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Choosing Movies According to the Actor

Posted on November 21, 2009 Written by ripitup

I have a favorite video store and I just have to get in there and browse through their stuff. My friends do occasionally try to stop me so I just tell them to hang out somewhere and I go in the store anyway. Sometimes they come in and look around. Occasionally the store manages to catch up with my speed and has some promising movies I haven’t seen. When my friends ask why I pick on particular movie I give a simple answer like: “Oh, Christian Slater is in it! Can’t believe I haven’t seen this one before”. Or “it has Hugh Jackman! ” “you wouldn’t know him- but James Spader is a great actor.” One time one of my friends went: “What? You pick the movie according to the actor?” And I said yeah. I know he thought I was just being superficial and picked the movies where the leads are hot but I really didn’t bother correcting a guy whose favorite actress is Megan Fox.

A movie consists of many elements. It has the behind the scenes crew, the actors, the story…I always read the plot summary before I buy a movie but that’s hardly enough. This is the year 2009 and so many movies have been made that complete/partial originality is almost a luxury. I can follow a director but a director usually favors a genre and there are hardly many directors out there whose most work I enjoy. I mean I don’t like Quentin Tarantiono or Oliver Stone. I only liked one movie by Stone so far. I am not a fan of Brian De Palma and I like half of Spielberg’s work but I am not sure he mixes personal with entertainment well. I love Richard Donner- the guy directed a lot of my favorite Mel Gibson movies. Since directors usually shoot less movies than a famous actor appears in on average, it is statistically better to follow an actor if you like his movies. The style varies yet there is a possibility that you will enjoy his choices.
For the 90s and up until his “I- love- directing- so -much -more”- phase, Mel Gibson was a great choice. He did drama,thriller, romance,action,epic, adaptation and he did them all well. The 90s have great actors in that sense: Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Christian Slater… Keanu Reeves still makes good movies, and a recent fav. of mine is Gerard Butler. As for actresses, Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock have made some great movies, as well as Nicole Kidman. See how many movies it made in total? If you know the actors’ work, why not choose according to the cast?

Timeline starring Paul Walker, Gerard Butler & Frances O’Connor

Posted on November 18, 2009 Written by ripitup

Timeline with Paul Walker and Gerard Butler

I am not much of a history fan and I haven’t been that fond of archeology either. But I just love the idea of time travel. It is great to get your imagination juices flowing and wonder what your life could have been like in the past and of course you can always fantasize about the future. It is always fun to join in on another person’s imagination and share the ride, whether the concept is presented through a DeLorean (Back to the Future) or another form of time machine (referred as a human fax machine in Timeline). I have quite a fascination with this genre. Now I haven’t read Michael Crichton’s novel but I plan to. Naturally, not all the readers of the novel are pleased with this movie adaption but I don’t really care at this point. If you like entertainment, this movie provides it. The cast is impressive enough with Paul Walker and Gerard Butler, along with Billy Connolly in a supporting role. Some parts of the script may defy logic but then again, what is that logical about time travel in the first place?

The movie revolves around a group of archeleogy enthusiasts: Kate (Frances O’Connor), Andre (Gerard Butller), Josh (Ethan Embry) and François) and Chris (Paul Walker), who is much more interested in Kate than the science itself. The group is run by Chris’ father Professor Johnston (Connolly) who mysteriously disappears one day, leaving a note that asks for help. The strange thing about the note is that it has been written in the 14th century.

All the scientific tests prove this to be true, to all of their amazement. When they dig deeper, they find out that Johnston is working with a technology company, which has been funding his studies. They also find out that the company has invented a time travel machine and that the professor is indeed in the 14th century. Of course he is in trouble.

The company sends one of its employees to oversee the mission and the friends volunteer, apart from Josh. They don’t take any weapons or any other modern thing. They dress accordingly& take the medallions that are supposed to bring them back. The company guy takes two of him men and together they embark a bizarre journey. Of course it could have been a painless trip with beautiful scenery and a real-life study but they actually find themselves right in the middle of the on-going war between England and France: They run from English soldiers and eventually get captured. To make matters more compicated, they have met a French girl who warned them about the attack, adding one to the list of the people whose backs they have to watch and it is not very safe to travel around the English-invaded lands with a Frenchman…

Of course I have more than enough reasons to like the movie:

– Gerard Butler is one of my fav. actors and he is one of the leads.

– Director Richard Donner knows how to satisfy his audience. Do you want me to remind me of his other stuff? Does the Lethal Weapon series ring a bell? Or Conspiracy Theory?

– -Paul Walker always makes entertaining movies. Sometimes it has substance and originality (The Lazarus Project) or just lots of speed and adrenaline (Fast and Furious saga) but the result is you have fun. And yes, if you are a girl, it never hurts to have Butler and Walker playing the major roles. Plus, not only the men are cute and strong but they also play romantic and sweet roles.

– And boys, if you like girls pretty and petite, then you have Anna Friel (Lady Claire) and Frances O’ Connor (Kate).

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

All in all, Timeline is not going to play mind games with you. You are not going to question life or death. But it is a lovely combination of the modern and period piece. It has the 21st century and the 14th. It will put a smile on your face. Timeline is one of the movies I wish I could have been a part of; whether being behind or in front of the camera, not because artistically brilliant. But because it is definitely one of those movies where you can tell the whole crew had a blast makingit. If you want unexpected twists, character analysis and sophistication, do by all means stay away from this movie.

Gerard Butler and Saturday Night Live

Posted on November 12, 2009 Written by ripitup

Gerard Butler, Saturday Night Live — Gerard Butler hosts Saturday Night Live

Have you seen Matthew Perry‘s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? It is a solid drama that takes you behind the scenes of a sketch-comedy TV show and shows the interesting yet frustrating life of its makers. The fictional comedy show epicted in the series really remind me of Saturday Night Live. Maybe they were inspired by it, I don’t know. I guess it can be pretty challenging to come up with funny ideas week after week. As a result, you can’t make everyone happy and you can’t make everyone laugh till they cry with every sketch. So while it is fun to check out Saturday Night Live once in a while, I am not a regular viewer. It is not always funny, hell- not all sketches in one night can always be funny. Hey, my favorite comedian is Jim Carrey and some of his stints there sucked!

That being said, I love seeing Gerard Butler on TV. He is very funny and has a good sense of humor: The guy knows how to entertain. So I checked out how funny Butler could be in such a different format than he is used to. He has played in a lot of movies and tv shows that belong to different genres but this is his first time hosting (and acting in) a show like this.

THE INTRO:

Gerard Butler in Saturday Night Live, singing The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera — Gerard Butler singing The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera

Now, my favorite moment might be when Gerard first comes to the stage. He looks fun, cool and handsome. And he starts with how proud he is about being the first Scot to host SNL. He does later categorize his movie parts into two parts: the ones where he wears a shirt and the ones he doesn’t. So he decides to make a little tribute to the Phantom of the Opera-and starts singing The Music of the Night. Of course then people in funny costumes (tributes to Attila, Beowulf and Grendel) and other action movies come and try to kill him- but he manages to dispose of them, while maintainig his beautiful singing voice. But him singing a serious opera song with Vikings and ninjas attacking him and him fighting them on stage is hilarious. Just when he thinks he is safe and is joined by one of the female regulars of SNL, she takes out a dagger and tries to stab him while shouting: “Take your shirt off!! Take your shirt off’!”. I had fun!

So take a look at what happened with the ones that feature Gerry:

The Beauty and the Beast

– As ridiculous as it sounds, Gerard Butler plays the beast. But the funny part about this stint is that The Beast thinks he is the pretty one. Imagine the shock of The Beauty when she finds out!,

Cottage Cheese

I honestly have no idea why this is supposed to be funny, but the weird secretary’s shrill of a voice still haunts me. I go around the house imitating “Thomasssss…. Thomasss…. Look!”

300

Gerard Butler in the 300 parody of Saturday Night Live — Gerard Butler makes a parody of his character in 300 and the movie itself. This is priceless!

I am not that much of a fan when it comes to 300 though I appreciate the hard work and talent that has been put into the movie. Hell, Butler himself went through an excruciating exercise routine to get the body he had as Leonidas the King of Sparta (he worked out up to 6 hours a day) and all the soldiers were similarly well-built. It also takes one hell of an imagination to act in front of a blue screen all the time, since most of the background was added afterwards. But I am not crazy about the movie. And the parody is just hilarious. It rotates around the “fact” that how gay the 300 men were. You really should see it. All jokes are funny. Loved it.

Leonidas: 40% of Sparta considers homosexuality an illness.

A soldier: 40% of Sparta doesn’t believe you were born in Greece!

Leonidas: (takes out a stone tablet that his name is carved on) I have a birth certificate!!!

DAVEHEART

Daveheart is a hilarious Braveheart parody. Now Braveheart is my favorite movie. I love everything about it, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good parody. This one is hilarious. If you haven’t seen Braveheart, a quick reminder: William Wallace is an actual Scottish hero, portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie. The English rule unfairly and violently. Wallace marries the girl he loves secretly because The English are known to invade weddings and claim the bride. But they kill her and in order to take revenge, he gathers the Scots into an army. The movie is famous for one of the most inspiring battlefield speeches. In the movie, soldiers are scared and Wallace turns unwilling peasants into brave warriors. So yeah- there is no Dave in the movie. :D.

SOLDIER: How can we surrender? The English deflower our virgin brides on their wedding nights!

DAVE: Well, first of all none of your wives were virgins on their wedding nights. There’re six girls in our village and like a hundred guys…So noone is a virgin.

Gerard Butler, Saturday Night Live, Braveheart Parody — Gerard Butler is supposedly Dave, William Wallace's cowardly brother.

THE TRANSLATION

Gerard Butler joins the news as himself, and wants to talk to his family in the heaviest of Scottish accents and asks the anchorman to translate. Of course the translation is a little bit different…

Butler:… most fun I have had since I made 300. Man, that movie was great.

The Anchor: … most fun I have had since I made 300. Man, that movie was gay.

WHITE PETE

OK- I have no idea how this stint is supposed to be funny – but Gerry’s weird singer character and his mimics can put a grin on your face. Oh, and I don’t know what James Franco is doing there- but I like the guy, so…yeah, that’s about it.

P.S: The one with The Rock: Now the first sketch doesn’t involve Gerry but I really enjoyed it: Barack Obama is having a difficult time with the healthcare reform – people just want him to fail. So he gets really angry and angry- and…remember what happens to the Hulk? Except Obama doesn’t turn into a green giant of a man but to The Rock- Dwayne Johnson. Now- yeah, that does intimidate the White House guests…

Want more Gerard Butler-related posts? You might want to check out:

Law Abiding Citizen: 2 Steps Short of Perfection

GAMER

5 REASONS TO LOVE GERARD BUTLER

TOP 10 GERARD BUTLER MOVIES

PLEASE!: Gerard Butler’s Highly Compelling Short Film

Posted on November 9, 2009 Written by ripitup

OK, WOW!!!

It is an award-winning short movie from 1999 and it really inspired me to make and watch short movies. I don’t usually think that a powerful story can be told in a little over 13 minutes, but this film just does it. Despite the bad image quality (the only way to see this film was through youtube for me), I was hooked. I wish it had been longer and I really wished it was a theater released full-length film. It is just another example that shows why Gerard Butler is never going to be typecast. We have seen him act as muscle-bound epic heroes (Attila, 300), as a loving husband with a great sense of humor (P.S. I love You), a wiseass guys’ guy that gives relationship advice (The Ugly Truth), a seemingly perfect family and career man who just might not be actually that great (Butterfly on a Wheel) and well a phantom (The Phantom of the Opera)…The list goes on.

In this movie, Gerard Butler plays Peter, a struggling novelist who is depressed, furious and desperate. His career hasn’t taken off, and moreover his wife and kid have left him long ago. He is lonely and extremely frustrated. He has a gun in which a he puts one bullet and starts to play Russian Roulette while visiting his wife and his agent. And while the ending might not be a shock, it still blew my mind- the way it is presented is just brilliant.

The only fault I can find with the movie is that it is too damn short. Kudos to Paul Black, the writer and director, and to Gerard Butler.

Enjoy the movie here:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiCw8V_pF9o[/pro-player]

Also on Gerard Butler and his movies:

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

GAMER

5 REASONS TO LOVE GERARD BUTLER

TOP 10 GERARD BUTLER MOVIES

Beowulf and Grendel

GERARD BUTLER Hosts SNL