Movies and Actors | pinartarhan.com

Valentine’s Day starring Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Ashton Kutcher and More

Posted on May 2, 2010 Written by ripitup

Valentine's Day starring Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel, Jennifer Garner, Anne Hathaway, Ashton Kutcher, Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift, Patrick Dempsey, Eric Dane, Topher Grace, Jamie Foxx and Queen Latifah. There is a chance I missed some of the name. It is not my fault that the cast is so crowded. Image from: http://www.shockya.com/

I was so looking forward to this movie. I mean have you seen the cast? With the exception of Taylor Swift, the names are really impressive: Julia Roberts, Bradley Cooper, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Jennifer Garner, Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Jamie Foxx, Jessica Biel, Anne Hathaway, Topher Grace, Taylor Lautner, Shirley Mclaine…

But it is like director Gary Marshall (Pretty Woman, Frankie and Johnny, Runaway Bride) knew he would have an all-star cast so no effort or whatsoever has been put into the script. There are many intersecting stories and ordinary dialogue. Yes, it takes place on A Valentine’s Day but nothing interesting happens- either in the comic or romantic sense.

The stories? Well, it is more like a bunch of characters:

– Grandparents and their little grandchild in love and missing his mother and teenage granddaughter announcing she will have sex.

– A married, two-timing doctor (Patrick Dempsey) and his clueless girlfriend (Jennifer Garner)

– A nice guy working in the mailroom (Topher Grace) and his girlfriend ( Anne Hathaway)- who is secretly working as an adult phone entertainer. Yes, phone sex. And no, he doesn’t know about it.

– A PR professional who hates this day – Jessica Biel

– A football player whose future is in jeopardy- Eric Dane- oh, his PR gal is Jessica Biel.

– Two strangers on a plane- Julia Roberts and Bradley Cooper

– Two high school kids in love- Taylor Lautner and Taylor Swift- friends with the couple getting ready to have sex

– A flower shop owner- Ashton Kutcher- who just proposed to his girl friend (Jessica Alba). Unfortunately for him, she is not that eager. And, oh- he also is friends with Jennifer Garner’s character Julia- who is a school teacher, also the teacher of the lovesick grandkid

– An unhappy sports news guy-Jamie Foxx-given a Valentine’s Day assignment-trying to secure a sports gig, with the help of our PR girl Jessica Biel

2 hours with some fun moments. Watch it if you have no better alternatives or if you just wanna see a movie where almost everyone is pretty. 5.7/10 on imdb. 5/10 from me. But hey, I will recommend other films and TV shows with the cast members for you- their other projects that are either more fun, that have more soul or both. Click on the red to go to the reviews.

*Jessica Biel: The Illusionist. She is the co-star the Edward Norton in once cool period drama/romance/thriller/mystery

*Ashton Kutcher: Butterfly Effect, What Happens in Vegas, Just Married, My Boss’ Daughter.

*Jennifer Garner: Watch her TV show Alias. Amazing, kick-ass show with the right amount of romance, action, drama and comic-relief. But more action than anything. She is playing the same characters in her movies over and over again. Same goes for Ashton Kutcher obviously. But the movies I recommended above for him are either really gripping or really funny so who cares?

*Patrick Dempsey- Watch the first 2 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy or Made of Honor. Made of Honor is a typical romcom but at least its comedy part is actually funny

*Eric Dane: Marley and Me where he stars alongside Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson. But if its about giving him screen time, he has been a regular on Grey’s Anatomy since season 3 or so.

* Taylor Lautner: Twilight, New Moon

* Bradley Cooper: He also stars in Alias alongside Jennifer Garner. But he also played in awesome comedies like Wedding Crashers and The Hangover. And if you want Cooper in a romcom that is worth seeing, see He’s Just Not That Into You.

*Julia Roberts: She has done many good movies. Start with Conspiracy Theory, if you want original action/thriller.

* Jessica Alba: The Sleeping Dictionary, Awake. And for mindless entertainment and eye candy for girls, watch Into The Blue where she stars opposite Paul Walker.

*Topher Grace: That 70’s Show, obviously- where you will also see a very funny Ashton Kutcher. And please check out the solid comedy/drama In Good Company where he stars opposite Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson.

* Anne Hataway: Becoming Jane

*Jamie Foxx: Law Abiding Citizen

Something New starring Simon Baker

Posted on April 30, 2010 Written by ripitup

Something New starring Simon Baker and Sanaa Lathan. Image from: http://www.impawards.com/

When successful corporate lawyer Kenya ( Sanaa Lathan) is set up on a blind date, she is less than pleased to see that her date is Brian Kelly (Simon Baker). Not that Brian isn’t good-looking. He is. The problem? He is white. So Kenya doesn’t even give him a chance. But after a chance encounter and a situation she can’t get out of, she decides to hire Brian as a landscape architect for her garden. Even though she thinks they don’t have much in common, their personalities and taste seem to be opposite and she can’t look past the racial issues, she finds herself falling for Brian. Once she lets go, they start having a great relationship. But there will always be doubts (mostly racial) and prejudices on her part. This eventually drives them art. But then she meets Mark (Blair Underwood)-an ambitious black man also working in the corporate world. Obviously he is not without issues. But most importantly, he is not Brian…

The movie is a sweet little romance. I know it is labeled as a romcom but I don’t think it has many funny moments. It is as romantic as its supposed to be with all the right amount of complications and obstacles. It is fun and completely harmless but nothing to tell the home about really. 6.6 on IMDB. 6/10 from me. Well, obviously if you want me to rate according to the screen time and the beauty level of Simon Baker, than it is a 10/10. If you do like Baker, yeah- you should watch it. I enjoyed it. Plus, it was a fun change to see Simon in casual wear after watching him in suits all the time in The Mentalist.

Favorite Lines – Obviously, they came from Brian.

Kenya: I don’t do dogs.

Brian: Neither do I. We’re just friends.

***

Brian: I take it you don’t do white guys.

Kenya: I just happen to prefer black men. It’s not a prejudice, it’s a preference.

Brian: Sure, it’s your preference to be prejudiced.

***

Brian: I love you.

Kenya: I don’t know what to say.

Brian: Should I give you a hint?

***

All Posts Featuring Simon Baker

Simon Baker Trivia: 21 Facts About Australian Actor Simon Baker

Not Forgotten Movie Review

The Lodger Movie Review

Top Nine Aussies in The Entertainment World: Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Kylie Minogue and More

Posts featuring Simon Baker and The Mentalist

The Mentalist TV Series Review- Starring Simon Baker

Castle vs The Mentalist- Comparing the two addictive shows

Television’s 3 Most Brilliant, Emotionally Broken Men: Patrick Jane, Gregory House and Jack Bauer

Use of Social Media in TV Series featuring Castle, The Mentalist, House, Cougar Town and NCIS Los Angeles

Seven Engaging Tv Shows with Suspense Featuring Castle, The Mentalist, House, Ncis Los Angeles and More

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

Posted on April 25, 2010 Written by ripitup

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.

Also on Jennifer Lopez

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

Angel Eyes starring Jennifer Lopez and Jim Caviezel

Pride and Prejudice starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen

Posted on April 21, 2010 Written by ripitup

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 19^th 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

<br />

Other Posts on Alex O’ Loughlin

Also on Jennifer Lopez