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The Awesome X-Men: First Class with James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon & Rose Byrne

Posted on June 7, 2011 Written by ripitup

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X-Men: First Class starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon & Nicholas Holt
X-Men: First Class starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon & Nicholas Holt. Image via morfingen.com.
  • Warning! This review has been written for the people who have seen the X-Men movies (If you haven’t seen X-Men movies, there might be spoilers)

 

X-Men: First Class is the prequel to the X-Men series. We go a couple of decades back, to a time when Magneto was Erik (Michael Fassbender), and Professor X was Charles (James McAvoy), and he could walk… We get to see how the mutants were recruited by Charles to help save the humans from the common enemy Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon), a man with a couple of mutants in his charge. Shaw is trying to destroy as many humans as he can because this makes him stronger, and Erik cares more about taking his revenge than helping others.

Here is how the story starts:

1940s

–          The smart and telepathic Charles is born to rich but absent parents. He is living in a mansion when he meets Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), the girl who would later become Mystique. Raven had occasionally planned to hide her true (blue) colors, but Charles reveals his secret, as well as hers, befriends her and keeps treating her like a sister as they grow up.

 

–          Erik loses both parents to concentration camps, and is kept alive by Shaw for his ability to control and move metal, an ability that surfaces when he feels extremely upset and angry. When Shaw kills Erik’s mother to guarantee the necessary amount of rage, he gains a very powerful enemy.

 

–          Fast forward over a decade. Charles becomes a professor whose specialty is mutation, a specialty he uses to pick up girls. However, he becomes aware of the common enemy, and the existence of not-so-friendly mutants when CIA agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) pays him a visit, demanding an explanation about mutants. While most of the CIA isn’t that cooperative and understanding, an agent played by Oliver Platt takes Charles to the special unit he has built, where Charles and Raven get to meet the mutant Hank (Nicholas Hoult) and start recruiting other mutants to help America, and Russia against Shaw. Will they be able to prevent a nuclear war and stop Shaw? What will break Charles and Erik’s bond? And how will each of the mutants feel about conformity or individuality and uniqueness?

 

**

 

X-Men First Class is indeed a first-class prequel. It carries the right amount of emotion and character development (for the main characters), the glorious kind of action and terrific acting on all parties. To be honest, I wasn’t really excited to see it after seeing the trailer. But I am so glad that I did. The movie works so well on so many levels that the trailer just doesn’t do it justice. The movie also has fun references to the X-men movies, as well as 2 great cameos* (read below to spoil the surprise a little) from the X-Men cast.

*Hugh Jackman, who plays Wolverine/Logan, is sitting in a bar when Erik and Charles show up, trying to introduce themselves. The other mutants have been interested, whereas Logan replies “Fuck Off! “ And orders another drink.

*Erik is drawn to Raven, but he finds her too young. When he sees her in his bed, he says “Maybe in a few years…” That is when Raven turns herself to Rebecca Romjin- who has played Mystique in the series.

*

The bottom line is: See this movie! It has a great cast, a great story and great effects. The cameos, and the other fun references to the X-Men movies are just bonuses!

Currently rated at 8.3 on IMDB.com. A heartfelt 9 from me. Can’t wait to see it again. It also made me want to re-watch the X-men movies.

Fun Notes:

– X-Men first class was directed by Matthew Vaughn, who also directed Stardust, Layer Cake and Kick-Ass.

– One of the co-writers & co-producers is Bryan who directed the first two X-Men films.

 


**

Also on James McAvoy

James Franco, James McAvoy & James Marsters: Collective Trivia for 3 Namesake Actors

Also on Rose Byrne

Damages Season 2 Review: Starring Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt and Ted Danson

Wicker Park starring Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne & Matthew Lillard

Adam starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne

Also on Oliver Platt

Dangerous Beauty starring Rufus Sewell & Catherine McCormack

Love and Other Drugs starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway

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

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

The Three Musketeers starring Kiefer Sutherland, Charlie Sheen and Chris O’ Donnell

Also on Kevin Bacon

Handsome Actors to Play Villains: Viggo Mortensen, Tom Cruise, Xavier Samuel, Kevin Bacon and Kevin Costner

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Keanu Reeves, Jon Bon Jovi, Kevin Bacon

5 Awesome Revenge Movies Feat. Gerard Butler, Kevin Bacon, Antonio Banderas, Brandon Lee and Mel Gibson

Stardust, The Air I Breathe, Playing by Heart, The Good Shepherd, Hairspray & He’s Just Not That Into You: 6 Good Movies with Brilliant Casts

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: action, adventure, bryan singer, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon, matthew vaughn, michael fassbender, movies, nicholas hoult, rebecca romjin, Rose Byrne, x-men first class, x-men first class cast, x-men first class movie, x-men first class trailer

Wicker Park starring Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne & Matthew Lillard

Posted on December 9, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Wicker Park starring Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne & Matthew Lillard
Wicker Park starring Josh Hartnett, Diane Kruger, Rose Byrne & Matthew Lillard

Plot

Matthew (Josh Hartnett) has a promising career in advertising and a beautiful girlfriend named Rebecca (Jessica Paré). However he is unsure about proposing, as deep down, he has never gotten over the love of his life, Lisa (Diane Kruger). She has left him without saying anything 2 years ago. When he thinks he saw her at a restaurant, he decides to ditch his business trip and look for her. The clues take him to a hotel and then an apartment. There he gets a real surprise, because the woman living there isn’t his Lisa but a brunette who claims that her name is Lisa (Rose Byrne). She also happens to be wearing Lisa’s clothes and shoes…

Matt has also run into his old friend Luke (Matthew Lillard) who runs a shoe shop and knows what Lisa meant to him. But he thinks that Matt’s quest for Lisa is crazy and he is more concerned with his love life. Despite pretending to be a player, he is actually a nice and decent guy with a huge crush on Alex, a theater actress. Alex’s behavior is highly unpredictable for reasons Luke might never find out. Alex can be the key to everything mysterious about Lisa’s disappearance. But will Matt be able to find out?

Wicker Park is a really solid mystery/romance. It is just different. It is very emotional and revolves around the 4 characters, especially Matthew, Alex and Lisa. It is a gripping drama romance with some thriller-like elements and its characters are just deliciously flawed. All of the main characters make bad choices, act stupidly and/or naively and/or selfishly. They also have redeeming qualities that make us feel for them. The music is really good (feat. Stereophonics, Coldplay, The White Stripes and more).  I’d say that it is one of those rare romance movies where cynics and romantics will both have a good time.

The bad things? Oh, the characters are sometimes so monumentally stupid that it makes you want to smack them. And there is this whole string of (bad) coincidences that don’t always feel natural. And Matt is the right guy for only Lisa. For any other girl, he is one of the worst choices. So this is not a romance film where I will just talk about how unrealistically awesome the protagonist is. Because he is a very real character. So yes, the movie has its flaws but character development and a decent dose of realism are definitely not among them.

Background

Yes, the script is not technically original as It is based on the 1996 French film L’ Appartment starring Star Romane Bohringer, Vincent Cassel, Jean-Philippe Écoffey and Monica Belluci. It was written & directed by Gilles Mimount.

This 2004 American version was written by Brandon Boyce and directed by Paul McGuigan (Push, Lucky Number Slevin). I’ll see the original French film but if you haven’t already seen it, this version is pretty good.

Currently rated 6.8 on IMDB. L’ Appartement is rated 7.6. For Wicker Park, my vote is a solid 7, and in some aspects even 7.5.

Fun note: Vincent Cassel and Monica Belluci, the two starring actors of L’ Appartement,got married in 1999, 3 years after the making of the film. They have 2 kids together.

Other Diane Kruger Movies
The Hunting Party starring Richard Gere, Jesse Eisenberg & Terrence Howard. Feat. Kruger
Copying Beethoven starring Diane Kruger & Ed Harris
Other Josh Hartnett Films and Posts
40 Days and 40 Nights starring Josh Hartnett & Shannyn Sossamon
Hollywood’s Tall Actors feat. Hartnett, Ben Affleck, Ryan Reynolds& more
Rose Byrne
Damages TV Show Review – starring Rose Byrne and Glenn Close
Adam starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Diane Kruger, drama, Gilles Mimouni, Jessica Paré, Josh Hartnett, l’appartement, l’appartement film, matthew lillard, monica belluci, mystery movies, Paul McGuigan, romance, Romane Bohringer, Rose Byrne, Vincent Cassel, wicker park, wicker park movie

Adam starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne

Posted on March 28, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Adam starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne
Adam starring Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne. Lovely romantic drama/comedy from 2009. Photo: http://thewarrenreport.com/wp-content/uploads/adam.jpg

Adam (Hugh Dancy) is a 29-year-old guy living in New York. He has recently lost his dad, his boss isn’t thrilled by him and is struggling to lead a normal life, despite his Asperger’s Syndrome.

Beth (Rose Byrne) is Adam’s new neighbor. Beth easily starts a friendship with him, without noticing his condition at first. However their friendship continues and strengthens afterwards. They manage to start a relationship despite Adam’s social awkwardness. Adam’s inevitable honesty is like a breath of fresh air after her previous relationship. Things could have gone more smoothly however, without Beth’s father’s (Peter Callagher) current run-in with the law and his disapproval of Adam.

This is one of the sweetest stories ever. I read that a lot of people with Asperger’s found Hugh’s performance as quite natural and true and frankly, in this case they are the movie critics we should listen to.

I always like watching Hugh Dancy. True, he is given a lot of romantic roles but it is like he is made for them. I don’t mean to underestimate his talent. It does take chops to take on some of the roles (The Jane Austen Book Club, Confessions of a Shopaholic…), he had and manage to differentiate them from another. He pulls of a great American accent and his baby face comes in handy when portraying Adam’s innocence. I like watching Rose Byrne. You might catch her in the law drama/thriller Damages co-starring with Glen Close. Amy Irving and Peter Callagher play Beth’s parents.

This is a romantic comedy but it is not your typical romcom in so many ways. Adam’s interactions with people in general and Beth’s relationship with her family adds a lot of necessary drama. Your funny moments aren’t laugh-out-loud cases. Instead, they intend to make you smile. And it works. You watch the movie with a big smile on your face most of the time.

7.3 on IMDB. Because of it is dramatic elements and (I am guessing high rating) a lot of people have been reminded of 500 Days of Summer. Actually plotwise or structurewise, they have virtually nothing in common. And Adam’s love is reciprocated from day 1. But if you do like your romances a little bittersweet, yes, I can see some similar mood setting. I prefer Adam, though. Written and directed by Max Mayer.

Recommended Film

Snow Cake starring Alan Rickman, Sigourney Weaver and Carrie- Anne Moss

Other Hugh Dancy Posts:

The Jane Austen Book Club

The British Actors We Love: The Hughs

6 Hollywood Couples: Gorgeous, Glamorous and Happy Together

Adam Trailer:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92U6OnVZG3U&NR=1&feature=fvwp[/pro-player]

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 500 Days of Summer, Adam, Amy Irving, Asperger's Syndrome, drama, Hugh Dancy, Max Mayer, Peter Callagher, romance, Rose Byrne

Damages Season 2 Review: Starring Glenn Close, Rose Byrne, Timothy Olyphant, Marcia Gay Harden, William Hurt and Ted Danson

Posted on November 2, 2009 Written by ripitup

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Damages cast featuring Rose Bryne, Ted Danson, Timothy Olyphant, William Hurt and Glenn Close
Damages cast featuring Rose Bryne, Ted Danson, Timothy Olyphant, William Hurt, Glenn Close and Marcia Gay Harden

I love legal dramas. I love them even more if they use their thriller potential to the maximum. Up to now, I have been a big fan of The Practice ( starring Dylan McDermott) and Shark (starring the amazing James Woods), along with the absurdly humorous Boston Legal (with James Spader) – where the judges and the juries have to be won with wit,brains and some drilling cross-examinations of the witnesses. So my friend recommended Damages. It turned out to have the most impressive cast of actors I have ever seen on television:

GLENN CLOSE

 

Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

I like Glenn Close as an actress. She may not be your typical screen beauty but she has an exceptional cool screen presence and she will make you buy whatever character and have you rooting for her, even though the character might be a villain,like the seductress she plays in Dangerous Liaisons. And she is no stranger to playing a lawyer. She has co-starred with Jeff Bridges in Jagged Edge. However this role is quite different. She is a smart, no-bullshit type who never fully trusts a person. She is also not the most honest and ethical person she is going to meet. She rarely loses a case. What sets this show aside though, it doesn’t concentrate what goes on in the courtroom but rather what happens at the law firm her character Patty Hewes runs and owns. Behind the scenes involve enough action and deceit to keep you glued to your seat.

So knowing Close can very well make a great show on her own, I started watching. But when I saw the cast, I was more than pleasantly surprised.

WILLIAM HURT

 

Glenn Close and William Hurt in Damages
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

 I’ve been a fan of William Hurt since I have seen Eyewitness, a really good thriller from 1981. I can’t wait to get my hands on its DVD and watch it again. My second favorite movie with Hurt is Dark City, by the director Alex Proyas (who got himself a much-deserved cult status with The Crow in 1994). Hurt’s acting is mostly subtle and he delivers perfect performances all over. So when I saw Damages and realized he had one of the most vital co-starring roles, I got even more addicted to Damages. He plays Daniel Purcell, a scientist who is an old acquaintance of Patty Hewes and asks for her help when he suspects the firm he works for is altering some crucial information to manipulate the energy industry. To make matters worse, his wife is killed. Now, you can never be exactly sure if his character is an imperfect but generally nice man or a sociopath who is just a really good actor or just someone in the gray area, neither entirely evil nor good. Hurt is perfect for this role that keeps you guessing and plays with your perception of him.

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT

 

Timothy Olyphant as Wes Krulik in Damages
Timothy Olyphant as Wes Krulik in Damages

I find Timothy to be one of the most talented actors of his generation ( born in 1968, he is about the same age as Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and such). He really can get into character- and he can get into it so well that the next time you see him in a movie, you might think it is the first time you have seen him. Yeah, he can be that diverse. I am not going to get much into his career, I’ll be writing a post on him soon. But let’s say that one of his recent appearances has been in the 4th part of the Die Hard quadrilogy Live Free or Die Hard, where he plays Bruce Willis‘s and actually the country’s worst enemy. He does well as smart and cool criminal. He can also just go and shave his heat and bring a video game character to life as he did in Hitman. Some of his other roles include a bisexual falling in love with his boyfriend’s best gal pal (Advice from a Caterpillar), the “manager” of a porn star (The Girl Next Door) and the misunderstood best friend of a girl’s recently deceased fiancé (Catch and Release). The role of Wes Krulik in Damages is not his first TV role, however. He made quite an impression in the western thriller Deadwood with his leading role.

Here he plays the confidant to Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne). A guy she knows from the grief counseling group she goes to, trying to deal with her fiancé’s death. Wes appears to be dealing with the death of his girlfriend and becomes one of the few people Ellen trusts. But then again, this is TV show that we can be sure of the intentions of one character only, and that is Ellen. Wes does seem too good to be true, in deed.

ROSE BYRNE

 

Rose Bryne as Ellen Parsons
Glenn Close as Patty Hewes in Damages

It is fun to see a familiar face on a show. Rose Byrne previously played Archilles’ love interest in Troy. Ellen is probably the only really good character in the show. She is by no means perfect but it is so easy to empathize with her and understand what she is doing and why.

TED DANSON

 

Ted Danson in Damages
Ted Danson in Damages

Ted Danson is fun. He makes really enjoyable movies and he can be funny and charming at the same time, which is essential for comedic performances. Of course he has been on TV a lot: Cheers was really popular, and as was Becker. I especially loved him in Becker, where he plays a doctor whose bedside manners are not that different from Gregory House ‘s (from the medical drama House). I had seen him as clumsy,charming, grumpy, witty and /or clueless but I hadn’t quite seen him as a bad guy. Here he plays a billionaire (Arthur Furbisher) not so concerned with other people until something drastic happens to him. But it doesn’t seem like he can get away with it, since Ellen is onto him.

BRETT CULLEN AND MARCIA GAY HARDEN

 

Bret Cullen in Damages
Bret Cullen
Marcia Gay Harden in Damages
Marcia Gay Harden

It can be hard to catch these two in leading roles but no matter how big or small their parts are, their performances are solid. Brett Cullen plays an executive with good ties and you wouldn’t want to mess with him. He is Daniel Purcell’s (William Hurt) boss. Marcia Gay Harden plays Claire Maddox, legal consultant to one of the biggest firms in the energy sector. However you can’t exactly tell where her loyalty lies. Since everyone is in a complicated relationship with each other and true loyalty is very scarce.

The show is good. There’s enough suspense and drama to catch you on the edge. So I did cheat a little and started with season 2. But it is good and until season 3 premieres, I have a whole season to catch up with the characters’ pasts. Looking forward to it.

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: Brett Cullen, Damages, damages season 2, damages tv show, drama, Glenn Close, Marcia Gay Harden, Rose Byrne, Ted Danson, Timothy Olyphant, TV shows, William Hurt

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