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Actors’ Pleasantly Surprising Roles feat. Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman & Russell Crowe

Posted on January 10, 2011 Written by ripitup

Actors’ Pleasantly Surprising Roles feat. Harrison Ford, Gary Oldman & Russell Crowe

Finding a good script is tricky. Constantly being after good scripts and trying to be versatile at the same time is even trickier. An actor might often find himself playing a character more often than other roles- such as being a cop or a villain too often. So just when you think you’ve seen all the cards up his sleeve, he surprises you as a character you have never seen before. Below are 3 examples:

* Harrison Ford in Six Days Seven Nights

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford & Anne Heche

We are accustomed to seeing Ford in serious roles. Whether he is a cop (The Devil’s Own,Witness) or The President (Air Force One). Sure he had his characters with a sense of humor (Indiana Jones) but this one really caught me off guard.

In Six Days Seven Nights, he is a middle-aged pilot who lives on an island in Tahiti and is pretty pleased with his easy-going life. That’s until he meets Robin (Anne Heche) and a plane crash puts them both an island.

Ford’s character gets drunk too often and makes jokes at Anne Heche’s character Robin’s expense. He also falls down, gets beaten up and smiles a lot, all the while managing to be the masculine Harrison Ford we know him to be. Watch this one to see Harrison in an action/romance/comedy genre.

Two other movies if you like the combination of these genres:

Birds on a Wire starring Goldie Hawn and Mel Gibson

The Bounty Hunter starring Gerard Butler and Jennifer Anniston

* Gary Oldman in The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter starring Demi Moore & Gary Oldman

We saw Gary play the bad guy too often. Sure, when he isn’t playing the ultimate-villain (Léon, Murder in the First, Dracula), he does play a lot of shady/grey characters (Romeo Lies Bleeding, Sid and Nancy). So I am guessing I am not the only one surprised to find him as Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale in the film adaptation of The Scarlet Letter in 1995. He was a reverend, he was genuinely nice and he was playing a romantic character! And being Gary Oldman, he pulled this off brilliantly. You may or may not like the movie but Gary’s performance was…well, up to Gary’s standards.

* Russell Crowe in A Good Year

A Good Year starring Russell Crowe, Marion Cotillard & Albert Finney. Feat. Tom Hollander & Richard Coyle.

Russell Crowe might be an academy-award-winning actor, but hey let’s face it, he doesn’t have typically have a boyish charm. And he doesn’t really look like as if he is ready to make a fool out of himself. I am checking out his films to see another light-hearted role and I can’t. He played a warrior, a cop, an agent, an “insider”…. Sure, Mystery, Alaska is fun but A Good Year is even better. Not just because it features the Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard (Public Enemies, Inception) but because it shows us the two sides of Crowe- one we know so well and we are not so used to.

A Good Year follows Max Skinner- a ruthless and successful British broker in London to Provence, France. His uncle has died and left him his vineyard. All Max wants to do get the paperwork out of the way and do whatever the hell he wants with it. But before he can change the property, the property, its residents, his uncle’s (Albert Finney’s) memories and a certain French girl changes him.

This movie is directed by Ridley Scott, a director that Russell collaborates with quite often. The duo also did Gladiator, American Gangster, Body of Lies and Robin Hood together. But among them all, this is the sweetest, lightness and the most romantic movie of them all. Here, Russell’s hotshot Max gets into funny situations, falls in love, falls in love with the vineyard and discovers a side to himself that he didn’t know or forgot that it existed. And best of all, Russell isn’t alone in providing the comic relief. His friend Charlie (Tom Hollander) comes to visit. And well, Tom’s scenes are usually not so charismatic in movies and this one is no exception. Max’s broker nemesis is played by Richard Coyle– who you might remember as Jeff from TV Show Coupling– the British series that had most viewers laughing their butts off. And that’s an understatement. So it doesn’t matter if you put Richard in a semi-serious, small role. I start laughing the moment I see the guy. Oh, and the female lead is so elegantly beautiful that the story wouldn’t have made sense if Max hadn’t fallen head over heels with her. This film really made me like Russell. Yes, he is a good actor but he was just not this fun before.

Spread starring Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche and Margarita Levieva

Posted on October 10, 2010 Written by ripitup

Spread starring Ashton Kutcher, Anne Heche and Margarita Levieva. 2009.

Nikki (Ashton Kutcher) is a handsome young man who came to Los Angeles to live the good life. And being aware of his looks, he has decided that the best way to do that is to seduce (older) wealthy women, gain their trust and well…live off them. His recent catch is Samantha (Anne Heche) an attractive woman who is a little older and has a fabulous house, complete with a swimming pool. Nikki soon starts staying at her place, driving her car and using her credit cards. And they have a lot of sex. Of course this is not enough to stop Nikki from having sex with younger, sexy girls – at Samantha’s place. Samantha is pissed to find out, but their arrangement is far too comfortable for her to end it.

So Nikki keeps at his usual ways until he meets the young, pretty and fiery waitress Heather (Margarita Levieva). He does his best to bed her and when he finally manages, he realizes that she is just his female version. She has come to L.A. to live the good life and she is dating wealthy men to get it. Things however get a little complicated when Nikki has to start over and falls in love with Heather. There is no doubt that they are perfect for each other but who’s going to support them?

Spread, despite the comedy label on IMDB, is more like a drama with some entertaining moments and striking one-liners. Ashton Kutcher fits the part and the cast are fine. There is even Sebastian Stan in a supporting role as Nikki’s friend, who you might remember as Carter Brazen if you are watching Gossip Girl. And California is as gorgeous as always.

But is the movie worth watching? I don’t think so. Would I watch it if it didn’t take place in California? No. Would I watch it if Ashton Kutcher wasn’t in it? I really doubt it. And the fact is, I did use the fast forward button a couple of times, Ashton’s scenes included. There is not one likeable leading character, there are far too many sex scenes (more than necessary to prove the point) and well, who really cares about a womanizer who basically acts like a gigolo, falls in love with a female gold-digger and decides he wants to go straight? It is not funny enough to be a decent comedy and it doesn’t work as a drama. But I really don’t think it is director David Mackenzie’s fault. He shot pretty much exactly how any other director would have shot this story. Unfortunately, it is not really a story worth telling.

Now, this movie still can be recommended if you like your stories bittersweet, care about deeply flawed and superficial characters and are a hard-core Ashton Kutcher fan. It also helps if you want something of a soft porn. 6.0 on IMDB.

Other Posts feat. Ashton Kutcher

Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and Tom Selleck

16 Fun Facts Actor Ashton Kutcher – Kelso from That 70s Show

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: feat. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

Valentine’s Day starring Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba & More

The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart

22 Tall Actors From Hollywood

Other Posts feat. Anne Heche

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche

Return to Paradise starring Vince Vaughn and Anne Heche

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford, Anne Heche and David Schwimmer

Posted on May 16, 2010 Written by ripitup

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche. Image from: http://gallery.sendbad.net

Robin Monroe (Anne Heche) is a successful young woman working for a women’s lifestyle magazine and she is happy with her long-term boyfriend Frank (David Schwimmer). Frank surprises her with a romantic vacation (6 days, 7 nights) plan and they fly to Tahiti. They need to get on a smaller plane to fly to their destination island. Their pilot is Quinn (Harrison Ford), an older American who couldn’t be more opposite in his manners compared to both Robin and Frank. Their co-pilot is Quinn’s sort of girlfriend, exotic beauty Angelica (Jacqueline Obradors).

Everything is perfect until Robin gets a call from her boss (Allison Janney) They need to have an urgent photo shoot and she has to fly to a nearby island. She makes a deal with Quinn to fly her there. At first the flight is fine and they seem to be getting along. However, a storm hits and damages the plane. Quinn has to land the plane on a remote island where nobody lives. The landing renders the plane useless. Robin’s panic and the differences in their personalities cause a lot of fighting in the beginning. But they realize they need to get along and work together if they want to survive. In the meantime, Frank and Angelica join a rescue search when they hear that Robin and Quinn didn’t make it to their destination.

The time on the island makes Quinn and Robin realize there is more than meets the eye for both of them and they are growingly attracted to each other. Angelica and Frank might also have found an “interesting” way to cope with their disappearance.

This movie is fun. It has comedy, action and romance all at once and each is in the right amount. I am pleasantly surprised by Harrison Ford. Yes, he is a good actor but in everything else that I saw him in, he is always so serious and charismatic. It had never crossed my mind that I’d call a Harrison character fun and cute. So what if an island is a cliché? I don’t care as long as it works and it does. I love adventure romcoms better than regular romantic comedies because they bring a much more entertaining element to the mix. What do we have in this movie? David Schwimmer is acting pretty much like his ever-popular character Friends’ character but it is OK. Ross is funny. There are planes crashing, pirates chasing, bugs and wild animals on the loose and a lot of disasters. The ending is typical but again, I remind you that this is a romantic comedy with action. So lay back and enjoy the film. Made in 1998, directed by Ivan Reitman. Rated 5.6 on IMDB. My vote is at 7. It is mindless entertainment and it is good at it!

Favorite Lines:

Robin: I am so scared.

Quinn: If it makes you feel any better, a little scared myself

Robin: No. No, that doesn’t make me feel better.

Quinn: I thought that was what women wanted.

Robin: What?

Quinn: Men who’re not afraid to cry. Men in touch with their feminine side.

Robin: No, not when we are being chased by pirates.

********

Angelica: It’s just that we are going a terrible ordeal. It’s like when after a funeral.

Frank: Yeah?

Angelica: Everybody has sex.

Frank: Not everybody.

******

on Quinn’s age:

Robin: You still look good.

Quinn: I still am good.

********

on the how-to-excite-men/Cosmopolitan type of articles on her magazine…

Quinn: (amused) For Pete’s sake. 10 ways to light his fire…You know how a woman gets a man excited?

Robin: How?

Quinn: She shows up. That’s it. We are guys. We are easy. Of course for that, you can’t charge 6 bucks an issue.

Other Harrison Ford Movies

Regarding Henry

Firewall

Air Force One

Return to Paradise starring Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche and Joaquin Phoenix

Posted on October 31, 2009 Written by ripitup

Return to Paradise, starring Vince Vaughn, Anne Heche and Joaquin Phoenix

Sheriff (Vince Vaughn), Lewis (Joaquin Phoenix) and Tony (David Conrad) are three pals who take a vacation in Malaysia. Enjoying the scene and getting a little high don’t seem like a bad idea. Tony and Sheriff need to get back to New York. They don’t hear from Lewis for a while…

Lewis is in big trouble. Drug possession is a major crime in Malaysia and he has been caught with all their drugs. Now he is facing death sentence, and being kept in prison under the most primitive conditions. Lewis’s lawyer Beth (Anne Heche) comes to New York to track the two friends down, because there is a chance to save Lewis. Since the some of the drugs were theirs, Malaysian court will not hang Lewis if they come back and admit to their crime. They will each get three years and then get their freedom back. If only one of them goes, he will get six years. However they see what an awful shape he is in through the video records. He is bordering on the verge of insanity. Now David and Sheriff have a life-altering dilemma. Should they go back, plead guilty and suffer the same conditions? Lewis seems like a lost cause and do they want to go through the same treatments and conditions? But if they don’t, their friend will be hung- because of a crime they helped commit. Beth has a very short time frame- 8 days- to persuade the two, and David has a fiancée (Vera Farmiga) that seems quite determined to keep David out of prison. Things also get more complicated as Beth and Sheriff seem to feel an attraction and connection towards each other…

It is one of the most haunting and thought-provoking movies I have seen and I find the script quite original and brilliant. The dilemma in itself is perfect. Can you risk losing 3 or 6 years of your life, trusting a government whose willing to hang a man for possessing drugs? And by drugs, we are not talking about heroin, but hashish. How much do they love their friend? But on the other hand, they are at fault as well. And by not giving up their freedom for a certain period of time, they will have caused their friend’s death. So which will it be? The agony of spending time in a jail that is disturbing enough to make their friend into someone they don’t recognize? Or will they live with the guilt for the rest of their lives?

It is an excellent what if question. The question is awfully difficult and the choices are terribly unpleasant. It is easy to say you’d of course go and help your friend, and claim you’d do the right thing, but we don’t really know if we could do it, if/when push happened to come to shove. David suffers from it. Sheriff suffers from it. The existence of dilemma makes the characters to go through a conflict. It will also show them who they really are. Beth’s situation isn’t that easy either, especially after she starts to fall for Sheriff.

The acting is just intense enough. The characters are not over or underplayed. It is one of those movies that glue you to your seat without any action scenes. If any of you have taken a disliking towards Vince Vaughn because of the same type of fast-talking comedic characters he seems to play too often (Old School, Wedding Crashers, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), this movie is going to persuade you that he can act. In fact, this one is the first movie I have ever seen Vince Vaughn and I’ll always be a fan. I wish he could make more movies like this. And it is no secret that Joaquin Phoenix (The Gladiator, Walk the Line, Quills) is a great actor. Even though he is the younger brother of the deceased River Phoenix, I always seem to make the mistake of thinking Joaquin as the older one, since River died at the age of 23. Talented family.

Anyhow, please make time to see this film. It’s modest yet powerful. It’s worth it.

Wedding Crashers Review: https://pinartarhan.com/blog/wedding-crashers/