Archives for July 2011

Mr. Sunshine starring Matthew Perry, Andrea Anders, James Lesure & Alison Janney

Posted on July 27, 2011 Written by ripitup

Mr. Sunshine starring Matthew Perry. Not always laugh-out-loud, but original, quirky and helluva lot of fun! Image via winkcity.blogspot.com

Ben Donovan’s (Matthew Perry) is managing The Sunshine Center, a popular venue that welcomes over 17.000 guests for important events such as sports games, concerts, the circus and more. While the 40-year-old Ben has his issues (he is a self-centered guy with commitment issues), he is practically the sanest person working there. His boss, Crystal (Allison Janney) is a nut job who barely has had a decent conversation with her adult son. She hires him to connect with him, but as Ben soon realizes, the guy has no skills. Then there is his ex friends-with- benefits Alice (Andrea Anders) who prefers Ben’s colleague (James Lesure, Las Vegas’ Mike) over him. As episodes progress, we get to see the competitive and shallow sides of the couple. Oh, and Ben’s assistant Heather (Portia Doubleday) is rumored to have set a guy on fire…

Mr. Sunshine is a lovely comedy/drama with the ever charming and entertaining Matthew Perry. His Ben is a very easy character to rela3te to, and you feel for him as he does in fact seem to be the only person getting real work done. He handles Crystal and her requests, and pulls the big events off. While his work mates are nutty, they are likable and well….what office isn’t full of nutty characters?

Ben is less depressing than Matthew’s previous TV show character Matt (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). While it was a solid drama that I was sorry to let go, Mr. Sunshine is a lot lighter and it concentrates on the comedy rather than the drama. Mr. Sunshine show isn’t always hilarious and I don’t think the creators (Matthew Perry being one of them) never intended to give you stomach cramps from laughing. It is good entertainment with interesting characters. Let’s hope Mr. Sunshine gets more seasons. Even though Chandler will always be my favorite (and to me, the funniest) Matthew Perry character, it is always a pleasure watching him on screen.

Some Favorite lines:

Episode 1:

It is awkward since Alice dumped Ben (Matthew Perry) to be with Alonzo (James Lesure). Ben and Alonzo are walking, and Alonzo sees the elephant the circus is currently missing.

Alonzo: (seeing the elephant) Alfonso: There´s an elephant in the room

Ben: (taking it metaphorically): Yeah.

Alonzo: No, really.

Ben: What do you do in a situation like this?

Alfonso: I´m gonna run for my life.

Ben: Yeah that sounds good.

Episode 2:

Alice and Ben run across each other and compare their lowest moments:

Alice: I just stole frisbees from blind children

Ben: I just got a hot teenager’s phone number

Then they both look down and go their separate ways.

Fun notes:

Andrea Anders co-starred in Joey, the Friends spin-off. She starred opposite Matt LeBlanc.
James Lesure and Matthew Perry co-starred in the drama Studio Sunset on the Sunset Strip.

Also on Matthew Perry

The Ron Clark Story starring Matthew Perry

17 Again starring Zac Efron, Matthew Perry, Michelle Trachtenberg and Leslie Mann

Numb starring Matthew Perry

Hollwood Stars in Friends

A Dangerous Method Preview: Starring Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley & Michael Fassbender

Posted on July 22, 2011 Written by ripitup

A Dangerous Method starring Viggo Mortensen, Keira Knightley & Michael Fassbender. Image via cinema.com

You’ve got to love David Cronenberg. Granted, not all of his movies might be up your alley- but there’re bound to be some films Cronenberg’s you just couldn’t resist. I didn’t watch his earlier work like The Fly. And I didn’t really like much about Existenz. But Crash (starring James Spader) and Spider (starring Ralph Fiennes) are on my to-watch list, and I absolutely loved A History of Violence (starring Viggo Mortensen). And while Eastern Promises (also starring Mortensen) failed to be just as compelling and hard-hitting, it was not a mediocre experience. Now Cronenberg is back, with a really fun cast and a very tempting plot:

A Dangerous Method depicts the relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender) and Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and how their great minds don’t always work alike-especially when one of them starts sleeping with a patient. It just looks too delicious to pass up- and we even have Vincent Cassel as a bonus.

Based on the book by John Kerr (A Most Dangerous Method) and the play by Christopher Hampton (The Talking Cure). Adapted by Christopher Hampton. Coming to the theaters in September.

The Trailer:

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

Also on Keira Knightley:

Last Night starring Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington, Eva Mendes & Guillaume Canet

London Boulevard starring Colin Farrell & Keira Knightley

Keira Knightley Trivia: Facts About the Oscar-Nominated Star of Pride and Prejudice

Also on Michael Fassbender:

Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska & Michael Fassbender

The Awesome X-Men: First Class with James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon & Rose Byrne

Also on Vincent Cassel:

Derailed starring Jennifer Aniston, Clive Owen & Vincent Cassel

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

Leaving starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Yvan Attal & Sergi Lopez

Posted on July 17, 2011 Written by ripitup

Leaving starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Yvan Attal & Sergi López. Despite its characters, a strangely watchable film. Image via sinemag.com

Leaving Plot Summary: (Original Name: Partir)

Suzanne (Kristin Scott Thomas) is an English woman who has lived in France for a very long time. She has married the French doctor Samuel (Yvan Attal), left her profession (reflexology), had two kids and lived a suburban life.

When she decides to go back to work many years later, her husband agrees to build her an office in their house. They hire a small team of workers, and Suzanne gets along especially well with the originally Spanish Ivan (Sergi López). When circumstances, and their mutual easy-going nature, make them spend time together, an affair inevitably pursues. But when Suzanne realizes that she loves Ivan enough to leave her husband, she definitely wasn’t prepared for his reaction.

The bad thing about leaving your popular and well-connected husband for a penniless ex-con is that he can make sure you suffer from poverty. Suzanne is determined to win this war, but can a war like this have any winners at all?

Cons

Did my plot summary sound a tad dramatic? Well, the movie is a drama. Well, it is a romantic drama to be exact, but it is dramatic parts are more effective, as unfortunately for the most part, the romance was lost on me. Here is why:

1) The Other Guy is So Not Sexy! : I don’t want to sound superficial here but I can’t for the life of me can’t see what she saw in Ivan. Yes, as it turned out he was a really nice guy (well, apart from being an ex-con and having no problems sleeping with a married woman), but we didn’t really know that until after she left her husband to be with him.

Fun Note:

I just read this cruel review on Larry Crowne where the reviewer called it a painful experience watching an older Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks. While Tom Hanks was never especially cute, his Larry Crowne self is still a lot more appealing than Ivan. And that is saying something.

2) The Lover Won’ t Be A ” Lover” for Decades!: Give Ivan 20 years of marriage and we’ll see if he is that sexually and emotionally intense afterwards. Yes, her husband seemed like a tool but really, has she lived with Ivan for 20 years?

3) Cheating is not romantic! I am a romantic who is intrinsically against cheating. I am more of a leave- your-spouse-first-and have-sex-with-somebody-else later kinda gal.

Still, I have been known to suck it up when the lover was awesome and the husband was an jerk. For instance? Revenge with Kevin Costner.

However, here, the lover was anything but awesome. He wasn’t even remotely intriguing. Or sexy. Or …anything.

4) The Protagonist Can Give Feminists a Heart Attack! People gave Twilight hell because they thought the female protagonist was just against everything feminism stood for. Bascially, they were judging a17-year-old character for falling for a pretty rich & handsome dude who will live forever, and who will always be hot? Who will risk his life to save her? Hell, she might be emotionally dependent on the guy, but it is not like she stayed at home for 20 years, didn’t make or save a penny on her own, jumped the bones of the first non-attractive stranger, and left her obsessed husband to be with this stranger?

If we are talking anti-feminist, you need to condemn Suzanne way before Bella.

5) 3 Stupid Characters: Oh, and the characters are beyond weird and stupid. No one in the film seems to possess half a brain cell.

Why the hell did I enjoy watching it, then?

Because despite all its cons, the movie is entirely watchable. You gotta hand it to the director who shot a movie in French, evolving around weird characters. And you have to slap the actors on the back who make you curious even though you don’t respect/admire/like any of the characters!

Leaving has interesting scenery, an an OK pace. It is currently rated 6.3 on IMDB, and it has a lot to do with Scott’s terrific acting and charm along with the director’s.

Should you Watch It?

I won’t lie to you. The movie is not to be watched for eye-candy, or a sexy love story. It is more about the lengths a husband will go to make his wife’s and her lover’s lives miserable, and the incredulous lengths the wife will go to defy him, and secure her lover’s freedom.

Watch it at your own peril. You might very well hate or enjoy the experience. But all you want is a passionate love/sex story with pretty (or at least prettier) leads, you might want to see:

The English Patient. This movie is incredible. It has a beautifully told story where we get love, sex, passion, obsession, infatuation, war, compassion, betrayal and immense loyalty all at the same time. The movie has 9 Oscars, the man being cheated on is Colin Firth, the cheater is a much younger Kristin Scott Thomas and the other man is the highly charismatic and intense Ralph Fiennes.

Revenge. The cheaters are Kevin Costner and Madeleine Stowe. The husband is Anthony Quinn. The director is Tony Scott. Aren’t you curious already? From 1990.

The Scarlet Letter. In all defense, Demi Moore thinks her husband is dead when she was sleeping with Gary Oldman. Their problem was that it was the 17th century, the dude was a psycho and Gary Oldman was a reverend…

Verdict:

Watchable and likable, but not likely to leave a lasting impression, other than how stupid all the main characters were.

P.S. If you really want to watch a French movie where Kristin Scott Thomas is brilliant and the story is truly heart-breaking, watch I’ve loved you for so long. If you want a movie about cheating where you will lust after and/or empathize with the leads, watch one of the 3 movies above.

Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska & Michael Fassbender

Posted on July 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

Jane Eyre starring Michael Fassbender, Mia Wasikowska, Jamie Bell & Judi Dench. Image via daemonsmovies.com

Plot Summary

Jane Eyre (Mia Wasikowska) has been brought up in a hostile, unloving environment, only to be sent to a even worse “charitable” school where she is treated very badly. She loses her only friend and lives a loveless life until she leaves the school for a governess position at 19.

She is to teach a young French girl at a house owned by Mr. Rochester, who is rarely ever home. She is happier here, even though she wishes for a more exciting life. And her life does get more exciting with the appearance of her boss Mr. Rochester. (Michael Fassbender)

Mr. Rochester is mysterious, unpredictable, charismatic and challenging. Yet he finds his match in Jane, who is quite clever, quick to retort and can give unique perspectives on everything. A bond forms between them, a bond that is filled with chemistry and attraction. Yet Jane is sure Rochester would rather marry a prettier girl with a different background. However Rochester is his own man, and he would rather follow his heart than conform to society.

But when Rochester’s secret comes out, will Jane be able to follow her heart, rejecting her own beliefs?

My Thoughts

Jane Eyre is a deliciously dark romantic/drama, staying true to the spirit of Brontë sisters. Jane Eyre is yet another adaptation of the famous novel (Jane Eyre), written by Charlotte Brontë.

Sure, at times it is slow and depressing. But the slow and depressing moments help us understand Jane, feel for and get in the mood of the film. Some parts at the Rochester house feels like we are in some gothic thriller, and a part of me wished this had been a looser adaptation where Rochester’s secret could be more supernatural.

I also wish some scenes were more intense. It is rated PG-13, and I wish it had pushed the limits a little further. The movie stayed true to Charlotte Brontë, and the spirit of period movies. Yet I believe that the mood set could make up for more daring scenes- and t could have been done without really betraying the book or the PG-13 limits.

Apart from the occasional slowness and the “romantic” limitations between the characters, I loved the movie. I have nothing against the current 7.8 user rating on IMDB. However, I rated it a 7. I need to be honest with you, as much as I loved the film, Michael Fassbender’s acting has a lot to do with it. I don’t think it would have been the same with another actor.

To me, Fassbender (Eric/Magneto from X-Men First Class) brings a raw intensity to his emotional scenes –in a similar fashion with the English actor Ralph Fiennes. Just as Fiennes was perfect as Heathcliff of Wuthering Heights, Fassbender is the right Rochester.

Should you see it?

Unless you have something against well-done period romantic dramas, you SHOULD NOT MISS this version. But I believe that men who don’t have a soft spot for classic romantic literature, and men who need to see an alluring actress in the leading role should so stay away from this film. After all, Jane is as plain as they come, with a ridiculous (albeit historically appropriate) hairstyle.

Trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8PLpXvhtlc[/pro-player]

Cast Notes:

– Mia Wasikowska did a wonderful job in the Oscar-nominated 2010 drama/comedy The Kids Are All Right. She played the teenage daughter of the lesbian couple, portrayed by Annette Bening & Julianne Moore. She also played Alice in Tim Burton’s 2010 version of Alice in Wonderland.

– English actor Jamie Bell, who you might remember from Jumper and Billy Elliott, plays St John – the young man who finds Jane Eyre in the beginning of the movie.

– In the upcoming period drama/thriller A Dangerous Method, Michael Fassbender plays Carl Jung- whose relationship with Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) doesn’t go smoothly when Jung starts being romantically involved with his patient (Keira Knightley).

– Veteran actress Judi Dench plays the housekeeper in Jane Eyre.