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Battleship starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker & Alexander Skarsgard

Posted on August 10, 2012 Written by ripitup

Battleship movie poster - Battleship starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Brooklyn Decker & Alexander Skarsgard — Battleship starring Taylor Kitsch, Liam Neeson, Brooklyn Decker, Rihanna & Alexander Skarsgard. Also featuring Hamish Linklater & Peter MacNicol. Image via iceposter.com

Battleship Premise

Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch) is a 26-year-old guy with pretty much no ambition, to the annoyance of his older brother Stone (Alexander Skarsgård), who already has a prestigious rank in the navy. And when the broke Alex gets further into trouble trying to impress the gorgeous Samantha (Brooklyn Decker), Stone decides that Alex will join the navy and follow in his footsteps.

And while Alex is smart and talented, he keeps getting into trouble. It doesn’t help matters that his latest spectacle might end his career, and lose the chance to get accepted by his girlfriend Samantha’s father, Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson.)

But when aliens, responding to the signals sent to them a couple of years ago, arrive and start sinking ships, Alex will have no choice to grow up, fuel his energy in the right direction and try save not only Hawaii or America, but the rest of the world as well. The problem is, the aliens are far better- equipped and ready to destroy while Alex will have to do with lesser weapons, few men and the loss of people. It doesn’t help that they are shielded from the rest of the world so none can enter or exit the war zone.

So will Alex be able to pull it off without getting killed, losing more men and seeing the world fall to pieces?

Worth Watching?

Battleship is a fun action movie with really good effects. At 131 minutes, it could have been a little shorter. Especially right after the navy faces the presence of the alien ships/spacecrafts, the anticipation and reaction scenes are shot a bit too slowly for my liking.

But despite a couple of slow moments, the movie is quite entertaining whether you knew about the game it was based on or not. The beginning provides good comic relief as well a nice contrast to the man Alex is about to become.

I really like the supporting characters as well, especially the geeky, good-natured and perceptive scientist Cal Zapata (Hamish Linklater) who has to provide more balls than he ever had to in his life because scientists around him were too stupid to listen.

Brooklyn Decker also serves more than eye candy. In addition to being the admiral’s daughter, she is a physical therapist who finds herself right in the middle of the hot zone, thanks to her patient and gets some good ideas on her own to help the situation. And being the daughter of an admiral who is played by Liam Neeson, we don’t find it illogical that she doesn’t chicken out.

The aliens are also thankfully not green! Being from a planet with similar conditions to ours, they have some similar features so that’s a nice change.

All in all, despite being predictable in many parts, it still engages the audience in the war between humans and the aliens- which for the long part is mostly a war between Alex’s crew and the aliens.

Alex and crew got smarter and better with time, and the movie got better as time passed by. I had a good time, and started admiring the director even more. The movie is directed by actor/director Peter Berg, who I first saw as a guest actor on Alias, where he played Noah Hicks, Sydney’s (Jennifer Garner) old field-partner/ex-flame. He has acted in many good projects (e.g. Lions for Lambs), and directed quite a few. But he has definitely done a good job with the massive budget.

My complaint? Liam Neeson could have had more screen time, and kicked some alien butt, though he did say the coolest line in the movie.

Favorite line:

(Admiral Shane to the Secretary of Defense (Peter MacNicol)–angry that the secretary is barking orders despite the loss of men)

Shane: You want to send a plane? I’ll do it the second you come up here and put your ass on the co-pilot seat, sir!!

Highlights:

– The effects.

– The actors.

– The soundtrack. It’s all rock ‘n’ roll and I like it. They even played Thunderstruck from AC/DC.

– The latest strategy (ship) they use and how they use it.

– The one-liners and funny comments, as well as, humane reactions from several characters. and not just the lead.

– Battle putting the egos in check and turning them into a solid alliance.

– The setting: This has to be the alien movie with the best landscape ever! It is in Hawaii!.

Final Verdict:

See it. But of course if I have to make a list of recent expensive movies, this would be my order:

-The Dark Knight / The Avengers

– The Amazing Spider-Man

– Battleship.

Currently rated at 6.1 on IMDB. My vote: a solid 7.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: Gorgeous, Entertaining & Heartfelt

Posted on July 1, 2012 Written by ripitup

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen starring Ewan McGregor & Emily Blunt. Image via movieposter.com.

Plot

Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) is a fisheries expert with a respectable academic position in a dead marriage. He is stuck in his routines, and when he hears about the “insane” idea of the Yemen Sheikh (Amr Waked) through an investment company, he is sure that they have all gone mad.

The idea is to introduce “Salmon Fishing” in the Yemen. However he’s blackmailed by his boss into doing it, and his boss was blackmailed into it by the Prime Minister’s press secretary Patricia Maxwell (Kristin Scott Thomas.) She sees this as a crazy yet wonderful opportunity for good press.

The investment company representative, Harriet (Emily Blunt) is also extremely hopeful about the project; and along with the Sheikh’s (Amr Waked)’s unlimited resources, Alfred starts to find himself enthusiastic.

As Harriet and Alfred form a friendship with the Sheikh and each other, Alfred starts to loosen up, become full of life and get drawn to the emotional and natural Emily, who is the exact opposite of his wife. When Harriet’s soldier boyfriend Robert (Tom Mison) is lost in action, it’s Alfred’s turn to provide Emily with support and enthusiasm.

And while Harriet had spent a wonderful couple of weeks with Robert, can it really beat the connection two people find through a shared dream, friendship and the experience of a lifetime?

Then there’s the question of pulling the project off despite the lack of cooperation from the British fishermen and the Yemen Rebels….

Should You See It? Definitely! Here’s why:

1) Swedish director Lasse Hallström. Apart from a movie that I didn’t really care about (Dear John), Hallström has directed movies that filled me with warmth, lust for life and hope. They usually include a decent sense of humor, full of interesting characters, good actors and engaging emotional story.

Some of Lasse Hallström’s films:

His What’s Eating Gilbert Grape starred Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Juliette Lewis and Mary Steenburgen, bringing Leo an Oscar nomination for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.

Chocolat starred Juliette Lewis, Alfred Molina, Peter Stormare, Lena Olin, Judi Dench and Lena Olin. An deven though I don’t like half of Depp’s movies, both Hallström- Depp collaborations ended up as Depp movies I loved.

Casanova starred Heath Ledger, Jeremy Irons, Oliver Platt, Sienna Miller, Charlie Cox, Lena Olin.

Hachiko: A Dog’s Story feat. Richard Gere and Joan Allen

2) The actors: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt and Kristin Scott Thomas were made for their roles, and so was Amr Waked.)

3) The two lead characters are just relatable, entertaining and sweet. I also loved the cultural empathy they display both towards the Sheikh, and the Sheikh to them. His “subtle comments” on Alfred and Harriet’s relationship are priceless.

4) The transformation of McGregor’s character

5) The lines. Especially the Sheikh’s use of British English and slang.

6) The project’s transformation.

7) The scenery, cinematography, the music

I’m not a huge Ewan McGregor fan. I think he is a very good actor, but he usually doesn’t pick my kind of stories. However I really enjoyed Big Fish and The Ghostwriter, and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen became my favorite McGregor effort, as well as one of my fav. Hallström.

Emily Blunt is lovely, Kristin Scott-Thomas is hilarious- especially with her relationship with the prime minister.

Still, it might not be for everybody:

This movie will probably relate more to romantics and dreamers, people who emotionally and professionally put themselves out there to find success and happiness, and self-actualization. It’s also a lovely story about friendship and love, with the project providing the chances and the platform for it.

Currently at 6.9 on IMDB, and I do find it highly underrated. After all, it makes you laugh, smile, think, believe and dream.

Based on the novel by Paul Torday and adapted to screen by Simon Beaufoy.

Lessons Learned from the Film The Rich Man’s Wife feat. Halle Berry & Clive Owen

Posted on June 9, 2012 Written by ripitup

The Rich Man's Wife movie poster — The Rich Man's Wife poster via screened.com.

I don’t generally care about movie ratings since there is a chance I’ll find the movie either underrated or overrated, but sometimes they can be spot on. But when I saw the 5.0 IMDB rating, I hoped I would disagree – it wasn’t good news, as I was already bored by a couple of Halle Berry thrillers before. Unfortunately, my best rating would be 5 – and this is from someone who likes the cast and the genre. I wasn’t expecting genius twists or very smart characters. But getting bored or asking “Seriously?” every couple of minutes is not a good sign. If only characters and events were tied better and the story was told a little faster…

But watching a non-thrilling thriller can return as an entertaining post. Inspired by movie fans who love to start “(insert number of choice) lessons learned from….” threads on boards, below is what you can take home from this movie. Of course some are obvious, but come on and join me. It’s fun.

Lessons learned (aka Common sense) from the film The Rich Man’s Wife

Spoilers ahead. You’ve been warned.

1) Clive Owen is a lot sexier with a little more age and weight. Try comparing his The Rich Man’s Wife (1996) version to Beyond Borders/Shoot ‘em Up/The International…Well, pretty much any Clive Owen movie after

2) Don’t date a younger, thinner Clive Owen character. Chances are he is up to no good. 5 years before this film, one of his characters was dating his own sister!

3) Peter Greene (The Mask villain) can switch between weird-looking slime ball to charming, uniquely good-looking guy in a matter of seconds.

4) Halle Berry’s dramas and action films are often very enjoyable, as opposed to her thrillers.

5) It is not a good idea to not to foreshadow your twists at all.

6) Calling the cops suckers at the end of the movie is not a good idea, as there is no way they would have seen that one coming and since this is also the case for the audience (see item 5). Just don’t call your audience suckers. Period.

7) It’s not very cool if you don’t have one single likable character in the movie.

8) It is not very convincing (since you want to convince the woman to ally with you) if you switch from Prince Charming to smooth player to good listener to murder plotter to rapist in lightning speed. This would be Peter Greene’s character.

9) Gold-digging, young, pretty women should not sign pre-nuptial agreements. Instead they should marry gullible rich men who trust them enough not to make them sign those. It’s easier than planning murders, getting rid of the other villains and all that. And what would they have done if the cops had half the obsession Holmes (or House) had for cases?

10) It will be easier to convince a rich guy that you are not a gold-digger if you don’t say yes to their proposal after 2 minutes.

11) It might be better if you marry a woman with a little money of her own if you are planning to make her sign pre-nuptials. She might be less likely to try to get rid of you.

12) Or better yet, don’t get married- and/or make your will so that in the matter of your death, they don’t get a single dime –whether it is a suicide/murder/or call of nature and make it clear to them.

13) Or be a less obnoxious husband, and make it harder for her to want to get rid of you.

14) If you are getting married, and signing pre-nuptials, do a better background check on the woman.

15) It isn’t a great idea to hire a cabin in the woods if you are a pretty woman with no special fighting skills.

16) Very few normal people hang out near in-the-woods-cabins in the middle of nowhere.

17) Women hardly ever want to stay alone in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. If they do, they can either fight like Sydney Bristow, haven’t seen any horror movies or they are up to no good.

These were all I could think of so far. Feel free to add yours in the comments.

What about the plot?

The plot you ask? Oh well: Halle Berry’s Josie is married to the richer, older Tony (Christopher McDonald) and the marriage is going down the drain. She has a lover, he has a lover. He’s abusing alcohol and she has signed a pre-nup. Claiming that she wants her marriage work, she dumps the lover (Clive Owen) and convinces her husband to take a trip together- where his regular business relationships and fondness of alcohol prevent them from making any progress. So he leaves, and she stays. Then her car breaks down one night and she is “saved“ by a helpful stranger, who drives her home and gets her car fixed-all for dinner. And as she tells her story, he gets her to say that she wished he were dead. Then he offers to do the job for her. And then….well, let’s say that no one is exactly innocent in the movie, adulterer or not.

Made in 1996, written/directed by Amy Holden Jones.

House of Sand and Fog starring Jennifer Connelly & Ben Kingsley: Bad Things Happen to Stupid People

Posted on March 6, 2012 Written by ripitup

House of Sand and Fog starring Jennifer Connelly & Ben Kingsley. Image via moviegoods.com

I really wanted to like this movie. I did. I was ready to and I guess I’d have if it hadn’t lasted 126 minutes (whose 26 minutes or more consist about characters being extra stupid and shots being extra slow- making the audience lose any ounce of sympathy we might have built). It is not all bad, but with its premise and actors, it should/could have been so much more.

Let’s go over the premise first and then we will get into the flaws…. Oops. I meant the details.

Bad Things Do Happen to Stupid People

Kathy (Jennifer Connelly) is a “former” alcoholic who was dumped by her husband 6 months ago and works as a cleaning lady. She’s depressed, and not very close to her family (as in her mother doesn’t know about the husband leaving) and is not paying attention to the “mundane” details of everyday life- such as reading her mail.

So she is shocked to find out that the government is evicting her from her house because of $500 worth of unpaid business taxes. Of course she doesn’t own a business, but the she is evicted regardless. The only person who is remotely helpful is the deputy sheriff Lester (Ron Eldard). He helps her move her stuff out, and tells her where she can get legal assistance.

Her legal advisor Connie (Frances Fisher) tries her best to solve things soon, but things get complicated when former Iranian soldier Behrani (Ben Kingsley) wants to relive his glory days in America and he is sick of doing hard labor to get there. When he realizes he has enough money to buy Kathy’s house at an auction at less than half its price, he jumps at it. He moves there with his wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo) and son.

Kathy’s life of course soon spirals out of control as she doesn’t have enough money to pay the motel bill and sees that her house has now new residents- but their family “leader” Behrani has no intention of showing this girl any understanding.

He plans to renovate the house cheaply and then sell it with lots of profit. Kathy’s only “friend” Lester helps her with her residence issues, but he is not exactly a model citizen in letting Kathy drink again- as well as leaving his family behind to be with her.

As things get more personal and complicated for Kathy and Lester, Behrani doesn’t notice how far things will go for all of them….

So why is it disappointing?

Don’t come criticizing me for being too easy on “mediocre” movies (to most people “mediocre” is either mindless action or romantic comedies) and being too hard on “artistic” efforts like this one.

I am ready to be fond of “less” artistic movies for the sake of entertainment. It is their job to entertain. They may not always leak with genius, but if they make sure we have fun, then all is well at my end.

But you see, when you put Jennifer Connelly and Ben Kingsley together, adapt a novel with a very humane story and get three Oscar nominations, I really expect to feel some things other than depression, contempt (for the characters) and boredom.

I expect to find at least one character who gets something right- and I expect that to be one of the main characters-not the lawyer of the girl who has about 10 minutes of screen time.

Why the contempt for characters? Well- let’s start (yes, there are spoilers!):

Kathy (Jennifer Connelly):

– She is so not connected with her family that her mother doesn’t know her husband left. 6 months ago!

– She is so out-of-it, she hasn’t read her mail. In months.

– As unbearable as your mother is, surely she is better than being evicted, sleeping with a married man, starting drinking again, harassing the not-so-understanding owner of the new house, getting all suicidal….yes, her list continues. Frankly I’d listen to a mother lecturing me instead of all that.

– She doesn’t try to get a better job, therapy or…anything. And this woman has no friends? Seriously? Nada?

Behrani (Ben Kingsley):

– So he is basically a bastard for the 98 % of the movie- not listening to his wife or son, not being understanding to Kathy, hitting his wife once and filling in his son’s head with utter crap. It is more important to impress his daughter’s stuck-up in-laws than to help someone. Oh, then he goes all saint-like when the girl attempts suicide. Lovely. Believable. Right….

The Wife (Shohreh Aghdashloo):

– It is a great idea to run a hot bath to a girl who has just attempted suicide where she could drown herself and leave her alone in the bathroom. No, she doesn’t try to drown herself. Why should she when she can access the woman’s pills?

– I am not even going to question her taste in men- I am guessing she didn’t really have much choice.

The Son:

– Goes from the voice of reason to the stupidest character in the history of film. Wonderful character development, wouldn’t you say?

Lester (Ron Eldard):

– He comes on to a girl when she is at her most vulnerable (and who wasn’t thinking straight before that), encourages her to drink again, leaves his family to be with her but leaves her alone in a country house because his wife is causing scenes, abuses his job to threaten Behrani, shows up at their house to save Kathy, doesn’t listen to Kathy when she is ready to move on…If Kathy’s IQ is well under 90, his is probably lower than 70. 70 was Forrest Gump’s.

Final Notes

So when you have so many characters acting like idiots, it is hard to feel or root for them. It doesn’t earn any points for the director that he added tragedy for tragedy’s sake.

Adapted from the book of Andre Dubus III by Vadim Perelman and Shawn Lawrence Otto. Directed by Vadim Perelman.

I don’t really have anything against the Oscar nominations of the film though. They were for Ben Kingsley’s acting (Best Actor), Shohreh Aghdashloo’s acting (Best Supporting Actress) and James Horner’s music. The acting was solid, so was the music. Too bad the characters and editing weren’t. And does Jennifer Connelly have to take her clothes off in every movie? Yes, she is a great actress and she happens to be gorgeous. So what?

Also on Jennifer Connelly:

A Beautiful Mind starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly & Paul Bettany

Coming Soon:The Dilemma starring Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Connelly, Kevin James, Winona Ryder and Channing Tatum

Jennifer Connelly Trivia: 14 Facts About Actress Jennifer Connelly

Dark City

Requiem for a Dream

He is just not that into you

Of Love and Shadows

6 Hollywood Couples: Gorgeous, Glamorous and Happy Together

Also on Ben Kingsley:

The Last Legion starring Colin Firth & Ben Kingsley