Ed's Review Dot Com

New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Flower Films (II),

Dakota Johnson, Rebel Wilson, Alison Brie, Leslie Mann, Anders Holm, Damon Wayans Jr., Nicholas Braun, Jake Lacy, Jason Mantzoukas

Four friends, Alice (Dakota Johnson), Robin (Rebel Wilson), Meg (Leslie Mann), and Lucy (Alison Brie) are living the single life in New York City. This film covers a ten year span of their adventures and experiences as they struggle with finding the right balance in this comedy about single life in the big city. Raunchy, funny, and touching, all at the same time.

This film has a really good cast. There is no doubt that the ladies are talented. There is some decent comedy here, and a lot of funny situations. Each of the characters have their own quirky personality and their own way of dealing with life. So what is the biggest problem with this film? Well, first of all, it’s really forgettable. This is not something you’re going to remember 24 hours after you’ve seen it. Secondly, it’s very derivative of lots and lots of other movies. Sex in the City anyone? It’s a girl film and I am sure it’s harmless fun for those who are in the mood for this kind of movie, but for the mainstream, I don’t think so. It just wasn’t that interesting for me, and my recommendation is to skip this one.

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Broadway Video, Little Stranger, Paramount Pictures,

Tina Fey, Margot Robbie, Martin Freeman, Alfred Molina, Billy Bob Thornton, Nicholas Braun, Christopher Abbott, Sheila Vand, Stephen Peacocke, Evan Jonigkeit, Josh Charles

Based on the memoirs of Kim Baker (Tina Fey) this is the story of a news reporter who is embedded with the Marines in Afghanistan and the dangers and excitement of trying to get the scoop and bet out other reporters while being in harms way every moment. This is the true story of this reporters experiences over a number of years in the early years of the 2000’s.

I was caught off guard by this film. Knowing it’s Tina Fey, and looking at the posters in the theaters, and not knowing anything about the content in advance, I expected a comedy romp through the middle east. This is NOT a comedy by any means. Now I have lots of respect for Tina Fey, and I don’t think she did really bad in this serious role, but still it was a little off putting to have her play such a dramatic and dark role. I ended up having a hard time keeping my attention on this film and found my mind wandering away. The story is interesting enough, but other than a few short episodes, most of it was bad romance and lots of talking and talking. One highlight was Bill Bob Thorton who plays the commander of the team Kim is placed in. He did a really good job, though it wasn’t a big role, playing this guy as tough as nails with a kind streak a mile long. I enjoyed him any time he was on the screen. But for the most part, it dragged and was not really that interesting to me. I was not highly impressed with this movie, and I guess the public pretty much agreed with me as it really disappeared in a hurry and ended up on DVD pretty quickly. If you are really interested in the subject of a female reporter in Afghanistan, the you’ll probably do better reading the book, and if you’re not particularly interested in the subject, then there’s probably not enough substance here to make it worth watching this nearly 2 hour film.

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Coup d’Etat Films, Sandbar Pictures, Abandon Pictures,

Tye Sheridan, Olivia Thirlby, Logan Miller, Ezra Miller, Nelsan Ellis, Michael Angarano, Keir Gilchrist, Jesse Carere, Miles Heizer, Gaius Charles, Nicholas Braun, Brett Davern, Benedict Samuel, Callan McAuliffe, James Frecheville, Ki Hong Lee, Moises Arias, Matt Bennett, Johnny Simmons, Harrison Thomas, Billy Crudup, Jack Kilmer, Thomas Mann, James Wolk, Chris Sheffield

In 1971, a Stanford University professor began an experiment, selecting 24 college students to participate in a study of the effects of incarceration on both the inmates and the guards. The participants were divided into two groups, guards and inmates, and the inmates were arrested by the local police force and brought to the “jail” that was setup in the basement of the psychology building on the university. What followed was a horrid experience for the nameless “inmates” who were psychologically tortured by the mock guards. The study was expected to last for 14 days, but did not make it near that long as the professor was urged to stop it after less than a week due to the horrifying impact on the kids who volunteered for this study. Much of what we know today is known from this infamous experiment, and many laws were put in place to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. This docudrama tells the story extremely realistically and is one of the most amazing stories of psychology gone awry.

This is similar to “The Experiment” that was released in 2010 which was loosely based on the same events, but this one is more like a documentary than fiction. The realism of the events are told in a straight forward “in your face” style that will surely shock you as well as educate you. Not much was known about whether your nature and background makes you more of an inmate or a guard, but in this experiment we found that the role you are “assigned” has a lot to do with how you act. There is a great deal of psychology included, and be sure not to miss the two special features on the DVD if you can. One covers the science of the experiment and is told by the actual professor who conducted this test. The second is about how they brought this experience to life in the video. It seems very close to the real story, as close as possible from an event from 1971, but that is probably because it is based on the book written by the professor who conducted the experiment and he plays a big role in advising and supervising the movie. This is a harsh story, and is filled with a lot of torture and very bad language. Not for the faint of heart or for the young folk, but this is one of the classic psychology studies that students today still learn about in school. This is a hard hitting and powerful film that is sure to affect you for a long time.

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Dude Productions, Laurence Mark Productions,

Nicholas Braun, Hunter Cope, Dakota Johnson, Zach Cregger, Nick Offerman, Gary Cole, Megan Mullally, Sarah Hyland, Brian Geraghty, Wendi McLendon-Covey

Michael (Nicholas Braun) and Matty (Hunter Cope) have been best friends for most of their lives. Now their in their Senior year in High School, and they make a pact to lose their virginity by the senior prom. But Michael develops a huge crush on Matty’s Ex, (Dakota Johnson) and suddenly Matty announces that he is gay. Other complications arise that threaten to break up their long term friendship arise, but the two try to figure out how to survive without killing each other.

This is a rather mediocre coming of age buddy film. The fact that one of the buds comes out as gay is not a crucial part of the story, and is not the centerpiece. The key is the friendship which is strained due to a series of events. If anything, the jokes are a bit stale, and the story has been done over and over again. For teens, there’s a new group coming along all the time, and there’s a market for older teens (to meet the R rating) for movies like this, so I suppose they’ll keep on making them. It’s smarter I guess, to recycle the stories than to write new ideas. This isn’t a bad movie, it’s just rehashed. If you’re in the mood for this kind of movie, then you can do worse, but for the mainstream, I’d recommend skipping this one.

CineSon Entertainment, Look at the Moon Productions, North by Northwest Entertainment,

Andy Garcia, Vera Farmiga, Taissa Farmiga, Spencer Lofranco, Nicholas Braun, Tom Skerritt, Peter Riegert, Mirjana Jokovic, Stephen Borrello IV, Daniella Garcia-Lorido

Edith Martin’s (Vera Farmiga) daughter Audrey (Taissa Farmiga) has her heart set on going to Middleton College despite her Mom’s wishes that she go to a more prestigious college because she’s star stuck with a professor she idolizes. George Hartman’s son is reluctant to go anywhere, but is visiting Middleton on an open house day to tour the campus. Edith soon loses interest and wanders off on her own where she keeps bumping into George. George is the uptight kind of guy while Edith is definitely a wild child, but the spend the day together on their own tour and find themselves really attracted to each other.

This is a rather clever little film. It all takes place as a small college on a single day, but as we get to know the two parents and each of their children, we get to know a lot about them. Character development is key in this movie, and it’s very well done. The two parents are completely believable in their roles, and it’s hysterical how they play off of each other. Both of them did a really good job. Meanwhile, the tour guide is a pleasant diversion, and there are so many really funny lines that it keeps you smiling throughout. I had no expectations for this movie, but decided to watch it because it was just out on DVD and I had a spot in my queue for it. I was really pleased that I chose to watch this, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It’s not slapstick or low brow humor, really, although some of the stuff Edith pulls off is much, much more childish than her daughter is. It also does not have a great deal of action, but there are several really memorable scenes that show the pain both these characters are hiding. It’s a charming romantic romp with plenty of laugh out loud moments. They really throw themselves into their roles, and it’s a really well done film. I enjoyed it very much, and I would like to recommend it to anyone who likes a good intelligent movie in the wrapper of a nicely done rom-com. This is one of those hidden gems that I really enjoyed, even though I never heard anything about it before watching.

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