movies | pinartarhan.com

City by the Sea starring Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco

Posted on February 20, 2010 Written by ripitup

City by the Sea with Robert De Niro, Frances McDormand and James Franco. Gripping, emotional, intense. Just the way we like to get from De Niro. Plus, James Franco is really good too.

Police Dedective Vincent LaMarca (Robert De Niro) has had walked out on his wife and eventually his son Joey (James Franco) and moved away from Long Beach. He is happy hanging with his girlfriend Michelle (Frances McDormand) and just doing his job.

Meanwhile, his estranged son has turned into a junkie and killed a drug dealer in a fight. With his son’s name as the head suspect, Vincent’s other past secrets will resurface and he will have to deal with everything he has run away from. Things are not what they seem and his girlfriend might just regret she ever wanted him to open up…

***

Need I say De Niro is great as the estranged father with a troubled past? His character Vincent has flaws he is not proud of but he has done a good job of avoiding them so far.

James Franco is really good as the bright-boy-turned-junkie. The movie is really good asking some troubling moral questions and dealing with the relationships between the characters.

City by the Sea is by no means a thriller. It is a slow-paced, strong drama with characters you care about. It makes you react to events and question motives and reasons. Expecting action sequences will only disappoint you. This is a fine drama which should especially be seen by Robert De Niro and James Franco fans.

6.1 on imdb. It deserves something over 7, at the very least. Hell, 10/10 for Robert’s acting and presence alone. Let me know what you think.

Pride and Glory with Edward Norton and Colin Farrell

Posted on February 18, 2010 Written by ripitup

Pride and Glory with Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich. Raymond (Norton) has already lost his love to help protect other cops. He doesn’t want to do the same mistakes but how the hell do you do the right thing when the wrong involves your brother( Emmerich) and brother-in-law (Farrell) ?

When 4 NYPD cops die during an operation, it is especially devastating for Jimmy Eagen (Colin Farrell). It is not exactly an emotional trauma, though. Jimmy and his remaining corrupt group of cops have to clean up the mess before it is too late. However things are going to be much harder; since Jimmy’s father-in-law (Jon Voight) – unaware of his involvement- insists that his son Raymond takes the case. Though unwilling, Raymond (Edward Norton) starts looking into events, and it doesn’t take long before he realizes that there are cops involved behind the crimes and the cops might be too close to home. Is Ray’s brother, also a cop, Francis (Noah Emmerich) involved as well?

Forget about the movie’s name, plot summaries you might read and definitely stay away from the trailer. When I first saw the trailer, I thought: “Shit, another corrupt cop story with family issues thrown in”. Seemed to cliché, too overdone. But the fact is, the movie is much more than any of its promotional elements suggests. It is strong, grabbing and despite all the familiar themes, it stands on its two feet and ends up impresses you. Characters are complicated and they are all flawed.

Colin Farrell puts in a good performance. Edward Norton is in his usual element, although maybe playing Jimmy would have been more fun. Noah Emmerich is just outstanding as Francis- the brother who should have paid more attention to the cops under him, but was too busy taking care of his dying wife.

All in all, this is a good movie with solid performances. There is too much swearing that might distract you from time to time, but considering the characters, it suits them.

It doesn’t have one dull moment in it and the drama is just as exciting as the action.6.7 on imdb. Deserves a 7, at the very least.

All Movies with Edward Norton:

Leaves of Grass

Kingdom of Heaven

Down in the Valley

25th Hour

Fight Club

The Illusionist

The Painted Veil

American History X

Primal Fear

The Incredible Hulk

Death to Smoochy

All Movies Featuring Colin Farrell

Pride and Glory review – starring Edward Norton and Colin Farrell

5 Movies to Watch on Fast Forward

Bernard and Doris: Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon

Posted on February 11, 2010 Written by ripitup

Bernard and Doris with Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon. Charming and fun all over...

Half-based on the life of Doris Duke- one of the richest people of her time.

Doris Duke (Susan Sarandon) is an interesting, smart and demanding woman who loves her fun; especially in the form of booze and young men. Her inherited fortune has multiplied because of her sharp business mind.

Bernard (Ralph Fiennes) is a shy, nice and polite butler that starts working for her.

At first she treats her like the rest of her staff but slowly they develop a strong bond and friendship.

Now, what’s interesting about this movie is how Doris allows (gay) Bernard to express himself and takes him out of his shell. Of course people working for Doris finds their friendship weird but then again it is not like our colorful duo care. Sure just like every movie some conflicts will arise here too…

Ralph Fiennes is so adorably cute in Bernard. It was refreshing to see him as a first plain, than an increasingly flamboyant homosexual. He and Susan make a wonderful onscreen couple and their performances make the movie. It is fun, charming and relaxing.

Strongly recommended for every Susan and Ralph fan.

More on Ralph Fiennes:

Strange Days

The English Patient: When adultery is OK

The Painted Veil with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton

Posted on February 7, 2010 Written by ripitup

Just beautiful. Nothing is over the top. One of the best emotional journeys on cinema. A Painted Veil with Edward Norton and Naomi Watts.

1920s. Kitty (Naomi Watts) and Walter (Edward Norton) have absolutely nothing in common. Walter is a shy, smart, and awkward bacteriologist who falls in love with Kitty at first sight at a party.

Kitty is the ultimate social girl: she loves going out, playing the piano and being the center of attention.

She probably wouldn’t even consider marrying Walter if she hadn’t been dying to escape her dreadful mother; who was already announcing news of engagement even when Kitty wasn’t remotely interested in Walter. So she finds herself in China, bored to death with her nerdy husband. That’s when she finds herself having an affair with and falling for the charming but married diplomat Charlie Townsend (played by Naomi’s real life partner Liev Schreiber).

When Walter finds out, he gives her two options: he can divorce her right away or she has to go to the cholera struck region of China with him. She has overestimated Charlie both as a man and a lover. He refuses to divorce his wife, just as Walter predicts.

This is the perfect punishment for an unfaithful wife: isolated in a country with only one native English speaker as neighbor. The marriage isn’t a happy one for Walter either, but he is mostly busy with his patients. As Kitty makes an effort to redeem herself and mingle with people of the church, the couple begins to see each other for they really are and the coldness is eventually replaced with love and respect.

The Painted Veil with Naomi Watts and Edward Norton — Kitty and Walter, Belatedly in love

The Painted Veil is absolutely beautiful. It is delicate and sincere. The scenery is amazing and the acting is top notch. But then again, I wasn’t expecting any less from Edward Norton and Naomi Watts. I have been an admirer of Norton’s ever since I saw him in Primal Fear. Still, it was the first time I saw him as a romantic lead in a romantic period drama and he is just excellent at this. I also like it more if the movie is produced by the leading actors so they have more say in scenes and Watts and Norton have made brilliant choices.

The movie was directed by John Curran in 2006. Based on the novel by W. Somerset Maugham.

This is one of those movies that if a guy doesn’t like it, you can rightfully dismiss him as heartless. Well, kidding aside, it would be a very shallow attempt to label this one as a chick flick. It is a multi-dimensional story with multi-dimensional characters. Don’t miss out on it, regardless of your genre preference and gender.