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Posts Tagged ‘Pierce Brosnan’
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010
I’m convinced that there’s a great story somewhere in this latest mess from director Roman Polanski. I loved so many of the ideas and Polanski did such a great job of establishing an eerie tone to the film that perhaps he could have made a great movie had he had some help with the script and made a few better decisions. As it is, THE GHOST WRITER feels like a movie that was made to make a political statement and didn’t have time for much else.
Ewan McGregor is a ghost writer, tabbed to pen the autobiography of the former British prime minister Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan). We start out with the murder of McGregor’s predecessor, setting the tone that something is not quite right with the assignment. When we meet Lang, we learn that he’s being charged with war crimes for approving the kidnapping of suspected terrorists and handing them over to the CIA. But the actual mystery that the ghost writer is investigating is how exactly Lang is involved with the CIA and if he really is who he says he is. So there are a few mysteries going on in the story and none of them really work together.
One of the issues with the film is the impending doom facing the ghost writer. We know that his predecessor died (presumably murdered), but I never felt that he was actually in any danger. A more effective way to heighten the intensity would have been to do away with the predecessor all together and instead of having a murder of a character we never saw or cared about, have one of Lang’s employees (or maybe the writer’s agent) get murdered while the writer is at Lang’s house. That would impact the audience more and create a more dramatic situation for the ghost writer.
Polanski also focused way too heavily on Lang’s impending war crimes trial. The audience never cared whether Lang was guilty of war crimes and this felt like an attempt on Polanski’s part to push his political agenda, which he did at the sacrifice of his film. The real mystery that the audience was interested in was whether or not Lang was actually a CIA agent. I wanted that to be explored more and all of the drama in the film should have centered on the ghost writer investigating and unraveling that mystery. That could have sparked a cat and mouse situation with each party trying to outsmart the other.
At this point, I’ve basically re-written the entire script, but that leads me to my point that there’s a great, basic idea in THE GHOST WRITER, Polanski just lost sight of it. Spike Lee is also guilty of sacrificing his story for the benefit of making his political point and it seems Roman Polanski fell victim to the same trap. I’m all for directors making political points with their films, but never at the expense of developing a story that audiences can relate to.
Despite the problems with the script and story development, I did enjoy Polanski’s direction. I loved the use of dark, dreary colors and the film had a great feel to it. I also enjoyed Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan, who did very well in their roles. That made it that much more frustrating that they didn’t get a chance to really shine when pitted against each other. The only negative as far as performances comes from Kim Cattrall, who delivers one of the worst British accents in the history of film. Seriously, Polanski, were there no British actresses available?
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: I loved this transfer. This is the first double sided disc I’ve seen from Summit, but it definitely didn’t result in a loss of video quality. The darker tones to the film were beautiful
Audio: The sound was efficient although given the nature of the film, surround channels weren’t used very often.
The Ghost Writer: Fiction or Reality (10:46): It’s kind of funny when screenwriter Robert Harris talks about aspects of the story he struggled with, most of which I didn’t like. He does most of the talking and speaks openly about the similarities with Tony Blair.
The Cast of The Ghost Writer (11:49): I needed an explanation for why Kim Cattrall was there, but I didn’t get it. The rest of this is dedicated to how great Roman Polanski is and how much everyone enjoyed working with him and each other.
An Interview with Roman Polanski (8:39): More love given to Roman Polanski, this time Polanski answers questions from an interviewer we can’t hear. He keeps it pretty light, but it was nice to see a lot of the behind the scenes clips.
Tags: Blu-ray, Ewan McGregor, kim cattrall, movie reviews, Pierce Brosnan, roman polanski
Posted in Blu-Ray Reviews, Reviews |
Tuesday, May 11th, 2010
By: Jeremey Gingrich
Alright, let’s just get this out in the open so everybody knows: I like musicals. There, I said it. I get to New York City every once in a while and it’s a foregone conclusion that I will see a Broadway musical. In fact, Hollywood has used such musicals to create some genuine movie classics, especially the musicals of yesteryear. From the ridiculously choreographed basketball court scene at the beginning of WEST SIDE STORY, to Marlon Brando singing in GUYS AND DOLLS, to Bing Crosby and Sinatra dancing to Louis Armstrong songs in HIGH SOCIETY, these are all scenes that use Broadway musicals to provide a truly enjoyable movie-going experience. And I don’t think I should have to apologize for liking that! Sorry, I’ve taken some flak from the other guys on the site for this article, I didn’t mean to yell. But Hollywood has fueled a resurgence of these song and dance favorites in recent years, to include a Best Picture Academy Award winner in 2002’s CHICAGO, to commercial successes in 2007’s HAIRSPRAY and the worldwide box office juggernaut that was MAMMA MIA!. And the latter did so despite a magnificently horrible singing performance by Pierce Brosnan (sorry, Thomas Crown, a singer you ain’t).
So, piggybacking off of this trend of bringing more current Broadway musicals to the big screen, I suggest the next adaptation be one that finds its roots in the 1939 silver screen classic THE WIZARD OF OZ, the smash musical “Wicked.” This global phenomenon has won countless theatrical awards, including three Tony Awards in 2004. It has been named by Entertainment Weekly as this decade’s Best Stage Musical. It has broken numerous box office records in its openings in Chicago, San Francisco and London, and it has even blown away packed audiences as far away as Germany, Japan and Australia. And it is the highest weekly grossing Broadway Musical in the history of the Great White Way. Tell me that wouldn’t put asses in the seats should this mammoth success become a movie.
The story, for those who haven’t been among the record crowds for this event, involves a different take on the Wicked Witch of the West from the original THE WIZARD OF OZ, and mostly focuses on the events that occurred before Dorothy’s house flew in and crushed the witch’s sister. It’s a plot that plays on modern themes as well as a classic friendship tale between two girls; the one an outcast, the other the most popular girl…ever, in her mind. Since the music in this play has been so pivotal to its success, for casting I’d suggest bringing back the original cast from the Platinum selling soundtrack: Idina Menzel, Kristin Chenoweth, Joel Grey (still alive, by the way) and Norbert Leo Butz (yes, his real name). The soundtrack did after all win the Grammy for Best Musical Show Album back in 2005, and the songs have made a resurgence thanks to the hit single “Defying Gravity” being performed on “Glee” in its first season.
Basically, all the ingredients are there. This is a ready-made hit, with guaranteed blockbuster and maybe even critical success if done right. So before they start to green light something like another HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL, maybe Hollywood should try to bring this tale of a misunderstood green girl to the big screen. And no, just to reiterate, there is nothing wrong with a grown man liking musicals…except the Streisand ones. I mean, really, come on.
Tags: Idina Menzel, Joel Grey, Kristin Chenoweth, Meryl Streep, Norbert Leo Butz, Pierce Brosnan
Posted in Driver's EDitorial |
Monday, April 19th, 2010
I haven’t seen THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR since it came out and I was surprised at just how much I liked it. It came out in 1999 which in my opinion is one of the best year of film (AMERICAN BEAUTY, FIGHT CLUB, MATRIX, SIXTH SENSE, etc.), so maybe this got a little lost in the shuffle with all the great movies. Believe me this is another film to throw on the list of good movies from that year.
The film begins and ends with an elaborate art heist. Great bookends to keep the audience interested while having an entertaining story in between. Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) is a very successful adventurous multi-millionaire. He steals priceless paintings mostly for the thrill but is a very generous donator to counteract his thievery. Catherine Banning (Rene Russo) is an insurance investigator who will catch her man by any means necessary. The cat is out of the bag right away. She knows it’s Crown and he knows she knows, but the fun is in their playful cat and mouse games. She’s waiting for him to slip up on to his wiley ways and he enjoys letting her be as close as possible without giving it up.
The film is directed by John McTiernan (DIE HARD, PREDATOR, THE HUNT FOR THE RED OCTOBER). He does a magnificent job. This is very cleanly directed with a steady pace and great color scheme throughout while shooting at some beautiful locations. But the film owes most of its credit by relying heavily on Pierce Brosnan and Rene Russo. If they did not have such good sexual smug chemistry the film would have fallen apart. I like both of these actors quite a bit. Brosnan does play a similar Bond type of character but I think he will become one of those great aging actors, earning more respect later on. Russo seems to have disappeared from film and I’m not sure why. I thought she was a fantastic addition to the LETHAL WEAPON series and she shows you can be smart, talented and sexy. At first I thought she was an odd casting choice but after watching the film I think other actresses wouldn’t have been able to hold their own as strongly, mixing the power and vulnerability.
The ending is a fun entertaining heist, but if thought about too much it really only works in film. The viewer keeps observing from a security camera point of view which Crown uses to his advantage by hiding under a hat, however if one were there in person, as security would be, I believe catching the criminal would be quite a bit easier to distinguish, since a hat wouldn’t cover the face. Nonetheless, a terrific, well put together little film that is a joy to watch. It made me appreciate art, but mostly made me want to live the life of a playboy multi-millionaire.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: 2.35:1 1080p High Definition. The film looks great. The film uses many vibrant striking colors that really pop in the Blu-ray that I hadn’t noticed before.
Audio: The sound is kind of lackluster. True the film isn’t really set up for any big sound pieces but even the music cues were a little weak.
There are zero special features on this Blu-ray edition. It does come with the DVD version that has the original commentary track. But other than the picture looking great this Blu-ray really fails to make the upgrade worthwhile.
Tags: Blu-ray, Denis Leary, John McTiernan, movie reviews, Pierce Brosnan, rene russo
Posted in Blu-Ray Reviews, Reviews |
Monday, April 5th, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
I should confess that I’m really late in posting the trailer for THE GREATEST, but to be fair, I don’t think the studio (Barbarian Films) really knows what to do with this. It came out internationally last year and only recently came out to limited release in the US this past weekend. I hadn’t heard anything about it, then saw ads for it popping up all over the internet. Anyway, the film stars Carey Mulligan as a young girl that falls in love and then gets pregnant by a boy that dies soon into her pregnancy. Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon star as the parents to her boyfriend. As you might have guessed, it’s a tear-jerker and it looks pretty depressing.
Shana Feste pulled double duty as a writer and director for the film that has already had a limited release and is currently without a wide release. Watch the trailer here.
Tags: Carey Mulligan, movie news, Pierce Brosnan, Susan Sarandon
Posted in News |
Wednesday, March 31st, 2010
You can’t keep a good man down…and just for diplomacy’s sake, when referring to director Roman Polanski, let’s just change that to “you can’t keep a man down.” His latest film, THE GHOST WRITER, a somewhat political thriller based on the Robert Harris novel The Ghost, had some problems in post-production thanks to the Swiss police arresting the director as he entered Switzerland to collect a Lifetime Achievement award. This arrest was for his outstanding arrest warrant in the United States due to a 1977 unfortunate incident (read “crime”) with a 13-year-old girl in Jack Nicholson’s house. However, trooper that he is, Polanski was able to complete the work from house arrest at his Swiss villa. Well played, Roman. Now if only the movie you completed was any good.
I say this is a “somewhat” political thriller in that it’s about the British Prime Minister, Adam Lang (Pierce Brosnan), and it does not even try to mask the fact that he is a caricature of Tony Blair. However, whereas THE QUEEN portrayed Blair in such a positive light, Polanski goes a different route as he portrays Lang as an actor playing Prime Minister, running on boyish charms and a winsome smile, and as a puppet for the United States. The ghost writer of the title, however, doesn’t have an opinion on any of this. He is simply referred to as “The Ghost” and answers questions about his name as just that, and Ewan McGregor plays him not as a man interested in politics, but rather trying to make the man’s life interesting enough for people to shell out the money to want to read his story. That becomes an easier task as, while he is sent to their beach house (a Martha’s Vineyard/Hamptons type estate), he is accused of war crimes by his friend and former foreign minister Richard Rycart (played mysterious in his dealings by Robert Pugh) for allegedly sanctioning the kidnapping and torture of terror suspects and their deliverance to the CIA.
This is only a somewhat political thriller because there is also a death/murder that complicates the plot, trying to make it into a murder mystery as well. The writer previously working on the memoir is found dead, washed up on the beach, and that brings in Ewan McGregor’s character, but what was the real cause of his predecessor’s death? Olivia Williams plays Lang’s wife Ruth as the person who spends most time with The Ghost, upset over the path her husband has chosen, both politically and with his assistant, the always slutty and horribly fake-British Kim Cattrall. But there is something else behind this whole story, or so it would seem, and Polanski tries to make that the thriller portion of the film. He sends The Ghost out to investigate his predecessor’s death and meets ominous characters to thicken the plot, like Eli Wallach (looking like playing Tuco from THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY occured centuries ago) claiming the tide could not have washed up the writer’s body in that spot, or Tom Wilkinson playing an unknown and obscure Harvard professor, played like a Machiavellian puppetmaster with some ambiguously threatening lines (although he is not Vice Presidential, this is the Dick Cheney character). He has ties to a monster of a military defense corporation called Hatherton (yeah, a short stones-throw away from Halliburton), and how he fits into Lang’s life is the mystery The Ghost wants to discover. But at what cost? Ooooh.
I can understand the politics behind this movie, and it tries to mask that with a suspenseful plot, but the suspense falls flat for me, and while some may think it was cooked to a slow boil, I never got the boil part. It was just slow. Tom Wilkinson had the most interesting character and he comes in too late and is underused, while Olivia Williams plays with The Ghost Writer to the point we think this is simply a tryst movie for them at one point. McGregor plays his role fine, not too interested in the politics but smart enough to grasp them, but his investigation into the things Lang won’t tell him isn’t played well enough, as things just kind of fall into his lap. But my biggest problem is the misuse of Pierce Brosnan. Okay, you want to comment on Tony Blair and your disagreement with his policies in cooperation with America’s war on terror. That’s fine. But don’t take Thomas Crown down as you do it. This is a guy that can play the cool, master of the universe-type who could have made an incredibly interesting character and he’s reduced to a grinning buffoon (grinning at one point next to a not-even-thinly-veiled Condi Rice character). It’s tantamount to putting Baby in the corner. Nobody does it. But I guess Roman Polanski thinks the rules don’t apply to him. Oh, wait…
Tags: Ewan McGregor, movie reviews, Olivia Williams, Pierce Brosnan, roman polanski
Posted in Reviews |
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly and Marisa Tomei have signed on for the comedy-thriller SALVATION BOULEVARD for director George Ratliff. They join a cast that already includes Pierce Brosnan, Ed Harris and Jim Gaffigan. The film is about a former hippie that goes on the run from members of a mega-church that are set on protecting their pastor.
The cast is now pretty incredible, but I’m still not sure how they’re going to make this film work. On one hand, I think it will be funny to dive into the world of mega-churches and the fundamentalists that make them up, but on the other hand, it gets risky whenever you start making fun of religion. We also don’t know for sure which actor is playing which character, but I have to assume Gaffigan is the former hippie.
Source: Variety
Tags: ed harris, Greg Kinnear, Jennifer Connelly, Marisa Tomei, movie news, Pierce Brosnan
Posted in News |
Thursday, February 11th, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
Ed Harris, Pierce Brosnan and comedian Jim Gaffigan have agreed to star in the upcoming film SALVATION BOULEVARD. The movie follows a former-hippie-turned-Christian on the run from members of a mega-church that are desperate to protect their superstar pastor. George Ratliff will direct the film that’s based off the book by Larry Beinhart, who also wrote ‘Wag the Dog’.
That synopsis has political potholes written all over it. Religion can be a funny thing, but doing it in a manner that’s not offensive is incredibly difficult. I’m assuming Brosnan will play the pastor and Gaffigan will play the hippie. I like Gaffigan’s standup, but he has yet to be able to capture that comedy on film.
Source: Variety
Tags: ed harris, George Ratliff, Jim Gaffigan, Larry Beinhart, movie news, Pierce Brosnan
Posted in News |
Friday, January 29th, 2010
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
Caught up in all of Roman Polanski’s legal drama is the fact that the guy just finished the film THE GHOST WRITER. Until now, I wasn’t sure if we were missing anything, but the trailer makes the film look pretty decent. The story centers on a writer that’s hired to write the manuscript of a shady politician. Once he gets involved, he finds himself entangled in a web of deceit. I’m not sure where he’s going to take that plot, but like I said, the trailer is enjoyable. The film stars Ewan McGregor, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson, Kim Cattrall, Timothy Hutton and Olivia Williams.
Watch the trailer here.
Tags: Ewan McGregor, kim cattrall, movie news, Pierce Brosnan, Tom Wilkinson
Posted in News |
Thursday, November 19th, 2009
Posted by: Brad Sturdivant
By some shear coincidence, the new Robert Pattinson film REMEMER ME debuted its trailer today. I don’t want to make wild accusations, but you don’t think this was timed to ride some of the NEW MOON hoopla that’s going on right now…do you? Anyway, Bob Patty once again stars as a sad and forlorn young male with all kinds of issues that needs a sweet and caring woman to help him through his dark times. Emilie de Ravin and Pierce Brosnan also star in the film directed by Allen Coulter.
I’m not sure what to think of Pattinson, but I can tell you I won’t be able to take him seriously until the last of the Twilight films are released. But it is nice to see Emilie de Ravin in something other than Lost. Also, it should be noted that the screenplay for this was co-written by Jenny Lumet, who did an amazing job with RACHEL GETTING MARRIED.
Watch the trailer here.
Tags: Allen Couter, Emilie de Ravin, movie news, Pierce Brosnan, Robert Pattinson
Posted in News |
Friday, September 18th, 2009
Sigh. Society has dictated that liking certain things makes a man less of a man. For example; liking the color pink, throw pillows or fruity drinks will usually get your man card revoked. I’m not sure when certain things became less manly, but men feel pressure to either not like those things, or to hide their fondness. Another example would be the Swedish 70’s band, Abba and indirectly, the musical MAMMA MIA!.
But you’ll occasionally catch me at the bar sipping on a Rum Runner or picking out new throw pillows at Macy’s. I’ve never been one to change my likes or dislikes because I want to fit a particular image. So with that in mind, I will make my declaration to the world that I love Abba. Not only Abba, but the musical and movie MAMMA MIA! It’s fun, it’s cute, it’s sweet and the musical numbers make you want to get up and dance. If admitting that makes me less of a man, well, I guess I’m okay with that.
Sophie Sheridan (Amanda Seyfried) is about to get married and dreams of having her father walk her down the aisle. Unfortunately for her, her mom was a bit of a slut wild when she was younger and she doesn’t really know who the father is. So Sophie has narrowed it down to three contestants and much to the surprise of her mother, she invites all three of them to her wedding. Of course, this comes as a shock and the rest of the film is dedicated to trying to figure out who her father is.
The entire movie is set to Abba music, much like ACROSS THE UNIVERSE was set to Beatles music. If I have to compare the two, I’d say the biggest difference is that the actors singing the songs in MAMMA MIA aren’t nearly as good of singers as the actors in ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Seyfried and Streep do okay, but Dominic Cooper and Pierce Brosnan shouldn’t even sing in the shower. Thankfully, they limit their singing, or give them songs that don’t require much range. However, for those roles, I think they would have been better served finding singers that can act and not actors that can sing. Sometimes it’s better to surround a talented cast with actual musicians in order to handle the more difficult songs, or to add a bit of legitimacy to the film, ala CHICAGO.
But regardless of who sings, the music is the selling point. Good music in a musical will at least make it okay. What makes MAMMA MIA! good is that director Phyllida Lloyd keeps everything rolling and doesn’t waste the audience’s time. She knows why we’re there and she skips to the next song quickly and smoothly. She also does a fine job with the dance numbers, which provide pleasing visuals while you’re listening to some good songs. The routines won’t blow you away, but they work for the movie.
MAMMA MIA! is a fun film that will please anyone that’s a fan of Abba. But even if you don’t have one of their albums, or won’t admit to having one, I think you’ll catch on to the songs rather quickly. The film covers just about every decent Abba song and it does it so well that you’ll probably want to watch this one a few times.
Tags: Amanda Seyfried, Meryl Streep, movie reviews, Phyllida Lloyd, Pierce Brosnan
Posted in Reviews |
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