Face/Off starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta

Posted on September 11, 2010 Written by ripitup

Face Off starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta. Co-starring Joan Allen, Dominique Swain and Gina Gershon. Featuring James Denton.

Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage) is the worst kind of criminal: he is smart, vicious, dangerous, he has great resources and he is a total psycho. The man who is closest to catching him is Agent Sean Archer (John Travolta). In attempt to kill Archer, however, Castor accidentally kills Sean’s little son. This results a determined quest on Sean’s part. He eventually catches him. Sean’s doctor wife Eve (Joan Allen) is more than relieved, as she won’t have to be feeling alone and deal with their rebellious teenage daughter Jamie (Dominique Swain) on her own. But one last assignment won’t give Sean the time to catch up with his family and finally find peace:

Castor isn’t dead, but is in a coma. His brother Pollux (Alessandro Nivola) is in a maximum security, top-secret prison and unfortunately he is the only person who knows the place of the bomb they placed in the city: So despite how impossible and difficult it seems, Sean has to agree on an advanced but reversible surgery, which will allow him to “be” Castor: the doctors remove Castor’s and Sean’s faces and implant Castor’s face on Sean. This top secret mission is known only by his doctor, and 2 colleagues.

As much as he hates looking like his son’s killer, Sean (now played by Nicolas Cage) goes to the prison to pretend to be Castor. He gets the info he needs, but he gets a big shock: Castor has woken up and he is more than willing to be Sean for a while, to use his resources. So he gets the surgery, and then kills everyone who knows about the mission. So know, Castor (now played by John Travolta) gets to be with Sean’s wife. As impossible as it might seem, now Sean’s only way out is to break out of the prison, pretend to be Castor to those who don’t know Sean is indeed Castor and he also has try to persuade his wife that he might look like their son’s killer but he is in fact her husband…

Face/Off is a really decent and glorious action film. And once you suspend your disbelief to believe that the technology that allows facial implants/replacements to exist the way it does in the movie, you are in one hell of a ride. It is also fun to have a movie where John Travolta and Nicolas Cage play both of the lead characters for a certain period of the movie and both get to show their acting chops as a villain and the ultimate good guy. It is directed by John Woo (Mission Impossible 2, Broken Arrow), who just knows how to make an action film look good. Written by Mike Werb and Michael Colleary.

It is that over-the-top, full-of-explosions/chases/gun fights action film that keeps you glued to your seat for more than 2 hours. And it is not about how it will end (you know how it will end); but watching how the movie will get there. It helps that the supporting cast is great well. Castor’s girlfriend is played by Gina Gershon. And in a very small role, there is James Denton (Mike Delfino of Desperate Housewives). Intellectual? No. Mind-bending? No. Fun as hell? Oh, yeah.! See it . It never gets old or boring. Yes, I have seen it more than twice.

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The Sorcerer’s Apprentice starring Nicholas Cage, Monica Belluci, Jay Baruchel, Teresa Palmer

City of Angels starring Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage

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Phenomenon starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Robert Duvall and Forest Whitekar

Posted on July 3, 2010 Written by ripitup

Phenomenon starring John Travolta, Kyra Sedgwick, Forest Whitekar and Robert Duvall. Image from http://s11.allstarpics.net/images/

George Malley (John Travolta) is a nice, sweet guy living in a small town, working as a car mechanic. His best friends are Nate (Forest Whitekar) and the town doctor (Robert Duvall). He is hopelessly in love with Lace (Kyra Sedgwick), a single mom who lives a little outside of the town with her two young children. She has been burnt once before so she is not exactly willing to let George in, no matter how sweet he seems.

George’s ordinary life gets a big challenge at his birthday; in the form of a very bright light. What the hell was that? The problems and complications arise when almost immediately after the incident, all of George’s senses have become a lot more efficient and impossibly good. He was sort of smart before but now he can sense earthquakes before the officials, without any devices, can read tens of books at night (and learn everything in them) and can even learn Spanish on a 30-minute car ride without having been able to speak a word before…His friends are scared. The Doc and Nate do their best to understand. Is something supernatural at work? And will Geroge finally get the happy ending he deserves with Lace?

Phenomenon is wonderfully smart and sweet romantic/ drama with a hint of some fantasy elements. It is impossible not to root for George- whose oldest acquaintances turn their back on him when his actions and talents don’t seem to make sense anymore. Directed by Jon Turteltaub (While You Were Sleeping, National Treasure) and written by Gerald Di Pego. This is one of my favorite Travolta films and I really love the connection and relationship he has with Grace. Wonderfully humane and emotional.

The film also has a very decent soundtrack featuring Sheryl Crowe, Peter Gabriel, Eric Clapton and more. My favorite song from the movie, as it also is used during a very meaningful scene, is Have a Little Faith in me. Rated at 6.3 on IMDB. 8.0 from me.

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Basic

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Actor Musicians and Musician Actors

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Featuring Kyra Sedgwick

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Buy the Phenomenon DVD on Amazon.com

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

Posted on June 30, 2010 Written by ripitup

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

From Paris with Love starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers

Posted on June 14, 2010 Written by ripitup

From Paris with Love starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Read for kick-ass entertainment? Good. Image from: divxplanet.com

Paris. James Reece (Jonathan Rhys Meyers) is the US Ambassador’s(Richard Durden) assistant As far as the ambassador is concerned, James is the perfect assistant. He is timely, efficient and organized. He speaks foreign languages and he is a great chess player. What the ambassador doesn’t know is that Reece is also trying to be a spy in the name of the American government. Sure, it is patriotism but it is enough to make Reece’s life complicated. He needs to do secret tasks in front of his boss or he needs to leave his beloved girlfriend Caroline (Kasia Smutniak) behind to leave for an operation.

Reece’s most important and dangerous mission to date arrives when he is asked to drive American Charlie Wax around. He is a field-rated spy and is very unconventional, to say the least. Pretty soon, Reece finds himself in the middle of shootings, gang beatings, prostitutes and their pimps…He is freaked out. Before he can get used to one hectic and deadly situation, another one breaks out. ..

Fun. This movie was really fun. Before I say why you should see it, I want to talk about what you might not like.

Cons:

*If you want to look for poor character development (Caroline)or some unrealistic situations, you will find it.

* And you might be bothered that almost none of the criminals/terrorists are white. The bad guys are either black or Asian or Pakistani. Our two Americans are out to save the day….But if you can past this, the movie is a real riot.

* You might think that John Travolta’s bad ass characters seem incredibly similar.

Pros:

*John Travolta. His character is so much fun. And if you do think you may have seen him as a bad ass one two many times, start thinking about his good roles and then you will appreciate the range After all, he was in the ever popular musical Grease. He was in Saturday Night Fever. He did comedy and romance in Look Who’s Talking He played a governor in Primary Colors. And do remember that he played an angel in Michael and a woman in Hairspray. Add that all up and it becomes even more fun to watch him.

* Jonathan Rhys Meyers. He is a good actor. So far he played King Henry, Elvis, a social-ladder climber, a misunderstood bad boy, a girls’ team football coach and more.

* Action. Tons of it! The story belongs to Luc Besson, the guy who created the Taxi series and Taken.

*The chemistry between John and Jonathan’s characters. The opposites are entertaining.

Favorite Scenes:

Well, almost any scene where John Travolta is kicking ass – especially the car chase with a “heavier metal”.

6.4. on IMDB. If you start analyzing characters and plot, it might very well be a 6. But if you don’t, it is at least a 7. It is mindless action and it is pretty damned good at that. And is it just me, or does Travolta still look at home in action movies?

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