Ed's Review Dot Com

ClubNano Films, Ur-Mee, Imaginating Pictures,

Marla Gibbs, Ryan Spahn, Jake T. Austin, Tessa Thompson

Grantham (Jake T Austin) is a 17 year old boy in trouble. His father is dead, and his mom is a wreck, and he can’t stop getting in trouble. He’s been put into a reformatory where he immediately gets into a fight. He won’t listen to his parole officer and respects no one, but an elderly African American woman, Rose (Marla Gibbs) who volunteers at the facility makes friends, and offers him the chance of a lifetime. She takes him out on a road trip that turns into a drive to Atlanta. Along the way, they pick up a wandering stranger, Wallis (Tessa Thompson) who is very pretty, but just as lost. Once they arrive in Atlanta, all the secrets are revealed and the strange things really start to happen to everyone.

This is a road trip film that is much, much more. This is one of those hidden gems that come along by surprise. This has not yet been released on DVD but is available for sreaming on Netflix, and keep an eye out as it may be making an appearance all over the place as people start to find out who good this story really is. It’s not a slow movie. It moves right along. But the skill of the writers have given us really fantastic character development. All the major characters are very complex and have a lot of back stories which we learn along with the main storyline. Of course there is much more to Rose than this somewhat unstable nice old lady, and she has her own demons to deal with. And deal with them she does. She doesn’t preach, but instead she tells the truth. Without judging much, she states the facts in a way that you just have to follow. I have known folks who are small in stature, but who can command like a drill sergeant. I have had a few of them in school! The story is very well developed, and surprising up to the very end. I was really not expecting much from this movie, and was very pleasantly surprised. I have always been a fan of Marla Gibbs, but this was such a pleasure to see her again in such a deep and meaningful role. This is one movie I can recommend for young and old alike, and it’s a real gem of a nearly unknown film. If you can get a chance to catch this move, don’t miss it. It’s very good.

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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Warner Bros., New Line Cinema,

Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Phylicia Rashad, Tony Bellew

Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) is old. He’s had a long full life, but his love Adrian is gone, and his coach Mickey. Rocky’s living a lonely life till a young man turns up asking him to train him. Turns out the kid is Adonis Johnson (Michael B Jordan) who wants to make it on his own, but is actually the son of Apollo Creed, a former Russian champ who fought with Rocky and who highly respected each other. But sadly Apollo was killed in the ring back in 1974. Rocky doesn’t train boxers anymore, but he Adonis convinces him to take him under his wing and teach him what he knows, mostly for Rocky’s respect for his father’s talent and courage in the ring.

This is one of those movies that you HAVE to see because of the continuation of a story that has been going on for decades. We have to see how Rocky has turned out and how he’s doing. So for that fact, it’s a very worthwhile experience. Now if you have never seen a Rocky film, then this is not a good place to start, as it’s only a mediocre boxing film, but it is a fond look back at a character America loved, and it is very nostalgic. I was not anxious to run out to see this in the theater on the first weekend, nor did I push it to the front of my queue the day it was released on DVD either, as truthfully I was not that psyched to see it, but I still am very glad it bubbled to the top and I got to finally see it. If you have any fond memories of Rocky Balboa, and you haven’t seen this one, then what are you waiting for? Get out and get this and give it a spin. Thanks Rock.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog