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The Back-up Plan starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O’Loughlin

Posted on April 25, 2010 Written by ripitup

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The Back-up Plan starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin
The Back-up Plan starring Jennifer Lopez and Alex O'Loughlin. The idea might have been fresher 10 years ago. Image from: http://tengossip.com/

Zoe (Jennifer Lopez) has wanted to get married and have kids but since she hasn’t been able to meet the right guy (not even come close), she decides to get pregnant through the sperm bank.  She gets the “operation” and right on that day, she meets a handsome young guy called Stan (Alex O’Loughlin). Stan is fun, honest and interesting. And he doesn’t have a clue what Zoe has done. Zoe decides to hang around with him. After all he can’t be The One, right? But as it turns out, he is and he is not all that pleased when he finds out. But despite the “challenge”, he really is crazy about Zoe and wants to try to make it work. Just as Stan tries to get his  head around the idea, he finds out that Zoe’ll be having twins. After that, it is all romantic and domestic chaos. Combined with Stan’s freaking out and Zoe’s trust issues, their relationship hits more than a few bumps on the road.

OK. So you really don’t need me to tell you that they will end up together and will live happily ever after.

After all, it is a typical romantic comedy. The problem is, it is mostly too typical. Don’t get me wrong, I am a fan of the genre. But when the story feels too formulated and too familiar, you should get worried.

Obviously, you can’t change certain things about the genre. Two people have to fall in love with each other at some point. This should be the case, otherwise there won’t be a story in this category. But there should be limits on how many clichés you are going to use.

Is  it as bad as some people make it to be?

Frankly, I don’t think you will be bored to death. While I totally suggest boys to stay away from the movie at all costs, girls (especially Moonlight fans) will at least have Alex O’Loughlin to look at. But, even if you are just a tad sarcastic, you may get bored. I am not saying there aren’t any scenes that I didn’t like. There are some pretty funny scenes. But if you thought it was bad in the beginning, there is no point in keeping it up. Because I thought it was OK until Stan found out about the baby issues.

5/10 from me. As I said, it is not that bad. But it is too mediocre to be anything special. Or maybe it is because I don’t want kids at all and therefore thought the whole idea was just not believable. You decide.

Other Posts on Alex O’ Loughlin

Hawaii Five-0 starring Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan

Alex O’ Loughlin Trivia

Also on Jennifer Lopez

Monster in Law starring Jennifer Lopez, Jane Fonda and Michael Vartan

Angel Eyes starring Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Alex O'Loughlin, comedy, Jennifer Lopez, romance, romantic comedy, The Back-up Plan

Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk

Posted on April 22, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk
Crush It by Gary Vaynerchuk. Image via blog.ryantbrowne.com

 

This post has moved to my writing blog.

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Filed Under: Books & Authors Tagged With: branding, business, Crush it, Gary Vaynerchuk, marketing, social media, Timothy Ferriss

Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen

Posted on April 21, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Pride and Prejudice starring Matthew Macfadyen and Keira Knightley
Pride and Prejudice starring Matthew Macfadyen and Keira Knightley. One of the best romances ever. Photo: blog.lib.umn.edu

Starring: Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, Donald Sutherland, Rosamund Pike, Brenda Blethyn, Carey Mulligan, Jena Malone, Simon Woods, Rupert Friend, Tom Hollander and Judi Dench

Elizabeth Bennet (Keira Knightley) lives in the early 19th century England with her parents and 4 sisters. She gets along fine with the pretty and serene Jane (Rosamund Pike) and is amused by her 3 other sisters (Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan and Talulah Riley). She adores her father (Donald Sutherland) and tries to tolerate her mother (Brenda Blethyn )- who is very loud, very traditional and is dying to see all her daughters get married fast. Except Lizzy couldn’t have cared less. She loves reading, walking, dancing and having fun. She is not about to give up the idea on true love so that her mother can be happy.

When Mr. Bingley (Simon Woods), his sister and their friend Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) visit home, things are about to get a little complicated. Bingley and Jane instantly fall for each other. Elizabeth is not impressed by Darcy at all, who appears to be very full of himself.  And no matter how rich, handsome and knowledgeable Darcy might be, Elizabeth won’t take any crap from anyone. But given Bingley’s love and her mother’s plans, she might have to see a lot more of Darcy than she planned. Then she meets the handsome soldier Wickham (Rupert Friend) who tells her that Darcy caused him great misfortune. But maybe Darcy isn’t that arrogant and proud. Maybe he is just misunderstood. It is not helping matters that he has declared his feelings for her…

Obviously there is a lot to the story than just the relationship between Darcy and Elizabeth but it is the core that gives the story the name and the magic. There are many sub-plots featuring Elizabeth’s sister and the one featuring her best friend but let’s face it. Our number 2 concern is Jane and Bingley. And number 1 is obviously….yeah.

This version of Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is either in top 20 or top 10 and yeah, I watch a lot of movies. It has all the charming and addictive elements of an amazing period romance and it contains hilarious comic relief. The actors are perfectly cast and I wouldn’t replace anyone, had I been (magically) involved in the process. Matthew McFadyen and Keira Knightley were born to play Darcy and Elizabeth.

I love everything about this movie. The costumes, music, parties, location, houses…See it. Hell, it is 7.8 on imdb. How many other “chick flicks” that are rated that high? 10/10 from me.

Darcy is the guy that should give every boy in his right mind a nightmare. Why? You can read it here.

Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen
Pride and Prejudice, based on the novel of Jane Austen, was made in 2005. Directed by Joe Wright. Photo: fanpop.com

 

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: comedy, donald sutherland, Jane Austen, Jena Malone, judi dench, Keira Knightley, Matthew Macfadyen, movies, Pride and Prejudice, pride and prejudice 2005, pride and prejudice movie, romance, Rosamund Pike, Rupert Friend, simon woods

My Own Worst Enemy, starring Christian Slater

Posted on April 20, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Christian Slater in My Own Worst Enemy
Christian Slater in My Own Worst Enemy. Image from: http://www.impawards.com

It is no secret that I love my spy gear, secret agents and a good mystery.For instance it might be about a secret agent who has been tricked and hanging in to take revenge while leading a dual life (Alias). By the way, Christian Slater does appear in 2 episodes of Alias.

However, the “mystery” and the conflict in My Own Worst Enemy is even more complicated. No, fellow fans of Alias, I haven’t lost it. I know all about Sydney Bristow and her family background. But despite all the tricks and lies, she wanted to be an agent. She just didn’t know she was recruited by the wrong men.

Henry Spivey (Christian Slater) is a family man. He loves his wife (Mädchen Amick) and his two kids (Taylor Lautner and Bella Thorne). He doesn’t mind working hard to keep the comfortable domestic bliss that they’ve got going.

Edward Albright (also Christian Slater) is a highly-skilled and deadly operative working for a secret government agency. He doesn’t mind having sex with his target and then killing her on the spot. He is good at everything, including sex.

The deal?  There is a chip in our Henry/Edward (yep-same body)’s brain- implemented by the agency and used at their convenience. When an operation needs Edward, Henry is supposedly sent on a business trip and our gentle husband/dad is put the sleep. Edward is awakened and he gets the job done. Then the memories are erased for Henry and he wakes up. Henry isn’t supposed to know about Edward…However this dual life-one guy system hits a bump. Edward starts to wake up in the middle of Henry’s life and Henry starts waking up in the middle of Edward’s operations. The agency threatens Henry that they will kill him if he tries to talk about this to anyone, so he tries to co-exist. Edward doesn’t mind sleeping with the hot wife Angela. He has a hard time with the mundane family life, though. And Henry is more than freaked out having to participate in the spy game. Especially, every time he uncovers a truth, it is more disturbing than the last. He also hates the fact that his wife is unknowingly having sex with Edward and enjoying it a lot!

It might have lasted only a season (9 episodes) but it is definitely not because the show is not interesting. It has a great storyline and a solid leading actor. The rest of the cast are also doing a good job. Edward’s superior is played by Alfre Woodard. That woman really gives me the creeps. It is not really just about her talent but the shady characters she plays as well. You might remember her from Desperate Housewives, where she played the mysterious new neighbor who had one son locked in the basement. Edward’s partner/ Henry’s colleague Raymond/Tom (also dual identity-played by Tom (Mike O’Malley). Saffran Burrows plays the firm therapist.  Mädchen Amick has appeared in many tv shows such as Joey, Freddie and Gossip Girl but she is most memorable in her role in Dream Lover, starring with James Spader. And of course Taylor Lautner who made quite a name for himself, playing Jacob Black in the Twilight Saga movies, Twilight and New Moon. He will continue his role in the two remaining movies of the series. But mind you, he doesn’t have that many lines. It is Christian’s show.

Watch it if you like your spy stuff.  Christian Slater is also a plus.

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: Alfre Woodard, Christian Slater, Mike O’Malley, my own worst enemy, Mädchen Amick, Saffran Burrows, Taylor Lautner, thriller, TV shows

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