Fun and comprehensive entertainment blog feat. movies, TV series, actors, movie-makers, music & books: 1980 - Present
Some people are multi-talented and well, it’s annoying. While us the normal folks struggle our way through a karaoke song, they can act and SING (and/or make music). I mentioned Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Bacon and Keanu Reeves in my previous post. Now it’s time to talk about John Travolta and Bruce Willis.
BRUCE WILLIS
Maybe I shouldn’t write much about his acting skills and how popular his movies are. I should just name a couple of his movies. Die Hard, Pulp Fiction, 12 Monkeys, The Sixth Sense, The Whole Nine Yards. But to top all that, he can sing. He seriously has a really cool rocknroll voice. He can also play the harmonica. Back when Jon Bon Jovi was doing his solo album Destination anywhere in 1997, he shot a short film in which Demi Moore starred. Back then Demi and Bruce were still married and Jon became good friends with them both. So we know that Jon can sing, play the guitar and the piano. Bruce can sing and play the harmonica. Jon always talks about what a blast they had singing and playing all the time. Jon Bon Jovi and Bruce Willis partying together…That’s sight I wish I could see. He is so much fun. Oh, I almost forgot. His nickname is Bruno. And here is a song from him:
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDXkd2NyCCE[/pro-player]
JOHN TRAVOLTA
Now with John, things are a bit more complicated. He made it big in movies with Saturday Night Fever, where he showed all his disco dancing skills. Then he played in Grease, which became even a bigger hit. And we already knew h was a talented singer and a dancer. Of course when you play in such big hits consecutively when you are 23 and 24, your later movies aren’t likely to be just as successful. But he did manage to make two comebacks. One with Look Who’s Talking in the late 80s and one with Pulp Fiction in 1994. Acting always came first for him but since his most popular movie has him singing, people don’t have trouble taking him seriously as a singer. I mention Grease as his most popular flick, because it is what put on the map, the DVDs still sell 31 years later and it has been known my generations. Bu t I like his bad guy roles even more. I know it is a weird way to compliment someone but I mean it affectionately: he makes a wonderful psycho. Broken Arrow, anyone? Half of Face Off?
Remember a time when John was young and skinny?
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4n0la_k-DU[/pro-player]
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Dogstar vs BON JOVI & KEANU REEVES vs Jon Bon Jovi
Do you know Dogstar? Keanu Reeves played the bass and toured with the band for 11 years. The band was founded in 1991 and broke up in 2002. But Keanu has been in movies since 1985.
Dogstar even has a picture with Bon Jovi, at the backstage of a concert where the band performed as the supporting act. And how many of you think Jon Bon Jovi as an actor? Sure, he has done some interesting films like The Leading Man and Little City but to most people, he is a rocker, a musician, the frontman of his band Bon Jovi. Keanu Reeves always remained as an actor who liked to play bass and play rocker in his free time to his fans and the name Jon Bon Jovi can sell shitloads of concert tickets but it ain’t that strong when it comes to box office.
KEVIN BACON vs The Bacon Brothers
Kevin Bacon has a band called The Bacon Brothers where he plays with his brother Michael. They have 3 albums but I didn’t even have a clue before I watched a special on the actor’s life. His movies? His movies are good. He is a theater trained actor who can play the good guys (Footloose, a classic dance movie) but thanks to Hollywood, he made a name for himself as the actor who best plays the bad guys. He has played good guys (Footloose, She’s Having a Baby, wrongly convicted and/or sexually molested prisoners (Murder in the First, Sleepers), kidnappers , murderers…the list goes on. You probably heard of Mystic River, JFK, A Few Good Men, Flatliners, Stir of Echoes… Did you by any chance get a hold of his albums? I actually heard him play during that show about his life. He sings and he is good. But it is OK. I know quite a lot of singers with great voices. But I think Kevin Bacon is a uniquely talented actor. I for one am glad he stuck with his acting career.
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the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5mFAc1OTVM
Prepare yourself for a weird, compelling and interesting story. Well, stories actually. The movie consists of three parts, all interconnected somehow but even though they provide some answers to your questions, ultimately you will have to come up with your own explanations. It is safe to say, the story is pretty much interactive. How?
The movie is written and directed by John August, who is known for his screenplays of the movies Big Fish, Go and the animation Corpse Bride and the 2005 version of Charlie and Chocolate Factory. Apart from Go, all three were directed by Tim Burton.
Gary (Reynolds) is a popular yet depressed Hollywood actor. He decides to burn all his girlfriend’s stuff but ends up burning the whole house. He gets on his car, and drinks while driving. He also uses crack and sees what appear to be hallucinations: two guys sitting at the back of his car: two guys that look exactly like him, only slightly different: one wearing glasses and one with darker hair and beard (check out the poster above). Then he crashes his car, is put under house arrest and meets his over eager yet determined publicist Margaret (Melissa McCarthy). He also has an attractive neighbor Sarah (Hope Davis) – who flirts with him in interesting ways. Gary can’t quite get used to the house arrest because odd things keep happening to him. He finds notes and voices that tell him to look for number 9 and the frequency he comes across the number freaks him out. Margaret and Sarah also seem to despise each other. Sarah tells Ryan that she can get him out of the situation whereas Margaret has a very interesting explanation for what’s happening. She claims that she and Gary have been friends for a long time, only Gary doesn’t remember it. And this is only the first part of the bizarre story…
Reynolds plays three different versions of himself. The characters are all him, only with different jobs, names and styles. Melissa McCarthy and Hope Davis also appear in all the stories, again all of them playing different versions of themselves. In the second part, Reynolds plays a TV show creator/writer named Gavin who is best friends with actress Melissa (McCarthy). This time Hope Davis is called Susan, the TV executive who is helping Gavin out with the project. Gavin is one of the “hallucinations” Gary saw in the beginning when he was driving at the beginning. Melissa and Susan have contradictory interests, just like the first part- each thinks Ryan’s character is better off without the other one in his life.
Third story is the dark-haired,bearded version Gary saw in his car. This guy is called Gabriel and he is a video games designer. In this part, Melissa McCarthy plays Mary, Gabriel’s wife and the mother of his kid, who incidentally plays in the show. Davis plays Sierra, a woman Gabriel asks for help when their car breaks down.
Complicated? Yes. Open to interpretations? Hell, yes. Did I give any spoilers? Trust me I didn’t give away anything more than the trailer suggests. But I didn’t mention one of the key actors, or any of the suggestions the movie makes. Trust me, you will have your surprises and theories when you watch it. It is one of the movies you might have to think about after it’s finished. Have fun. I did.
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The Proposal starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock
How do you feel about heist movies? I personally have a weakness for the good ones. I love all that planning and gadgets, the adrenaline and excitement. And if the movie has characters that we can relate to, even better.
Here we have Kevin (Ryan Reynolds), Sam (Kristin Booth) and Rob (Joris Jarsky); three buddies who have known each other since college. They are also a part of a secret society that theoretically plans and executes heists. They plan every single aspect: the timing, the chemical products needed, the athletic performance expected. It’s fun and harmless; until their robbery plan of a diamond store is captured by an actual bad guy (David Suchet). He is aware of the group’s genius. So he makes a plan of his own and delivers the perfect blackmail: Either the friends execute a 20- million- dollar-heist of bonds for him or he sends the plan to the cops and they go to jail.
Kevin and Sam seem to be taking it worse than Rob. Rob seems to like and respect Leo. And moreover he is getting more and more enthusiastic about his cut. Sam wishes Leo dead; she’s not the type to enjoy taking orders. Their nerves are pretty strained too. This time the heist is going to take more guts, more risks and it is a fun ride to watch the gang do all the tricky work.
I like Ryan Reynolds. I am not sure if he is a great actor, but he is no doubt good. I liked his comedic timing when he was one of the guys in the sitcom Two Guys and A Girl. He definitely has the built and charisma to play the action hero which he shows in Wolverine as Wade Wilson, Blade Trinity and many more. He has starred in some very interesting, not- so- easy- to- be- categorized films such as The Nines; which will in fact be my next review. He is cute and handsome enough to pull off romantic leads as well; such as The Proposal. He is one of my favorite Canadian actors. Speaking of Canadian actors, the other two leads are also fellow Canadians and so is the talented writer/director William Philips – the movie was shot in Canada as well.
My point? The movie has the perfect combination of action, comedy and friendly banter – leading to wonderful twists and suspicious behavior. It is fun and deserves a viewing. Go team Ryan!
for the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3qndVGGsM4
Recommended for heist/robbery story fans:
Inside Man starring Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster
Leverage TV Series starring Timothy Hutton
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The Proposal starring Ryan Reynolds and Sandra Bullock
