Ed's Review Dot Com

Monkeypaw Productions,

Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, Evan Alex, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker, Cali Sheldon, Noelle Sheldon, Anna Diop, Kara Hayward, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Nathan Harrington, David M Sandoval Jr., Madison Curry, Duke Nicholson

The Wilson Family is on vacation up in Santa Cruz, Ca near the seashore. They need a break, and some time to unwind. But after a visit to the famous boardwalk, when they return to the cabin, four strangers are standing in their driveway. As they investigate further, they determine that the four characters look like each of the family members, and as time passes, they definitely intend harm to the Wilsons, their neighbors, and lots of other people. It’s going to be a long night.

I wanted to see this movie opening weekend. I’m glad I did, as I’m starting to see a lot of whines and complaints about this movie, most of which are not really justified. This is a really creepy story with lots of violent actions, and a great deal of suspense. However, it’s not you usual horror film with no real story, just lots of loud noises and sudden jumps. This is a deeply dark and suspenseful story that is quite complex with a lot to think about and figure out. So those who just want another straight forward horror fest are going to be disappointed. You need to be aware that the story is a lot more complex than it appears on the surface, and be prepared to invest some brain cycles to figure it all out. Secondly, this is the second film from Producer/Director Jordan Peele. This makes it normal that people would want to put the two films (The other one is Get Out) side by side and compare them This is a big mistake because these films are not at all alike. Now on the other hand, there are some problems with this movie. It might be because it’s only Jordon’s second film, or it could be simply some bad advise. It’s also hard to discuss this all without giving away too much, but speaking generically, they took great pains to try to explain how this all happened. Unfortunately, it’s not a very good explanation, and leaves us with some really strange plot problems. It seems like the tried to throw in a twist in the end, as it seems proper to do, but it doesn’t work at all with the entire rest of the movie, and was very ill advised. Sometimes we are better off not knowing the cause for the crisis, and it is better to leave a lot more up to the viewer to determine what it all means. Still, I did enjoy this film (although my companions in theater did not) and I think it was worth the trip to see it. I do like stories with thoughtful questions and deeper meanings, and every horror film does not need to be a shallow slasher with no plot. I just wish they had done a little more work on the script to fix some of the problems in the story. This film would have been a lot better with a little more thought into the plot holes and how to plug them up.

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Fairview Entertainment, Moving Picture Company (MPC), Walt Disney Pictures,

Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Idris Elba, Lupita Nyong’o, Scarlett Johansson, Giancarlo Esposito, Christopher Walken, Neel Sethi

Disney brings us the live action Jungle Book based on their animated film based on Rudyard Kipling’s books. Mowgli (Neel Sethi) is raised by a pack of wolves until he gains the unwanted attention of Shere Kahn, the fiercest Lion in the Jungle. The panther Bagheera who found him, tries to take him back to the man village, but the journey is plagued with danger and the eventual meeting with Shere Kahn.

This live action version of the classic Disney film is by far the most successful of the animated to live films that Disney has been trying lately. Mostly I suspect this is due to the quality of the writing and the original stories. There are many surprises in this film and many things that have led to it’s huge success. First is Jon Favreau who is an excellent director who has outdone himself here. Second is the intense world developed by the animators of this stunning look at the jungle created on Disney’s lot in Burbank. The lighting, shadow, and details down to every hair is absolutely breathtaking. Then there’s the tribute to the original, while still making this a grown up totally different experience for those like me who have seen the original over and over again. The characters are mostly the same, and the major story points are pretty similar, but it juts off at a couple places that really makes this experience new. Then there’s the music. How can we beat Louis Prima’s “I Wanna Be Like You” or Phil Harris’ “Bear Necessities”. Well they did use much of the same music, though not all, but in a completely new and modern style that will let you remember the tune and the gist of the story, but with many new words and different sounds that make it feel like a new song in many ways. Unlike the cartoon, the music isn’t the main feature, but a background reminder of what you’re watching in a whole new light. Then there is the really exciting and fun voices. Bill Murray as Baloo and Christopher Walken as King Louie is fabulous. But all the voice talent is top notch, that’s for sure. Finally, the performance of Neel Sethi as Mowgli. There are whole clips on YouTube about how he was selected, and this kid is as unexpected as the stars of Slumdog Millionaire when it arrived on the scene. All the buzz is about this fellow, and he was unbelievably good. This is a must see film, so don’t miss out. Catch this one right away while it’s still in the theater on the BIG screen….the BIGGER the BETTER!!

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Lucasfilm, Bad Robot, Truenorth Productions,

Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow

It’s some time since the last part of the story, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) is missing, gone off to seek solace and to try to understand what has happened. The resistance is in hiding and trying to rebuild. Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) is now a General in the resistance, and with the help of Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and Chewbacca they set out to try to follow the trail of Luke to get his help. Darth Vadar is long gone, but a new dark lord Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) has risen to power and will do anything to stop them, and the empire has a new secret weapon that is well hidden and will make the death star look like a firecracker.

This long, long awaited sequel to Star Wars continues the story far into the future and is the seventh in the series. As everyone remembers parts 4,5,6 were first, then years later Lucas brought the warmth of Jar-Jar Binks to the world in the parts 1 – 2 – 3. I am not a Star Wars fanatic, nor do I hold the harsh view on parts 1, 2, and 3 that some people have. I find myself in the middle. I thought all 6 of the films were not all that bad, although I do nod to the originals and I do feel George Lucas went a bit overboard with the special effects in the prequels that left the meat of the story in the dust with all the sparklies and explosions. Now the world was waiting with baited breath to find out if Disney was going to be able to handle the pressure after purchasing the rights to the Star Wars franchise and their first attempt to finish the story with 3 more films. I think most people were hoping for the best, but secretly expecting Disney to screw up big time. Well, they did, in my opinion, a very good job of staying true to the original series, and though I thought a few things were a little strange in the first viewing, as time passed and with additional exposure to the new film, I’ve really come to the conclusion that they really nailed it. I am anxious for the next film and the one after that. This is a must see film, whether you’re a fan of the original films or not. This is a worthwhile story with lots of fun and action, but with lots of serious life issues as well. There is plenty to talk about after seeing this film, and it’s going to be another big part of the world’s culture for years and years to come.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Regency Enterprises, River Road Entertainment, Plan B Entertainment,

Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Paul Giamatti, Lupita Nyong’o, Sarah Paulson, Brad Pitt, Alfre Woodard, Garret Dillahunt, Scoot McNairy, Adepero Oduye, Michael K. Williams, Chris Chalk, Taran Killam, Bill Camp

The true story of Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who was a free black man living in New York State. Solomon was an accomplished musician and was tricked into a job where he was captured and sold as a slave. He was subjected to both incredible kindness and extreme cruelty as were those around him before he meets a Canadian abolitionist, Bass (Brad Pitt) who changes his life forever.

The movie is based on the memoirs of Solomon Northup himself and is set in the pre-Civil War days. Events like that happened from time to time, and certainly no one can tolerate the depiction of the brutality of slavery. Not to make light of it, but since the slaves were valuable property, the extreme damage they did in this movie would surely depreciate the value of their property. I doubt that most slave owners would treat their “tools” like this. IF they did, they were really stupid. But at the same time, the times were horrible and treating human beings as property is disgusting. Still, I feel the filmmakers went out of their way to lay a guilt trip on us, and that is the most uncomfortable thing about watching this film. It’s hard not to feel pretty bad about yourself while watching this. It’s a mind numbing story, and there’s now way to come out of this unscathed. Regardless of whether or not it’s historically accurate in this case, It’s still a powerful message. I felt somewhat torn, all in all, and so I don’t really know how to rate this one. It’s really well done, and yet, I was torn as to whether I really was impressed that much. I chose 4 stars for the really good acting and for the screen play. It is a real depiction of life in the South pre-Civil War. But I was not completely blown away with the story. I can’t really put my finger on it. It just left me unsettled, which is what I guess it was supposed to do.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog