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Penelope starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy

Posted on May 31, 2010 Written by ripitup

Penelope starring Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon and Catherine O'Hara — Penelope starring Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, Reese Witherspoon, Simon Woods and Catherine O'Hara. Image from: http://www.onlinesinemaizle.net

Welcome to a sweet, quirky and fun fairy tale:

One of Penelope’s dad’s ancestors has slept with a maid and then left the girl. This ends up in the girl’s suicide. Her mother happens to be witch and puts a spell upon the family. According to the curse, the first daughter born into the family is going to be awfully ugly: a girl with a pig’s nose and ears. The spell somehow ends up affecting poor Penelope. In order for the spell/curse to be lifted, a guy from a certain bloodline should fall in love with her, even after he has seen her face.

Penelope (Christina Ricci) can’t go outside for years, according to her mom’s wishes. The press has believed her to be dead. She has gotten sick of it all, especially of men who gets the shock of their lives after they have see her. One day, things get out of Penelope’s mom’s (Catherine O’ Hara) control: A discredited heir (Simon Woods) decides to prove to the whole world what Penelope really looks like. With the help of a journalist in need of revenge, he hires a gambler (James McAvoy) to help them expose the secret. However the gambler gets to know Penelope without seeing her face first and he really likes her. But when he does see her and Penelope makes an unexpected offer, he runs away. Penelope misreads his reaction,and having had enough rebels and just ventures out into the real world. This new adventure will help make new friends (one played by Reese Witherspoon), and figure out who she really is.

Penelope is a lovely and interesting mixture of reality and fairy tale. After all we have rich vs poor, gambling, prejudice,”importance” of looks, superficiality, true love, friendship and coming to terms with who you are and how you look. So watching Christina with her special “make-up” may not be everyone’s cup of tea. But if you can get past how she looks, you are in for a real treat. A wonderful comedy-romance with supernatural elements.

Voted 7.1 on IMDB by over 15.000 people. I agree with the rating.

P.S. If you have seen Simon Woods as Mr. Bingley in Pride and Prejudice, you will have a real riot comparing his two opposite roles.

Also on Christina Ricci:

Cursed starring Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson & Jesse Eisenberg

Cursed Trivia feat. Christina R?cci, Portia de Rossi and more

The New Daughter starring Kevin Costner

Posted on May 28, 2010 Written by ripitup

The New Daughter starring Kevin Costner. Image from: http://www.shocktillyoudrop.com/gallery

Really? I mean really? So much effort went into the effort of creating suspense and some really thrilling moments. Nothing scary but it is enough to be disturbing and engaging. All the time the options run through your head. Is it really supernatural or are we going to have a psychotic villain? If it is supernatural, what the hell are we dealing with? Until the professor (Noah Taylor) comes up with the explanation, the movie was promising. Then it went downhill so fast I couldn’t believe Kevin Costner took the role.

Sorry, I am getting carried away. Let me give you the plot first and then keep on ranting:

John James (Kevin Costner) is a newly divorced father/writer who moves his kids- teenage daughter Louisa (Ivana Baquero) and little boy Sam (Gattlin Griffith)- to a rural area. It’s supposed to be a fresh start in a new house. However, from the moment they move in, something is always off. Since the daughter is a teenager abondoned by her mother, you need to keep guessing how much of the events is because of hormones/depression/rebellion and how much is horror/thriller material. Then there is a mould in the yard…The film gets an additional character as the children’s new teacher, Cassandra (Samantha Mathis). With a little crush on the dad/the author, she tries to help out the family. But of course, just like any thrill/horror, no amount of emotional support or guidance won’t just cut it.

Suspense-building is good. Tension-creating is good. The acting is OK. The daughter’s lines do get won’t go to waste. But it does. What starts as a promising movie that makes you think why it got a 5.4. on IMDB (and not a 6 or a 7), ends up being a movie that ends up being extremely overrated.

It does remind you a little of Signs and not in a good way. I realized I wasn’t the only one thinking it when I saw a user also made a comparison. The difference is, I think this movie was just as disappointing as Signs.

If you absolutely must watch this movie, just make sure you expect normally until the last 25-30 minutes or so. After that, keep your expectations very,very low and leave your sense of aesthetics completely. And a little spoiler: The very,very final scene may not be what you expect. I am not sure if it is good news or bad news.

All Posts Featuring Kevin Costner

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Swing Shift starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn

Posted on May 25, 2010 Written by ripitup

Swing Shift starring Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell, Ed Harris and Christine Lahti. Image from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f0/Swing_shift.jpg

Kay Walsh (Goldie Hawn) is happily married to her husband Jack (Ed Harris).When World War II strikes, Jack has to join the navy and Kate is left alone. Kay finds a job; after all almost all plants are need of extra labor after most men go off to war. Women are not made all that welcome by some of the men. Kay tries her best to do her job and makes a new friend called Hazel (Christine Lahti). Her new “leadman” Lucky (Kurt Russell) also is really nice to her. Well, it is more like he is smitten by her. He keeps asking her out and she keeps turning her down. But eventually, she gives into his charm. Along with her friendship with Hazel and Hazel’s romance traffic, her guilt about her own affair and work life, her life gets very busy. And her husband is due home any day…

This is one harmless, sweet movie. It is not memorable. It is by no means bad, but I was misled into thinking that it would be a romantic comedy with few dramatic touches (I am blaming it on IMDB’s genre labels). It has some funny moments. It has some romantic moments. But with all the war background and the relationships….something is missing. Of course watching Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn is never boring. And Kay’s husband is played by Ed Harris. It is weird seeing Ed with hair, I’ll give you that (well, he had more hair in 1984). Academy was more impressed with the Hazel character than I was as she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

5.8 on the IMDB. Sounds just about right. Directed by Jonathan Demme.

Also on Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn

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Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and Gary Oldman

Posted on May 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman and Glenn Close. Image from http://www.kotiposti.net/

With the collaboration of Russia and USA, a tyrant leader is captured and put the jail. This is seen as a triumph by both countries. However US President James Marshall (Harrison Ford) is skeptical. He is determined to favor humanity over politics and save more people the next time.

It is time for the President to go home on Air Force 1. The plane has The First Lady (Wendy Crewson), the president’s daughter, important administrative staff, his press secretary, bodyguards and a Russian-speaking (led by Gary Oldman) group who is supposed to make an interview with the President and the staff. The plane safely takes off. However unknown to the passengers, there is a traitor on the staff and with his help, the Russian group prove that they are something else all together. They hijack the plane, threatening to kill the hostages. Their demand? The release of the tyrant. The Vice President (Glenn Close) does her best to control the situation. The President can leave in his escape pod and jump off to safety or he can stay to fight for the hostages and the family. While it seems like mission impossible, the president will do his best to use his “General” skills, his intelligence and well…adrenaline…

This movie was fun. Pure, unsaturated action/thriller. So what if Harrison Ford will save the world once again? He does it well and we expect him to. Our Han Solo/Indiana Jones/ Jack Ryan sure has the guts and the experience to pull it off.

If there were any major flaws, I didn’t notice. I was too busy having fun. I liked the fact that all the terrorists spoke in Russian between themselves. It added authencity. While some might argue that we get another heroic President with the perfect family life gets to save the world, along with a little help from his friends (Independence Day, Bill Pullman also comes to mind), it is not like the screenplay writer hasn’t rubbed the viewers’ noses in America’s political sins. Movies like this tend to portray a perfect politician: honest, determined, family-oriented, loving and humane. He also comes with a fondness for football and a good sense of humor. I like this type of fictional politicians because let’s face it, movies are the only places we are going to see this politician. So enjoy his character, root for him and well…let the action begin. I guess I don’t really need to mention that Glen Close and Gary Oldman are good as always. I am yet to encounter a role that they sold and I didn’t buy.

Reasons to see the movie:

– The Cast: Harrison Ford, Glenn Close, Gary Oldman, William H. Macy

– The Concept and The Genre: It is so cool to imagine how it would be to fly in that nuclear-war resistant, ultimately gorgeous plane. And action on a plane is a concept I do enjoy.This one is truly well done. It had 2 Oscar nominations: Best Sound and Best Editing.

– The script is good.

Made in 1997. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen (Outbreak, The Perfect Storm, Troy). Written by Andrew W. Marlowe.

6.3 on IMDB. 7 for the art, 9 for the entertainment from me.

Favorite Villain Quote:

– Egor Korshunov (Gary Oldman)- to the First Lady: In a war, people die.

– First Lady: This isn’t war! You just murdered an unarmed woman!

– Egor Korshunov: You who murdered a hundred thousand Iraqis to save a nickel on a gallon of gas are going to lecture me on the rules of war? DON’T!!!!

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche

Firewall starring Harrison Ford and Paul Bettany

Gary Oldman Tribute

The Scarlet Letter starring Gary Oldman and Demi Moore