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Man on a Ledge with Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Edward Burns & Jamie Bell

Posted on June 16, 2012 Written by ripitup

Man on a Ledge movie poster with Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Edward Burns & Jamie Bell. Prison break? Check. Cool heist? Check. A female negotiator more invested in helping and solving than the protocol? Check. Image via sinemafilmler.net.

Ever watched a movie that made you feel like you were the spot-on target audience? A movie that makes me feel like that usually has these elements: an entertaining story, a genre that I love, actors that I like and some good humor.

Movies don’t have to be masterpieces or mind-blowingly creative attempts to entertain. I usually just want to have a good time – and Man on a Ledge can definitely show you that.

Here’s why:

1) The Plot

We have the innocent convict Nick (Sam Worthington) who takes a day off for his father’s funeral to make his escape. He knows it is his only shot, and frankly, he’d rather die to go back to serve 20+ years of jail. An former cop, he makes sure he has enough time to set his plan in motion: he rents a room on one of the top floors of a luxury hotel, enjoys a “last” meal, leaves a “note”, wipes off his parents, steps on the ledge and makes his request when the cops (though not the ones who know who he is) arrive in the room: They’ve 30 minutes to get suicide-negotiator Lydia Mercer (Elizabeth Banks) to talk to him, or he jumps.

The cop who takes his request is Dougherty (Edward Burns), and neither he nor the cop in charge of “ground control” (Titus Welliver) are pleased about it.

But after a short while, Mercer seems to have formed a bond and Dougherty is becoming more convinced of her skills. Still she fears that he might jump, and is also suspecting he might be up to something. And he is. He’s gathering all the attention so that his brother (Jamie Bell) and brother’s girlfriend (Genesis Rodriguez) can break into the vault next door- so that they can steal the “supposedly stolen” diamond from the rich and powerful man (Ed Harris) who framed him.

But as resourceful as he is, he still has to race against time, help out his brother, dodge the cops who are after him while maintaining the Mercer’s trust. Will they be able to pull it off on time?

2) The fun: the heist, Nick’s tactics to keep everyone busy, Dougherty’s reactions to Mercer’s unorthodox methods, and most of all- the fun one-liners between Joey and his girlfriend.

3) The cast: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Edward Burns, Jamie Bell, Ed Harris, William Sadler (Sheriff of Roswell and McGarrrett’s father in the new Hawaii Five-O) and Kyra Sedwick – who makes brief but entertaining appearances as the cheeky reporter.

4) The predictable but highly enjoyable twists. There’re very few twists that get a movie addict shocked, or at least hasn’t seen coming. But I don’t watch a fun action movie for twists – surely you see them coming, but they are so entertaining as a whole that you just care if the way to the “twists” are fun.

5) A protagonist to root for

6) Interesting supporting characters

7) A totally ruthless villain

Man on a Ledge is rated only at 6.6 on IMDB, and I think it should be higher – for its entertainment value. See it to enjoy it. It’s good entertainment- it doesn’t try to be anything more.

Directed by Asger Leth and written by Pablo F. Fenjves.

Lessons Learned from the Film The Rich Man’s Wife feat. Halle Berry & Clive Owen

Posted on June 9, 2012 Written by ripitup

The Rich Man's Wife movie poster — The Rich Man's Wife poster via screened.com.

I don’t generally care about movie ratings since there is a chance I’ll find the movie either underrated or overrated, but sometimes they can be spot on. But when I saw the 5.0 IMDB rating, I hoped I would disagree – it wasn’t good news, as I was already bored by a couple of Halle Berry thrillers before. Unfortunately, my best rating would be 5 – and this is from someone who likes the cast and the genre. I wasn’t expecting genius twists or very smart characters. But getting bored or asking “Seriously?” every couple of minutes is not a good sign. If only characters and events were tied better and the story was told a little faster…

But watching a non-thrilling thriller can return as an entertaining post. Inspired by movie fans who love to start “(insert number of choice) lessons learned from….” threads on boards, below is what you can take home from this movie. Of course some are obvious, but come on and join me. It’s fun.

Lessons learned (aka Common sense) from the film The Rich Man’s Wife

Spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.

1) Clive Owen is a lot sexier with a little more age and weight. Try comparing his The Rich Man’s Wife (1996) version to Beyond Borders/Shoot ‘em Up/The International…Well, pretty much any Clive Owen movie after

2) Don’t date a younger, thinner Clive Owen character. Chances are he is up to no good. 5 years before this film, one of his characters was dating his own sister!

3) Peter Greene (The Mask villain) can switch between weird-looking slime ball to charming, uniquely good-looking guy in a matter of seconds.

4) Halle Berry’s dramas and action films are often very enjoyable, as opposed to her thrillers.

5) It is not a good idea to not to foreshadow your twists at all.

6) Calling the cops suckers at the end of the movie is not a good idea, as there is no way they would have seen that one coming and since this is also the case for the audience (see item 5). Just don’t call your audience suckers. Period.

7) It’s not very cool if you don’t have one single likable character in the movie.

8) It is not very convincing (since you want to convince the woman to ally with you) if you switch from Prince Charming to smooth player to good listener to murder plotter to rapist in lightning speed. This would be Peter Greene’s character.

9) Gold-digging, young, pretty women should not sign pre-nuptial agreements. Instead they should marry gullible rich men who trust them enough not to make them sign those. It’s easier than planning murders, getting rid of the other villains and all that. And what would they have done if the cops had half the obsession Holmes (or House) had for cases?

10) It will be easier to convince a rich guy that you are not a gold-digger if you don’t say yes to their proposal after 2 minutes.

11) It might be better if you marry a woman with a little money of her own if you are planning to make her sign pre-nuptials. She might be less likely to try to get rid of you.

12) Or better yet, don’t get married- and/or make your will so that in the matter of your death, they don’t get a single dime –whether it is a suicide/murder/or call of nature and make it clear to them.

13) Or be a less obnoxious husband, and make it harder for her to want to get rid of you.

14) If you are getting married, and signing pre-nuptials, do a better background check on the woman.

15) It isn’t a great idea to hire a cabin in the woods if you are a pretty woman with no special fighting skills.

16) Very few normal people hang out near in-the-woods-cabins in the middle of nowhere.

17) Women hardly ever want to stay alone in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. If they do, they can either fight like Sydney Bristow, haven’t seen any horror movies or they are up to no good.

These were all I could think of so far. Feel free to add yours in the comments.

What about the plot?

The plot you ask? Oh well: Halle Berry’s Josie is married to the richer, older Tony (Christopher McDonald) and the marriage is going down the drain. She has a lover, he has a lover. He’s abusing alcohol and she has signed a pre-nup. Claiming that she wants her marriage work, she dumps the lover (Clive Owen) and convinces her husband to take a trip together- where his regular business relationships and fondness of alcohol prevent them from making any progress. So he leaves, and she stays. Then her car breaks down one night and she is “saved“ by a helpful stranger, who drives her home and gets her car fixed-all for dinner. And as she tells her story, he gets her to say that she wished he were dead. Then he offers to do the job for her. And then….well, let’s say that no one is exactly innocent in the movie, adulterer or not.

Made in 1996, written/directed by Amy Holden Jones.

State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren

Posted on June 3, 2012 Written by ripitup

Also feat. Robin Wright, Jason Bateman & Jeff Daniels

State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren feat. Robin Wright, Jason Bateman & Jeff Daniels. Image via movie-list.com

Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck) is a smart and successful congressman investigating private “mercenary-providing” companies. His good reputation goes down the drain, however, when his assistant is killed, and it is revealed that they were having an affair.

A grieving Stephen has his career and marriage on the line and the only person who can help him is his old university friend, journalist for the Washington Globe, Cal (Russell Crowe). As he digs more into the story, initially to help Stephen get out of the mess, he stumbles into political agendas, conflicts of interest (including his own) and life-risking situations.

Throw in a full-brown government-related conspiracy, emotional baggage between Cal and Stephen’s wife (Robin Wright), a blogger-turning-into-a-reporter named Della (Rachel McAdams) helping Cal, an ambitious editor (Helen Mirren) getting impatient and caring less about loyalties and manners and more about the juice and you have a very entertaining and gripping political thriller, with the stellar cast as a bonus.

State of Play flows like a well-written novel: slower at times, but only to build up for the more significant upcoming scenes and/or to make things even more complicated.

Why I Loved State of Play

– All characters are pretty much as grey as it gets, although Rachel McAdams’ character seems to evolve and learn the most.

– Cal does try to protect his friend from a downfall- but his sense of loyalty hasn’t stopped him from sleeping with his wife in the past.

– The enthusiastic blogger turns into a reporter who cares about the ethics and the safety of the others more than the seasoned reporters she is working with.

– It’s great that there is no romance between Cal and Della – in fact, Cal’s personal life is pretty much doomed but he has no intention of doing anything about it. He has a story to write.

– The more desperate Della and Cal get, the more creative they get in getting their information and evidence.

– Nothing is ever what it seems- except when it comes to the Cal, Della and Cameron (Helen Mirren) who might make some bad decisions, border on breaking the law and disagree on a lot of things.

– The journalist-aka the protagonist- is a not a fit, muscular guy who can take care of himself.

– The cast.

Well, there are more, but these are the first that came to my mind. It is not perfect, but it is pretty damn good. Rated at 7.2 on IMDB – voted by over 62.000 people. 8/10 from me.

Directed by Kevin MacDonald (Last King of Scotland). Written by Matthew Michael Carnahan (The Kingdom, Lions for Lambs) , Tony Gilroy (Duplicity) and Billy Ray- based on the series by Paul Abbott.

Forget Me Not: Will Not Be Forgotten Any Time Soon

Posted on May 27, 2012 Written by ripitup

Forget Me Not starring Tobias Menzies and Genevieve O'Reilly. 2010 movie.

London.

Will (Tobias Menzies) is a musician who is barely holding on to life. He has a horrific problem, but we can only guess what it might be.

Eve (Genevieve O’Reilly-Jamie Lapidus’ from Episodes) is a bartender who wants to do something more with her life.

When Will saves her from a drunk, they start hanging out – at least until Eve gets to the party she needs to go to. But their potential “Before Sunrise” story is at times interrupted by Will’s uneasiness, and making Eve question his intentions. If he doesn’t like her, why isn’t he leaving? And if he does like her, why doesn’t he make a move already?

But we, as the audience, know that Will has a lot to deal with, and his indecision comes from the fact that even though he really likes her, he doesn’t want her to get involved in his issues. Because as it is made clear to us from the first moments of the film, Will isn’t exactly a big fan of living at the moment…

Forget Me Not ISN’T Before Sunrise. And it’s a good thing!

I really loved Forget Me Not. It’s not Before Sunrise, and it is not trying to be.

On many levels, it feels even more real. Let’s face it – the biggest issue of the characters from Before Sunrise was that they lived in other continents. Boo-hoo.

Now, while I love Before Sunrise (and Before Sunset) to bits, it is totally Jesse and Celine’s fault (or blessing-depends on how you interpret Before Sunset) that they choose to leave things to fate.

Will’s problem…well…it is not like he wants to die for his gothic beliefs. It’s not like he is depressed because his wife left him or something. He knows that his future is worse than bleak, and he is going to lose a lot before he dies a natural death. So a part of him wants to take fate into his own hands…a part of him well…can’t decide on the timing. And Eve is just the perfect distraction from that awful future.

Can two people really fall in love in the course of a day? Probably. Celine and Jesse made us believe it. Eve and Will made me believe it. The question is, how much realism can you handle in a romantic movie?

Who should watch it?

Pretty much everyone who has a thing for a heart-felt romantic story that doesn’t have an escapist feel to it. If you are a cynic, you’ll like the fact that love, in this film, doesn’t come at the right moment or bring happily ever after. If you are a romantic, you’ll like the fact that love can happen-even at the worst of times.

Shit happens. Life can suck, but it isn’t without its beautiful moments. I guess whether you can empathize with Will or not depends on….well, it really depends on your ability to empathize. After all, even the most cheerful and larger-than-life people can become suicidal when they realize life as they know it is about to be over, and we are not talking about losing your job here.

“Our memories make us,” as Will says. So the best you can do is to make the best of now by making as many great memories as you can. And love for 24 hours is better than no love at all.

So see the movie, but be prepared for its depressing and truthful moments-even though the message is, ultimately, whatever you make it.

Written by Mark Underwood, & Rebecca Long, and Steve Spence. Directed by Alexander Holt and Lance Roehrig.

Man on a Ledge with Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Edward Burns & Jamie Bell

Lessons Learned from the Film The Rich Man’s Wife feat. Halle Berry & Clive Owen

State of Play starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel Mcadams and Helen Mirren

Other Posts on The Cast

Russell Crowe:

Ben Affleck:

Rachel McAdams

Forget Me Not: Will Not Be Forgotten Any Time Soon