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Damages Season 2 Review: Starring Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt and Ted Danson

Posted on November 2, 2009 Written by ripitup

I love legal dramas. I love them even more if they use their thriller potential to the maximum. Up to now, I have been a big fan of The Practice ( starring Dylan McDermott) and Shark (starring the amazing James Woods), along with the absurdly humorous Boston Legal (with James Spader) – where the judges and the juries have to be won with wit,brains and some drilling cross-examinations of the witnesses. So my friend recommended Damages. It turned out to have the most impressive cast of actors I have ever seen on television:

GLENN CLOSE

I like Glenn Close as an actress. She may not be your typical screen beauty but she has an exceptional cool screen presence and she will make you buy whatever character and have you rooting for her, even though the character might be a villain,like the seductress she plays in Dangerous Liaisons. And she is no stranger to playing a lawyer. She has co-starred with Jeff Bridges in Jagged Edge. However this role is quite different. She is a smart, no-bullshit type who never fully trusts a person. She is also not the most honest and ethical person she is going to meet. She rarely loses a case. What sets this show aside though, it doesn’t concentrate what goes on in the courtroom but rather what happens at the law firm her character Patty Hewes runs and owns. Behind the scenes involve enough action and deceit to keep you glued to your seat.

So knowing Close can very well make a great show on her own, I started watching. But when I saw the cast, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

WILLIAM HURT

I’ve been a fan of William Hurt since I have seen Eyewitness, a really good thriller from 1981. I can’t wait to get my hands on its DVD and watch it again. My second favorite movie with Hurt is Dark City, by the director Alex Proyas (who got himself a much-deserved cult status with The Crow in 1994). Hurt’s acting is mostly subtle and he delivers perfect performances all over. So when I saw Damages and realized he had one of the most vital co-starring roles, I got even more addicted to Damages. He plays Daniel Purcell, a scientist who is an old acquaintance of Patty Hewes and asks for her help when he suspects the firm he works for is altering some crucial information to manipulate the energy industry. To make matters worse, his wife is killed. Now, you can never be exactly sure if his character is an imperfect but generally nice man or a sociopath who is just a really good actor or just someone in the gray area, neither entirely evil nor good. Hurt is perfect for this role that keeps you guessing and plays with your perception of him.

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT

I find Timothy to be one of the most talented actors of his generation ( born in 1968, he is about the same age as Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and such). He really can get into character- and he can get into it so well that the next time you see him in a movie, you might think it is the first time you have seen him. Yeah, he can be that diverse. I am not going to get much into his career, I’ll be writing a post on him soon. But let’s say that one of his recent appearances has been in the 4th part of the Die Hard quadrilogy Live Free or Die Hard, where he plays Bruce Willis‘s and actually the country’s worst enemy. He does well as smart and cool criminal. He can also just go and shave his heat and bring a video game character to life as he did in Hitman. Some of his other roles include a bisexual falling in love with his boyfriend’s best gal pal (Advice from a Caterpillar), the “manager” of a porn star (The Girl Next Door) and the misunderstood best friend of a girl’s recently deceased fiancé (Catch and Release). The role of Wes Krulik in Damages is not his first TV role, however. He made quite an impression in the western thriller Deadwood with his leading role.

Here he plays the confidant to Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). A guy she knows from the grief counseling group she goes to, trying to deal with her fiancé’s death. Wes appears to be dealing with the death of his girlfriend and becomes one of the few people Ellen trusts. But then again, this is TV show that we can be sure of the intentions of one character only, and that is Ellen. Wes does seem too good to be true, in deed.

ROSE BYRNE

Rose Bryne as Ellen Parsons — Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

It is fun to see a familiar face on a show. Rose Byrne previously played Archilles’ love interest in Troy. Ellen is probably the only really good character in the show. She is by no means perfect but it is so easy to empathize with her and understand what she is doing and why.

TED DANSON

Ted Danson is fun. He makes really enjoyable movies and he can be funny and charming at the same time, which is essential for comedic performances. Of course he has been on TV a lot: Cheers was really popular, and as was Becker. I especially loved him in Becker, where he plays a doctor whose bedside manners are not that different from Gregory House ‘s (from the medical drama House). I had seen him as clumsy,charming, grumpy, witty and /or clueless but I hadn’t quite seen him as a bad guy. Here he plays a billionaire (Arthur Furbisher) not so concerned with other people until something drastic happens to him. But it doesn’t seem like he can get away with it, since Ellen is onto him.

BRETT CULLEN AND MARCIA GAY HARDEN

Marcia Gay Harden in Damages — Marcia Gay Harden

It can be hard to catch these two in leading roles but no matter how big or small their parts are, their performances are solid. Brett Cullen plays an executive with good ties and you wouldn’t want to mess with him. He is Daniel Purcell’s (William Hurt) boss. Marcia Gay Harden plays Claire Maddox, legal consultant to one of the biggest firms in the energy sector. However you can’t exactly tell where her loyalty lies. Since everyone is in a complicated relationship with each other and true loyalty is very scarce.

The show is good. There’s enough suspense and drama to catch you on the edge. So I did cheat a little and started with season 2. But it is good and until season 3 premieres, I have a whole season to catch up with the characters’ pasts. Looking forward to it.

Alias TV Show starring Jennifer Garner, Michael Vartan, Bradley Cooper and Victor Garber

Posted on November 2, 2009 Written by ripitup

Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow in Alias — Some of Sydey’s many disguises in Alias

Before 2001, I had no idea who Michael Vartan, Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper were. I had no idea the terrific actor that is Victor Garber existed and that Ron Rifkin made such a great villain. In 2001 – before Lost- there was Alias. The connection between the two shows? The creator/executive producer J.J. Abrams. The two shows could not have been more different. Yes, both include mystery, some unexplained supernatural possibilities (Alias will remember “Rambaldi”) and lots of action. But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why Lost became the phenomenon that it still is. Sure it is captivating and all, but Alias had created an addiction in me that Lost didn’t. For those of you who never caught Alias, here’s the plot (although I should mention that the order we are given the story is more complicated & intriguing than my orderly version).

THE BACKGROUND

Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow

Sydney Bristow (Jennifer Garner) is a promising college student, with a great boyfriend Danny (Edward Atterton) and loving friends (Will and Francie; played by Bradley Cooper and Merrin Dungey). Her estranged father Jack (Victor Garber) is a businessman she barely talks to and her mother died when she was a kid.

What she told Danny and her friends:

Graduation is taking a tad longer, since she is “working at the finance department of a bank called Credit Dauphine”.

REALITY, as Sydney knows it:

It’s not really a bank. It is SD-6, a secret branch of the CIA and Sydney is a secret agent there. She fights well, speaks many languages and knows her hi-tech gadgets, prepared for every mission by the fast -talking and nice geek Marshall

(Kevin Weisman). Every time she tells her friends, she is going on a business trip, she is actually going on a deadly assignments with her partner/trusted friend Dixon (Carl Lumbly). But Danny proposes ans she feels obliged to tell him. So she does..

He gets into shock and leaves a drunken message on her machine. The agency guys has him killed. Why would CIA kill an innocent civillian? They wouldn’t. They also wouldn’t go after her to kill her.

REALITY

She’s rescued by her absent businessman father and is told the truth: SD-6 is not CIA, in fact SD-6 is an enemy of CIA. Also, he is not a businessman; but a senior SD-6 agent. He offeres Sydney an escape route. But Sydney is upset and she wants vengeance. So she proves herself useful to her boss Arvin Sloane (Ron Rifkin). She further proves her loyalty by undergoing tests/interrogations and is cleared. After all, she is the best agent they have. Then she goes to the real CIA and joins them.

There she meets her “handler” Michael Vaughn (Michael Vartan– the guy who is supposed to tell her about the counter-missions. Oh,that’s right! Now she is only pretending to be loyal to SD-6, while being true to the actual CIA. Now each mission has a counter one, making the timing harder, the missions more dangerous. She also has to pull this off under the unsuspecting nose of her SD-6 partner, who is genuinely a good guy that doesn’t know what SD-6 is really up to…

Then of course her father isn’t really only SD-6. He is also CIA, and he is loyal to them, not Sloan.

It is full of action. Car chases, gadgets ( lipstick with cameras and all that nice stuff), disguises, plane crashes, travelling all over the world- even 3-4 countries in each episode back to her resident location: Los Angeles.

MISSIONS

Jennifer Garner as Sydney Bristow

Michael Vartan and Jennifer Garner in Alias.

Of course as smart, gorgeous and dangerous as she is, Sydney is only human and taking all of the below very badly:

Arvin Sloane:

*Arvin is the man whom she regarded as a father figure until he turned out to be a psychopath and her fiancée killed. He also sent men to kill her. We also know he has lied to her everyday, since her recruitment. Now she has to see him everyday and smile to his face; so that she can bring the whole organization down when the time comes.

Not to mention the fact that she has to live with the fact that she worked for that organization for 7 years, thinking that she was helping the government whereas she had been betraying it.

Jack Bristow

* What is worse than an absent father? Probably a father who lied to you all your life, and seems to be revealing the truth at his own convenience: Oh yes, he has more secrets. He is not just SD-6, he is also CIA-a double agent. He also seems to be deprived of emotion. The guy has a poker face that makes him a great agent and the social bonding skills that make Hugh Laurie’s House seem like a teddy bear. He does love his daughter but he really has to work on the honesty issue. Her mother may not have been a school teacher after all. Telling what happened to her will be a spoiler, sorry…

WILL & FRANCIE

Will and Francie played by Bradley Cooper and Merrin Dungey

*Oh, she has great friends who know nothing about this secret life so she can only talk about trivial stuff with them and hang out. They love her and for the lives of them can not figure out why Sydney doesn’t leave her boring bank job. Pl?us, Will is a journalist and nosy by nature; and he suspects Danny’s murder was no ordinary crime. If he gets close, he too will be killed so she has to protect him from himself. It gets tricky to lead a double life when you live with one of your friends (Francie) and the other is fixed on solving your dead fiancé’s mystery.

DANIEL HECHT

* She has to live with the fact that her fiancée Danny was killed by her boss, and because she told him who she is.




MICHAEL VAUGHN



If her cover is blown, and he is discovered to be of CIA, they are both screwed (as in risking to be murdered by SD-6)…It really doesn’t help matters that they keep getting closer and become increasingly attracted to each other…

Their relationship never lacks adrenaline, friendship, honesty, sexual chemistry, bottled up feelings and not to mention the fact that they both face death almost everyday. It is nerve-wrecking to go on missions and fight together on the field- without being detected by SD-6 and it is worse for Michael to sit and watch as Sydney overtakes one deadly mission after another. So she can tell Michael anything. But she can’t even go out with him. Another thing about her life that drives her mad.

This is as close to a date it gets for Syndey Bristow and her handler Michael Vaughn. She’s being briefed about her missions while pretending to be too strangers streching on the benches.

So this eventually happens: Sydney and Vaughn get together. But how many episodes does it take? You are just going to have to see it for yourselves.

The Guest Stars

Yes, of course each episode has many guest stars but some of them are remarkably famous and it was certainly fun to see them in those kick-ass episodes: Ethan Hawke, Christian Slater and Quentin Tarantino.

Ethan Hawke appears in Alias episode Double Agent (Season 2, Episode 14)

Christian Slater appears in two episodes of Alias: Endgame (season 2, episodes 15 & 19)

Quentin Tarantino appears as McKenas Cole in 4 episodes of Alias.

TO SUM UP:

Season 1 is brilliant with an incredible season finale.

Season 2 does not dissapoint. Moreover it features guest stars that I love; such as Ethan Hawke and Christian Slater.

The whole season is amazing and the finale is arguably even more shocking than the first season’s. In season, 3 the show is still good- you hardly get upset with the script but with some actions of some characters (major actions of major characters, to be exact) but after season 3…The show is no longer addictive. It lose its vibe. The characters and their actions aren’t interesting anymore. The story twists are sort of desperate and you say “Come on,what the…?” a lot. Don’t even get me started on the 5th season. Of course they are worth watching in the sense that you want to know what eventually will happen to characters you have come to care about but still, if you quit with the 3rd, I am not gonna blame you.

My guess is J.J Abrams found a new show idea that he liked (Lost) and fell out of love with Alias. Writers wrote with the philosophy of “anything goes” and since this is not a soap opera, they failed.

However I watch the first 3 (and especially 1st &2nd) seasons over and over. After all, real life is never going to get that interesting and exciting. It is fun to be in a world of lies, deceit, passion, fights and chases and espionage for about 40 minutes each episode.

House: Better than Sherlock Holmes and CSI combined!

Posted on November 2, 2009 Written by ripitup

Hugh Laurie as Gregory House — Hugh Laurie as the hilarious and eccentric Gregory House

Foreman: “Isn’t treating patients why we became doctors?”
House: “No, treating illnesses is why we became doctors. Treating patients is what makes most doctors miserable.”

It took me about 10 minutes of one episode to be hooked to this guy. I am saying guy- the show House revolves around a doctor named Gregory House- who approaches to medical cases scientifically. The creators never hide the fact that they were inspired by Sherlock Holmes . Add a little CSI factor as he sends his medical team to the patient’s homes to investigate. Oh, that’s right. Because he doesn’t trust his patients. And he is right. Almost always they lie to save their asses from getting into trouble – even though it means risking their lives. House does not tolerate stupidity or insincerity. He tells whatever he thinks and is not concerned about faking anything. He is brilliant and although thought to be arrogant, I just think he is blunt. Now let’s see why I think this has been the most interesting show on TV. Yes, there have been brilliant comedies (Friends, Married with Children) and some kick-ass action series (first seasons of Alias, 24), but House rises above. Because the thing is, it does not waste its time on creating romance so that the audience will come back. Oh there is some romance going on between the staff alright. But how House reacts to them is hilarious. Oh, and it is so exciting without any action scenes. It is more captivating than the action series and it manages this in a hospital setting. And no, again it is not about the drama caused by the patients or their relatives. It is House’s race against time in trying to save the patient. His team is so concerned about labeling him as apathetic and/or as an asshole, since he always seems to care more about solving the case, rather than saving a life. Of course what the idiots are not considering is that without the solution, the patient will already be dead. So why should House’s intentions and lack of bedside manners matter?

Let’s take a brief look at characters.

Lisa Cuddy

Hugh Laurie's House vs. Lisa Edelstein's Cuddy

Lisa is the dean of medicine at the hospital House works in. She is long-lost in administrative business and clashes with House all the time. Sure there are some chemistry issues and sexual innuendos underneath but it doesn’t help Cuddy that House is the least politically correct person to walk the earth. He doesn’t care about pleasing anyone or ethics or hospital rules. The fact that he defies norms all the time has helped a lot of patients lived, but then Cuddy has a career and hospital to protect. Of course the show never ever wastes time about them trying to date. House’s lines are just brilliant. Cuddy never ceases to be shocked and/or outraged by House’s next insane idea.

She has to bear with him because he is an amazing doctor who only takes seemingly impossible cases. But he hates clinic duty, watches TV in coma patients’ room and so forth. The guy is a riot to watch and a nightmare to work with.

*****

one of my favorite dialogs; from Season 1, Episode 3

House: Hello, sick people and their loved ones! In the interest of saving time and avoiding a lot of boring chitchat later, I’m Doctor Gregory House; you can call me “Greg”. I’m one of three doctors staffing this clinic this morning.

Cuddy: Short, sweet, grab a file.

House: This ray of sunshine is Doctor Lisa Cuddy. Doctor Cuddy runs this whole hospital, so unfortunately she’s much too busy to deal with you. I am a board … certified diagnostician with a double specialty of infectious disease and nephrology. I am also the only doctor currently employed at this hospital who is forced to be here against his will.
That is true, isn’t it? But not to worry, because for most of you, this job could be done by a monkey with a bottle of Motrin. Speaking of which, if you’re particularly annoying, you may see me reach for this: this is Vicodin. It’s mine! You can’t have any! And no, I do not have a pain management problem, I have a pain problem … but who knows? Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I’m too stoned to tell. So, who wants me?

*****

The Team: Dr. Foreman, Dr. Chase and Dr. Cameron.

These three had leading parts in the first three seasons. Seasons 4 and 5 had Chase and Cameron’s roles cut and a new team joining under Foreman. However, these three provide the substructure.

FOREMAN

Foreman has had a troubled childhood and House always refers to his “shady” past. Foreman always looks for an opportunity to prove House is wrong and he just can’t.

And of course House loves to get on Foreman’s nerves. Because House is the wittiest one, people.

Foreman: “Why are you riding me?”
House: “It’s what I do…has it gotten worse lately?”
Foreman: “Yeah. Seems to me.”
House: “Really. Well, that rules out the race thing. ‘Cause you were just as black last week.”

CHASE

Chase is an Australian doctor played by real life Australian actor Jesse Spencer. I must admit, when I first saw him, I thought he was really good-looking. However it is not the cute face of someone but it the attitude and the brains and the wit that win you over. 10 minutes into the show, I couldn’t care less about Chase. I wanted Hugh Laurie’s House on screen, every minute.

House calls him British and Chase says :

“I’m Australian.”

House: “You put the queen on your money. You are British.”

CAMERON

Cameron has had the hots for house for a while. House thinks she is pretty and smart and everything. But please don’t tell me you are expecting a relationship, a whirlwind romance after everything I told you. Towards the end of season 1, Cameron quits her job and forces House to have a date with her; this is her condition to come back. House reluctantly agrees. The thing is House things, if she wants him, she is nuts. He says so at their date. He is older than her, his leg is injured, he is addicted to pain medication, he is not a nice guy and he is not good-looking. Wow, this is so not how she pictured their date would go…

WILSON

House’s best friend. As opposite as they seem, they seem to complete each other. Just like House was loosely based on Sherlock, Wilson is loosely based on Watson. They quarrel and disagree on almost everything. Yet somehow, they have fun together.

Wilson: “She’s hot, so she’s a hooker? What kind of pathetic logic is that?”
House: “The envious, jealous, I-never-got-any-in-high-school kind of logic, hello! “

The great thing about House is that although you know he is going to do something unpredictable and fun to watch, you just can’t guess his next step. Just see a couple of episodes and you will know what I mean. And it is funny how he got rid off Cameron at their date by stating all the negative things about himself and all the while I was thinking how sexy he was. No, it is not about girls being attracted to assholes as a friend (also attracted to Hugh Laurie’s wonderful portrayal of House) suggested. The thing is, I don’t think House is an asshole. He is smart and blunt. He is not into any kind of politics. Oh, and there is the fun aspect: He has amazing blue eyes, rugged good – looks and an awfully charismatic voice- a very real American accent. Hugh is English in real life. Oh and he is not a bastard when he cares about the people who deserve to be cared about. An ex-girlfriend/the love of his life ( Stacey, played by Sela Ward) comes to the show and you see how he is when he is in love.

End note: One philosophy of House is that “Everybody lies”. Yet once in a while he believes that a patient of his is telling the truth. One of the team members asks:

“What happened to “everybody lies”? House replies: “I lied.”

quote source:

http://www.housemdquotes.com/

If you liked House, you might enjoy

The Mentalist

If you like a good detective/mystery show with less drama, more humor and less sarcasm, you might want to try

Castle

Desperate Housewives: addictively hilarious and entertaining

Posted on November 1, 2009 Written by ripitup

Well, people made such a big fuss about the show that it had to be overrated, right? And if you- like me- only a caught a glimpse of episodes randomly while trying to check James Denton out (or the women,if you prefer); it could have seemed to you that the shows plot was beyond implausible, the characters unlikeable. Hence I really didn’t think the show was worth following. Oh, it was a real pleasure to come to realize that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

One night I came across Season 5 reruns and I had nothing better to do and that was it. I was hooked. The show is admittedly one of the most entertaining and original shows ever.

I used to think suburbia is boring. Oh, of course the houses look great. And of course it would be lovely to live on a street where you are close friends with your neighbors who are roughly the same age…But it would be boring. Being away from the city? Having a car as the only way of transportation? Having children around? Being married?? Being a housewife??? Oh well…of course these situations do exist. It is just that the women’s lives are never boring. And there is always so much cheating/lying/back-stabbing/plotting going on. Oh, I don’t mean these friends are doing those to each other. Oh no. But what happens with the other neighbors is always a riot!

Just on the top of my head- (from the first season alone):

* In the first episode the narrator (Mary Alice Young) kills herself. As she narrates and gives us clues, we put the pieces together and try to understand why she would do that. She had a loving son, a loving marriage and had great friends.

Meet the gang:

SUSAN (AND MIKE)

Teri Hatcher as Susan and James Denton as Mike: Desperate Housewives — Teri Hatcher as Susan and James Denton as Mike

Hatcher’s Susan has a massive crush on the dreamy plumber/ the new neighbor Mike. He is like a breath of fresh air to Susan’s romantic life-after all Susan is the divorced mother of a teenage girl. Her husband has cheated and left her for another woman. But of course as hot as Mike is, things are complicated. He seems to be giving her mixed signals and we the viewer see what Susan does not. Mike has a lot of cash lying around, a gun in his belt, and plans& notes on the whole neighborhood. He is a man on a mission and it doesn’t seem like a very innocent one…

*Gabby (Eva Longoria):

Eva Longoria Parker as Gabby Solis and Jesse Metcalfe as her teenage gardener

Gabby is cheating on her husband with her teenage gardener (Jesse Metcalfe).

* Lynette (Felicity Huffman)

She has 4 kids. She despises being a housewife as she used to be a top advertising exec. before she became a full-time mom.

*Bree ( Marcia Cross)

She is always groomed and made up. She is always prepared and meticulous and “perfect”. She is the perfect host and her family is so bothered by this.

*Edie (Nicolette Sheridan)

She is hot and is not the least bit shy about it. Edie may be hot and festive, but she is not exactly a female loved by her peers. She is just too out there…

Well if you haven’t seen the show yet, you might think this is not complicated at all. Trust me, what you just read is the overly simplified version. The comedy, intrigue and the romance are well-balanced. The thing about these women are that they are not that desperate. Hell, they are not exactly just housewives either. Before Lynette quit, she was much more successful than her husband who is also in advertising. She is desperate because she has realized is that dealing with 4 small children is a lot harder than running a company. Susan illustrates children’s books. Edie is in real estate, Gabby is an ex runway model. Well, Bree is only a housewife but then she is so obsessed with it you can say it is a career for her: she does all her own cooking, cleaning,gardening,making her own clothes,fixing everything…

Gabby is only fooling around because her seemingly rich and romantic husband is just rich, inconsiderate and a workaholic. With her past career and good looks, it isn’t that hard to imagine she has the hormones and motives to match her gardener’s… Bree might seem like the mother and wife from hell but her son will be enough to make a lot of women not wanna have kids. Lynette has the tendency to hate her husband at times since he doesn’t seem to get what a difficult job she has at home and of course because he has made her pregnant 4 times. And the little baby is the least of her troubles. Susan has no idea about the past of the love of her life and she is a generally clueless person/mother/woman. Edie is…well,you have seen the picture. And while all of their lives are interesting and complicated, the darkest secrets might be about to come from their recently deceased friend; Mary Alice…

Now that season 6 started, I am onto the new season. Of course I had seen half of season 5 and I just finished watching seasons 1& 2. Even with this weird order I’m following the show, I love every second of it. I hope they have many more seasons and keep having mysterious new neighbors with dark secrets and a dangerous agenda…Oh and of course, kudos to Marc Cherry to creating the show. And hats off to the casting people!

from left: Nicolette Sheridan, Teri Hatcher, Marcia Cross,Felicity Huffman, Eva Longoria Parker

Also on Teri Hatcher

* Book Review: Burnt Toast by Teri Hatcher:

* Tribute to young-looking stars: Teri Hatcher, Gerard Butler and more