Michael Sheen | pinartarhan.com

Beautiful Boy starring Maria Bello & Michael Sheen

Posted on August 7, 2011 Written by ripitup

Beautiful Boy (2010) movie poster — Beautiful Boy (2010) starring Maria Bello & Michael Sheen. Image via moviescribes.com

Beautiful Boy – Plot Summary

Kate (Maria Bello) and Bill (Michael Sheen) are the about-to-be-separated parents of college freshman Sammy (Kyle Gallner). However Bill’s plan to move out, and Kate’s one last attempt at a family holiday to make things better are blown by the most earth-shattering news: Not only their son has committed suicide, he has done so after mass-shooting other students at his college.

The movie practically starts after the shooting, and we watch the terribly devastating and difficult journey of Bill and Kate as they try to digest and understand the events as well as trying to cope. It is extremely hard when two people- who barely looked at each other- now only have each other to lean on.

Beautiful Boy: A Beautiful Film

I tried my best to write a plot summary worthy of the film, but it is difficult. Because you see, this is not a an eventful film. Sure, the kid of a normal, white-collar family shooting his friends is huge, but we don’t see it happening. The movie shows us the effects as Bill and Kate try to survive with the loss of their son, as well as the guilt and anger that they feel towards his crime. And while the movie mostly shows the parents try to go through the motions, it is not boring. Difficult, emotional and thought-provoking? Yes. But boring? No.

The acting is great. I’ve always been a fan of Maria Bello, and I’ve a whole new level of admiration for Michael Sheen.. It is hard to believe Sheen is the weird vampire from Twilight, or the douche rocker dude from Laws of Attraction or the mean, spoilt lord from Timeline.

The writing and direction are fine, although sometimes I wondered if they could have added a trial at therapy. I mean- surely the fact that your son just committed such a crime before killing himself is not something anyone can deal without any professional help?

With the exception of that, this was a refreshing movie. I saw Dark Matter (starring Meryl Streep & Aidan Quinn) where the story showed how the mass-shooter came to that mindset) or The Life Before Her Eyes (starring Uma Thurman & Evan Rachel Wood) where we saw how one survivor dealt with the guilt afterwards. But I hadn’t seen a movie where we saw through the eyes of the parents of the shooter.

As I said, as difficult as it is to watch and even try to think what you would have done if you were in their shoes, it is a should-see film, although it is not for the faint of heart. There is no violence. There is no gore. But there are extreme emotions, outbursts and worse, apathy.

Currently rated 7.1 on IMDB.

Written by Shawn Ku and Michael Armbruster. Directed by Shawn Ku.

Cast Notes:

– One of the supporting characters is Kate’s brother with whom Kate and Bill go to stay after their home is invaded by the media. He is played by Alan Tudyk, who was one of the first Vs posing as humans in the TV show V (2009 version). He played Elizabeth Mitchell’s partner.

– Another supporting character is the writer Cooper (Austin Nichols), whose novel is spell-checked by Kate.

Other Articles on the Cast

Maria Bello

The Jane Austen Book Club starring Maria Bello, Hugh Dancy, Emily Blunt, Kevin Zegers

Six Diverse Movies From The Beautiful Actress Maria Bello

Kingdom of Heaven starring Orlando Bloom and Eva Green

Posted on March 5, 2010 Written by ripitup

Kingdom of Heaven- Orlando Bloom. Photo via lightscamerahistory.files.wordpress.com

1184. Blacksmith Balian (Orlando Bloom) is not a happy man. He has recently lost his kid, and his wife has committed suicide, not being able to bear the death of their child. Moreover he has to listen to the town’s priest (Michael Sheen), who goes on and on about how his wife is in hell. But his life completely changes when he meets his father for the first time. The absent father is Lord of Ibelin (Liam Neeson), and he is there to take Balian with him. At first Balian is unwilling but circumstances force him to go. From then on, he learns a lot from his father. He will also need to prepare himself to take his father’s place. He now doesn’t even have the time to grieve- he has to be a knight, a worthy lord, deal with Prince Guy (Marton Csokas) who absolutely despises him, travel to Jerusalem…

Kingdom of Heaven. As glorious as an epic should be. Written by William Monahan. Directed by Ridley Scott. Photo: images.allmoviephoto.com

Balian’s journey is exciting and never dull for a second. In Jerusalem, he easily makes friends with the Marshall Tiberias (Jeremy Irons) and earns the trust of King Baldwin (Edward Norton). He also intrigues and attracts, Sibylla (Eva Green)- The King’s sister- who also happens to be Guy’s wife. Not to mention, Guy is thirsty for blood and is dying to fight the Muslims- much against the will of the King.

Kingdom of Heaven- a battle scene — I love a good old battle scene. Well, what did you expect? My favorite movie ever is an epic war flick, Braveheart. Photo: film.com.tr

This movie is a really good example on how an epic should be. It has all the complications and the amazing battle scenes. It has the peace-loving villager-turned lord-who doesn’t let go of his virtues, even though it might cost him dearly. Orlando Bloom fits Balian perfectly and the rest of the cast is simply brilliant.

Fun Stuff:

Liam Neeson only appears in the first 25 minutes or so.

Orlando Bloom and Liam Neeson in Kingdom of Heaven. Father and son bonding moment. Cool for Bloom. Those sword-fighting lessons from Pirates of The Caribbean must have come in handy. Photo: hecinemasource.co

King Baldwin has leprosy. So you never see Edward Norton’s face. But it is fun to have him nevertheless.

Edward Norton in Kingdom of Heaven. Yep, this is how Edward Norton looks throughout all his scenes. For all we know, he could have recorded his voice. Just kidding. It is always nice to have him in a movie. Even when you don’t see him.Photo: cinecultist.com

The (only) leading female is Sibylla, played by the gorgeous Eva Green.

Eva Green in Kingdom of Heaven — Trust me, this picture doesn’t do her justice at all. She is simply radiantly beautiful in this cool epic from 2005. Photo: http://www.atoww.com

There is also Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) from Grey’s Anatomy, plays one of Liam Neeson’s soldiers.

Brendan Gleeson plays exactly looks like his character in Braveheart– where he played Hamish, Wallace’s best mate. Although here, he is pretty much the bad guy.

Brendan Gleeson, Braveheart — This is Brendan in Braveheart. One of the good guys.

Brendan Gleeson in Kingdom of Heaven. Apart from 10 year gap between the films, he is instantly recognizable and reminded me of Hamish. Here, he does a great job as a mean bastard. Photo: filmdope.com

Reasons to see Kingdom of Heaven:

– You mean apart from Liam Neeson, Jeremy Irons, Edward Norton, Orlando Bloom and Eva Green?

– Director is Ridley Scott- who also directed Gladiator, Body of Lies, American Gangster, White Squall and Thelma and Luis.

– Good script, good acting, wonderful direction and pretty cool battle scenes.

– If you are not convinced yet, I am giving up.

Cons:

– I didn’t see any, but you might be bothered by the stuff that is not historically accurate.

– Why have Edward Norton play a character with leprosy in the first place? But being the cool and interesting guy that he is, it was Edward who specifically requested that role. Let’s keep fingers crossed that he does star in an epic one day, with his face showing…

– If you do hate Orlando Bloom and think he can’t act, obviously you will get annoyed watching him for 144 minutes. Or for 190 minutes in Director’s Cut.

Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven — Yep, a lot of Orlando Bloom. He is pretty good, though. He carries his role with grace and innonce. Photo: wallpaperbase.com

My biases: Love the whole cast and I am a big fan of Ridley Scott. White Squall (starring Jeff Bridges) is one of my favorite movies ever and I am yet to dislike anything Ridley worked on.

IMDB verdict: 7.1

My verdict: 7.8- 8.0

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Laws of Attraction and Pierce Brosnan

Posted on December 8, 2009 Written by ripitup

Brosnan. Pierce Brosnan.

Oh come on, I had to refer to James Bond. It is a classic. And given that Pierce Brosnan is my all time favorite Bond, I earned that introduction. Yep, you read it right. It is not Sean Connery. And heaven forbid, it is definitely not Daniel Craig (although he might be my least favorite). To me, Daniel is so…not charismatic or charming or attractive (and Bond should really be all those things)! And he is so…so…so blond! (I had this funny conversation with my friend where she counter argued that she does not object to a Bond with blond hair but a blond Batman should never have existed- a.k.a Val Kilmer. Val is my favorite Batman so..each to her own, I guess.) Anyways, Pierce is the man. He is the perfect 007. He is hot and well-built. It doesn’t take a lot to seduce women. I wish Pierce could have played James Bond a couple of more times- the guy grows even more handsome with age anyway. He used to be a pretty boy who has turned into this gorgeous man. He also has this contagious smile that seems to bring out all his lust for and joy of life.

Laws of Attraction with former James Bond Pierce Brosnan and Julianne Moore

He is not just an action actor by any means. Sure, he has done a good job with Thomas Crown Affair as well but putting Pierce in romantic roles is a damn good idea. Have you seen the 2004 movie Laws of Attraction? It is a typical rom-com so if you are expecting something different, that ain’t it. However romantic comedies aren’t really about the endings or twists anyway. Let’s go through the elements.

Clichés?

1) The leading female Audrey (Julianne Moore) is a lawyer who is organized,almost to the point of obsessiveness. Now the writers do love to portray women as annoyingly tidy and men messy, right?

2) Our male lead Daniel (Pierce Brosnan) is also a lawyer who could not have been less organized. He is messy,funny and charming.

3) The female is pessimistic is about love yet our male – despite being a divorce lawyer- is just a happy-go-lucky romantic. Now I haven’t seen a guy that fun, smart, attractive and entertaining who also happens to be a romantic. And yes it will take only a little time for him to develop feelings for the cynical yet likable Audrey.

4) Opposites attract. Rivals are attracted to each other. Yeah, whatever.

5) You know it is a happily after. Check out the genre and the poster.

BUT…

1) I like Julianne Moore and I like Pierce Brosnan. He definitely pulls out scruffy well. And frankly I’d rather watch a typical rom-com then over-pretentious and disappointing drama/thrillers like Blindness or The Forgotten.

2) The storyline It is fun. You see Audrey and Daniel meet as opposing councils during a trial. They realize the other one is a worthy opponent and after some fun and games, Daniel and Audrey go out on a dinner, supposedly not a date. Of course when the story mixes mutual attraction with heavy alcohol and fun and…yeah, they have sex. However the next day they do have a trial to attend to and Daniel has picked this exact moment to take Audrey seriously and looks more professional and efficient whereas you can tell that Audrey had a “wild” night. Moreover, Daniel also uses a below-the-belt trick at the trial and wins. Of course Audrey declares war and from then on, the competition gets tough and fun, reaching a peak when Daniel gets a client Audrey is after: a famous fashion designer (Parker Posey) divorcing her cheating rocker husband Thorne (Michael Sheen). So Audrey strikes back by signing Thorne. The case research requires a trip to couple’s estate in Ireland and Ireland…is a lovely country, full of potential for romance. So it seems like Audrey and Daniel are best buddies compared to their spiteful clients and another night full of fun and drinks leads to…let’s say more than just sex: Marriage… How the hell are two competing divorce lawyers gonna explain this to the judge?

Pierce Brosnan as Daniel and Julianne Moore as Audrey in Laws of Attraction

3) I love rockers and I love rock and I appreciate the humor that comes with it. Michael Sheen is so funny as the spoiled musician.

So…

The movie is fun. If you like Pierce Brosnan/Michael Sheen/Julianne Moore and/or romantic comedies, you shouldn’t miss it. Otherwise, well…try something else.