn’t quite that common, and Gerard Butler is very lovable as the sports star, sidelined by injury, who spirals out of control. Jessica Biel is definitely not the best person for the role of the Mom who isn’t quite done with George, but headed to the altar with her new, stable guy (Hmmm. The Santa Clause anyone?), but the shining star of this film is definitely Noah Lomax who plays the young son trying to find his place. Noah is perfectly cast as Lewis, and he carries the movie. The rest of the cast is also a big plus. Dennis Quaid is really funny as the rich eccentric guy who provides a lot of perks as long as his tone deaf daughter who “sings like an angel” can sing the National Anthem at the games. Uma Thurman is great as his wife who’s as lonely as she is desperate. Judy Greer as the deserted young wife desperate for some attention, and Catherine Zeta-Jones in a small, but very good role for her.

This movie is certainly not perfect, but it is good family fun. The comedy is real, and it has a lot of heart. It has a strong message, yet is very modern turn to the story. I think this is a good rental film and well worth watching.

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Total Recall, Original Film, Rekall Productions,

Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Biel, Bryan Cranston, Bill Nighy, John Cho, Bokeem Woodbine, Will Yun Lee

Douglas Quaid (Colin Farrell) is bored with his life. Things are ok, but he feels like he’s destined for more. When he hears an ad from a company called Rekall, which offers vacations to exciting places without leaving home, he has to check it out. You are attached to a chair by a collection of wires and they push the memories into your brain. You remember you wonderful exciting trip, but never leave the chair. Douglas chooses to be a secret agent, but suddenly things go horribly wrong, and Douglas is off running for his life. He finds out he is really someone else, and there’s no one he can trust. Douglas sets out to find out the truth before it’s too late. The future of the world may hang in the balance.

This is a new version of the Arnold Schwartzenegger film from 1990. This is not a “remake” as it’s a good bit different. They want back to the book and based the movie on the original work rather than copying the 1990 version. So you do need to look at this film as a new movie and not a remake. The years have been good to this story. Today the special effects and tricks of trade make this an exciting roller coaster ride of suspense and thrills. The special effects are stunning, and the action is non-stop. It is a little hard to follow sometimes, and of course one huge question looms as we wonder what’s real and what isn’t. The world is well developed in this film, and Collin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale, and Jessica Biel do a great job bringing this adventure to life.

This is far better than I expected it to be. I was looking for a cheesy remake, as the original certainly had it’s corny side, but it didn’t even nod to the original. They went back to the source and developed a really good screenplay. I was very pleasantly surprised, and found myself riveted through the whole film.

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Walt Disney Pictures, Mandeville Films, Kyra Productions

This film was made during the run of “Home Improvement” on TV. Jonathan was very popular with the teens, and this was an attempt to bring him onto the big screen. One odd thing in this film is that Jonathan is paired with Jessica Biel as his girlfriend. Actually Jessica is a year younger than Jonathan, but he looks so young, and she looks so mature, that she could almost pass as his mother. It’s weird that the two are paired together. It’s probably because there’s no way Jonathan looks like a college kid. But putting that aside, the journey from California is wrought with a ton of problems that have to be resolved. Like “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” this is a journey where there are a lot of obstacles, but in this case most of the setbacks are learning experiences for Jake who grows a lot during the trip. This is a funny movie, and very light and enjoyable, especially for the younger crowd. I bet many young people today have never seen this film, and will enjoy it if they get a chance to see it. I’m glad Disney decided to bring this film back as part of ABC Family’s 25 Days of Christmas. It’s a funny Christmas distraction, and I enjoyed it very much. I had forgotten a lot of the gags, and it was nice to see it again after all these years.

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