Ed's Review Dot Com

Treehouse Pictures, Aversano Films, What If It Barks Films,

Zac Efron, Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Imogen Poots, Jessica Lucas, Alysia Reiner, Josh Pais, Emily Meade, Mackenzie Davis, Tina Benko

Jason (Zac Efron) has three close friends, Daniel (Miles Teller) and Mikey (Micahel B. Jordan). Jason is a bit of a player, but when he is dumped he and his buddies make a pact that they will not get involved with anyone, but simply play the field. But it becomes difficult to keep their promise as all three meet their own perfect girl while trying to pretend it didn’t happen.

This romantic comedy is really more of a bromance film as really most of the story is about the three guys. This is a very predictable story and certainly will feel familiar. It’s an ok film, and I didn’t hate it at all, but just felt it is not really worth the effort. Unless you’re a big fan of the actors here, I bet Zac has a lot of fans out there, it’s probably a waste of time seeking this one out. On the other hand, though, it is available on cable, and you might catch it on TV for free like I did. In that case, it’s not all that bad a way to burn 90minutes or so.

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Warner Bros., New Line Cinema,

Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is old. He’s had a long full life, but his love Adrian is gone, and his coach Mickey. Rocky’s living a lonely life till a young man turns up asking him to train him. Turns out the kid is Adonis Johnson (Michael B Jordan) who wants to make it on his own, but is actually the son of Apollo Creed, a former Russian champ who fought with Rocky and who highly respected each other. But sadly Apollo was killed in the ring back in 1974. Rocky doesn’t train boxers anymore, but he Adonis convinces him to take him under his wing and teach him what he knows, mostly for Rocky’s respect for his father’s talent and courage in the ring.

This is one of those movies that you HAVE to see because of the continuation of a story that has been going on for decades. We have to see how Rocky has turned out and how he’s doing. So for that fact, it’s a very worthwhile experience. Now if you have never seen a Rocky film, then this is not a good place to start, as it’s only a mediocre boxing film, but it is a fond look back at a character America loved, and it is very nostalgic. I was not anxious to run out to see this in the theater on the first weekend, nor did I push it to the front of my queue the day it was released on DVD either, as truthfully I was not that psyched to see it, but I still am very glad it bubbled to the top and I got to finally see it. If you have any fond memories of Rocky Balboa, and you haven’t seen this one, then what are you waiting for? Get out and get this and give it a spin. Thanks Rock.

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Forest Whitaker’s Significant Productions, OG Project,

Michael B. Jordan, Melonie Diaz, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Durand, Chad Michael Murray, Ahna O’Reilly, Ariana Neal

Oscar (Michael B Jordan) is a young man living in the bay area trying to make a better man of himself. He’s determined to be a better son, better boyfriend, and better father to his young child. But on New Years Eve in 2009 a series of events take place that make National news on the platform of the BART train at Fruitvale Station. This film is very tightly based upon that actual events of that night.

This is a mostly true to life story produced by Forrest Whitaker’s production company. They took great effort to include the numerous cell phone recordings of the incident and the writer did a good job of pouring over the court transcripts and testimony to try to bring as much truth to the story as possible. But it’s a complex story for sure. In the end, this is a dramatized movie, not a documentary, and though they tried really hard to be unbiased, I think some bias did creep in. I’m not an expert of the case, and like anything, it’s very hard to make up your mind based upon the emotional reports of the events of that night. Certainly it was a useless event that should not have ever happened at all. But the majority of the movie is spent in background on the “new” Oscar. It’s easy to get caught up in the tendency to bestow sainthood on a young guy who was the victim in a senseless crime. Truthfully, they do show the flaws in Oscar’s life, and truthfully I think he wanted to improve some things. I have to give him the benefit of the doubt, because sometimes people can change their life around and become a better person. But it’s also a very difficult thing to do, and most times people just don’t change that much. This is way too complex a dilemma for us to decide after the fact what the future would be for anyone in this film. I don’t fault the movie much in this, although a few of the myriad of Oprah quotes would have been okay. Did the owe Oprah in some way, or is Oprah actually the spiritual leader of the African-American community that this movie portrays? I’m not sure, but certainly the point of view of the writers and producers does taint the view a little. But I don’t suppose there is any way to avoid that. Still, it’s hard not to take the side of the victim as the actions of the security team was certainly uncalled for. But there is no doubt that this is a very well done and very worthwhile movie. I enjoyed watching the film, and then researching the events of that day, and I must say I was touched by the story. I highly recommend this movie as one that is very worthwhile. It was a story that needed told, and I recommend this film.

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Davis Entertainment, Adam Schroeder Productions, Film Afrika Worldwide,

Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Alex Russell, Ashley Hinshaw, Anna Wood, Joe Vaz, Matthew Dylan Roberts

Three high school friends attend a party, but are startled by something that fell out of the sky. Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan) is the strange somewhat dark of the friends and is filming everything in his day to day life, so he brings the camera into the woods where they find a deep dark hole. After the guys climb down to investigate a strange light, the find that they are developing super powers and able to do things with their mind. As they learn more and more of how to use their powers, Andrew gets more disturbed. Will their powers unite them for good or destroy them all completely. The friends soon learn that power has it consequences.

This is a very strange film, but I have to admit it was much better to me than Clockstoppers was. On the other hand, I can see how it was a bit of a disappointment in the box office department. That’s because it is anything but mainstream. Mostly this is a fable, trying to look at the character and problems of the characters. The special effects are fine, the laws of physics are freely broken, and there is some relatively poor acting among the gems, but the moral of the story is good, and you can really get into the minds of the characters. How did the former lives of the three friends determine what would happen to them? How did their experiences in life foreshadow how they are able to handle ultimate power. What could have been done to prevent the sorrowful outcomes? These are all questions you will ask yourself as you go through the film. The ending is kind of epic, but we won’t give that away, but it will stand up to a lot of really big films. So I don’t have a bad feeling about this film. I really enjoyed it. The science fiction is fun, if not really sensible, and they don’t go out of the way to theorize on how it happened, or who did it, or why. They just let you know that it happened and we have to deal with it.

Essentially, there is a lot more to this film than either a super hero movie (it’s not), or a teen angst, coming of age film (It’s more this than that). I suggest you give it a try if you’re looking for a deeper look at what teenagers go through in growing up with real problems at home, trying to deal with it, and growing deeper and deeper in depression. The science fiction takes second place in the story, but it impressive. And beware of reviews and summaries that call this a “found footage” film. It is nothing of the sort. I think this film has enough going for it to make it a movie you don’t want to miss, especially now that it’s on DVD.

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