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Dangerous Beauty starring Rufus Sewell & Catherine McCormack

Posted on February 18, 2011 Written by ripitup

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Dangerous Beauty starring Rufus Sewell & Catherine McCormack
Dangerous Beauty starring Rufus Sewell & Catherine McCormack. Feat. Jacqueline Bisset, Naomi Watts & Oliver Platt. Image via cinemanow.com

Marco (Rufus Sewell), a handsome and fun-loving guy from an established Venice family. And life is going just fine for him – especially after he falls in love with his sister (Moira Kelly)’s friend Veronica (Catherine McCormack).

Veronica and Marco are crazy about one another. But their happiness lasts only until Marco’s father reminds him that he has to marry according to his station; that is marrying to a girl with parents with the right background. Marco accepts this, devastating Veronica.

Veronica is intelligent, beautiful, modern and elegant. She is also a poet and a romantic. But since her pen wouldn’t feed her or her family, her mother (Jacqueline Bisset) comes up with the most shocking career option: being a courtesan. Although she is outraged by the idea, sleeping with men for money sounds better than living in a convent. So after some training, Veronica turns into the perfect seductress

Of course Marco is shocked and he is disappointed, especially when he is one of the very few men in Venice who is rejected by her – the other one being his own cousin Maffio (Oliver Platt).

Now, Marco is stuck in an unhappy marriage, still madly in love with Veronica. Veronica still isn’t over him and as events unfold, they will find it impossible to stay apart. But Maffio has sworn for revenge and when war strikes, Veronica might just lose all the power she has and witness the whole country turn against her, except for Marco…

The movie is a lovely, romantic period drama with wonderful performances from both Rufus Sewell and Catherine McCormack. Oliver Platt is always fun to watch, even when he plays the jerk.

Naomi Watts has a supporting role as Marco’s wife. The scenery, costumes and the art direction are simply beautiful. It is romantic and thought-provoking. Catherine’s character Veronica is really inspiring. She really had the guts to question the hypocrisy of her time.

It is especially recommended for the fans of period dramas and Rufus Sewell. You might remember Catherine McCormack from her short but very important role in 1995’s Braveheart.

Also on Naomi Watts

The International starring Clive Owen & Naomi W   atts

The Painted Veil starring Edward Norton & Naomi Watts

Also on Rufus Sewell

Tristan and Isolde starring James Franco, Sophia Myles and Rufus Sewell

The British Actors We Love feat. Rufus Sewell, Colin Firth, Daniel Day Lewis

The Woodlanders: A Gorgeous Rufus Sewell in an Awful Movie

In a Savage Land with Rufus Sewell

Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence: Fun romcom with Monica Potter, Rufus Sewell and Joseph Fiennes

Vinyan starring Rufus Sewell

The Illusionist with Edward Norton, Rufus Sewell and Jessica Biel

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Braveheart, catherine mccormack, dangerous beauty, dangerous beauty movie, drama, jacqueline bisset, Naomi Watts, Oliver Platt, period movie, romance, Rufus Sewell, Rufus Sewell movies, the international movie, The Painted Veil

Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway

Posted on January 29, 2011 Written by ripitup

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Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.
Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway. Directed & co-written by Edward Zwick. Feat. Hank Azaria, Oliver Platt & Gabriel Macht. Image via shockya.com

Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway

1996. Jamie (Jake Gyllenhaal) is an attractive, charming and smart guy who uses all his brain cells to make more sales and have sex with as many women as possible. But when he screws his boss’s wife, he finds himself looking for a new job and with the help of his brother Josh (Josh Gad), he starts working as a drug rep. for Pfizer. With the help of his politically incorrect mentor Bruce (Oliver Platt) and his own skills, he is getting the hang of the job, while sleeping with even more women.

But then Jamie meets Maggie (Anne Hathaway) at a doctor (Hank Azaria)’s office and suddenly Jamie is only having sex with Maggie. And why not? She’s hot, independent and she is offering more booty calls than he can handle. But there are 2 problems: Maggie has Parkinson’s disease and the more time they spend together, the more Jamie gets to like her. But Maggie is resisting any commitment or emotional attachment. Even if Jamie can persuade her to be his girlfriend, can they make it work with her symptoms and fears?

**

The movie has a lot to tell. It has a love story, the launch of Viagra, Jamie’s career, his coming to terms with deeper sides of his personality, very talkative supporting characters who try to steal the scene, Maggie trying to fit in a relationship in her life….

Love and Other Drugs is a film with some original moments and many clichés. Well, telling a mixed genre of comedy/romance/drama is not easy.

But the way director/co-writer Edward Zwick (Legends of the Fall, Glory, The Last Samurai) started telling this story, I thought we were going to a get a Cameron Crowe (Elizabeth Town, Jerry Maguire) or Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) style film – sincere, refreshing & highly entertaining.

A little short of 2 hours, Love and Other Drugs could be edited more. It could also have a better dialogue. And a couple less superficial characters?

Edward Zwick’s film starts in the tradition of Cameron and Jason and then suddenly becomes…well, something different and less impressive. It has a nice soundtrack, though.

Some could argue that the movie tried to be show life as it is – politically incorrect, rude, awkward, competitive, sarcastic….But then I could argue it gives you just as many clichés as your average romantic comedy- just with much more nudity. Come on- the misunderstood, potentially great guy who was previously a womanizer only finding his true self through love. The girl resisting true romance because of her fears? Even the big chasing gesture…

This movie is not bad. It is just not as good as I expected. Its problem? It’s not funny enough and it is not romantic enough. It is just alright. 6.6 on IMDB.

Fun notes:

– Gabriel Macht plays competitive firm’s drug-rep.

–   Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal hooked up on screen before in Brokeback Mountain, although Jake’s true love in the film was Heath Ledger.

– Hank Azaria had a recurring guest role on Friends as Phoebe’s scientist boyfriend.

Other posts on Jake Gyllenhaal

Source Code starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan & Vera Farmiga

Jake Gyllenhaal Trivia

Donnie Darko starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore & Patrick Swayze

The Day After Tomorrow Starring Dennis Quaid & Jake Gyllenhaal

Preview: Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal & Anne Hathaway

Actors Born In Between 1980-1990 feat. Gyllenhaal

Other Posts on Anne Hathaway

Valentine’s Day starring Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, Jennifer Garner, Bradley Cooper, Anne Hathaway and More

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Anne Hathaway, comedy, drama, edward zwick, Gabriel Macht, hank azaria, Jake Gyllenhaal, josh gad, love and other drugs, movies, Oliver Platt, romance

2012 starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover & Woody Harrelson

Posted on December 4, 2010 Written by ripitup

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2012 starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover & Woody Harrelson
2012 starring John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover & Woody Harrelson. Directed and co-written by Roland Emmerich. 2009.

The Mayans were right after all…2009. Scientists run across some scary figures that can be bad news. They try to find another explanation other than the most obvious and terrifying one: the world is coming to an end.

These results are shared with world leaders and some very rich men. Only a selected number of people will live through the disaster and unless you are really important, you don’t stand a chance: In the name of preventing anarchy, the bad news is kept from the public until the last minute (with the insistence of Oliver Platt’s character Anheuser).

Enter Jackson (John Cusack), a published but not exactly financially successful author. He is divorced with two young kids, who live with his ex-wife Kate (Amanda Peet) and her boyfriend Gordon (Thomas McCarthy).When he takes his kids to camping, Jackson realizes something is way off and they run into military officials. Then he meets a nutty blogger/podcaster/radio DJ Charlie (Woody Harrelson) who lives in a caravan at the national park and is sharing his conspiracy theories about the world’s end. Jackson at first dismisses his wild assumptions but shattering earthquakes convince him that Charlie may not be so nutty after all.

From then on, the world really starts falling apart. Jackson takes his family & Gordon and he drives them to the small plane he has rented, with the city literally coming down on them. They find the pilot dead so they rely on Gordon’ flying lessons to survive. Jackson decides to see Charlie one more time, since he had every theory right so far and he was talking about the “spaceships” the government was building.

The movie continues to get faster with bigger adventures and effects, with disaster following the family in the air, on the ground and more… Can anyone really make it alive? Will the “spaceships” work?

Now, I have to say 2012 turned out to be better than I was expecting. OK, I am not talking about the script. It is full of your typical clichés, complete with heroic characters, doting family members and all that But Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow, Independence Day) is usually good at making the best of these clichés and providing great effects. I was bored early into the film but you just need to hang on for the first 25-30 minutes or so (the movie is about 158 minutes long).

So Roland has done it again- average story with impressive effects, typically likeable characters, an insane theory and lots of human vs. nature action. I had a lot of fun. Now, if the world was really coming to an end, would I recommend this movie? Probably not. But then again, despite being a total movie nut, I wouldn’t recommend any movie in that scenario. Hey, if we had 1 year left to live, we would go out to live life to the fullest and not watch film. Especially not by Emmerich.

5.9 on IMDB. I don’t have an overall verdict. Instead:

5 – for the story (it is as average as it gets).

6.5 – for the cast (Danny Glover, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, John Cusack, Amanda Peet, Woody Harrelson)

8- for the effects.

Enjoy.

Roland Emmerich Movies

The Day After Tomorrow starring Dennis Quaid, Jake Gyllenhaal and Sela Ward,

The Patriot starring Mel Gibson and Heath Ledger

Independence Day starring Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum and Will Smith

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 2012, 2012 movie, action, adventure, Amanda Peet, Danny Glover, disaster movies, drama, john cusack, movies, Oliver Platt, roland emmerich, thandie newton, Thomas McCarthy, woody harrelson

Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Aidan Quinn, Mary Stuart Masterson and Julianne Moore

Posted on July 28, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn and Julianne Moore
Benny and Joon starring Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masterson, Aidan Quinn and Julianne Moore. Image via uaa.alaska.edu/

Car mechanic Benny (Aidan Quinn) has been living with and taking care of his sister Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) ever since they lost their parents a long time ago. Joon is mentally troubled and has certain obsessions. Her problems make her intolerant to certain things such as extreme noise, traffic and chaos. While social consultants advise Benny to register in a private care facility, Benny is perfectly content with the living arrangements and so is Joon.

Benny’s idea of fun is playing poker with his friends. At one game, the stakes get a bit unusual. One of Benny’ friends puts his eccentric cousin Sam (Johnny Depp) on the table. Benny loses and ends up taking Sam at home. Sam can’t read or write but he is a total movie nut and he is acting a lot like the silent movie actor Buster Keaton. It doesn’t take long for him to get used to Joon’s “eccentricities” and Joon has a lot of fun having him around. In fact they seem to form a special bond which leads to a romantic involvement. But how will Benny react? And how are these two ever going to make a relationship work? And will Benny be ever to concentrate on his romantic life while he is concerned about Joon all the time?

Benny and Joon is a delightful, emotional and very fun romantic comedy/drama. The performances are lovely but of course as always Johnny Depp shines through. Oliver Platt and Julianne Moore take supporting roles – Oliver Platt as Benny’s friend and Julianne Moore as Ruthie, Benny’s romantic interest. The soundtrack is just lovely and both Benny and Joon’s and Joon and Sam’s relationships are well-developed throughout the film. This film is so much more than a romantic/drama/comedy.

Directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik and written by Barry Berman and Lesley McNeil, 1993. 

Rated 6.9 on IMDB. Well, 7 or above 7 seems pretty fair to me. Benny and Joon is a total Johnny Depp gem. Of course the film is based in reality and you are having your most fun Tim Burton/ Johnny Depp collaborations, this might not be ideal for you. However, I do suggest you give this one a shot. 

Also featuring Johnny Depp

10 Celebrities to Wear Flats For

Johnny Depp’s Best: 8 Johnny Depp Movies to See

6 Celebrities That Aged Really Well

Also Featuring Aidan Quinn

 5 Movies to Watch on Fast Forward

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: aidan quinn, Barry Berman, Benny and Joon, buster keaton, comedy, drama, Jeremiah S. Chechik, Johnny Depp, Julianne Moore, Lesley McNeil, Mary Stuart Masterson, movies, Oliver Platt, romance

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