Ed's Review Dot Com

Nu Image Films, Millennium Films, Winkler Films,

Robert Forster, Angela Bassett, Dylan McDermott, Frances de la Tour, Pierce Brosnan, Milla Jovovich, James D’Arcy

A government worker, Kate Abbott (Milla Jovovich) is assigned to London to try to stop terrorists from getting to the US, but she finds herself in the middle of a huge plot to kill thousands of people in a major attack. As she struggles to figure out who is responsible and who is trustworthy, she is setup and is on the run from her own people as she is wanted for the murder of one of the other agents. But in the meantime she must try to figure out what the plan is and to thwart a major attack without being caught and arrested.

This is a pretty decent little espionage/terrorism movie with a lot of action and adventure. Once of the interesting aspects of this movie is that Pierce Brosnan gets to play a major bad guy here, and since it’s a very James Bondsian film, it’s ironic to see him as the terrorist trying to kill as many as possible. But he does a terrific job as an evil assassin and he pulls that off perfectly. Great casting decision. The story is pretty tight, and right out of the headlines. It’s highly believable, and is very well assembled. The cat and mouse chase of being wrongly suspected gives Milla a chance to keep us on the edge of our seats as she tries to stay one step ahead of her team, and still keep up with Brosnan and his crew. The action is breathtaking, and very exciting, and it’s a very well put together film. The settings are very interesting, and the final battle scene is very well placed and well timed. I could not find a place to purchase this DVD, but the movie is available on a number of streaming sites, and is well worth adding to your queue. It’s a very suspenseful adventure with loads of action and well worth looking for.

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Bold Films, Brothers Dowdle Productions, Living Films,

Owen Wilson, Lake Bell, Pierce Brosnan, Sterling Jerins, Claire Geare

Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson) has lost his company, but found a lucky opportunity to work for a large American Water Company in an Asian developing nation to upgrade their water system. He takes his wife Annie (Lake Bell) and their two young daughters to an upscale hotel to begin his new job. But they’ve landed right in the middle of a local uprising and Jack has to use all his skills and wits to stay a few steps ahead of the coup that is killing loyalists and foreigners on sight. With the help of an unusual character Hammond (Pierce Brosnan) who knows his way around pretty well, they are trying to find a way to get to a safe place to ride out all the violence.

This is a rapid fire suspense thriller. Owen Wilson was really a good casting decision as he really got to sink his chops into this one. The script is good, and the level of confusion they feel come across to us on screen as the terror builds. This is a situation that feels really accurate as the situation can get out of hand in a few minutes. There we are trapped with them in a foreign country with no idea what anyone is saying and no way to read any of the signs. Finding someone who can speak English is a real help in a horrible situation like this. The script is full of suspense and they literally are never out of grave danger. The audiences are seemingly enjoying this as the theaters are crowded, and I felt it was a really good roller coaster ride through the jungle.

I have to share an epiphany that I had while watching this film. It hit very close to home. In the year 1972 I was serving on a mission in Manila in the Philippines. One morning we had planned an exhibit right in the heart of Quiapo, the main area of the government buildings. Surprisingly no one came to see us, and as Americans we were often mobbed by people, mostly kids, who wanted to see us because we were different with the hairy arms and blue eyes and such. But no one came around and everyone walked with their eyes down without looking left or right. As we gave up and packed it in, we noticed that there were no newspapers anywhere on the street. The driver of the taxi turned on the radio and moved the tuner up and down the dial but there were no stations on.
At 7PM, the TV and Radios came back on, but only on the channels Ferdinand Marcos owned personally. It started with a military style march about Filipino pride, and Marcos came on to explain why he had declared martial law. The situation was very grim, and he had been planning this for many months. In order to pull it off, he had planned a vote on a new form of government using the Parliamentary System and was going to release all the Senators and Congressmen. But unfortunately a man, Ninoy Aquino had released a leaked plan of President Marcos’ plan to stay in power after the end of his term. Like the US, the President is only allowed to run for two terms and his time was ending. Aquino had spilled the beans and forced his hand, so he declared martial law, locked up Aquino and hundreds of other politicians who were against him, and took control for 10 years. Fortunately the population (kind of to my surprise) turned a blind eye, rolled over, and walked quietly around without a whimper. I could have been caught up in the middle of a coup, just like this little family in the movie. It could have been very frightening, but being 20 years old and feeling like nobody would ever mess with an American, we we on day after day as usual. But we learned a lot about how something like this can happen, and how it can change in temperament in a few minutes. It was a weird experience to think of this while watching this film. There is, of course, much much more to my story, probably enough to fill a book, but as to the film, I think I am not the only one who really enjoyed this movie. It’s kicking it in the box office, and rightly so. It’s rated R because of the graphic violence, but if you are not squeamish of that, this is a film you ought to see. I highly recommend this one as one powerful thriller.

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Process Media, Love Punch, Radar Films,

Pierce Brosnan, Emma Thompson, Timothy Spall, Celia Imrie, Louise Bourgoin, Laurent Lafitte, Tuppence Middleton

Richard (Pierce Brosnan) and his ex-wife, Kate (Emma Thompson) are divorced, but still friendly, and they have two children. Kate got the house, and Richard is about to retire from the company he started. He made a great deal to sell the company to a big overseas corporation, there by protecting his employees that are like family to him, and ensure his wife’s standard of living and fund his retirement. But soon after the sale it becomes apparent that the buyer liquidated the company, and bankrupted it sending all the employees out on the street without any pension. It also leaves Kate and Richard flat broke, so the set out to visit the new owner to change his mind. Things don’t work out as expected and so they hatch a plan to steal an expensive diamond to get their money back.

This movie is very light. It’s a simple comedy with likeable people and an unlikely plot. But nobody cares as it’s just fun to watch Pierce Brosnan and Emily Thompson working together. The plot is kind of silly, but it doesn’t matter as this movie isn’t trying to teach a story or make a point. It’s just a lighthearted romp through the story with lots of fun and laughs. It’s a feel good movie and is probably the most shallow piece of drivel I’ve seen in a while, but it was fun all the way through. Of course the good guys should win and have a blast all the way to the end credits. Really, if you’re looking for a story with some meat on its bones, then this isn’t it, but if you’re looking for a light visit with old friends in a comfortable setting, this is it. I really enjoyed it, and thought it was fun to watch.

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Zentropa Productions, Zentropa International Sweden, Zentropa International Köln,

Trine Dyrholm, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Bodnia, Paprika Steen, Sebastian Jessen, Christiane Schaumburg-Müller, Bodil Jørgensen

Ida (Trine Dyrholm) is a hairdresses who is just finishing up cancer treatments and about to head to Italy to attend her daughter’s wedding, walks in on her husband with the secretary of his work. She runs into Phillip (Pierce Brosnan) who is a mean boss, still suffering over the loss of his wife, who is also heading to Italy to attend the wedding of his son. When the two of them figure out they’re going to the same wedding, they form a kind of a bond, but once they arrive in Italy, everything that can go wrong seems to as things get worse and worse. This is charming romantic comedy.

I enjoyed this movie. The film is made in Denmark, and is done in a mix of languages with subtitles as needed. The comedy is reminiscent of “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” in a way, but it pretty fresh. The engaged couple is really good, and the other side stories going on are really funny. Very similar to Mama Mia, but without the songs of ABBA, it’s a worthwhile film. The story is good, and the acting is really decent. It’s a decent script too, so all in all it’s an unusual movie. The locations in Italy are exquisite, and it’s actually pretty funny. I can recommend this movie if you’re a fan of romantic comedies. It’s well worth the price of a rental.

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The Weinstein Company,

Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan, Greg Kinnear, Christina Hendricks, Kelsey Grammer, Olivia Munn, Seth Meyers

Kate Reddy (Sarah Jessica Parker) is a finance executive who is the primary breadwinner for the family. She has a great job, and a husband (Greg Kinnear) and two children. Kate is the epitome of the working mom. But things just got worse when the task of a lifetime comes along. She’s worked hard to put together a proposal for a big company, and she has another worker, Chris Bunce (Seth Meyers) who is waiting to take over for her and grab the credit for the job. But Jack Abelhammer (Pierce Brosnan) is her counterpart at the other company, and it requires Kate to travel often. Jack is handsome, a widower who is really attracted to someone like Kate. Things are tough all around, as Richard is sick and tired of his wife being gone all the time, and distracted and distant when she is home, and Kate really loves her job, and the attention. If this sounds like a recipe for disaster, it is in this 180 degree turn on the workaholic husband who neglects his wife.

This was a surprisingly cute movie. I didn’t go in expecting much, and I’ve never been a big Sarah Jessica Parker fan, but she was really perfect for this movie. I have to admit, I enjoyed her here more than any film I have seen of hers. Greg Kinnear was really good as the Dad who’s trying to keep his family together in spite of the hardships. It was good to see Pierce Brosnan who was excellent as the lonely widower. Then throw in Kelsey Grammer as Kate’s boss, and a bunch of other great characters, and it was a really fun movie. It’s cute, and it’s touching, and it does show the challenges of being someone who loves their family and loving their job. She doesn’t want to choose between either job, but the stress of trying to do everything is just too much.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this film, and I have to say I really enjoyed it. The time flew by watching one challenge after the other. Though things progress pretty much as you would expect, there are a lot of surprises here. This could have ended really ugly, but it stayed suspenseful up to the closing credits. Truly I don’t know how she does it.

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