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Doubt starring Katherine Heigl, Dulé Hill, Laverne Cox & Steven Pasquale

Posted on September 25, 2017 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Doubt TV series 2017 starring Katherine Heigl

Doubt is a 13-episode legal drama series that was canceled after its first season. It is a shame because despite its shortcomings, it was a fun show with great actors, engaging storylines, and interesting (bordering on hilarious) characters.

I think Doubt lost mostly because it is main/ongoing court case has been done so many times before. Tell me if this jogs your memory:

A beautiful lawyer takes on the case of a handsome murder suspect. He claims he is innocent. She believes him because he is such a nice, charismatic and thoughtful guy. They fall in love, but, oh my god, the conflicts…

The first one I can think of is Jagged Edge starring Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges. While Jeff Bridges was no means a very nice guy even in the beginning, he was certainly gorgeous and charismatic. Those of you who don’t remember Jeff being gorgeous, do watch the film.

Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close in Jagged Edge.

But Jagged Edge was in 85, and even when I saw it in the 90s (hey, I was barely 1 in 85!), it didn’t feel that fresh.

Since then, I have seen” the gorgeous and talented lawyer falls in love with gorgeous and innocent-looking murder suspect client storyline” so many times that I can’t believe this was seen as an acceptable, driving storyline.

Note: The following paragraph includes major spoilers for the legal drama series The Good Wife starring Julianna Margulies.

So why did I keep watching Doubt? For one thing, I was happy Steven Pasquale was allowed to woo the leading lady and stay in the show. He was going to date Alicia Florick in The Good Wife, but writers changed their mind. (I remember a kiss, and maybe a one-time thing? My memory is fuzzy.) But I’m sure Steven didn’t take it personally as writers didn’t choose Will Gardner for Alicia. Then the cute ADA Finn (Matthew Goode) disappeared. Then she hooked up with the hot private investigator Jason (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) but she chose herself in the end? I have too many issues with The Good Wife storylines. I just never got over Will’s death. Oh well… I’m tremendously enjoying its spin-off The Good Fight, though. No Floricks.

OK, back to Steven Pasquale. Then I thought he was going to complicate the already complex and troubled marriage of Chuck and Wendy Rhoades in Billions,

But that ship also sailed as his character disappeared after two episodes.

So yes, even the storyline itself was annoying, it was a lot of fun to watch him. He was made for his part. And hey, I like Katherine Heigl. I guess she will probably always have my admiration and love for her part as Izzie Stevens from Grey’s Anatomy and her relationship with guest character Denny (also played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.) And Elliot Gould is a joy to watch.

OK, so yes, this is a canceled series. But if you like legal dramas, quirky characters, social justice, diverse characters and a great office environment, I recommend the show anyway.

And let’s get to the plot and the characters:

Doubt Plot Summary and Characters

Sadie Ellis (Katherine Heigl) is a brilliant lawyer. She was practically brought up by her boss Isaiah Ross (Elliot Gould) since her mother (Judith Light) went to jail when she was very young. Ross is her mother’s lawyer, and he is in love with the mother, and this has lead to his divorce. They keep working on an appeal, but her mother’s performance and her seeming lack of remorse fail them at parole hearings. She only works, and her best friend is another successful lawyer at the firm, Albert. (Dulé Hill)

Katheibe Heigl and Steven Pasquale. I’d fall for him too, to be honest.

At the moment, their most important case is the murder trial of Billy Brennan. Poster child for white privilege, Billy is a handsome, heterosexual, and rich doctor with even richer parents. 26 years ago, when Billy was a teenager, his girlfriend at the time was murdered brutally. He wasn’t charged then due to lack of evidence, but the new DA makes it her mission to put him behind bars. Billy swears he is innocent, and he and Sadie can’t help but fall for each other pretty fast.

Apart from Billy, they have different cases per episode as well, and they are interesting. There is plenty of time spent in court, which is something we do need from legal dramas.

Fun notes on The Guest Stars

Elliot Gould, who plays Sadies’s boss and father figure, played Ross and Monica’s father on Friends. His wife on Friends was played by Christina Pickles, also guest stars as Billy’s dead ex’s mother.
One of the judges is played by Michael Badalucco, a regular of the hit legal drama The Practice, starring Dylan McDermott and created by David E Kelley.

Doubt: Yay or Nay?

So it wasn’t a hit, but I had fun – until the very last episode. The last episode caused a major facepalm moment.

SPOILERS: (For Doubt and Jagged Edge)

Guess what? Billy is guilty. And Sadie finds out and tells Albert. Oh…..

Was that supposed to be a cliffhanger?

Come on!

They could have Billy innocent.
They could have Billy lose and go to trial.
They could have Billy win, turn out to be guilty and Sadie not finding out.

But no. They had to go all Jagged Edge on us, minus a deadly fight between Billy and Sadie, though arguably, that was what they had in store for us if the show had been renewed.

Both as a writer and reader, I urge writers to stay away from this storyline of gorgeous lawyer falls in love with gorgeous murder suspect client, they fall in love, trial is won, client turns out to be guilty – the lawyer finds out.

Please change it around.

Still, check out Doubt and see if you like it. You can always turn it off if you don’t. And if you are a Steven Pasquale fan like me, check out his also canceled series Do No Harm. It’s 13-episode thrilling ride where a doctor with a dissociative identity disorder tries to keep his psycho identity from ruining his good life.

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Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard

Posted on March 23, 2010 Written by ripitup

Iron Man poster with Iron Man with Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges and Terrence Howard — Robert Downey Jr. is the Iron Man. Just as smart, cocky and funny as any good superhero should be. Photo: filmdiziseyret.net

Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is living the good life. As the CEO of Stark Industries, the biggest weapons manufacturer of the United States, he is filthy rich. He is also good-looking, smart and has a wicked sense of humor; which makes him irresistible to women.

However one trip to Afghanistan makes him realize how insignificant all these are. He is kidnapped and all the soldiers protecting him get killed. His kidnappers want him to build his latest weapon for them and that he has a week to complete it. Moreover, his heart is only working because it is attached to a battery, stopping bullet splinters from going into his heart. But instead of building the weapon, he builds something that will help him escape: an iron suit that will later be improved by him to be more efficient, stylish and kick more bad ass. But his radical decisions back home, will cause more complications than he ever imagined…

The movie does a magnificent job of depicting Tony’s life style, his predicament, how he builds the suit to survive and the change of heart he goes through. It is full of action, humor and good effects. Oh, the acting is wonderful as well. I mean Jeff Bridges is playing Obadiah, Gwyneth Paltrow portrays Tony’s loyal and more than efficient assistant Pepper Potts and Robert was just born to be Iron Man. Terrence Howards also has a major part as Tony’s good friend Rohdey. His natural mischievousness and own naughty past are combined with his acting chops and voila: You get one of the most entertaining comic book adaptations ever.

Jon Favreau is typically known his on and off-screen collaborations with Vince Vaughn. The duo recently wrote and starred in Couples Retreat. Here Favreau steps away from his usual fast-talking, know-it-all character to direct Iron Man and I have to say, his direction is much better than his writing and acting. I enjoy watching him but he sure as hell kicks ass directing. He also has a small part as one of Tony Stark’s employees.

8.0 on IMDB, voted by over 158.000 people I’m giving it a solid 9. This is how entertainment is done, folks!

Iron Man is about how the suit and the hero were born. Iron Man has more action and even more worthy enemies. Check out the review and the trailers for the second film here.

Enjoy the trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIFaeqwES1Y[/pro-player]

2010: And the Oscar finally goes to Jeff Bridges and a Female Director, Kathryn Bigelow

Posted on March 9, 2010 Written by ripitup

I used to make a fuss over the Oscars when I was in high school, especially in my earlier years when the internet didn’t exist or just wasn’t all the rage. I’d really be curious about who would win and would watch the entire show. And my friends would usually learn it first from me. I’ll even admit to fantasizing about winning one (hell, can’t say the fantasy is completely gone). And who won would really matter.

I am not saying it doesn’t matter now. But for me, now I care more about the hosts and the big night than really caring about the winners. I am extremely happy with this year’s winners but had they not won, it really would not be that big of a deal. I mean did we really need that award to know Jeff Bridges is a terrific actor? Of course not. I have been a big fan of Kathryn Bigelow ever since I watched Strange Days and Point Break. I am not saying those movies were Oscar-material (whatever the hell that means) but I am just pointing out to the fact that she is a great director.

Kathryn Bigelow wins! Couldn't be happier. Love her work.

Yep, I admit to being one of those movie nuts who question when her movies don’t get picked. But I can’t help it. I don’t get why one movie gets the oscar when another nominee doesn’t or why an actor is/isn’t nominated. I know about the votes. But what about the voters? What’s their demographics? What’s the racial/gender distribution among them for instance?

So please feel to list your movies/film-makers/actors, etc. that surprised you by not winning or by not being nominated. All categories are welcome. Here are some of mine:

The Shawshank Redemption, starring Tim Robbins

Where is the oscar for The Shawshank Redemption? I get the fact that Forrest Gump was there for competition and I like that movie but if I need to compare the effects that it had on me, Shawshank Redemption wins by far. 7 nominations and no wins? And 6 wins by Forrest Gump. Once again, Forrest Gump is a really good film and Tom Hanks is terrific but you do get my point. And again, why was Tim Robbins not nominated for best actor in TSR? Yes, Morgan Freeman was nominated and he was as always good. But did you see how difficult Robbins’ role was? Does anyone think the movie would have been more impressive without him? Where is his nomination?

Mel Gibson won two oscars for Braveheart. The movie won a total of 5 and had been nominated for 10. But actor Mel wasn't nominated for best actor.

Why wasn’t Mel Gibson nominated for best actor for Braveheart? He won best film and best director. But he wasn’t even nominated for best actor. So he excelled at directing everyone in that film and was better than the other nominee directors but he couldn’t direct himself all that well then?

Training Day with Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke. Cool movie. Great performance. Like Denzel never rocked in a role before...Please!

Was Denzel Washington’s best performance in a leading role in Training Day? Like he never had an equally great (if not better) performance before 2001? And let’s not even go over the fact that the academy waited till 2001 to hand out to the leading actor oscar to an African- American.

Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win a best director award. First female director to win in 2010???? In the 82nd year of the show??? Yes, she deserved to win. But no other woman did until this year? Of course I am going to question the award!

Why was Kate Winslet even nominated for best actress in 1997 for Titanic? How is that role oscar-worthy? If they really had a shortage, they should have done with 4 nominees. It is not like they can’t stretch rules. This year the best film category had 10 nominees.

My rants can go on but these are the two major ones that bother me. I was feeling bad that Edward Norton didn’t win with Primal Fear (best supporting actor) or American History X but after the ones I pointed out, that really shouldn’t surprise me.

photos from:

http://www.fusedfilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/oscar.jpeg

http://images.mirror.co.uk/upl/m4/mar2010/5/0/kathryn-bigelow-best-director-pic-getty-868188750.jpg

http://www.swotti.com/tmp/swotti/cacheDGHLIHNOYXDZAGFUAYB…

http://www.vanityfair.com/images/culture/archive/cusl01_oscars9603.jpg

http://tf.org/images/covers/TrainingDay.jpg

Golden Globes Highlights – Ricky Gervais

Posted on February 1, 2010 Written by ripitup

Golden Globes 2010 Host Ricky Gervais — Ricky was a hilarious host, just as expected.

Golden Globes can be more fun for movie fans than the oscars, especially if you are not in the film industry. There are many nominations for actors and even best actor is given separately to musical/comedy and drama. So you get to see a lot of celebrities that you like, both nominated and presenting

Obviously hosts really make or break these shows and I really loved Rick Gervais’ jokes. He was truly funny. I’ll share some of my favorites in bit

Sure, Avatar got a lot of awards, and not surprisingly, also got the best director. But I haven’t seen it yet and I am much more interested in other movies. Plus, everybody else talks about Avatar anyway.

Favorite Winners:

The Hangover: Got best film in comedy/musical. 500 Days of Summer was also nominated and while it is a sweet movie, it was more emotional than funny whereas The Hangover cracked me up at almost every scene and it is as funny as a comedy can ever get. So I am really happy about the award.

Robert Downey Jr.: Robert got best actor with Sherlock Holmes. I am really looking forward to seeing it but Robert Downey shines through whatever role he is in. So even with just the trailer, I know he deserved it.

Jeff Bridges in Crazy Heart — Jeff Bridges won best actor for Crazy Heart.

Jeff Bridges: Jeff Bridges is such a good actor that he can rise above even the crappiest of scripts. Don’t get me wrong, he doesn’t actually pick crappy scripts. I am not sure about what awards Jeff won or didn’t win up to now, but I have never seen a crowd so happy and supportive of any other winner, not even about Martin Scorsese’s Cecille B. DeMille award. But then again, maybe they are just used to Martin getting lifetime achievements all the time. When Jeff got to the stage, he even joked that the audience totally killed underappreciated status. I have always respected and admired Bridges. Some actors evoke that to you. It was just so sweet he thanked his wife first- they have been married for 33 years by the way. His whole presence on stage was one more proof that Jeff is altogether something else.

Merly Streep: I like her. She is fun, pretty, gracious, totally unpretentious and a total chameleon of an actress. One of my friends even said she should just quit acting because she gets the award almost every time she is nominated. Mind you, he wasn’t suggesting she didn’t deserve it. He just thought other actresses didn’t have a chance. Well, he is right. Hell, she had two nominations one for Julie & Julia and one for “It’s Complicated”, a film by Nancy Meyers- a writer/director I am also a fan of. Looking forward to see it. I know, I know- I am behind my movies this year. No worries, I will catch up.

So the Ricky jokes I love?

They were all really funny, but these are my absolute favorites:

* Paul McCartney: Well, while Steve Carrell of course got his share about The Office, Paul McCartney got teased about his expensive divorce (Gervais suggested he flew first class and Paul had to fly coach).

* Mel Gibson: Ricky Gervais kept drinking beer and of course he didn’t let that one go without a joke: “I like my drink as much as the next guy, unless the next guy is Mel Gibson.” Guess who the next presenter was? Mel Gibson came, pretending to be drunk. It was a great moment.

*Colin Farrell: Ricky Gervais went all “serious” about how he didn’t like stereotypes, especially the one about the Irish being rowdy drunks who swear a lot. Then he announced Colin Farrell and everyone was laughing their butts off. If you didn’t laugh, that’s because you didn’t see any Colin interviews.

* Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston: “Actors leaving their roles behind: He was going on about how actors were chameleons who left their past roles behind completely”. Then, he announced the next presenters: “Rachel from Friends and the bloke from 300!!”

Priceless. Try to find the show, especially if you like your awards shows and Ricky.

Posts about the actors featured:

1) Mel Gibson:

https://pinartarhan.com/blog/edge-of-darkness/

http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/11-great-mel-gibson-films-you-should-consider-watching/

2) Jennifer Aniston

https://pinartarhan.com/blog/derailed/

3) Gerard Butler

https://pinartarhan.com/blog/gerard-butler/