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Choosing Movies According to the Actor

Posted on November 21, 2009 Written by ripitup

I have a favorite video store and I just have to get in there and browse through their stuff. My friends do occasionally try to stop me so I just tell them to hang out somewhere and I go in the store anyway. Sometimes they come in and look around. Occasionally the store manages to catch up with my speed and has some promising movies I haven’t seen. When my friends ask why I pick on particular movie I give a simple answer like: “Oh, Christian Slater is in it! Can’t believe I haven’t seen this one before”. Or “it has Hugh Jackman! ” “you wouldn’t know him- but James Spader is a great actor.” One time one of my friends went: “What? You pick the movie according to the actor?” And I said yeah. I know he thought I was just being superficial and picked the movies where the leads are hot but I really didn’t bother correcting a guy whose favorite actress is Megan Fox.

A movie consists of many elements. It has the behind the scenes crew, the actors, the story…I always read the plot summary before I buy a movie but that’s hardly enough. This is the year 2009 and so many movies have been made that complete/partial originality is almost a luxury. I can follow a director but a director usually favors a genre and there are hardly many directors out there whose most work I enjoy. I mean I don’t like Quentin Tarantiono or Oliver Stone. I only liked one movie by Stone so far. I am not a fan of Brian De Palma and I like half of Spielberg’s work but I am not sure he mixes personal with entertainment well. I love Richard Donner- the guy directed a lot of my favorite Mel Gibson movies. Since directors usually shoot less movies than a famous actor appears in on average, it is statistically better to follow an actor if you like his movies. The style varies yet there is a possibility that you will enjoy his choices.
For the 90s and up until his “I- love- directing- so -much -more”- phase, Mel Gibson was a great choice. He did drama,thriller, romance,action,epic, adaptation and he did them all well. The 90s have great actors in that sense: Kevin Costner, Tom Cruise, Christian Slater… Keanu Reeves still makes good movies, and a recent fav. of mine is Gerard Butler. As for actresses, Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock have made some great movies, as well as Nicole Kidman. See how many movies it made in total? If you know the actors’ work, why not choose according to the cast?

Gerard Butler and Saturday Night Live

Posted on November 12, 2009 Written by ripitup

Gerard Butler, Saturday Night Live — Gerard Butler hosts Saturday Night Live

Have you seen Matthew Perry‘s Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip? It is a solid drama that takes you behind the scenes of a sketch-comedy TV show and shows the interesting yet frustrating life of its makers. The fictional comedy show epicted in the series really remind me of Saturday Night Live. Maybe they were inspired by it, I don’t know. I guess it can be pretty challenging to come up with funny ideas week after week. As a result, you can’t make everyone happy and you can’t make everyone laugh till they cry with every sketch. So while it is fun to check out Saturday Night Live once in a while, I am not a regular viewer. It is not always funny, hell- not all sketches in one night can always be funny. Hey, my favorite comedian is Jim Carrey and some of his stints there sucked!

That being said, I love seeing Gerard Butler on TV. He is very funny and has a good sense of humor: The guy knows how to entertain. So I checked out how funny Butler could be in such a different format than he is used to. He has played in a lot of movies and tv shows that belong to different genres but this is his first time hosting (and acting in) a show like this.

THE INTRO:

Gerard Butler in Saturday Night Live, singing The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera — Gerard Butler singing The Music of the Night from The Phantom of the Opera

Now, my favorite moment might be when Gerard first comes to the stage. He looks fun, cool and handsome. And he starts with how proud he is about being the first Scot to host SNL. He does later categorize his movie parts into two parts: the ones where he wears a shirt and the ones he doesn’t. So he decides to make a little tribute to the Phantom of the Opera-and starts singing The Music of the Night. Of course then people in funny costumes (tributes to Attila, Beowulf and Grendel) and other action movies come and try to kill him- but he manages to dispose of them, while maintainig his beautiful singing voice. But him singing a serious opera song with Vikings and ninjas attacking him and him fighting them on stage is hilarious. Just when he thinks he is safe and is joined by one of the female regulars of SNL, she takes out a dagger and tries to stab him while shouting: “Take your shirt off!! Take your shirt off’!”. I had fun!

So take a look at what happened with the ones that feature Gerry:

The Beauty and the Beast

– As ridiculous as it sounds, Gerard Butler plays the beast. But the funny part about this stint is that The Beast thinks he is the pretty one. Imagine the shock of The Beauty when she finds out!,

Cottage Cheese

I honestly have no idea why this is supposed to be funny, but the weird secretary’s shrill of a voice still haunts me. I go around the house imitating “Thomasssss…. Thomasss…. Look!”

300

Gerard Butler in the 300 parody of Saturday Night Live — Gerard Butler makes a parody of his character in 300 and the movie itself. This is priceless!

I am not that much of a fan when it comes to 300 though I appreciate the hard work and talent that has been put into the movie. Hell, Butler himself went through an excruciating exercise routine to get the body he had as Leonidas the King of Sparta (he worked out up to 6 hours a day) and all the soldiers were similarly well-built. It also takes one hell of an imagination to act in front of a blue screen all the time, since most of the background was added afterwards. But I am not crazy about the movie. And the parody is just hilarious. It rotates around the “fact” that how gay the 300 men were. You really should see it. All jokes are funny. Loved it.

Leonidas: 40% of Sparta considers homosexuality an illness.

A soldier: 40% of Sparta doesn’t believe you were born in Greece!

Leonidas: (takes out a stone tablet that his name is carved on) I have a birth certificate!!!

DAVEHEART

Daveheart is a hilarious Braveheart parody. Now Braveheart is my favorite movie. I love everything about it, but it doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy a good parody. This one is hilarious. If you haven’t seen Braveheart, a quick reminder: William Wallace is an actual Scottish hero, portrayed by Mel Gibson in the movie. The English rule unfairly and violently. Wallace marries the girl he loves secretly because The English are known to invade weddings and claim the bride. But they kill her and in order to take revenge, he gathers the Scots into an army. The movie is famous for one of the most inspiring battlefield speeches. In the movie, soldiers are scared and Wallace turns unwilling peasants into brave warriors. So yeah- there is no Dave in the movie. :D.

SOLDIER: How can we surrender? The English deflower our virgin brides on their wedding nights!

DAVE: Well, first of all none of your wives were virgins on their wedding nights. There’re six girls in our village and like a hundred guys…So noone is a virgin.

Gerard Butler, Saturday Night Live, Braveheart Parody — Gerard Butler is supposedly Dave, William Wallace's cowardly brother.

THE TRANSLATION

Gerard Butler joins the news as himself, and wants to talk to his family in the heaviest of Scottish accents and asks the anchorman to translate. Of course the translation is a little bit different…

Butler:… most fun I have had since I made 300. Man, that movie was great.

The Anchor: … most fun I have had since I made 300. Man, that movie was gay.

WHITE PETE

OK- I have no idea how this stint is supposed to be funny – but Gerry’s weird singer character and his mimics can put a grin on your face. Oh, and I don’t know what James Franco is doing there- but I like the guy, so…yeah, that’s about it.

P.S: The one with The Rock: Now the first sketch doesn’t involve Gerry but I really enjoyed it: Barack Obama is having a difficult time with the healthcare reform – people just want him to fail. So he gets really angry and angry- and…remember what happens to the Hulk? Except Obama doesn’t turn into a green giant of a man but to The Rock- Dwayne Johnson. Now- yeah, that does intimidate the White House guests…

Want more Gerard Butler-related posts? You might want to check out:

Law Abiding Citizen: 2 Steps Short of Perfection

GAMER

5 REASONS TO LOVE GERARD BUTLER

TOP 10 GERARD BUTLER MOVIES

Mel Gibson is a dad again. For the 8th time…

Posted on November 3, 2009 Written by ripitup

Mel Gibson is a father. Again. I’m emphasizing on the again part, since you probably know that this is his 8th child. OK, so he has like 1o siblings and I guess we can conclude that he likes big families. But the problem is, only one of these 8 children is from another woman- his current girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. The rest of the “klan” is from his wife he is getting divorced from. I don’t know which is worse really? To be getting divorced or to be getting divorced from the other parent of your 7 kids?

I used to have a huge crush on Mel Gibson when I was a teen. Don’t get me wrong, when I watch his old movies- I still have a crush. It is the whole drunkenness, weird comments and religion mania that turn me off. Of course he is not the looker he was in the 80s and the 90s, but he used to be the one of the most good-looking men in Hollywood.

Now it is not uncommon for us regular folk to fantasize about celebrities and wish we could date them- but as much as I wished I could play Michelle Pfeiffer’s part in Tequila Sunrise or Rene Russo’s in Lethal Weapon 3 ( The list is longer, I’m just making a point here), I really and literally couldn’t fantasize about being his romantic interest. He was always married- since 1980 and he started to appear in films in the late 70s anyway- and he had so many children!!! I mean it is OK to want to have kids with someone you love but 7 is just way too much. It means his wife Robyn Moore spent more than 5 years of her life pregnant. Please, Mel- a little birth control would really do you good.

He is a good actor and a film-maker I respect. His personal life aside, I admire his talent. I just wish that he can channel his energy to his work. A lot of us can barely make time for a career and a personal life. How can you be an actor/director/producer and have 8 kids? Unbelievable.

Other Posts featuring Mel Gibson

Edge of Darkness starring Mel Gibson

MEL GIBSON TOP 10: The movies that prove he can act, direct and entertain better than anyone

All About Mel: A Fun Yet Fair Mel Gibson Tribute

8 Reasons to Love Braveheart- Braveheart Movie Review

Mel Gibson: what in the world happened to you?

Favorite Revenge Movies

Attila starring Gerard Butler

Posted on October 31, 2009 Written by ripitup

I was actually shocked to find out it was a TV movie. It is a wonderful epic: the cinematography, setting, acting, music… They are all wonderful; with Powers Boothe’ s performance as Flavius Aetius and Gerard Butler‘s as Attila overshadowing the rest as a little, both playing the most charismatic roles as the antagonist and protagonist of the story:

Hun legends tell that a great king would be born and he would rule the world. When Attila was a kid, his family was murdered by the invading forces. He was raised under the wing of his uncle, Rua- King of Huns. He was trained not only to fight well, but to be knowledgeable about the art of fighting as well. As he grew up, he became the greatest fighter of all, with the town witch Galen as his friend and his cousin Bleda as his adversary. Yet according to Galen’s visions Attila would be the big ruler- he is the one the myths were written about. He only had to be patient.

Meanwhile in Rome, the greatest general Flavius Aetius is imprisoned for conspiracy against the queen. However, Attila’s amazing victories on the battlefields give the queen no choice but to set Flavius free, since he is the only strategist that can find a solution to stop Attila and her son Ceasar is useless. So Flavius gets his rank back and as a first thing, he uses his former friendship with Rua. He decides to trick them into battling against Visigoths with the Romans. However Attila sees right through his tricks. This really impresses Flavius and he wants Attila under his command, with Rua’s permission. After all, Bleda has betrayed Attila the worst way. Having realized that Attila is smitten by the red-haired warrior woman N’Kara, one of the war slaves- Bleda takes her as his personal spoilt from the battle. Flavius teaches Attila that war isn’t just about bravery and stamina, but also about “pretexts” and politics. The two men form an alliance that is based on mutual respect and admiration, though Attila is never fooled by a second that sooner or later. He knows one of them will be tempted to or forced to kill the other one.

Flavius plans are considered risky by the queen. Instead of killing Attila, he seems to have made friends with him, and instead of trying to kill him, he is keeping Attila in Rome as his guest. And just like he anticipated, Attila is fascinated by the culture and lifestyle and is taking his time there, until an event back home forces him to come back and claim his position as King…

You may think I am telling too much, but with its duration of 177 minutes, this is by no means a short film and I have only told some parts of the story before Attila becomes King. There’s much plotting and back story I left out, so no worries.

THE ROMANCEs & THE HEROes

Gerard Butler with Kirsty Mitchell

Gerard Butler and Simmone MacKinnon.

It is mostly historically accurate. Of course the target audience is the English-speaking audience so the film is completely in English, and a Scotsman (Butler) playing Attila and an American (Boothe) playing Flavius. The rest of the cast is also pretty international. And of course we have the “witch” factor, and a very romantic story on Attila’s part to challenge the actual historical events. This romantic story has huge impact on the story but of course the romance adds a great deal to Attila’s humanity. And of course, romance is an undeniable element in any epic movie. I guess we will never know if the real William Wallace had such a strong love for his wife, as it was depicted in Mel Gibson‘s Braveheart (1995). And Wolfgang Peterson’s Troy (2004) actually includes three love stories: One that starts everything: Paris’ s (played by Orlando Bloom) love for Helen (Diane Kruger), the one that shows us Hector’s (Eric Bana) character -his love for his wife and family and also the one that romanticizes Achilles (Brad Pitt) – this affair with Briseis (Rose Bryne). But despite the romantic elements, all these movies are not all about romances. They are epic dramas and they have brilliant war action scenes. They include war strategies and perfect battlefield strategies. They inlcude politics, relationships and a huge effort on everyone who’s involved in the film making. Of course, the hero will be portrayed by a masculine actor who is going to be versatile enough to show the conflicting and complicated emotions of their heroic characters. Just like Wallace was successfully portrayed by Gibson and the roles of Achilles was taken on by Brad Pitt. In fact the movies two other leads, Orlando Bloom and Eric Bana are both considered good-looking by a lot of women. It always helps help if the hero has a raw attractiveness that draws all women to them- and the objects of his desires are going to be beautiful. Diane Kruger’s Helen was glamorous; just like as the red head that stole Attila’s heart, Simmone MacKinnon was a good choice. Attractive and talented casting comes with the territory with epic movies. These movies aim and tend to impress and entertain. And the good ones manage to do just that.

Attila, for me, is the single epic movie that I enjoyed just as much as Braveheart. I think it is even more enjoyable than Troy, which I quite liked. However Braveheart tells a more tragic and intense story and it is about fighting for freedom and not just for more land. Therefore it is sadder and more powerful. But strictly speaking of entertainment, Attila is a glorious must- see that was surprisingly made for TV. It probably would do well at the box office.

P.S. The actor playing Bleda (Tommy Flanagan) is also Scottish and he has a small, but important role in Braveheart.

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Other Gerard Butler Posts:

Gamer

Law Abiding Citizen

5 Reasons to Love Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler Hosts Saturday Night Live