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Beowulf and Grendel (2005)

Posted on October 30, 2009 Written by ripitup

Beowulf and Grendel with Gerard Butler as Grendel — Gerard Butler as Beowulf the Hero

The Danes are in big trouble. The troll Grendel (Ingvar E. Sigurosson) is angry and keeps attacking their village, killing men at random. The famous hero Beowulf (Gerard Butler) takes his men and comes to help. Most men in town are dead, the king (Stellan Skarsgard) is depressed and killing the “monster” seems harder than Beowulf has initially thought. So he occasionally asks the town witch Selma (Sarah Polley) for guidance. The King however might have left some crucial information out. Something we see in the opening scene: Danes corner and kill Grendel’s father, with the young troll witnessing all of it.

I have actually no idea whether you will like the movie or not. I didn’t. Sure the landscape is amazing and Butler always makes a convincing and charismatic hero (300, Atilla) but there is so much missing from the film. If you are not particularly fond of the mythical tale, there is not much to be enjoyed here. The characters aren’t likable, the king doesn’t quite have many leadership attitudes, the witch’s accent is totally different from the rest…It is of course a weird story with many odd aspects. Aside from the revenge-seeking outcast Troll, you have the most depressed king you have probably ever seen, a “monster” that you don’t sympathize with and aren’t afraid of and mostly men dying in a vain attempt to kill a beast, while you can think of quite a few strategies on how they could have killed him so easily…

Maybe you can just give yourself 15-20 minutes into the movie. Whatever vibe you get from the beginning is likely to continue. And I can think of many mythical stories that are more engaging. The current IMDB rating is 6.2, voted by over 6000 people. Your call.

Beowulf and Grendel scene — Scene from Beowulf and Grendel

More Gerard Butler movies:

GAMER

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

TOP 10 GERARD BUTLER

The “Shit-I’m-too late/too-old Syndrome”

Posted on October 21, 2009 Written by ripitup

It’s so easy and so common to get into this way of thinking. As you grow older- even if you are in your mid 2os- you hear this phrase a lot. People talk about how late it is to start over. How late it is to make a dramatic career change. To start a new relationship. As depressing and somewhat convenient to feel that way, it’s also insanely ridiculous. It is hard to shake the thoughts if you are living in to a society where people seem to be dying to start their careers and get married and have kids. And it looks like a lot of societies are like this. Hell, the first time I heard the words “my biological clock is ticking” was on American TV and the woman was merely in her late 20s. Come on, give me a break! I don’t know why people are so willing to conform to such inconvenient stuff. The fact that some people met the love of their loves in high school doesn’t automatically oblige you to marry your boyfriend at the moment in a rush. And if your friend has gotten his/her dream career at the age of 23, it is her life. Not yours. There is not a timeline everybody can follow or has to follow. Luckily, I manage to isolate myself from this syndrome most of the time. I used to have a strategy to cope. Whenever I seemed to be lose hope, I would remind myself that I would never forgive myself if I didn’t just work my ass off and didn’t do everything humanly possible. But then I read a great life story and well, I figured the advice in that book was much more effective and efficient. A Turkish drama student went to the Stated upon graduation. He was 26. He started to live the starving actor’s life, in a different country and at the age of 26. His name is Aykut “Ike” Ogut and about a decade later he was pretty much where he wanted to be – with still a lot of things to do for himself. Oh, and believe me the guy didn’t have it easy. He went through poverty, drinking too much, having health problems, depression…But he didn’t give up. And he made it. He jokes that he is yet to be in a movie with Tom Cruise. But from where I look, he is doing pretty good. He lived in L.A and New York, he played both little and big parts, he directed sound departments. He is happy, well-off and quite successful. Not the mention, it is quite a long and complicated journey. But he did it. First he had to start and he started at 26. So it is only natural that he would write a book on self-growth and motivation and how to achieve the stuff you want to achieve, no matter how insanely difficult it might seem. His words work just fine for me and I’m 25. And my plans are just as complicated, including the whole going to L.A. and making it in Hollywood thing. Of course he is only human and he does occasionally get depressed and wonder if he can pull some stuff off.Like writing this book when he was 35. Writing is hard and I can imagine how much endurance books will take. But he didn’t give in. This time he just read about the accomplishments of authors who got published after the age of 35. See? It’s a wonderful way for the mind to work.

Ogut’s advice relates all areas. I f you want to be an actor, but you are yet to start, you are supposed to encourage yourself by reading about people who have gone through similar paths. It is ridiculous to compare for an actress to be in her 20s to compare herself to Jodie Foster and say “Boy, I’m too late! I’m too old to start!” Well, by Jodie’s standards everybody is screwed. I mean she was acting in commercials when she was in diapers. She was acting with Robert De Niro when she was 13. You are not supposed to think like that. But by all means, please think about Gerard Butler. He actually has a law degree. He didn’t start acting until he was 25. Sure, he did fantasize about it but he didn’t even really try. He was from Scotland, and already in his mid-20s. But he hated the office and took his chances. Have you checked him out? He is one of Hollywood’s most sought after leading man. And Britain’s. He got to play Irish, Scottish and American roles. He did action, comedy, drama, romance AND musicals. He did theater and movies. This is the guy you should be reading about. Not Tom Cruise who got his first acting gig it in 19. You should also avoid the failure stories. Sure, not every one makes it but it doesn’t mean you are not going to be able to succeed.

It is not just about acting. It’s about everything. People can find true love at 50, or at 15. You can make your dreams come true at any age. Of course it might be tough if you try to be olympic-good at an athletic sport after 30,as Seth Godin puts it in his book “The Dip” . But other than that, you can bungee-jump at 83 (has been done and the guy is live. make sure to get some tests before though, just in case), you can be American and get to play in Japanese TV shows after you hit 30 (Timothy Ferris) or you can also get yourself published at 60. Of course I am not telling you to take it slow ans wait. I am just saying that whenever you get stuck, there are plenty of real life examples of people who come from similar backgrounds as you and that their stories are the perfect way to get inspired.

Oh sure, you will have a pessimistic friend who says he/she gets more depressed with stories like that. Hell, maybe even you are that easily depressed friend. You can always find an excuse not to put yourself out there. I am just trying to help out with finding the reasons not to stop trying.

5 Awesome Revenge Movies feat. Gerard Butler, Kevin Bacon, Antonio Banderas, Brandon Lee and Mel Gibson

Posted on October 21, 2009 Written by ripitup

Oh, they are the best! They depict emotions in a raw, powerful form. And by revenge, I’m not talking about an underpaid, overworked guy sticking it up to boss’s ass. Nope. I am talking about when a loved one is murdered and the one who left behind takes justice into his own hands. My latest avenger movie of choice Law Abiding Citizen, starring Gerard Butler and Jamie Foxx.

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN (2009)

law_abiding_citizen_poster — Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler in Law Abiding Citizen. Oh yes, Gerard kicks as much as his look implies.

Butler’s character is the avenger. The wonderful thing about the film is that he isn’t just taking care of the murderers that took his family’s life. He also comes after the prosecutor who cut a deal with them, the judge who let him and basically the whole system. Don’t worry, I didn’t give away any spoilers. It is all in the thriller. You can check out the trailer and the review here

Below are some of my other favorite revenge movies:

BRAVEHEART (1995)

FVBR2 — Directed, Co-produced by Mel Gibson. Starring Mel Gibson. Yes, he worked his ass off for this movie. End result? A totally awesome epic, a kick-ass revenge tale.

It is a revenge movie. Yes, it is epic,and glorious and tells us how the real life Scottish folk hero led his people to freedom by fighting the English. But the urge to take revenge starts all that. Wallace was just an ordinary boy when his father was killed. But he was taken and raised by his uncle, who taught him to be an intelligent, world-savvy person. He came back to his town and he had no desire to fight. But then the English kill his wife- a woman he loved deeply and loved more than anything and everyone else. So, this drove him to edge. It is possibly one of the most noble acts of revenge, since he did not give up after finishing off his wife’s murderers and continued to fight for his and his country men’s freedom. All of the scenes are priceless. Braveheart has 5 Academy Awards, including Best Film and Best Director; both won by the film’s lead actor/director/producer Mel Gibson. If you haven’t seen it yet, and you are not against the concept of historical epic movies, you really shouldn’t miss this.

The Crow (1994)

crow_with_crow — Brandon Lee as Eric Draven in The Crow

The Crow is such a dark, gothic, powerful cult classic. A rock musician’s ( Eric Draven played by Brandon Lee) fiancée is raped and murdered. Moreover, he is murdered. The great thing about this movie is that the avenger is also dead, and yet he comes back to avenge his and his fiancée’s murders. It is also fascinating to watch as the bad guys go nuts trying to kill him because he just can’t be killed. After all, he is already dead. It would have been lovely to follow Brandon Lee’s projects after this one, but unfortunately he died during the making of this film, which adds to its dark atmosphere. Director Alex Proyas created a cult status for himself. Although Dark City was brilliant, he disappointed quite a few times with his other work. But hey, it is hard to measure up to a film like this.

Death Sentence (2007)

death-sentence-poster — Kevin Bacon in Death Sentence. If you want the hell to break loose, just hurt someone from this guy’s family. Then hurt some more. Climax? One good action sequence after another. Realistic? No. Cool? Oh, yeah!

Although it is not as highly rated and regarded as the two movies above, it is a solid example of the genre. Kevin Bacon plays a dad whose son is murdered and the guilty will not receive a slightly deserving punishment. He loses it. He kills the guy who did it. But where the other revenge flicks would normally end, this one actually starts. Now the gang the bad boy belonged to goes after the dad and the remaining of his family, which might end up in dad having to take revenge once again, more brutally and absolutely. I think revenge flicks should not be judged the originality of the script. Not that I find this one refreshing in some parts, I do. But this kind of drama takes its power from the actors and how the director handles the shots. And this movie was beautifully done. Bacon is apt at playing any character, good and bad. But I am guessing the fact that he is a father in real life and really big on his family, and his own fears helped him bring out such a powerful performance. Watch it. It is exciting, disturbing and emotional. I am not exactly a fan of Saw movies. Haven’t even seen the first one. But now that I found out that the director of the first movie,James Wan, directed Death Sentence, I have this newly found respect for the guy. May he make more movies like this…

Desperado (1995) :

Oh yeah. The movie that will make me love its director Robert Rodriguez regardless of how I feel about his other projects. This is a glorious,well-funded sequel to the more modest El Mariachi,which as good as it might have been, lacked one very important element: Antonio Banderas. In the first movie his girlfriend was murdered so now he seeks to avenge her death. Oh, and he has guitar case stuffed with the good guns and he will get rid of you if you try to get in his way.

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZdZv3kT9xk[/pro-player][/pro-player]

Any revenge movie’s lead is so undeniably significant. He needs to be likable. Yeah, sure it is
easy to identify with a guy whose loved one has been murdered- who loved that person so strongly that they risked their own lives in the name of taking justice in their own hands. He needs to look like a lover and a killer. Brandon Lee was charismatic in spite of his make-up-which added wonders to the cult image. Mel Gibson was tough,strong and masculine, and yet vulnerable, despite the traditional kilt. Antonio Banderas makes a wonderful action hero. He is hot,dark,well-built and passionate. What he lacks in height is more than made up to by his charisma and extreme good looks. Oh, he also sings, plays the guitar, uses his guitar as a weapon and meanwhile he does seduce and is seduced by the gorgeous Salma Hayek. Desperado is pure action, 0 drama and kick-ass entertainment. It doesn’t get deep.It just gets even. Kevin Bacon comes from the theater. He started in H0llywood as nice guy roles but he made a name for himself playing the bad guys. So he has no problem at all portraying a guy who is driven to the edge. In fact, he looks like he is made for it.
These movies are all different from each other but they have the core in common: You root for the good guy, you love the blood shed from the bad guys and the action sequences are brilliant. With the exception of Death Sentence, I have seen the rest many times.Which reminds me, I definitely should add the Kevin Bacon film to my collection. It sure as hell deserves a second viewing. I think for an actor, the action role doesn’t get better than a good revenge movie.

Dear Frankie starring Gerard Butler and Emily Mortimer

Posted on October 19, 2009 Written by ripitup

Dear Frankie is a charming little story about a young woman’s love for her deaf son and the lengths she will go to protect him from any disappointment and danger regarding his father.

Lizzie (Emily Mortimer) lives with her son Frankie (Jack McElhone) and her mother. The story of Frankie’s dad remains a mystery to the viewer for a while. What we know though is that Lizzie has been exchanging letters with Frankie, posing as his father. She has told him that he works on a ship and has to travel a lot, which disables him from coming home. She has even used a name of a ship she has seen on a stamp. But as luck would have it, the ship is real and is about to come to their town. Though torn between telling the truth and keeping up with the reality she created, she painfully decides to hire a man to pose as Frankie’s dad. Her friend finds her a man with no past,present and future- a man she knows nothing about, just like Lizzie wishes. This Stranger (Gerard Butler) meets Frankie and spends a day with him. What she couldn’t have plan for was that this guy would form a bond with her son and herself and would want to spend an extra day with them…

It is not the most original script, I am going to admit that. But sometimes, just like this movie, the performances are so beautiful and powerful that you don’t mind that you might have watched similar stuff before. You get lost in the story, root for Lizzie and her son and you want the stranger to stick around. The landscape is amazing. This is not a movie that costs a lot. This is not a movie you expect to be marketed aggressively. But the important thing is, it is not a movie that you will forget. And that’s what matters at the end of the day.

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