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The Fourth Protocol with Micheal Caine and Pierce Brosnan

Posted on March 4, 2010 Written by ripitup

The Fourth Protocol with Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan. Good, old spy thriller from the 80s. Perfect for nostalgia.

Fun, fun, fun. I had a lot of fun watching this movie. It is an old-fashioned, realistic spy-thriller. It is from 1987 so it is perfect if you like getting nostalgic at least once in a while. It is also fun to find a younger Caine and a much younger Brosnan.

Michael Caine plays John Preston. Preston is from British Intelligence, a smart guy who pisses the hell out if his superior and finds himself reassigned to a boring department: Ports. But he soon realizes that this assignment won’t be tedious at all- someone is smuggling various bomb parts into the country and it is not just any bomb…

Pierce Brosnan plays Valerie Petrofsky, a valuable KGB asset assigned to a very dangerous mission.

As the movie progresses, we realize that Valerie is not shy when it comes to following orders, even when it means killing people – Russian or not.

Preston will have to contact with his superior’s superiors and try to solve the catch Petrofsky as fast as he can. After all, the bomb being assembled is an atomic bomb…

Good political thriller. The only thing that bugged me about the movie is that sometimes the exaggerated music gets in the way. The music is loud and what is presumably supposed to be ominous ends up being irritated. Maybe it is an 80s thing – where everything was big and exaggerated. But it kind of kills the buzz when every possible twist and turn is announced so loudly. Still, it is a good time, watching Caine and Brosnan. It was even more entertaining to see the previous James Bond play a bad guy. His character is cool, cold-blooded and mysterious. He is more into action than talking and this sets the mood just right.

Strongly recommend for:

– Pierce and Caine fans (I am fans of both)

– Fans of political/spy thrillers

– Ones who do like to get retro when it comes to movies

Favorite Scene:

– Love how Michael Caine catches up with the train.

Photo: http://img.movieberry.com/static/photos/20419/poster.jpg

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

Posted on March 2, 2010 Written by ripitup

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.

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)

Down in the Valley starring Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood

Posted on February 28, 2010 Written by ripitup

Down in the Valley with Edward Norton and Evan Rachel Wood. Interesting romance/drama/western/thriller.

Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) is living with her sister and father. Her brother Lonnie (Rory Culkin) is quiet and a bit too dependent on her for his age. Their father Wade (David Morse) seems less than loving and she is the typical problematic teenager. She smokes, takes drugs and doesn’t mind inviting the cute southern cowboy wannabe Harlan (Edward Norton) to the beach. She doesn’t seem to be bothered by the fact that she just met him or he is older than her.

At first it is a fun, contemporary whirlwind romance: hooking up right away, getting romantic, having a quickie and dating afterwards. Harlan seems really nice, Lonnie likes him and the only problem seems to be that Wade hates this guy. As the story progresses, we start to realize maybe Harlan has more problems than wishing he lived in a western. But ordering a teenager not to see her boyfriend never works. Especially when Harlan treats them a lot better than Wade…

Down in the Valley is an interesting film. It has some pretty intriguing characters, a fun plot idea, good scenery and nice music.

But the director really takes his time to tell the story. Sometimes the movie feels a bit slow. It It has some really decent moments. Don’t think of it as a thriller. It has some action, but if you consider at a romance, the little action will please you rather than disappoint. Enjoy the scenery and the music. Written and directed by David Jacobson, 2005.

Why watch?

1) Anyone who has seen David Morse, Evan Rachel Wood or Edward Norton before in a film know that they are never bad.

2) I have loved Morse ever since he co-starred in House in season 3, as the only guy who seemed smart enough to really give House hell. It was brilliant to see our pill-popping, brilliant yet unconventional doctor had finally met his match-in a cop-who was out to get him.

3) Edward Norton doesn’t have one bad movie in his career. Some might be boring or not my cup of tea, but bad isn’t his thing.

4) Evan Rachel Wood is so beautiful and natural, she just fits the role perfectly.

5) If the plot summary I gave you didn’t make you think the movie was original, it was because I was trying to refrain from giving spoilers. What happens- especially after the second half- is well….Harlan is full of surprises and they are not good ones.

6) Rory Culkin (I am guessing you remember his brother Macaulay) is really good.

Its 6.6 IMDB rating seems fair. Although sometimes it might act like a 7…

All Movies with Edward Norton:

Leaves of Grass

Kingdom of Heaven

25th Hour

Fight Club

The Illusionist

The Painted Veil

American History X

Primal Fear

The Incredible Hulk

Death to Smoochy

Posts featuring Evan Rachel Wood

Life Before Her Eyes starring Uma Thurman and Evan Rachel Wood

33 Actors From My Generation: Actors Born Between 1980-1990

Bizzare Celebrity Couplings featuring Marilyn Manson and Evan Rachel

Pride and Glory with Edward Norton and Colin Farrell

Posted on February 18, 2010 Written by ripitup

Pride and Glory with Edward Norton, Colin Farrell, Jon Voight and Noah Emmerich. Raymond (Norton) has already lost his love to help protect other cops. He doesn’t want to do the same mistakes but how the hell do you do the right thing when the wrong involves your brother( Emmerich) and brother-in-law (Farrell) ?

When 4 NYPD cops die during an operation, it is especially devastating for Jimmy Eagen (Colin Farrell). It is not exactly an emotional trauma, though. Jimmy and his remaining corrupt group of cops have to clean up the mess before it is too late. However things are going to be much harder; since Jimmy’s father-in-law (Jon Voight) – unaware of his involvement- insists that his son Raymond takes the case. Though unwilling, Raymond (Edward Norton) starts looking into events, and it doesn’t take long before he realizes that there are cops involved behind the crimes and the cops might be too close to home. Is Ray’s brother, also a cop, Francis (Noah Emmerich) involved as well?

Forget about the movie’s name, plot summaries you might read and definitely stay away from the trailer. When I first saw the trailer, I thought: “Shit, another corrupt cop story with family issues thrown in”. Seemed to cliché, too overdone. But the fact is, the movie is much more than any of its promotional elements suggests. It is strong, grabbing and despite all the familiar themes, it stands on its two feet and ends up impresses you. Characters are complicated and they are all flawed.

Colin Farrell puts in a good performance. Edward Norton is in his usual element, although maybe playing Jimmy would have been more fun. Noah Emmerich is just outstanding as Francis- the brother who should have paid more attention to the cops under him, but was too busy taking care of his dying wife.

All in all, this is a good movie with solid performances. There is too much swearing that might distract you from time to time, but considering the characters, it suits them.

It doesn’t have one dull moment in it and the drama is just as exciting as the action.6.7 on imdb. Deserves a 7, at the very least.