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Burning Man starring Matthew Goode: Difficult, Solid, Captivating

Posted on December 22, 2012 Written by ripitup

burning man movie poster-matthew goode — Burning Man starring Matthew Goode and Bojana Novakovic. 2011. Image via filmequals.com

Restaurant chef Tom (Matthew Goode) is not easy to work with or to be around. He seems to be the most relaxed around different women he sleeps with, and doesn’t seem to be the most suitable father figure for his son Oscar.

But scenes unfold in a very non-linear fashion and as we put the story together, we realize that Tom hasn’t always been like this. But it takes a while for us to see how happy he used to be, how he much stronger he was and how he lost who he lost.

The beauty of Burning Man lies in Matthew Goode’s acting and the writer/director’s choice of scene editing. If it was edited chronologically, we’d have liked Tom in the beginning, and we’d probably be more understanding of his extreme ways and seemingly lack of parenting skills. But the non-linear telling does a wonderful job how disoriented and messed up Tom is. We feel it. We also feel curious, angry, unsympathetic, sad, hopeful, happy…And never in order and we go through mixed feelings throughout.

It is a good movie, but it is one of those films where how you tell a story is more important than what story you’re telling. We’ve watched stories of loss before. We just haven’t experienced all the complications and frustrations and confusions like this.

Still, it is not for everyone.

Written and directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, starring Matthew Goode, Bojana Novakovic (Edge of Darkness), Essie Davis, Kerry Fox and Rachel Griffiths.

You can watch the trailer here.

Reviews for Matthew Goode Movies:

Brideshead Revisited starring Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw and Emma Thompson

Chasing Liberty starring Matthew Goode, Mandy Moore, Jeremy Piven & Annabella Sciorra

Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode

Copying Beethoven starring Ed Harris, Diane Kruger and Matthew Goode

Watchmen starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson

Brideshead Revisited starring Matthew Goode, Hayley Atwell, Ben Whishaw and Emma Thompson

Posted on November 12, 2010 Written by ripitup

Brideshead Revisited starring Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Haley AtwellBrideshead Revisited starring Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Haley Atwell — Brideshead Revisited starring Emma Thompson, Matthew Goode, Ben Whishaw and Haley Atwell

It was before World War II broke out…

Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) is by no means poor, but he is definitely not rich and he is not coming from a significant family. He has a rather cold and restrained relationship with his father.

His uneventful life however changes forever when he starts his first year at Oxford University and meets the colorful Sebastian (Ben Whishaw). Sebastian is a lot more intriguing than Charles’s own cousin, who calls Sebastian and his gang sodomites. And he is not technically wrong as Sebastian is openly gay and feminine. Charles enjoys his company and falls in love with Sebastian’s extraordinary family mansion and living quarters called Brideshead.

Charles spends a wonderful time with Sebastian although he is not exactly sure why Sebastian wants to keep Charles away from his mother and sister. It has a lot to do with his mother (Emma Thompson) being a strict Catholic who loves to control her children and make them feel guilty. Sebastian likes his sister Julia (Haley Atwell)though. She also seems to be rebellious like him. Things get increasingly complicated when Charles finds himself intensely drawn to the sister and Sebastian notices this. Charles’ growing feelings for her will endanger his relationship with the entire family, especially the mother. She was OK with him hanging around when he seemed like the grounded friend who would keep her son from trouble. Unfortunately, being an atheist artist with no resources, he is not someone she’d ever allow her daughter to be with.

Can Charles salvage his friendship with Sebastian, manage to be with … despite the mother? Or does Charles even know for sure what he is and what he wants? The same can be asked about Julia as well…

Brideshead Revisited is a period drama adapted from the novel of the same name. It starts as beautiful and engaging period drama but as the movie goes on, the story loses a lot of momentum. Ben Whishaw’s Sebstian has just too many clichés, none of the characters seem to know who they are apart from Emma Thompson’s character and unfortunately her character is the most boring and depressing at all. I love the first couple of scenes of the film and how things start but the movie starts to drag, especially after the scenes in Venice. By the time Charles gets to be with Julia, it was already more than 1,5 hours into the money and apart from their “big reunion”, their relationship is just plain boring.

I am not a Catholic, and I am not an atheist. Maybe I have the tendency to be an agnostic and so I rarely ever cared about the guilt trips of the siblings, and their bleak existence. Matthew Goode’s character was alright up to the point, but there is so much you can care about a lead who centers his life around 2 people, who let their lives run by their mom.

Nonetheless, it is an opportunity for Matthew Goode and Ben Whishaw fans as the movie last longer than 2 hours.

The story, though, is just not as magnificent as its cast or the Brideshead house. It is not romantic enough, sexy enough or interesting enough- and this is coming from a girl who likes period dramas and Matthew Goode.

Other Posts on Matthew Goode

Leap Year starring Matthew Goode and Amy Adams

Watchmen starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode

The Lookout starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew Goode and Jeff Daniels

Matthew Goode Trivia

Chasing Liberty starring Matthew Goode and Mandy Moore

Watchmen starring Matthew Goode, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman

Copying Beethoven starring Ed Harris, Diane Kruger and Matthew Goode

Chasing Liberty starring Matthew Goode, Mandy Moore, Jeremy Piven & Annabella Sciorra

Posted on October 28, 2010 Written by ripitup

Chasing Liberty starring Matthew Goode, Mandy Moore, Mark Harmon, Jeremy Piven, Annabella Sciorra and Caroline Goodall.

This one could have been so much more fun if it hadn’t been chasing a ridiculous soundtrack and well, cheesy dialogue.

I mean I know most romcoms are cheesy but this tends to overdo itself. Nevertheless, I can think of worse things (for a girl) than sitting at home and watching a Matthew Goode movie where he gets to ne ridiculously romantic and all that. There is also some really fun scenes and great locations.

Here’s the movie’s deal:

Anna Foster (Mandy Moore) is the First Daughter. She is 18 and it is impossible for her to enjoy a romantic and private date out with a boy she likes because there are agents everywhere watching and following her. Her last date goes awry again and she decides that she can get a taste of the normal teenage life in Prague, where she will be traveling with her parents. She even convinces her dad (Mark Harmon) to assign only two agents: Weiss. and Morales (Jeremy Piven and Annabella Sciorra). She goes out with her friend Gabrielle (Beatrice Rosen), only to realize that Secret Service are again everywhere. So to punish her dad and prove her point, she gets on the motorcycle of the handsome English guy – Ben (Matthew Goode). Ben helps her ditch the agents Anna can’t believe her luck- she is free in Prague, hanging with a cute guy. Unbeknownst to Anna, however, Ben is also an agent. When her father learns that she ditched the others, he tells Ben to look after Anna, staying undercover. After all, he is sure Anna will come running very soon.

But Anna has other plans, including attending the Love Parade in Berlin. Ben does his best to try to keep her out of trouble but of course Anna is far too naive, pig-headed and optimistic to be safe. There is also the fact she is making it clear she wants him. What is a secret agent to do, especially when he wants her too?

Fun premise, beautiful locations. We get to see Berlin, Venice, Prague, London…I really like Jeremy Piven’s character. He is simply too funny to resist and the sub-plot involves him trying to get Morales to like him.

The movie is only enemy is that it tries too hard to be romantic and it could have been just more fun and genuinely romantic, had they not exaggerated too many things on Mandy Moore and Matthew Goode’s sides. If you want Mandy Moore be subtler (and she can), watch Dedication. If you want a non-cheesy, genuinely sweet and naturally romantic film, watch Before Sunrise.

But even though it has too many flaws, Chasing Liberty follows a fun fantasy. Forget about being the president’s daughter, it is just so fun running off in Europe with a hot stranger no matter how old you are. Still, I’d like the movie more if Anna’s character hadn’t been so stupid in general…

Co-starring is Caroline Goodall as Anna’s mother.

Fun note: Matthew Goode’s 2010 romantic comedy Leap Year also has the leading female called Anna.

Favorite Lines/Scenes

Anna Foster: Dad! Way to go. I can’t believe you had that restaurant swarming with all of your secret servants. You ruined my date! And now, I’m going to die before I ever get to third base… I mean second base.
[Anna turns to see others in room]
President James Foster: Anna?
Anna Foster: I’ll talk to you about this later.
President James Foster: No, no. Stay. Pull up a chair. We were just discussing the G8 Summit in Prague, how to best persuade the EU leaders to adopt our plan for distributing humanitarian aid and medical technology to developing nations, but you had a bad date, so we should probably focus on that.
Anna Foster: No, no, no, I’m so sorry to have interrupted. Excuse me.
[Anna leaves]
President James Foster: So third base is what again?
[indistinct mumbling]
President James Foster: Glad I asked.

***

Anna Foster: I want to swim naked in the Danube!
Ben Calder: Actually, it’s the Vltava.
Anna Foster: Who wants to swim naked in the Vltava? Nobody says that.
Ben Calder: Because in English,Vltava means ‘unhealthy bacteria level’.
Anna Foster: Yeah, right.
Ben Calder: Why can’t you be free without being naked?

***

Ben Calder: [to Anna] Can you please stop taking your clothes off around me?

Other Matthew Goode Movies

Copying Beethoven starring Ed Harris, Diane Kruger and Matthew Goode

Watchmen starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman & Matthew Goode

Leap Year starring Matthew Goode and Amy Adams

Other Posts feat. Mandy Moore

Nicholas Sparks vs. Happy endings. feat. A Walk to Remember starring Moore

Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode

Posted on October 24, 2010 Written by ripitup

Leap Year starring Amy Adams and Matthew Goode

American Anna (Amy Adams) has a profitable career in “staging homes” for the real estate agents and she is really good at it. She’s also in a 4-year relationship with her cardiologist boyfriend Jeremy (Adam Scott). They are candidates to live in her dream apartment so things just seem perfect.

However when Jeremy fails to propose at the expected moment, Anna gets inspired by the idea she gets from her loving but unreliable father (John Lithgow): she’ll honor the Irish Leap Year tradition and will go to Dublin- where Jeremy will be attending a medical conference- and propose to him.

But awful weather conditions land her in a remote town in Ireland, where she will need to persuade the unwilling bartender/motel owner Declan (Matthew Goode) –who of course is young and really attractive in a scruffy way.

Monetary issues for Declan to drive her. But everything that can go wrong on the way does-including a growing attraction between the two seemingly opposite strangers.

Is there a chance that Declan is the one instead of Jeremy? And can they figure out they feelings until it is time to part in Dublin?

I know the three words you’re thinking: typical romantic comedy. And you are right. I am not saying to bash the movie, it is a fact. However it is a perfectly enjoyable experience for those in the target audience- romantic (mostly)females who love a good romcom escapism (which I am a part of) it.

It also helps it when you like the leads and I really enjoy watching both Amy Adams and Matthew Goode.

Yeah, it is full of clichés and it is highly unbelievable that they can fall for each other in a couple of days and decide to pursue it. But then again, it is precisely for these clichés that we watch romcoms. And frankly Declan, to me, is the perfect fantasy male. He is ruggedly good-looking, has a good sense of humor, isn’t materialistic and is actually really romantic. And Irish countryside is always a plus (for watching in the films).

Yes, there are no surprises in this film. It is simple, ordinary and entirely predictable. But it is also a good genre example. Watch it if you are not allergic to romcoms. I had fun. My only complaint is that John Lithgow has such a small role.

Other Matthew Goode Movies

Watchmen starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman and Matthew Goode

The Lookout starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Matthew Goode and Jeff Daniels

Other Amy Adams Movies

Enchanted starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey and James Marsden

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starring Amy Adams, Frances McDormand and Lee Pace