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City by the Sea starring Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco

Posted on February 20, 2010 Written by ripitup

City by the Sea with Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco. Gripping, emotional, intense. Just the way we like to get from De Niro. Plus, James Franco is really good too.

Police Dedective Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro) has had walked out on his wife and eventually his son Joey (James Franco) and moved away from Long Beach. He is happy hanging with his girlfriend Michelle (Frances McDormand) and just doing his job.

Meanwhile, his estranged son has turned into a junkie and killed a drug dealer in a fight. With his son’s name as the head suspect, Vincent’s other past secrets will resurface and he will have to deal with everything he has run away from. Things are not what they seem and his girlfriend might just regret she ever wanted him to open up…

***

Need I say De Niro is great as the estranged father with a troubled past? His character Vincent has flaws he is not proud of but he has done a good job of avoiding them so far.

James Franco is really good as the bright-boy-turned-junkie. The movie is really good asking some troubling moral questions and dealing with the relationships between the characters.

City by the Sea is by no means a thriller. It is a slow-paced, strong drama with characters you care about. It makes you react to events and question motives and reasons. Expecting action sequences will only disappoint you. This is a fine drama which should especially be seen by Robert De Niro and James Franco fans.

6.1 on imdb. It deserves something over 7, at the very least. Hell, 10/10 for Robert’s acting and presence alone. Let me know what you think.

In a Savage Land with Rufus Sewell

Posted on February 19, 2010 Written by ripitup

Rufus Sewell in a Savage Land. Simply Beautiful.

Evelyn (Maya Stange) is an independent, modern young woman. She marries her anthropology professor and together they go to an island in Papua New Guinea for a field research that will last about a year. There are some other white people on the island – some missionaries and a pearl trader named Mick Carpenter (Rufus Sewell), who seems pretty sure the newlyweds won’t last in this savage land.

Rufus Sewell plays Mick Carpenter in In a Savage Land. I don't think Evelyn's husband would stand a chance even if he wasn't a jerk. Do you?

Her husband (Martin Donovan) Philip is an ambitious man who believes in the novelty of their mission. He also tends to see his wife as his assistant, rather than another fellow anthropologist.

However, Evelyn has no intentions of backing down- she conducts her own research and makes her own connections with the natives. This causes trouble in their marriage and the natives seem to like Evelyn much more than her husband.

Mick is amused by Philips’s self-righteousness and impressed by Evelyn’s determinations and independence. Mick also happens to be complete opposite of her husband in every possible away and Evelyn might be more intrigued by this handsome trader than she should be…

And let’s not forget the time is pre-Word War II…

It is the perfect epic story. The love story is passionate, emotional, exciting but never over-the-top or cheesy. It is never disguised as a twist or something. The poster features Rufus Sewell and Maya Stange together and as soon as the movie starts, Evelyn talks about pearls and meeting another man…

Pros:

– You have the well-structured conflicts.

– Beautiful scenery

– A great love story

– Good actors. Both Maya Stange and Rufus Sewell are amazing.

Cons:

– Much shorter than 2 hours, it leaves you wanting for more…

Directed and co-written by Bill Bennett in 1999.

A solid 8.5 or 9/10.

Enjoy the on-set Rufus Sewell interview: In a Savage Land

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

I hope they don’t remove it but the movie is on youtube. Here is the link to the first part.

You start watching here:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8oqfkL_Yis[/pro-player]

Pride and Glory with Edward Norton and Colin Farrell

Posted on February 18, 2010 Written by ripitup

Pride and Glory with Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich. Raymond (Norton) has already lost his love to help protect other cops. He doesn’t want to do the same mistakes but how the hell do you do the right thing when the wrong involves your brother( Emmerich) and brother-in-law (Farrell) ?

When 4 NYPD cops die during an operation, it is especially devastating for Jimmy Eagen (Colin Farrell). It is not exactly an emotional trauma, though. Jimmy and his remaining corrupt group of cops have to clean up the mess before it is too late. However things are going to be much harder; since Jimmy’s father-in-law (Jon Voight) – unaware of his involvement- insists that his son Raymond takes the case. Though unwilling, Raymond (Edward Norton) starts looking into events, and it doesn’t take long before he realizes that there are cops involved behind the crimes and the cops might be too close to home. Is Ray’s brother, also a cop, Francis (Noah Emmerich) involved as well?

Forget about the movie’s name, plot summaries you might read and definitely stay away from the trailer. When I first saw the trailer, I thought: “Shit, another corrupt cop story with family issues thrown in”. Seemed to cliché, too overdone. But the fact is, the movie is much more than any of its promotional elements suggests. It is strong, grabbing and despite all the familiar themes, it stands on its two feet and ends up impresses you. Characters are complicated and they are all flawed.

Colin Farrell puts in a good performance. Edward Norton is in his usual element, although maybe playing Jimmy would have been more fun. Noah Emmerich is just outstanding as Francis- the brother who should have paid more attention to the cops under him, but was too busy taking care of his dying wife.

All in all, this is a good movie with solid performances. There is too much swearing that might distract you from time to time, but considering the characters, it suits them.

It doesn’t have one dull moment in it and the drama is just as exciting as the action.6.7 on imdb. Deserves a 7, at the very least.

All Movies with Edward Norton:

Leaves of Grass

Kingdom of Heaven

Down in the Valley

25th Hour

Fight Club

The Illusionist

The Painted Veil

American History X

Primal Fear

The Incredible Hulk

Death to Smoochy

All Movies Featuring Colin Farrell

Pride and Glory review – starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell

5 Movies to Watch on Fast Forward

Vinyan: Starring Rufus Sewell and Emmanuelle Béart

Posted on February 13, 2010 Written by ripitup

Vinyan with Rufus Sewell and Emmanuelle Béart

What a weird and pointless movie. There were moments I liked, so I can’t say the entire movie was crappy. But if made a collage of scenes I liked, it would probably be about 15-20 minutes.

Now, I was hoping to watch an intense psychological thriller. The premise is interesting, the name is right, the location is perfect. Hell, you have Rufus Sewell in one of the lead roles. So had the storytelling been alright, the movie would be fine – even with Emmanuelle Béart.

And Emma-please, Emma- have the extra from your lip sucked and eat a little. Pirates of the Caribbean ghosts looked more in shape. And no, she is not playing a ghost.

Jeanne (Emmanulle Béart) and Paul (Rufus Sewell) are a married couple who lost their child Joshua to Tsunami. One night, Jeanne sees a video footage shot in Burma and believes she saw Joshua in there. Despite all logic, Paul has to support her decision eventually, because she is barely holding to her sanity. And as slim as the chances are, what if it really was him? It is not a thought a loving father can shake off, so he travels to Burma with her. Of course, their journey costs them a lot, with all the crooks around and with Jeanne becoming more and more irrational. It is not a journey Paul would have taken; had he known the circumstances…

If you are seriously into artistic and somewhat experimental film-making, with longer and more repetitive scenes than necessary, with promising gloom that slowly leaves itself to boring long silences…Yeah, this is your movie. I am a Rufus Sewell fan but I can’t bear to recommend it. Not if your reward would be to date him, that is.

Seriously, though. The movie tries to be a genre-bender: a heavily dramatic, spooky psychological thriller with characters slowly bordering on insanity… Had it worked, it would have been a masterpiece. But it fails miserably.

3/10. (IMDB is far more generous with 5.6)