Ed's Review Dot Com

Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

Raymond Ochoa, Jeffrey Wright, Frances McDormand, Steve Zahn, Anna Paquin, Sam Elliott, A.J. Buckley, Marcus Scribner, Jack Bright

Many Pixar films start out with a concept. The concept here is simply “What if the meteor that killed the dinosaur’s missed?”. This film is the view of what Earth might be like if the dinosaurs never left and mankind was not allowed to grow to the top of the food chain. The story centers around a young family of dinosaurs, a Father and Mother, and three children who are farmers and grow crops to survive the winter. The youngest of the three kids though is Arlo and he’s a bit of a shrimp. Scared of the chickens and afraid of his shadow, Dad wants to make him grow up and make his mark on the world. Instead, he gets lost in a raging river and has to fight to survive and find his way back home in this animated Pixar film that is as cute and funny as all the rest of their gems.

Not only does Pixar start with a concept, but they also recognize that it’s all in the story, and this is a very, very well told story. The characters are extremely well voiced (and drawn) and this is a darling little film. The only problem that keeps this, in my mind, from being one of the best Pixar films is the fact that the story is rather derived from both Land Before Time and An American Tale. Granted the idea of a small one, lost and fighting to survive on his own is not all that original. Now that I think of it, isn’t that what Finding Nemo was about too? There are certainly similarities in the story, but I think most of it is fresh enough, and with enough tweaks and adjustments to make it very enjoyable. Like all Pixar films, I suspect folks of any age from 2 to 102 are going to really enjoy the story. It’s adult enough in it’s humor that grown ups will get a kick out of some of the characters, but it’s sweet and charming enough that the little ones will like it too. Note that this is PG, and though PG films are really mild nowadays, there is some violence and scary parts in this movie that might scare the little ones. Personally I think my younger grandchildren would be able to handle much worse than this without being afraid, but be alert if they are getting frightened to help them through a couple scary scenes. For example, when Arlo gets washed away in the river, it’s very intense, and there are a couple of vulture like pterodactyl like creatures that give Arlo a rough time. But there are many learning moments as well that stress things like helping, caring, needing to ask for help, and such that are very valuable gems. This is a really sweet movie, a very exciting adventure, and another Home Run for Pixar.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Depth of Field, 1821 Pictures,

Lily Tomlin, Judy Greer, Julia Garner, Carlos Miranda, John Cho, Nat Wolff, Laverne Cox, Aaron Bilyeu, Elizabeth Peña, Colleen Camp, Sam Elliott, Mo Aboul-Zelof, Marcia Gay Harden, Missy Doty,
Don McManus

Elle (Lily Tomlin) has just broken up with her new girlfriend Olivia (Judy Greer) when her granddaughter Sage (Julia Garner) shows up unexpectedly at her door asking for $600.00 cash. Grandma Elle is busted, but she agrees to help raise the funds. Neither grandmother or granddaughter has a relationship with Sage’s over ambitious and very critical mother, so Elle calls on all kinds of old friends who could fund her granddaughter’s problems. But the more they dig into the past, the more uncomfortable old skeletons, hard feelings, and disappointments get awakened on this amazing journey.

I was genuinely surprised by this film. Ms. Garner does a really good job as the granddaughter who thinks she’s hip, but finds she’s a lot more naive than she thought, but this is really Lily Tomlin’s movie. From Geraldine the phone company operator from her stand up days and Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In way back in the 60’s, we have seen her from time to time in films, mostly comedies, but this is really an awesome showcase for her. She was very, very good, and I think played the role stunningly. Now I can understand how young folks might not connect to the grandmother character, but Julia Garner is good enough to allow them to identify things from her point of view, so a 20 year old and a 60 year old may see different films, I believe both would like it. This is not the kind of movie that pulls in a huge box office, but like “On Golden Pond” for example, this is a touching and warm film about the relationships between different generations of the family, and was very enjoyable. This has a LOT of humor and is classified as a comedy, but it’s also a very touching and poignant film that is rather touching. I really enjoyed this movie and can recommend it highly.

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Summit Entertainment, OddLot Entertainment, The Montecito Picture Company,

Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner, Denis Leary, Frank Langella, Sam Elliott, Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, Terry Crews, Ellen Burstyn, Chadwick Boseman

Sonny Weaver, Jr (Kevin Costner) is now General Manager of The Cleveland Browns football team. He took over for his father who recently passed away and he has big shoes to fill. It’s the NFL Draft Day, and Sonny trades up to the Number One pick in order to get the hottest Quarterback on the market, but the cost is very high, and everyone else, from his girlfriend and fellow front office member Ali (Jennifer Garner) and his Mother, (Ellen Burstyn), as well as the whole front office think he’s blown it big time. But Sonny has to figure it out and see if he has what it takes to take over for his Father, whom everybody loved.

The high stakes poker style negotiating of the NFL Draft (and the NBA draft for that matter) is a roller-coaster ride of it’s own, but that’s even just as a spectator. Here we get to go into the back rooms and see how the wheeling and dealing goes on under extreme pressure for everyone involved. A simple mistake in negotiation could mean plus or minus millions of dollars as the season plays out. This film really takes you into the action, and it’s a very good movie. I found myself enjoying it a lot, even though I’m not the hugest NFL fan. I watch my Steelers when I can, but drafting a fantasy team, or following the draft on TV is not something I’ve really invested myself in. But I have to admit I was thoroughly entertained, and I think even a non-football fan could enjoy this film as well since there is so much other stuff going on. Though it reminded me of Moneyball a little bit, as the subject is similar, trying to find the right players at the right cost to make your team, I think it was even more enjoyable to me than Moneyball was. Kevin Costner was very good, and he carried the film really well. There’s such a feeling of realism, that you would swear that its’ a true story, and there are many real people who play themselves, even though this is a fictitious story, there is some similarity to a real event. There’s drama, suspense, humor, and good old fashioned drama going on here, and the movie never lets up. Very well presented, everyone deserves kudos from the script to the photography, to the casting and acting in this sports film. I really enjoyed this movie, and I would definitely recommend it, especially to anyone who is a football fan!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog