EddieRade Reviews

Catfight (I) (2016)

A Woody Allen with a dash of Louie C.K. and gloriously sprinkled with John Wick film

[8/10 · 8 April 2017]

You'll feel the same way, at least regarding the Woody Allen feeling this movie has. The two leading ladies make a full blast on screen with two magnificent portrayals of strong willed but down on their luck big city women, who clear their old "niceties" from the start, using not arguments but fists, claws, wrenches,etc. The drama is, nonetheless, real and not even close to light. But the blend between comedy,tragedy,drama and irony goes from one into the other massively fast paced and it blurs the lines in some spots. You almost anticipate the brutal encounter of these broads, who go from rock bottom to sky high and back again when not fighting in a mortal combat way. Alicia Silverstone brings a cute add to the fold but she's rather unremarkable all and all. Some noticeable undertones regarding the modern world's excessively aggressive and artificial standards, the annoying fits of artists and the cruelty of humans, mostly. The main attraction remains the twilight of the gods, the fabulous feline war. If well acted violence is a turn on, then this is right for you. Any time, any where. Enjoy! I know I did!

The Good Neighbor (2016)

James Caan in a solid comeback role; the rest, including the movie, bleak,anti-climatic, with a morale to the story that deserved better treatment.

[7/10 · 16 September 2016]

Heard some say that this movie is comparable with a much more applauded and successful film with a similar, home invasion plot. In deed, whoever saw Don't Breathe first and The Good Neighbor later on, will make that comparison, but never for praising the later as being superior to the first. At least, in my view, much of the disappointment comes from the anti-climatic resolve to the suspenseful, thought-provoking general pace of the movie. It grows in questions being unanswered and it makes it uncomfortable for the viewer to figure out what is happening with and around the main character, superbly played by a returning, old-fashioned character actor, like James Caan. He does make for this film not being a failure but not even him can make it shine above his own acting skills. Perhaps I got to hopeful with this movie, to pretentious, after seeing the before-mentioned fantastic thriller that got so deliberately close to a genuine crime-horror blend that makes it a clear nominee for instant cult classic status. Still, this movie lacks guts, plays it to safe, while the two boys are being just stupid and so are their roles. I got hopping that both would eventually wind up dead. Not the case, unfortunately. As it sums up, you are clearly let down by the unfolding, wanting more and being right about it. As for the morale, this movie was not the best vehicle for it, and it should receive greater attention and promotion in possible future installments of this otherwise very present and troublesome issue: teenagers,young adults and the potentially harmful things they do for fun.

The Devil Complex (2016)

Bleak and uneventful but with great snowy woods scenery

[4/10 · 15 May 2016]

An amazing setting only can't do much for a found footage horror movie with low budget, uncharismatic actors with foreign accents and an overdone storyline. That being said, the movie misses the point of being scary and it looks like it doesn't even try. The scenes happen as they come, without momentum or a real terror content and it comes close to being just necessary chapters to respect the genre it is supposed to be, all in all weakly acted and directed. The actors are the main issue here. They just don't go together and that's obvious from the beginning. It's like none of them want to be there. I wasn't expecting much from it, but can't say I'm not somewhat disappointed about the lack of one or two well-crafted scares which would've saved something out of this lame duck movie. A missed shot.

Night Owls (I) (2015)

A modern retake on the classic The Apartment (1960)

[7/10 · 21 December 2015]

For anyone who saw the movie I mentioned, The Apartment with Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, this movie will strike a clear resemblance. Sure, it has it's slight alterations to make it a little different and original, but the story itself is quite common. For who it may concern, I truly recommend seeing The Apartment first and then this one. You'll see the common ground on which the story revolves and the similarities that make this movie and the classic one bound. I'll end my review by saying that it's a good movie, in it's own right, very well acted and put together. Make this and the 1960's movie a duplex with your loved one around these holidays. You won't regret it.

Felt (2014)

How is this drained drama even remotely related to horror?

[4/10 · 5 October 2015]

What a complete waste of time! This has nothing to do with horror, thriller or romance, for that matter..It's just a bleak take on a very interesting subject, but poorly placed and paced. The main character isn't developed enough, we know nothing about the pain she's been through and we only get to see her act as a spoiled brat, a delusional and empty person and a young woman in love..only to have it all come to a sudden end latter on. And it's not enough, sorry to say.. It goes simply from point A to point B without suspense,momentum nor does it grow the tension by adding certain elements of mystery. No way this hard boiled drama experiment can be rated a horror-thriller!

Mockingbird (2014)

Hugely underrated solid found footage in the stile of The Blair Witch Project

[9/10 · 3 October 2015]

I can't understand at all the bashing of this highly effective and suspenseful roller coaster film! Was the patriarch of all found-footage horrors, The Blair Witch Project, filled with gory or other scary elements other than the situation itself, modest scares but so well put in place that made your skin crawl? Honestly this movie kept me on the verge from scene one all over to the finale, which was not what I expected but sinister in deed. By now, this specific sub-genre can hardly bring something totally original and the best the directors can achieve in continuing to make movies in found footage style is to keep you in suspense by skillfully adding small but effective, less gory scares...keep in mind that what one doesn't see is the perfect reason to keep one's interest at pin point. Seeing stuff you already saw and that gave you a full ride of scares is worth seeing again, differently portioned and dozed by a masterful director. I loved this little underrated gem and I believe it should receive more credit from found footage-horror fans. True followers of The Blair Witch Project will clearly enjoy this helluva ride from start to finish and, folks, sometimes less IS more! My unapologetic rating is 9/10.

Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)

We all have the obligation to be happy..and to see this outstandingly amazing movie!

[10/10 · 15 February 2015]

Terrific! This is the best movie I've seen in years!! Everything about it is simply perfect! It makes you laugh, cry, think, worry, question yourself, laugh some more, cry even more and that's just to say the least of a huge package of emotions, sensations and thoughts this perfect film brings the viewer to experience throughout the entire 120 minutes! Simon Pegg passes from simply a great comedy actor to a fully accomplished screen artist. Rosamund Pike is shining once more in a smaller but effective role and the entire cast of actors small and big alike is just making this helluva ride even more fantastic. Yes, I'm praising it so much because it made me feel a lot of things, and made me care for everyone in this story of rediscovering one's true meaning and joy in life! The subject itself is something that regards us all, because it's what makes us all go on in life - the pursuit of happiness, in all it's forms, the road to it, the happiness of pursuit itself and everything that goes with it! Great soundtrack, amazing views, all in all this is an example of why I love movies the way I do. From time to time, there comes a film so good it makes my skin crawl with a huge mix of feelings that I can't put in words. Go see it NOW!!

Closer to the Moon (2014)

Deja vu background on an aberrantly recurrent theme by Romanian directors

[6/10 · 24 July 2014]

Almost all high-rate Romanian directors have a somewhat perverted fetish about Communist Romania stories. That being said, if you've seen a Romanian movie from the 2000's until present day, in over 90% of the cases it's some story set in Communist Romania,and how bad it was and how people where so against it all. Nothing further from the truth! All of these stories are filled with one-sided prejudice opinions and resemble the directors view of the world. So, this movie isn't any different from all the other famed movies our directors have launched in the past years about pre-1989 Romania. The Ioanid gang, who where a bunch of superficial silly Bonn vivers on film where in fact a gang of guys (and a girl) with no ideological stance to their continuous dissidence before the WWII and afterwards. They where acting against the regimes only for the fun of it, for the adventurous filling of being in contradiction with those in power , not because they opposed Nazism and Communism as ideologies. They where Jews, who where oppressed by the Romanian Nazi collaborators and afterwards resented by the same Romanian Nazi collaborators(fascist legionnaires disguised as Communists and Bolsheviks as Romanian Iron Guard followers where to do after Germany lost the war) wrapped in the red flag of Communism. All in all the actors played their parts well, as they are professionals. But the storytelling, the way Caranfil romanticized a bunch of fools is not to my taste. As a different approach by our distinguished directors, I'd like to see a movie about the atrocities committed in the years when fascists where in power in Romania, when our 'honorable' King Carol II imposed his dictatorial regime, banning parties and letting the legionnaires from the Iron Guard rise to power before slaughtering them as they, in return, set Bucharest on fire and killed many Romanian Jews and other personalities such as Nicolae Iorga. But there is no real interest. It is more comfortable to pick the same over done subject of Communist Romania. My advice to you after seeing this artistic movie is to see the real reenactment "propaganda" movie made by the authorities in 1960. It's with the real participants and has a better way to sticking to facts as they occurred.

Mr. Jones (2013)

Highly pretentious but somewhat out of the genre's mainstream lines

[6/10 · 27 April 2014]

I have mixed feelings about this found-footage-esque experimental drama-horror film. On the down side, it often blurs the lines between a nightmare and real happening horror, which is disturbing at times. I didn't get really tense in the moments I should've because It kept me asking whether it's just in their minds or really occurring and it got worse towards the end. Also the fact that it has a very ridiculous beginning with soundtrack and all..very unappealing. On the up side, there are some decently creepy moments and it does get more sinister as it progresses. It doesn't follow the general lines of other same category movies, and does a good job on the overall level. The couple, when together, is sometimes idiotic and unconvincing, but separately they make pretty satisfying performances. Still, it has some flaws regarding the title's mysteriously sinister character and about the origins and aspect of the entities that manifest through out the whole film. The main issue,for me I guess, remains that it tries too hard to be stylish and artistic, also making the movie too deep for what it really wants. The surreal manages to scare away the horror. The last part of the movie is messy and very little frightening. Disappointment is the major mood this film induces. Still, I give it a 6 for the effort..

The Best Offer (2013)

My favorite 2013 movie! A precious gem by a magnificent Rush!

[10/10 · 18 June 2013]

This is, by far, my most favorite movie of this year! I've always been a Geoffrey Rush fan, but in this movie, I've seen a very special Rush who, by the way his on screen persona goes thru a life changing metamorphosis, creates a real, day-to-day living among us man with real life personal fears, heartbreaking disillusions and self rediscovering. He makes us care for the very rigid and robotic Virgil Oldman in a way that surprises the senses. He is, in the beginning, a character who most people would find repelling by his uncomfortable attitude and bossy ways. But, as the movie proceeds, he is changed by this peculiar and frightful young woman who has a way of bringing him up, and crushing him down within minutes in their dialog. I must say that director Tornatore wrote this amazingly beautiful story with a golden pencil, I'm sure. This is not another love story. It's a life story, set in the world of Arts, where there's more to discover behind the colors of paintings and the still faces of sculptures than meets the eye. As the movie comes to an end, you will face a difficult task: to be thankful that such a story made it to the big screen, or to desire that it would've remain only in the writer's mind and heart. I give it a full 10, with no regrets. Awaiting more from Tornatore-Rush team! They get along pretty well I see.