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

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Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn and Julianne Moore
Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn and Julianne Moore. Image via uaa.alaska.edu/

Car mechanic Benny (Aidan Quinn) has been living with and taking care of his sister Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) ever since they lost their parents a long time ago. Joon is mentally troubled and has certain obsessions. Her problems make her intolerant to certain things such as extreme noise, traffic and chaos. While social consultants advise Benny to register in a private care facility, Benny is perfectly content with the living arrangements and so is Joon.

Benny’s idea of fun is playing poker with his friends. At one game, the stakes get a bit unusual. One of Benny’ friends puts his eccentric cousin Sam (Johnny Depp) on the table. Benny loses and ends up taking Sam at home. Sam can’t read or write but he is a total movie nut and he is acting a lot like the silent movie actor Buster Keaton. It doesn’t take long for him to get used to Joon’s “eccentricities” and Joon has a lot of fun having him around. In fact they seem to form a special bond which leads to a romantic involvement. But how will Benny react? And how are these two ever going to make a relationship work? And will Benny be ever to concentrate on his romantic life while he is concerned about Joon all the time?

Benny and Joon is a delightful, emotional and very fun romantic comedy/drama. The performances are lovely but of course as always Johnny Depp shines through. Oliver Platt and Julianne Moore take supporting roles – Oliver Platt as Benny’s friend and Julianne Moore as Ruthie, Benny’s romantic interest. The soundtrack is just lovely and both Benny and Joon’s and Joon and Sam’s relationships are well-developed throughout the film. This film is so much more than a romantic/drama/comedy.

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil, 1993. 

Rated 6.9 on IMDB. Well, 7 or above 7 seems pretty fair to me. Benny and Joon is a total Johnny Depp gem. Of course the film is based in reality and you are having your most fun Tim Burton/ Johnny Depp collaborations, this might not be ideal for you. However, I do suggest you give this one a shot. 

Also featuring Johnny Depp

10 Celebrities to Wear Flats For

Johnny Depp’s Best: 8 Johnny Depp Movies to See

6 Celebrities That Aged Really Well

Also Featuring Aidan Quinn

 5 Movies to Watch on Fast Forward

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The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan and Kim Catrall

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The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Catrall and Olivia Williams
The Ghost Writer starring Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Kim Catrall and Olivia Williams. Directed by Roman Polanski, 2010. Image via kampusteyiz.com

A  ghost writer (Ewan McGregor) is a little bit reluctant about his next assignment. He is not all that into writing a politic memoir, especially when the ghost writer hired before him ended up dead. And while the cause of death is considered to be either suicide or accident, it doesn’t sound like the perfect job. However his agent and the promised fat paycheck persuades him to take on the job.

The memoir he’ll be ghost-writing is of former prime minister of UK, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). His working conditions are far from ideal as he is not allowed to copy or take out the manuscript, has only one month to finish it, the house of Lang’s is in the middle of nowhere, Lang has a discontent wife (Olivia Williams) who is followed by bodyguards wherever she goes and totally despises Lang’s perfectionist assistant Amelia Bly (Kim Catrall), who she suspects of having an affair with her husband.

The conditions get worse when Lang gets accused of war crimes and people are making frantic protests in front of his house. Because of the chaos, now our ghost writer has to stay in the house, and in his dead predecessor’s room. The publishers also want the book finished 2 weeks sooner.

Things get complicated as our writer is not sure who to trust and becomes increasingly convinced that the previous ghost writer was murdered. But who wanted him dead? What the hell is in that memoir? And will they be coming after him as well, whoever they are?

Directed by Roman Polanski, written/adapted by Roman Polanski and Robert Harris, based on the book called The Ghost, written by Robert Harris. The Ghost Writer is a solid, albeit a little slow-paced drama-mystery-thriller with a stellar cast. Pierce Brosnan certainly looks the part of a handsome-actor-turned-politician, Ewan is perfectly tailored for his role and who can blame an ice-cold wife Ruth Lang (icily portrayed by (Olivia Williams) for suspecting her husband was sleeping with his assistant that comes in the form of Kim Catrall, a.k.a Sex and The City’s Samantha. The slow pace is not a negative thing as the movie always holds your attention and keeps you guessing. Some viewers complained about the ending but I personally loved it. 7.8 on Imdb. I probably wouldn’t go as far to rate it a 7.8, but it is definitely above 7. You don’t always find intelligent entertainment. Thumbs up.

***

Note: I didn’t read the book. But I am tempted to read Robert Harris’s books.

Fun Note: Adam Lang’s lawyer is played by Timothy Hutton, star of the heist thriller TV series Leverage.

And the ghost is hired by a bald James Belushi.

***

Other Posts featuring Pierce Brosnan

Laws of Attraction and Pierce Brosnan

Butterfly on a Wheel

The Fourth Protocol starring Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan

Seraphim Falls starring Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson

22 Tall Actors From Hollywood

Posts featuring Kim Catrall

Sex and The City: TV show Trivia and Review

Sex and The City Movie Review

Sex and The City 2 Movie Review

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The Watcher starring Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei

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The Watcher starring Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei
The Watcher starring Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei.Directed by Joe Charbanic. Image via histreaming.com

Joel Campbell (James Spader) is an ex-FBI agent. He has left active duty due to disability: He has severe migraines, suffers from lack of sleep, forgetfulness and more. He goes to therapy two times a week. His psychiatrist – beautiful Polly- (Marisa Tomei) is sure he can handle being an agent again.  Joel’s home-therapy-restaurant ritual in Chicago is totally disrupted when the smart serial killer Griffin (Keanu Reeves) strikes again. And he is not just any serial killer. He loves being chased by Joel and when he moved to Chicago, he has followed him. This man targets young women and he has also killed Joel’s beloved wife. He starts sending Joel pictures of his next victims. Being the only man experienced with this case, Joel involuntarily starts working to catch him.

Somehow, the killer manages to be ahead of them. But of course the killer loves risks and targeting young women without an emotional attachment stops being exciting. Can Joel save himself, and the next target? And do keep in mind, Joel doesn’t even know what the killer looks like!

The Watcher is a very decent drama/thriller. Its atmosphere and acting add a lot to the plot. It is refreshing to see James Spader as the good guy and Keanu Reeves as the psycho. Of course if you are a single woman alone, there is a chance this movie might get under your skin more. It is also creepy that Keanu Reeves’s character seems and acts totally charming and normal in public, meets his victims and talks to them. His cool makes it all more chilling when he gets to “work”. His fascination with Joel is equally daunting.

I have to say I enjoyed this film more the first time I saw it. But the first time was in a dark movie theater, not knowing what will happen next- racing against time with James Spader as he tried to prevent the murders. I watched it a second time and even though I still enjoyed it, it wasn’t so exciting.

However, keep in mind that this is not a horror film. It is a thriller-drama and it is not gory at all.  I think this movies is a must for Keanu Reeves, James Spader and Marisa Tomei fans. Written by Darcy Meyers, David Elliot and Clay Ayers. Directed by Joe Charbanic. 2000.

7-7.5/10 after watching it the first time

6-6.5/10 after watching it a second time

But it is definitely underrated at 5.2 on IMDB.