Ed's Review Dot Com

Perfect World Pictures (Beijing), Universal Pictures, Will Packer Productions,,

Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, John Michael Higgins, Romany Malco, Mo’Nique, J.B. Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Omar Epps, Nicole Ari Parker, Jessie Usher, DC Young Fly

Walter (Danny Glover) is the father of a big family who are all grown-up and moved away, and he’s suffering the loss of his wife and it’s 5 days until Christmas. Walter has asked everyone to come together and his only wish is for the whole family to get together for 5 days without it all blowing up. Of course that’s a lot to ask of this bunch, and though Walter’s obsessed with getting his wife’s Sweet Potato Pie just right, the rest of the gang from Aunt May (Mo’nique) all the way down to the grandchildren are all about to kill each other. This is a typical dysfunctional family survives Christmas films.

Almost Christmas is certainly a well covered topic, with the frustrated Dad trying to keep his kids from tearing each other apart story line, but due to the excellent acting from Glover and Mo’Nique through JB Smoove, Gabriel Union, and right on down the line, the talent helps to make the story come alive. There are some hysterical moments that are really well done including one of the best dining room table bits that I’ve ever seen. This film is not going to be classic enough to gain cult status, but it’s really pretty well done and though it does jump from sad to silly and back quite fast, still it’s a highly enjoyable film and one that makes us feel good because our families are not near as bad as this clan. Or are they? That’s something you’ll be wondering about as you enjoy this charming Christmas Movie.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Perfect World Pictures (Beijing), Universal Pictures, Will Packer Productions,

Kimberly Elise, Danny Glover, John Michael Higgins, Romany Malco, Mo’Nique, J.B. Smoove, Gabrielle Union, Omar Epps, Nicole Ari Parker, Jessie Usher, DC Young Fly

Walter (Danny Glover) is the father of a big family who are all grown-up and moved away, and he’s suffering the loss of his wife and it’s 5 days until Christmas. Walter has asked everyone to come together and his only wish is for the whole family to get together for 5 days without it all blowing up. Of course that’s a lot to ask of this bunch, and though Walter’s obsessed with getting his wife’s Sweet Potato Pie just right, the rest of the gang from Aunt May (Mo’nique) all the way down to the grandchildren are all about to kill each other. This is a typical dysfunctional family survives Christmas films.

Almost Christmas is certainly a well covered topic, with the frustrated Dad trying to keep his kids from tearing each other apart story line, but due to the excellent acting from Glover and Mo’Nique through JB Smoove, Gabriel Union, and right on down the line, the talent helps to make the story come alive. There are some hysterical moments that are really well done including one of the best dining room table bits that I’ve ever seen. This film is not going to be classic enough to gain cult status, but it’s really pretty well done and though it does jump from sad to silly and back quite fast, still it’s a highly enjoyable film and one that makes us feel good because our families are not near as bad as this clan. Or are they? That’s something you’ll be wondering about as you enjoy this charming Christmas Movie.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Cube Vision, Universal Pictures, Will Packer Productions,

Ice Cube, Kevin Hart, Olivia Munn, Ken Jeong, Benjamin Bratt, Tika Sumpter, Sherri Shepherd

Ben Barber (Kevin Hart) is about to get married to detective James Payton (Ice Cube)’s sister making them future Brother’s-in-law. But after Ben’s success in the last film, he is chomping at the bit to become a full fledged detective like his brother in law. But he’s just out of the police academy and not ready yet. When James has to take a road trip down to Miami to interview the technical nerd who has broken into the phone of a drug lord, he decides somewhat reluctantly to take Ben along simply to prove to him that he’s not detective material. Naturally things go awry, and the pair end up in a dangerous cat and mouse game with some real bad dudes.

With this sequel that starts immediately after the first film, you get exactly what you would expect. This is no pearl, but it is what it is. Kevin Hart is a pretty funny guy, and he knows how to make you laugh when he’s not annoying the crap out of you. Ice Cube is a really good, dry and serious, all business straight man, and then the story is just a vehicle to allow these guys to do what they do, and they do it very well. Trouble is we’ve seen this already, and it’s very similar to every other buddy cop movie where one is a bumbling but good-hearted Jerry Lewis guy who fouls everything up, and the other is a sometimes borderline mean, but always serious Dean Martin straight man. Like Abbott and Costello of the old days took half hour vaudeville routines and turned them into feature films, this vaudeville “standup act” is made into a movie as well. That’s not to say that it’s not a good story or even a good movie. But what you expect is what you get, and I can see how this would irritate the heck out of a lot of people. So I’m not giving it a glowing rush out and rent it rating, but I am saying if you find Cube and Hart a funny standup act, you’re bound to enjoy this film. So use wisdom in deciding whether to invest the hour and a half or not on this film, but if you like slap stick funny movies, by all means go for it.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

Screen Gems, Will Packer Productions,

Taraji P. Henson, Idris Elba, Leslie Bibb, Kate del Castillo, Henry Simmons

Colin (Idris Elba) is a violent prisoner, denied parole one more time, but when he breaks out of prison, he heads first to his wife’s home, but when he knocks on Terri’s (Taraji P Henson) door claiming that he had an accident in the pouring rain and asking to use the phone, Terri decides to let him in where she’s alone with her two children. Terri’s husband is away, and inviting this kind, gentle, and very handsome fellow in to wait for the tow truck while she flirts a little and gets some much needed attention may be the biggest mistake in her life. He terrorizes everyone as Terri tries to figure out why he’s gotta be so mean.

This is a fairly decent home invasion robbery with a bit of a twist in the end that I didn’t see coming. Looking back, I probably should have. The suspense and terror is there, but it’s not exactly a new concept. There have certainly been a lot of home invasion stories in the last few years, and this is one of them. Though not extremely original, it still is pretty well done. The main difference in 2014 is that women aren’t the helpless victims anymore. They have to be tough and ready to fight to protect their home and family, without a man around to help, and pull a superhero effort. Pity the poor woman who isn’t ready to fight like Liam Neeson these days. Taraji is surely the tough superwoman here and she’s not going to go down whining. Lots of superb suspense and terror are built up here, and the ending wasn’t half bad either. Naturally anyone in a uniform is going to be fat, dumb, stupid, or clueless, and they fall like flies, while this woman and her kids are invincible. If I sound bitter, I guess I’m a bit old fashioned and I am used to my women a little bit softer in my movies, but hey, it’s a new world these days. This is a bit of a run of the mill home invasion thriller, but it’s so well done, that you’ll probably enjoy it. If you like the edge of your seat experience, you can do much worse than this film, so give it a shot.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog