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Lie to Me TV Series starring Tim Roth: As Cool As It Gets

Posted on January 3, 2013 Written by ripitup

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Lie to Me TV Series starring Tim Roth
Lie to Me TV Series. From left:Kelli Wiliams,Tim Roth,Brendan Hines, Monica Raymund. Image via fanpop.com.

 

Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) is a brilliant psychologist specializing in body language and microexpressions who can detect if you are lying, and get the truth out of you even without you speaking.

He runs the firm The Lightman Group where he primarily works with 2 other experts (Kelli Williams’ Gillian and Brendan Hines’ Loker) and one “natural” (less scientific knowledge, more spot-on guts: Monica Raymund’s Torres) and people hire them for a variety of reasons, ranging from confirming a convict’s guilt to preventing terrorist attacks, from finding kidnapped children to confirming that a crime has really been committed…

Lightman also teaches courses on how to read people like he does, often amazing his students what can be achieved.

Of course Lightman’s skills haven’t always helped him in his life- he’s divorced and his teenage daughter (Hayley McFarland) isn’t always happy that his father can spot her every attempt at a lie. He also applies a no-BS attitude in approaching his clients, often infuriating those who don’t know what he’s capable of.

Still, he is adamant at not pointing out every lie when it comes to his co-workers and their private lives, making it sure that if people around him want to keep some secrets, they can.

Lie to Me-Tim Roth-Truth Hurts
Tim Roth looks too badass to be a scientist in this picture. Image via ign.com.

Lie to Me is one of the coolest and most addictive procedural crime/dramas that I have seen. I have to say it has too many entertaining moments to be called solely a drama.

While it is a procedural, we’re never limited to any single organization or field. Their clients can be politicians, Supreme Court judge candidates, the army, FBI, ambassadors, cops…They can take you anywhere and deal with all sorts of crimes and criminals.

Lightman’s correct assumption that everybody lies might remind you of House (Hugh Laurie), but Cal just doesn’t assume- He finds out, very fast and solves the case. And while he is as politically incorrect he needs to be while doing his job, he will easily be nice and supportive-once he believes that you’re not guilty. There’s also the refreshing point that he is the boss.

Then there’s Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) of The Mentalist who also reads people. But Cal’s skills are arguably used more successfully because they are also used to help prevent crimes, as well as to make sure whether the right guy is caught or if a brutal ex con is now really worthy of a parole.

The other thing I like more about Cal is that he is not so damaged to the point that he is impossible to identify with. (Oh, he is damaged and flawed alright –I’m just pointing out that the intensity and reflection of it.) He’ll push and challenge you, but it will end up helping/saving a lot of people.

He is an extremely intelligent and experienced guy with a cool skill and entertains the hell out of you with it. And there is a chance that while watching (or in life) you won’t just be guessing the lie/liar/reason(s), you’ll be tempted to guess them by his methods.

Lie to Me has a lot of cool lines, mostly original and varied storylines that never get boring. It is a shame it only got 3 seasons (48 episodes), because with the lack of Red John and constant nagging of bosses and higher powers, it is pure fun.

And Tim Roth is bloody fantastic.

Some of the Coolest Episodes:

-The pilot. It gives you a great taste of what’s to come.

– The Better Half (Season 1, Episode 10): It has intriguing cases alright, but it is strictly recommended for the guest character of Jennifer Beals, who plays Lightman’s ex-wife and her interactions with Lightman. It’s fun to watch a character that can get under his skin, especially when they seem not to be over each other.

–Blinded (Season 1, Episode 12): The villain is one scary psychopath who was sent behind bars because he has raped and blinded several women, and they need his help to catch the copycat. Now Lightman will do pretty shocking stuff that will make his staff doubt him. But is the villain that good, or is Lightman a great actor?

– Honey  (Season 2, Episode 4): Honey is a very solid episode because it is a very entertaining start, a case sending Lightman to the last place he’d want to be- at a dating event. But it turns into a drama/thriller very quickly where a supposed killer takes Lightman hostage and expects them to find the real killer. Oh, and the last scene is downright adorable.

– Grievous Bodily Harm  (Season 2, Episode 5): An old friend of Lightman’s shows up, in deep trouble. Helping him out puts his own life in danger, and annoys the others because they are left out. But we end up finding a bit more about Lightman, as well as admiring his planning skills.

 

Some Favorite Lines:                                                         

Pilot

(Before Gillian leaves his office to meet a politician):

Cal: Charge him by the lie, we can retire tomorrow.

*

The politician: So Dr. Lightman just assumes you are a liar if you’re a politician.

Gillian: He assumes you’re lying if you are a homosapien.

*

Do No Harm (Season 1, Episode 6)

Cal: I need to ask you a question. Did you kill your daughter? Did you? Did you kill her?..(repeats until he gets a no and believes them). OK. I think we can help you.

*

Life is Priceless (Season 1, Episode 9)

Contractor: My men need engineers and rescue workers. Not a couple of freak show shrinks pointing fingers.
Lightman: She’s the shrink, I’m the freak show. I’m sorry, we normally wear labels.

*

Also on Tim Roth:

Captives starring Julia Ormond and Tim Roth: Romantic & Sexy

Arbitrage starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth

Also on Kelli Williams

The Practice starring Dylan McDermott, Lara Flynn Boyle, Kelli Williams & Steve Harris

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Filed Under: TV shows Tagged With: brendan hines, Hayley McFarland, jennifer beals lie to me, kelli williams, lie to me, lie to me cast, lie to me dvd, lie to me episodes, lie to me quotes, lie to me review, lie to me tim roth, lie to me tv series, lie to me tv show, monica raymund, Tim Roth, tim roth cal lightman, tim roth lie to me

Captives starring Julia Ormond and Tim Roth: Romantic & Sexy

Posted on December 29, 2012 Written by ripitup

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Captives starring Julia Ormond and Tim Roth
Captives image via moviepostershop.com.

Rachel (Julia Ormond) is a beautiful dentist who also works part-time in a prison. She’s having a difficult time as she’s splitting from her cheating husband and selling their house.

During her prison clinic hours, she meets one of the inmates, Philip (Tim Roth) and they form a connection. She later runs into him outside the prison as he’s nearing the end of his sentence and is allowed to spend a certain amount of time outside. As the attraction grows between them, she can’t decide if she should just go with the flow or be reasonable. But she knows that Philip will be risking more than she does and she starts being with him.

Of course there’s a lot at risk: her job, his freedom and the question lurking at the back of her mind: what was his crime?

And as they soon realize, getting found out by his inmates might prove to be a lot more dangerous than being found out by the authorities…

*

Captives is a romantic/drama/crime film from 1994 that could have easily turned into an overacted and overdone film in Hollywood. But luckily, this English film doesn’t overdo anything, except maybe the characters of Colin Salmon and Mark Strong– but then again, the whole point of their existence is to jeopardize Philip and Rachel, and to annoy us to no end.

It’s also interesting to be rooting for the criminal to get the girl. Oh, his character is cool and extremely likeable and their relationship is a wonderful combination of passion, connection, attraction, tenderness and surprise – but the guy isn’t innocent. And his crime isn’t something you can digest easily- he didn’t go avenging the murderers of his child (like in Death Sentence, Edge of Darkness) or go all Robin Hood or something. And yet even after we learn it, I still want the relationship to go on. I’m calling this the Tim Roth effect.

Nope, I don’t go for bad guys. And that’s the point. He has one black spot in a whitish character, and even though that black spot is horrific, you totally get how it could have happened, and how come Rachel could have accepted it. Actually, his case could have been an episode of an American legal series where he’d get off with the temporary insanity defense…

It also has the only romantic bathroom (and by that I mean a stall in the ladies room in a bar) sex scene I’ve ever seen in a movie. Yes, it is in the bathroom. And it isn’t sleazy, it is sexy as hell and it is ultimately very romantic. Apparently romantic bathroom sex is no longer an oxymoron.

Then there is this intense level of chemistry and innocence that Julia Ormond and Tim Roth bring to their roles that make it all the more watchable.

It is good. It has its slow moments, but I buy the romance and it is what really matters. Buying a story you thought you’d never buy.

 

Also on Julia Ormond:

3 Movies with “Tristan” Protagonists feat. Legends of The Fall, Stardust, Tristan & Isolde

Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond & Greg Kinnear

Also on Tim Roth:

Arbitrage starring Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Tim Roth

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: buy captives dvd, captives, captives 1994 movie, captives 1994 movie review, captives dvd, colin salmon, drama, julia ormond, Julia Ormond captives, Mark Strong, romance, Tim Roth, tim roth captives

The Incredible Hulk starring Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth & William Hurt: Updated

Posted on February 26, 2010 Written by ripitup

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The Incredible hulk with edward norton and liv tyler
The Incredible Hulk with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler

The Incredible Hulk movie poster via harleycordelllane.com

 

I avoided the Hulk movies for so long. As a kid, I adored its cartoons but even with the effects of the 21st century, I still didn’t find the computer effects impressive when it came to creating our green “monster”. Even though I love both Eric Bana and Jennifer Connelly, I didn’t watch the first one. But after having liked the second one with Edward Norton and Liv Tyler, I decided to give Ang Lee’s version a shot. It was also quite interesting that one was rated 5.7 and the second one is a 7.1. Isn’t it usually the other way around?

I don’t think there is another case of making a second movie, 5 years after the first, with a different leading actor and actress for the same characters. If the first one was a disappointment, how did they know for sure the second one would work? Why did they let Ang Lee direct Hulk in the first place? I mean he is a good director but directing a comic book adaptation with a big budget? The guy followed Hulk with Brokeback Mountain for heaven’s sake!  Well, I did see Hulk and I am not impressed. Don’t see it if you can help it. It is like a cartoon, with people thrown in. Not good. So even the 5.7  IMDB user rating seems too generous to me. Yes, I don’t really take any rating too seriously, but sometimes it an give you an idea of what others think.

Back to the 2008’s The Incredible Hulk:

It is good entertainment. The cast is pretty marvelous. Edward Norton, William Hurt and Tim Roth just fit their roles perfectly. Liv Tyler still has that innocently sexy look we are used to from Aerosmith’s Crazy video. The effects are OK, I still wish it had a bigger budget, though. I wish The Hulk had a 100 million dollars more. Look at Avatar. No decent plot, but hey the effects are amazing!

I think The Incredible Hulk is better than your average comic book movie. We travel a lot, we feel Bruce’s pain, root for Bruce and Elizabeth to get together and despise the general (William Hurt).

Sure, the good guys are purely evil and the bad are purely bad (with the exception of the general, he loves his gray areas) but hey, this script isn’t trying to reinvent the wheel, so we accept the clichés. After all, it is Edward Norton who feeds them to us;)

The plot? Oh, yeah- that:

Bruce Banner (Norton) is the most crucial target for the US army. He is the “victim” of a gamma ray experiment which resulted in him in turning into the “Hulk” – a green, gigantic creature with some temper. He can’t avoid the transformation that happens when he gets too excited or angry.

This has caused him to escape from the country, having left his beloved girlfriend Elizabeth Ross (Liv Tyler) behind. He resides and works in Brazil, away from anything that might trigger the transformation while seeking the cure his condition forever. But when the army finds him, he has no choice but to go back. Ross will help him no matter what, defying her father the general. But as the general will soon realize, he might have created a threat that’s far more “inconvenient” than Hulk…

7/10 from me.

Enjoy the trailer.

 

***

Fun Note: Our Hulks keep changing. We switched to Norton from Bana, and now we have Mark Ruffalo instead of Norton in 2012’s The Avengers- featuring an ensemble cast, with ensemble heroes. The movie is written and directed by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy. The stars include Iron Man Robert Downey Jr., Captain America Chris Evans, Thor Chris Hemsworth  and more.

 

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7a5LcTckfg[/pro-player]

Here is more on Edward Norton and his movies:

Death to Smoochy

Kingdom of Heaven

Pride and Glory

25th Hour

The Illusionist

The Painted Veil

Fight Club

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Ang Lee, Edward Norton, Eric Bana, Hulk, Jennifer Connelly, Liv Tyler, The Incredible Hulk, The Incredible Hulk trailer, Tim Roth, William Hurt

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