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

Posted on January 4, 2011 Written by ripitup

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Gossip starring James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, Kate Hudson & Joshua Jackson
Gossip starring James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, Kate Hudson & Joshua Jackson. Image via moviepostershop.com

College student Derrick Webb (James Marsden) has it all: money, looks, charm & 2 great friends/roommates –   hard-working Cathy Jones (Lena Headey) & artistic Travis (Norman Reedus). In fact, the only thing Derrick hasn’t managed to “get” so far is Johns.  Jones wants him too but she is just afraid of the aftermath.

This all seem to be interested in the beautiful & filthy rich blonde Naomi (Kate Hudson).  After all, she is known for being against sex, despite being in a relationship with the cute Beau (Joshua Jackson). And Jones heard that Naomi started a rumor about Jones sleeping with their professor – Goodwin (Eric Bogosian).

So when Derrick witnesses Bo and Naomi making out heavily in a party – with Naomi too drunk too tell Beau off, Derrick gets the perfect idea for Goodwin’s class. Why not spread a rumor that Naomi slept with Beau that night and see how well it spreads?

Of course the rumor spreads like crazy. However before the trio can fully enjoy their results, the unexpected happens. The rumors reach Naomi. She was so drunk that night that she doesn’t actually remember what really happened. So she believes that Beau raped her. Beau is arrested. Jones wants to come forward, but Derrick stops her. After all- what if Beau really raped her? It is not like Derrick saw the whole thing….

From then on, events take on amazing twists and turns. And if you are worrying I gave away too much of the plot, don’t. The movie really starts kicking ass right after Beau is arrested. What started as a sexy & intriguing teen college drama turns into an intelligent and even sexier mystery/thriller. No gore. Almost no blood. Practically no effects and no big budget. Just a talented cast, a smart script and really good storytelling.

Pay attention to James Marsden. The cast is good enough but I have to say James steals the show with his wonderfully grey character Derrick.

Written by Gregory Poirier. Directed by Davis Guggenheim.

Fun notes: 

* Kate Hudson (she plays Naomi)  is actress Goldie Hawn’s biological daughter. She is very close with her step dad, Goldie Hawn’s long-time partner Kurt Russell.

* Noticed someone familiar among the students? It is none other than Kris Holden-Ried, who you might remember as William Compton from The Tudors, or from the romcom Touch of Pink. Does Kris remind anybody else Chris Martin of Coldplay, or is it just me?

Recommended Reading:

Other good movies with great scripts and not-so-high budgets:

6 Solid Films with Low Budgets and Enclosed Locations Featuring Uma Thurman, Colin Farrell and Timothy Hutton

Other Articles on James Marsden & His Movies

Straw Dogs starring James Marsden, Kate Bosworth, Alexander Skarsgard & James Woods

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)

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

Also on Joshua Jackson:

Cursed starring Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson & Jesse Eisenberg

Cursed Movie Cast & Crew Trivia Feat. Joshua Jackson, Christina Ricci, Portia De Rossi, Kevin Williamson & More

Fringe starring Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv & John Noble

Fringe Trivia: 13 Facts About Fringe Cast, Crew, Plot Feat. Joshua Jackson, Anna Torv, Mark Valley…

The Shadow Dancer starring Joshua Jackson, Claire Forlani and Harvey Keitel

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Davis Guggenheim, drama, Eric Bogosian, gossip, gossip 2000 movie, gossip movie, gossip movie cast, Gregory Poirier, James Marsden, james marsden movies, Joshua Jackson, Kate Hudson, Kris Holden-Ried, lena headey, movies, mystery, norman reedus, thriller

The Box starring James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Frank Langella

Posted on March 30, 2010 Written by ripitup

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The Box with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden
The Box with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. Frank Langella gives creepy and mysterious a whole new meaning. So what would you do to get $1.000.000?

1976. A black box is dropped at the house of Norma and Arthur Lewis (Cameron Diaz and James Marsden), a happily married couple with a kid. They have the house, the car, the careers and things seem quite perfect in their front. Well, there are some problems. NASA employee Arthur fails to get his chance to become an astronaut and the private school Norma is teaching at -and their son goes to school to- cuts off his scholarship. And there is the almost life-long disability that has been bothering Norma, her constant limping due to her 4 cut-off toes. What comes in the form of a suggestion however is something they never could have anticipated.

A mysterious old man – Arlington Steward – with an extremely disfigured half-face appears at the door. Norma invites the man in, both shocked and intrigued. As it turns out, this is the man who dropped the mysterious black box at their door and he has come with a proposition. The box has a red button. If the couple presses it within 24 hours, someone they don’t know will die. And they will receive $1.000.000, if she and her husband don’t tell anyone. He leaves Norma shocked. Arthur doesn’t really take it seriously. But after a while, “what if” questions start to surface. What if that man is serious? What if they will actually be paid $1.000.000? Are they ready to be responsible to be responsible for someone’s death?

Eventually, money and financial troubles win over conscience and the button is pushed.

It turns out Arlington meant everything he said. But will their act have other consequences? Who the hell is Arlington Steward? Why are there so many people around them acting weird? Where does the money come from? Will they ever be safe?

Now, this movie has one of the most interesting premises I have ever run into. I found myself glued to the screen, wondering about Arlington, the money and feeling shocked at the fact that both Norma took the man seriously and easily pushed the button. How could a seemingly good person be that reckless of someone else’s life? The movie is slowly-paced, intending to build the tension and curiosity. While I can’t say I was bored, I couldn’t find the exciting explanation I was waiting for in the end. What happened and why will be shown to you to a certain extent. However a lot will left to your imagination and interpretation.

The screenplay is based on a short-story by Richard Matheson, called Button, Button. The movie is written for the screen and directed by Richard Kelly, writer and director of the cult hit Donnie Darko. While Darko is better-paced, I was more intrigued by The Box.

I am looking forward to read Matheson’s story and see how much/what Kelly left out.

I should say it is always good to watch Marsden and Frank Langella really crept me out.

6.0 on IMDB. I guess I can say 6.5-7 for some parts and 6.0 for other.

Favorite Line

Norma Lewis: What happens now? Will you make the offer to someone else?

Arlington Stweard:Yes, Mrs Lewis. And you can be sure it will be made to someone you don’t know.

Favorite Scene

Last conflict for the Lewises. My favorite part of the whole movie.

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Button Button, Cameron Diaz, Donnie Darko, drama, Frank Langella, James Marsden, Richard Kelly, Richard Matheson, sci fi, The Box, the box movie, the box movie review, thriller

Across The Hall starring Mike Vogel, Brittany Murphy & Danny Pino

Posted on March 2, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Across The Hall - starring Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino, Mike Vogel
Across The Hall - starring Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino, Mike Vogel. Some lessons learned: Do not cheat on your boyfriend. Do not own a gun. Do not be stupid. Cool, eh?

Julian (Mike Vogel) gets a disturbing call from his best friend Terry (Danny Pino). Terry has followed his girlfriend June (Brittany Murphy) to a hotel. He has hired the room across her and her lover. Moreover, he has stolen Julian’s gun and can’t wait to go out and shoot the guy. Julian does his best to calm him down and he hardly seems to be able to convince Terry to at least to wait for him.

As the movie unfolds in a non-linear form, things get more and more complicated. Will Julian be able to prevent a frantic and pissed off Terry from doing something stupid? Or is it already too late?

The story belongs to director Alex Merkin and the screenplay was written by Jesse Mittlestadt. It is a pretty decent little thriller. While it can get a bit slow sometimes and has some flaws, the acting is good and the setting has been used effectively. Sure, character development isn’t rich, but it is not what you look for in this film. It has nice twists and turns.

It is a good example of a low budget, entertaining flick.

I think writing a thriller and making it into a film takes guts. I am serious. “Thrilling” people is hard. Trying to surprise them is even harder. You are susceptible to plot holes and plot holes tend to turn viewers off. But apparently, Alex and Jesse had the guts and ended up doing a good film.

No, it is not one of the best low-budget thrillers I have seen. Or the smartest revenge tale. But it is a fun experience most of the time. Plus, it is one of the last appearances of Britanny Murphy, whom we lost in late 2009. RIP, Brittany.

You might want to check out a tribute to her and the other celebrities we lost in 2009  (Patrick Swayze, Farah Fawcett, Natasha Richardson and more…): http://socyberty.com/people/2009-worst-year-for-celebrities/

Suggestion for another low-budget, revenge thriller: The 24th Day, starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman. In fact, it is stronger and more orginal.

The 24th Day with James Marsden and Scott Speedman
The 24th Day with James Marsden and Scott Speedman.

https://pinartarhan.com/blog/24th-day-2004/

 

 

 

 

 

(24th day photo: http://forum.ciwciw.com/uploads/watcher)

(across the photo: http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5400000/Across-the-Hall-Promotional-brittany-murphy-5473007-600-888.jp)

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: across the hall, Alex Merkin, Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino, James Marsden, Mike Vogel, Scott Speedman, the 24th day, thriller

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

Posted on October 22, 2009 Written by ripitup

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The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman
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

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 24th Day, Cyclops, drama, Enchantment, Hairspray, James Marsden, movies, Scott Speedman, thriller, Tony Piccirillo, Underworld, X-men

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