Tag Archives: The Goonies

Love Hurts

There’s a lot more HURT than LOVE in the new movie Love Hurts. The barrage of comic violence has folks in pain from fists, feet, guns, knives and various other means of human punishment.

The story? It’s the old “hit man tries to go straight” bit. Marvin Gable (Ke Huy Quan) is a successful realtor, having put behind him his history of violence. But when what appears to be a Valentine’s Day card arrives with an ominous message within, he realizes that he has to elude various parties who want to settle scores.

His main nemesis is his brother Knuckles (Daniel Wu) who has engaged numerous henchmen to help track him down. Gable’s old romantic flame Rose (Ariana DeBose) is also back in the picture. 

The film has numerous references to that holiday of love but to call Love Hurts a Valentine’s Day movie is kinda like calling Die Hard a Christmas movie. It’s not the sort of Valentine’s Day-related movie that would be likely to engender thoughts of romance.

Also in the cast are Sean Astin who was a cast mate of Quan 40 years ago in The Goonies and former NFL great Marshawn Lynch. Plus a quick appearance by one of TV’s Property Brothers.

Quan and DeBose both have on-screen charisma. And Oscars! So there is genuine talent here.

Love Hurts is a relatively mindless bit of “John Wick lite” type violence with a few laughs along the way. It clocks in at a thrifty 82 minutes. Rated R for the comic violence and F-bombs galore. But, interestingly, no sex or nudity. 

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Earth To Echo

 

Earth To Echo is the most derivative film I’ve seen in years. It has elements from The Goonies, E.T., Short Circuit, Stand By Me, Poltergeist, Blair Witch Project, The Matrix and District 9, among others. Those elements are crafted together in a film that can only be considered original if you’re a 10-year-old kid who hasn’t seen those aforementioned films.

This PG-rated family feature is perfect for the preteen and early teen crowd. Three boys are due to move from their homes in a Nevada subdivision to make way for a highway. On their last night together, they each tell their parents that they’ll be playing video games at another kid’s house and spending the night. Instead, the trio rides their bikes into the desert to see what’s up with these weird disturbances on their cell phones.

The three boys are Munch (Reese Hartwig), the cautious kid; Tuck (Brian “Astro” Bradley, resembling a full size Gary Coleman), who archives everything on video; and Alex (Teo Halm), the good-looking foster child. Halfway through their adventure, they are joined by Emma (Ella Wahlestedt) to get some girl power in the film.

Along the way they encounter the alien they name Echo who, like E.T., wants to go home. They take Echo under their wing and dash through an overnight adventure that eventually solves the mystery.

While E2E draws from other films, it has a contemporary look with much hand-held POV footage and the constant presence of smartphones. Directing a feature for the first time, Dave Green maintains a good tempo. The script by Henry Gayden manages to squeeze a good deal of plot—and character—into a 90-minute film.

Earth To Echo is a decent amusement for young kids. And for parents, it might be fun to see if you can come up with more movies—other than those listed up top—that the filmmakers have “borrowed” from to make E2E.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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