Ed's Review Dot Com

Legendary East, Atlas Entertainment, China Film Group,

Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Pedro Pascal, Willem Dafoe, Andy Lau, Hanyu Zhang, Eddie Peng, Lu Han, Gengxin Lin, Kai Zheng, Xuan Huang

William (Matt Demon) is a European mercenary who will fight for whomever offers the most money. He’s on a mission, with some of his men, to find out the truth about the black powder that those in China supposedly have to protect The Great Wall from the Mongols. So they show up just as they Chinese under their commander, Lin Mae (Tian Jing) is about to go into a major battle. They are captured and put into the dungeon, but it turns out the battle is a lot more sinister than the Mongols invading. The Chinese have been hiding that they are actually defending their country from some nasty alien creatures who, if they overtake and conquer the soldiers, will spread over to the whole world. William decides to join the Chinese to fight, and uses his skills to help Lin Mae to destroy the Queen and hopefully win the battle.

This is a very intense action film with great action sequences. It’s an odd story. Some years ago I picked up a science fiction paperback from the 99 cent store and found it to be the story of a modern day man who had the unfortunate incident where he passed through a portal to an iron age, medieval like kingdom in need of a leader, but there was also a pathway to a futuristic society. When I finished the book, I found out it was a trilogy, and I searched a bookstore and found the second novel with ease. When it came time to read the third book in the trilogy though, I was hooked on the story, but quickly found that Tor Books, the publisher had discontinued the book which was out of print, and not available anywhere. I was devastated until my oldest son found a copy in a rare book shop and he bought it for me. That unusual story of three different realities, past, present, and future, reminded me a lot of this film. What appears to be a very decent period piece of life centuries and centuries ago, immediately turns into a futuristic science fiction movie and it blew my mind. The special effects, particularly the alien creatures themselves, are quite impressive, and the battle scenes defending the wall are quite entertaining. The action is fierce and vicious, and it’s certainly very lifelike. I didn’t expect a lot out of this movie, but I was very pleasantly surprised at how really good it was. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and though the theaters had this one in and out in the blink of an eye, for a DVD rental (if anyone still does that anymore) or a streaming evening, it’s very well suited. If the you like Lords and Ladies, Asian customs, and outer space bugs, this one has it all. I promise an interesting evening.

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Captivate Entertainment, Double Negative, The Kennedy/Marshall Company,

Matt Damon, Julia Stiles, Alicia Vikander, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel, Riz Ahmed, Ato Essandoh, Scott Shepherd

Jason Bourne (Matt Damon) is still out there, and still on the run from the CIA and Director Dewey (Tommy Lee Jones). He’s got a friend in Agent Nicky Parsons (Julia Stiles) who downloaded all the secret files in order to expose the secret stuff that is going on. The files include the Treadstone Project of which Jason is a part. Turns out he has other connections to the project that he was certainly not aware of, so as the CIA sets off a worldwide manhunt to bring in Nicky, they hope to bring in Bourne at the same time. But he’s not likely to give up easily.

With James Bond regularity we get Bourne after Bourne after Bourne. I would love to say I hate these movies, but the truth is that I don’t. But there is a great difference between Jason Bourne and all the James Bond movies. Each of the Bond movies has a villain, often a new one with a new set of plans and plots. The main things stay the same with the agency, but they are always a fresh new story. Every Jason Bourne story has the same thing. It’s Matt Damon hiding out from the CIA and trying to keep one step ahead while they chase him and try to shut him down. The one trick pony is that he doesn’t know who he really is, or how he came to be. Each film builds a little on this premise, but they are all essentially the same story. This is my problem with them. Dang it, they action is good, and the special effects and chases are well done, and Matt Damon play the spy guy good enough, as well as Tommy Lee Jones playing the corrupt CIA chief, but essentially you could sit down and watch any one of this whole series, and to tell the truth, I don’t even remember how many of them there have been, and I don’t want to take the time to look it up. So unfortunately I can’t get too excited about this, and I start to wonder when they’re just going to stop it, or come up with a new plot. When a new Bond film comes out, I’m there first weekend to see the next series, but when another Bourne movie is released, I always decide to skip it and wait for the DVD. i end up watching it, and I end up enjoying the action, but it seems it’s just been dragging out a bit too much. There must be Bourne fans out there who are dying for the next one, and if you’re one of those, please comment and let me know why it’s so exciting to watch the same plot over and over again. It’s like watching Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsey. They’re fun, but they always are the same. Restaurant in trouble because owners don’t want to change. Ramsey eats their food which they think is great and it totally sucks which pisses them off entirely. They start out making changes, but the service runs terrible and the thing blows up and somebody wants to quit. Then they have a heart to heart, Ramsey changes their mind, and they come back and have a great service after Ramsey remodels the place. Every episode has been the same exact formula. Here, you’re going to see Bourne on the outside running for his life trying to stay one step ahead of the agency who are trying to kill him to shut him up. It’s a close call but he escapes and finds out a couple more bits of info on who he was. Then wait for the next one and repeat the same thing. For that reason, unless you really love the series, I don’t recommend wasting any more time on the same movie all over again.

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Voltage Pictures, Zanuck Independent, Zephyr Films,

Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, Ben Whishaw, Rupert Friend

Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz) is a computer geek in a strange futuristic society. He travels to a cubicle daily to do his work moving data around, but longs to work from home because of a call that he received a long time ago. The call was interrupted, and he’s sure they will call back, but he must be home to receive it. Qohen is a messed up guy, but of course the stress of what he does, and the wacky world in which he lives would probably drive anyone crazy. His supreme boss is called Management (Matt Damon) and Quhen is sure that Management would have the answers to his burning question. This futuristic and colorful adventure is sure to turn your world upside down.

When I completed watching this film (in one sitting), I thought for sure I HATED it. Then as I though about it, I liked it more and more the longer I thought about it. Now that a couple days have passed, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I really liked it. It’s weird. It’s a Terry Gilliam film, so that says a lot. For those not familiar with Terry, he was the “American” in Monty Python and also the one who drew the very strange animation pieces in the middle of the programs. Terry has a weird outlook on life and if you keep that in mind you get more out of this story. First, the sets and locations are outrageously colored. The advertisement is everywhere and it’s constantly beat on you trying for force you to listen. It’s psychedelic and much like real life pictures of the animations that Terry did. It’s a crazy world. The fact that the cast lists Matt Damon and Tilda Swinton first is odd, as well, as these are two of the lesser characters in the film. Neither has much screen time. This is really the Christoph Waltz show, and boy does he nail it. His character is borderline insane. You might think it odd to see this listed as a comedy, but it’s very funny, although it deals very deep subjects and foremost the question of the entire film is the meaning of life. In fact, as you come to learn what the Zero Theorem is, you can see how Qohen’s madness comes from the fear that it all means nothing at all. It’s a really artful film, and it may go over the heads of many people who just won’t get the meaning out the madness, but I can see that is one film that stayed with me, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked what I had seen. Certainly if the “Ministry of Silly Walks” or the most dangerous animal in the world, the “Clever Sheep” entertained you, and you got it, you’ll probably find a real gem in this film. On the other hand, if you’re one of those (and there’s nothing wrong with this) who find Monty Python and the Holy Grail to be pure nonsense and a complete waste of time, you’re probably not going to like this very much either. In the end, I’m really glad I saw it. In the beginning, though, I wondered what the heck was going on in front of me!

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Columbia Pictures, Fox 2000 Pictures, Smokehouse Pictures,

George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman, Jean Dujardin, Bob Balaban, Hugh Bonneville, Cate Blanchett

World War II is obviously wrapping up, and as the Nazi’s retreat, they are burning cities and towns to the ground and leaving nothing behind. In addition, they know that the world’s history is tied to the thousands of works of art throughout Europe in homes, museums, and such, so they have a definitive plan to steal and cart off, hide, or destroy everything they can get their hands on. The armed forces is naturally concerned about winning the war, so they’re not very much interested in art work. But Frank Stokes (George Clooney) convinces FDR to task him to put together a team of museum curators, museum directors, and art critics to go behind the enemy lines, find where the Nazi’s have hidden these treasures before the war ends, or the Nazi’s destroy the lot. It’s a tough task, but these guys are willing to risk everything to save the history of mankind. Based on the true story.

This is a very inspiring film. It’s a generous mix of big battles and war scenes, treachery and detective work, danger and loss. It is an exciting story, very well told and well acted, with a slew of top stars. There are funny moments, naturally, but mostly it’s a suspense filled war story. George Clooney directed and wrote the screenplay, and I must give kudos to him for that. He did an excellent job of presenting the story that kept it very interesting throughout. It’s highly entertaining, yet somehow educational at the same time. I learned a lot about an unknown part of the war for me. I had never thought about it before, but the history of man is truly told through it’s art. On a recent trip to visit my daughter at University of California, Santa Barbara, we were able to take some time to visit the Art Museum in Santa Barbara. She had been there before, but she wanted to take me as I have always wanted to visit an art museum but have never had the chance. I was really impressed with their collection of famous artists and pieces going back thousands of years from China and Egypt and other places. It was a real pleasure. After seeing this film, I couldn’t help but wonder if any of the ancient European pieces were saved by this team of seven brave men. I completely enjoyed this film, and I highly recommend it to anyone who would enjoy the war story, or the hero story, or even the art story, as this one has something for everyone.

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HBO Films,

Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Rob Lowe, Debbie Reynolds, Dan Aykroyd, Scott Bakula, Paul Reiser, Nicky Katt, Tom Papa, Deborah Lacey

Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) is a young bi-sexual man, who once introduced to the “fabulous” Liberace (Michael Douglas) starts hanging out with him to enjoy the lavish lifestyle. But quickly he goes from assistant to romantic interest, and the two find themselves in a tight bond. Scott eventually finds being hid behind the scenes and not being allowed to go out anywhere (Liberace knew he would lose everything if anyone actually found out he was gay, even though it was so obvious), and he struggles to find some space, but when Liberace finds a new boy toy, and kicks Scott out, Scott files a lawsuit to try to get back what he thinks he deserves in this TV (HBO) documentary.

I remember watching Liberace as a small kid, on the little black and white TV in our living room. I grew up with his master piano performances which were outshone by his outlandish overboard flamboyancy. The trouble with this film is that Liberace is not Liberace, but Michael Douglas trying to act like Liberace. Though he really did a good job of impersonating him, this particular character is so far over the top, that I don’t think anybody on earth could make me believe he was Liberace. He is so unique, that the entire way through the film, it really bothered me. But even more, even though I do not know Scott Thorson (although I was familiar with the story as it was all over the news), I do know Matt Damon, and I never lost the fact that I was looking at Matt Damon and Michael Douglas playing gay lovers, and I couldn’t ever suspend belief and follow the story. It would almost have been a better documentary if they used old footage and told the story with a narrator. Ok, I probably don’t mean that, but it’s really hard to play someone so unique and outrageous and make it believable. The story is not that riveting, that it pulls you in, so the film suffers due to this. It’s an interesting character for sure, but Scott is another matter. This is his story, and he’s not very likeable. I just didn’t get into the portrayal of Scott, and I feel like I don’t really know the story,even after watching this. I’m sure the real guy is much different than Matt Damon.

In any event, it was a fair docu-drama, and the extravagance of Lee’s lifestyle is well displayed. Also, Lee’s mother was a huge influence in his life, and she wasn’t given a great part in this movie, probably because she was not near as important to Scott as to Liberace himself. But Debbie Reynolds play his mom, and she was so good at it, that she was dead and buried before I realized it was actually Debbie Reynolds in great makeup with a good fake accent. Her part, though small, shined in the film. This is a “take it or leave it” film. I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone, and I doubt it will be a huge hit in the DVD rental market, but on the other hand, if you’re interested in the story, or if it’s replayed on TV, you could do much worse than this dramatized documentary of the life of one of the boy lovers of one of the greatest showmen and pianists ever.

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