Ed's Review Dot Com

Anthem Productions, Paul Schiff Productions,

Finn Wittrock, Aaron Eckhart, Robin Tunney, Sarah Bolger

Based on the book “Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story” by Jim Dent this biographic film of Freddie Steinmark follows the history of his life as one of the best high school football players who was recruited by Texas and played in the Game of the Century against Arkansas in 1970. The film is pretty accurate in portraying Freddie’s life story. Being only 5′ 9″ and well under 200 pounds everyone told him he was too little to play defense. But he had been trained by his father very well and was really full of grit and able to play way beyond the level he should have been able to play. An inspiration to the team, Freddie motivated the team to win the SW championship and to be rated Number 1 in his final year. Freddie hid an injury from everyone and played through the pain in the final game until finally he had to go see the doctor and was given a very serious diagnosis. This is a heartwarming, tearjerker of a story showing the enormous fight in this kid.

This film got lost in the shuffle around all the other releases when it came out in the theater in late 2015. Many people have overlooked this film, but it is a very good retelling of the true story, and unlike most docudramas, this one seems to be very accurate on most all points. The research was thorough and it seems they really got it right. Starring Aaron Eckhart as Coach Royal and Finn Wittrock as Freddie, the performances are very good. The characters really look like the real people as well and the actual scene is presented at the end of the film, and it’s real, not recreated. This is a touching story, similar to a lot of the true sports tales, but since it is a true story of an amazing life and how he touched so many people, I was truly impressed with it and though many critics didn’t like the way it was portrayed, I felt it was done properly, with loads of respect, and though a sad story, told in a remarkably upbeat and uplifting way. This is a great football film with lots of sports action that is recreated very close to the actual history, and I highly recommend this film as a good film for all ages.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Blumhouse Productions, Chapter One Films, Lionsgate,

Mark Duplass, Olivia Wilde, Donald Glover, Evan Peters, Sarah Bolger

Frank (Mark Duplass) and Zoe (Olivia Wilde) lead a team of researchers who have developed a formula that can bring the newly dead back to life, to allow medical teams to have more time to save someone’s life who dies on the table. They test it on a dog and it works. But they broke quite a few rules and are about to lose the rights to the discovery as well as the grant for their research. But the serum has an unexpected side effect that brings down the wrath of Satan on the team in this Horror film from Blumhouse and Lionsgate.

This is a pretty decent horror flick. Not exactly a zombie film, but in the same genre as a number of mad scientists who can bring folks back from the dead, all the way back to the original Frankenstein. It is about a 6 on the 1-10 scale where 10 is the most horrifying, and 1 is a mild kids movie. It has it’s moments, and it’s a relatively well done feature. Certainly the leads, Mark and Olivia, do a decent job of carrying the movie. Olivia especially makes a good transformation from her original character to the end of the film where everyone has lost it. The story has some rather rich (for this type of film) back story on why the things are happening which kind of caught me by surprise. It’s fast paced and quite suspenseful, and I have no problem with that. The only real complaint I have with the film is that it’s a bit derivative of so many other movies, and there wasn’t a really unique twist in this story. You could have predicted how it will go by looking at the cover. Still, I did enjoy it, so I think it’s worth a rental if you are into Horror films. I can mildly recommend this for fans of the genre.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Identity Films (I), Wind Dancer Productions,

Claire Danes, James Marsden, Thomas Mann, Sarah Bolger, Jeremy Sisto, Anika Noni Rose, Peter Fonda, Rhys Coiro, Alanis Morissette, Mario Batali, Jon Tenney

Lucy (Sarah Bolger) is a bit of a tomboy, having trouble with her parents and not really happy with life. Her Mom, Lainee (Claire Danes) is cheating on her never home Dad (James Marsden) and it’s clear that in this family Lucy is the grown up one. Furious with her mother, and aching for some attention from her father, Lucy is coming of age, and learning about boys while trying to be the parent in a struggling and collapsing family.

This movie caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting much, and this 2013 film was lounging away in my queue when I notice this film airing on Showtime, so I watched it. I wasn’t expectng much, but to my surprise it was a really decent little movie. Granted Claire Danes was a bit wimpy, but I think she played it pretty well considering her character had a baby when she was very young, and was forced into growing up too quick. Wanting the best for her daughter, she tries very hard, but just isn’t grown up herself. Sarah Bolger, on the other hand, runs away with this film. She is really the star here, and does a wonderful “Juno-ish” type interpretation of the 16 year old trying to figure it all out. She truly makes this film worth checking out. There is a lot of heart in this movie, and a touch of really funny humor, and it’s share of tragedy. All in all, for a small film about a struggling family, this is not at all bad, and well worth catching should you find the opportunity. More of a LifeTime style movie, but that’s not bad in this case. It’s a well done little movie that you will probably enjoy.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog