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Looking Forward to: The Ledge starring Liv Tyler, Charlie Hunnam, Patrick Wilson & Terrence Howard

Posted on May 22, 2011 Written by ripitup

The Ledge starring Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Patrick Wilson & Terrence Howard. Written & directed by Matthew Chapman. Image via daemonsmovies.com

** Update: This post was written before I saw the movie. I wrote the review after seeing the movie, and you can read it here.

Shauna (Liv Tyler) is married to the obsessively religious Joe (Patrick Wilson). When she starts working for the sweet, and atheist Gavin (Charlie Hunnam), a passionate affair starts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t take long before Joe finds out, and comes up with a deadly plan. Instead of killing them both, he puts Shauna’s life is in Gavin’s hands. His conditions are simple: Gavin is to stand on the ledge of a building until noon, and then jump to his death. Or Shauna will die. With cops trying to change Gavin’s mind, and then trying to help him out, can Gavin make it out alive? And even if he jumps, can he trust Joe to let Shauna live?

Judging by its plot, trailer, and actors, The Ledge is a very promising drama/thriller. It was shown at the Sundance Film Festival, and is supposed to hit the theaters at the end of May. Written & directed by Matthew Chapman.

Co-starring is Terrence Howard, as the cop trying to help out Gavin.

Patrick Wilson, who we are more used to seeing as the romantic lead, makes a wonderfully creepy psycho.

Also on Patrick Wilson:

Morning Glory starring Rachel McAdams, Harrison Ford, Diane Keaton & Patrick Wilson

The A-Team starring Liam Neeson, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson, Sharlto Copley & Quinton Rampage Jackson

Watchmen starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson

Patrick Wilson Trivia

Also on Terrence Howard:

Iron Man starring Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges & Terrence Howard

The Hunting Party starring Richard Gere, Terrence Howard & Jesse Eisenberg

I Am Number Four starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Teresa Palmer & Dianna Agron

Posted on April 8, 2011 Written by ripitup

I Am Number Four starring Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron & Teresa Palmer

John (Alex Pettyfer) looks like your high school popular kid, however he is anything but. He lives with Henri (Timothy Olyphant), a warrior assigned to protect him. They are both from another planet. Unfortunately, a viloent race from another planet, The Mogadorians , have wiped out John’ race, except from a few gifted kids with special powers. These kids have been sent to Earth, along with their protectors. Unfortunately, Mogadorians have been able to track and kill three of these kids. John is next.

So Henri takes him to a small Ohio town called Paradise, where he feels it will be easier to stay off the grid. Despite Henri’s objections, John decides to go to the local high school. But being invisible will be harder than he imagined as he meets and falls for the pretty Sarah (Dianna Agron) who enjoys seeing the world through her photographs. Then there is Sam (Callan McAuliffe) , a nice kid who keeps being bullied around by the gang of popular kids (jocks), led by Mark (Jake Abel). It doesn’t help matters that Mark is still not over Sarah.Despite what his common sense tells him, John keeps hanging around Sarah and protecting Sam. In the meantime, Mogadorians are getting closer. Fortunately, John’s discovering that he is a lot stronger than he thinks…

I Am Number Four delivers what it promises: good entertainment. It has all the typical, yet required elements: Lots of action and special effects (although I could have done without the gigantic monsters fighting around), charismatic actors (hello, Timothy Olyphant!), funny one-liners, a couple to root for, the likable sidekick, the likeable hero, bullies, the villains and a kick-ass female character (Teresa Palmer), who shows up just in time to help save the day. Nothing extraordinary, but plain fun.

I like the relationship between Henri and John. They are like father and son (with special skills who are being hunted by villainous creatures, but like father and son all the same). John, in many ways, is a typical teen- despite the dangers, he still wants to live his life. And he likes not doing what John tells him to do. John’s primary concern is to live his life, whereas Henri makes sure John has a life to live.

Full of action, romance and attitude, a movie doesn’t get more unisex than this. Based on the novel by the same name (written by Jobie Hughes (as Pittacus Lore) & James Frey (as Pittacus Lore). Directed by D.J. Caruso. Produced by Michael Bay.

Favorite Scenes:

– John having to use his skills at the carnival.

– John and number 6 (Teresa Palmer) fighting together.

Fun notes:

– Mark, played by Jake Abel, is no stranger to Supernatural fans as he played Adam in Supernatural.

– The cast is pretty international. Teresa Palmer and Callan McAuliffe are Australian, Alex Pettyfer is English and Timothy Olyphant is American.

Entertainment Value: 8/10.

Also on Alex Pettyfer

Beastly Review – starring Alex Pettyfer

Also on Timothy Olyphant:

Justified TV Series starring Timothy Olyphant

Timothy Olyphant Trivia

Sex and The City

A Perfect Getaway starring Timothy Olyphant

Damages Season 2- co-starring Timothy Olyphant

6 Hollywood Stars That Would Make 20-year-olds Jealous

Also Teresa Palmer:

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice starring Nicholas Cage, Monica Belluci, Jay Baruchel and Teresa Palmer

6 Solid Films with Low Budgets and Enclosed Locations Featuring Uma Thurman, Colin Farrell and Timothy Hutton(feat. Restraint starring Teresa Palmer & Stephen Moyer.)

The Killing Floor starring Marc Blucas, Shiri Appleby & Reiko Aylesworth

Posted on March 17, 2011 Written by ripitup

The Killing Floor starring Marc Blucas, Shiri Appleby & Reiko Aylesworth. Solid thriller.

David Lamont (Marc Blucas), one of the rich and successful partners at a big publishing company, just buys himself a couple of floors of a great, old building. But of course success has come with a bit of a price: David has turned into a narcissistic and selfish career man. He doesn’t give his own best friend (Derek Cecil) the light of day and he rarely ever takes a chance with new writers, his loyal assistant Rebecca (Shiri Appleby).

Currently, he is only interested in making more money and possibly having sex with his attractive neighbor Audrey (Reiko Aylesworth). But his great house seems to have come with some mystery, as someone is constantly stalking and starting to scare the hell out of David. Publisher of horror/thriller novels, David is ambushed and paranoid. Who can he actually trust? And what the hell is it with his new place?

The Killing Floor is actually a really enjoyable trailer. It has some plot holes (what thriller doesn’t, really?), and some predictable parts. But the predictable serves to put a smile on your face as it is a pretty good ending.

David is the perfect leading character as he is attractive, successful, somewhat of a jerk with the perfect phobia (for his stalker). You might recall Reiko Aylesworth as Michelle on 24 and Shiri Appleby as Liz from Roswell. And Marc Blucas played Riley Fin on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Pretty good entertainment.

Other Movies and Posts on Marc Blucas

Marc Blucas Trivia

The Jane Austen Book Club starring Hugh Dancy, Maria Bello, Emily Blunt & Marc Blucas

Knight and Day

The Resident starring Hilary Swank & Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Posted on March 7, 2011 Written by ripitup

The Resident starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan & Hilary Swank. Feat. Christopher Lee & Lee Pace. image via movie-area.com

Juliet (Hilary Swank) is a pretty and successful ER doctor who has just left her cheating husband Jack (Lee Pace). After some apartment-hunting, she finds the perfect place: a spacious flat with an amazing view, at a price she can afford, and with a gorgeous landlord named Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). And as it turns out, it is all too good to be true…

Her only neighbor besides Max is Max’s strange grandfather (Christopher Lee), who seems a little too worried that Juliet is living all alone. And Juliet is starting to feel something is wrong too- she feels like she is not alone, but dismisses the though as paranoia. She also decides to listen to her best friend (Aunjanue Ellis)’ advice and flirt with Max. But Juliet is not over Jack and well…Max has a much darker side that he has so far been able to keep from her….

I’d been waiting for The Resident for months. I am a really big fan of Jeffrey Dean Morgan, as well as Hilary Swank and Lee Pace. I was also pleasantly surprised to see The Mentalist’s Madeleine Hightower – Aunjanue Ellis – as the cheerful sidekick, encouraging her best friend to have great rebound sex. This was a fun little contrast to her high-rank CBI officer character in The Mentalist.

But my fondness of the cast unfortunately couldn’t stop me from getting bored. The movie was off to a slow start, which I attributed to tension-building. But Juliet’s getting spooked in her house over and over again, with floors cringing… got old really quickly. Lee Pace didn’t really have much to offer as Jack is nothing more than a mundane, cheating husband trying to take his wife back. And Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s badass skills were certainly wasted as Max. Max, while turning out to be very creepy (and pathetic at that), is not scary at all. And a thriller/horror film needs a scary, compelling villain who is supposed to nail us to our seats and not bore us.

I know Morgan can pull off a badass because he did brilliantly as The Comedian in Watchmen. The Comedian, supposedly a hero, shot a pregnant woman without blinking because she was getting on his nerves. Now, that was spooky.

The Resident’s Max had an interesting background, only implied at. I wish we had seen his past, and scarier insights. But like many thrillers, The Resident failed to gave us smart “victims” as well as a smart villain.

To sum up? The Resident is a mediocre thriller, at best I wasn’t rooting for anyone in the movie as Juliet was “unforgiving” enough to move to a 3800/month apartment, only to get back with Jack – but not before she unsuccessfully tried to have sex with Max…Ouch.

It can be watched for the love of the cast, I guess but only if you lower your expectations. Currently rated at 5.4 on IMDB.

Fun notes:

– Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilary Swank co-starred previously in the romantic drama/comedy P.S.I Love You. Also in P.S. I love you, Swank was trying to have rebound sex with Jeffrey Dean. However this time, her marriage was over because her husband died. The husband was played by Gerard Butler.

– Lee Pace is a Golden Globe nominated actor. He played a transgendered nightclub singer in a true story.

Also on Hilary Swank:

P.S. I Love You starring Gerard Butler, Hilary Swank & Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Also on Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Supernatural starring Jared Padalecki & Jensen Ackles feat. Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Watchmen starring Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Matthew Goode, Jackie Earle Haley and Patrick Wilson

The Accidental Husband: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Gerard Butler, Richard Gere and Jeffrey Dean Morgan: Allure of the Older Guy

40 Somethings That Would Make 20-year-olds Jealous

Also on Lee Pace

Lee Pace Trivia

Possession starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Lee Pace and Michael Landes