Archives for February 2010

Down in the Valley starring Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood

Posted on February 28, 2010 Written by ripitup

Down in the Valley with Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood. Interesting romance/drama/western/thriller.

Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) is living with her sister and father. Her brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin) is quiet and a bit too dependent on her for his age. Their father Wade (David Morse) seems less than loving and she is the typical problematic teenager. She smokes, takes drugs and doesn’t mind inviting the cute southern cowboy wannabe Harlan (Edward Norton) to the beach. She doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that she just met him or he is older than her.

At first it is a fun, contemporary whirlwind romance: hooking up right away, getting romantic, having a quickie and dating afterwards. Harlan seems really nice, Lonnie likes him and the only problem seems to be that Wade hates this guy. As the story progresses, we start to realize maybe Harlan has more problems than wishing he lived in a western. But ordering a teenager not to see her boyfriend never works. Especially when Harlan treats them a lot better than Wade…

Down in the Valley is an interesting film. It has some pretty intriguing characters, a fun plot idea, good scenery and nice music.

But the director really takes his time to tell the story. Sometimes the movie feels a bit slow. It It has some really decent moments. Don’t think of it as a thriller. It has some action, but if you consider at a romance, the little action will please you rather than disappoint. Enjoy the scenery and the music. Written and directed by David Jacobson, 2005.

Why watch?

1) Anyone who has seen David Morse, Evan Rachel Wood or Edward Norton before in a film know that they are never bad.

2) I have loved Morse ever since he co-starred in House in season 3, as the only guy who seemed smart enough to really give House hell. It was brilliant to see our pill-popping, brilliant yet unconventional doctor had finally met his match-in a cop-who was out to get him.

3) Edward Norton doesn’t have one bad movie in his career. Some might be boring or not my cup of tea, but bad isn’t his thing.

4) Evan Rachel Wood is so beautiful and natural, she just fits the role perfectly.

5) If the plot summary I gave you didn’t make you think the movie was original, it was because I was trying to refrain from giving spoilers. What happens- especially after the second half- is well….Harlan is full of surprises and they are not good ones.

6) Rory Culkin (I am guessing you remember his brother Macaulay) is really good.

Its 6.6 IMDB rating seems fair. Although sometimes it might act like a 7…

All Movies with Edward Norton:

Leaves of Grass

Kingdom of Heaven

25th Hour

Fight Club

The Illusionist

The Painted Veil

American History X

Primal Fear

The Incredible Hulk

Death to Smoochy

Posts featuring Evan Rachel Wood

Life Before Her Eyes starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood

33 Actors From My Generation: Actors Born Between 1980-1990

Bizzare Celebrity Couplings featuring Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel

Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher: The Book Review

Posted on February 27, 2010 Written by ripitup

image via http://ebooks-imgs.connect.com/ebooks

Teri Hatcher plays Susan Mayer in Desperate Housewives and Susan is my favorite among them all. Sure, there are thing I can relate in most of the women there but Susan is the one that I identify them most. OK, so I’d have kicked Carl’s ass a long time ago and I’m not that big on kids, but personality-wise we have a lot in common. (I’d love to say looks too, but the woman is fitter at 45 than I am at 25 so…) Susan seems so natural, it is impossible to imagine that there is not anything from Teri herself in her. Both Susan and the show are extremely entertaining but the show started in 2004, and I already knew about and liked Teri before that.

I liked watching “Lois & Clark: The new adventures of Superman”. I love Superman (it is a habit from Christopher Reeve days) and the show was fun enough. She also played in Tango and Cash, alongside Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. A funny cop movie where she plays Stallone’s dancer sister. She is pretty and fun to watch. But I never really followed Hatcher after Superman. She wasn’t in anything I had seen and it was like she had fallen from the face of the earth. Apparently she had, a little bit.

The book:

It is hard to believe that Teri Hatcher is single. It is even harder to believe that she is approaching 46. But most importantly, I find it really odd that she chose to stay away from spotlight. She got married, got a kid and decided to be a full-time mom. She had money, the husband and the baby, so why shouldn’t she? But of course things didn’t go as planned. She got a divorce and money started to melt away. So she had to go back to acting and take care of her daughter.

Burn Toast is about her journey in life: how she ended up an actress, what she learned and what she got through. She talks sincerely about her life, career, kid and relationships. It is a fast and easy read and the book shows a lot of times that there are in fact a lot of smilarities between Teri and Susan.

It isn’t really a self-help book. It is about one particular journey that a lot of people (obviously, especially women) can identify with. It will surely be more interesting for aspiring actresses, single moms and/or Teri Hatcher fans.

It is light and true to heart. I enjoyed it.

American History X starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong

Posted on February 27, 2010 Written by ripitup

American History X starring Edward Norton and Edward Furlong

Neo-nazi gang leader Derek Vinyard (Edward Norton) kills two armed black guys that try to steal his truck. This gets him 3 years in prison.

Derek’s younger brother Danny (Edward Furlong) is fascinated by his brother and proudly following in his footsteps. His Nazi-praising history project lands him in trouble with headmaster Sweeney, who tells him to prepare another project -on his brother- for the next day. Danny thinks this project is his only problem but to his biggest surprise, Derek has gotten out of the prison as a different man. Not only he no longer believes in the neo-nazi ideology, he also doesn’t want Danny to hang with his old gang and crowd. What happened to Derek? How did the angry, frustrated young guy who put his family through hell because of his beliefs turn into this open-minded, loving guy regretting his mistakes? And will he really be able to keep his brother away from his past?

This 1998 drama is one of the most powerful movies I have seen. It has a 8.6 on IMDB and I think it deserves every bit of it. Edward Norton was nominated for a best actor Oscar and it really puzzles me that he didn’t get it. Every cast member does a wonderful job but the heavy-lifting is on the shoulders of Norton and Furlong. Some argue that the movie could have been more subtle. Well, the movie really is in your face. It doesn’t go easy on you and it doesn’t give a damn about your comfort. But this is a strength for the movie, not a weakness. It deals with racism, crime, street gangs, family, love, hatred, faith, hope, rage…It just wouldn’t do the movie any favors to be subtle.

It was directed by Tony Kaye and written by David McKenna. Roberto Benigni won Best Actor for La Vita é bella. Good film and good performance, but I find American Histroy X to be better. Not that I believe in the academy anymore. I mean why wouldn’t someone nominate Mel Gibson for best actor in Braveheart?

Anyway. What I am saying is American History X is a must-see. It is like a shock in the system, told powerfully and impressively.

photo: rise-worldwide.com

American History X with Edward Norton — Notice the change in Derek? (Norton) Movie tells his racist period in black and white, whereas his reformed version is told in color. Perfect choice by director Tony Kaye. Photo: itusozluk.com

Enjoy the trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXaZENPQrsw[/pro-player]

The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth & William Hurt: Updated

Posted on February 26, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Incredible hulk with edward norton and liv tyler — The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler

The Incredible Hulk movie poster via harleycordelllane.com

I avoided the Hulk movies for so long. As a kid, I adored its cartoons but even with the effects of the 21st century, I still didn’t find the computer effects impressive when it came to creating our green “monster”. Even though I love both Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly, I didn’t watch the first one. But after having liked the second one with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, I decided to give Ang Lee’s version a shot. It was also quite interesting that one was rated 5.7 and the second one is a 7.1. Isn’t it usually the other way around?

I don’t think there is another case of making a second movie, 5 years after the first, with a different leading actor and actress for the same characters. If the first one was a disappointment, how did they know for sure the second one would work? Why did they let Ang Lee direct Hulk in the first place? I mean he is a good director but directing a comic book adaptation with a big budget? The guy followed Hulk with Brokeback Mountain for heaven’s sake! Well, I did see Hulk and I am not impressed. Don’t see it if you can help it. It is like a cartoon, with people thrown in. Not good. So even the 5.7 IMDB user rating seems too generous to me. Yes, I don’t really take any rating too seriously, but sometimes it an give you an idea of what others think.

Back to the 2008’s The Incredible Hulk:

It is good entertainment. The cast is pretty marvelous. Edward Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth just fit their roles perfectly. Liv Tyler still has that innocently sexy look we are used to from Aerosmith’s Crazy video. The effects are OK, I still wish it had a bigger budget, though. I wish The Hulk had a 100 million dollars more. Look at Avatar. No decent plot, but hey the effects are amazing!

I think The Incredible Hulk is better than your average comic book movie. We travel a lot, we feel Bruce’s pain, root for Bruce and Elizabeth to get together and despise the general (William Hurt).

Sure, the good guys are purely evil and the bad are purely bad (with the exception of the general, he loves his gray areas) but hey, this script isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, so we accept the clichés. After all, it is Edward Norton who feeds them to us;)

The plot? Oh, yeah- that:

Bruce Banner (Norton) is the most crucial target for the US army. He is the “victim” of a gamma ray experiment which resulted in him in turning into the “Hulk” – a green, gigantic creature with some temper. He can’t avoid the transformation that happens when he gets too excited or angry.

This has caused him to escape from the country, having left his beloved girlfriend Elizabeth Ross (Liv Tyler) behind. He resides and works in Brazil, away from anything that might trigger the transformation while seeking the cure his condition forever. But when the army finds him, he has no choice but to go back. Ross will help him no matter what, defying her father the general. But as the general will soon realize, he might have created a threat that’s far more “inconvenient” than Hulk…

7/10 from me.

Enjoy the trailer.

***

Fun Note: Our Hulks keep changing. We switched to Norton from Bana, and now we have Mark Ruffalo instead of Norton in 2012’s The Avengers- featuring an ensemble cast, with ensemble heroes. The movie is written and directed by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy. The stars include Iron Man Robert Downey Jr., Captain America Chris Evans, Thor Chris Hemsworth and more.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7a5LcTckfg[/pro-player]

Here is more on Edward Norton and his movies:

Death to Smoochy

Kingdom of Heaven

Pride and Glory