Ed's Review Dot Com

Roth Films, Universal Pictures,

Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Emily Blunt, Jessica Chastain, Nick Frost, Sam Claflin, Rob Brydon

Long before Snow White the kingdoms were run by the evil queen Ravenna (Charlize Theron) and her sister Freya (Emily Blunt). Freya was in love, but was betrayed and she become bitter and hateful. Her powers arrived and she had the abilities of snow and ice, and headed out to the North to find her own kingdom. Her soldiers would conquer the other kingdoms and bring the young people to her ice castle in the North where she trained them to be her army while outlawing love. But a young huntsman Eric (Chris Hemsworth), the best male warrior and Sara (Jessica Chastain) the greatest female warrior fell in love and found themselves banished while the sisters set out to conquer the whole land and each other in an all out war.

This is such a very well done film. The actors, all four leads, are all extremely accomplished actors in their own right, but together they make an assemblage that is spectacular to watch. The special effects are fantastic, and there’s humor (especially with a group of dwarfs the join the heroes to fight the war) and lots of action in the battle scenes. The settings are breathtaking, including the snow and ice effects and such. The story is very strong and a very fitting prequel to the fairy tale of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. This was a really well done film and one of the best I have seen in a long time. Along with Disney’s Jungle Book, this is a very stunning time for feature films. Be sure to see both of these two films. This was a great experience, and this is one of those films you got to see on a big screen. This is what is best about going to theater. You can’t help but enjoy a night out for a blockbuster experience like this. Be sure not to miss it!

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Regency Enterprises, New Regency Pictures, Escape Artists,

Sienna Miller, Dave Franco, Tom Wilkinson, James Marsden, Nick Frost, Vince Vaughn

Dan Trunkman (Vince Vaughn) is a business executive who suddenly finds himself out of a job. His plan is to go out on his own and try to start his own company. Sales are hard but he has the opportunity to get the largest sale of his life, but he has to travel to Europe to get it. He makes two new friends, one old guy Tim (Tom Wilkinson) who’s being forced to retire against his will and a young go-getter with no experience at all who had arrived looking for a job when Dan hires him. His name is Mike Pancake (James Marsden) and the three of them head off on the road to try to make the sale at all costs. But the competition is fierce.

This movie is a bit of a dud. It had promise, but fell into the trap of using all the cliches that have been done over and over. James Marsden is the highlight of the film, if there is one. The comedy just doesn’t seem to get off the ground, and I am not really sure where to place the blame. The script certainly isn’t very good, but I’m not sure if the writing is the problem or if it just wasn’t put together too well. There are a few gags that are pretty funny, and I have always enjoyed Vince Vaughn, but this is not one of his better films. I certainly was able to get through it ok, and as I said, there were a few pretty good exchanges, but for the most part I just didn’t really get involved in the story. This is one I would suggesting passing by I’m sorry to say. I wanted it to be better.

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Roth Films, Universal Pictures,

Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin, Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, Toby Jones

The king is fighting to save his kingdom and enjoying his beautiful wife and his even more beautiful daughter Snow White. But when the queen suddenly dies, the King is inconsolable. Meanwhile a mysterious band attacks the castle and though they are defeated, it brings a mysterious princess Ravenna (Charlize Theron) to the castle who instantly bewitches the King with her beauty, but she promptly kills him and steals the throne. She then locks up Snow White (Kristen Stewart) in a tower cell, and the kingdom turns dark and ugly. Ravenna takes the throne and along with her brother rules with terror throughout the land. Ravenna has ageless beauty due to a spell, but in order to obtain eternal life, she must kill Snow White and steal her heart. Snow White has escaped, and with the help of the Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), who was supposed to capture her and bring her to the queen, but instead teaches her to fight, a group of dwarves and some other friends, Snow makes it through the dark wood to her Uncle’s Castle to lead the fight for her rightful place.

This is based on the original Snow White story. It’s been called “dark” and I guess that is a fair assessment. This is certainly not Disney’s version of the story. It is PG-13 because there is some fairly scary stuff, and so it’s not good for very small children. It might scare the daylights out of them! But this is a throwback to adventures of old. There are so many great things about this version of the tale, and not much at all bad. Though it’s very long, it seems like some areas are not well enough developed and you’ll probably want more. But there are long periods of no dialog, but the views on the screen tell more than pages of script could. The views and the music tell a lot of the story. Yes, special effects are wonderful here, but the creepy dark wood, and the beautiful land of the fairies are both excellent in their own way. All in all this is a wonderful film, just right for the big screen and spectacular sound systems.

I highly recommend this for anyone mid-teens and up. This is a great throwback to the adventures of old, with wonderful rich special effects that add to the story, but help, not hinder the adventure. This is an awesome screenplay, and I hope this does very well as this film really deserves it. If you want awesome battles, spooky locations, danger, and excitement, go out an watch this film. I really loved it.

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Columbia Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Amblin Entertainment,

Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Nick Frost, Simon Pegg, Toby Jones, Mackenzie Crook, Daniel Mays, Gad Elmaleh, Joe Starr, Kim Stengel, Sonja Fortag, Tony Curran, Jamie Bell

Tintin (Jamie Bell) is a reporter who along with Snowy purchases a replica of the ship “The Unicorn” at a market stall, but is surprised that Mr. Sakharine (Daniel Craig) wants to buy it really bad. Tintin knows that there’s a mystery there somehow. It turns out there were three ships made by Sr Francis Haddock (Andy Serkis) for his 3 sons, and they hold the key to treasure beyond measure. Tintin sets out with Captain Haddock to find the 3rd ship while protecting the 2nd, to try to solve the mystery of the hidden treasure.

This all CGI film uses the same motion capture technology used in “Disney’s A Christmas Carol”, and others like “The Polar Express”. As a result, it gives you the creepy feeling that something is a bit too real to be unreal. I find it just a bit disconcerting seeing that. Video games are getting like that too, now, where it’s a little too accurate in it’s depiction of cartoon people. But this is a joyful little adventure. The story is decent, and reminds me of some of the classic cartoons of my childhood. There is a decent mystery at the root of it, and Tintin and his annoying little dog Snowy will get to the bottom of it. But Tintin is an everyman kind of guy, and not the absurd genius who can look at a smudge and tell you the history of the world from it. He works out the problems just like we do. I am sorry that this film did not pick up so much traction in the U.S. market, as it is a really good film, but it did quite well internationally where the people are more familiar with the comic version of the story. I think they must have done a good job of capturing the spirit of the comic in this tale.

I found myself interested in the story, which is good. Sometimes in this kind of kids tale, you lose interest after a while, but that did not happen here. It’s a good enough story for grown-ups too to enjoy. I found myself entertained throughout the film. All in all they did a very good job, and with the work they put into it (with Spielberg at the helm) I gather it will get them back a decent return on their investment. I suspectd this to be a pretty decent DVD market film as well, and it should be on your watch list if you haven’t seen it. I enjoyed it, and am happy to recommend this to lovers of animated adventure.

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Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Working Title Films

Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Seth Rogen, Jason Bateman, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Jane Lynch, Sigourney Weaver, Blythe Danner, Jeffrey Tambor

Graeme (Simon Pegg) and Clive (Nick Frost) are two sci-fi comic book geeks whose pilgrimage takes them to America’s UFO heartland. After attending a conference and meeting their hero, they head off on a tour in a camper of famous UFO hot spots. While there, they accidentally meet an alien Paul (Seth Rogan) who brings them on an insane road trip that alters their universe forever. Paul was held prisoner at Roswell for the past 60 years at a top-secret military base, all the while thinking he was a guest. When he discovers he’s been taken prisoner, the space-traveling smart ass decides to escape the compound and hop on the first vehicle out of town-a rented RV containing Earthlings Graeme and Clive. This is the greatest adventure of their lives, a real nerd fiesta, but they are chased by federal agents and the fanatical father of a young woman that they accidentally kidnap. Graeme and Clive hatch a plan to return Paul to his mother ship. And as two nerds try their best, their may end up dead, lost, or perhaps intergalactic heroes.

Paul is different that I expected. I can see why Seth Rogan was cast, as Paul really is a smart-ass, and these guys are bumbling fools. But this is a “Revenge of the Nerds” type movie and it’s done in slapstick and low humor. With lots of homages to other sci-fi films, it’s got a lot of humor on that level as well. So it’s really funny, but it’s not heartwarming or touching. It’s more cracking jokes. Jason Bateman and Sigourney Weaver play the feds and are very funny. Jeffrey Tambor plays their comic book writing hero who also has a funny part in the movie. Kristen Wiig plays the one-eyed fanatical Christian non-believer who is kidnapped and becomes part of the chase. These extra characters add a lot of funny parts to the film, and so if you’re a fan of sarcastic humor and satire, you’ll get a kick out of Paul. It’s not a cute kids film though, it’s mostly pratfalls and slapstick. But for that type of movie, it’s really cute.

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