Braveheart | pinartarhan.com

Trauma starring Colin Firth and Mena Suvari

Posted on February 5, 2010 Written by ripitup

trauma with Colin Firth and Mena Suvari — Trauma with Colin Firth and Mena Suvari. See the ants crawling on Colin's face? Yeah, the ants have a big part in the movie. Bloody Hell!

Ben (Colin Firth) has issues. He just his lost his wife in a car accident where he was the driver. His wife’s family has gone on with the burial while he was in a coma and they don’t seem to want to talk to him at all.

He starts working with an old friend and goes to therapy. His mind constantly plays tricks on him and he is starting to believe he is going insane. Then there is the issue of a famous singer who was recently murdered. He is absolutely fascinated by everything about the case. Is it possible that Ben murdered the singer?

While Ben tries to stay sane, he develops a friendship with his beautiful and interesting neighbor Charlotte (Mena Suvari). But Ben can’t tell whether she is real…

Actually, the concept is really interesting. Colin Firth’s performance is great as usual. Mena Suvari is lovely and I can’t think of anyone else who’d be better for the role. Colin’s best friend is played by Tommy Flanagan and frankly, I love seeing him in movies no matter what the role. Seeing an actor for the first time at one of the most heart-breaking scenes in Braveheart does this to you. Remember the wedding scene where William Wallace (Mel Gibson) goes to a wedding where he comes back to his village as a grown man? The English interrupt the wedding and take the bride away. The groom is Tommy Flanagan. Of course he becomes one of Wallace’s most willing soldiers after that. To see him in a larger role, you can check out Atilla– where he plays Attila’s (Gerard Butler) cousin/nemesis.

So the idea is promising and the actors are just fine. Then why the hell was the movie rated 4.7 on imdb? Because the script writer overused ants and the director did a lousy job. Yeah, Ben collects ants and what’s strangely weird at first, comes back to annoy you again and again. Then there are Ben’s delusions that were shot as if you were watching a horror movie. You are not. This is a psychological thriller and if the makers thought this could be horror, that’s a delusion right there. With a different approach, we could have a pretty decent movie. I am not saying you shouldn’t watch it. I am just saying the fast forward button can come in handy.

More Colin Firth-starring movie reviews :

St. Trinian’s

Apartment Zero

The English Patient

More movies with Tommy Flanagan

Braveheart

Attila

Mel Gibson Top 10: The Mel Gibson Movies that prove he can act, direct and entertain better than anyone

Posted on January 2, 2010 Written by ripitup

1) BRAVEHEART (1995)

Mel Gibson's Braveheart — A beautiful movie in every way.

It is captivating, full of action and battle, uses just the right amount of humor to lighten the mood, a great love story, perfect cinematography, 5 Oscars including Best Director and Best Film, effective acting…

Mel starred, directed and produced. It is purely humane. Some scenes still haunt me. If you have seen the movie, you know which ones.

If you need more reasons to see this one, check out my Braveheart review

2) The Man Without a Face (1993)

Mel Gibson's The Man Without A Face — Mel Gibson’s directorial debut The Man Without A Face

Mel Gibson’s lesser known and much under-appreciated directorial debut. It is plain, straight to the point and has a beautiful story. A young boy from a dysfunctional family- Chuck- finds true friendship and a fatherly role model when he meets Justin McCloud. Justin’s face is severely disfigured due to a tragic accident that burned one half of his entire body. The town people consider him a freak, and well it is the perfect past time activity to gossip about him in a small town full of small-minded people. Chuck used to join the jokes about ( and fear of) McCloud until he meets him by accident. Justin is an ex teacher, very fond of his privacy. He stays away from people and has found peace that way. Chuck proves he is worthy of his time and they start studying. Chuck keeps his friendship secret for as long as he can. But when the word gets out, all of the rumors behind Justin’s background and how the accident happened…The town gets a perfect chance to publicly judge Justin. After all, if he has had such a horrible accident, he surely must have been guilty of something equally “horrendous”..like making a pass at one of his former male students???

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLQ0sr25oHY&feature=related[/pro-player]

It is a beautiful tale of love,loyalty, prejudice, friendship and mentorship. Mel’s performance is great and I don’t honestly know why some think he is not a good actor. If you think he got so popular because of his crazy actions off camera or his former good looks, this movie will prove you wrong. See it.

3) Ransom (1996)

Ransom stars Mel Gibson, Rene Russo, Gary Sinise, Delroy Lindo and Liev Schreiber.

Maybe I should have put Lethal Weapon here but I put more effective performances over his more entertaining ones. It is one thing to be able to engage people through comedy and action, and it is a different story to get under their skin& make sure they have a good time through a powerful action/drama. And Ransom is just that. It must be one of the best remakes ever. Mel was nominated for a Best Actor Golden Globe with his performance as Tom Mullen

Tom Mullen is a multi-billionaire. Sure, he has done some “shady” stuff for his business, but basically he is a good guy who loves his wife and son. When his son is kidnapped, Mullen is devastated. The whole thing is a media frenzy. The kidnappers’ leader is a cop and he actually has no intention of letting the boy go. When the first rescue attempt goes awry, Tom enforces a radical idea. Instead of paying the 2 million dollars to the kidnappers, he will pay 4 to whoever catches them. This causes panic and angry reactions from his wife. There are two alternatives: Either Tom’s idea will work. Or his boy will die because of him. How will a father survive if the latter happens?

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mebIhXK8srA[/pro-player]

It is haunting and strong.It helps that the baddies include Gary Sinise and Liev Schreiber. Mel Gibson and Rene Russo always make a great on screen couple. This is a very solid film.

4) Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson — Funny, exciting and damn entertaining! If Mad Max put Gibson on the map, Lethal Weapon made him a star.

Watch the classic scene:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOqpoie1iuc[/pro-player]

What else? I watch them over and over again and still enjoy the comedic chemistry between Riggs and Murtaugh. They couldn’t be more opposite but yet they are both great cops who eventually develop great friendships. Riggs is crazy. Or maybe he just pretends to be because he feels like he has nothing to lose. He has lost his wife that he loves dearly and being on the edge makes him a dangerously good cop but maybe not such great partner. After all, Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is a traditional, serious fellow with a big family. Hilarious, action-packed. The series have 4 movies. Though I love all of them, I favor 1 and 3 more. Frankly, I’d have gone to see a 5th, had director Donner decided to collabrate with Gibson and Glover again.

5) Conspiracy Theory

Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts in Conspriacy Theory — One of Mel Gibson’s craziest and best roles

It might be cheating to count Lethal Weapon as 1 movie but how else was I supposed to choose 10 out of mostly solid over 30 leading roles.

(When you take out his TV-show and very early and very late movies he is barely in, there is still a list of good movies to choose from).

I love the script!! The script is original, the production is great, lead character Jerry is hilarious and very well-acted. Taxi-driver Jerry (Gibson) is in love with lawyer Alice (Roberts) who thinks Jerry is just an adorable lunatic. While Jerry wouldn’t consider himself the most stable person, his paranoid actions are actually not without a cause…

The movie includes a scary government conspiracy, solid action scenes, a quirky anti-hero and his love interest not being able to decide who the actual good guys are…

Entertainment at its best. Watch the first scene to give you a taste.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwKMxwKQjR4[/pro-player]

6) What Women Want

This is Mel’s only romantic comedy. I wish he would do more. This movie made me fan of writer/director Nancy Meyers. She has gone on to write lovely stories (Somethings got to give, The Holiday), but she never got to top this one.

Nick is at best a cute but chauvinistic guy. He is a man’s man. Although he is successful with women, he has no clue what they actually want and he doesn’t really care. He is on good terms with his ex wife but his teenage daughter despises him. Then three life-changing events happen:

1) His “much deserved” promotion goes to a female called Darcy who was just hired.

2) His daughter comes to live with him for a couple of weeks

3) He has a funny accident that results in him being able to hear what women think.
At first it seems like a nightmare but then he starts taking advantage of the situation both romantically and professionally. However things get very complicated for him when he actually starts to fall for Darcy…

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjBr03tX14s[/pro-player]

Nick eventually becomes a better man/dad but his journey is just wonderfully funny. This is a romantic comedy guys would love too.

7) Tim (1979)

Mel Gibson in Tim — Mel Gibson plays the lead character Tim.

People especially love discussing an actor’s accent. Well, do me a favor and spare your criticism for Mel’s. He has been quite often mistaken as an Australian. He has lived in Australia for about 10-15 years; from the age of 12 to his mid 20s. So, his accent is really…well…natural.

And if we are going to discuss whether he is diverse or not, I am going to say he is. Sure, he loves playing “crazy” characters with a wicked sense of humor (Lethal Weapon) or the heroic guy who is forced to go to extreme measure’s to avenge/ save a loved one (Braveheart, Ransom, The Patriot…), Tim is nothing like that.

Mel plays Tim- a nice and naive half-witted guy He lives with his parents and even though he is in his mid-20s, he is mostly like a kid. His parents and sisters are used to taking care of him and controlling his life. After all, there are many people who just love to make fun/take advantage of the less fortunate, right? However their lives change when Tim meets Mary (Piper Laurie). She is an older, successful businesswoman who comes to her house for vacation. At first, she hires him to the odd jobs around the house but as she gets to know him, she realizes that he was never given the chance to reach his potential and stand on his feet, not even by his parents. As the two become friends, his father is quite happy that Tim knows such a kind person. His sister, however prefers to see Mary more like a middle-aged pervert. But then again, Tim is not a kid. He is a 25- year-old “boy” falling for his new friend. And Mary starts falling for him too…

Academy loves Forrest Gump but you will be missing a lot if you don’t see Tim. Apart from the innocence/intelligence level of the characters, the two films almost have nothing in common.

Give Tim a chance.

8 ) Forever Young (1992)

Mel Gibson in Forever Young — From 1939 to 1992…The movie tells one hell of a journey. Only for Daniel (Gibson), it feels like a day!

As far as romance movies go, this is one of the more special ones. First of all, the leading actress is NOT who the male lead has fallen for. Second, the story is a good combination of sci-fi, humor, romance and friendship. Third, the writer is J.J Abrams. You know- the guy who created “Lost” and “Alias”

To read a more detailed review and to watch some scenes from Forever Young

In short, Gibson plays the Pilot Daniel in love with his childhood sweetheart. When she goes into a coma, he is devastated. He enlists the help of his scientist friend. He asks to be the subject of his latest experiment where the living are to be frozen and put to sleep; only to wake up perfectly healthy at the exact “age” they went to sleep. His friend gives in to Daniel’s desperation. But when Danny wakes up, it is 1992, everyone he knows is dead and his only ally is the kid (Elijah Wood) who accidentally woke him up…

Lovely film.

9) Tequila Sunrise (1988)

Mel Gibson, Tequila Sunrise — Mel, Michelle and Kurt make one hell of a team. And a love triangle…

Tequila Sunrise is a fun action/romance that perfectly represents the end of the 80s and what’s to come in the 90s. And sometimes, all you want is a good action film with a cast you like. How do you feel about Mel Gibson, Kurt Russell, Michelle Pfeiffer and Raul Julia? Plus, it is fun when Mel is not the cop for a change…

Mac (Gibson) is a drug dealer; trying to quit. He is not your typical “baddie”. He is a divorced parent of a son he adores, and very much in love with the owner of the restaurant ((Jo Ann- played by Pfeiffer) he frequents. Jo Ann is not aware of Mac’s feelings and she doesn’t know about his “business”. But cops are dying to bust Mac and it is not helping matters that the cop assigned to the case is Nick (Russell), Mac’s ex- best friend.

Well, Nick doesn’t really want Mac behind bars but he has a job to do. He needs to find out if Jo Ann is involved and it is not helping matters that he is incredibly attracted to her…

– Love triangle between 3 beautiful people? – Check

– Action, complications, drugs? – Check

– Gray Characters where most are neither purely good nor evil? – Check

Interesting, enjoyable and sexy. Yes, it is sexy. And its plot is much better than most action films out there.

10) Mad Max (1979)

I am not the biggest fan of civilization-has-gone-to-hell sort of films. You know: bikers rule the city, crime rate has hit the ceiling, heroic cops can’t really prevent disaster…But Mad Max is a cult classic that deserves to be one.This is his first major role and it put him on the map. It is because of Mad Max and its all Australian cast (except for Mel) that there are people who believe Mel is an Australian.

The story is very simple, baddies are crazy and annoying enough and it is so easy to like and empathize with Max. He was a doting young husband/father and when the “gang” came after him and his family.When he fails to protect them, well…it is just turns into a search for vengeance at full speed.

It helps that Mel is so innocent-looking and terribly young here. Yes, folks there was a time when Mel Gibson wasn’t middle-aged. He is not even handsome but very beautiful. See the movie and you will know what I mean.

Again, I am cheating. Mad Max is a trilogy although the 4th without Mel’s lead (although with his participation) is in the works. The first is my favorite. It is just…It feels more pure.

All My Other Posts on Mel

Edge of Darkness

All About Mel: A Fun Yet Fair Mel Gibson Tribute

Golden Globes Highlights – Ricky Gervais

Top 10 Mel Gibson Movies

11 Great Mel Gibson Films You Should Consider Watching

Mel Gibson: what in the world happened to you?

Gerard Butler and Saturday Night Live

Posted on November 12, 2009 Written by ripitup

Gerard Butler, Saturday Night Live — Gerard Butler hosts Saturday Night Live

Have you seen Matthew Perry‘s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? It is a solid drama that takes you behind the scenes of a sketch-comedy TV show and shows the interesting yet frustrating life of its makers. The fictional comedy show epicted in the series really remind me of Saturday Night Live. Maybe they were inspired by it, I don’t know. I guess it can be pretty challenging to come up with funny ideas week after week. As a result, you can’t make everyone happy and you can’t make everyone laugh till they cry with every sketch. So while it is fun to check out Saturday Night Live once in a while, I am not a regular viewer. It is not always funny, hell- not all sketches in one night can always be funny. Hey, my favorite comedian is Jim Carrey and some of his stints there sucked!

That being said, I love seeing Gerard Butler on TV. He is very funny and has a good sense of humor: The guy knows how to entertain. So I checked out how funny Butler could be in such a different format than he is used to. He has played in a lot of movies and tv shows that belong to different genres but this is his first time hosting (and acting in) a show like this.

THE INTRO:

Gerard Butler in Saturday Night Live, singing The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera — Gerard Butler singing The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera

Now, my favorite moment might be when Gerard first comes to the stage. He looks fun, cool and handsome. And he starts with how proud he is about being the first Scot to host SNL. He does later categorize his movie parts into two parts: the ones where he wears a shirt and the ones he doesn’t. So he decides to make a little tribute to the Phantom of the Opera-and starts singing The Music of the Night. Of course then people in funny costumes (tributes to Attila, Beowulf and Grendel) and other action movies come and try to kill him- but he manages to dispose of them, while maintainig his beautiful singing voice. But him singing a serious opera song with Vikings and ninjas attacking him and him fighting them on stage is hilarious. Just when he thinks he is safe and is joined by one of the female regulars of SNL, she takes out a dagger and tries to stab him while shouting: “Take your shirt off!! Take your shirt off’!”. I had fun!

So take a look at what happened with the ones that feature Gerry:

The Beauty and the Beast

– As ridiculous as it sounds, Gerard Butler plays the beast. But the funny part about this stint is that The Beast thinks he is the pretty one. Imagine the shock of The Beauty when she finds out!,

Cottage Cheese

I honestly have no idea why this is supposed to be funny, but the weird secretary’s shrill of a voice still haunts me. I go around the house imitating “Thomasssss…. Thomasss…. Look!”

300

Gerard Butler in the 300 parody of Saturday Night Live — Gerard Butler makes a parody of his character in 300 and the movie itself. This is priceless!

I am not that much of a fan when it comes to 300 though I appreciate the hard work and talent that has been put into the movie. Hell, Butler himself went through an excruciating exercise routine to get the body he had as Leonidas the King of Sparta (he worked out up to 6 hours a day) and all the soldiers were similarly well-built. It also takes one hell of an imagination to act in front of a blue screen all the time, since most of the background was added afterwards. But I am not crazy about the movie. And the parody is just hilarious. It rotates around the “fact” that how gay the 300 men were. You really should see it. All jokes are funny. Loved it.

Leonidas: 40% of Sparta considers homosexuality an illness.

A soldier: 40% of Sparta doesn’t believe you were born in Greece!

Leonidas: (takes out a stone tablet that his name is carved on) I have a birth certificate!!!

DAVEHEART

Daveheart is a hilarious Braveheart parody. Now Braveheart is my favorite movie. I love everything about it, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good parody. This one is hilarious. If you haven’t seen Braveheart, a quick reminder: William Wallace is an actual Scottish hero, portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie. The English rule unfairly and violently. Wallace marries the girl he loves secretly because The English are known to invade weddings and claim the bride. But they kill her and in order to take revenge, he gathers the Scots into an army. The movie is famous for one of the most inspiring battlefield speeches. In the movie, soldiers are scared and Wallace turns unwilling peasants into brave warriors. So yeah- there is no Dave in the movie. :D.

SOLDIER: How can we surrender? The English deflower our virgin brides on their wedding nights!

DAVE: Well, first of all none of your wives were virgins on their wedding nights. There’re six girls in our village and like a hundred guys…So noone is a virgin.

Gerard Butler, Saturday Night Live, Braveheart Parody — Gerard Butler is supposedly Dave, William Wallace's cowardly brother.

THE TRANSLATION

Gerard Butler joins the news as himself, and wants to talk to his family in the heaviest of Scottish accents and asks the anchorman to translate. Of course the translation is a little bit different…

Butler:… most fun I have had since I made 300. Man, that movie was great.

The Anchor: … most fun I have had since I made 300. Man, that movie was gay.

WHITE PETE

OK- I have no idea how this stint is supposed to be funny – but Gerry’s weird singer character and his mimics can put a grin on your face. Oh, and I don’t know what James Franco is doing there- but I like the guy, so…yeah, that’s about it.

P.S: The one with The Rock: Now the first sketch doesn’t involve Gerry but I really enjoyed it: Barack Obama is having a difficult time with the healthcare reform – people just want him to fail. So he gets really angry and angry- and…remember what happens to the Hulk? Except Obama doesn’t turn into a green giant of a man but to The Rock- Dwayne Johnson. Now- yeah, that does intimidate the White House guests…

Want more Gerard Butler-related posts? You might want to check out:

Law Abiding Citizen: 2 Steps Short of Perfection

GAMER

5 REASONS TO LOVE GERARD BUTLER

TOP 10 GERARD BUTLER MOVIES

Attila starring Gerard Butler

Posted on October 31, 2009 Written by ripitup

I was actually shocked to find out it was a TV movie. It is a wonderful epic: the cinematography, setting, acting, music… They are all wonderful; with Powers Boothe’ s performance as Flavius Aetius and Gerard Butler‘s as Attila overshadowing the rest as a little, both playing the most charismatic roles as the antagonist and protagonist of the story:

Hun legends tell that a great king would be born and he would rule the world. When Attila was a kid, his family was murdered by the invading forces. He was raised under the wing of his uncle, Rua- King of Huns. He was trained not only to fight well, but to be knowledgeable about the art of fighting as well. As he grew up, he became the greatest fighter of all, with the town witch Galen as his friend and his cousin Bleda as his adversary. Yet according to Galen’s visions Attila would be the big ruler- he is the one the myths were written about. He only had to be patient.

Meanwhile in Rome, the greatest general Flavius Aetius is imprisoned for conspiracy against the queen. However, Attila’s amazing victories on the battlefields give the queen no choice but to set Flavius free, since he is the only strategist that can find a solution to stop Attila and her son Ceasar is useless. So Flavius gets his rank back and as a first thing, he uses his former friendship with Rua. He decides to trick them into battling against Visigoths with the Romans. However Attila sees right through his tricks. This really impresses Flavius and he wants Attila under his command, with Rua’s permission. After all, Bleda has betrayed Attila the worst way. Having realized that Attila is smitten by the red-haired warrior woman N’Kara, one of the war slaves- Bleda takes her as his personal spoilt from the battle. Flavius teaches Attila that war isn’t just about bravery and stamina, but also about “pretexts” and politics. The two men form an alliance that is based on mutual respect and admiration, though Attila is never fooled by a second that sooner or later. He knows one of them will be tempted to or forced to kill the other one.

Flavius plans are considered risky by the queen. Instead of killing Attila, he seems to have made friends with him, and instead of trying to kill him, he is keeping Attila in Rome as his guest. And just like he anticipated, Attila is fascinated by the culture and lifestyle and is taking his time there, until an event back home forces him to come back and claim his position as King…

You may think I am telling too much, but with its duration of 177 minutes, this is by no means a short film and I have only told some parts of the story before Attila becomes King. There’s much plotting and back story I left out, so no worries.

THE ROMANCEs & THE HEROes

Gerard Butler with Kirsty Mitchell

Gerard Butler and Simmone MacKinnon.

It is mostly historically accurate. Of course the target audience is the English-speaking audience so the film is completely in English, and a Scotsman (Butler) playing Attila and an American (Boothe) playing Flavius. The rest of the cast is also pretty international. And of course we have the “witch” factor, and a very romantic story on Attila’s part to challenge the actual historical events. This romantic story has huge impact on the story but of course the romance adds a great deal to Attila’s humanity. And of course, romance is an undeniable element in any epic movie. I guess we will never know if the real William Wallace had such a strong love for his wife, as it was depicted in Mel Gibson‘s Braveheart (1995). And Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy (2004) actually includes three love stories: One that starts everything: Paris’ s (played by Orlando Bloom) love for Helen (Diane Kruger), the one that shows us Hector’s (Eric Bana) character -his love for his wife and family and also the one that romanticizes Achilles (Brad Pitt) – this affair with Briseis (Rose Bryne). But despite the romantic elements, all these movies are not all about romances. They are epic dramas and they have brilliant war action scenes. They include war strategies and perfect battlefield strategies. They inlcude politics, relationships and a huge effort on everyone who’s involved in the film making. Of course, the hero will be portrayed by a masculine actor who is going to be versatile enough to show the conflicting and complicated emotions of their heroic characters. Just like Wallace was successfully portrayed by Gibson and the roles of Achilles was taken on by Brad Pitt. In fact the movies two other leads, Orlando Bloom and Eric Bana are both considered good-looking by a lot of women. It always helps help if the hero has a raw attractiveness that draws all women to them- and the objects of his desires are going to be beautiful. Diane Kruger’s Helen was glamorous; just like as the red head that stole Attila’s heart, Simmone MacKinnon was a good choice. Attractive and talented casting comes with the territory with epic movies. These movies aim and tend to impress and entertain. And the good ones manage to do just that.

Attila, for me, is the single epic movie that I enjoyed just as much as Braveheart. I think it is even more enjoyable than Troy, which I quite liked. However Braveheart tells a more tragic and intense story and it is about fighting for freedom and not just for more land. Therefore it is sadder and more powerful. But strictly speaking of entertainment, Attila is a glorious must- see that was surprisingly made for TV. It probably would do well at the box office.

P.S. The actor playing Bleda (Tommy Flanagan) is also Scottish and he has a small, but important role in Braveheart.

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Other Gerard Butler Posts:

Gamer

Law Abiding Citizen

5 Reasons to Love Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler Hosts Saturday Night Live