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No Looking Back starring Edward Burns, Lauren Holly & Jon Bon Jovi

Posted on January 14, 2011 Written by ripitup

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No Looking Back starring Edward Burns, Lauren Holly & Jon Bon Jovi
No Looking Back starring Edward Burns, Lauren Holly & Jon Bon Jovi. Feat. Jennifer Esposito, Blythe Danner & Connie Britton. Image via filmlerim.com

Claudia (Lauren Holly) is living in the small town she grew up. Working as a diner waitress, her time is divided between her depressed mother (Blythe Danner) and her sister (Connie Britton), her live-in boyfriend Michael (Jon Bon Jovi) and with her friends – who are also Michael’s friends and they pretty much end up doing the same things every night.

Claudia is fed up with her life, but she doesn’t feel like there is much she can do, until her ex/the-love-of-her-life Charlie (Edward Burns) comes back to town. Charlie has never been content with the domestic town life and he makes sure he reminds Claudia that neither has she.

Sure, Charlie seems like an exciting change but can Claudia ever trust her again? And what about Michael?

**

Don’t accuse me of being a hypocrite for watching this just yet. So, I said I wasn’t really dying to watch Natalie Portman’s Love and Other Impossible Pursuits because it had such an unoriginal storyline. Yet here I am reviewing a film that, on the surface, offers nothing but a love triangle and small town depression. But then again, No Looking Back has two good things to offer: Jon Bon Jovi and Edward Burns. And I never had anything against Gwyneth Paltrow’s real life mother Blythe Danner, Spin City’s Nikki Connie Britton or Jennifer Esposito, who deliver nicely on the sidelines. But this movie, for me, was about Jon and Edward.

Yeah, Lauren Holly is a good actress. But what makes No Looking Back worth a look for me is that it is mainly a one-man effort, just like many Edward Burns movies.  It was written and directed by Burns, he has the lead role and he has co-produced it. He doesn’t always come up with the best storylines, but he is good at creating ordinary yet life-like characters and he has always been one of my idols. Come on- how many movie buffs fantasized about shooting their own story, with their favorite actors? I am guessing and the difference is Burns has managed it. Remember his first The Brothers McMullen? Shot with $25,000 and making 10 million – all that with an unknown cast? Yep, that was Burns. As I said, No Looking Back is nothing special storywise, but it is a nice, modest little effort.

And Jon Bon Jovi. Yes, I am a Bon Jovi fan and yeah, that automatically makes me a fan of Jon’s singing, (most) song-writing and stage presence. But believe it or not, the guy can act. He first got the acting bug when he shot a scene for buddy Emilio Estevez’ Young Guns II, where Jon was doing the soundtrack. The movie did well and the soundtrack did even better, scoring Jon a Golden Globe for Best Song, as well as an Oscar nomination.

When Jon gave acting a serious shot in the mid-90s and while he wasn’t a box office star, he was critically liked and that was what he wanted. No Looking Back is a great film for Jon to shine because the heart of the movie lies in the triangle and he is smack in the middle of it.

Jon is a good example for getting what you want the old-fashioned way. He worked really hard to become a rock star and he did. He could have bought his way into a studio, but he did auditions and took acting lessons.

So yeah, the movie is more for Burns and Jon Bon Jovi fans as well as aspiring (indie) filmmakers.

It is also for getting nostalgic. 1998. Do you remember where you were? For me, it was the start of 9th grade. But worry not- the themes in the movie won’t get obsolete. Clichéd and over-used? Sure. Obsolete? No. After all, depression, identity crisis, settling down, settling vs. chasing your dreams…they have been the core themes for a long while.

Rated 5.8 on IMDB. Sounds fair enough. No Looking Back is not recommended if you are after escapism or original screenplay. It is recommended for those who are after the familiar themes, a lovely soundtrack (Sheryl Crow, Bruce Springsteen, Lynyrd Skynyrd,Pete Yorn, The Allman Brothers Band and more) and well, for those who are wondering whether Jon Bon Jovi can act.

Oh, I also like the ending.  This part has a spoiler: the movie picks a neither- nor approach rather than either or;)

Fun Stuff:

  • The singer most heard in the background is the rock legend Bruce Springsteen and he is the favorite musician of Jon Bon Jovi. They are both from New Jersey and they performed on stage together.
  • Jennifer Espesito was married to Bradley Cooper.

On Lauren Holly

Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear. Feat. Lauren Holly

Beautiful Girls starring Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Lauren Holly

On Edward Burns

Why Jon Bon Jovi, Edward Burns and Timothy Ferris Ruined Us

On Jon Bon Jovi and Bon Jovi

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Keanu Reeves, Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Bacon

Bon Jovi Album Trivia: 10 Facts About Bon Jovi’s Keep the Faith

Bon Jovi Songs with Contradicting Lyrics and Themes: Feat. It’s My Life, Hey God, Living on a Prayer and More

Bon Jovi Trivia: 52 More Facts About The Rock Band Bon Jovi

6 Fast Bon Jovi Songs That Feature The Word Love

6 Rock Songs on Cheating: 1 Bryan Adams, 4 Bon Jovi and 1 KISS

4 Psycho Rock Songs Feat. Def Leppard, Talking Heads, Bon Jovi and The Smiths

Bon Jovi Were Born to be Followed

Jon Bon Jovi Hosts Snl

17 Men to Marry for Their Voices: Feat. Jon Bon Jovi, David Coverdale, Jani Lane, Brett Michael, Villie Valo and More

10 Celebrities to Wear Flats for: Featuring Taylor Lautner, Johnny Depp, Kevin Bacon, Jon Bon Jovi and More

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Blythe Danner, bruce springsteen, Connie Britton, drama, Edward Burns, edward burns movies, emilio estevez, Jennifer Esposito, Jon Bon Jovi, jon bon jovi acting, jon bon jovi movies, Lauren Holly, movies, no looking back, no looking back movie, no looking back soundtrack, romance, young guns II

Mad City starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta

Posted on September 15, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Mad City starring John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman
Mad City starring John Travolta and Dustin Hoffman. Directed by Costa- Gavras. Written by Eric Williams and Tom Matthews. 1997.

Max Brackett’s (Dustin Hoffman) live “brush” with fellow reporter Kevin Hollander (Alan Alda) has resulted in Max’s being relocated to a local television, still dependent on his old network. Max is bored, as his boss Lou (Robert Prosky) won’t let him “move the line”( that is to interrupt the news objects’ lives for the sake of news)…

As luck would have it, however, Max accidentally runs into the story of a lifetime. As he is doing an interview at the museum run by Mrs. Banks (Blythe Danner), Sam Baily (John Travolta) decides to pay her a visit: she has just fired Sam, who was one of the two guards working for her. Sam, a husband and a father of 2, just wants his job back. But when Mrs. Banks can’t be bothered to give Sam two minutes, Sam brings out the big guns-literally. What he hasn’t planned on is the news reporter in the bathroom, and the group of young school kids on a school trip at the museum.

Soon, this turns into a career-defining opportunity for Max and a nightmare for Sam, it doesn’t take long for Sam to find Max out. But Max has no intention of letting the story go, even as he becomes a hostage. For one thing, Sam is not a psycho criminal but a desperate man who just wanted to be heard. Second, he is much more experienced than Sam when it comes to hostage situations. So from then on, Max helps Sam, and steers him in the direction that will help Sam and Max’s career.

But the news is just too big for Kevin Hollander to ignore and for the FBI to stay away. While Max mostly works to show Sam in a positive light, the rest seems intent on showing him as the ultimate villain. With the parents of the kids hating him, and his own wife trying to figure out how as to handle things, can good intentions be taken into account when a weapon and kids are involved? Or are the ratings just more important than humanity?

Mad City is one of my favorite films. It is from 1997, so today, you may not be moved by it as I was when I first saw it over a decade ago. After all, 1997 was before Youtube and Twitter and Facebook. The story could no way flow the way it was written. Probably one of the kids would have a high-tech phone with an internet connection or their teacher or Mrs. Banks…There would be no need to create a public poll as the public would create the buzz after they heard it. People would follow the news worldwide and it is likely that some of the pro-Sam audience would offer Sam a job and things would never quite get out of control.  But it was shot in 1997, and it was all about the big networks and their ratings.

Yes, by now, probably you have seen at least tens of hostage situation movies where sometimes you were probably rooting for the villain. But this film is one of the better ones, and it does have a great cast. Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta make a great team.

I’d love to share my favorite line, but that would be a spoiler. Let me just say it is the final line of Dustin Hoffman. A really good take on the lust for ratings vs. the fight for survival.

Fun notes: Blythe Danner is Gwyneth Paltrow’s mother.

Mel Gibson is referenced a couple of times.

Other John Travolta Movies and Posts

Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage

6 Movies with Brilliant Casts feat. Hairspray starring John Travolta

From Paris with Love starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Travolta

Basic starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson

Phenomenon starring John Travolta, Robert Duvall and Kyra Sedgwick

Favorite Actors to Play Villains feat. Nicolas Cage, John Travolta and more

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Feat. John Travolta and Bruce Willis

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Alan Alda, Blythe Danner, Costa-Gavras, drama, Dustin Hoffman, dustin hoffman films, eric williams, John Travolta, john travolta movies, mad city, mad city movie, movies, Robert Prosky, thriller, tom matthews

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

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