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21 starring Jim Sturgess, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey: It’s Vegas, baby!!!

Posted on October 8, 2009 Written by ripitup

I am not comfortable with the notion of gambling yet I love Vegas. I have never been yet and if I have enjoyed a movie, I really feel th urge to visit the city where it was shot. The bright lights, casinos, hotels, the colors, the excitement. I know I said I am not comfortable because well, I have two good reasons. One, I have an addictive personality – my addictions include rock n’ roll, movies,writing,coffee,cocktails,chocolate,dancing -and I am guessing if I like gambling half as much as I like the stuff I listed above, boy I’m in big trouble. And second, I don’t have much money. So the notion of the possibly of losing what little I have is well, alarming. But I really want to go to Vegas and go crazy for a couple of nights…Oh,yeah: we have 21 to blame.

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I don’t want to go all emotional here but some movies hit closer to home. Of course 21 is not exactly a emotional movie. It has some emotional moments about the lead character Ben. But overall, it is based on the real life story of five MIT students who regularly went to Vegas, counted the cards and made some serious cash. I don’t know how much the movie sticks to the real story,but the storyline goes something like this:

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is an excellent student.He is about to graduate from MIT with honors to continue to Harvard Medical School. Although his qualities are perfect, he has one gigantic problem: he doesn’t have the insane tuition amount. The fees add up to $300,000. His only chance to go to the school he has been accepted to is to get a scholarship.But the scholarship will only be granted to one student and it will all depend on the extraordinary essay he is going to write about his life- except there is nothing even remotely exciting about his life. All his life, he has worked hard and been the amazing student. But he makes one good impression on the one guy that he is going to change his life forever: his Professor Mickey (Kevin Spacey). Mickey is secretly managing a unique group of students from MIT. Together they practice on perfecting a team play. Mickey is reluctant to join them at first but ultimately he doesn’t have much choice. And then the time of his life begins. Luxurious hotel suits, pretending to be someone else every time they play, the thrill, the chemistry growing between him and his team player/his big crush Jill (Kate Bosworth), ludicrous shopping rounds, oh and a danger they are not noticing: the seasoned yet smart head of security Cole (Laurence Fisburne) .

Of course complications occur when he neglects his best friends, and he has a big fall out with his professor. The thing is Mickey doesn’t play nice when he thinks he is crossed…And yet that is exactly when the real adventure begins…

The movie has been directed by Robert Luketic who recently directed The Ugly Truth (2009). Despite having loved it, I have to stay this movie beats any other movie he has done. Rom-com is one of my favorite genres and Robert is good. But if you want to see him direct something more different and definitely more intriguing, watch 21.

We all need money to make our dreams come true. And I need a similar amount of money-at least- to start my own dream school program. The idea to try your hand in Vegas when all else fails makes sense. But then again, I am no math genius, I don’t go to MIT and I can’t count cards. Not to mention, I am not a fan of the Vegas’ casinos’ security systems and the measures taken when you get caught. Of course my knowledge on the subject is based on what Hollywood tells me, yet somehow I am not inspired to challenge that…

Watch 21. It is fun.It is exciting. It makes your fantasies come alive through a character you can easily identify yourself with. I might be neither able nor willing to cheat, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to play.

for the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRzZX2aN3I0

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Before Sunrise starring Ethan Hawke & Julie Delpy

Posted on October 8, 2009 Written by ripitup

before_sunrise_film1 — Before Sunrise starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy

I don’t remember when I first saw this movie, it was quite some years ago but I have seen it many times after that- yet it never gets old. It never ceases to be magical. It is sweet, romantic, fun and so real. Oh sure, it seems like the perfect fantasy: to meet this attractive,down-to-earth,fun and sincere stranger in a different country and get to spend some really great,uncomplicated fun with them. I do have some stories like that. I had some wonderful hours with a British guy ( a really cool 13-hour-date, only a couple of hours after the 4 hour non-stop chat the night before…Or I really had a blast with this Dutch guy I met in Norway. Nope- I am no way claiming that we had the connection of Jesse and Celine here. We weren’t really emotionally involved. Yet it was romantic,sexy and very enjoyable. So the idea of clicking with a stranger does not seem impossible. But I haven’t yet had that magical encounter depicted here…

Jesse is on a train to go to Vienna. He is a young American, played by Ethan Hawke. He meets this pretty and lovely French girl Celine (Julie Delpy). They talk for hours and really enjoy each other’s company. So when it is time for Jesse to get off the train, he suggests that Celine goes off with him. He has one day to spend in the city before his flight to the States the next day. He cutely persuades Celine. After that Vienna serves as the background to one of my favorite love stories ever.

The two young people talk about anything and everything. They get to know each other. They instinctively travel through Vienna. They are impulsive, natural and they don’t play games. There is no pretending. They only have one day together and they don’t mess it up. They kiss at sunset. They enjoy the city and each other. They laugh and fool around. They walk hand in hand. They observe the magnificent city…There is a bond forming slowly but powerfully between these two former strangers and you just wish- like them- that this was not supposed to be their only night together.

You have one city, two leading actors-three and flowing dialogs. It was written by Richard Linklater -who also directed the movie- and Kim Krizan. Hawke and Delpy have made one genuinely great couple. It is just one romantic film that doesn’t need funny events, misunderstandings,ridiculous characters. The time limit is the only obstacle. It really makes you want to get on a train and travel through Europe-with the hopes that something even remotely similar will happen to you. The thing that feels so real about the movie is that how Linklater and Karizan have expressed so many true fears, expectations,dreams and doubts we have in our daily lives. It feels like we know both Jesse and Celine. In fact, we could easily be those characters.

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before-sunrise1 — This movie is the reason I want to go to Vienna.

If you haven’t seen it, trust me you are missing a great journey. The journey is so amazing that we- the viewers- fell in love with Linklater as the sequel of the movie Before Sunset was made years later. Oh trust me, Before Sunsrise will be your first love. But it will leave you wanting so much more that you will be grateful for the second piece of magic, set in Paris…

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Loved Before Sunrise? Great, there is a sequel: Before Sunset, starring both Hawke and Delpy. Both movies are rated 8.0 on IMDB. This is a romantic adventure you will enjoy, no matter what age or gender you are.

All Ethan Hawke-related posts:

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ACTORS AND LITERATURE: Ethan Hawke, Hugh Laurie and Viggo Mortensen

Tango and Cash 1989 movie starring Kurt Russell & Sylvester Stallone

Posted on October 5, 2009 Written by ripitup

Got to love the 80s and the 90s. When it comes to action flicks, these two decades gave birth to some of the best classics. Tango and Cash is a typical action comedy with all the right indigrients. It has the two cops who seem to have opposite personalities and different ways of working-who are forced to unite to solve a case. It has the obligatory hot chick- in this case a 25- year-old Teri Hatcher (Susan Meyer of the Desperate Housewives). And it works. It is funny. The jokes are somewhat predictable yet never boring. There some really cool action scenes, far-fetched escapes and sweet revenge.

The plot is interesting enough. Two cops who work at different police departments in L.A are already legendary with their success. Our bad guy is not happy so he decides to get rid of them in the perfect way. He buys his way into the law enforcement, has them entrapped and makes it look like they committed the ultimate crime- killing an innocent federal agent in the midst of a crooked drug deal. They are sent to jail- again the baddie has bought his way in. The two cops are sent into a hellhole instead of the federal prison they are supposed to be sent to. Now they have to stay in a prison where they have sent a lot of criminals to. It is fun to watch how they try to save their asses and begin to become friends in the process. It adds to the humor that the pretty girl is one of the cops’ (Stallone) sister and he gets all big brotherly when the other one wants to date her.

If you are into entertainment, this is a good one for you. Kurt Russell is at his prime- muscular, blue-eyed, in his 30s and looking very,very handsome. Teri Hatcher dances, and Stallone kicks some serious ass along with Russell. I saw it for the second time and had a good laugh again. Watch out for the prison scenes…

Teri Hatcher as Tango (Stallone) 's sister and Cash (Russell) 's love interest — Teri Hatcher as Tango (Stallone) ‘s sister and Cash (Russell) ‘s love interest

Can he or can’t he? : Keanu Reeves

Posted on October 4, 2009 Written by ripitup

I have been a fan of Keanu Reeves ever since I saw Speed. I guess it is not a surprise, since he became the ultimate name for box office hits after that exciting action flick. But he is not simply an action hero. Yeah, he has fought and kicked as in Point Break, Speed, the Matrix triology and Street Kings. He has done somes spooky thrillers: He has been the villain; a psycho serial killer in The Watcher and somewhat the victim in The Devil’s Advocate. He has done his share of independent movies. He has proven to be good at romantic roles. Have you seen “A Walk in the Clouds” or “The Lake House“. Oh of course we have Sweet November on the sappy side. He has also played a male hustler, sleeping with men and claiming to be heterosexual; and hence not returning the affections and love of his best friend/fellow hustler friend. So here we have a guy who has taken on a variety of roles, in a vast variety of genres. Yet there are many people who find his acting flat and his facial expressions limited. Well, I am in the group that thinks Keanu is a talented actor. Sure it must have helped that he is handsome in an exotic way-being born to a Chinese/Hawaiian father and an English mother and all that. But you do not get his career without talent and hard work.

He has had some disappointments in his career. Not all his movies got the same good reaction. He has had his first TV appearance when he was 20. Keanu has been on screen for 25 years n0w. Yep, he is 45 now. He keeps up the interesting and challenging roles. He doesn’t mind taking smaller parts. And I have been following his movies. The movies aren’t all perfect. But they are never dull.

Yet he has another quality that admire. I don’t really see that much of him in the press. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading about actors. I love seeing their pictures, the latest news on their movies and it never hurts to see the lovely houses they live in. But I don’ t really care that much about who they date. Sure, it is interesting to see the couplings they form and all that. After all, it is fun to see beautiful people hooking up with beautiful people. But it gets really annoying when it is in your face all the time. I am so sick of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. It is like you can’t escape them. But I never knew that much about Keanu’s private life.Not even close. And I’m pretty happy about this. He is an actor. His on-screen chemistry with his co-star is a much bigger deal. The scripts he picks, the roles he takes on, the stunts he does himself…Now, those are the stuff. He is an actor. And I think even the fact that people are arguing over his acting ability rather than who he dates and how long he dates her is better. It is much more relevant.

Yes, I think he is gorgeous. Yes, I think he can act. Here are some suggestions to test my statements:

1) Speed- for action

2) A Walk in the Clouds- for some old-fashioned romance

3) The Watcher– watch out for his bad guy.

Well, if we are still not on the same page, it is ok. Because even if you think he is not a good actor, you have loved at least a couple of his movies. He has provided good entertainment. For 25 years. And that’s something to admire…