Ed's Review Dot Com

Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Pictures,

Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, Tilda Swinton, Michael Stuhlbarg, Benjamin Bratt, Scott Adkins

Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a world famous neurosurgeon. But when he is in an auto accident, he finds he has lost the use of his hands for surgery, so he’s willing to go through anything to regain the use of his hands. Once he is introduced to The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) he learns that there is more to the universe than what he can see, and he becomes her student to take her place as leader of the spiritual universe.

This is another in the string of new Disney made Marvel Studios pictures. This one I did not care for in the least. Not only is the formula exactly the same as all the others, but I particularly did not like the Doctor Strange character. Dr. House plays a grumpy old M.D. on TV, but we all know he has a good heart underneath the gruff exterior. But Strange is so freaking obnoxious that I pretty much cheered against him throughout the whole film. The special effects are pretty, but it’s done way better in Inception. Basically Dr. Strange is annoying and an extreme narcissist. The Ancient One is a cocky little sucker, and the bad guys are not really bad, and who knows what all the point is to all this. Basically I found it very minimally enjoyable, and I wished I had skipped this one. They are running these stories into the ground, and this was one of the worst of the lot. Enough superheroes. Let’s find some good stories to tell like we used to have. TV is looking better all the time.

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Voltage Pictures, Zanuck Independent, Zephyr Films,

Matt Damon, Tilda Swinton, Christoph Waltz, David Thewlis, Peter Stormare, Ben Whishaw, Rupert Friend

Qohen Leth (Christoph Waltz) is a computer geek in a strange futuristic society. He travels to a cubicle daily to do his work moving data around, but longs to work from home because of a call that he received a long time ago. The call was interrupted, and he’s sure they will call back, but he must be home to receive it. Qohen is a messed up guy, but of course the stress of what he does, and the wacky world in which he lives would probably drive anyone crazy. His supreme boss is called Management (Matt Damon) and Quhen is sure that Management would have the answers to his burning question. This futuristic and colorful adventure is sure to turn your world upside down.

When I completed watching this film (in one sitting), I thought for sure I HATED it. Then as I though about it, I liked it more and more the longer I thought about it. Now that a couple days have passed, I have come to the conclusion that perhaps I really liked it. It’s weird. It’s a Terry Gilliam film, so that says a lot. For those not familiar with Terry, he was the “American” in Monty Python and also the one who drew the very strange animation pieces in the middle of the programs. Terry has a weird outlook on life and if you keep that in mind you get more out of this story. First, the sets and locations are outrageously colored. The advertisement is everywhere and it’s constantly beat on you trying for force you to listen. It’s psychedelic and much like real life pictures of the animations that Terry did. It’s a crazy world. The fact that the cast lists Matt Damon and Tilda Swinton first is odd, as well, as these are two of the lesser characters in the film. Neither has much screen time. This is really the Christoph Waltz show, and boy does he nail it. His character is borderline insane. You might think it odd to see this listed as a comedy, but it’s very funny, although it deals very deep subjects and foremost the question of the entire film is the meaning of life. In fact, as you come to learn what the Zero Theorem is, you can see how Qohen’s madness comes from the fear that it all means nothing at all. It’s a really artful film, and it may go over the heads of many people who just won’t get the meaning out the madness, but I can see that is one film that stayed with me, and the more I thought about it, the more I liked what I had seen. Certainly if the “Ministry of Silly Walks” or the most dangerous animal in the world, the “Clever Sheep” entertained you, and you got it, you’ll probably find a real gem in this film. On the other hand, if you’re one of those (and there’s nothing wrong with this) who find Monty Python and the Holy Grail to be pure nonsense and a complete waste of time, you’re probably not going to like this very much either. In the end, I’m really glad I saw it. In the beginning, though, I wondered what the heck was going on in front of me!

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Scott Rudin Productions, Indian Paintbrush, Studio Babelsber

Ralph Fiennes, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson, Tony Revolori

A young writer (Jude Law) checks into the legendary Grand Budapest Hotel and finds it almost empty. He meets the man running the hotel who invites him to dinner for the story of why the hotel is still open and why he refuses to close it down. He then proceeds to tell the story of legendary owner Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) and his chief lobby-boy/personal assistant Zero Moustafa (F. Murray Abraham/Tony Revolori). It’s a grand story of recovering a stolen masterpiece, and the battle over a family inheritance, set against the backdrop of a vastly changing Europe.

Wes Anderson (Director) is known for kind of “off kilter” films. When I watched this film, I think the other film that came to mind that reminded me of this style was “The Royal Tenenbaums”. Sure enough, another Wes Anderson film, as was “Moonrise Kingdom”, “The Aquatic Life with Steve Zissou. and even “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (which was one of my early reviews that got me in big trouble with a lot of people who loved this. I must admit Wes Anderson movies are a bit weird and hard to follow, but I must admit I kind of enjoyed this one a lot. First of all, there is a huge cast, with so many famous actors showing up to bring a lot of interest to the movie. Most of them are smaller parts, but still, they all add to the enjoyment. Then there’s the setting. Wes doesn’t like to do CGI that much, so most of what we see is either green screen, or more often models. The look of this movie is wonderful. The spectacular costuming and set design deserves a wealth of honors. The story if fast moving, and funny, even if many parts are ridiculous. Most of all, though this is based upon recorded history as to the larger events going on in Europe, it’s still a fantasy movie that really feels like we’re in a different magical world. All in all I found this a very interesting and enjoyable experience, and I am glad I watched it. If you can take the oddness of this film, you’ll probably enjoy it as well. If you seen it and have an opinion, feel free to use the comments section on this post, as I would be glad to hear different opinions on this movie. As for me, I liked it.

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Indian Paintbrush, American Empirical Pictures, Moonrise,

Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Tilda Swinton, Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Jason Schwartzman, Bob Balaban, Harvey Keitel

Sam (Jared Gilman) is a Khaki Scout of on an island in New England at a scout camp. Suzy (Kara Hayward) is a lonely girl who loves to read and looks at life through binoculars. The two of them decide to set off on an adventure and run away to follow an old trail around the island setting of a panic among the scout troop run by Scout Master Ward (Ed Norton) and with the town folk lead by Captain Sharp (Bruce Willis). The two decide to elope and get married while an epic storm bears down on the island.

This film by Wes Anderson is, like all of his film is kind of weird. For this reason, even though it’s still in theaters, it’s kind of hard to find and did not get really wide release. But it’s definitely a worthwhile film. It reminds me a lot of the Lemony Snickett’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” or Louis Sacher’s “Wayside school” series of books. It’s very quirky and was made in the same manner. Shot on 16mm film, it’s got a real weird vibe to it. But it’s a really cute growing up film, and a touching romance between these two young people. It’s puppy love at it’s best with a great cast and a sweet story.

The film is set in the year 1965 although it could be almost anytime. It’s set on a fictional island, and the colors are drab and brown and beige through most of the film (with a few exceptions) which adds to the mood a lot. Though very strange, it feels oddly comfortable in a way. Throughout the story Suzy reads from her collection of children’s books, and it feels as though the kids are living their own children’s book as the pass through this adventure.

Now this film is definitely not going to be everyone’s cup of tea, that’s a given. A lot of people will hate it. But if you’ve got an interest in a very off-beat unusual movie with a harmless story of innocence, this is it. If you liked Polar Express or Where the Wild Things Are, this is very similar in feel to both of those films. For me, I enjoyed it.

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BBC Films, UK Film Council, Footprint Investment Fund,

Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell, Rocky Duer, Ashley Gerasimovich, Siobhan Fallon, Alex Manette, Joseph Melendez

Kevin (Ezra Miller) has been a troubled child since he was a tiny baby. Worried that something was wrong, his Mother, Eva (Tilda Swinton) took him to specialists to see if he had a learning disability, but they found nothing. Kevin had a really mean streak that ran a mile wide. But mostly he took his rage out on his Mother and his little sister. Kevin suddenly turned into the model perfect child when Dad, Franklin (John C Reilly) was around, which wasn’t that often. So everyone looked at Eva as the problem. But as Kevin’s behavior became much more violent, Eva has to look closely to see how much she might be to blame for what happens.

This is a strange film. The whole thing is very done in a manner where we feel like we’re staring through a window into this very disturbed household. We get to see into Eva’s mind as she tries to deal with how to love this evil child. Then she has to deal with the abuse and disgust from the outside, the neighbors, her friends, but most of all her husbands attitude toward her. It seems there’s nothing that Eva can do to fix her unsolvable problems. It’s a very shocking and harsh story that doesn’t try to cover up the ugly life we’re watching. It pulls no punches, and as such is rather tough to stomach at times. It’s not for everyone. But if you have the nerve to sit through this, it’s certainly a story that will touch you and change your feelings forever. When terrible things happen, we always ask ourselves, “WHY?, WHY?, WHY?” Well that is probably not the right question as there often is no sense to these things. But perhaps this film will show you once and for all “HOW” it happens.

There was an old story about how to cook a frog. Being cold blooded, throwing a frog into a pot of boiling water was of no use as he would jump out immediately. But put a frog in a pot of cold water and slowly heat it degree by degree, and before you know it the frog is cooked without even realizing it. Probably not an accurate story, but the meaning is still valid. “How could the family let this happen?”
It doesn’t happen in one day. It’s little by little, step by step over a lifetime. Try as you might, you still try to convince yourself that the worst will not happen.

So if you have an interest in this really uncomfortable film, it may be something you will never forget. But remember that it is very harsh, and will definitely be uncomfortable from start to end.

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