Number Rolled: 64
Movie Name/Year: Eden
(2014)
Tagline: Welcome
to paradise.
Genre: Drama,
Thriller
Length: 96
minutes
Rating: R
Production Companies:
Gobsmack, H&H Creative Ventures, Ombra Films, Perlapartment Pictures, Tiny
Giant Entertainment
Producer: Michael
Cardelle, Sanjay Chabra, Jaume Collet-Serra, Bruce DeWitt, Marie Lloyd Henson, Kalpana
Kutty, Sandeep Leyzell, Shyam Madiraju, Dawn Manning, Todd E. Miller, Jane
Oster, Nate Parker, Hernany Perla, Mohit Rastogi, Tarun Revoo, Abe Schwartz, Steve
Smith, Juan Sola, Jeffrey Summers, Zak Tanjeloff, Juan Villarreal, Amile Wilson,
Shobhna Yadav
Director: Shyam
Madiraju
Writer: Mark
Mavrothalasitis, Nate Parker
Actors: James
Remar, Mario Casas, Jessica Lowndes, Eugene Simon, Sung Kang, Diego Boneta,
Ethan Peck, Nate Parker, Rob Mayes, Joey Pollari, Matt Testro, Brad Schmidt,
Seth Michaels, Leore Hayon, Nicole Pedra, Eva Jenickova, Grant Alan Ouzts,
Michael Cardelle, Ryan Mulkay, Alejandro Cardenas
Stunts: William
Ong
Blurb from Netflix:
After their plane crashes, stranding them on a deserted island, the surviving
members of a soccer team break into factions and battle for dominance.
Selina’s Point of View:
I kind of enjoyed this film. I mean, it was pretty basic…
but I still liked it.
Eden didn’t break
any big expectations, and it certainly didn’t revolutionize anything, but it
held up to the recipe it was following.
For the most part, the acting was good. The script was believable.
The settings were even decent. Entertainment-wise, I wanted to watch. I was
highly annoyed when my internet went out at the 40-minute mark. I had nearly a twenty-minute
intermission due to it, but when the movie started up again, I found I still
fell right back into it.
There were some minor issues. One of the romance scenes
featured the most awkward kiss that I’ve seen in a long time. And, no, I don’t
believe it was supposed to be awkward. There was also a part where the camera
focused on someone swimming from above, and it was the most clearly faked
swimming I’ve ever seen. I get what the director was going for, but he had to
know it looked like crap.
Those are two examples of some scenes that made it into the
film that probably shouldn’t have. There were a few more, but mostly along
those lines. They didn’t affect the story.
I do think it’s important to note that Eden was Shyam Madiraju’s first full-length feature film direction.
With experience, he might have realized those scenes were expendable. He showed
some promise. A lot of his suspense scenes were on point.
In the end, all that really matters is whether or not the
film is entertaining. Over time, you forget small mistakes, but you don’t
forget when a movie captured your attention.
In this case, Eden
is a film I’ll remember as entertaining.
Cat’s Point of View:
I have to say that this movie wasn’t exactly what I was
expecting. To clarify, I fell into the trap of taking an initial impression for
the film based on one of the preview stills that rotates when you select an
expanded view of a film on Netflix. One of the images had me thinking that this
might just be a campy survival movie – I was wrong.
Sure, the film followed some pretty standard shipwreck
tropes – but it succeeded in avoiding the typical B-movie schlock.
Generally speaking, the movie was pretty intense in places
and I had a genuine sense of dread for the fate of the characters. I found I
was generally willing to suspend some significant disbelief on some aspects of
the plot, though there were areas where there could have been improvement. For
example, there were some environmental factors that were brought into play and
then never came to anything.
Surprisingly, this is the sole directorial credit for Shyam
Madiraju, whose only other IMDb listing is as Executive Producer for Cake (2014). With both listings taking
place in 2014, one almost wonders where he came from and where he went off to
after that busy year.
This movie was jam-packed with talent. I was happy to find
Sung Kang (Bullet to the Head, Pali Road,
Power) as the team trainer. With actors on board such as Diego Boneta (Underemployed, Summer Camp, Another You),
Ethan Peck (In Time, The Curse of
Sleeping Beauty, Tell Me How I Die), Rob Mayes (Melvin Smarty, The Client List, Different Flowers), and Nate Parker
(The Secret Life of Bees, They Die by
Dawn, The Birth of a Nation); the beefcake factor was definitely high. They
made sure it was clear that they were on screen for more than just shirtless
scenes, though.
I haven’t forgotten the girl-power amongst the cast. Jessica
Lowndes (Greek, Altitude, Abbatoir)
and the two actresses that played her character’s sister were integral to what
makes this film tick. There were a few spots that were a little off for me – it
was the story, however, and not the fault of the actors.
All told, the movie was pretty decent and I was definitely
entertained. I was invested in the plight of the characters and it successfully
made for some suspenseful tension. I wouldn’t mind watching it again, and not
to ogle, I promise!
Languages
Speech Available:
English
Subtitles Available:
English
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 24%
Metascore - 30/100
Metacritic User Score – 4/10
IMDB Score – 4.7/10
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating
– 3/5
Movie Trailer:
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