Ed's Review Dot Com

Gail Katz Productions, MICA Entertainment, Material Pictures,

Tobey Maguire, Peter Sarsgaard, Liev Schreiber, Michael Stuhlbarg, Lily Rabe, Robin Weigert, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Aiden Lovekamp, Conrad Pla

Throughout the 60’s the U.S. and the Russians were locked into the cold war. Each side tried to out shine the others. This docudrama is the story of the epic chess match between Bobby Fischer (Toby Maguire) and Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) which took place in 1972 to determine the world’s best chess champion. But though the climax of the film is the chess match, we get to learn a log about one of the strangest fellows on the planet, from the time he was a little boy until the world championship.

This movie feels like a documentary, although it’s not really. But it is the story of Bobby Fischer, who I remember from when I was a young adult. I remember the story as it was in the news every day, and I remember what a really strange fellow Bobby Fischer actually was. There is an air of mystery with this guy, and there’s a lot missing from this story. That is my biggest complaint with the film that keeps it getting a higher rating. It feels like they were shooting for a time limit, rather than telling the whole story. But what they did get, they did justice to. You won’t need to be a chess master (I certainly am not) to understand this movie. But a psychology degree or two might help. Tobey Maguire did an excellent job playing Bobby. I think he pulled of the character very well, and I was impressed with the range he was able to show. This is one of his best performances. Liev Schreiber is also a surprise as Boris Spassky too, as he was a well known figure, especially after he played against Bobby. He plays the relatively good-natured (for a Russian) opponent. He was totally believable as Spassky. As docudramas go, I did enjoy this film, but again, that may be due to my familiarity of the story. If you’ve never heard of him, though, and you enjoy biographical movies, this is worth watching. Don’t expect to be wowed or blown away, but it’s a interesting film, and one I’ve been waiting for a long time.

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Indian Paintbrush, Mr. Mudd, Right of Way Films,

Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire, Tom Lipinski, Maika Monroe, Clark Gregg, James Van Der Beek, J.K. Simmons, Brooke Smith, Brighid Fleming, Alexie Gilmore, Lucas Hedges, Micah Fowler

Adele (Kate Winslow) is a depressed single mom raising her 13 year old son, Henry (Gattlin Griffith). She hardly leaves the house, but just before one Labor Day weekend, she has to go out for some supplies, and while they are shopping, Henry meets a bloody guy who says he needs help. He asks for a ride. Reluctantly Adele allows Frank (Josh Brolin) to ride with them, and to stop at her house to rest before he catches a train out of town. He promises to leave first thing in the morning, but he doesn’t, and though he’s very helpful fixing things and helping around the house, it quickly becomes clear that his intentions are not what he said, and his past may change their lives forever.

This is a very strange romantic drama. The story is not really like any I’ve seen before, and we learn piece by piece and bit by bit what is actually Frank’s story, but we can’t really tell what his motive really is. Is he acting, or is he genuine? The three main characters in this story are really well cast. Josh Brolin is not my favorite actor, and he’s been miscast in a number of roles, but in this one he’s a perfect Frank. Kate Winslet does a great job as the fearful and timid Adele who is afraid of her own shadow. Gattlin is very good as the teen son as well and handles a big role like a pro. It’s sad, and it warm and touching, and it’s suspenseful, all good emotions in a romantic drama like this. This is a very well done script and the actors also play it very well. This was a very interesting story. Based on a novel, the story is set about 25 years ago, and it helps us to capture the whole story as told by the adult Frank (Tobey Maguire). The story is a bit slow developing suiting the background and the small town life. Aside from that, the story is really well told, and I thoroughly enjoyed this film.

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Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, A&E Television Networks,

Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, Adelaide Clemens, Callan McAuliffe, Amitabh Bachchan, Elizabeth Debicki

The story of ex-military man, now writer Nick Caraway (Toby Maguire), who becomes obsessed with rich young playboy Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is himself obsessed with lost love Daisy (Carey Mulligan) who is married to wealthy businessman Tom Buchannan (Joel Edgerton). The movie is basically the story of Gatsby as told by Nick who not only hangs out with him acting as sort of a houseboy for Gatsby who is writing a novel about the story as he sees it. He learns a lot more about this mysterious Gatsby, and where he came from and how he got where he is today. Meanwhile, Gatsby is after married Daisy at all costs which is destroying the empire he built for her.

This novel from 1925 by F Scott Fitzgerald is the basis of the story, which is remake of the 1974 telling of the story featuring Robert Redford which was a remake of the 1949 version starring Alan Ladd. Who knows if there are any other versions out there. I saw the 1974 version and really hated it. I also found it really hard to follow. This version is a bit easier to understand (or maybe I’m a lot more mature than I was in 1974 and able to catch the story this time), but I didn’t really like this movie at all. It’s funny, sometimes, how I’ve seen so many movies, but sometimes a movie will remind me of another movie, and later I found out it was done by the same person. This one, first of all, reminded me of Moulin Rouge which I absolutely hated as well. An old story with Bee Gees and Beatles tunes didn’t sit at all. Well, I hated the soundtrack of this film too as the songs made no sense with a story from 1925. Well, guess what, there’s a reason! It’s the same guy from Moulin Rouge as well as Romeo and Juliet (the DiCaprio one) that I literally could not watch. There are very few movies that I cannot watch, but that one was certainly one that I turned off.

So what was good about the film? Well, DiCaprio did a pretty good job of playing rich playboy Jay Gatsby who is a fake and is really, really shallow. This is right up Leo’s alley. Carey Mulligan was also pretty decent as Daisy. She also is a young spoiled brat who is not very deep either. Toby Maguire’s Nick, on the other hand, was awful. He was such a little love struck puppy dog that followed Jay around doing stupid mundane tasks for him, and taking it. I really hated this character, and I don’t think it fits the kind of guy Nick should have been at all. It also seemed like Nick loved Daisy throughout, but we never found out a bit of it. He gives us the puppy dog looks and stares, but it’s never addressed at all. I am ambivalent on Joel’s Tom, Daisy’s husband. On one hand is supposed to be the old money, respectable and dignified, but he went off his rocker a little too much. Gatsby’s mansion is beautiful. The Long Island setting is beautiful. But the set decorations and car chases are really cartoonish. It didn’t seem to fit at all. Finally, this has the feel of a modern story told about the Jazz age and the 20’s. But it was written at that time, so it was a contemporary story. Some people rave about this as the greatest American novel ever written. It’s kind of Dickens-ish in the way it preaches about honesty, wealth, the crimes of the rich against the poor, and the contrast between the rich people and the poor people. I suppose Dickens could easily have written this book.

All in all though, it’s a romance story most of all, so the real romantics will probably like it. Basically, I think there are lots of love stories to be told, and there wasn’t a screaming need to remake this 1925 novel once again. On one hand, I can never get enough versions of The Christmas Carol, but on the flip side, I think this is probably too many Gatsbys. If you do decide to give this a try (maybe cause you’re Leo fan, or remember the book fondly from your school days), be patient with the first half hour. It’s really the worst part of the film, and it does improve a bit the further along you go. But this is a long movie, nearly 2 1/2 hours, and personally I felt like I would like the 2 1/2 hours back to see something a lot more interesting that this was. At least now I know the story, but I’m not sure what I’m going to do with that knowledge. My honest opinion is to skip this one.

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LD Entertainment, Mark Gordon Productions,

Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Kerry Washington, Dennis Haysbert

Jeff Land (Tobey Maguire) is a doctor, living a boring but comfortable life in the suburbs with wife Nealy (Elizabeth Banks). But Jeff isn’t very happy. He has a child and his wife seems to have lost all interest in him. They’re never intimate anymore, even when the kid is asleep, so Jeff turns to internet porn to satisfy his needs. Furthermore, as pesky group have raccoons have decided to dig up Jeff’s yard, doing major damage reminiscent of Bill Murray’s character in “Caddyshack”. Like groundskeeper Carl, Jeff takes on a war with the raccoons that takes up his time. But he further strays into cheating with a couple different neighbors, and finds himself in deeper hot water due to his urges and the way he tries to satisfy them, in this dark comedy that hits home in a number of way to most of us.

This is basically a peep into the male psyche on two levels. The lengths we men will go to fight dragons and wage our own war once we get an idea in our heads. Jeff could probably solve the raccoon problem with one phone call, but instead he gets obsessed with fighting the war himself. The second is the length we will go to to satisfy our cravings when we’re missing the love and attention at home. Instead of battling the problem in his marriage and trying work things it’s, it’s easier to bury yourself in other dangerous endeavors.

This is an interesting departure for Tobey Maguire. He’s obviously known for his portrayal of Spiderman, which was pretty awesome, but outside of Seabiscuit, we haven’t been able to see a lot of stuff from Mr. Maguire. He plays this role pretty well, and does a fine job. My problem with the film is that it’s a bit slow, and though it has a few interesting parts, much of it is like watching paint dry. Laura Linney is good as the lonely neighbor who offers herself up as one of Jeff’s conquests, but aside from that, there’s not a whole lot going on here. All in all, it’s a fair film, and has some interesting character development, all in all, there’s just not enough going on to keep it from falling flat. If you’re interested in the subject, or a fan of Tobey Maguire, give it a shot, but for most of it, there’s better stuff out there. This is available on Watch Instantly on NetFlix now, so it’s easy to give it a try if you’re interested and see if it appeals. But for the most part, I shrug my shoulders, and say, “Oh, well.”

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Lionsgate

Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Mare Winningham

Brothers is an intense look into the lives of a disturbed family.   Two brothers are very close, but one is a screwup just out of prison, and the other a hero who does everything right.  Tobey’s character is the nice boy.  He’s married and on his way for his second tour to Afghanistan.  While he’s gone tragedy happens, and everyone is suspicious as the screw up brother steps up and tries to do the right thing for the right reasons.  Or does he?  After all, everyone thinks his brother is dead.

When her husband comes back, he’s changed, Or is he?

Jealous now, that something may not be exactly right about his brother’s relationship with his wife.  What is wrong?

There’s a lot to these characters and no one is who you may expect.  Do the brothers really care about each other?  Who’s side is Dad on?  What’s really going on?

This is a pretty decent movie.  It’s not real fast paced, but there is an awful lot going on and the end is rather suspenseful.

Mostly I think it’s rightly named, as the realationship of the “Brothers” is the crux of the story.    But by the time it’s over, you feel like you know them all, and it’s worth the effort.  This movie is often listed as anti-war.  I don’t think it takes a stand on the war.  But I think it’s a valid expression of how war changes people.   Whether you take that as anti-war or not, I’m not able to say.

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