Susan Sarandon | pinartarhan.com

Leaves of Grass starring Edward Norton, Tim Blake Nelson and Keri Russell

Posted on March 27, 2010 Written by ripitup

2009- Written and Directed by Tim Blake Nelson

Billy Kincaid (Edward Norton) is an established, respected and published philosophy professor. He is adored by his students-maybe too adored- and his future definitely looks bright. And most importantly, he has done a good job avoiding his family roots so far.

His mother (Susan Sarandon) and identical twin brother Brady (yep, of coure Norton) still live in Oklahoma and he hasn’t spoken to them in years. After all, Brady is a pot dealer and proud of his lifestyle. But when Brady’s threatened by the big guys, he finds the perfect solution. He tricks his brother into coming home. Billy’s arrival resurface family issues while Brady continues to implant his more than flawed plan. But Brady won’t be the only one complicating Bill’s life…

This movie is fun, as long as you don’t get too excited by all the labels IMDB has put on it. It says comedy/drama/thriller/crime Yes, it has many funny moments and some romantic scenes. But this is not an action movie. It is a fun drama (or call it a dramedy if you like) worth watching especially for Edward Norton fans.

Norton plays two opposite characters with brilliance. Plus, I like Susan Sarandon and can’t still get used to her playing the mother of a grown man. Yeah, I am fully aware that she is in her 60s now but she still looks really youtful and pretty. Hell, I wouldn’t mind if she had played Norton’s love interest, let alone her mother. But then again, Edward doesn’t exactly look over 30 so they make a good mother-son duo.

Bill’s love interest is Keri Russell (August Rush, Felicity, Bedtime Stories) and Brady’s pregnant girlfriend is played by Melanie Lynskey (Up in the Air). Richard Dreyfuss appears in a small role but his character is one of the most vital ones. After all, all hell starts to break loose due to him. Yes, Dreyfuss makes an impression again. But for me his best will always be Mr. Holland’s Opus.

All in all: Good cast and fun script. It is not Edward’s best film but it is worth watching nonetheless.

7.2 on IMDB.

7 from me.

Leaves of Grass starring Edward Norton, Keri Russell and Susan Sarandon — Which movie poster do you like better? I think both suit the different moods and scenes of the film. Photo: impawards.com.

Other Edward Norton Movies

Kingdom of Heaven

Down in the Valley

25th Hour

Fight Club

The Illusionist

The Painted Veil

American History X

Primal Fear

The Incredible Hulk

Pride and Glory

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

WHITE PALACE: SEXY ROMANCE with Susan Sarandon and James Spader

Posted on February 3, 2010 Written by ripitup

white palace with susan sarandon and james spader — White Palace with Susan Sarandon and James Spader

I love White Palace. It is romantic, bittersweet and fun. Sometimes it is realistic and sometimes not. But it is lovely and modern. It was shot in 1990, but this is a story about a relationship some people would frown upon even today.

It goes against the usual norms of starting a relationship. Well remember anything from the book/movie he is not just that into you? (Well, you can read about it here). The guy is not all that into you if you have to pick him from the bar, get yourself a ride home, convince him to stay over, and jump on him when he is sleeping and initiate everything? How does a love story come out of here? Bear with me, here.

Nora (Susan Sarandon) is a 43-year-old waitress working at a fast food restaurant. Max is a 27-year-old advertising executive going places. They really have nothing in common. Max is organized and controlled, whereas Nora is a messy, free-spirited woman. They meet by chance when Max stops by the restaurant and then run across each other at a bar. Nora is all over this beautiful guy (oh yes, Susan Sarandon is attractive but a James Spader in his 20s is the perfect male beauty). Max is so wasted, he can’t even react properly. He is still upset about his wife’s death even after two years have passed. But somehow he finds himself at Nora’s. After spending the night together, Max goes home. He would never consider seeing Nora again, but he realizes this is the most fun he has had in such a long time. So he starts hanging out with her. And instead of a relationship based on just sex, this turns into a relationship where they are crazy about each other. But Max has trouble taking her into his social circle. She doesn’t fit in. Their differences start to get in the way. But does it really matter after you have fallen head over heels?

The movie is directed by Luis Mandoki, a director who is very apt at conveying emotions to the screen. I like many of his films, including Message in a Bottle with Kevin Costner and When a Man Loves a Woman with Andy Garcia. Mind you, he is pretty solid with thrillers too- having directed Trapped; starring Kevin Bacon, Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend.

If you have against romance movie in general, obviously this is not your movie. But then again, it is not just about the romance. It’s about how we perceieve love, loss, goals, family and relationships. The acting is of course just right. Plus, it is great when James Spader plays a nice guy. Remember his Wolf?

white_palace_susan sarandon-james spader — Sarandon and Spader make a lovely couple.

Other Susan Sarandon Movies:

Bernard and Doris: Ralph Fiennes and Susan Sarandon

Arbitrage starring Richard Gere: Gere Golden Globe Nominee for Best Actor

Kevin Costner: An amazing lead who should just stay away from sci-fi

Posted on July 6, 2009 Written by ripitup

Kevin Costner and Clint Eastwood in A Perfect World. One of my all-time favorite movies. Funny how Kevin Costner has made movies to get into my favorite and least favorite list.

: Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. The movie is very entertaining and it also features Christian Slater and Morgan Freeman. The soundtrack is also quite memorable. Remember Bryan Adams’ Everything I do, I do it for you?

-So,who is your favorite actor?

-Kevin Costner

-Kevin Costner? He is too old even for me!

This funny and weird conversation took place between me and my English teacher over a decade ago. I have a great memory that saves only the fun stuff. She was in her late 20’s and I was too stunned to reply to her comment. She thought I was too young to name him as my fav. actor. C’mon,it is not like I said I wanted to marry the guy! (Even if I had, which sane woman could blame me? ) and it is not like she could/would say no, were he to be interested…

OK-so I was 12 and loved Kevin‘s movies.As I grew up, he sure as hell made some bad ones. Such as Waterworld and The Postman. He doesn’t really pull off the whole post-apocalyptic era well. Men drinking their own urine for water, having fish-like organs (Waterworld…) C’mon!

I have no idea why he invested money from his own pocket. I know he believed this is a good idea…but… the guy was a marketing major at uni for God’s sake!!

Confession: Couldn’t watch the whole of these two. I just couldn’t.

And he has played in one too many baseball movies:

Field of Dreams? Classic. Bull Durham? Classic. For love of the game? C’mon- it is more a not-so-well-done combination of clichés. He also must be the only actor who has appeared in so many sport-themed movies (in addition to baseball, he has played a golfer and a cyclist).

Kevin Costner with Susan Sarandon in Bull Durham (1988). The movie features Tim Robbins as well.

For Love of the Game. Another baseball movie. Kevin just might be the most sports loving actor ever.

But for every one movie that I didn’t like, he has done 5 that I have loved. The War and A Perfect World have touched me immensely. In fact, the latter belongs to my all time top 10 movies list. I daren’t give any spoilers on these two. But The War is one of the best anti-war movies I have ever seen and A Perfect World is a greatly different from the romantic/politic heroes he plays so often. I love his romantic roles. But it was quite a different ride to watch him as an escaped convict, turning into an unconventional father role model in this amazing Clint Eastwood movie.

The Romantic Roles…

Before I talk about the Bodyguard, Revenge, Robin Hood, Message in a Bottle and such, I want to mention Rumor Has It” first. Some fans of the classic “The Graduate” did not enjoy this supposed spin-off. I didn’t think it was great, but it was entertaining. And it really had the perfect cast.

rumor_has_it08-

The plot of this movie has it that the events taking place in the movie “The Graduate” were based on Sarah Huttinger’s (Jennifer Aniston) family: Beau Burroughs (Kevin Costner) has slept with the grandma (Shirley MacLaine) and has fallen with the mother. And when Sarah suspects that Beau might indeed be her father, she learns that he is not (he has become infertile after an incident) and begins a romance with him herself. It is a weird concept. But what I find interesting about this movie is that three generations of women are attracted to Costner. My own grandmother thinks he is good-looking, my mother thinks he is gorgeous and I find him truly attractive in most of his roles. Guess what? My dad did not like this movie: )

You may not want to acknowledge his talent but I think he has more than proven it with Dances with Wolves, by directing it and playing the lead. He personally won two academy awards with it: Best Picture, Best Director.

Dances with Wolves (1990). Kevin directed and starred in this epic film.

But it all adds up to have a talented actor on your hands who also happens to very handsome.

He was great as the passionate and romantic Robin Hood. He was more than seductive in Revenge, where his attitude was a mixture of boyish,confident- and romantic.It took a couple of encounters for him to seduce us the females. He made me watch a movie with Whitney Houston in it with The Bodyguard ,which turned out to be surprisingly good. Of course it has clichés. Of course it has a masculine,self-protecting,strong guy who inevitably falls for “the girl” and all that. But it is a feel-good movie and it delivers. And Message in a Bottle? As much as I love comic book movies and good action, oras much as it is fun to watch gothic elements and some thrilling scenes, a big part of me will never be able to give up on the allure of the romantic film. And Kevin is a lovely choice to play the lead.

I guess this last part is a “girls only” zone:

He is charming, even as he gets older. He can pull off sexy and cute at the same time.

He can make you feel as if the character he is playing is real- that he can be real. Of course you know you have not met guys like that. You probably won’t. Hell, I’m almost certain they don’t exist. Even if they do, what are the odds they will look like that? Suppose they do exist, looking all dreamy- what are the odds you will be his type? Right? But for the duration of the movie, it is just good to let go, relax and let yourself live in a simpler world, even it carries some sad elements…