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All Good Things starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst & Frank Langella

Posted on March 2, 2011 Written by ripitup

All Good Things Starring Ryan Gosling, Kirsten Dunst & Frank Langella.

David Marks (Ryan Gosling) is the rebel son of the billionaire real estate investor Sanford Marks (Frank Langella). While David’s brother Daniel (Michael Esper) has embraced the corporate and rich lifestyle, David is just happy getting high and dating the beautiful Katie (Kirsten Dunst) whose warm and middle-class upbringing couldn’t have been more different to David’s. David’s father is cold, ambitious and used to getting his way. So it doesn’t take long for him to convince David that Katie will only be happy if they have a comfortable life.

So David starts working for his dad. And Katie begins to get to know the more dangerous side of David. David, as a kid, has witnessed his own mother’s suicide and has found a way to bury all the fury. But as Katie wants to have kids and later follow her dreams of being a med student, we get to see a side of David that even makes his father seem mild and kind in comparison.

Will Katie be able to save this marriage with an increasingly unstable David? Or better yet, will she able to save herself?

All Good Things, as stated in the beginning of the movie, was inspired by a true missing person’s story that still remains a missing person’s case today. Katie’s disappearance is not a twist to be spoiled, as the trailer and the tagline spell it out for us: the perfect love story until it becomes the perfect crime…

And while All Good Things is not a perfect movie, the crimes committed in the film, as well as Ryan Gosling’s performance are indeed perfect. This is a mystery/drama with some thrilling aspects that get its spookiness from the transformation of David. Of course the sane and the smart viewer will eventually deem Katie for being stupid and naïve for staying that long, and eventually bringing it on herself. After all, David’s actions started becoming alarming the moment he started listening to his dad…

All Good Things’ pace sometimes requires patience. The tension the movie is building threatens to become boring, although it never does. Obviously, this is not a film to watch to have a simple good time. But no matter how depressing it is, it is a story well-told with good actors.

Currently 6.4 on IMDB. Fair enough.

Fun notes:

– Kirsten Dunst played a vampire when she was 12. Her sires/parents were vampires Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise and the movie was Interview with the Vampire.

– Saturday Night Live’s Kristen Wiig has a small role in the film.

Soon: Scream 4 starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette. Feat. Adam Brody, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Kristen Bell& Anna Paquin

Posted on February 23, 2011 Written by ripitup

Scream 4 starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette. Feat. Adam Brody, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Kristen Bell and Anna Paquin. Image via moviepostershop.com

Seriously? Another one? Coming to the theaters in April, we are faced with the 4^th and hopefully the last installment of Wes Craven’s Scream saga.

The first Scream was fun. It was entertaining, a little refreshing and well, thrilling enough. It was 1996 and director Wes Craven and screenwriter Kevin Williamson had created a nice teen-slasher that had a pretty cool cast too: Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard.

Well, with the exception of Skeet and Matthew, Courteney’s news reporter Gale, David’s Deputy Dewey and then student Sydney made it to Scream 2. Then 3 and finally, to Scream 4.

While I don’t hold a grudge against all sequels as a habit, horror/thrillers usually have a lesser chance of making the audiences happier as opposed to action or comedy flicks. Notice how Scream 1 started with 7.2 on IMDB and Scream 3 is currently at 5.3. I don’t necessarily always agree with the user ratings there, but this sounds fair- if not a little too generous.

But of course when you make a 4^th film, ,it is only a good marketing plan to add more famous people to the cast like Adam Brody, Hayden Panettiere, Emma Roberts, Kristen Bell and Anna Paquin – and I didn’t notice half of them in the trailer.

It wasn’t just Scream that failed with the sequels, by the way. Horror-films mockery

Scary Movie was, despite being a little too crude at times, was hilarious. I barely remember Scary Movie 2 and 3 and I didn’t bother to see 4th.

So back to Scream 4. We’ve another mask-wearing psycho (or maybe more than one) with, a ridiculous motive, hunting after the cast. We will see if Neve Campell will survive. But I hope not because it just might indicate a 5^th film.

I am really not excited about Scream 4. Are you?

Fun notes:

* Courteney Cox and David Arquette met in 1996, during the making of the first Scream movie. They got married in 1999 and separated in 2010. So yep, the Scream saga outlasted their relationship.

* Courteney Cox isn’t the only Friends cast member Neve Campbell co-starred in a movie with. She also has a movie with Matthew Perry.

* Kevin Williamson is one of the developers & writers of the popular series The Vampire Diaries.

Also on Courteney Cox:

Courteney Cox Trivia

Cougar Town starring Courteney Cox, Josh Hopkins, Dan Byrd, Busy Phillips & Josh Hopkins

Hollywood Stars in Friends

Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry & Don Cheadle

Posted on February 13, 2011 Written by ripitup

Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, John Travolta, Halle Berry & Don Cheadle. Directed by Dominic Sena. Written by Skip Woods. Image via maniadb.com

Swordfish starring Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, John Travolta and Don Cheadle

Stanley Jobson (Hugh Jackman) is a brilliant hacker who recently got out of jail and banned from working his mojo on computers. This suits him just fine, because all he wants to do is to see more of his young daughter Holly (Camryn Grimes). Unfortunately, his ex-wife (Drea de Matteo)is an alcoholic bitch married to a porn industry king and has gotten full custody. Stanley needs a lot of money to win a court battle and he doesn’t have any. Knowing his weak point, Ginger (Halle Berry) finds Stanley to make him a dangerous offer: her boss Gabriel (John Travolta) needs the best hacker for a highly illegal job and is ready to pay Stanley millions for his services. While Stanley doesn’t want to go back to jail, “helping” Gabriel seems like the only solution. Unfortunately, Gabriel is a lot more dangerous and psychotic than Stanley first estimated, Ginger seems to be full of secrets and the F.B.I agent Roberts (Don Cheadle) – the very agent who put Stanley behind bars in the first place- is after Gabriel and wants to use Stanley to get to him. How the hell will Stanley survive and get Holly back?

Swordfish is one kick-ass action/thriller. It starts with a blast, and some dialogue that only foreshadows how crazy and well-prepared Gabriel is. John Travolta makes a great villain. And Gabriel is even scarier and more powerful than his Broken Arrow character because well, the villains and the good guys in Swordfish have some really fine grey areas. The writing is fast, the action is satisfactory and despite defying logic in some areas, it is one hell of a ride. Directed by Dominic Sena (Gone in Sixty Seconds, Kalifornia, Season of the Witch). Written by Skip Woods (Hitman, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, The A- Team).

8/10 for the entertainment value.

Favorite scenes:

– When Gabriel (John Travolta) goes all ballistic to shake their tail in the street – while making Stanley drive.

– Everything about Gabriel’s getting in, and getting out plan.

Fun notes:

– Stanley’s ex-wife is played by Drea de Matteo – who played Angie on Desperate Housewives in the show’s 6^th season. She also played Joey’s sister in the Friends spin-off Joey.

– Hugh Jackman co-starred with Halle Berry 3 more times: The X-Men trilogy.

– Dominic Sena has directed Nicolas Cage twice: 2000’s action film Gone in Sixty Seconds and 2011’s fantasy action Season of the Witch.

– Nicolas Cage and John Travolta starred in Face/Off together where both of them played the villain and the good guy in the same movie.

Also on Hugh Jackman:

Hugh Jackman Trivia

Someone Like You starring Hugh Jackman, Ashley Judd and Greg Kinnear

6 Hollywood Stars That Would Make 20-Year-Olds Jealous

Hollywood’s Tall Actors feat. Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, Paul Walker& more

Hugh Jackman: My Favorite Australian

Other Don Cheadle Movies:

Iron Man 2 starring Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle & Scarlett Johansson

Brooklyn’s Finest starring Richard Gere, Ethan Hawke & Don Cheadle

Also on John Travolta

Broken Arrow starring John Travolta, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis

Mad City starring Dustin Hoffman and John Travolta

Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage

Pulp Fiction

6 Movies with Brilliant Casts feat. Hairspray starring John Travolta

From Paris with Love starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Travolta

Basic starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson

Phenomenon starring John Travolta, Robert Duvall and Kyra Sedgwick

Favorite Actors to Play Villains feat. Nicolas Cage, John Travolta and more

Actor Musicians and Musician Actors: Feat. John Travolta and Bruce Willis

Drive Angry 3D starring Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner & Billy Burke

Posted on January 26, 2011 Written by ripitup

Drive Angry 3D starring Nicolas Cage, Amber Heard, William Fichtner & Billy Burke. Image via moviepostershop.com

Milton (Nicolas Cage) is angry enough to be able to break out of hell – or drive out of it, to be exact. After all, a vicious cult led by Jonah (Billy Burke – Bella’s father from Twilight series, the attorney from The Closer’s Power of Attorney episode) killed Milton’s daughter and now they have taken his granddaughter to kill her as well. Of course the Devil’s “Accountant” (William Fichtner) is not happy about Milton’s escape and goes after him. But Milton is determined not to stop at anything and with the help of the fearless and gorgeous Piper (Amber Heard), he just might accomplish his mission…

Written by Todd Farmer and Patrick Lussier. Directed by Patrick Lussier.

Drive Angry is shot in 3D and I really can’t wait to see it. Granted, it is not going to be deep or very original but I love revenge flicks filled with action and I really like Nicolas Cage – especially in action films. After all, he gave us The Rock, Face/Off, Lord of War, Con Air and more.

The movie also guarantees huge grins with its funny one-liners. My favorites:

The Accountant: (to one of the teenagers) I won’t see you again until you are 73. (to the other): You, I’ll see in 3 months.

The Accountant: Wouldn’t want to be you when Satan finds out.

Milton: (coolly) What’s he gonna do? Not let me back in?

Expectation: Very harmless, very entertaining, cliché-filled yet satisfactory rockin’ action. Hope it delivers. Coming to US in February, 25^th.

The Trailer:

Other Nicolas Cage Movies and Posts

Face/Off starring John Travolta and Nicolas Cage

Lord of War starring Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto

Nicolas Cage Trivia

Moonstruck starring Nicolas Cage and Cher

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