Ed's Review Dot Com

Cinema Management Group, The Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, The National Film and Video Foundation of SA,

Jeremy Suarez, Abigail Breslin, Jeff Goldblum, Leonard Nimoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Jenifer Lewis, Jim Cummings, Jamal Mixon, Richard E. Grant, David Shaughnessy, Noureen DeWulf, Tania Gunadi, Deep Roy

Kai (Jeremy Suarez) is a young bird who lives with his father in a bird town near Victoria Falls. Kai hears of the wonderful bird city of Zambezia and the brave birds who guard the place. Dad has no desire to go back there, but Kai is aching for adventure and a chance to try out as a guard. But there are some bad characters and bad history for Kai in Zambezia, and it’s a dangerous journey.

This animated children’s film is from Triggerfish Animation Studios in Cape Town, South Africa. It took a long time to get this made, but it was worth the wait. The animation is stunning. The scenes of the waterfalls and of the birds themselves is stunning. Of course they also landed some of the best voice over talent to do the characters, so it’s very soothing to watch. The story is very similar to other films of this type. I saw a strong similarity to Kung Fu Panda with the main character heading back home to learn his history. It’s also similar to Finding Nemo where Kai’s Dad has to go out looking for him to try to rescue his son. But these similarities won’t bother the kids any, and I’m sure the younger kids and early teens will really enjoy this movie quite a bit. This is a true G rated film that will definitely please the little ones. But the quality of the animation and voice talent will make this enjoyable for the grown-ups as well.

I really enjoyed the fact that this is not one of the major studios bringing us this film, and that added to my appreciation of the project. If you’re a fan of animation as I am, this is a really nice movie. Now that it’s available on DVD, it’s a great opportunity to share this with the kids and grandkids to spend 83 minutes in a beautiful jungle world of birds and waterfalls. I recommend this movie.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

CBS Films,  Escape Artists

Jennifer Lopez, Alex O’Laughlin, Michela Watkins, Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson, Noureen DeWulf, Melissa McCarthy, Tom Bosley, Linda Lavin,  Robert Klein, Ceasar Millan

Wow, this is a movie full of  “look how old he/she is now” moments!   Except for JLo of course who looks more beautiful than ever.   Stand-Up Comedian/HBO special guy Robert Klein plays the doctor.   Linda Lavin, Alice, from Alice the TV show is JLo’s “Nana”, and Tom Bosley plays her boyfriend of 22 years.  In fact, there’s a scene where he’s watching The Andy Griffith Show on TV, and Ritchie Cunningham, his son from another life, is playing the part of Opie Taylor.  Nice touch!  🙂  If the Baby Store clerk looks familiar, it’s Jennifer Elise Cox who played Jan Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie. (Marsha! Marsha! Marsha!).  And of course Mikela Watkins of SNL.

This is a romantic comedy, and yes, anther chick-flick.  A lot of guys aren’t going to like it, but actually it’s a pretty funny movie.  It’s better than some of the stuff JLo’s done before her two year hiatus to have kids!   Jennifer plays Zoe, a woman who is scared of the biological clock ticking away and has given up on finding Mr. Right.  So she decides to do it herself, and the movie opens with a funny scene where she has a meeting with Dr. Harris (Robert Klein) and a turkey baster!  On the way out, she says to him,  “You should give me a hug, because we may have just made a baby together” and he pats her on the shoulder and walks away.   Out into the rain where she gets into a fight over a cab with Mr. Right himself.

The movie moves along pretty fast, and has lots of fodder for jokes.  Three lovely Boston Terriers named  Nip, Tuck, and Nubbins share the role of “Nuts” the parapalegic dog with hind wheels, ala Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen.  (i.e. taking turns playing the part.)   There are jokes about being pregnant or finding out you’re pregnant.  The milk the bit about trying to tell him she’s pregnant.  There’s lots of jokes about their jobs and insecurites.  When things get rough for poor Stan (Alex O’Loughlin) Anthony Anderson shows up as “Playground Dad” to talk some sense into him.

There’s a switch as this is Girl meets Boy, Girl loses Boy, and Girl tries to win Boy back.  A bit of a reversal.  Zoe is a strong woman, but she was hurt really young and learned not to trust anybody.  Stan has his own insecurities living off his parents fortune, and has a lot to learn as well.  These two shouldn’t be able to put it together, but they do their best.

If you absolutely hate love stories, you might want to stay away, but if you have kids, or have ever thought of a life without kids, this might be fun to watch.  It’s got a good many good laughs, and don’t blame me if there’s a tear or two at the ending.

Thoughts of JLo searching through the dumpster for her special pillow is priceless!

Silver Nitrate

Bryan Callen, Noureen DeWulf, Mircea Monroe, Steve Glickman, Austin Michael Scott

Either you like these kind of movies, or you don’t.  If you do, this is just like the rest.  It takes on a lot of the latest movies, and the actors and impersonators are pretty much right on!   Exactly the same kind of jokes as all the rest, fart jokes, bathroom humor, even a tribute to the orginal American Pie!  Yoda’s here, Dr Phil, lots of others.

This one hits on a few of the cylinders, especially if you know all they movies they parody.  But it’s not as good as many of the others that have been out over the years.

I say,  “Eh”.  That’s about it.  If you’re a fan of these parody movies, then go for it.  If you’re easily offended, this is wall to wall offense!   Eh. Nah.