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Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear

Posted on December 22, 2010 Written by ripitup

Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond and Greg Kinnear. Image via Amazon.

Plot

Sabrina Fairchild (Julia Ormond) is the ugly duckling daughter of the Larrabee family chauffeur (John Wood). She has been in love with the young Larrabee brother – David (Greg Kinnear) all her life. Unfortunately, David is the ultimate player, going from one pretty girl to the next.

She gets her opportunity to change when she moves to Paris and works as a photographer. Upon her return, David is shocked that she has turned into a beautiful young woman and he’s dying to flirt with her.

The older Larrabee brother Linus (Harrison Ford) is the ultimate workaholic, successfully running the family business. He isn’t content with David’s fascination with Sabrina as David is about to marry Elizabeth Tyson (Lauren Holly), with whose family Linus is about to close a profitable merger deal. Knowing that Sabrina still wants David, Linus makes a plan with his mother (Nancy Marchand). He will seduce Sabrina and make her give up on David.

Of course Linus has forgotten about one thing: Sabrina is enchanting and while she is falling for him, he is also falling for her…Will this plan end up well for anyone?

Movie Trivia

Sabrina is the 1995 remake of the 1954 American classic of the same name. 1954’S Sabrina stars Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn and William Holden. Original Sabrina – directed by Billy Wilder- is rated 7.8 on IMDB while Sydney Pollack’s version is rated at 6.0

A couple of years ago, the movie was adapted to a popular TV series in Turkey and the English translation of the show reads “An Istanbul Fairy Tale”.

Verdict

Sabrina is a sweet, charming movie. Yes, once again I committed the sin of not having seen the original. I am positively biased towards the newer one, since I am a spoiled movie fan that prefers the 90s camera work and technology over the 50s.

It is by no means a perfect movie. While I think Julia Ormond makes a lovely Sabrina, a more good-looking actor could have played David. I love Greg Kinnear to bits, but he just isn’t hot enough for the part of David, though he does seem to make a good replacement for William Holden.

I think Harrison Ford is a perfect Linus, and I’ll go as far to say I prefer him over Bogart. As charismatic as Bogart is, Ford is much more likeable. And the movie does unfortunately becomes a victim to its wardrobe. It might be in character but seriously, didn’t businessmen wear ties in the 90s? What’s with Linus’ fascination with the bowties? Who wore bow ties to a corporation in the 90s? And well, he could have picked a little more flattering glasses. Let me put it this way- Harrison looks as old as he looks now in the film. Which is weird, given that the movie was shot so many years ago.

But apart from my objections to the wardrobe and Greg Kinnear, I liked watching Sabrina. It might be a poor girl falls for the older rich guy storyline, but it comes with Ford and Ormond.

6.5/10 from me. Recommended to every romantic.

Other Posts on Harrison Ford Movies

Extraordinary Measures starring Harrison Ford, Brendan Fraser & Keri Russell

Firewall starring Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany & Virginia Madsen

Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close & Gary Oldman

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

The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford & Tommy Lee Jones

Other Posts on Greg Kinnear

Ghost Town starring Ricky Gervais, Greg Kinnear & Téa Leoni

Someone Like You starring Ashley Judd, Hugh Jackman & Greg Kinnear

Bones starring David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel

Posted on December 21, 2010 Written by ripitup

Bones starring David Boreanaz & Emily Deschanel

I started watching Bones pretty much when it first started – I only recently got to writing about it. I have an on-off relationship with this show. When I watch it, I can’t get enough of it but come on, there are many good distractions out there Castle, The Mentalist, House, Fringe…

So since we got the Bones tardiness apology out of the way:

Plot & Characters

Dr. Temperance ‘Bones’ Brennan (Emily Deschanel) is a brilliant forensic anthropologist working with the (fictional) Jeffersonian Institute in Washington D.C. She is also a published author and an occasional partner for the F.B.I, when the crime scenes feature not bodies in flesh but rather just bones. Her partner at the F.B.I is Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz), who often calls her Bones – despite her objections.

Bones and Booth get on reasonably well, despite their character clashes, different points of view and social behavior. Bones is too involved in her science, lacks all diplomacy and political correctness, often to the point of being insensitively blunt. Booth calls Bones and her team “squints”, who are more at home at labs than crime scenes, although Bones manages to get more involved in the field and Booth at the lab.

Despite his military background, Booth has an emotional side and a soft spot for Brennan. Romantic & sexual implications are made for these two characters from the first episodes, although it is not quite acted on for a long while. Six seasons into the show, they never officially got together minus a couple of kissing scenes.

Other characters – both in their interaction with each other & with Booth- are quite fun:

Temperance’s best friend is Angela (Michaela Conlin) – who is a great computer programmer and who has developed the program that can give their bones “faces”, making identification easier. She is comfortable at the lab and with the computers. She is also much more social than Brennan, however the crime scene does give her a “yuck” factor.

Zack (Eric Millegan) is a rookie and the youngest member- despite being a genius, he has a lot to learn both when it comes to bones and women.

Jack Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) has 3 advanced degrees, is a big help in cracking the cases and he is also famous for conspiracy theories.

So like many crime shows, we get a crime scene. There is a set of bones and Bones and her teams’ assistance is needed. Then we get sheer brilliance, detective work on bones, detective work with people and the victim and the killer(s) are identified.

Of course relationships and characters evolve through each episode and season. The show started in 2005 and is currently in its 6^th season.

Verdict

It is a great show, but it is not exactly for the very faint of heart. Hell, I am used to some gore and blood and dead bodies, being a regular fan of crime and vampire shows. But I am still not immune to

seeing so many bones. But the storylines, character interactions and fun banter make the show well worth watching.

8.4 on IMDB.

Fun Quotes:

Season 1, Episode 3

Zach: (to Booth quietly) Sometime when you’re not busy, I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions about sexual positions.

Booth: If you even try I will take out my gun and shoot you between the eyes.

Season 1, Episode 4

(On Bones’ boss sending her on a field trip with Booth)

Bones: Why is Booth the one who decides if we are going to Washington State? He gets the gun and the authority. He’s the one that people like.

Dr. Gibson: Firstly, he didn’t decide that you go to Washington state. He made a request. I’m the one who decides where you do and do not go.

Bones: And secondly?

Dr. Gibson: Secondly, It’s time to live a little Temperance. Connect with other people.

Bones: Are you suggesting that I take this opportunity to have sex with Booth on a field trip?

Dr. Gibson: Good God, where’s Dr. Freud when you need him?

Fun Notes:

Getting a lead role on a TV show is tricky. And there is always a risk of cancellation. If an actor is lucky enough to land the leading role in a show that lasts, then he faces the challenge of being branded that character or never finding another gig getting so popular. Well, David Boreanaz doesn’t have this problem so far. He played the vampire Angel/Angelus for 8 seasons in a row (3 for Buffy, 5 for his spin-off Angel). Angel ended in 2004 and Bones started in 2005. We hope Boreanaz always is this lucky. We like watching him.

Actress Zooey Deschanel, who you might remember from Yes Man and 500 Days of Summer, is the real life sister of Emily Deschanel.

Emily Deschanel and Michaela Conlin are good friends both on and off screen.

Anne Dudek appears as Booth’s girlfriend in two episodes. She gets a lot of girlfriend/ex-girlfriend roles to the main characters in popular shows, including House and How I Met Your Mother.

Glee starring Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Jane Lynch, Lea Michele & Colin Colfer

Posted on December 18, 2010 Written by ripitup

Glee starring Matthew Morrison, Cory Monteith, Jane Lynch, Lea Michele & Colin Colfer

Characters & Plot

Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison) is a 30-something Spanish teacher at a small town high school. Former popular kid and former Glee Club star, he is a little far away from his glory days. He is married to his high school girlfriend/former cheerleader Terri (Jessalyn Gilsig), who is self-absorbed & materialistic. They want a baby and she is damned if she will make any sacrifices.

Will wants something more out of his life and he wants his students to have more soul. So he decides to take over the Glee Club, despite the stingy headmaster (Iqbal Theba)’s budget cuts. Unfortunately the club attracts all the social “losers” and not any of the popular students.

The First Glee Members

Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) is an ambitious girl intent on becoming a star. Unfortunately, she is considered scum at her school’s social ladder, often mocked by the cheerleader and the football team. Her singing gets her in, although she is still hated by a lot of people.

Mercedes (Amber Riley) seems to have the voice and the figure to become the next Queen Latifah, only she is not happy sharing the spotlight with Rachel.

Kurt (Chris Colfer) is thrown into the garbage bin everyday at school since he is well too much into fashion, beauty and is gay in every stereotypical way.

Artie (Kevin McHale) is subject to ridicule because he is in a wheelchair. But he can sing and play the guitar, so he does belong to the glee.

Tina (Jenna Ushkowitz) is also a misfit, concerned with girl power and all that.

The Anti- Glee, Coach Sue Sylvester and Popular Kids

Cheerleaders and football players are the popular kids and they despise the glee club. This serves Sue (Jane Lynch)’s purpose since she is used to being the star teacher-coach of the school. Her office is full of trophies, her requests demand the school budget and she is more than ego-centric and narcissistic.

Will realizes that the Glee club won’t stand a chance if he can’t get at least one popular kid in, so he tricks the quarterback Finn (Cory Monteith) into joining the club. This annoys his cheerleader girlfriend Quinn (Dianna Agron), especially when Finn starts enjoying the club and Rachel’s company a lot more than he expected. So when the glee members find a way to lure other kids in, Sue decides to use her cheerleaders as spies, to destroy Glee from the inside.

The OCD –freak Emma, Other Teachers & Adventures

Emma (Jayma Mays) is the young guidance counselor with the hugest crush on Will. Will also seems to be developing feelings for her, much to the discontent of the football coach Ken Tanaka (Patrick Gallagher), who wants Emma to himself. Then there is the recently fired Sandy (Stephen Tobolowsky) who got fired for being a little too friendly towards his male students…

Episodes, Genres, Awards

Glee is a weird and refreshing mixture of comedy, drama and musical. It is not entirely a musical but we get a lot of singing and dancing during performances, rehearsals and occasional reactions where the characters need to express themselves as if they are already a star shooting their videos…

The cast is pretty cool and most of them can sing and dance. Jane Lynch’s perfectly annoying Sue earned her an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2010. The show won 2 more Emmys in 2010.

The show also won Golden Globe for Best Comedy/Musical Series in 2010. Matthew Morrison was nominated for Best Actor in 2010 and he is nominated again this year. Lea Michele (for her character Rachel) and Chris Colfer (for Kurt) are also nominated for the 2011 Golden Globes.

Verdict

Glee is rated 8.5 on IMDB. I started watching due to the Glee addiction of one of my close friends. I think it that it is a bit overrated. I’ll hand it to the creators- it is original and fun, sometimes realistic and often bordering on satire. The soundtrack entertains me more when more rock is involved as opposed to the current popular stuff.

But I do have a limit when it comes to musical and satirical comedies. I mean I love Grease and Hairspray as movies, but I didn’t watch Grease 2 and I really wouldn’t be interested in watching Hairspray 2, 3 and whatever, had there been series.

And I am more into rock operas, so my favorite musical tends to be Rent. And Glee’s storyline takes its originality from its format and not necessarily the characters or events. And when Matthew Morrison acts like Justin Timberlake, it does get on my nerves.

So yes, Glee is fun. But I recommend slow doses and a tolerance for today’s music as well as developing a soft spot for musicals. I am not Glee’s biggest fan but so far I watched 6 episodes. I will let you know if the show grows on me more. But if I am not a major fan by the end of season 1, I am quitting. And it would help if the episodes were a little shorter…

Call me spoiled, but I just got too much used to getting mixed genres from my shows and a good mixture of comedy/drama doesn’t really cut it for me anymore. After all, my crime shows give me thriller, mystery, crime, good jokes, a great soundtrack, drama and romance all in one. Watch out for my next review on Bones- which tends to be one of those addictive and highly entertaining crime shows.

Fun Notes:

If you want to watch Stephen Tobolowsky in a totally different- I mean straight and serious- role, you can watch him as a crooked FBI agent in 1990’s Bird on a Wire. Granted, Bird on a Wire is a romantic/comedy/adventure starring Mel Gibson & Goldi Hawn but Tobolowsky’s role is serious.

Alias’s incredibly poker-faced, double-agent Jack Bristow , a.k.a Victor Garber, makes an appearance in the episode Acafellas, 3^rd episode of Season 1. He plays Will’s father.I only wish he guest-starred more often.

***

Men of a Certain Age starring Ray Romano, Scott Bakula & Andre Braugher

Posted on December 17, 2010 Written by ripitup

Men of a Certain Age starring Ray Romano, Scott Bakula & , Andre Braugher.

Joe (Ray Romano), Terry (Scott Bakula) and Owen (Andre Braugher) have been friends for a long time. Now pushing 50, they are at different crossroads in their lives:

Joe’s wife Sonia (Penelope Ann Miller) has left him and taken their two kids Lucy (Brittany Curran) and Albert (Braeden Lemasters). Joe stays in a hotel and is not exactly over his wife, so he likes to pretend that they might eventually get back together. His party-supplies shop is doing well, despite his fondness for betting on sports games.

Terry is an actor who hasn’t quite made it, so he is working at an office job. He is living the bachelor life – he keeps fit, dates 25-year-olds and can’t get around his head around Owen’s problems, who seems to detest his job as a car salesman.

Owen is working for his father (Richard Gant)’s car dealership company and he is miserable. Forget any nepotism. His father is being the hardest on him and the sales numbers come before family. Owen doesn’t like his working conditions but there’s not much he can do since he and his wife Melissa (Lisa Gay Hamilton) have three kids and just renovated the house.

These men meet quite often, chat about their lives, problems and relationships, while also trying to go hiking in the morning.

Men of a Certain Age was created by Ray Romano and Mike Royce. Romano is no stranger to our TV screens. His sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond – went on for 9 successful seasons (1996-2005). I had first found Everybody Loves Raymond a little too familiar and a little too ordinary at first. But as I watched more episodes, it grew on me. And there were some very hilarious episodes.

Men of a Certain Age takes a different turn. It is not a 20-minute sitcom but a 40-minute comedy/drama. There are some laughs, but the show is more concerned about putting a smile on your face with bittersweet moments rather than consequent hilarity.

It’s refreshing to see Romano in a more lifelike role. OK, so his Ray Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond was very real but it was all laughs and the characters in Men of a Certain Age have more problems than just crazy parents and in-laws.

I enjoyed watching the first couple of episodes, despite not exactly being in the target audience. And while not being a guy of a certain age is won’t necessarily stop you from enjoying the show, it might make you relate much less.

If you are not a big fan of Ray Romano, bittersweet comedy or too life-like situations, I’d suggest watching this show in the background. It is a little slow, but has some very decent moments. Frankly, I’d rather watch this show than Ed O’Neill’s hit comedy Modern Family.

Men of a Certain Age is currently rated 8.2 on IMDB. 6.5 from me.