Ed's Review Dot Com

Marvel Studios,

Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Don Cheadle, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chadwick Boseman, Brie Larson, Tom Holland, Karen Gillan, Zoe Saldana, Evangeline Lilly

In the last film, Avengers:Infinity war (2018) the universe was devastated. Half of the avengers were killed. The remaining allies have banded together with the remaining Avengers to try to reverse Thanos’ actions and once again put things back the way they were before the destruction took place. This means traveling back in time to steal all the jewels and bring them all back together again. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.

People who know me, know I’m not a huge comic book or superhero fan. For the most part, superhero films leave me with an empty feeling. I felt that I did have to watch the Avengers films though as they were so powerfully hyped up. In the end of Infinity War, I found myself wondering what the hell I had just watched. Feeling there must be more, I couldn’t believe the ending. It was quite a bummer, believe me. So I headed out to see this one to see if it could fix up the horror of the last movie’s ending. I wasn’t disappointed, as the obvious has to happen, but the way it did was awesome. The intensity and the quality of this movie made it well worth watching, and although this is no way my favorite film of any genre, it was awfully well done. It nice to see everyone brought together, and the suspense of no one can fail or the whole plan fails helped to make it as intense and could be. All in all, it’s a very well made film with really memorable characters and well worth the price of admission. It’s a must see, especially if you saw the last one’s devastation and destruction. This is a very well done film and a must see just the same.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Matt Tolmach Productions, Radar Pictures, Seven Bucks Productions,

Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Bobby Cannavale, Alex Wolff, Ser’Darius Blain, Madison Iseman, Morgan Turner, Missi Pyle, Rhys Darby, Tim Matheson, Maribeth Monroe, Marc Evan Jackson

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle is a sequel to the original Jumanji of over 20 years ago. Technology has changed since the original board game that was played by the kids in the original bringing Alan Parrish back from the jungle. In those days it was a board game, but apparently it had been updated at some point over the last 20 years to a video game console. A group of high school kids decided to give the game a try, and all four of them are pulled into the jungle where Alan lived during the time that he was trapped in the game. When they are sucked into the game, hence into the jungle itself, they become their characters that they chose in the original game. Here they are trapped unless they are able to complete the challenge and end the game.

This review was started over a year ago, and never completed. I wanted to say some things about this film, and now that it’s been out for a year or two, I still feel my observations might be of some value, so I decided to finish it. First of all, many folks did not like this film, for one reason or another, but I found it rather interesting for a number of reasons. First of all, the humor was here 100%. It was really funny from time to time. Secondly, some of the action seemed corny or contrived, but this is supposed to be a video game and as such is filled with different levels and scenarios. I felt this was appropriate for the situation. There are also some fun references to the original movie. Many people do not remember, but in the original movie, though Alan was stuck in the jungle for years until someone rolled a “six” or “eight” to free him, we never saw anything of what the jungle was like. The animals and characters from the jungle crossed over to our world, but we never went the other way. This time we get to see the jungle world, and even the place where Alan lived while he was stuck here. During the time Alan lived there he made friends and became somewhat of a hero over there. All in all, I found this to be really fun, and at this late date, if you haven’t seen these movies, I would suggest watching both of them back to back so that you can remember the important parts of the original. If you have seen the first one, but not this one, then I still recommend going back and watching the original again, so it’s all fresh when you watch this sequel. I think both movies are classics and ought to be enjoyed.

Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Kurt Russell, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Pom Klementieff, Elizabeth Debicki, Sylvester Stallone, Glenn Close, Sean Gunn, Chris Sullivan, Nathan Fillion, Laura Haddock, Tommy Flanagan

The Guardians are back in Volume two of this Marvel series, with all the usual characters. But Peter (Chris Pratt) is wondering about his true identity when a powerful godlike person named Ego (Kurt Russell) shows up claiming to be his real Father. He convinces Peter to travel back to his planet where he can explain the whole history of who Peter really is, while the rest of the team is left behind, being attacked and trying to fight off a new evil villain and his gang. If you’re a fan of the first movie this film is a must see.

This is a great adventure film, and very, very well done, as was the first film. The filmmakers have created a great cast of characters and have added to it with some clever new ones. There are also a lot of cameos in this movie as well that are fun to see. But the excitement and adventure level if very high, and it’s fast moving and perfectly paced to keep you into the whole film. Chris Pratt is excellent, and his under the surface relationship with Gamora (Zoe Saldana) is not only hysterically funny, but quite touching. Each of these characters who are now known to us are much better developed, and they play together better than any group I’ve seen. As you know, I’m not a big fan of comic book movies, but this one really breaks the usual mold and is a very interesting movie. I enjoyed the first one, and definitely found this one to be just as good. If somehow you managed to miss this sequel, since it’s out on DVD it’s a definite must see. I highly recommend this movie for young and old alike. Well done.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Imagenation Abu Dhabi FZ, Likely Story, Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation,

Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega, Karen Gillan, Ellar Coltrane, Patton Oswalt, Glenne Headly, Bill Paxton

Mae (Emma Watson) lands her dream job with the largest high tech company on the Planet, The Circle, led by Bailey (Tom Hanks). She’s really into the company and is very excited to buy into all the wonderful things The Circle can do. They have a miniature camera that can send live pictures with sound to anyone on the channel any time you wish. Like a giant social network, But management wants her to step it up a bit further and become the worlds first transparent user, one who will be always online for people to view. The owner’s theory is that secrets are lies, and that people will act better if they have no secrets and everything is in the open. But though Mae does her best, things naturally start spinning out of control and it begins hurting those most important to her.

I have been anxious to see this film since I first saw the previews, which was much better, I think, than the actual movie. I love science fiction, I and I was really anxious to see how Emma Watson could pull off a dramatic and futuristic role like this. Besides, there are great performers in this film like Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, and many others that bring a lot of acting talent to this adventure. The problem is that the director too a really good story idea, and twisted it into a morality tale, much like 1984, only tried to jazz it up for Facebook and Instragram. What resulted is a mediocre morality play about Big Brother watching, and trashing the films with the morality of the director. It was an excellent idea, but it was really poorly executed. The big surprise ending is not a surprise, not is it very big, and it just sort of sat there. Basically it was a missed opportunity. I was really disappointed.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Marvel Studios, Marvel Enterprises, Moving Picture Company (MPC),

Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Bradley Cooper, Lee Pace, Michael Rooker, Karen Gillan, Djimon Hounsou, John C. Reilly, Glenn Close, Benicio Del Toro

Out in space, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) learns that he is being chased after he finds an orb wanted by Ronin the Accuser. Peter is in a heap of trouble, but he puts together an unlikely group of heroes and before long they learn that they are all that stands between Ronin and the destruction of the Galaxy.

This is a very long awaited movie based on the Marvel comic books. This movie did not disappoint. Not only was it killing at the box office, which is good for the film business, but it capped off a rather bland summer movie season. This one has a lot of humor, is really good for both kids and adults. It has a PG-13 rating, but after reviewing it, we took my 6 year old grandson with us who really liked it. There is some violence and evil, but it’s an adventure movie at that and nothing you’d really suspect. But you need to make your own decision about kids 12 and under and how well they will accept it. The characters are perfect. Well I did have a little trouble with Chris Pratt as Peter Quill because I have a terrible time separating him from his character on Parks and Recreation. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t let that go. But that’s my fault, not his. Damn typecasting. Of course the giant walking tree, Shroot (Vin Diesel), and the raccoon are CGI, but very pleasant CGI that doesn’t interfere with the story. CGI can be touchy in a big film like this, and if it’s not done right, it’s very distracting. Here these characters are just as alive as the human characters and it’s done very well. Finally to top it off, I had the opportunity of watching this in 3D IMAX, and not the new IMAX where they throw a sheet over their regular screen and call it BIG SCREEN. I mean the original huge screen 7 stories tall and the huge theater with a true IMAX sound system. That part was AWESOME. I wouldn’t want to plunk down the extra fees for IMAX if it wasn’t a real IMAX projection system with the true IMAX screen. That made the whole experience extra special. This was definitely a big enough movie to see on the BIG SCREEN in 3D. The technical aspects were stunning, and the story was really good. This is probably the only MUST-SEE from this summer, and though school is back in and Labor Day is long gone, there is still a chance to see this film in the theater where you really ought to see it. I was highly impressed with the quality of this feature in every way.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog