Ed's Review Dot Com

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.

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Fox Searchlight Pictures, LD Entertainment, Wild Bunch,

Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, John Hurt, Billy Crudup, Richard E. Grant, John Carroll Lynch, Beth Grant, Max Casella, Caspar Phillipson

November 22, 1963, President John F Kennedy was shot in Dallas. Jackie (Natalie Portman) Kennedy brings us into her life right after the assassination to portray the confusion, sorrow, fear, and grief that she has to go through during the days and weeks after the event in this fact based docudrama of the days following Kennedy’s death. Without taking a huge chunk of her life, the screenwriter chose just one event. With the unique style, this film is a story told by Jackie to a writer about the events surrounding her husband’s death and burial told after some time passed, but it also mixes this with footage of the famous tour of the White House TV show that was made shortly after they arrived in the White House.

This is a rather interesting story of how it all happened. I was in gym class when the principal broke into the P.A. system and broadcasted the news directly over the speakers so we could hear. I remember the three or four days where nothing was on television other than the news of the shooting, the killing of Lee Harvey Oswald, and the funeral procession. I saw hours and hours of people filing past the casket day and night, and rehash of the events on every channel. There was nothing else to do, and it was a bit overwhelming, but a whole country was in mourning. We were also afraid. We didn’t know what would happen next. But Jackie and her two little children lived though it in a time that must have seemed surreal. We never knew what Jackie was doing behind the scenes other than when she would pop out in front of the cameras from time to time. But this movie covered the time in depth, and I found that quite fascinating. It’s heart tugging, and it’s difficult to imagine sometimes, but is is interesting. I couldn’t help but see and hear Natalie Portman though, and it certainly made me painfully aware that we were not watching Jackie. I think she did an excellent job, but it is very difficult to pull off portraying such a well known celebrity as she was. But I have seen other movies that covered Jackie’s life after the White House, but it was the first time I have ever seen someone attempt to pull off those few days where time stood still. And as a child of Camelot, I remember the assassination like it was just yesterday. Well done film, and well worth watching if you’re interested in what happened.

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GNK Productions, Gotham Group, Rough House Pictures,

Kristen Stewart, Peyman Moaadi, John Carroll Lynch, Lane Garrison, Joseph Julian Soria,

Amy Cole (Kristen Stewart) is a soldier stationed in Guantanamo Bay where the worst guys from the Muslim extremists who carried out the attacks on 9/11 are held. She has the job to guard these guys and it’s a difficult job due to the fact that she’s the only female in her group. She is instructed to keep her distance from the detainees and never to give out her name or any personal information that they could use against her or her family. She tries her best to be a good soldier, but she’s drawn to Ali (Peyman Moaadi), one of the detainees who wants to talk with her. As she learns more about this man, she begins to wonder what is really true and who is a good guy and who is a bad guy. It’s not all that simple sometimes.

This is a rather good film that gives you a lot to think about. These are touchy subjects. Right off the bat, I am in no way a Kristen Stewart fan. In her typical role she is much like a cardboard cutout. But there is something about this part that really resonated off of her, and she did a splendid job. This was a great role for her and she did a really good job and I must say I was impressed. But the star of the film is Peman Moaadi who plays the detainee who wants the final Harry Potter book so bad. I guess the Harry Potter series was very popular in the camp. Peman brings a humanity to his role that is excellent. He brings humor to a humorless place, and yet has some deep soul searching moments, and some tragic moments that really impress. Basically the majority of the film is the discussion between the two through a little hole in the door. Of course getting close to a political detainee is forbidden and she’s taking a great risk and gathering some unpleasant attention by spending so much time with one prisoner. But the story is so well done, that when it’s over you’ll be sorry that it’s ending. I think the writer did an excellent job with this screenplay and with the help and inspiration of his actors they brought us a piece of thought provoking cinema that is really enjoyable to watch. It is rated R, and some bad things happen which certainly wouldn’t be appropriate for younger kids, but for those able to comprehend the ugliness of war, it’s a well done film. For Kristen Stewart haters who dismissed this film because she is the star, take a second look at it and give this a chance. This is certainly her best performance to date and it is a very thoughtfully done bit of film making. Recommended for mature audiences.

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Last Picture Company, The, CatchPlay, Corner Store Entertainment

Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Natalie Portman, Devin Brochu, Rainn Wilson, Piper Laurie, John Carroll Lynch, Audrey Wasilewski, Frank Collison, Paul Bates

T.J. (Devin Brochu) is a young boy, living with his grandmother and his father who is devastated by the death of T.J.’s mom a few months before. The family is struggling when suddenly T.J. makes friends with Hesher (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is a strange, strange person. Hesher is rudely crude, and has no sense of right and wrong and says the most inappropriate things all the time, but has a wise side. Often his stories are crude and lewd but pack a great message. T.J.’s relationship with Hesher is really strained as he looks up to him and needs help, but Hesher gets him in so much trouble, especially when T.J. develops a crush on grocery check out girl Nicole (Natalie Portman).

This film starts out as a crazy screwed up comedy, and you think it’s too silly to be worth anything, but as you stick with it, the thing really grows on you. Hesher is such an ass. He lived in his van, and loves to blow up stuff, and suddenly moved into T.J.’s house and annoyed everyone, but nobody threw him out or called the cops. But Hesher is much deeper than that, and has some redeeming qualities, and has a pretty good message if you can get past the vulgar antics and inappropriate outbursts. Rainn Wilson is T.J.’s dad, and plays the deeply depressed Dad pretty perfectly. Many days he never gets up, and he does nothing most of the time. Between the three of them, Hesher, T.j. and Nicole, they try to bring the family back together again, in some very strange ways.

It’s amazing the wisdom that comes out of Hesher’s mouth in the most disgusting ways! The humor is good, but there’s a great look into depression, loss, and pain that can’t be overlooked as it’s a main part of the story. It was a horrible thing that this family went through, and it’s going to take a lot to get them back together again, and certainly Hesher may not be the right man for the job. It’s a very bizarre film, but the sucker really grows on you, and if you don’t get disgusted and turn it off in the first 15 minutes, you will have a lot to take in and think about. Not a bad independent film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog