Ed's Review Dot Com

The Film Community, Electric Entertainment,

Josh Charles, Julia Stiles, Avan Jogia, Tracie Thoms, Leo Fitzpatrick, Mike Houston, Jasper Newell

Tom Seymour (Josh Charles) is a psychologist, married to his wife Lauren (Julia Stiles), and the two are down by the sea when they notice a young man jumping off the pier. Despite his wife’s warnings, Tom climbs the fence and jumps in to save this young man from drowning himself. When he meets his new patient, Danny Miller (Avan Jogia) he learns that he is the same man that he saved from drowning, but also the man was the boy of 11 that his testimony sent away to prison decades before. How odd that the two are once again together, but Tom soon finds Danny inserting himself into his life in very strange ways. Was it all a coincidence, or is Danny really dangerous? This is an eerie mystery and a creeping insight into Tom’s secrets.

This seems like a movie based on a book that might be very, very good. But the movie lacks a lot. The characters are relatively well developed which is more than I can say about the story itself. The script never gets off the ground, and is a bit of an abortion. I’m not sure what the makers of this film were aiming for, but I’m disappointed that they seemed to miss the mark entirely. The film is very slow and dragging, and each moment you think that something is going to make sense, it doesn’t. All in all, the air above my head was filled with question marks throughout the whole film, and I never figured out what it could possibly mean. Who is Julia Stiles supposed to be, and what use is she to the film. Sadly, she has a mysterious role that we never get a clue of. I don’t know who this kid/man is/was, and by the end I really didn’t care. Is the doctor an evil bastard, an abused wimp, or a hero of some sort? Hell if I know. It ended, and the big surprise ending didn’t do anything to bring anything to a close either. After it was all over, I’m just completely confused as to what it was all about. This movie really looked like it had a superior idea for a story that just fizzled out after the initial rescue and never recovered. Now I’m left wondering if this actually based on a decent book that could give me some peace at understanding this tale, or if it’s just something I need to forget and move on to the next movie and forget this ever happened.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Blackbird, Cold Iron Pictures, Movie Plus productions,

Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Hank Azaria, Steve Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Michael Sheen, Dan Stevens, Josh Charles

Norman (Richard Gere) is a fixer. Head of the Oppenheimer Agency, Normal sets up meetings. He talks really, really big, has no fear of annoying everyone, and basically talks a big game! He befriends an starting out Israeli politician. Lo and Behold, in a few years he becomes the Prime Minister of Israel and he needs his buddy Norman to help him putting Norman on the precipice of destruction and on top of the world at the same time.

This is a very quirky and off-beat movie that features Richard Gere in a very cerebral and thoughtfully put together movie. I would think a lot of folks are going to get into this. It’s a character study, and Norman Oppeenheimer is truly a remarkable character. He lies without missing a bit, and not much that he says is not filled with hyperbole and exaggeration. He’s a nice guy inside, but is really crass on the outside. I once worked for a guy who used to always tell customers “I am not honest because of any moral reason, but I am honest because it’s simply good business>” Trouble is there wasn’t an honest bone in his body. Guys like Norman can be patting you on the back and heaping praises left and right while he’s picking your pocket. So what can I say about this movie? Well, I have mixed reactions to it. There’s no doubt that Richard Gere’s performance is really very expertly done. He does an amazing job of bringing this guy, we’ve all known at one time or another, to life. But the movie isn’t filled with much excitement. It’s mostly like a one man show. It’s slow paced, and I never did figure out how all the other characters fit in to this story as it lost me a bit, so if you tackle it, pay a lot of attention. However, if you like slow character development and enjoy a masterful performance like Gere turns in, you’re going to be a fan of this film. But it is really hard to classify this film, as it’s not that funny and not that serious, and there’s not that much going on here. For that reason, I hesitate to praise it too much.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Paramount Pictures,

Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina, Billy Bob Thornton, Nicholas Braun, Christopher Abbott, Sheila Vand, Stephen Peacocke, Evan Jonigkeit, Josh Charles

Based on the memoirs of Kim Baker (Tina Fey) this is the story of a news reporter who is embedded with the Marines in Afghanistan and the dangers and excitement of trying to get the scoop and bet out other reporters while being in harms way every moment. This is the true story of this reporters experiences over a number of years in the early years of the 2000’s.

I was caught off guard by this film. Knowing it’s Tina Fey, and looking at the posters in the theaters, and not knowing anything about the content in advance, I expected a comedy romp through the middle east. This is NOT a comedy by any means. Now I have lots of respect for Tina Fey, and I don’t think she did really bad in this serious role, but still it was a little off putting to have her play such a dramatic and dark role. I ended up having a hard time keeping my attention on this film and found my mind wandering away. The story is interesting enough, but other than a few short episodes, most of it was bad romance and lots of talking and talking. One highlight was Bill Bob Thorton who plays the commander of the team Kim is placed in. He did a really good job, though it wasn’t a big role, playing this guy as tough as nails with a kind streak a mile long. I enjoyed him any time he was on the screen. But for the most part, it dragged and was not really that interesting to me. I was not highly impressed with this movie, and I guess the public pretty much agreed with me as it really disappeared in a hurry and ended up on DVD pretty quickly. If you are really interested in the subject of a female reporter in Afghanistan, the you’ll probably do better reading the book, and if you’re not particularly interested in the subject, then there’s probably not enough substance here to make it worth watching this nearly 2 hour film.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Burn Later Productions, Duplass Brothers Productions, Through Films,

Celia Weston, Joel McHale, Paula Garcés, Jeffrey DeMunn, Josh Charles, Bobby Cannavale, Jason Mantzoukas, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Jane Krakowski, Sarah Steele, Bobby Moynihan, Mike Birbiglia, Nick Kroll, Rose Byrne, Julie White

Jake (Nick Kroll) is an entrepreneur, but when everything goes wrong at once, he loses everything. With nowhere else to turn, he leaves New York City and shows up on the doorstep of his married pregnant sister Justine (Rose Byrne) and her husband Danny (Bobby Cannavale). They take him in for a little while, but eventually he becomes their Nanny, babysitting his 3 year old nephew.

This isn’t a great movie, nor is it a horrible one. This is somewhere in between. Bobby Cannavale and Rose Byrne are actually pretty good together, as they are in real life I think, but their parts are not all that much of the film. There are some other smaller characters who also add to the whole, but basically it’s not funny or dramatic and is somewhere in the middle most of the time. I think perhaps the script is the weak part that pulls everything else down. There are lovers and haters, but most people seem to fit about where I sit right in the middle. I didn’t mind watching it, but it was not a moving or memorable movie, and when it was over, it was over. Watch if you’re a Nick Kroll fan, but there’s not much to drag you to watch this indie film other than that. Waste of time, really and I would say, skip it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog