Archives for January 2011

Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan: The Movie Natalie Portman Couldn’t Save

Posted on January 31, 2011 Written by ripitup

Black Swan starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder & Ksenia Solo. Directed by Darren Aronofsky.

And this year’s most overrated movie award goes to….Black Swan. Well, maybe not even just this year’s. I think I need to give up on Darren Aronofsky’s films because after The Fountain, Requiem for a Dream and Black Swan, I’m quitting on this guy. Requiem for a Dream was just as bleak and depressing it was supposed to be. It was a hard thing to watch but at least it was engaging. I don’t think Black Swan and The Fountain were meant to be boring. Oh well.

There are many things wrong with Black Swan but let’s go over the plot first:

Nina Sayers (Natalie Portman) is a talented and dedicated ballet dancer. She lives with her controlling mother Erica (Barbara Hershey) and lives to get the dual role of Black Swan/White Swan in Swan Lake during the new season. Her teacher Thomas (Vincent Cassel) thinks she is perfect as White Swan but isn’t sure she can pull the evil twin off. After all, she is timid, sexually repressed and pale. But somehow she gets the part and as the show gets closer, she starts getting more anxious. She is also seeing stuff. And what’s up with the new hot student Lily (Mila Kunis) who seems to want to be “close friends”. Will Nina be able to perform without losing it?

I’ll admit to seeing Black Swan purely because I gave in to the hype. Rated 8.6 on IMDB? Nominated for 5 Oscars? Golden Globe for Natalie Portman? I thought maybe it might be worth the time. Trust me, it isn’t.

Black Swan is one of the most annoying and boring films I have seen. People see movies for many different reasons. Sometimes you want to get blown away with imagination. Inception does that. Sometimes you just want an interesting true story told in a compelling way. The Social Network kicks butt at that. And sometimes, all you need is pure, pop-corn entertainment and The Tourist gives you all the fluff you need in a pretty package. Or you just want a decent epic movie with all the costumes and acting and budget. This year we don’t have epic but we do have a period piece – King’s Speech.

Now, these reasons above are also my reasons for seeing movies. I want to have fun or be in awe or be inspired or a combination of these, if I’m lucky. But I always want an enjoyable story. I want an enjoyable soundtrack. And I want interesting characters. Black Swan offers none. And don’t get me started on the dialogue.

The movie is all about Nina’s uninteresting life. She was raised by an obsessive mother, seduced by a pervert of a teacher and well, she is not so normal herself. Nina is boring, so is her story. The problem is, this drama/thriller is not dramatic or thrilling. I think it could make a lovely dance show if told in 30-45 minutes. But as a movie? Doesn’t work. And frankly, I wish Ricky Gervais had made some jokes about this one at the Golden Globes too.

Oh well. The only times I had fun watching this was when I saw Lost Girl’s Kenzi- Ksenia Solo, cast as a bitch. And it was nice taking a peek at Winona Ryder. Being a 90s kid, she has nostalgic value. But these two aren’t enough to make the experience bearable.

Fun notes:

– Barbara Hershey dated Lost’s Sayid Naveen Andrews for 10 years. They broke up in 2009. She is 21 years older than Naveen.

– French actor Vincent Cassel is married to Italian babe of an actress Monica Belluci and both Vincent and Monica co-starred with English actor Clive Owen in separate films. Vincent Cassel played the baddie in the thriller/drama Derailed, and Monica Belluci starred in the highly fast and entertaining action film Shoot ‘Em Up.

– Vincent and Monica also starred in the extra-controversial film Irreversible together.

– Maybe I shouldn’t swear off Darren’s films just yet as he is directing in Hugh Jackman in the second Wolverine movie. If he makes Wolverine boring… Fingers crossed, he won’t.

Other Natalie Portman Movies:

Love and Other Impossible Pursuits: The Natalie Portman Movie We Aren’t Excited About

Coming Soon:Thor starring Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins & Natalie Portman

Overrated: Closer starring Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts & Jude Law

Preview: No Strings Attached starring Portman & Ashton Kutcher

Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Natalie Portman, Uma Thurman

Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway

Posted on January 29, 2011 Written by ripitup

Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway

1996. Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an attractive, charming and smart guy who uses all his brain cells to make more sales and have sex with as many women as possible. But when he screws his boss’s wife, he finds himself looking for a new job and with the help of his brother Josh (Josh Gad), he starts working as a drug rep. for Pfizer. With the help of his politically incorrect mentor Bruce (Oliver Platt) and his own skills, he is getting the hang of the job, while sleeping with even more women.

But then Jamie meets Maggie (Anne Hathaway) at a doctor (Hank Azaria)’s office and suddenly Jamie is only having sex with Maggie. And why not? She’s hot, independent and she is offering more booty calls than he can handle. But there are 2 problems: Maggie has Parkinson’s disease and the more time they spend together, the more Jamie gets to like her. But Maggie is resisting any commitment or emotional attachment. Even if Jamie can persuade her to be his girlfriend, can they make it work with her symptoms and fears?

The movie has a lot to tell. It has a love story, the launch of Viagra, Jamie’s career, his coming to terms with deeper sides of his personality, very talkative supporting characters who try to steal the scene, Maggie trying to fit in a relationship in her life….

Love and Other Drugs is a film with some original moments and many clichés. Well, telling a mixed genre of comedy/romance/drama is not easy.

But the way director/co-writer Edward Zwick (Legends of the Fall, Glory, The Last Samurai) started telling this story, I thought we were going to a get a Cameron Crowe (Elizabeth Town, Jerry Maguire) or Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) style film – sincere, refreshing & highly entertaining.

A little short of 2 hours, Love and Other Drugs could be edited more. It could also have a better dialogue. And a couple less superficial characters?

Edward Zwick’s film starts in the tradition of Cameron and Jason and then suddenly becomes…well, something different and less impressive. It has a nice soundtrack, though.

Some could argue that the movie tried to be show life as it is – politically incorrect, rude, awkward, competitive, sarcastic….But then I could argue it gives you just as many clichés as your average romantic comedy- just with much more nudity. Come on- the misunderstood, potentially great guy who was previously a womanizer only finding his true self through love. The girl resisting true romance because of her fears? Even the big chasing gesture…

This movie is not bad. It is just not as good as I expected. Its problem? It’s not funny enough and it is not romantic enough. It is just alright. 6.6 on IMDB.

Fun notes:

– Gabriel Macht plays competitive firm’s drug-rep.

– Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal hooked up on screen before in Brokeback Mountain, although Jake’s true love in the film was Heath Ledger.

– Hank Azaria had a recurring guest role on Friends as Phoebe’s scientist boyfriend.

Other posts on Jake Gyllenhaal

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan & Vera Farmiga

Jake Gyllenhaal Trivia

Donnie Darko starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore & Patrick Swayze

The Day After Tomorrow Starring Dennis Quaid & Jake Gyllenhaal

Preview: Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal & Anne Hathaway

Actors Born In Between 1980-1990 feat. Gyllenhaal

Other Posts on Anne Hathaway

Valentine’s Day starring Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway and More

Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl, Josh Duhamel & Josh Lucas

Posted on January 28, 2011 Written by ripitup

Life As We Know It starring Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel.

Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel) is a gorgeous, fun-loving guy who works as a technical director at a broadcast network. And he just loves women way too much to commit to any one of them.

Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) owns and runs her own pastry shop where she cooks everything herself. She is much more emotional and romantic compared to Messer. And the only thing these two have in common are mutual best friends Alison and Peter (Christina Hendricks and Hayes MacArthur), who are in a serious relationship and they think it was a good idea for Eric and Holly to meet and hook up.

Unfortunately, Eric and Holly detest each other and can’t even complete one date. Both would be glad to never see the other one again but Alison and Peter get married and start a family- the big house and a kid named Sophie included. Of course being their best friends, Eric and Holly spend a lot more time together than they would like- being Sophie’s godparents and all.

But when both Alison and Peter die in a car crash, not liking each other becomes the least of their problems. Messer and Holly find out that they were picked as Sophie’s guardians. While neither is sure they can handle it, it looks like they’re Sophie’s best option. So this is where the story really begins- when they move in to their friends’ house and try to adjust their lives – work and private- around Sophie. Of course they need to convince themselves and the social worker (Sarah Burns) that they can handle it.. Throw in Messer being a chick magnet and the handsome doctor Sam (Josh Lucas) interested in Holly and their lives as they know it had never been so complicated…

I wasn’t looking forward to see Life As We Know It at first. I thought it was going to be annoying mushy and predictable. And while it was predictable, it was never annoying. It was a bittersweet, emotional film that focused more on how the unlikely “parents” tried, and then learned to be parents than the relationship between the two leads. Sure, there will be romance at some point. But come on- you know that you don’t cast Josh Duhamel and Katherine Heigl as the two leads and not make their characters hook up.

But the best part of the film is that it tells a familiar tale in such a fun and sincere way that it makes it really easy to identify with Holly and Messer as they try their best to take care of Sophie, find a way to get along and cope with their friends’ deaths.

And if you have a problem with Heigl’s comedic abilities, worry not. While there are funny moments, this is not exactly a comedic role.

Lovely film. It won’t change your life. It won’t impress you much. But it really might put a smile on your face.

Directed by Greg Berlanti. Written by Ian Deitchman & Kristin Rusk Robinson. Currently rated at 6 on IMDB.

Fun notes:

– Sophie is played by real life triplet sisters Alexis, Brynn & Brooke Clagett.
– Sarah Burns once again co-stars in a neurotic role. You might remember her as Rashida Jones’ best friend who totally freaked Jason Segel out in the comedy I Love You, Man.

Favorite Scene:

Right before and during the baby’s first steps. Messer and Holly’s reactions are hilarious and so is the baby.

Other Posts feat. Josh Duhamel

When in Rome starring Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel

Celebrities That Look Alike feat. Josh Duhamel, Timothy Olyphant, Ethan Hawke, Antonio Banderas &more

22 Tall Actors from Hollywood feat. Josh Duhamel, Paul Walker, Keanu Reeves, Gerard Butler& More

Other Posts feat. Katherine Heigl

Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and Tom Selleck

The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler

The Accidental Husband and Denny Duquette: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

3 TV Series About Aliens: Roswell, 3rd Rock From The Sun and V (2009)

Tall Actresses: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Katherine Heigl, Sigourney Weaver and Uma Thurman

Drive Angry 3D starring Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner & Billy Burke

Posted on January 26, 2011 Written by ripitup

Drive Angry 3D starring Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner & Billy Burke. Image via moviepostershop.com

Milton (Nicolas Cage) is angry enough to be able to break out of hell – or drive out of it, to be exact. After all, a vicious cult led by Jonah (Billy Burke – Bella’s father from Twilight series, the attorney from The Closer’s Power of Attorney episode) killed Milton’s daughter and now they have taken his granddaughter to kill her as well. Of course the Devil’s “Accountant” (William Fichtner) is not happy about Milton’s escape and goes after him. But Milton is determined not to stop at anything and with the help of the fearless and gorgeous Piper (Amber Heard), he just might accomplish his mission…

Written by Todd Farmer and Patrick Lussier. Directed by Patrick Lussier.

Drive Angry is shot in 3D and I really can’t wait to see it. Granted, it is not going to be deep or very original but I love revenge flicks filled with action and I really like Nicolas Cage – especially in action films. After all, he gave us The Rock, Face/Off, Lord of War, Con Air and more.

The movie also guarantees huge grins with its funny one-liners. My favorites:

The Accountant: (to one of the teenagers) I won’t see you again until you are 73. (to the other): You, I’ll see in 3 months.

The Accountant: Wouldn’t want to be you when Satan finds out.

Milton: (coolly) What’s he gonna do? Not let me back in?

Expectation: Very harmless, very entertaining, cliché-filled yet satisfactory rockin’ action. Hope it delivers. Coming to US in February, 25^th.

The Trailer:

Other Nicolas Cage Movies and Posts

Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage

Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto

Nicolas Cage Trivia

Moonstruck starring Nicolas Cage and Cher

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice starring Nicholas Cage, Monica Belluci, Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer