movies | pinartarhan.com

The Hunting Party starring Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg

Posted on September 8, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Hunting Party starring Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg. Written and directed by Richard Shepard, 2007. Image via richardshepard.com

Simon Hunt (Richard Gere) is a very successful news reporter and makes the perfect team with his cameraman Duck (Terrence Howard). They are good friends and Duck is pretty OK with how fun and a little crazy Hunt is. They get into trouble but they are also the best.

However one instance changes this forever. Simon reaches his breaking point and has an outraged outburst, live. He gets fired and his career goes downhill. But Duck gets to be “safe” and becomes the cameraman for the anchorman. While this is trading up in many ways, Duck can’t help but miss his days with Hunt. In 2000, years after the Bosnian War ended, Duck is there with the anchor and a rookie named Benjamin (Jesse Eisenberg), freshly graduated from Harvard and who happens to be a son of the network’s vice president.

However the peaceful and harmless mission is disrupted when Hunt makes an appearance and offers a “job” for Duck. And it is not harmless at all: Simon thinks he can find the biggest criminal of that war: the man responsible for countless killings and rapes- the man whose capturers will earn 5,000,000. Of course while this man is a criminal for Bosnia and the most of the world, he is a national hero for most Serbians and they are willing to protect this man no matter what.

As crazy as this is, Duck and Benjamin join Hunt, hoping that they will just make an interview with the man. However it becomes clear that Hunt is not only after financial relief but personal vengeance as well. Can they really get to this guy without getting killed? And how the hell are three reporters supposed to survive without any weapons at all?

The Hunting Party is partially based on a true story and it is a very intriguing adventure/drama/thriller about war, journalism and friendship. It has some comedic relief, and even though it is an easy film to watch, the events told are anything but.

This is a fun and thought-provoking movie, although it can drag a bit at times. Even though it is not as impressive Lord of War (sure, different topic but the subject matters are equally heavy), it is a solid film with fine performances. And just like Lord of War’s notes (telling us what eventually happens or will keep happening) at the end credits, The Hunting Party also ends on a note that makes you say “Holy Shit!”

The three leads are just fine and I don’t think there was any reason to cast Diane Kruger as she appears for as a couple of minutes. Written and directed by Richard Shepard. Based on an article by Scott Anderson.

Currently 7.0 on IMDB.

Other Posts on Jesse Eisenberg

Cursed starring Christina Ricci, Joshua Jackson & Jesse Eisenberg

The Social Network starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake and Armie Hammer

The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones

Posted on September 7, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Fugitive starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones. Co-starring Joee Pantoliano, Julianne Moore and Sela Ward. Directed by Andrew Davis. 1993.

Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford) is a highly successful, well-off and respected heart surgeon. However one day, he comes home to find an attacker and his wife Helen murdered. The murderer – who has one prosthetic arm – gets away. Kimble, desperate to revive his wife, leaves his fingerprints everywhere. For the lazy cops, he is the perfect suspect. After all, there are no other fingerprints around other than Richard’s. It also helps their case that she had a life insurance and Richard was the only beneficiary.

So Richard is sentenced to prison until he is killed by lethal injection. However while the convicts are being transferred to the prison, one of the prisoners fakes a heart-attack, causes enough chaos for some of the guards to get injured. Since the driver gets killed, the bus crashes into a railroad. Kimble barely makes it out with his life and seizes his one chance to escape.

Samuel Gerard, Marshall, responsible for prisoners, is pissed that prisoners have gotten away and he takes over Kimble’s case with full control and he is determined to catch Kimble no matter what.

Despite the fact that the whole country is after him, Kimble manages to dodge cops and starts his own quest to catch his wife’s murderer and prove his innocence.

So the fascinating great cat and mouse game starts. However the mouse is just as smart, maybe even smarter than the cat. And instead of running away, the mouse will cleverly involve the cat in his quest for innocence…

The Fugitive (1993) is a terrific and old-fashioned (in a very good sense) action/thriller/drama. Harrison-Ford, as usual, is very at home in this action-packed role as the smart protagonist. Tommy Lee Jones is perfect as the “cat”. Note that Tommy Lee won Oscar for Best Supporting Actor with this role. The movie was also nominated for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Effects, Best Editing, Best Film, Best Sound and Best Music Oscars.

The Fugitive is based on the TV Series The Fugitive from 1963. Co-starring in the film are Julianne Moore and Joe Pantoliano. Directed by Andrew Davis, written by Jeb Stuart and
David Twohy. Rated 7.8 on IMDB, voted by over 96.000 viewers. I do agree. This movie is a real threat and it is not a movie that will lose from its age.

Other Harrison Ford Movies

Firewall starring Harrison Ford, Paul Bettany and Virginia Madsen

Six Days Seven Nights starring Harrison Ford and Anne Heche

Extraordinary Measures starring Brendan Fraser and Keri Russell

Air Force One starring Harrison Ford, Glenn Close and Gary Oldman

Regarding Henry starring Harrison Ford and Annette Bening

Mindhunters starring Val Kilmer, Christian Slater, Kathryn Morris, LL Cool J and Jonny Lee Miller

Posted on September 6, 2010 Written by ripitup

Mindhunters starring Christian Slater, Val Kilmer, Jonny Lee Miller, LL Cool J, Patricia Velasquez, Clifton Collins Jr., Kathryn Morris, Will Kemp and Eion Bailey. Not logical but so much fun.

A young and unisex group of 7 F.B.I agents (Vince, Rafe, Lucas, J.D, Bobby , Sara and Nicole) in training to be become Profilers, are in a demanding training program run by ex-field operative Harris (Val Kilmer). Harris’ training challenges are realistic and dark and none of the students like him much. Their feelings for him don’t improve when the final test involves these trainees to spend time in an isolated island, without weapons, trying to solve a simulated case of a serial killer, nicknamed the Puppeteer. The team is led by J.D. (Christian Slater) . This time their team has one outsider, Gabe( LL Cool J), a man whose exact mission and credentials are not that clear. They just know that he is there to observe them.

They wake up the next day to face the challenges Harris prepared for them. The ones who fail this final test will not make it as Profilers. However early in the morning, the “simulation” turns into reality when one of them gets murdered. After that point, they will get warnings of time that will let them know when the next victim is due. Who the hell is the killer? Someone else on the island? Or one of them? Or has Harris gone mad?

Mindhunters is a very entertaining thriller about profilers-to-be, being hunted down by one serial killer on an isolated island. The fact that their instructor put them there, that they don’t really have contact with the outside world and the concept of one serial killer vs. FBI trainees as victims sets some original standards. Sure, it is a slasher (not a very gory one, though) to a degree, but it does have some refereshing elements. And it has a pretty good cast with Christian Slater, Val Kilmer, Jonny Lee Miller, LL Cool J, Patricia Velasquez, Clifton Collins Jr., Kathryn Morris (crime TV series Cold Case’s leading actress), Will Kemp and Eion Bailey.

This movie may not be many things: It is not exactly logical, rational or maybe even possible. But the good thing, it is also very entertaining and interesting. The ending is not very satisfactory but still it is not bad enough to spoil the overall fun. It is not a horror film but a decent thriller. But it does have some unpleasant killing scenes so if you don’t have the heart for some minor blood shed and murder scenes, you might want to stay away.

And a note for Val Kilmer and Christian Slater fans: I’ve good news and bad news. Bad news is, they don’t have that many scenes. The other actors share the leading parts. Good news, it doesn’t matter that much becasue the movie is fun enough without them too. Still, wouldn’t hurt to see them more.

Written by Wayne Kramer and Kevin Brodbin, directed by Renny Harlin (Deep Blue Sea, Cliffhanger, Die Hard 2). 6.2 on IMDB. It’s not remarkable but definitely fun. From 2004.

Other Val Kilmer movies

At First Sight

The Saint

3 Movies, 3 Musician Portrayals: Feat. Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison in The Doors

Christian Slater TV Series, Movies and Other Posts

Broken Arrow starring John Travolta, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis

Hunky Actors of the 80s and 90s: Brad Pitt, Patrick Swayze and Christian Slater

The Deal with Christian Slater: A Christian Slater Tribute feat. Review for his movie The Dea

The Forgotten TV Series starring Christian Slater

My Own Worst Enemy TV Series starring Christian Slater

Alias TV Series feat. Christian Slater in a guest role

Job Security? What Job Security?

In & Out starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack, Tom Selleck and Matt Dillon

Posted on September 3, 2010 Written by ripitup

In & Out starring Kevin Kline, Tom Selleck, Matt Dillon and Joan Cusack. Hilarious! Image via moviegoods.com

Howard Brackett (Kevin Kline) is a high school literature teacher and the team coach and he is loved by everyone in the Indiana town he lives and he is just very content with his life.

Everything changes when Cameron Drake (Matt Dillon) – a former student/currently Hollywood’s new heartthrob- wins Oscar with his role as a gay soldier and thanks Howard at his acceptance speech, mentioning that Howard is gay.

This shocks the whole town, especially Emily, Howard’s parents, students and most of all Howard. From then on, the movie becomes more hilarious as Howard tries to explain to everyone that he is not gay. But the media have already smelled a good story and they are all over town. The most insistent reporter of them all is Peter Malloy (Tom Selleck) who thinks he is actually helping Howard come out.

Now Howard has to face the most important question of his life: Was Cameron right? And if he is, how the hell is he going to tell everyone that he is gay, after having tried so hard to persuade them that he wasn’t?

***

In and Out is one hell of a comedy. Now, if your favorite comedy about a gay guy is Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor’s I love you, Philip Morris, then there is a chance you won’t like In & Out. But I absolutely hated I love you Philip Morris (even though I love Jim Carrey) but In & Out is one of my favorite movies. It is charming, silly, upbeat, lovely and downright hilarious. Yes, there are stereotypes. But the thing with clichés and stereotypes is that if you use them well, you will have good entertainment. After all, they became stereotypes and clichés for a reason.

I heard people complain that the movie isn’t funny because Howard is actually gay. Now, don’t consider this a spoiler. Knowing this will straighten up your expectations about the movie. Now, the fact that Howard is gay but doesn’t know it makes the movie even funnier. The fact that people didn’t notice or pretended not to notice is just hilarious. After all, here is a guy who hasn’t had sex with his fiancée for 3 years because he “respects her” (I mean, come on!!), he knows everything about Barbara Streisand and adores her and well, do look at his hands.

While Streisand is an ultimate cliché, it is a funny one. However I think the casting overcomes one big cliché as many gay guys being feminine when the reporter turns out to be gay. Guys, the reporter is Tom Selleck! You just can’t get more masculine than that! Frankly, none of my straight guy friends is as masculine as Selleck’s Peter.

The supporting cast includes Shawn Hatosy, Alexandra Holden, Zak Orth, Lauren Ambrose (as Howard’s students), Debbie Reynolds, Wilford Brimley (as Howard’s parents) and Shalom Harlow (as Cameron’s skinny girlfriend).

Kevin Kline is just a riot. Yes, the whole cast is great but he does make the movie. At 6.1 on IMDB, this truly is one of the most underrated comedies ever. Frankly, it might be a 7.0 compared to all movies ever made but for a comedy, it is a 10/10.

Favorite Lines

Howard’s mom (Debbie Reynolds): Howard, we want you to know that you are our son and we will always love you. Gay, straight, red, green if you rob a bank, if you kill someone.
Howard’s dad (Wilford Brimley): If you get drunk, climb a clock tower, and take out the town.

Howard’s mom: As long as you get married.

***

Peter (Tom Selleck): I am gay. I came out.

Howard (Kevin Kline): To whom?

Peter: Whom? To Everyone. My folks, my boss, my dog… One day I just snapped. I got tired of switching pronouns and remembering to lower my voice. And I couldn’t take it..lying to the people I love…Does that sound familiar?

Howard (in the thickest voice he can muster): No!

Peter: So I just said, mom, dad, sparky…I am gay.

Howard: What happened?

Peter: Well, my mom cried for exactly 10 seconds, my boss said who cares and my dad said “but you are so tall!!)

***

Howard: I am not gay!

Peter: What was Barbra Streisand’s eighth album?
Howard: Color Me Barbra.
Peter: Stud!
Howard: Everybody knows that!
Peter: Everybody where? The little gay bar on the prairie? You know what you need?

Howard: I need a weddin (before Howard can finish, Peter grabs him and kisses him)

You kissed me.

Peter: You noticed.

Howard: This is not Los Angeles!

Peter: People don’t kiss in Greenleaf?

Howard: Not at an intersection!!

Favorite Scenes:

– The Oscars – Cameron’s outing Howard and everyone’s reactions…

-Howard, the masculinity tape and the dancing.

Other Posts on Kevin Kline

The Big Chill

French Kiss

The Fun Actors and Moustache Poll: feat. Kevin Kline