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Revenge starring Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, Gabriel Mann & Nick Wechsler

Posted on November 11, 2011 Written by ripitup

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revenge_2011_poster
Revenge starring Madeleine Stowe, Emily VanCamp, Gabriel Mann, Joshua Brown & Nick Wechsler. Image via tvposter.net.

Revenge Plot

Amanda Clarke (Emily VanCamp)’s happy childhood with her father David (James Tupper) was destroyed when her father was betrayed by his girlfriend (the married Victoria Grayson – played by Madeleine Stowe) Victoria, her husband Conrad (Henry Czerny), their security consultant Frank (Max Martini), Clarke’s secretary Lydia (Amber Valetta) and pretty much whoever else  he trusted. He was tried and found guilty of funding a terrorist organization whose acts resulted in the death of a plane full of passengers. Amanda was taken away from her father and it was made sure that she spent the rest of her childhood and teenage years away from her father, in correctional facilities.

As her father rotted away in prison, she grew up believing he really was guilty. However as Amanda got her freedom at 18, she was met by an eccentric rich entrepreneur named Nolan (Gabriel Mann)- who told her a few surprising facts: Her father was innocent, and he had the whole story written in his journals, along with information about everyone and everything related to the case. He had also been the only person to believe and invest in Nolan’s company, and he owned almost half of the company- and now it was all Amanda’s.

Enraged that his father had been betrayed so horrifically, she decides to use the information and money to take down everyone responsible. After that, she changes her identity to Emily Thorne, pays for a whole different past, makes the connections and moves to the Hamptons as the new rich girl. She starts dating Victoria’s son Daniel (Joshua Brown), and while a clueless Daniel is falling in love with her, she is taking her revenge.

But of course there are complications: Victoria thinks that no one is good enough for her son and starts digging deep into Emily’s past; Nolan keeps interrupting her plans by trying to bring her together with Jack (Nick Wechsler) – her childhood friend who doesn’t know that she’s Amanda but he is increasingly drawn to Emily; and her other adversaries might be more resilient than she originally thought…

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Is it any good?

Revenge is such a compelling drama with many satisfying avenging moments that I just can’t call it a soap opera. Granted, in some ways it is a modern soap opera. But the acting isn’t over the top, dialogue is fun and the characters are really gray. I personally love justified revenge stories- and having grown up in the 90s, it is a lot fun to see Madeleine Stowe in a starring role again. It is also a pleasure to see that the sheriff’s annoying son from Roswell (Nick Wechsler played Kyle in the series and pissed off people with his behavior towards our aliens in the beginning) has grown up to be a very handsome guy that you can’t help but root for. Of course the rest of the cast also rocks, especially Amber Valetta as the backstabbing bitch, Max Martini as the overly loyal security man who’ll do anything for the  Grayson’s and Gabriel Mann as Nolan who is reminding people more and more of James Spader’s younger self. Nolan’s attitude and personal agenda also bring comedic relief to the show and make it more interesting.

So yeah, I like Revenge. Would I have started watching had it not been for Madeleine Stowe? I doubt it. But I am glad I did. It is very entertaining and having seen all of the broadcasted episodes so far, I really hope they keep it up…

Strongly recommended, especially to the fans of Madeleine. ABC show Revenge is currently rated at 8.2 on IMDB.

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Fun Facts about the Cast:

* One of Madeleine Stowe’s most popular movies is the Tony Scott movie Revenge from 1990. Interestingly enough, she was both taken revenge upon and avenged in the movie. Details are in my Revenge movie review, but let’s just say that her husband Anthony Quinn lost it when he found out she was having an affair with husband’s much younger and hot friend Kevin Costner. But of course when Anthony hurt Madeleine, it was Kevin’s turn to go mad…

* Declan (Connor Paolo) who plays Jack’s younger brother played the brother of Blake Lively’s character in the drama series Gossip Girl.

 

All Posts on Madeleine Stowe

Gorgeous Actresses of the 80s and the 90s: Madeleine Stowe, Michelle Pfeiffer and Demi Moore

Blink starring Madeleine Stowe & Aidan Quinn

The Last of the Mohicans starring Daniel Day-Lewis & Madeleine Stowe

When adultery is okay: Revenge starring Kevin Costner, Madeleine Stowe and Anthony Quinn

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: connor paolo, drama, emily vancamp, emily vancamp revenge, gabriel mann, henry Czerny, james tupper, Joshua brown, Madeleine Stowe, madeleine stowe revenge, madeleine stowe revenge movie, max martini, Nick Wechsler, Revenge, revenge 2011, revenge cast, revenge movie, revenge review, revenge tv series, revenge tv series review

When adultery is okay,part 2: The English Patient

Posted on July 5, 2009 Written by ripitup

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The English Patient (1996)

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas, Juliette Binoche, Naveen Andrews, William Dafoe, Colin Firth

The English Patient starring Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche
The English Patient starring Ralph Fiennes, Kristin Scott Thomas and Juliette Binoche

BEWARE OF SPOILERS!!

Do not condemn me morally corrupt before reading all of the post. I am a hopeless romantic in general and value loyalty above all in relationships. But yet there are movies depicting a story so well, and so impressively that you find yourself rooting for characters that you could normally despise. Or, sometimes the person who is being cheated on is such a bastard-pardon the language- and the potential lover so dreamy, you actually can not wait for your lead to start an affair. The latter is the case in Revenge and in The Scarlet Letter. However The English Patient, you can’t help but like the husband from the beginning. It belongs to the first category…So let’s get to the story,shall we?

WWII. Julitte Binoche plays a nurse who is taking care of a badly burnt patient (Ralph Fiennes). He is in tremendous pain. We get to see what happened to him through flashbacks: a story about love,passion and obsession beyond anything and everything else that engrosses us. Did it sound too much like a tagline? Sorry, how his tale made me feel…

Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient
Ralph Fiennes, The English Patient. The desert.

The patient is Count Laszlo de Almasy, a Hungarian map maker. Along with other explorers he is working at the Sahara Desert.Among the people he met are a British couple Katharine and Geoffrey-played by Scott-Thomas and Colin Firth. Almasy is instantly taken by Katharine and he actually treats her badly as he becomes more attracted. He is also as opposite to her husband as one can get. Count is distant,quite,mysterious and ranges from overly polite to excessively rude. Her husband is polite,friendly,nice,loving and modern.So much that when he needs to leave for a mission for a couple of days, he is trusting enough to leave his wife among a bunch of men on a desert.Despite Almasy’s suggestions that he shouldn’t.Witnessing this,Katharine is sure that this weird man despises her. But during the time her husband is away, she sees through Almasy. Discovering the inside of caves together and being stranded on the desert during a sandstorm change things. Also, Katharine gets to read his journal where he has put his fascination with her into words.

The connection and attraction are undeniable. When they get back, they have sex. Although it seems more about obsession and lust, the intimacy afterwards is sincere and affectionate.

The second time also doesn’t seem romantic at all. It is quick,impatient and rough. But then there are these moments where they look like high school kids in love.

And then she finishes off. She is feeling guilty already. He doesn’t take it well. He gets into a jealous fit. She also doesn’t know but her husband actually did see them together. The way Ralph Fiennes can turn Almasy’s charm on and off is very impressive. He gives you many reasons to not to sympathize with his character. He has an affair with a married woman, and seems to have a clear conscience about it.But then it all changes,at least in my eyes…

Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient
Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient

The husband tried to crash his plane into Almasy.Almasy dodges the attack,

Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient.
Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas in The English Patient. My both favorite and least favorite scene of the movie.

but Geoffrey is already dead. And what’s worse is that Katharine was also on the plane and she is severely injured. As Almsay carries her towards the cave, we see his painful expression. When Katharine says that she has always loved him, he is in tears. And well so is most of the audience. This is the second and only other film I got teary. You feel his pain. You feel his love. The questions you might have had about the nature of their relationship and their feelings are gone. The husband you felt so sorry for, has now become the guy who (almost) kill his wife. And the guy who seemed more obsessed than in love, takes care of her in the cave on the desert. He decided to do impossible. He walks through the desert for three days, so that he might get to take her out of there and help her survive. But he faces all sorts of misfortune, does everything he can and gets back. Bu when he arrives, she is gone. This time he carries her out of the cave,tears of desperation flowing. The expression on his face is so painful and so powerful that it has stayed with me.And I saw the movie when it first came out…

Of course it is wrong to cheat on your husband. Of course it is dispeakable to cheat on the guy you willingly married and have been friends with and who has treated you just right. But then it is worse to try to kill your wife, yourself and try to kill her lover in the process as well. You wish that Almasy could have gotten a happy ending. His love for Katharine is so strong that you just feel that kind of love is above any rule or principle.And I would probably prefer to love and be loved like , over living a long,yet passionless life.

Of course there is more to the movie than the adultery.

The scenery is amazing. Written and directed by Anthony Minghella has done an amazing job. The movie has won 9 Oscars and I disagree with none. I think Ralph should have gotten best actor. His performance is amazing both as the healthy and horribly burnt Almasy. This is the first time I saw Naveen Andrews-his pre-Lost era- who plays the love interest of Hanna-the nurse Binoche is playing. Dafoe’s conflicted and interesting character adds mystery. This is the movie that made me a compulsive Ralph fan. Colin Firth plays the plain yet loving husband wonderfully- so wonderfully that I had no idea I would later consider him as a hearthrob, starting with his role in Bridget Jones. Is this a movie to be enjoyed by everyone? No. It might seem too long or like a sentimental piece of crap. It might seem just OK or like a master piece. You just have to check it out if you haven’t seen it already and decide for yourselves.

Buy The English Patient

Naveen Andrews as Kip
Naveen Andrews as Kip,pre-Sayid/Lost era
Juliette Binoche as Hana
Juliette Binoche as Hana
William Dafoe in The English Patient
William Dafoe
Colin Firth as the "wronged" husband


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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Colin Firth, drama, Juliette Binoche, Kristin Scott Thomas, movies, Naveen Andrews, period drama, period movie, Ralph Fiennes, Revenge, romance, The English Patient, The Scarlet Letter, William Dafoe

When adultery is okay: Revenge starring Kevin Costner, Madeleine Stowe and Anthony Quinn

Posted on July 4, 2009 Written by ripitup

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Revenge, Spanish movie poster
Revenge, Spanish movie poster
Revenge
Revenge

REVENGE (1990)

Starring Kevin Costner, Madeline Stowe and Anthony Quinn

It’s Mexico. It’s hot and Tibby (Quinn) owns quite a lot of it. He is respected, feared and dangerous. Oh, and he is married to a breath-taking beauty named Miryea; played by Madeline Stowe.

Enter Jay. He has left the army after 12 years. He is impulsive, a little rebellious. He is old friends with Tibby and being bored with his life, he decides to pay Tibby a visit.

Imagine a woman married to a guy older than twice her age. Physically, he is not the least bit attractive. But possibly she was younger, stupid and he probably treated her better than the other guys around her. Charismatic and rich, he tempted her.( I wouldn’t have been tempted by Quinn, but wouldn’t have said to Brosnan, Gere, etc…). He doesn’t exactly mistreat her, but she is more of a modern and rich slave. She looks good and groomed. She hosts her parties and pretends she doesn’t notice that her husband cheats on her. And then she meets his friend. A tall, dark blond, blue eyed friend who is absolutely gorgeous, about her age and who actually has more in common with her than she could ever imagine.

Would you have gone for it if it were you? Hell, I would and so do Miryea and Jay.

kev

So the movie is about an affair? Yes. Is it a romantic drama lasting 2 hours? No. So when Jay can’t restrain himself any longer, M and Jay get to be happy for a very short while. They get busted, resulting in a Jay beaten (almost) to death and Tibby stabbing his pretty wife in the face, comdemning her to a whorehouse where….you can imagine. The movie is filled with action,starting when Tibby busts them and then during Jay’s quest to find M, no matter what. I think you are going to find an entertaining movie with great scenery,good performances and two great-looking leads.

madeline stowe
madeline stowe

Yes,it is OK to cheat on a scumbag of a husband when you meet a hunky nice guy. But maybe it would be better to think of an escape route before jumping heads on…

Just a thought…

P.S: OK-maybe I should give some tips. For instance, if you are going to watch it with a date who is not that into romance, you should see the director’s cut. It is raw,has less affection and less romance, and more detailed sex scenes.

More on Kevin Costner

The New Daughter

Kevin Costner Tribute

Mr. Brooks

Message in a Bottle

Madeleine Stowe

The Last of The Mohicans

Playing by Heart


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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 1990, Anthony Quinn, drama, Kevin Costner, Madeline Stowe, mexico, Michael "Jay" Cochran, movies, Revenge, Revenge (1990), romance, thriller

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