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The Vicious Kind starring Adam Scott: Humanly Amoral, Emotional and Funny

Posted on June 21, 2016 Written by Pinar Tarhan

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The Vicious Kind movie poster
The Vicious Kind movie poster via amazon.com.

 

Oh, how Adam Scott (High Crimes, Leap Year , A.C.O.D, Friends with Kids, The Overnight) has grown on me. I’ve never not liked the guy, but this was definitely one of the more challenging roles he has taken on.

On the surface, the premise of the movie might sound like a typical romantic comedy. However, it’s not very typical, and it’s NOT a romantic comedy.

Caleb (Adam Scott) is a lonely construction worker who is not dealing well with his break-up at all. He can’t sleep, he has sex with hookers and then sends pictures of the act to his ex, and he is not taken the news of his younger brother Luke’s romance well. He believes, and openly states, that all women are whores, and this new girl, Emma (Britanny Snow), is no different. The fact that she was seeing another guy when she met Luke only confirms Caleb’s thoughts.

Luke introduces them as they pick up Emma, and drive her and Luke to their father’s house – a father called Donald (played by J.K. Simmons) Caleb isn’t on speaking terms with.

The problem is Emma kind of looks like Caleb’s ex. She is also sexy, nice and friendly, making Caleb assault her and want her all at once. Oh, yes, Caleb isn’t very a stable or healthy individual. However, he is a fascinating character to watch.

One minute he’s frightening the hell out of her, and one minute he’s crying and apologizing. One minute he’s trying to prove she’s out to break Luke’s heart and telling her not to, and one minute he’s being all intense and attracting her.

Of course, Emma is only less of a mess compared to Caleb. Her boyfriend, Caleb’s brother Luke, is a virgin. Caleb is a good-looking nutjob, their father Donald borders on creepy and weird, and she has her own drunk mother and parental issues to deal with. As a psych major who hasn’t been able to sort herself out, is it any wonder she’s slowly drawn to the volatile Caleb? And can anyone survive this triangle?

*

The performances are fantastic, and I had a pretty good time watching Caleb contradicting himself at every turn. Adam Scott does a brilliant job in making the audience going from wanting to punch him to hug him and back to punching in a matter of minutes.

Luke seems like the more innocent and normal of the bunch, but that might exactly be what’s backfiring in his relationship. It’s not that Emma wants a bad guy per se, but she’d certainly be prepared for one who deals with his issues out on the open.

It’d be appropriate to call Caleb both the antagonist and protagonist of the story: He’s the main character. We get to know him the most. He is also the one screwing up things left and right, and doing almost always the wrong thing to sort things out or feel better.

I’d definitely recommend this funny drama. Written and directed by Lee Toland Krieger.

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: adam scott, brittany snow, j.k. simmons, Lee Toland Krieger, the vicious kind, the vicious kind movie review

High Crimes starring Jim Caviezel, Ashley Judd & Morgan Freeman

Posted on November 25, 2011 Written by ripitup

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High Crimes starring Jim Caviezel, Ashley Judd & Morgan Freeman
High Crimes starring Jim Caviezel, Ashley Judd & Morgan Freeman.

Tom (Jim Caviezel) and Claire Kubik (Ashley Judd) are a happily married couple. Very much in love, they are trying to have a baby, despite Claire’s crazy schedule as a successful lawyer. However their happiness gets challenged by one shocking incident: Tom is arrested, and taken to a military facility. This is how Claire learns that her beloved husband Tom is in fact Ron Chapman, an ex-sergeant who changed his identity because he was being accused of multiple murders. Despite her shock, Claire believes Tom’s innocence, and decides to defend him when the appointed military lawyer (Adam Scott) turns out to be a rookie. She also enlists the help of the brilliant former military attorney Charles W. Grimes (Morgan Freeman).

To make matters more complicated, her carefree sister (Amanda Peet) moves in with her, and starts dating the rookie. Moreover the judge seems to be favoring the opposing counsel (Michael Gaston), and doesn’t seem to be care whether Tom is innocent or not. Claire himself occasionally doubts her husband, but she knows in her heart that he is a good man and she needs to win this. However the military seems determined to do anything to sabotage her and her case, and the sole survivor of the murderers is not happy about her either. Can Claire and her team survive all this and free Tom?

*

High Crimes is a very entertaining and absolutely engaging legal drama/thriller from 2002. The acting is great, and it offers many twists and turns that makes you change your mind about Tom’s innocence again and again. It’s only fault is the ultimate twist, and when it comes. Anyone who has seen multiple movies will notice that the ending will offer something different than the outcome of the trial. And not all actions of characters (main and supporting) will make sense at the end. But these can be ignored, as the movie is a lot of fun to watch. It’s currently rated at 6.1 on IMDB. And I believe it is the delivery of the ending that stopped it from being rated at 7 or higher. A well-earned 7/10 from me. The acting, however, especially Jim Caviezel’s gets an 8.

Based on the novel by Joseph Finder.

 

Also on Jim Caviezel

Jim Caviezel Trivia: Interesting Facts About the Person of Interest Star

Also on Ashley Judd

Actors’ Take on Nudity feat. Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie, Antonio Banderas, Gerard Butler & More

Someone Like You starring Hugh Jackman and Ashley Judd

Also on Morgan Freeman

Red starring Bruce Willis, Mary-Louise Parker, John Malkovich, Karl Urban, Morgan Freeman & Helen Mirren

Thick as Thieves starring Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman and Radha Mitchell

Also on Amada Peet

2012 starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover & Woody Harrelson

Something’s Gotta Give starring Jack Nicholson, Diane Keaton and Keanu Reeves

Griffin & Phoenix starring Amanda Peet & Dermot Mulroney

Spin City TV Show Guest Stars Trivia: Amanda Peet, Gabriel Macht, Paula Marshall & Tracy Pollan

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: adam scott, Amanda Peet, Ashley Judd, drama, high crimes, high crimes cast, high crimes movie, high crimes movie review, Jim Caviezel, joseph finder, michael gaston, Morgan Freeman, movies, thriller

Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode

Posted on October 24, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode
Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode

American Anna (Amy Adams) has a profitable career in “staging homes” for the real estate agents and she is really good at it. She’s also in a 4-year relationship with her cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott). They are candidates to live in her dream apartment so things just seem perfect.

However when Jeremy fails to propose at the expected moment, Anna  gets inspired by the idea she gets from her loving but unreliable father (John Lithgow): she’ll honor the Irish Leap Year tradition and will go to Dublin- where Jeremy will be attending a medical conference- and propose to him.

But awful weather conditions land her in a remote town in Ireland, where she will need to persuade the unwilling bartender/motel owner Declan (Matthew Goode) –who of course is young and really attractive in a scruffy way.

Monetary issues for Declan to drive her. But everything that can go wrong on the way does-including a growing attraction between the two seemingly opposite strangers.

Is there a chance that Declan is the one instead of Jeremy? And can they figure out they feelings  until it is time to part in Dublin?

I know the three words you’re thinking: typical romantic comedy. And you are right. I am not saying to bash the movie, it is a fact. However it is a perfectly enjoyable experience for those in the target audience- romantic (mostly)females who love a good romcom escapism (which I am a part of) it.

It also helps it when you like the leads and I really enjoy watching both Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.

Yeah, it is full of clichés and it is highly unbelievable that they can fall for each other in a couple of days and decide to pursue it. But then again, it is precisely for these clichés that we watch romcoms.  And frankly Declan, to me, is the perfect fantasy male. He is ruggedly good-looking, has a good sense of humor, isn’t materialistic and is actually really romantic. And Irish countryside is always a plus (for watching in the films).

Yes, there are no surprises in this film. It is simple, ordinary and entirely predictable. But it is also a good genre example. Watch it if you are not allergic to romcoms. I had fun. My only complaint is that John  Lithgow has such a small role.

Other Matthew Goode Movies

Watchmen starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode

The Lookout starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew Goode and Jeff Daniels

Other Amy Adams Movies

Enchanted starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starring Amy Adams, Frances McDormand and Lee Pace

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: adam scott, Amy Adams, amy adams movies, comedy, Ireland, john Lithgow, leap year, leap year movie, Matthew Goode, matthew goode movies, romance, romantic comedy, romcom

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