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Last Resort starring Scott Speedman & Andre Braugher – A Great Premiere

Posted on October 5, 2012 Written by ripitup

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Last Resort starring Scott Speedman & Andre Braugher
Last Resort starring Scott Speedman & Andre Braugher. Image via thetvinformant.com

 

Last Resort starring Scott Speedman- Exciting Season Opening

Plot Summary- Minor Spoilers (most of it was shown in the trailer)

US missile submarine Colorado receives orders to hit Pakistan through their secondary channel- a channel that is to send orders only if Washington is down. Since life is going on merrily in the capital, the captain (Andre Braugher) demands that they receive the order through the main channel, and in return is taken off duty. When his second captain (Scott Speedman) demands the same thing, they’re hit by another submarine-which turns out to be an American sub as well.

They later realize that the “blame” is put on Pakistan, and is only an excuse to start a war. And to tie loose ends, they send planes to destroy the submarine. Only the captain is more than ready to take extreme measures- if his own country wants to kill them for questioning shaky orders, then they will fight back-with their 18 missiles if necessary.

So it is with these tangible threats that they manage to survive and declare a no man’s land around an island with a NATO observation center.

With possible threats from their own men, as well as the wounded soldiers they let on the board a little before the orders, they will try to make their stand-while the US is more than happy to declare them traitors and question their loved ones.

Maybe they might get some support from the expert (Autumn Reeser), and the admiral, whose daughter is one of the marines on the island.

Worth Seeing?: Absolutely!

It’s smart, powerful, engaging and full of strong characters, as well as equally determined enemies. Not to mention how much it parallels today’s politics, and the lengths people will go to realize their goals-whether its attacking another nation or staying alive.

Favorite Scenes/Moments (Minor Spoilers)

*Ecuador Dance – The crew turns up the stereo and starts dancing as an Ecuador-passing habit.

* How the captain responds to the threats – he provides how hardcore he is when he reminds the authorities that they have 18 missiles on the submarine, and if they are taken down, they will take down a lot with them while they “burn.”

*How Daniel Lissing’s character lets down all cool and breaks down, realizing the magnitude of what he has caused (and we didn’t really know he caused it at that point).

* Daniel Lissing’s character, American soldier James King, is threatened by the local mobster-surrounded by his men. He responds by describing how he will kill them and in which order.

Also on Scott Speedman:

The Vow starring Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams and Jessica Lange

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

 

 

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: Andre Braugher, daniel lissing, last resort, last resort 2012 series, last resort cast, last resort scott speedman, last resort series, last resort tv show, Scott Speedman, scott speedman last resort

The Vow starring Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams and Jessica Lange

Posted on July 11, 2012 Written by ripitup

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The-Vow-Movie-Poster with Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams
The-Vow-Movie-Poster with Channing Tatum and Rachel McAdams. Image via disneydreaming.

The Vow is Worth Seeing: Feat. Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Scott Speedman & Jessica Lange

The Premise

Sculptor Paige (Rachel McAdams) and record studio owner Leo (Channing Tatum) are happily married and deeply in love – until they have a car accident that gives Paige selective amnesia- the last 5 years of her life are completely gone, all of 5 years in which she met and has been with Leo. Leo does his best to help, but things get complicated when Paige’s parents (Sam Neill and Jessica Lange), who she hasn’t spoken to in 5 years, show up and want to make a fresh start by taking advantage of her lost memories (and anger towards them.) Leo somewhat manages to persuade Paige to come back with him, but whatever he does seem to either upset or annoy Paige so she decides to stay with her parents for a while.

And not only she doesn’t remember Leo at all, the last thing she remembers is being in love with her ex-fiancé, Jeremy (Scott Speedman)- who is more than willing to take her back as he was never really over her in the first place.

We are given lovely flashbacks to how their relationship has been like, making us root for her and Leo- with or without her regaining her memory.

Can Leo make her fall in love with her again? Can he really handle that his wife only seems to be developing a crush towards him when he is madly in love with her? Will Paige’s memory ever come back, and how long can Leo hang on before having to let go?

I Loved It, but I’d Planned on Hating It.

I was so ready to find The Vow mediocre, yet I loved it. OK, for me to find it bad would have been strange – given that I love Rachel McAdams and can’t resist a good-looking lead, in this case Channing Tatum, who plays a very romantic character.

But come on. Amnesia and the question whether true love could conquer that? It sounded like a Nicholas Sparks novel. But then again, had he written it, either Rachel’s or Channing’s character would probably end up dead. They don’t die, so consider this one a very positive and needed “spoiler.”

But The Vow, especially for the diehard romantics, is touching and heartwarming. While it has more clichés than we can count, it makes them work and at the end of the day, it is all that matters.

The Clichés: Good and Bad

-Two beautiful people deeply in love. Oh, and not an ounce of fat or flaw on either of them.

– A great cast (Jessica Lange, Sam Neill as parents. And I like McAdams too), with many pretty actors: Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams, Scott Speedman (Underworld, Underworld Evolution, 24th Day), Dillon Casey (Nikita), Lucas Bryant (Haven).

-Amnesia.

-The compromising mother who just accepts everything because……Nah. See the movie. But if I had a dime every time the married got away with what he did….

The Vow: The Perks

– Good soundtrack

– Great emotional/entertaining moments.

– A happy ending that is quite realistic that is based on a true story.

– The ex wasn’t a cheater and/or a jackass.

 

Why It Can Win You Over – despite the clichés

The Vow won me over. Because as typical as the storyline was, it was still hard not to feel empathy for all the characters (apart from maybe Jessica Lange and Sam Neill’s-at least until towards the end.)

I loved the little details such as how Leo won his sister-in-love over with the made-up Thom Yorke (front man of Radiohead) story, and how the story pretty much ended on a better note for everyone (except for one- you can guess who.)

And in the end, it is the right amount of cheesy yet heartfelt romance. What if it is a chick flick? It is a darn good one. If you want to cut down romance and see a different kind of film from McAdams, watch The Lucky Ones or Red Eye. If you want the romance to be a background device and comedy in the center, watch Morning Glory.

Hell, if you want Scott Speedman winning the girl’s heart, watch Underworld Evolution. It’s filled with vampires and werewolves and Speedman plays a hybrid. And I do prefer him with long hair anyway.

But as far as romantic escapism goes, it is a pretty good one.

 

The Criticisms

Audiences love oversimplifying things. Some people are calling Paige a bitch, whereas some find Leo a stupid, insensitive jerk. Guess what? They are all right. And all wrong. Because they both needed help, and they just needed to empathize a bit more. And where was the therapy?

 

Leo and Paige needed therapy, you just can’t deal with something on your own – especially when no one involved can be impartial. Yeah- and a separate therapy session for her family please.

 

But people make mistakes, hurt each other and if there is a way to come back from it, they do. Whether the relationship is worth it makes all the difference. Theirs was.

 

Recommended for:

 

  • All fans of the cast. Although if you are watching solely for Sam Neill you are better off watching Alcatraz as he is the main character, who incidentally has a long-lost love who is/was in a coma. For Dillon Casey, who plays the sister’s fiancé, you can always tune in to Nikita’s second season.

 

  • Chick flick fans. And I am a romantic chick, so I am not using the term condescendingly.

 

  • Those who think Nicholas Sparks could write some happy endings.

For those who compare it to The Notebook (also starring Rachel McAdams), I will write a compare/contrast post just like I did for Keith and A Walk to Remember.

Rated 6.6 on IMDB, a 7 from me. My love rate? 8/10.  Enjoy!

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: channing tatum, Dillon casey, dillon casey nikita, drama, haven lucas bryant, Jessica Lange, lucas bryant, Rachel McAdams, romance, sam neill, sam neill alctraz, Scott Speedman, scott speedman underworld evolution, The Vow, the vow 2012 movie, the vow cast, the vow dvd, the vow movie, the vow movie review

Across The Hall starring Mike Vogel, Brittany Murphy & Danny Pino

Posted on March 2, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Across The Hall - starring Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino, Mike Vogel
Across The Hall - starring Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino, Mike Vogel. Some lessons learned: Do not cheat on your boyfriend. Do not own a gun. Do not be stupid. Cool, eh?

Julian (Mike Vogel) gets a disturbing call from his best friend Terry (Danny Pino). Terry has followed his girlfriend June (Brittany Murphy) to a hotel. He has hired the room across her and her lover. Moreover, he has stolen Julian’s gun and can’t wait to go out and shoot the guy. Julian does his best to calm him down and he hardly seems to be able to convince Terry to at least to wait for him.

As the movie unfolds in a non-linear form, things get more and more complicated. Will Julian be able to prevent a frantic and pissed off Terry from doing something stupid? Or is it already too late?

The story belongs to director Alex Merkin and the screenplay was written by Jesse Mittlestadt. It is a pretty decent little thriller. While it can get a bit slow sometimes and has some flaws, the acting is good and the setting has been used effectively. Sure, character development isn’t rich, but it is not what you look for in this film. It has nice twists and turns.

It is a good example of a low budget, entertaining flick.

I think writing a thriller and making it into a film takes guts. I am serious. “Thrilling” people is hard. Trying to surprise them is even harder. You are susceptible to plot holes and plot holes tend to turn viewers off. But apparently, Alex and Jesse had the guts and ended up doing a good film.

No, it is not one of the best low-budget thrillers I have seen. Or the smartest revenge tale. But it is a fun experience most of the time. Plus, it is one of the last appearances of Britanny Murphy, whom we lost in late 2009. RIP, Brittany.

You might want to check out a tribute to her and the other celebrities we lost in 2009  (Patrick Swayze, Farah Fawcett, Natasha Richardson and more…): http://socyberty.com/people/2009-worst-year-for-celebrities/

Suggestion for another low-budget, revenge thriller: The 24th Day, starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman. In fact, it is stronger and more orginal.

The 24th Day with James Marsden and Scott Speedman
The 24th Day with James Marsden and Scott Speedman.

https://pinartarhan.com/blog/24th-day-2004/

 

 

 

 

 

(24th day photo: http://forum.ciwciw.com/uploads/watcher)

(across the photo: http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5400000/Across-the-Hall-Promotional-brittany-murphy-5473007-600-888.jp)

 

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: across the hall, Alex Merkin, Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino, James Marsden, Mike Vogel, Scott Speedman, the 24th day, thriller

The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

Posted on October 22, 2009 Written by ripitup

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The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman
The 24th Day starring James Marsden and Scott Speedman

For a lot of people, James Marsden is best known for his role as Cyclops in the X-men series. He has also proven that he can sing and be funny in movies like Hairspray and Enchanted. He could also pull-off regular romantic in 27 Dresses. But if there is a movie that proves what a good actor Marsden is, it is this one. This movie doesn’t have special effects, a strong ensemble cast or expensive production. Here he has one equally talented co-star (Scott Speedman- who we also remember from expensive productions such as the Underworld movies, where he plays a vampire/werewolf hybrid), inside of a small flat as location and probably a small camera crew. With lesser actors, the movie could be a disaster. After all we are talking about a drama/thriller that takes all of its excitement from the twists of the story and the strength of the actors.

Tom (Speedman) and Dan (Marsden) meet in a bar and they get along. They end up going to Tom’s apartment. What we expect to happen is some flirting and a one night stand. Instead, Tom starts to act strange. Dan doesn’t remember it but they have been in his apartment before. They had sex before. Dan is weirded out by Tom’s behavior and wants to leave but is knocked unconscious. When he wakes up, he is tied up in a chair. Then Tom reveals the reason behind his behavior. He has found out he has AIDS 24 days ago. Since Dan is the only guy he has ever been with, he is sure he got it from him. So it is simple, really: Tom is going to get Dan’s blood tested. If Dan doesn’t have it, he will walk. If he does, Tom is going to kill him.

After that, we have mind-games, power-plays, plot-twists. The story is slow, but never boring until the moment Tom takes Dan hostage. After that, it is one hell of a ride.

The script is based on a play by the play the director/screenwriter himself  (Tony Piccirillo). It is intense and gripping. It is also one of the most interesting low-budget movies I have seen. Give it a shot.

Other Posts on James Marsden

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

The Box starring James Marsden, Cameron Diaz & Frank Langella

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 (Hairspray features James Marsden

Enchanted starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey & James Marsden

Movie Reviews of 4 Nicholas Sparks Adaptations: A Walk to Remember, Nights in Rodanthe, Message in a Bottle and The Notebook (The Notebook co-stars James Marsden)

Gossip starring James Marsden, Lena Headey, Norman Reedus, Kate Hudson & Joshua Jackson

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 24th Day, Cyclops, drama, Enchantment, Hairspray, James Marsden, movies, Scott Speedman, thriller, Tony Piccirillo, Underworld, X-men

In the mood for a fun romcom novel?

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