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Columbus Circle starring Selma Blair, Amy Smart, Jason Lee, Beau Bridges & Giovanni Ribisi

Posted on March 4, 2012 Written by ripitup

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Columbus Circle Movie Poster
Columbus Circle Movie Poster from left: Giovanni Ribisi, Selma Blair, Jason Lee, Amy Smart & Kevin Pollak.

Plot

Formerly abused wealthy heiress Abigail Clayton (Selma Blair) has been living in her loft, refusing to leave her apartment. The concierge Klandermann (Kevin Pollak) runs all her errands, making her agoraphobic existence possible. Her only visitor is the family friend Raymond (Beau Bridges), the only person she trusts.

Her peaceful and structured existence is disrupted when her elderly next-door neighbor is killed and the young couple, Lillian (Amy Smart) & Charles (Jason Lee) move in. Things get complicated for Abigail when she witnesses Charles being violent, which bring back her own memories. She helps out by letting her in, but unfortunately Lillian is not the innocent abuse victim she is pretending to be. And Lilian may actually be the only person Charles is not ready to hurt…

It seems that all the characters have a secret, apart from the cop (Giovanni Ribisi) determined to solve the case. Can he solve it in time before things get out of hand for everyone?

*

Fun Level: Mediocre

Columbus Circle is -on paper- a good idea. A good cast, a good premise. Unfortunately it has severe editing and directing problems which stalls a lot, as well as making its twists way too obvious. The first important “twist” is already given in the trailer, and what you don’t know, you guess at the spot.

Despite the expected turns, it could be fun, except it is astounding how stupid the villains can be. You’d think someone attempting a con of millions of dollars would use their brains better. And of course there is the ending – which could have been a lot better if it was a little more difficult for a certain character, and a little less ridiculous for our villains.

Better with Multi-Tasking

It is all in the name of good fun, and it is certainly not the most boring film out there. But if you want to get the best value for your time, you might want to multi-task and not give the movie your full attention. You don’t need to.

Written by Kevin Pollak and George Gallo. Directed by George Gallo.

 

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Amy Smart, beau bridges, columbus circle, columbus circle dvd, columbus circle movie, columbus circle movie review, George Gallo, Giovanni Ribisi, jason lee, kevin pollak, Selma Blair, thriller

Basic starring John Travolta, Connie Nielsen and Samuel L. Jackson

Posted on June 30, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Basic starring John Travolta, Connie Nielsen and Samuel L. Jackson
Basic starring John Travolta, Connie Nielsen and Samuel L. Jackson. Image via now-movies.com

Army Ranger Dunbar (Brian Van Holt) is being interrogated by Captain Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen). The situation is very serious:  Dunbar’s team mates from Special Forces trainees and their sergeant  Nathan West (Samuel  L. Jackson) are all missing, presumed dead. The only other survivor aside from Dunbar is Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi), and he is lying in a hospital bed, in critical condition. There is a big chance Dunbar is guilty but when he says he will only talk to another ranger like him, Osborne’s supervisor Styles (Tim Daly) decides to call in a favor from his old friend/ex-Ranger Tom Hardy (John Travolta)- despite her objections.

Osborne and Hardy don’t at first get along that well. After all Hardy has left the army, is now a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent.  It doesn’t help build her trust that there have been some bribery charges against him and he is sort of suspended.

But when Hardy proves himself as great an interrogator as Styles said he was, Osborne decides to follow his lead. After all, he has gotten both Kendall and Dunbar to talk. The problem is, their stories are contradicting. And even more confusing is the fact that Kendall seems to be showing Dunbar in a guilty light despite the fact that he saved Kendall’s life.

So what is the real story? Did one of the soldiers finally lose it because of how horribly West treated them? Or is it a whole lot more complicated than that?

I loved this movie. In fact, I adored it. I do have a weakness for John Travolta movies- especially thrillers:  Do Face Off, Broken Arrow, Swordfish, From Paris with Love, Mad City ring a bell? Yes, there are more but these are my favorites and Basic joined them right away. The difference of Basic,  though is that the action doesn’t exactly involve Travolta. We get flashbacks to the awful stormy location where the soldiers were supposed to complete their training. There is great suspense and as many great twists as in a John Grisham novel. I loved how the story surprises and entertains and impresses you at all times. The movie, in my opinion is horribly underrated at 6.3 on IMDB. I think it is a solid 8 but I rated a 9 for the entertainment level and frankly to get the movie closer to the rating it deserves. Written by James Vanderbilt. Directed by John McTiernan.

A very strong drama/thriller with a great cast. Now, that’s my kind of movie .

Posts featuring Travolta:

Hairspray

From Paris with Love

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors

Favorite Actors to Play Villains

 

Buy Basic on Amazon.com

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Basic, Brian Van Holt, connie nielsen, drama, Giovanni Ribisi, James Vanderbilt, John McTiernan, John Travolta, movies, Samuel L. Jackson, thriller

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