Archive for the 'Ensemble Cast' Category

Milk

Published
by
Chalupa
on January 7, 2009
in Assassination, Based on a true story, Biography, Drama, Ensemble Cast, Government, Politics and Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

Not having any idea who Harvey Milk was, other than what I had learned from the trailer, Milk was a very interesting look at the life of the first openly gay man to be elected to a major public office in the US.  Directed by Gus Van Sant, I knew this had to be at least a little good.  Then I noticed the amazing ensemble cast consisting of Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco, Alison Pill, and Diego Luna.  Everyone did a great job.  I couldn’t really see a single character carrying the whole film with the exception of maybe Penn, but he was the central character.

Milk was a political activist in the 1970s who tried to rally the gay community on Castro street in San Francisco.  It was around this time that laws were being put into place giving employers, landlords, and communities the right to discriminate based on sexual preference.  This might sound a little crazy to you, but it was only about 50 years ago that the Civil Rights movement started in our nation.  I’ve heard some off-handed comments saying this movie is about “that gay guy.”  That’s only partially true.  I say this film is much more about civil rights than about gay rights.  Milk was someone who was able to rally people together of all races, religions and creeds.  This was even more evident after he was killed.

Don’t get mad cause I just gave the ending away.  This movie is about a real person, remember?  Penn was amazing.  I know there are a lot of you out there that just don’t like the guy, but he had an amazing performance in this one.  When people act, some mimic a person or character and others just melt into the person they are playing.  Sean Penn really melted into this one.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him nominated for Best Actor on this one.

Also just saw Josh Brolin talking to James Lipton on The Actor’s Studio.  Brolin talked about auditioning for the part and working with Penn.  It was pretty interesting.  You should probably check it out if you get the chance.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Happy Endings

Published
by
Chalupa
on July 21, 2008
in Comedy, Drama, Ensemble Cast and Thriller
. 0 Comments

I didn’t really know what to think of the cover, but the plot looked good so I decided to check this out.  Happy Endings is a story about several groups of people all being connected without knowing it.  Kind of like Pulp Fiction.

Mamie, Lisa Kudrow, is a middle aged woman working as a counselor and dating Javier, Bobby Cannavale.  She’s being blackmailed by Nicky, Jesse Bradford - the kid from Hackers, to help him make a movie about her life and her child she has never met.  Meanwhile, Otis, Jason Ritter, has a band and just hired on Jude, Maggie Gyllenhaal, to be their new vocals.  Things get weird though when Otis’ father, Tom Arnold, takes an interest in Otis’ new girlfriend, Jude.  There are a few more characters I’m not going to go into, but I’m not going to spell it all out for you.

One thing I took from this movie was how incredibly messed up some of the characters are.  Mamie is being blackmailed over her son she gave away years ago by a somewhat crazy kid.  All kinds of interesting things happen there.  Otis is also going through hell watching his father being used by his ex-girlfriend while dealing with his own insecurities and issues.  Like I said earlier, everything ends up being connected in the end.

I wasn’t really sure where this movie was going, but ending up really liking it by the end.  There were a lot of strong performances by many of the characters and actors.  I’d recommend checking this one out.

Rating: ★★★★☆

A Prairie Home Companion

Published
by
Chalupa
on June 29, 2006
in Comedy, Drama, Ensemble Cast, Music and Radio
. 0 Comments

I saw this movie the other night with Robby. I wasn’t quite sure what it was all about, expect for the fact that it was packed full with memorable actors and actresses. Here’s a few…Woody Harrelson, Tommy Lee Jones, Garrison Keillor, Kevin Kline, Lindsay Lohan, Virginia Madsen, John C. Reilly, Maya Rudolph, Meryl Streep, Lily Tomlin, L.Q. Jones and Marylouise Burke.

If you didn’t know, this movie is loosely based off an old live radio show that used to really happen. That’s sort of what the movie is about, except it’s their last show. There’s plenty of comedy thrown in between Keven Kline being a somewhat detective and people doing interesting things during the show.

If you’re into music much, this might be one to watch. The singing is just amazing. I had forgotten how well Lilly Tomlin and Meryl Streep could sing. Woody Harrelson and John C. Reilly did a really good job too, and as much as I hate to admit, Lohan can sing too. For some reason I just have problems recognizing her as a legitimate actress in my head.

I also found out that P.T. Anderson stepped in and did a chunk of the directing for Robert Altman, who was having a lot of health problems. Anderson is someone I admire greatly for many of his previous films, so that could be another reason for some people to check this one out. I can’t say that I was able to see definitely influences of is, but it’s not like there was a noticeable difference between any parts in the movie. I’m not sure if this is one I would buy, but it’s definitely worth a watch.

Waiting…

Published
by
Chalupa
on March 20, 2006
in Comedy, Ensemble Cast, Restaurant and Teen Movie
. 2 Comments

I’d like to start off by saying this movie is dirty. It’s dirty and not suitable for many viewers. I would also like to say this is probably the funniest movie I’ve seen yet in 2006. So take that as you want to, just don’t come running to me if you’re offended by it.

For a line-up we have Ryan Reynolds (Van Wilder, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), Anna Faris (Scary Movie, Lost in Translation, Brokeback Mountain), Justin Long (Galaxy Quest, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie), David Koechner (Wag the Dog, Dirty Work, Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, The 40 Year Old Virgin), Luis Guzmán (Carlito’s Way, Boogie Nights, Mystery Men, Magnolia, Traffic, The Salton Sea, Punch-Drunk Love, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), Chi McBride (Gone in Sixty Seconds, “Boston Public”, The Terminal, I, Robot), John Francis Daley (“Freaks and Geeks” Do I really need to say anything else?), Alanna Ubach, (Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, “Beakman’s World”, Clockwatchers), Robert Patrick Benedict (Kicking & Screaming), Dane Cook (Mystery Men, “Crank Yankers”).

I’d like to say that John Francis Daley, Luis Guzmán and Dane Cook were just amazing in this. Not that I was really surprised, these are some really solid actors. I think their previous accomplishments can speak for themselves.

I have to admit I was really looking forward to this movie by the commercials and previews, but after the movie came out, I almost wrote it off because of what I read on Rotten Tomatoes about it. Once again, I have to say that the critics were wrong when it came to my tastes. I usually trust this site, but it’s definitely not 100%. Eric Dubya Davis was the man of the hour by coming through with a glowing report that re-encouraged me to give this little gem a try.

The story line is basically a 24hr time period in the lives of the employees from Shananiganz, a chain restaurant that embodies most American sit down places - Applebees, Chili’s, Ruby Tuesday, TGIF, Outback, etc. There’s also a new guy and we get to see a peek into everybody’s lives while he is being trained and trying to adjust to the slap-in-the-face culture of his new place of employment. A lot of the customers fit the stereotypes of poor tippers, flirters, jerks, etc, etc, etc. Watching some of the extras helped explain some things as you learn the writer/director added a lot of his own life experiences from being a waiter himself.

As I said before, this movie is hilarious, but there’s a good chance you could be offended. So watch at your own risk.