Ed's Review Dot Com

Columbia Pictures, Mythology Entertainment (II), Centropolis Entertainment,

Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, Jason Clarke, Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Woods, Richard Jenkins, Joey King

John Cale (Channing Tatum) is a policeman who is applying inside the White House today for his dream job in the Secret Service guarding the President (Jamie Foxx). The interview turns bad and he fails to get the job, and is quite disappointed. His daughter, Emily (Joey King) is with him so he can join with her to tour the White House. Coincidentally while he’s there, a group of terrorist attack the White House and take the President hostage, and while Cale didn’t get the job, he’s the only one who can possibly save both his daughter and the President who are being held hostage.

This film, on its own, is a pretty good action adventure film. Unfortunately it didn’t do that great in theaters, probably because it’s very close in subject matter to the Die Hard series, and a number of other great terrorist-hostage films. Air Force One springs to mind. So, though it was not worth spending big bucks to see this in the theater, it’s a really good popcorn/movie night film on DVD. The action is good, and the tension is really high. Edge of your seat excitement, and suspense is the order of the day. There are some minor weaknesses (other than stealing the plot if you hold that against them) like the fact that Jamie Foxx is not really a great President (although I guess with the entertainer we have currently in the White House, maybe it’s not too far off.) He’s certainly not Harrison Ford. Likewise, Channing Tatum is good enough as the cop/good guy, but he’s not nearly able to pull it off like Bruce Willis did in Die Hard. Still, I enjoyed the movie, it caught and grabbed my attention throughout, and it was an exciting film. I would definitely consider this a rental film, but it’s a good distraction for a little while.

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Walden Media, Gran Via Productions,

Maggie Gyllenhaal, Viola Davis, Holly Hunter, Oscar Isaac, Rosie Perez, Ving Rhames, Lance Reddick, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Bill Nunn, Emily Alyn Lind

Jamie Fitzpatrick (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is a single Mom struggling with two jobs to make a better life for her 3rd grade daughter. But their inner city school is failing. Though there are some good teachers, Jamie has tried for months to get her daughter transferred to a different room since the teacher is really mean, and she can’t read. Meanwhile, Nona Alberts (Viola Davis) is a really good teacher, but worries about her own son who is not progressing properly. Jamie tries to enter her daughter in the lottery to go to the school she wants for her daughter, but they have 40 spots and over 400 applicants. So Jamie and Nona band together to fight the parents, the teachers, the administration, the union, and the school board to petition the board to allow them to take over the school and to allow the parents to run it. All in all it’s a long uphill battle, but the parents want what is best for their kids no matter how hard the fight.

This film is really an anti-union/anti-establishment film, but it’s trying to show some of the problems with the school district we have today. Unions appear more worried about keeping up their enrollment to get enough money in the pot to buy the government off to protect them, and the teachers who are awful, are protected by tenure. Tenure was a good thing back in the days where the teachers could be mass fired due to a change in the political environment in a town, but it’s gotten so bad, that unless you can convict a teacher of a serious crime, they can never be fired no matter how bad they perform. And when a whole school fails, year after year, what are parents to do? They don’t have the money to send their kids to private schools, and the public schools that are better are so overcrowded that it’s impossible to get in.

But back to the movie. It’s a definitely one sided view, so the good teachers and good parents are all good, and the union members, bad teachers, school board and union leaders are pure evil. I’m sure it’s not like this in real life, but it’s drama. So expect to see a one sided story, much like many similar films like The China Syndrome, The Help, Erin Brockovich, and numerous others where it’s the little man against the evil establishment, but what else would you expect. This is a drama, and not a documentary, and though it’s based on some factual stuff, most of the movie is fiction. So it’s a drama, well acted, and not to badly written. It’s an interesting film, and not too bad to watch, but it’s not going to get a glowing review because it just doesn’t take that additional giant step to greatness. It’s just a good film, and definitely worth watching, but with lowered expectations for content.

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Informant Media, Forthcoming Productions, Beachfront Films,

Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jonathan Pryce, Felicity Jones, Rupert Everett, Ashley Jensen, Sheridan Smith, Gemma Jones

Dr. Mortimer Granville (Hugh Dancy) is a young doctor looking to setup a practice and make a name for himself in the Victorian Era. He meets Dr. Robert Dalrymple (Jonathan Pryce) who is a respected expert on a female problem thought to be a condition of the uterus. Dr. Dalrymple has developed a special pelvic massage treatment that is very popular with the ladies. But as he turns most of his patients over to young Dr Granville, the poor fellow develops carpal tunnel syndrome from all the manual stimulation required. Meanwhile, Dr. Dalrymple has two daughters, one who is a wild and free spirit who runs a clinic for the poor, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, and the other a quiet and shy stay at home daughter who is the apple of her father’s eye. Both daughters take a liking to Dr. Granville. To save his poor aching fingers, Dr. Granville and his friend turn a failed experiment into a medical device that certainly changed the world. This film is based upon a true story, but with a lot of poetic license taken.

There are people who loved this film, and those that hated it. I found myself leaning towards the second group. I sometimes enjoy (especially late at night when I’m trying to fall asleep) watching the Science channel’s show “How It’s Made” It’s interesting to see how things are created, whether it’s a Boeing 747 or a paper clip. But this is something I really didn’t care about how it was developed, or why. It is a weird film, and truly the relationship between the early feminist played by Maggie Gyllenhaal and Dr. Granville is the most interesting, and perhaps only interesting parts of the film. Maggie nails her role, and is the best thing in the film for sure. But the long lines of elderly ladies waiting in line for their turn to be “treated” is downright disturbing, more than interesting. There are funny moments, and some romance, but mostly the story lacked any real purpose, and it’s like taking a 3 page short story and trying to expand it into a feature film. Occasionally it works (“Polar Express”, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas”, “Where the Wild Things Are”) but most of the time it leaves us wondering “Where’s the beef?” But in this case, I think we’d rather not now. I’d say skip this one unless you have a really morbid curiosity about the subject matter. I doubt you’re going to like this one.

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Universal Pictures, Studio Canal, Relativity Media

Emma Thompson, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Oscar Steer, Asa Butterfield, Lil Woods, Eros Vlahos, Rosie Taylor-Ritson, Daniel Mays, Maggie Smith, Rhys Ifans, Ewan McGregor

Poor Isabel (Maggie Gyllenhaal) is in serious trouble. She has to run the farm, and take care of the family while her husband is off fighting in the war. She’s got trouble. They have to bring in the harvest, but the tractor is broken. Then her spoiled niece and nephew show up from London to be added to her own since it’s unsafe for the children in the city in case of bombs. Now she’s got 5 to take care of and her kids and the cousins hate each other with a passion. But help arrives when none other than Nanny McPhee turns up to teach the children FIVE lessons. You know the drill, when you don’t want her but you need her she must stay, but when you want her but no longer need her, she must leave. Nanny McPhee has a lot of magic and the children find themselves learning the 5 lessons in a strange and magical way. Hint: They’ll never use the term “When pigs fly” in the same way again!

This is the second Nanny McPhee movie. I don’t think it’s quite a good as the first, as this story is definitely derivative. Isabel has a brother who is a shyster. He’s got a load of gambling debts and needs money really bad, so he’s trying to talk her into selling the farm. (But Annie lives in the orphanage with Mrs. Hannigan whose brother is trying to get the reward from Daddy Warbucks) Oops, wrong movie. (But then Nanny McPhee gets on the bed with the kids and they turn the bedknob and fly to Portobello Road to find Professor Brown to get the last spell of substitutiary locomotion to fight the Nazis) Ok, wrong movie again. Yes this is very similar to both movies. So why did I rate this movie so high? Simply because it’s a really great kids film. The story is very well done, and though it’s derivative, the kids won’t mind that a bit. Emma Thompson has the Nanny McPhee character down, and her magic is as good as Mary Poppins any day! Maggie does a good job as the harried mother, and the two London cousins are awesomely evil. These kids are spoiled rotten, but they turn nice soon enough with Nanny McPhee’s prodding. Maggie Smith is in here too as Mrs Docherty, but I’m not sure at all how she even fits into the story. I’m not sure if I just missed it or if there is really a connection, but her talents are pretty much wasted in here. According to imdb.com’s trivia page, Mrs Docherty was the baby in the first movie. They may have said that, and I may have missed it. Otherwise it was a bit obscure for me. But obviously Nanny McPhee has been around a while as several people in this film recognize her from their childhood.

So what things do I like most about the movie? Well, the sense of irony is really strong, and I really appreciate that. The most outlandish proposition is stated and later comes true word by word. That cracks me up. The whole scene with the flying pigs is a blast, although not a large part of the film, but very cleverly done. Nanny McPhee is an icon and is well acted. There’s not a lot of suspense which is good for the younger viewers. I think this is an excellent kids movie and one the kids and the parents can watch together. There’s enough action, surprise, and laughs for the whole family to enjoy, so whether the kids are 3 or 17, the whole family can enjoy this, even the grandparents! I highly recommend this movie!

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20th Century Fox

Jeff Bridges, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Colin Farrell

I really enjoyed this movie.  I have been anxious for it to arrive on DVD since I heard about it at the Oscar’s last year.  I wasn’t disappointed.  Jeff Bridges isn’t always on top of his game, but he did an amazing job in this movie.  Heartwarming,  it was very “A Star is Born“ish in a way, and all the way through Jeff reminds me of Kris Kristofferson in a lot of ways.  But the story is very complex.  I loved the way Colin Farrell played his character.  He should have been very stuck up, proud of what he was, and eager to step on poor Bad (Jeff Bridges) on the way up, but he wasn’t.  He appreciated, and he cared, and he was a genuine nice guy.  This makes you get angry with Bad, but watching him struggle, you turn from disliking him to pitying him, to rooting for him.

Jeff and Colin did the singing in the movie, with the help of a singing coach, and they did a way better than expected job of singing the music in the film.  It was quite believable and it was a nice touch that they did their own.  The music was good, especially if you have a hankering for horsey tunes in the first place.  It’s good country.  But my wife who is NOT a country fan, still loved the movie because of the strength of the story.

It’s a story that’s been done before, and done very well, but this one is a bit unique, and really gives a feel for how hard it is to give up you life to live on the road driving from town to town to simply sing your old songs with a pick up band of local kids.  It’s got to be a hard life that many musicians know.

I recommend this movie as one of the best rentals I’ve had in a while!