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The Woodlanders: A Gorgeous Rufus Sewell in an Awful Movie

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Rufus Sewell in The Woodlanders
Rufus Sewell in The Woodlanders.

What? I am not going to like ever movie just because Rufus is there. If you want to see good, entertaining Rufus films, check out:

 

  • Dark City– Rufus Sewell stars with Jennifer Connelly and William Hurt. From Alex Proyas, director of another brilliant (if not better) cult film The Crow

 

 

  • Dangerous Beauty:Beautiful, romantic period drama, set in Venice. Starring Catherine McCormack and Rufus, with Oliver Platt, Jacqueline Bisset, Seymour and Naomi Watts as bonusses.

 

 There are of course more good Rufus films, but the ones above happen to my favorites. Having  that gotten out of the way, here’s the plot of The Woodlanders (which will probably let you know why I didn’t like the movie):

 Giles (Rufus Sewell) and Grace were childhood seethearts. They grew up together and being the nice and honest guy that Gile is, her father did approve of their love. But when Grace comes back home as an educated young woman, her father thinks she can and should do better than a woodsman. This breaks Giles’ heart but he can’t do anything abo?ut it, since Grace doesn’t seem merely bothered by her dad’s decision. In fact, she is enjoying the charms and the attention she is getting from a doctor. She marries him but as it turns out, her husband isn’t all that great and well, she still loves Giles…

OK. Pros and cons. Cons first:

Cons

1)      Everything about the plot. Never mind having been told the same story over and over again, there is nothing fun or allutring in the way it was told. Parent wants better for daughter, ending up preventing her happiness. Yeah, yeah…

2)      The actors. Yes, Rufus can act and he does. But the leading actress is playing Grace is so plain, boring and unattractive. Frankly, Ugly Betty would have made a better Grace, as Ugly Betty (I don’t even mean the real life version of America Ferrara). At least she has principles and a brain and character! It is not even if she chose money- he is just a doctor. Not a rich fellow, and an ugly one at that. And there you have Giles. Gorgeous and nice. Well, one flaw of Giles: he couldn’t get over Grace. How can you not get over Grace??? She isnt pretty, nice or intelligent. Well, I am guessing unhappiness serves Giles right- for being such an idiot.

the woodlanders with rufus sewell
Rufus Sewell wastes his talent in a bad movie. It is based on a book and I am betting the book is a hundred times better. But it is of course worth watching for Rufus fans (at least the scenes with him). Look at the guy, for goodness' sake!

 3)      The ending. Oh please…I wasn’t asking for a “let’s ride towards the sunset” type of ending but this is even worse.  

Pro:

 1)      Rufus Sewell is really pretty here. I mean he is so pretty, he would still be the pretty one even if they had cast a beautful actress as Grace.

 …..

That is it. Eye candy for Rufus fans. Why do you think I watched the movie despite the plot (though the fast forward button came in handy)? Come on, that doesn’t make me any more superficial than guys who watch Megan Fox for her “acting”.

 3/10 for the movie

10/10 for Rufus youth and beauty

1/10 for the rest of the way the cast looks

6.4 on IMDB, but then again only 234 people have voted. I ain’t gonna vote. I can’t do that to dear Mr. Sewell…

IMDB: Never mind. Not many have voted anyway.

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Copying Beethoven starring Ed Harris, Diane Kruger and Matthew Goode

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Copying Beethoven with Ed Harris and Diane Kruger
Copying Beethoven with Ed Harris and Diane Kruger. Mixed feelings, all over. Not just in me, but in the characters too. Matthew Goode is playing probably the only sane character in the film.

This is one strange movie. I don’t know how I actually feel about it. In fact I am not sure whether I liked it or not. I can’t even guarantee that you will like the movie if you are a Beethoven fan. Here’s the plot:

Beethoven (Ed Harris) needs a good copyist so his helper has asked for the best music student to copy Beethoven’s notes. He is appalled to find out that the student sent is a young woman -Anna Holtz (Diane Kruger). Despite his and Beethoven’s prejudices, Anna is determined that she is indeed the best student and she will try her best to gain Beethoven’s trust and put up with his idiosyncrasies. It isn’t easy, since he can be gentle or mean and she can never know what he will be in the mood for.But albeit complicated, their relationship becomes stronger in time.

Favorite Scene:

The concert premiere, where Anna helps Beethoven leads the orchestra, since his hearing difficulty is making it difficult to lead on his own- both Diane Kruger and Ed Harris are wonderful in this scene and the music is well..amazing. Even if you are not into classical music…

Favorite line:

Ludwig van Beethoven: I’m a very difficult person, Anna Holtz, but I take comfort in the fact that God made me that way.
(from imdb.com)

Performances:

* Diane Kruger is good. Matthew Goode plays her romantic interest and he is lovely. Another supporting actor is Joe Anderson- he plays Beethoven’s nephew. He is good at reflecting the differences between him and his famous uncle. They are all pretty OK. But Ed Harris is just so brilliant and so unrecognizable. Why he wasn’t nominated for another leading actor Oscar is beyond me. Maybe the academy is planning to give him the freaking award the next time he is nominated- he has been nominated for 4 times already! (Twice for leading, twice for supporting actor)

As a movie:

It is rather about the music, the man and the girl’s determination. Nothing much really happens so do not get into it expecting lots of events or interesting dialogue. But…if you are an Ed Harris fan, do not miss it.

Fact:

6.8 on IMDB, voted by over 4.600 people. What is interesting is that the movie’s discussion board has like 15 pages so a lot of people have reacted to this film. I am still not sure what to make of the film, but I am positive that I now have even a higher level of respect for Harris.

Other Ed Harris Movies

Swing Shift starring Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell & Ed Harris

A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris & Paul Bettany

Other Diane Kruger Movies

Wicker Park starring Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne & Matthew Lillard

The Hunting Party starring Richard Gere, Jesse Eisenberg & Terrence Howard. Feat. Kruger


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City by the Sea starring Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco

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City by the Sea with Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco
City by the Sea with Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco. Gripping, emotional, intense. Just the way we like to get from De Niro. Plus, James Franco is really good too.

Police Dedective Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro) has had walked out on his wife and eventually his son Joey (James Franco) and moved away from Long Beach. He is happy hanging with his girlfriend Michelle (Frances McDormand) and just doing his job.

Meanwhile, his estranged son has turned into a junkie and killed a drug dealer in a fight. With his son’s name as the head suspect, Vincent’s other past secrets will resurface and he will have to deal with everything he has run away from. Things are not what they seem and his girlfriend might just regret she ever wanted him to open up…

***

Need I say De Niro is great as the estranged father with a troubled past? His character Vincent has flaws he is not proud of but he has done a good job of avoiding them so far.

James Franco is really good as the bright-boy-turned-junkie. The movie is really good asking some troubling moral questions and dealing with the relationships between the characters.

City by the Sea is by no means a thriller. It is a slow-paced, strong drama with characters you care about. It makes you react to events and question motives and reasons. Expecting action sequences will only disappoint you. This is a fine drama which should especially be seen by Robert De Niro and James Franco fans.

6.1 on imdb. It deserves something over 7, at the very least. Hell, 10/10 for Robert’s acting and presence alone. Let me know what you think.

*

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In a Savage Land with Rufus Sewell

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Rufus Sewell in a Savage Land
Rufus Sewell in a Savage Land. Simply Beautiful.

Evelyn (Maya Stange) is an independent, modern young woman. She marries her anthropology professor and together they go to an island in Papua New Guinea for a field research that will last about a year. There are some other white people on the island – some missionaries and a pearl trader named Mick Carpenter (Rufus Sewell), who seems pretty sure the newlyweds won’t last in this savage land.

Rufus Sewell plays Mick Carpenter in In a Savage Land. I don't think Evelyn's husband would stand a chance even if he wasn't a jerk. Do you?

Her husband (Martin Donovan) Philip is an ambitious man who believes in the novelty of their mission. He also tends to see his wife as his assistant, rather than another fellow anthropologist.

However, Evelyn has no intentions of backing down- she conducts her own research and makes her own connections with the natives. This causes trouble in their marriage and the natives seem to like Evelyn much more than her husband.

Mick is amused by Philips’s self-righteousness and impressed by Evelyn’s determinations and independence. Mick also happens to be complete opposite of her husband in every possible away and Evelyn might be more intrigued by this handsome trader than she should be…

And let’s not forget the time is pre-Word War II…

It is the perfect epic story. The love story is passionate, emotional, exciting but never over-the-top or cheesy. It is never disguised as a twist or something. The poster features Rufus Sewell and Maya Stange together and as soon as the movie starts, Evelyn talks about pearls and meeting another man…

Pros:

– You have the well-structured conflicts.

– Beautiful scenery

– A great love story

– Good actors. Both Maya Stange and Rufus Sewell are amazing.

Cons:

– Much shorter than 2 hours, it leaves you wanting for more…

Directed and co-written by Bill Bennett in 1999.

A solid 8.5 or 9/10.

Enjoy the on-set Rufus Sewell interview: In a Savage Land

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

I hope they don’t remove it but the movie is on youtube. Here is the link to the first part.

You start watching here:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8oqfkL_Yis[/pro-player]

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