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The Life Before Her Eyes starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood

Posted on October 25, 2009 Written by ripitup

SPOILERS !! SPOILERS!! SPOILERS!!!

You should either have watched the movie, or you really shouldn’t mind spoilers. Because I’m going to dig deep with this one.

2ni71qc — The Life Before Her Eyes with Uma Thurman, Evan Rachel Wood and Brett Cullen

the_life_before_her_eyes06666 — Brett Cullen plays Diana’s husband

When you really like a movie, you don’t really have to go out of your ways to find reasons to explain why you liked it. And when you really didn’t enjoy it, even little things bug you. For me, I really don’t know where I stand with this movie. During the first half, I found myself lost in the story. I was mesmerized.

Uma Thurman has become one of my favorite actresses to watch. She has grown up from the young innocent looking girl to this incredibly beautiful and talented woman. She was good to watch in her earlier roles in movies like Dangerous Liaisons, Gattaca, Tape and later on in Prime. She is versatile; like any good actress should be.

I was curious about Evan Rachel Wood. She became so popular lately and I hadn’t seen really seen her in anything before and this was a chance to see if she was a promising actress. She is.

The movie gave me a good surprise too. I didn’t know Brett Cullen was in it until the opening credits rolled and I have always loved seeing him. Seriously. No matter how big or small his role is, you bring Cullen on any time. Yes, I admit I have had a bit of a crush on him ever since I first saw him in Something to Talk About. He is handsome on a very classy level and has this aura that suggests you can trust him; which makes him good for the nice guy parts and even better for the not so nice parts, since you wouldn’t really see it coming.

So three good actors, a wonderfully sad& tragic event told in flashbacks. So far so good. Let me go over the story.

Diana is in her 30s, living in suburbia with her loving husband and beautiful little daughter. They have a beautiful home and a great family. But it is a tough time for Diana. 15 years ago, her school witnessed one of the worst tragedies ever. One of her classmates brings a gun to school and shoots almost everyone. Diana and her best friend Maureen are in the girls’ room when the boy finds them. He says that he is going to shoot only one of them so they have to choose. It is horrible. It is terrifying. Both girls are scared shitless, and in shock. But Maureen suggests that if he is going to shoot one, he should shoot Maureen.

Diana (Uma Thurman) has led a good life. A life that seems like Maureen would have wanted for herself, had she lived. You see, Maureen has been the good little Christian. She was a loving friend, a dutiful daughter, a church-going virgin who really wanted to get married and have kids. She was the one with romantic fantasies. Diana (young Diana is played by Evan Rachel Wood) on the other hand was a rebel. She smoked pot, wasn’t exactly the best student and she slept with boy(s). She even had to get an abortion. Maureen was there for her as always. They were really different, but they had a strong bond and a true friendship.

So Diana still feels guilty, 15 years later. She has stayed in town, like Maureen would. She has got the husband and kid and the teaching job. Hell, her daughter even goes to a school run by the nuns.

As the movie progresses, she starts to lose control. She remembers more and more about her time with Maureen and her mind frequently revisits the day of the shooting. She also seems to have hallucinations. Things seem a certain way for a moment and then…they don’t.

So I’m thinking, it should be the post-traumatic stress coming back. I mean, it might have been 15 years but it was an awful tragedy. Her best friend was killed by a psychopath. Hell, almost all of the school was killed by him. Moreover, he told her about his plans the day before and she didn’t take him seriously. So, it is OK for her to be “losing it”. It is expected. Half the movie, I expected her to open her bathroom cabinet and reveal to us that she has been using anti-depressants. Otherwise, how could she stay in the same town and drive by the same school everyday, on her way to drop her daughter off? You should have to be heavily medicated or well, some sort of a masochist.

We go back to that bathroom scene a lot. Too many times, in fact. And then voila! We go back there one last time and we actually find out that it was Diana who was shot, not Maureen. Because Diana tells the guy to shoot her, repeatedly. So the guy does what Diana asks. He shoots Diana. So apparently it was Diana’s life before her eyes- just not as flashbacks as most people admit to experience as they feel they are going to go but vivid, coherent (most of the time) flashforwards. So basically picturing her future life, she decides she can not live with that guilt. She chooses to save her best friend instead. While it is a noble act, it also naturally creates a controversy between the viewers.

I know movies always divide people but this one was actually more than asking for it. Some hate the movie because they believe it is a pro-Christian/anti-abortion movie. I honestly hadn’t seen that one coming. They feel like that the fact the good Christian lives and the “slut” dies insults them. Some believe it is a poetic movie with just the right ending. Some don’t have problem with the ending, they just find the whole movie boring. But having visited some discussion boards, I really didn’t come across anyone who thought Diana had to have a mental problem. I was actually hoping to explain the ending like this: She felt so guilty after all those years and that in order to get a closure , she pictured and/or wished a different ending for what happened.Otherwise, I really have to agree with the others who think that the fact that she can have such a flashforward is absurd. I don’t mean you can’t think your future when you are at gunpoint. I have never been at gunpoint, so I have no insight to what you may or you may not think. But I can claim that it is downright bullshit that she could have imagined all that. Because she had what? 10 seconds? And she had time to develop an alternate life in the future with so many details? It is humanly impossible to generate that many thoughts in such a little time. In fact, I don’t remember even a sci-fi movie with a character who could generate that much thought, in that little time.

This movie actually had the opposite effect on me, compared to the effect of watching The Sixth Sense. I thought that movie was slow to watch. But the ending paid off. The ending made it all worthwhile. But here, the ending made me feel like I wish I hadn’t seen it.

I am not saying you should stay away from the movie, but I can’t whole-heartedly recommend it either. I expected the movie to blow me away. And it did. Then it also put me off. Told you, mixed feelings. Maybe it is because I cared more about having Diana alive rather than Maureen. It just feels like one of those movies where you go with the flow and really enjoy it. And then the main character wakes up. What do you know!!! She had a dream. And you are like What the ….???

Posts featuring Uma Thurman

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10 Most Entertaining Sci-fi Movies: Favorite Sci-fi Movies of a Non-fan

Looking Up: Tall Girls Dating

The Accidental Husband starring Uma Thurman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Colin Firth

Pulp Fiction

Posts featuring Evan Rachel Wood

Down in the Valley starring Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood

33 Actors From My Generation: Actors Born Between 1980-1990

Bizzare Celebrity Couplings featuring Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel

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The Other Man starring Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas and Laura Linney

Posted on October 23, 2009 Written by ripitup

The Other Man starring Liam Neeson, Antonio Banderas and Laura Linney

Can I have another movie? Another movie where Antonio Banderas teams up with Liam Neeson? Because this can’t be it. It shouldn’t be. Liam Neeson is a marvelous actor. I have tremendous respect for his work. No matter what the genre, he shines through his role. Take a look at Nell, Schindler’s List, Michael Collins, Love Actually, Kinsey…The list goes on. And last but not least I have seen him in Taken- a breath-taking action drama, where he proves to be an impressive action hero – at the age of 56, which is downright cool. And in the same year as Taken, I saw him in The Other Man, where he plays the husband, as opposed to the other man portrayed by Antonio Banderas. And Antonio Banderas is a good actor. Sure he has to play roles that greet his Hispanic roots (he has never mastered the American accent, as you might have noticed) and this of course blocks his diversity to some level but other than that, he is almost always fun to watch. And under normal circumstances, he would be perfect to play the lover. He has made a name for himself for being hot – and rightfully so. Remember Desperado? Femme Fatale? Original Sin? Never Talk to Strangers? Even if he played guys that fall for the lead females deceptive ways (apart from Desperado), he is perfect as the sexy man. Hell, the first two Spanish guys were blonde, boyish and not nearly half as masculine.

So normally, it is a good idea to cast Neeson as the devoted husband who gets crushed to find out his wife had an affair. And it would make perfect sense that a woman could fall for an exotic looking stranger. But then there is the movie plot where I didn’t get or sympathize with any of the characters.

The movie overall has a very dark, gloomy and tedious atmosphere. Instead of mystery and curiousity, boredom is much more likely to happen. I couldn’t understand for the life of me why Laura Linney’s Lisa would fall for Antonio’s Ralph. He doesn’t have anything going for him (not even looks- you should see the haircut and the white socks). He is an average guy who doesn’t even have an ounce of mystery around him (well- that’s what you think a woman cheating on a devoted,stable and predictable husband would go for). So Lisa cheats and we can’t see why. I can’t see what it is about Lisa that made those two men love her that much…

Did I not go into the plot? Well, when Peter (Neeson) finds out, he finds out who and where he is and sets out to…well to kill him. The cat and mouse thing gives the movie a little thrill, but then it is slow again and the twists we get do more harm than good.

If it hadn’t been a movie with Neeson and Banderas – and I really like Laura Linney’s work too (especially The Life of David Gale with Kevin Spacey) – I would have just said that it was a slow movie and not exactly my thing. But I know how much excitement the actors can bring to the right parts and how capable they are of picking good scripts. So the result is disappointment and well, hopes for a reunion – fingerscrossed, with a different director and a screenwriter.

Posts Featuring Antonio Banderas

OF LOVE AND SHADOWS (1994)

Favorite Revenge Movies

Thick as Thieves

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Actors, getting naked and their take on nudity

The Man from Earth starring David Lee Smith

Posted on October 22, 2009 Written by ripitup

The Man from Earth starring David Lee Smith. Image via http://caramelwhistle.com

Professor John Oldman (David Lee Smith) is in his late 30s and he has just lefty his position as a professor at the university. He has only worked there for 10 years so his friends can’t quite understand his desire to move on. But he is determined so they decide to throw him a going away party. As his friends gather and chat, the script gives us little clues that we are about to witness some interesting story; like why does John have a Van Gogh painting that unmistakably resembles an original? His friends also mention that John hasn’t aged a day in 10 years. It turns out that they don’t know him as well as they think. He has quite an explanation as to why he has to move. He is also torn between telling his friends. Then he does. To the disbelief of all the science people in the room, he admits to being immortal. He is about 14.000 years old. His aging has stopped at age 35 so in order to go unnoticed, he leaves every 10 years and moves on to something else. They are also getting outrageous with his claims, since it goes against all their specialties: biology, anthropology, archeology… But he is so consistent, some seem so to believe him. After all they can’t disprove his story…The more his friends listen, the more they get concerned by John’s well-being. Is he nuts? Or are they actually facing a former caveman?

The script is full of intelligent twists. David Lee Smith portrays his character intensely and persuasively. The story is interesting and it glues you to the screen. They hardly ever leave the house and the only other filming location is the front yard of his house. The director is Richard Schenkman. The amazing story belongs to Jerome Bixby. He is the writer of the original Star Trek. And even if you like Star Trek or not, this story is nothing short of a masterpiece. It appeals to movie lovers of different tastes and surprises you with its intelligence and creativity. You won’t regret seeing this.

Fun note:

The Man from Earth, David Lee Smith, dated V‘s Erica Evans/Lost’s Juliet Elizabeth Mitchell in the mid-90s.

Other Sci-Fi Movies/Movies with Sci-Fi Elements

Inception starring Leonardo DiCaprio

Strange Days starring Ralph Fiennes, Juliette Lewis and Angela Bassett

Timeline starring Gerard Butler and Paul Walker

Surrogates starring Bruce Willis and Rosamund Pike

Knowing starring Nicholas Cage

Gamer starring Gerard Butler

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

Posted on October 22, 2009 Written by ripitup

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

For a lot of people, James Marsden is best known for his role as Cyclops in the X-men series. He has also proven that he can sing and be funny in movies like Hairspray and Enchanted. He could also pull-off regular romantic in 27 Dresses. But if there is a movie that proves what a good actor Marsden is, it is this one. This movie doesn’t have special effects, a strong ensemble cast or expensive production. Here he has one equally talented co-star (Scott Speedman- who we also remember from expensive productions such as the Underworld movies, where he plays a vampire/werewolf hybrid), inside of a small flat as location and probably a small camera crew. With lesser actors, the movie could be a disaster. After all we are talking about a drama/thriller that takes all of its excitement from the twists of the story and the strength of the actors.

Tom (Speedman) and Dan (Marsden) meet in a bar and they get along. They end up going to Tom’s apartment. What we expect to happen is some flirting and a one night stand. Instead, Tom starts to act strange. Dan doesn’t remember it but they have been in his apartment before. They had sex before. Dan is weirded out by Tom’s behavior and wants to leave but is knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, he is tied up in a chair. Then Tom reveals the reason behind his behavior. He has found out he has AIDS 24 days ago. Since Dan is the only guy he has ever been with, he is sure he got it from him. So it is simple, really: Tom is going to get Dan’s blood tested. If Dan doesn’t have it, he will walk. If he does, Tom is going to kill him.

After that, we have mind-games, power-plays, plot-twists. The story is slow, but never boring until the moment Tom takes Dan hostage. After that, it is one hell of a ride.

The script is based on a play by the play the director/screenwriter himself (Tony Piccirillo). It is intense and gripping. It is also one of the most interesting low-budget movies I have seen. Give it a shot.

Other Posts on James Marsden

James Franco, James McAvoy & James Marsters: Collective Trivia for 3 Namesake Actors

The Box starring James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Frank Langella

Stardust, The Air I Breathe, Playing by Heart, The Good Shepherd, Hairspray & He’s Just Not That Into You: 6 Good Movies with Brilliant Casts (Hairspray features James Marsden

Enchanted starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey & James Marsden

Movie Reviews of 4 Nicholas Sparks Adaptations: A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle and The Notebook (The Notebook co-stars James Marsden)

Gossip starring James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, Kate Hudson & Joshua Jackson