drama | pinartarhan.com

The Practice starring Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams & Steve Harris

Posted on May 10, 2011 Written by ripitup

The Practice starring Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams & Steve Harris — The Practice Cast from left: Camryn Manheim, Steve Harris, Kelli Williams, Michael Williams, Lisa Gay Hamilton & Michael Badalucco. Image via kritikongkiko.files.wordpress.com

Bobby Donnell (Dylan McDermott) is a very sharp and passionate criminal defense lawyer who runs a small firm with other dedicated lawyers, and his old friend/assistant Rebecca (Lisa Gay Hamilton). The lawyers are Ellenor (Camryn Manheim), Eugene (Steve Harris) and Lindsay (Kelli Williams), with Lindsay being the youngest and newest member.
The firm struggles to survive as the gang takes on more and more criminal clients who can hardly pay the fees. But as Bobby puts out, they occasionally get to defend the innocent, or people who don’t deserve to be in jail. Bobby doesn’t always play by the rules, and his tactics aren’t always welcomed by his colleagues, but Bobby almost always wins his cases.
A couple of episodes later, Bobby’s friend Jimmy (Michael Badalucco) gets fired for loaning money he wasn’t supposed to, and he comes to work with the gang, although at first Bobby makes sure he stays in the trenches and help out with the research.
**

The Practice was created by David E. Kelly, the creator of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal. But unlike these two lighter and funnier lawyer shows, The Practice is darker, more intense and intentionally, not very funny. It’s not to say The Practice doesn’t have its highly entertaining moments or one-liners, but the main goal is never to make the audience laugh. It is meant to drive you in, care for the characters and their cases, wonder about how each trial will result and go over the mental dilemmas the characters currently face.

After all The Practice lawyers aren’t that happy about defending murderers, drug-dealers, hookers or other criminals, but it is how they pay the bills. But after a while, more high-profiled cases start coming in, and things get even more complicated.

The Practice is not perfect, but it is pretty solid. But of course you should know that I am big on courtroom dramas/thrillers. I love John Grisham books, and not only I watched the Practice, I also watched almost all the episodes of Ally McBeal and Boston Legal.

If you are big on the romantic aspects, don’t worry- even though Bobby Donnell isn’t a player who sleeps with a different girl every night, he gets his share of his complicated relationships. Especially since both the beautiful D.A. Helen (played by Lara Flynn Boyle, who joins the cast in the second season), and Bobby’s associate Lindsay have a thing for Bobby. To make matters worse, Helen and Lindsey are friends from law school and Lindsay isn’t that open about her feelings.

The Practice went on for 8 (1997-2004) seasons and is currently rated at 7.7 on IMDB.com. The show won 3 Golden Globes in 1999: Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series – Drama for Dylan McDermott, Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture for Camryn Manheim & for Best TV Series (Drama).

Fun notes:

– Ally McBeal’s Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart) makes a guest appearance in this sister show of David E. Kelley’s, and Dylan McDermott’s Bobby makes a guest appearance on Ally McBeal.
– Boston Legal’s main character Alan Shore (James Spader) appears on this show Alan Shore, and his character leads to having a show called Boston Legal.

– Dylan McDermott’s then wife Shiva Rose guest-stars in an episode as the plaintiff on one of Jimmy’s cases.

Also on Dylan McDermott

Dark Blue TV Series

Dylan McDermott Trivia

Dark Blue starring Dylan McDermott, Logan Marshall-Green, Nicki Aycox & Omari Hardwick

Posted on April 27, 2011 Written by ripitup

Dark Blue Cast - Nicki Aycox, Dylan McDermott, Logan Marshall-Green & Omari Hardwick — Dark Blue Cast (from left): Nicki Aycox, Dylan McDermott, Logan Marshall-Green & Omari Hardwick. Image via justpic.info.

Lt. Carter Shaw (Dylan McDermott) is running a team of cops that specialize in undercover missions. This team is made of the newly married Ty (Omari Hardwick)- who is often the voice of reason and the one with most doubts, the adrenalin-loving Dean (Logan Marshall-Green), and the rookie cop Jaimie (Nicki Aycox), who has a dark past, and has managed to fake a whole new resume- and her ability to lie so well is what made Carter hire her in the first place.

Dark Blue is a solid crime show where our cops always need to make the most dangerous, risky and often greyest choices, such as choosing not to interrupt a shooting because their cover might be blown, exposing decorated yet dirty cops, or trying to make a white gang the news drug lords of a neighborhood (because the current lord is much smarter and more dangerous).

They are sort of friends, but they are mostly people on a mission.

Jamie and Dean have a complicated relationship as they go from colleagues to bed buddies to colleagues again. Jaimie tries to have a normal relationship with her boyfriend, and Ty tries not to screw up his marriage. Dean had the most normal childhood, yet his teammates are often afraid that he might lose it and go dark side on them.

Carter once valued normalcy- he had a wife he loved, but we are assuming she was killed. Now he spends most of his time in the office, sleeps few hours and focuses on getting the job done. As Ty once puts it to Jamie, there is nothing Carter wouldn’t to watch their backs, and there’s nothing he wouldn’t do to get results. The problem is you can’t always tell which comes first.

But Carter is not exactly safe and sound in the office, as he provides back-up and surveillance to his undercover cop(s), and he himself often gets to pose as a criminal or victim.

Dark Blue is intriguing and fun. It’s exciting to watch a show where things aren’t black and white, where cops rob criminals or use them in their cases. If you like your show intense, this is the one for you.

8/10 from me. Currently 7.7. on IMDB.com.

Dark Blue only lasted 2 seasons (and has a total of 20 Episodes). But it is worth every minute invested in it.

Fun notes:

* Nicki Aycox guest-starred in the show Supernatural as Meg Masters for 5 episodes, and Sam and Dean Winchester quite a hard time.

*Dylan McDermott is used to playing intense, job-focused characters. He is best known for his role as Bobby Donnell in the crime series The Practice.

*In one episode, Ty’s wife refers to Carter as the Prince of Darkness.

*Carter reads F.B.I. as Federal Bureau of Intimidation. He is not a big fan.

The Kids Are All Right starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore & Mark Ruffalo

Posted on April 17, 2011 Written by ripitup

The Kids Are All Right starring Annette Bening, Julianne Moore & Mark Ruffalo. Image via rizecity.com

Plot

Jules (Julianne Moore) and Nic (Annette Bening) have been together a long time. Despite their own issues, and the issues of their two teenage kids Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and Laser (Josh Hutcherson), they are managing. But when Laser decides to find their sperm donor dad Paul (Mark Ruffalo) with the help of Joni, things get way out of hand: The kids really like their fun, laid-back dad – and he is a true contrast to their over-controlling mom Nic. To make things worse, Jules likes Paul too. And when Paul hires Jules to design his garden, things get even more complicated as something starts between them. How much of a change can a modern, 21^st century family can take?

Review – with Spoilers

The bad:

– The actions of characters & the depicting of characters:

The Kids Are All Right is an all right film, although it is a bit overrated. It has its moments and the acting is fine.

It’s the story and how the characters are shown that I have a problem with. We have a lesbian couple who get turned on by watching gay men porn. They tell us, and Laser, that human sexuality is complicated and we try to roll with that. But never at any point Jules thinks she is bisexual. Yet she jumps Paul’s bones almost the first moment they are alone together. Then she has sex with him again. But we are supposed to buy that she is %100 gay. Fine. And while Julianne Moore can be quite pretty when she wants to be, she doesn’t quite have a moment of attractiveness, or even really femininity at this film. I’ll never know how the ever hot-blooded Paul, who all the straight women around him are either trying to bed or are already bedding, found in Jules. OK. So let’s suppose he is all hormones and no ethics- that he will jump any woman when given the chance. But we have him falling for Jules. What the…?

And yes, of course Nic eventually finds out. And she goes ballistic. But interestingly, she is more mad at Paul. The kids are more mad at Paul. They treat him like a total disappointment. And while he is not the ideal father figure, he is kind, and warm-hearted and he did welcome the kids into his life, no questions asked. It’s Jules who was married, who cheated on their mom and yet it is Paul who ends up alone.

I never quite get it when people become more angry at the other man/woman rather than their own spouse. Yes, the other person showed total ill judgment sleeping with a married person, but he/she is not the one who married you. He/she is not the one who cheated on you. I always think that if you are not going to be equally angry, you are supposed to be angrier at the person who actually had responsibilities about you. Jules got another chance. Despite how naïve and weird he is, Paul deserved one too.

– Sex is reduced to just animal sex. Did we really need to see that much of Mark Ruffalo humping around?

The good:

– The acting is really good. Not just by Bening, Moore and Ruffalo, but the kids did a great job too. I’ll enjoy watching them in other movies.

– It is funny how Jules and Nic were thinking that their son might be gay and they were actually disappointed that he wasn’t, but he had found his dad.

– Paul’s overall reactions to the event. “I love lesbians” reaction when he found out both Nic and Jules gave birth to one child of his and that they were together.

Worth Watching?

– If you are a fan of the actors, and can’t resist the Oscar buzz ( the movie was nominated for 4 Oscars – Best Actress for Annette Bening, Best Supporting Actor for Ruffalo, Best Film and Best Screenplay, though it received none of the awards), it won’t bore you. It might annoy and disappoint you a bit, but I don’t think you will regret the time you put into it. But while it has some potential, there is a big chance it won’t be listed in your best movie experiences.

Directed and co-written by Lisa Cholodenko. Made in 2010. Currently 7.3 on IMDB.com

Fun notes:

This isn’t the only movie Moore does something against her character’s suggested sexuality. In Chloe, she is supposedly straight , married to Liam Neeson. She suspects her husband is cheating on her. But in the end, she ends up cheating on him- with a woman.

Also on Julianne Moore

Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson and Julianne Moore

Shelter starring Julianne Moore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers

The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones

Laws of Attraction and Pierce Brosnan feat. Julianne Moore

Chloe starring Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried

Also on Mark Ruffalo

Just Like Heaven starring Mark Ruffalo & Reese Witherspoon

Mark Ruffalo Trivia

How Do You Know? starring Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson & Jack Nicholson

Posted on April 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

The Basics

Starring: Reese Witherspoon, Paul Rudd, Owen Wilson, Jack Nicholson

Writing/directing Credits: James L. Brooks

Made in: 2010.

The Plot

Lisa (Reese Witherspoon) is a professional baseball player whose life is centered on the sport. Even her boyfriends have all been athletes and her latest, baseball player Matty (Owen Wilson) is no exception. Matty is a charming and immature womanizer, who provides the distraction Lisa needs while she waits to be informed about her future career.

George (Paul Rudd) is a very nice guy, and unfortunately this comes back to bite him in the butt with his company. He is being sued by the government, even though he has no idea what kind of mistake he or his employees have done. To add insult to the injury, his father, Charles (Jack Nicholson) decides to be the ultimate businessman and save the company first. This means the company board won’t be paying George’s legal expenses, and he won’t be informed about anything company-related. His only ally is his pregnant assistant Annie (Kathryn Hahn).

When Lisa and George meet, Lisa is no longer a part of the team and Matty has already decided that he is in love with her. George becomes infatuated with Lisa, but he has no idea how to charm her when they are both going through the worst career-related chapter in their lives…

So how entertaining is the movie?

How Do You Know is a romantic/comedy/drama with a great cast and a mediocre trailer. It is thoroughly enjoyable, and while it is not hilarious, it is very sweet and entertaining – with 5 really quirky characters (including George’s secretary).

Now, the movie is not pure comedy. It is not pure romance. And rather than dramatic, it has some necessary emotional moments. It’s also not just about Lisa finding the right guy. It is a bittersweet self-discovery for her, as well as George, who is also trying to survive the most depressing phase of his life. George is broke, in trouble with the law and discovering that his father can’t be relied upon and Lisa needs to figure out what she will do with the rest of her life. They are both clueless and neurotic, and their interaction is off to a clumsy start. And while the viewer can, and probably will, wonder about what really attracts George during their first date, Paul Rudd makes us buy the connection.

Owen Wilson’s character is a riot. He provides some of the best entertaining moments as his character is totally clueless about what a serious relationship actually means. He is practically a well-meaning yet totally shallow man child.

Who can enjoy it more?

– Fans of the cast.

– People who don’t mind that Owen Wilson and Paul Rudd keep playing the same type of characters over and over again.

– Genuine romantics who don’t mind characters will have to go through some personal stuff, and they won’t always be funny while dealing with them

– If you can handle characters that talk a lot and are clueless about a hell lot more.

Favorite Scenes:

– Lisa spends the night for the first time and Matty (Owen Wilson) has a whole drawer full of new toothbrushes and a whole wardrobe for the morning after (all either XS or S!).

– When both the doorman and Matty actually give space Lisa to think.

– George’s birthday gift and speech

– When Annie impulsively stands up to punch George’s dad…

Fun Notes:

Monk’s starring actor Tony Shalhoub makes a short appearance as Lisa’s therapist.

Verdict:

I’d give the movie a 6.5/10 as a whole, and 7.5 for the entertainment level.

Also on Paul Rudd:

Forgetting Sarah Marshall starring Jason Segel, Kristen Bell and Mila Kunis feat. Paul Rudd

I Love You, Man starring Jason Segel and Paul Rudd

I could Never Be Your Woman starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd

Also on Owen Wilson: