Chernin Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation,

Kate Winslet, Idris Elba, Beau Bridges, Dermot Mulroney, Waleed Zuaiter

Alex Martin (Kate Winslet) is a photographer, working a story in the NorthWest, but on her way home for her wedding to Mark (Dermot Mulroney) who is anxiously waiting for her back East. A storm has grounded all flights and there’s no way out. But Alex gets and idea to charter a plane, and finds a doctor, a neurosurgeon named Ben Bass (Idris Elba) who is desperate to get back for a surgery on a little boy, so Alex invites him to share the cost and take the plane flown by gritty old pilot Walter (Beau Bridges). But when a tragic accident brings the plane down on top of a snow covered mountain in Idaho, far from any civilization, they find out that the pilot has not filed a flight plan, and neither of the two have called anyone to let them know they were flying. Fighting terrible odds, injuries, and horrible weather, the two must depend on each other, and Walter’s dog who was in the plane with them, to figure out how to survive in this hostile and deadly environment, or die trying.

This movie, especially with the trailer, looks like an adventure/survival movie, which it is, of course, but it’s much more than that. The accident and the survival attempts are merely the backdrop for this intensive character study of the two characters, plus the dog, of course. It is in depth character development. The two have to depend on each other, but each have their own personal problems that affect who they are and how they react. They find they are very different from each other, and extremely different personalities, mainly because of what they do, and what they have experienced in life. Yet, without each other, neither has a chance of making it out. There is a lot of suspense, and some beautiful Canadian mountain views, and some intense struggles every day for the weeks they are stranded together, but they really find that they are strangely attracted to each other, but neither knows if it’s because they really care for each other, or if it’s the unusual circumstances that they find themselves in. The acting in this film is definitely Oscar worthy for both of them, and there is really only the two of them through 99% of the movie. Just when you think it’s over, it turns on it’s side again and goes on for another half hour. It’s beautifully filmed, a wonderful story, but it’s all about the actors in this movie. They deserve all the praise I feel they are about to get for these superb performances. This is a must see film.

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Red Wagon Entertainment, Mandeville Films, Summit Entertainment,

Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ansel Elgort, Miles Teller, Naomi Watts, Octavia Spencer,

Things went bad for Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley) upon her initiation day in the first film “Divergent”. It ended up with her finding out she is divergent, or a member of all the factions. After the destruction of Earth, the survivors were broken up into factions and focused on one part of humankind to the exclusion of all else. There were those who value truth above all, those who nurture children, the group that cherish simpleness and non-violence to the extreme, and so on. A divergent had all of the qualities at once. Tris, by running away and joining another group of divergents suddenly found her whole world turned upside down. Those she loved were killed, because of her and their attempt to protect a valuable object at all costs. Tris is doubting herself as war seems eminent and there seems no other way than to attack and kill Jeanine (Kate Winslet) who as leader has started an all out search for the divergents to solve the puzzle and secure her rightful place as ruler of mankind.

This is the sequel to Divergent, and in this film, it picks up exactly as it left off. Tris has a valiant task to overcome and she’s ready for it, although she’s questioning herself and the cause of all the terrible things that happened. Does it sound like Hunger Games? Well that’s because there are many, many similarities between the two. This came along, definitely to ride the coattails of Hunger Games, which came along to follow Harry Potter, and so on, and so on. Does that make it worth not going after? No, not really. There are some definite twists along the way, and some of the details in these stories are quite interesting. I am impressed with Shailene Woodley, but she’s definitely not Jennifer Lawrence. Although in the very first Hunger Games Jennifer wasn’t all that polished either, but as the series went on, she got much stronger acting chops. Shailene still has a way to go, but she’s still the strong woman heroine who is required to step in and save the world. This is the theme these days. The men are either two faced, incompetent, or traitorous, and without the women to save the world, we’d be in trouble. This is what we’ve come to expect in 2015. So with that out of the way, Tris is a pretty decent heroine. With plenty of self doubt, she’s a bad ass and and kick butt and take names as well as anyone. I really enjoyed the look and feel of this movie, and was able to look past some of the cheesy acting of the bad guys who were about as hapless as the storm troopers in Star Wars Chapter V. The special effects are good, and the story is not all that bad. Don’t watch this expecting it to be exactly like the book, as it’s apparently not very closely followed, but as a stand alone film, it’s really good. I would definitely watch Divergent first to get the feel from the original and the background you will need for this film. Others found the story hard to follow, and especially the ending part about the relic and what it all meant. I didn’t find it that hard to follow, but perhaps if you miss a few critical pieces it might get that way. I thought it was an intelligent and very interesting action adventure film which gave me a lot of stuff to think about what is important in life and what is trivial. An interesting comparison is TinkerBell who being a pixie is only able to feel one emotion at a time. So when she’s filled with jealousy, it consumes her to wipe out all other feelings. The class system in Divergent is similar. Those who have only one trait miss a lot of life by not having the others. I recommend this film, but with the caveat that it’s not of the caliber of Harry Potter or Hunger Games, but it’s a nice little adventure film. I recommend it.

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Indian Paintbrush, Mr. Mudd, Right of Way Films,

Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Tom Lipinski, Maika Monroe, Clark Gregg, James Van Der Beek, J.K. Simmons, Brooke Smith, Brighid Fleming, Alexie Gilmore, Lucas Hedges, Micah Fowler

Adele (Kate Winslow) is a depressed single mom raising her 13 year old son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith). She hardly leaves the house, but just before one Labor Day weekend, she has to go out for some supplies, and while they are shopping, Henry meets a bloody guy who says he needs help. He asks for a ride. Reluctantly Adele allows Frank (Josh Brolin) to ride with them, and to stop at her house to rest before he catches a train out of town. He promises to leave first thing in the morning, but he doesn’t, and though he’s very helpful fixing things and helping around the house, it quickly becomes clear that his intentions are not what he said, and his past may change their lives forever.

This is a very strange romantic drama. The story is not really like any I’ve seen before, and we learn piece by piece and bit by bit what is actually Frank’s story, but we can’t really tell what his motive really is. Is he acting, or is he genuine? The three main characters in this story are really well cast. Josh Brolin is not my favorite actor, and he’s been miscast in a number of roles, but in this one he’s a perfect Frank. Kate Winslet does a great job as the fearful and timid Adele who is afraid of her own shadow. Gattlin is very good as the teen son as well and handles a big role like a pro. It’s sad, and it warm and touching, and it’s suspenseful, all good emotions in a romantic drama like this. This is a very well done script and the actors also play it very well. This was a very interesting story. Based on a novel, the story is set about 25 years ago, and it helps us to capture the whole story as told by the adult Frank (Tobey Maguire). The story is a bit slow developing suiting the background and the small town life. Aside from that, the story is really well told, and I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

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Summit Entertainment, Red Wagon Entertainment,

Shailene Woodley, Kate Winslet, Theo James, Ansel Elgort, Ray Stevenson, Zoƫ Kravitz, Maggie Q, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Ashley Judd, Tony Goldwyn, Mekhi Phifer

In the future, society has broken the population down into five factions based upon their nature. When a child comes of age, in an elaborate, they are given an aptitude test to recommend to them which of the factions they will be best suited for. But based upon their own heart, they have the right to choose which faction they wish to be a part of, but once the choice is made, they cannot change their mind. Of course, those that fail or who are unable to choose are condemned to be “the factorless” and must live in poverty. When Beatrice (Shailene Woodley) takes the test, she fails as the results are inconclusive. She is “divergent” or one who has the characteristics of all the factions and is able to choose her own future. This is very dangerous to the government so even though she joins the rough and tumble warrior factor, she has to keep her secret before the government can find her and eliminate her.

I must first say I haven’t read the books. I think often fans of a book, or series of books is very disappointed when they come out on film. I’ve always had a theory for myself. If I am looking at a series that I’m already familiar with, such as Star Wars or Star Trek, or something along those lines, I would love to read the book first. But if I go see a movie that is really good, or strikes me as a very interesting subject, I love to read the book afterward. That way, I get the story and understand what’s going on, then go into much more depth and I already have a picture in my head (from the movie) of what the world looks like and what the characters look like, so reading about them I can picture it the same way in my mind. But if I read the book first, I end up having a completely different idea of what a person looks like, sounds like, or what their environment looks like. This is good if you’re simply a book reader, but if you love movies, like I do, it’s very jarring to find out the director’s vision is so very different from yours. This is what I think happened to the people who love the book and hate the movie.

Coming into this with no knowledge of the story, I was really blown away. I really enjoyed this film, and it’s been a long time since I’ve had a 5 star review. But I loved this story. Now I will agree, there is certainly a similarity to other works. It’s obviously got elements of The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter in it. And just when I was certain the film was going to go and turn all Blade Runner/Logan’s Run on me, it totally didn’t. It is a unique enough story that has to steal some from other similar types of stories. There’s no way to avoid that. But this was very colorful, suspenseful. a very innocent love story, extreme action and excitement, tension till the last, comedy, tragedy, and it tugs the heart strings. Basically it’s everything a big budget Hollywood blockbuster would have. And it’s obviously ripe for a series.

I can understand those who were disappointed, but this is certainly the best film I’ve seen in 2014, and really think they have the makings of a great series here. See it in the theater if you have a chance.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Relativity Media, Virgin Produced, GreeneStreet Films,

Kate Winslet, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Naomi Watts, Jeremy Allen White, Anna Faris, Chris Pratt, Kieran Culkin, Emma Stone, Jason Sudeikis, Justin Long, Leslie Bibb, Uma Thurman, Kristen Bell, Bobby Cannavale, John Hodgman, Halle Berry, Seann William Scott, Elizabeth Banks, Stephen Merchant, Nicole Polizzi, Johnny Knoxville, Richard Gere, Jack McBrayer, Kate Bosworth, Gerard Butler, Terrence Howard, Chloƫ Grace Moretz, Josh Duhamel

Charlie Wessler (Dennis Quaid) is a washed up producer who is going nowhere. He weasels his way onto the studio lot to pitch his latest idea for a blockbuster Hollywood film to producer Griffin Schraeder (Greg Kinnear). Unfortunately it is a series of extremely inappropriate sketches. This movie is basically a really far out series of unrelated stores tied together with the efforts Charlie makes to get his idea turned into a movie at all costs, even at gunpoint with hostages if necessary in this hilarious star studded off-the-wall comedy.

Outrageous is an understatement for this film. The sketches are the most inappropriate stuff you have ever seen. This movie has it’s roots in the classic 1977 “Kentucky Fried Movie” but rather than just being short sketches, this one ties it all together with Dennis Quaid’s efforts to get this piece of crap made, even though Greg Kinnear is going to do everything possible to make sure that doesn’t happen. What happens is a series of extremely funny bits with a TON of major stars. I don’t know how they talked all these people into being in this crazy film, but it must have been a real blast making it. It gets so out of hand, and goes where no film has gone before. I really enjoyed the craziness of this film. It is really out there. You have to be able to deal with the gross subject matter as nothing is off limits, and it’s really nasty sometimes, but the outrageousness of it is what makes it really funny. If you remember Kentucky Fried Movie, and if you enjoyed that, then you’re sure to crack up over this one.

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