gone baby gone

Gone Baby Gone, esordio alla regia di Ben Affleck, è un altro titolo penalizzato da una distribuzione italiana oscena, questa volta pare in relazione alla scomparsa della piccola Madeleine McCann (Portogallo, inizio 2007). Decisione francamente inconcepibile, perché se è vero che nel film una bambina bionda viene rapita, le somiglianze finiscono qui: il film è stato scritto e diretto prima del fatto, peraltro.

Zona degradata di Boston, una bambina viene rapita; la madre - tossica - sembra più interessata a sé stessa che alle sorti della piccola, ma ovviamente il caso suscita grande clamore e la polizia indaga sulla scomparsa. Gli zii della bambina ingaggiano una giovane coppia di detective privati nella speranza di ritrovarla al più presto.
Inizia una discesa in un mondo di criminali, spacciatori e pedofili, ma la soluzione del caso non sarà né semplice né indolore per nessuno.

Film crudo alla Clint Eastwood, deve probabilmente gran parte dei suoi meriti all'omonimo libro di Dennis Lehane (lo stesso che scrisse Mystic River, per dire...)
Non è però il caso di sminuire il buon lavoro di adattamento fatto da Ben Affleck, che firma anche una regia che magari non riscrive le regole del cinema, ma è più che degna e perfetta per il genere.
Povero Ben, denigrato da tutti: sono il primo ad ammettere che come attore fa quel che può, ma se il co-autore di Good Will Hunting fosse il peggio che c'è ad Hollywood, avremmo 4 capolavori la settimana, invece della merda che ci viene propinata quasi quotidianamente.

Se proprio vogliamo trovare qualche nota stonata, va cercata nella recitazione di Casey Affleck e di Michelle Monaghan; niente da dire su Morgan Freeman e - soprattutto - Ed Harris.
Poi, a ben guardare, soffre anche di qualche dialogo un po' troppo impostato e della complessiva inverosimiglianza della storia in sé (ed anche alcuni passaggi logici sono un tantino azzardati), ma in fondo questo genere di film è bello anche per quello.

Voto: 9- e chapeau a Ben Affleck.
Tags: drammatico, crimine, poliziesco, mistero, Ben Affleck, scomparsa, rapimento, Boston, polizia, degrado, tossicodipendenza, madre, zio, investigatore, spacciatore, poliziotto, agguato, droga, sparatoria, fucile, pistola, irruzione, indagine, pedofilia, corruzione, detective, bar, minaccia, cocaina, televisione, tradimento, funerale, sangue, omicidio, moralità.

Monaghan, Michelle

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Nome di battesimo: Monaghan, Michelle Lynn
Data di nascita: 23 March 1976
Altezza: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Coniuge: Pete White::(August 2005 - present) 1 child

Ultimi lavori:

• Eagle Eye (2008) .... Rachel Holloman [attrice]
• Made of Honor (2008) .... Hannah [attrice]
• Trucker (2008) .... Diane Ford [attrice]
• Gone Baby Gone (2007) .... Angie Gennaro [attrice]
• The Heartbreak Kid (2007) .... Miranda [attrice]
• Mission: Impossible III (2006) .... Julia [attrice]
• Constantine (2005) .... Ellie (uncredited) [attrice]
• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005) .... Harmony Faith Lane [attrice]
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) .... Gwen [attrice]
• North Country (2005) .... Sherry [attrice]

Biografia:
Michelle Lynn Monaghan was born on March 23, 1976, in Winthrop, Iowa. She is the youngest of three children and the only daughter of Sharon and Robert John Monaghan. After graduating from high school in Iowa, she studied journalism for three years at Chicago's Columbia College. In order to pay for college, she took a job as a model. In 1999, she quit college and moved to New York to work full-time as a fashion model. She traveled the world doing stints on the runways in Milan, Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, and also enjoyed appearances in a number magazines and catalogs. In 2000, she made her TV debut in two episodes of "Young Americans" (2000), then appeared in "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (1999). She made her big screen debut with a small role of Henrietta in Perfume (2001). Monaghan shot to fame in 2002 when she co-starred as Kimberly Woods for one season on the TV series "Boston Public" (2000). After appearances in several supporting roles, she starred opposite Robert Downey Jr. and Val Kilmer in the black comedy Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005). Later in 2005, Monaghan was filming in China, Italy, and the United States on Mission: Impossible III (2006), as the female lead opposite Tom Cruise. In August of 2005, in Sydney, Australia, Michelle Monaghan married her long-time sweetheart, Peter White, a New York based graphic designer, whom she met at a Manhattan party five years earlier.

Trivia random: Has two older brothers.
Citazione random: "You don't grow up in a town of 700 thinking you're going to be an actress. I loved doing [school] plays, but it was just something to keep me busy."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Lehane, Dennis (II)

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Data di nascita: 4 August 1965
Coniuge: Sheila::(? - ?) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• Shutter Island (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Until Gwen (2009) .... (short story) [scrittore]
• Gone Baby Gone (2007) .... (novel) [scrittore]
• Mystic River (2003) .... (novel) [scrittore]

Trivia random: Teaches advanced fiction writing at Harvard
Citazione random: "I found that I could write two kinds of short stories: I could write very absurd, kind of surrealistic, funny stories; or I could write very dark, realistic -- hyper- realistic -- stories. I was never happy with that, because I couldn't meld the two. And my view of life is that it's both." - August 1999

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Affleck, Casey

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Nome di battesimo: Affleck, Caleb Casey
Data di nascita: 12 August 1975
Altezza: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Coniuge: Summer Phoenix::(3 June 2006 - present) 2 children

Ultimi lavori:

• The Killer Inside Me (2010) .... Lou Ford [attore]
• The Kind One (2010) .... Danny Landon [attore]
• Untitled Joaquin Phoenix Documentary (2010) .... [regista]
• Gone Baby Gone (2007) .... Patrick Kenzie [attore]
• Ocean's Thirteen (2007) .... Virgil Malloy [attore]
• The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) .... Robert Ford [attore]
• The Last Kiss (2006) .... Chris [attore]
• Lonesome Jim (2005) .... Jim [attore]
• Ocean's Twelve (2004) .... Virgil Malloy [attore]
• All Grown Up (2003) (TV) .... (executive producer) [produttore]

Trivia random: Appeared with brother Ben Affleck in the movies Chasing Amy (1997), Good Will Hunting (1997) and 200 Cigarettes (1999).
Citazione random: I believe veganism can be beneficial for the individual and the world, and of course the animal, but belief is like laying in the dark with someone and telling them you love them and hearing nothing back. So I've never had the confidence to get on a soapbox and tell someone else what to do

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Harris, Ed (I)

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Nome di battesimo: Harris, Edward Allen
Data di nascita: 28 November 1950
Altezza: 5' 9" (1.75 m)
Coniuge: Amy Madigan::(21 November 1983 - present) 1 child

Ultimi lavori:

• The Way Back (2010) .... Mr. Smith [attore]
• Once Fallen (2009) .... Liam [attore]
• Appaloosa (2008) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Touching Home (2008) .... Charlie Winston [attore]
• Cleaner (2007) .... Eddie Lorenzo [attore]
• Gone Baby Gone (2007) .... Remy Bressant [attore]
• National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007) .... Mitch Wilkinson [attore]
• Copying Beethoven (2006) .... Ludwig van Beethoven [attore]
• Two Tickets to Paradise (2006) .... Melville [attore]
• A History of Violence (2005) .... Carl Fogarty [attore]

Biografia:
By transforming into his characters and pulling the audience in, Ed Harris has earned the reputation as one of the most talented actors of our time. Born in Tenafly, New Jersey, Harris grew up as the middle child. After graduating high school, he attended New York's Columbia University, where he played football. After viewing local theater productions, Harris took a sudden interest in acting. He left Columbia, headed to Oklahoma, where his parents were living, and enrolled in the University of Oklahoma's theater department. After graduation, he moved to Los Angeles to find work. He started acting in theater and television guest spots. Harris landed his first leading role in a film in cult-favorite George A. Romero's Knightriders (1981). Two years later, he got his first taste of critical acclaim, playing astronaut John Glenn in The Right Stuff (1983). Also that year, he made his New York stage debut in Sam Shepard's "Fool for Love", a performance that earned him an Obie for Outstanding Actor. Harris' career gathered momentum after that. In 2000, he made his debut as a director in the Oscar-winning film Pollock (2000).

Trivia random: He has a brother living in Norman, Oklahoma - where Ed attended the University of Oklahoma.
Citazione random: Acting is not a competition to me. One of the first things I learned about acting was, the only person you compete against is yourself.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Freeman, Morgan (I)

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Nome di battesimo: Jr., Morgan Porterfield Freeman
Data di nascita: 1 June 1937
Altezza: 6' 2½" (1.89 m)
Coniuge: Myrna Colley-Lee::(16 June 1984 - present) (filed for divorce) 2 children, Jeanette Adair Bradshaw::(22 October 1967 - 1979) (divorced) 2 children

Ultimi lavori:

• The Last Full Measure (2010) .... Jimmy Burr (rumored) [attore]
• Invictus (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• The Maiden Heist (2009) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Thick as Thieves (2009/I) .... Keith Ripley [attore]
• A Raisin in the Sun (2008) (TV) .... Narrator (uncredited) [attore]
• The Dark Knight (2008) .... Lucius Fox [attore]
• Wanted (2008) .... Sloan [attore]
• Evan Almighty (2007) .... God [attore]
• Feast of Love (2007) .... Harry Stevenson [attore]
• Gone Baby Gone (2007) .... Jack Doyle [attore]

Biografia:
With an authoritative voice and calm demeanour, this ever popular African American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Born in June 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, the young Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959. His first dramatic arts exposure was on the stage and he appeared in an off-Broadway production of "The Nigger Lovers" and also in an all-African American production of the exuberant musical Hello, Dolly! (1969). Freeman first appeared on TV screens as several characters including "Easy Reader", "Mel Mounds" and "Count Dracula" on the Children's Television Workshop (now Sesame Workshop) show "The Electric Company" (1971). He then moved into feature film with another children's adventure, Who Says I Can't Ride a Rainbow! (1971). Next, there was a small role in the thriller Blade (1973); then he played "Casca" in Julius Caesar (1979) (V) and the title role in Coriolanus (1979) (V). Regular work was coming in for the talented Freeman and he appeared in the prison dramas Attica (1980) (TV) and Brubaker (1980), the slow-moving Eyewitness (1981), and portrayed the final 24 hours of slain Malcolm X in Death of a Prophet (1981) (TV). For most of the 1980s, Freeman continued to contribute decent enough performances in films that fluctuated in their quality. However, he really stood out, scoring an Oscar nomination as a merciless hoodlum in Street Smart (1987) and, then, he dazzled audiences and pulled a second Oscar nomination as the patient and dignified chauffeur assisting moody pensioner Jessica Tandy in the delightful Driving Miss Daisy (1989). The same year, Freeman teamed up with youthful Matthew Broderick and fiery Denzel Washington in the epic Civil War drama Glory (1989) about freed slaves being recruited to form the first all-African American fighting brigade. His star continued to rise, and the 1990s kicked off strongly with roles in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991) and The Power of One (1992). Freeman's next role was as gunman "Ned Logan", wooed out of retirement by friend "William Munny" to avenge several prostitutes in the wild west town of Big Whiskey in Clint Eastwood's de-mythologized western Unforgiven (1992). The film was a critical and box-office smash and scored an acting Oscar for Gene Hackman, a directing Oscar for Eastwood, and the Oscar for best picture. Freeman's work did not go unnoticed, more strong scripts came in, and he was back behind bars depicting a knowledgeable inmate (and obtaining his third Oscar nomination), befriending falsely accused banker Tim Robbins in the uplifting The Shawshank Redemption (1994). He was then back out hunting a religious serial killer in Se7en (1995), starred alongside Keanu Reeves in Chain Reaction (1996), and was pursuing another serial murderer in Kiss the Girls (1997). Further praise followed for his role in the slave tale of Amistad (1997), he was a worried US President facing Armageddon from above in Deep Impact (1998), appeared in the loopy Neil LaBute black comedy Nurse Betty (2000), and reprised his role as "Alex Cross" in Along Came a Spider (2001). Now highly popular, he was much in demand with cinema audiences, and he co-starred in the terrorist drama The Sum of All Fears (2002), was a military officer in the Stephen King-inspired Dreamcatcher (2003), gave divine guidance as "God" to Jim Carrey in the very funny Bruce Almighty (2003), and played a minor role in the uneven comedy The Big Bounce (2004). However, 2005 was finally to be Morgan Freeman's year, when again he teamed up with good friend Clint Eastwood to appear in the heart-wrenching drama, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Freeman's on-screen performance is simply world-class as ex-prize fighter Eddie "Scrap Iron" Dupris, who works in a run-down boxing gym alongside grizzled trainer "Frankie Dunn", as the two work together to hone the skills of never-say-die female boxer Hilary Swank. Freeman received his fourth Oscar nomination and, finally, impressed the Academy's judges enough to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance. In addition to his film work, his commanding yet mellifluous voice has also led Freeman to be cast to narrate or host dozens of first-rate television specials covering topics from the American Civil War, the American Film Institute, blues music, the White House and many commemorative events involving the US film industry, most recently as the narrator of the American version of La marche de l'empereur (2005).

Trivia random: Has recorded a new radio public service announcement about the national parks.
Citazione random: Upon getting work as an off-Broadway actor in 1967: I made $70 a week as an actor and I'd been making $60 in LA. Making more than that as an actor was just unbelievable to me. I never went back to typing but had some real lean times in-between. But I didn't have to go to work for anybody else. I didn't have to wash dishes, I didn't have to wait tables, I didn't have to drive a cab or wash cars. I deliberately left myself nothing to fall back on. If you've got a cushion, where you land, you stay. You can't climb a mountain with a net. If you've got the net, you'll let go.
Salario massimo: $5,000,000, per Kiss the Girls (1997)

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Gone Baby Gone (2007)

Gone Baby Gone

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Regista: Ben Affleck
Scrittore: Ben Affleck, Aaron Stockard
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Crime
Valutazione: 7.9/10 (52025 voti)
Durata: 114 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Casey Affleck .... Patrick Kenzie
• Michelle Monaghan .... Angie Gennaro
• Morgan Freeman .... Jack Doyle
• Ed Harris .... Remy Bressant
• John Ashton .... Nick Poole
• Amy Ryan .... Helene McCready
• Amy Madigan .... Bea McCready
• Titus Welliver .... Lionel McCready
• Michael K. Williams .... Devin (as Michael Kenneth Williams)
• Edi Gathegi .... Cheese

Trama:
When 4 year old Amanda McCready disappears from her home and the police make little headway in solving the case, the girl's aunt Beatrice McCready hires two private detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro. The detective freely admit that they have little experience with this type of case, but the family wants them for two reasons - they're not cops and they know the tough neighborhood in which they all live. As the case progresses, Kenzie and Gennaro face drug dealers, gangs and pedophiles. When they finally solve the case, they are faced with a moral dilemma that tears them apart.

Trivia random: Broadway actress Amy Ryan looked and sounded so convincing as a low class Dorchester mom that a security guard mistook her for a fan on the first day of location filming, and wouldn't let her on the set. One of the producers finally noticed her on the other side of one of the barricades, and said she should be let through. The incident made Ryan twenty minutes late, but convinced her the Boston accent she'd prepared was realistic.
Citazione random: Big Dave: Listen, I ain't saying a fucking word. I already talked to the fucking cops.<br />Patrick Kenzie: All right. Dave, right?<br />Big Dave: Big Dave.<br />Patrick Kenzie: Big Dave. All right. I'm Medium Patrick. Nice to meet you.<br />Big Dave: You're a little fucking light in the ass to be talking shit, ain't ya?

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Eastwood, Clint

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Nome di battesimo: Jr., Clinton Eastwood
Data di nascita: 31 May 1930
Altezza: 6' 2" (1.88 m)
Coniuge: Dina Eastwood::(31 March 1996 - present) 1 child, Maggie Johnson::(19 December 1953 - 14 May 1984) (divorced) 2 children

Ultimi lavori:

• Invictus (2009) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Changeling (2008) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Gran Torino (2008) .... (producer) [produttore]
• You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008) (V) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Tony Bennett: The Music Never Ends (2007) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Flags of Our Fathers (2006) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005) (TV) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Budd Boetticher: An American Original (2005) (V) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Million Dollar Baby (2004) .... (producer) [produttore]

Biografia:
Like most superstars, Clint Eastwood's success can be attributed to equal parts good fortune, tenacity, and talent. Eastwood may have been too young to fight in World War II, but he managed to miss out on action in Korea too. On leave as a G.I., his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and steely-eyed Clint swam three miles to shore. He later was made boot camp swimming instructor and missed out on action in Korea (confined to base). Encouraged to try acting by two of his Army buddies, David Janssen and Martin Milner, he landed a contract at Universal Studios in 1954, earning 75 USD a week playing bit parts in B-grade movies like Revenge of the Creature (1955) and Tarantula (1955). He was dropped when some studio execs decided his Adam's apple was too big. The determined Eastwood swallowed his pride and, over the next few years, he dug swimming pools between playing bit parts in movies and on TV. While visiting a friend at CBS, Eastwood was spotted by a network exec who cast him as cattle driver Rowdy Yates in the long-running western series "Rawhide" (1959). That, in turn, led to spaghetti stardom in a string of Sergio Leone westerns, beginning with Per un pugno di dollari (1964) ("A Fistful of Dollars"). Eastwood has seven children from five different women. He is divorced from Maggie Johnson and had a long time relationship with frequent co-star Sondra Locke. He lives in Carmel and has been married to Dina Eastwood since 1996.

Trivia random: Presented the Golden Globe Award for Best Director to Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain (2005).
Citazione random: You have to trust your instincts. There's a moment when an actor has it, and he knows it. Behind the camera you can feel the moment even more clearly. And once you've got it, once you feel it, you can't second-guess yourself. You can find a million reasons why something didn't work. But if it feels right, and it looks right, it works. Without sounding like a pseudointellectual dipshit, it's my responsibility to be true to myself. If it works for me, it's right.
Salario massimo: $12,000,000 (15% of gross), per Every Which Way But Loose (1978)

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Mystic River (2003)

Mystic River

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Regista: Clint Eastwood
Scrittore: Dennis Lehane, Brian Helgeland
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Crime
Valutazione: 8.0/10 (99378 voti) [#236 nella top250]
Durata: 137 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Sean Penn .... Jimmy Markum
• Tim Robbins .... Dave Boyle
• Kevin Bacon .... Sean Devine
• Laurence Fishburne .... Sgt. Whitey Powers
• Marcia Gay Harden .... Celeste Boyle
• Laura Linney .... Annabeth Markum
• Kevin Chapman .... Val Savage
• Tom Guiry .... Brendan Harris (as Thomas Guiry)
• Emmy Rossum .... Katie Markum
• Spencer Treat Clark .... Silent Ray Harris

Trama:
Childhood friends Jimmy Markum, Sean Devine and Dave Boyle reunite following the death of Jimmy's oldest daughter, Katie. Sean's a police detective on the case, gathering difficult and disturbing evidence; he's also tasked with handling Jimmy's rage and need for retribution.

Trivia random: The movie was named as one of "The 20 Most Overrated Movies Of All Time" by Premiere.
Citazione random: Whitey Powers: The girl just wants to bed you; she don't wanna wed you. You don't even blink? She wants to worship at the temple of Sean Devine.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Affleck, Ben

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Nome di battesimo: Affleck-Boldt, Benjamin Geza
Data di nascita: 15 August 1972
Altezza: 6' 3" (1.91 m)
Coniuge: Jennifer Garner::(29 June 2005 - present) 2 children

Ultimi lavori:

• The Company Men (2010) .... Bobby Walker [attore]
• Turning It Over (2010) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Extract (2009) .... Dean [attore]
• He's Just Not That Into You (2009) .... Neil [attore]
• Reporter (2009) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• State of Play (2009) .... Rep. Stephen Collins [attore]
• Gimme Shelter (2008) (V) .... [regista]
• Gone Baby Gone (2007) .... (screenplay) [scrittore]
• Clerks II (2006) .... Gawking Guy [attore]
• Hollywoodland (2006) .... George Reeves [attore]

Biografia:
Benjamin Geza Affleck was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California, USA but raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He was born to parents Tim Affleck, a social worker, who is now divorced from Ben's mother Chris Affleck, a school teacher. Ben also has a younger brother, actor Casey Affleck, who was born in 1975. Ben wanted to be an actor ever since he could remember and his first acting experience was for a Burger King commercial, when he was on the PBS mini-series "The Voyage of the Mimi" (1984). It was also at that age when Ben met his lifelong friend and fellow actor, Matt Damon. They played little league together and took drama classes together. Ben's teen years consisted of mainly TV movies and small television appearances including Hands of a Stranger (1987) (TV) and "The Second Voyage of the Mimi" (1988). He made his big introduction into feature films in 1993 when he was cast in Dazed and Confused (1993). After that, he did mostly independent films like Kevin Smith's Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997) which were great for Ben's career, receiving renowned appreciation for his works at the Sundance film festival. But the success he was having in independent films didn't last much longer and things got a little shaky for Ben. He was living in an apartment with his brother Casey and friend Matt, getting tired of being turned down for the big roles in films and being given the forgettable supporting ones. Since Matt was having the same trouble, they decided to write their own script, where they could call all the shots. So, after finishing the script for Good Will Hunting (1997), they gave it to their agent Patrick Whitesell, who showed it to a few Hollywood studios, finally being accepted by Castlerock. It was great news for the two but Castlerock wasn't willing to give Ben and Matt the control over the project they were hoping for. It was friend Kevin Smith who took it to the head of Miramax who bought the script giving Ben and Matt the control they wanted and, in December of 1997, Good Will Hunting (1997) was released, making the two unknown actors famous. The film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won two, including Best Original Screenplay for Ben and Matt. The film marked Ben's breakthrough role, in which he was given for the first time the chance to choose roles instead of having to go through grueling auditions constantly. He chose such roles in the blockbusters Armageddon (1998/I), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001). With these hits to his credit, Hollywood can't seem to get enough of Ben, with directors wanting him in their movies and companies wanting his screenplays. His inspirational story of hard work and amazing climb to the top has brought him what he deserves and Ben Affleck has shown no sign of slowing down.

Trivia random: Majored in Middle Eastern affairs in college.
Citazione random: I've finally learnt how to say, "No comment". To appear in the tabloids is a real learning curve and a steep one at that. You had better learn quick or you get burnt.
Salario massimo: $300,000 (split $600,000 script sale with Matt Damon), per Good Will Hunting (1997)

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Will Hunting - Genio ribelle

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Regista: Gus Van Sant
Scrittore: Matt Damon, Ben Affleck
Genere: Drama, Drama
Valutazione: 8.0/10 (127639 voti) [#238 nella top250]
Durata: 126 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Robin Williams .... Sean Maguire
• Matt Damon .... Will Hunting
• Ben Affleck .... Chuckie Sullivan
• Stellan Skarsgård .... Prof. Gerald Lambeau
• Minnie Driver .... Skylar
• Casey Affleck .... Morgan O'Mally
• Cole Hauser .... Billy McBride
• John Mighton .... Tom - Lambeau's Teaching Assistant
• Rachel Majorowski .... Krystyn
• Colleen McCauley .... Cathy

Trama:
A janitor at MIT, Will Hunting has a gift for maths that can take him light-years beyond his blue-collar roots, but to achieve his dream he must turn his back on the neighborhood and his best friend. To complicate matters, two strangers enter the equation: a washed-up shrink who starts to coach Will through his transformation, and a med student who shows him that there can be a pretty face along with his life of the mind.

Trivia random: At a WGA seminar in 2003, William Goldman denied the persistent rumor that he was the actual writer of Good Will Hunting: "I would love to say that I wrote it. Here is the truth. In my obit it will say that I wrote it. People don't want to think those two cute guys wrote it. What happened was, they had the script. It was their script. They gave it to Rob [Reiner] to read, and there was a great deal of stuff in the script dealing with the F.B.I. trying to use Matt Damon for spy work because he was so brilliant in math. Rob said, "Get rid of it." They then sent them in to see me for a day - I met with them in New York - and all I said to them was, "Rob's right. Get rid of the F.B.I. stuff. Go with the family, go with Boston, go with all that wonderful stuff." And they did. I think people refuse to admit it because their careers have been so far from writing, and I think it's too bad. I'll tell you who wrote a marvelous script once, Sylvester Stallone. Rocky's a marvelous script. God, read it, it's wonderful. It's just got marvelous stuff. And then he stopped suddenly because it's easier being a movie star and making all that money than going in your pit and writing a script. But I did not write [Good Will Hunting], alas. I would not have written the "It's not your fault" scene. I'm going to assume that 148 percent of the people in this room have seen a therapist. I certainly have, for a long time. Hollywood always has this idea that it's this shrink with only one patient. I mean, that scene with Robin Williams gushing and Matt Damon and they're hugging, "It's not your fault, it's not your fault." I thought, Oh God, Freud is so agonized over this scene. But Hollywood tends to do that with therapists."
Citazione random: Lambeau: Yeah, you were smarter than me then, and you're smarter than me now. So, don't blame me for how your life turned out.<br />Sean: I don't blame you! It's not about you, you mathematical dick! It's about the boy! He's a good kid! And I won't see you fuck him up like you're trying to fuck up me right now! I won't let you make feel like a failure too!

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

pensate ai bambini!

Che meraviglia i vecchi horror fatti con pochi soldi ed altrettante idee!
La Casa Degli Zombi (The Child, del 1977) ha quelle belle trovate registiche, quelle qualità tecniche e quelle abilità recitative che vien da pensare sia stato prodotto da una compagnia itinerante di attori porno shakespeare-iani cecoslovacchi. Menzione di merito alla colonna sonora: il compositore pare stia pulendo con una mazza ferrata ed un lanciafiamme il pianoforte su cui ha appena vomitato.
Non è che sia brutto, è che devi abituartici (per prepararsi consiglio la visione del classico dei classici, La Corazzata Potemkin, montato al contrario ed usando l'intera discografia di Paola e Chiara come colonna sonora).

Una signorina si trasferisce in una vecchia casa di campagna, dove dovrà accudire una bambina traumatizzata dalla morte della madre pazza. Nei paraggi abbiamo: il babbo un po' rincoglionito, un bel giovinotto con una pettinatura così anni '70 da far ribrezzo, una vicina di casa che ha capito che c'è qualcosa che non va, un bosco infestato da mostri ululanti ed un cimitero sempre buono per delle scampagnate notturne.
La bambozza, cioccata come la mamma, ha come amici una gang di zombie che non si fa scrupolo di aizzare contro i propri nemici.
Dopo aver sterminato un po' di gente, tutto finisce per il meglio (ovvero: il film finisce )

Voto: 1 (potrei dire che si tratta di un film invecchiato male, ma la verità è che era una schifezza già 30 anni fa)
Trashometro^® 3/10:
Tags: horror, pazzia, bambina, zombie, gore, trash.

Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925)

Corazzata Potemkin, La

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Regista: Sergei M. Eisenstein, Grigori Aleksandrov
Scrittore: Nina Agadzhanova, Nikolai Aseyev
Genere: Drama, History, War
Valutazione: 8.0/10 (8056 voti)
Durata: 75 min
Paese: SovietUnion
Lingua: Russian

Cast:

• Aleksandr Antonov .... Grigory Vakulinchuk, Bolshevik Sailor
• Vladimir Barsky .... Commander Golikov
• Grigori Aleksandrov .... Chief Officer Giliarovsky
• Ivan Bobrov .... Young Sailor, flogged while sleeping (as I. Bobrov)
• Mikhail Gomorov .... Militant Sailor
• Aleksandr Levshin .... Petty Officer
• N. Poltavseva .... Woman With Pince-nez
• Konstantin Feldman .... Student Agitator
• Prokopenko .... Mother Carrying Wounded Boy
• A. Glauberman .... Wounded Boy

Trama:
Based on the historical events the movie tells the story of a riot at the battleship Potemkin. What started as a protest strike when the crew was given rotten meat for dinner ended in a riot. The sailors raised the red flag and tried to ignite the revolution in their home port Odessa.

Trivia random: The Battleship used during the filming was not the Kniaz Potemkin-Tavricheski, but an older battleship called Dvienadstat Apostolov (The Twelve Apostles), as the original battleship Potemkin had been broken up in 1922.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Child, The (1977)

Casa degli zombi, La

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Regista: Robert Voskanian
Scrittore: Ralph Lucas
Genere: Horror
Valutazione: 4.2/10 (128 voti)
Durata: 82 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Laurel Barnett .... Alicianne Del Mar
• Rosalie Cole .... Rosalie Nordon
• Frank Janson .... Mr.Nordon
• Richard Hanners .... Len Nordon
• Ruth Ballan .... Mrs.Whitfield (as Ruth Ballen)
• Slosson Bing Jong .... Gardener
• Rod Medigovich .... Priest/Creature
• Wendell Hudiburg .... Pall Bearer
• Chris Tieken .... Jefferson
• Ralph Lucas .... Creature

Trama:
A newly-hired housekeeper in a remote area is alarmed to discover that her boss's eleven-year-old daughter is using her supernatural powers to take revenge on the people she holds responsible for her mother's death, with the aid of her flesh-eating zombie 'friends'...

Trivia random: The film was shot mostly on short ends.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

kissed

Serata fiacca? Necessità di sdrammatizzare un'atmosfera troppo tesa? Cercate un buon hobby con cui far bella figura al prossimo colloquio di lavoro? Difficoltà nel far bella impressione sui futuri suoceri?
La necrofilia è un tema che fa sempre fine e non impegna: butti lì l'argomento, ed in men che non si dica ti risolve la serata!

Avevo già visto Kissed, ma mi ero ripromesso di riguardarlo in un orario che non fosse da tombaroli (non che non fosse adeguato al tema...)
Una giovane ragazza un bel po' sbiellata, coltiva fin da piccola una insana passione nei confronti della morte; cresciuta, riuscirà a farsi assumere come imbalsamatrice in una camera mortuaria, dove potrà portare all'estremo la propria passione copulando coi corpi di giovanotti, coi quali sostiene di riuscire ad instaurare un rapporto che non sia solo mono-direzionale, ma che è anzi soddisfacente per entrambi.
Del resto lei lo capisce dalla loro aura e, come dice il proverbio, "tra moglie e perito non mettere il dito".

Se vi state chiedendo come possa funzionare, avete dato poco peso ad "un bel po' sbiellata". C'è poi anche da dire che se diam retta alle ultime improbabili statistiche, sembra che non le passi poi tanto peggio di quelle che se la fanno coi vivi...

Tornando a noi, la signorina incontrerà un ragazzo (stranamente ancora al mondo), che resterà totalmente affascianto dalle di lei pratiche; va da sé che la necrofilia è una di quelle piccole cose che alla lunga possono davvero mettere in crisi un rapporto - un po' come lasciare la tavoletta del water alzata - e tutto si complicherà.

Il tema raccapricciante è trattato in maniera adeguata, con tratti grotteschi derivanti paradossalmente dalla (quasi) normalità con cui viene presentato; non si può certo dire che la storia (con risvolti romantici, a suo modo) sia travolgente o che risulti "convincente", ma del resto un'ora e 20 sull'argomento sembrano già sufficienti.
A tratti presenta risvolti Gaimaniani: specie i riti praticati dalla protagonista da bambina ricordano molto nello stile le cerimonie della Necropoli di Litargirio descritta nella Locanda alla Fine dei Mondi.

E poi, diamine, un film che dall'MPAA riceve la valutazione rated R for aberrant sexuality and some language non può essere del tutto malvagio!

E ricordate: necrofilia significa non dover mai dire "basta che respiri..."

Voto: 6.5 (basta non trovarlo troppo persuasivo...)
Tags: dramma, romantico, amore, necrofilia, morte, imbalsamazione, pompe funebri, sesso, cadavere, luce, nudo integrale, gelosia, camera mortuaria.

Kissed (1996)

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Regista: Lynne Stopkewich
Scrittore: Barbara Gowdy, Angus Fraser
Genere: Romance, Drama
Valutazione: 6.4/10 (1206 voti)
Durata: 78 min
Paese: Canada
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Molly Parker .... Sandra Larson
• Peter Outerbridge .... Matt
• Jay Brazeau .... Mr. Wallis, Mortician
• Natasha Morley .... Young Sandra
• Jessie Winter Mudie .... Carol, Sandra's Best Friend
• James Timmons .... Jan, Mortuary Janitor
• Joe Maffei .... Biology Teacher
• Robert Thurston .... Detective
• Annabel Kershaw .... Mother Larson
• Tim Dixon .... Father Larson, Owner of Larson's Flowers

Trama:
Over the years, a child's romantic ideals about death blossom into necrophilia, the study of embalming and the most profound relationship of her life. Citazione random: Sandra Larson: It's like looking into the sun without going blind. I'm consumed.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Parker, Molly (I)

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Data di nascita: June 1972
Altezza: 5' 5" (1.65 m)
Coniuge: Matt Bissonette::(? - present) 1 child

Ultimi lavori:

• Swingtown (2007) (TV) .... [attrice]
• Hollywoodland (2006) .... Laurie Simo [attrice]
• Who Loves the Sun (2006/I) .... Maggie Claire [attrice]
• The Wicker Man (2006) .... Sister Rose/Sister Thorn [attrice]
• Break a Leg (2005) .... Kate [attrice]
• Nine Lives (2005) .... Lisa [attrice]
• The Good Shepherd (2004) .... Madeline Finney [attrice]
• Iron Jawed Angels (2004) (TV) .... Emily Leighton [attrice]
• Looking for Leonard (2002) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Marion Bridge (2002) .... Agnes [attrice]

Biografia:
Molly Parker, the extremely talented and versatile Canadian actress best known in the United States for playing the Western widow Alma Garret on the cable-TV series "Deadwood," was born on July 17, 1972, in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Raised on a commune she described as "a hippie farm" in Pitt Meadows, B.C., Parker got the acting bug when she was 16 years old, after 13 years of ballet training. Parker's uncle was an actor, and his agent took her on as a client, enabling her to launch her career in small roles on Canadian television. She enrolled at Vancouver's Gastown Actors' Studio after she graduated form high school, and continued to act on TV in series and TV-movies while learning her craft at acting school.Parker began attracting attention when she appeared as the daughter of a lesbian military officer in the TV-movie "Serving in Silence". She earned a Gemini nomination (the Canadian TV industry's equivalent of the Emmy) for her performance in the TV-movie "Paris or Somewhere". However, it was her debut in theatrical films that gave her her big breakthrough, playing a necrophiliac in Lynne Stopkewich's 1996 film "Kissed". It was "Kissed that set Molly's career into overdrive.A friend got her an audition for the low-budget independent feature film, and she hit if off with the director, who not only cast her, but became her friend. As the character Sandra Larson, a poetic soul obsessed with death who engages in sexual congress with a corpse, Parker created a sympathetic character in a difficult role. The film garnered her rave revues and she won a Genie Award, the Canadian cinema's Academy Award, for her performance. She parlayed the accolades into a sustained career on film and in TV.On TV, Parker was part of the cast of CBC-TV's six-part sitcom "Twitch City", playing the girlfriend of Don McKellar, which enabled her to showcase her comedic skills. Other memorable TV roles was the female rabbi on Home Box Office's series "Six Feet Under", and of course, he regular role on HBO's "Deadwood". She has appeared in many ambitious films, including Jeremy Podeswa's "The Five Senses", István Szabó's "Sunshine", and Michael Winterbottom's "Wonderland" (1999). She also re-teamed with director Lynne Stopkewich for "Suspicious River."Parker made waves with another provocative film with sex as its subject, director Wayne Wang's "The Center of the World". In the movie, Parker played a San Francisco lap dancer who becomes a paid escort to a Silicon Valley nerd. For her performance, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award. In 2002, she was nominated twice as best supporting actress at the Genies for her roles in the British/Canadian co-production "The War Bride" and "Bruce Sweeney's Last Wedding", winning for her appearance in the latter film.Parker's reputation as an outstanding actress is based on her assaying of strong, yet flawed, definitely complex women in character-leads and supporting parts in challenging films. Not only does she convey intelligence, but there is an unconscious elegance to her, a true inner beauty that radiates on-screen. She will be gracing the screen, both large and small, with her unique presence for many years to come.

Trivia random: Gave birth to son William Strummer Bissonette on 13 October 2006 in Los Angeles, California, USA.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Gaiman, Neil

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Nome di battesimo: Gaiman, Neil R.
Data di nascita: 10 November 1960
Altezza: 5' 8" (1.73 m)
Coniuge: Mary T. McGrath::(1985 - present) 3 children

Ultimi lavori:

• Coraline (2008) .... (novel) [scrittore]
• Beowulf (2007) .... (executive producer) [produttore]
• Stardust (2007) .... (producer) [produttore]
• MirrorMask (2005) .... (story) (teleplay) [scrittore]
• The Last Dragon (2004) (TV) .... (creative consultant) [misc]
• A Short Film About John Bolton (2003) .... [scrittore]
• Neil Gaiman Live at the Aladdin (2001) (V) .... (poem) (short stories Chivalry, Babycakes, Being An Experiment Upon Strictly Scientific Lines, Locks and Price) [scrittore]
• Dogma (1999) .... (special thanks) [misc]
• Archangel Thunderbird (1998) (TV) .... Baal (voice) [attore]
• Mononoke-hime (1997) .... (English adaptation: US version) [scrittore]

Trivia random: Sandman #19 took the 1991 World Fantasy Award for best short story (making it the first comic ever to be awarded a literary award).
Citazione random: "It is a fool's prerogative to utter truths that no one else will speak."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Orphan

Che delusione!
Uno parte con l'idea di vedersi un bel trash, ed invece si ritrova con un prodotto più che degno...

Coppia un po' in crisi con un paio di figli a carico ed uno nella tomba, decide di adottare Esther, una ragazzina tanto educata quanto schiva.
La piccola non tarderà a rivelarsi un soggetto molto più complesso e problematico per tutti.

I presupposti della schifezza c'erano tutti (a partire da un mediocre regista), ed invece alla fine questo Orphan fa un ottimo lavoro nel mantere interesse e tensione.
Il segreto è un ingrediente sempre pregiato: violenza commessa (e subita) da bambini. Grazie al cielo non parliamo poi dell'ennesimo bimbetto inquietante e/o posseduto dal demonio: qui la ragazzina ha un piano ed è metodica nel realizzarlo!

Un film di due ore che non annoia, non è eccessivamente banale e non sfrutta per la milionesima volta i soliti cliché merita davvero un elogio (carini anche i titoli di coda).
Intendiamoci: non è un capolavoro assoluto del cinema, ma non gli si poteva davvero chiedere più di così. E non scordiamo Vera Farmiga, che è sempre un bel vedere.
Di mio poi mi bullo di aver indovinato il twist della trama con ampio anticipo.

Voto: 7.5. Se vi capita, recuperatelo.
Tags: horror, drammatico, thriller, orfana, orfanotrofio, adozione, bambina, morte, omicidio, incendio, suora, cadavere, famiglia, alcool, alcolismo, ponte, gioco, seduzione, sesso, parto, operazione, sordomuta, figlio, figlia, pistola, sterilità, casa sull'albero, psichiatra, diario, marito, moglie, coltello, dentiera, sociopatia, twist.

Orphan (2009)

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Regista: Jaume Collet-Serra
Scrittore: David Johnson, Alex Mace
Genere: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Valutazione: 7.2/10 (20862 voti)
Durata: 123 min
Paese: USA, Canada, Germany, France
Lingua: English, American Sign Language, Estonian

Cast:

• Vera Farmiga .... Kate Coleman
• Peter Sarsgaard .... John Coleman
• Isabelle Fuhrman .... Esther
• CCH Pounder .... Sister Abigail
• Jimmy Bennett .... Daniel Coleman
• Margo Martindale .... Dr. Browning
• Karel Roden .... Dr. Varava
• Aryana Engineer .... Max Coleman
• Rosemary Dunsmore .... Grandma Barbara
• Jamie Young .... Brenda

Trama:
Kate and John Coleman are rebuilding their troubled marriage. Kate had a drinking problem, but is in therapy and is doing well. She has been sober for one year. The couple decides to adopt a child. When they meet the nine-year-old Russian girl, Esther, at the St. Marina Orphanage, they immediately fall in love with the well-educated orphan. Their young son, Daniel, is hostile to his new sister; but their deaf-mute daughter, little Max, is enchanted with her - at first. Eventually, Kate begins to feel that Esther is manipulative and possibly even psychologically disturbed. John refuses to listen to his wife's misgivings, and the wounds in their marriage reopen. Kate calls Sister Abigail at the orphanage, and the nun informs her that Esther has a troubled and mysterious history. Kate delves further into Esther's past and discovers she is not at all who she pretends to be.

Trivia random: The language spoken by the Saarne Institute receptionist is Estonian; this is what she says: "Saarne Instituute, kas ma saan teid aidata?" (Saarne Institute, can I help you?) "Kuidas palun?" (I'm sorry?) "Ma ei saa aru. Oota üks silmapilk." (I don't understand. Wait a moment.)
Citazione random: [last lines]
Kate Coleman: [to Max] Baby, it's okay... Share this quote

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Farmiga, Vera

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Nome di battesimo: Farmiga, Vera Ann
Data di nascita: 6 August 1973
Altezza: 5' 7" (1.70 m)
Coniuge: Renn Hawkey::(September 2008 - present) 1 child, Sebastian Roché::(1997 - 2005) (divorced)

Ultimi lavori:

• Source Code (2011) .... [attrice]
• W.E. (2011) .... Wallis Simpson (rumored) [attrice]
• Henry's Crime (2010) .... Julie [attrice]
• Orphan (2009) .... Kate Coleman [attrice]
• The Vintner's Luck (2009) .... Aurora de Valday [attrice]
• Up in the Air (2009/I) .... Alex Goran [attrice]
• In Tranzit (2008) .... Natalia [attrice]
• Nothing But the Truth (2008) .... Erica Van Doren [attrice]
• Quid Pro Quo (2008/I) .... Fiona [attrice]
• The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008) .... Elsa - Mother [attrice]

Biografia:
Vera Farmiga was born second of seven children on August 6, 1973, in Passaic County, New Jersey, USA. She did not speak English until the age of six, and was raised in a strict Ukrainian Catholic home of her father, Michael (Mykola) Farmiga, and her mother, Lyubov (Lyuba) Farmiga. She attended a Ukrainian Catholic school, then went to public school, and was a shy nearsighted girl wearing spectacles while practicing her piano, and was switching to contact lenses for dancing. Farmiga was touring with a Ukrainian folk-dancing company in her teens. In 1991, she graduated from Hunterdon Central regional high school and initially dreamed of becoming an optometrist, but eventually changed her mind, and studied acting at Syracuse University's School of Performing Arts. She began her professional acting career in 1996, making her Broadway debut as an understudy in the play "Taking Sides". Her stage credits included performances in "The Tempest", "The Glass Menagerie", "Hamlet", and in a well-reviewed Off-Broadway production "Second-Hand Smoke" (1997). At the same time, she made her television debut as a female lead, "Catlin", opposite then unknown Heath Ledger in Fox's adventure series "Roar" (1997). In 1998, Farmiga made her big screen debut in the drama Return to Paradise (1998), then played daughters of Christopher Walken in The Opportunists (2000) and Richard Gere in Autumn in New York (2000). She starred as a working-class mother struggling to keep her life and marriage together while hiding her drug addiction in Down to the Bone (2004), for which she won Best Actress Awards from the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Farmiga's acting talent shone in a range of characters, from her memorable role as the senator's daughter opposite Jon Voight in The Manchurian Candidate (2004), to a mental patient in an insane asylum in Neverwas (2005). She co-stars as the wife of a mobster opposite Paul Walker in Running Scared (2006), as a humorous prostitute in Breaking and Entering (2006), and as a doctor in The Departed (2006). Farmiga was formerly married to a fellow actor Sebastian Roché, whom she met during her work on the series "Roar" (1997), and the two eloped to the Bahamas after the series end in 1997. Their marriage ended in divorce in 2005. She shares time between her residencies in New Jersey and in Los Angeles, California. Her activities outside her acting profession include reading, playing her piano, and spending time with her pet angora goats, an obsession she had since she was a child.

Trivia random: Announced she is expecting her first child, with boyfriend Renn Hawkey[September 2008].
Citazione random: As an actor, you're sort of the court-appointed lawyer of the character. And that's what used to draw me to scripts -- something in a woman that I wanted to defend, something that I recognized or wanted to understand, something that turned my head. Now that I'm a mother, I think it's more the message of a film, or the questions that they pose about life -- that's the magnifying glass through which I look at them now. But at first it was all about the character.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Collet-Serra, Jaume

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Data di nascita: 23 March 1974

Ultimi lavori:

• Unknown White Male (2011) .... [regista]
• Orphan (2009) .... [regista]
• Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) .... [regista]
• House of Wax (2005) .... [regista]

Trivia random: Directs music videos and TV commercials as "Jaume"

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

adrift

Mi sto ammosciando.
Partito con l'idea di vedere una immonda zozzeria, non ho trovato tragico niente meno che... Open Water 2: Adrift. Qualcosa non va...

Monumento alla stupidità umana - e si sostiene tratto da una storia vera - un gruppetto di amici (tra cui una che odia il mare, causa traumi pregressi ed una bambina di pochi mesi) se ne va a zonzo sullo yacht di uno di loro, con la scusa di festeggiare un compleanno.
Baldoria, (poco) sesso, divertimento vario, fintanto non ci si tuffa in mare per una sana nuotata. L'ultimo simpaticone (già presunto proprietario della barca) ha l'idea geniale di prendere in braccio la suddetta traumatizzata e gettarsi con lei in mare. Senza aver prima calato la scaletta. Lasciando sulla nave solo la neonata.
Puro genio.

Da qui in poi, litigi, spavento, terrore e dolore in rapida successione. Non ci vuole molto a capire che l'impresa di risalire è quasi disperata, ed infatti...

Un film senza troppe pretese, ma che alla fine dà ciò che promette: la paura montante è resa bene, e non la si tira troppo per le lunghe. La gente si spaventa, si dimena, lotta fino allo stremo, e poi affoga.

Decente la regia, bravini gli attori. Pregevole il personaggio della biondina (non) svampita.
Niente di che, forse, ma si fa guardare.

Voto: 6.5.
Tags: drammatico, thriller, paura, acqua, affogamento, morte, mare, yacht, onde, squalo, scaletta, neonata, sesso, nave, coltello, galleggiante, giubbetto di salvataggio, dolore, crampo, paura, terrore, preghiera, cellulare.

Open Water 2: Adrift (2006)

Alla deriva

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Regista: Hans Horn
Scrittore: Adam Kreutner, Collin McMahon
Genere: Drama, Thriller, Drama
Valutazione: 5.1/10 (3225 voti)
Durata: UK:95 min
Paese: Germany
Lingua: English, French

Cast:

• Susan May Pratt .... Amy
• Richard Speight Jr. .... James
• Niklaus Lange .... Zach
• Ali Hillis .... Lauren
• Cameron Richardson .... Michelle
• Eric Dane .... Dan
• Wolfgang Raach .... Amy's Father
• Alexandra Raach .... Little Amy
• Alfred Cuschieri .... Old Fisherman
• Kelly Wagner .... Erica (voice)

Trama:
Amy, her husband James and their baby Sarah travel to Mexico to sail in the yacht of their reckless friend Dan with their common friends Zach and Lauren and celebrate the thirtieth birthday of Zach. They are introduced to Dan's girlfriend Michelle and they drink and recall moments of their past while navigating. Miles away from the shore, Michelle suggest to stop the yacht and swim in the calm water. Amy stays in the boat since she has a childhood trauma with ocean and Dan stays with her. Later, the irresponsible Dan pushes Amy overboard, falling with her in a prank. Once in the water, the group realizes that Dan forgot to put the embarkation ladder and the freeboard makes impossible to climb to the main deck the yacht. With the baby alone in the boat and stranded in the open sea, they panic and their desperation lead them to a tragic fight for survival.

Trivia random: To prepare for the movie, Susan May Pratt went to the tanning salon and worked out to prepare for a lot of treading water.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

murder set pieces

Avendo già in precedenza assegnato il titolo di Worst Movie Ever, mi tocca ripiegare sulla categoria Più Laido Film di Ogni Tempo, per premiare come si conviene Murder-Set-Pieces.

È sempre cattivo segno, quando un horror si bulla d'essere "il più QUALCOSA mai fatto"; dichiarandosi "the most visceral horror film ever made", Murder-Set-Pieces piscia talmente fuori dall'urinario che il regista-scrittore-a-fag-tot-mi Nick Palumbo andrebbe fustigato in pubblica piazza.

A Las Vegas, un sedicente fotografo attira modelle, baldracche, spogliarelliste e fica varia con la sempre originale scusa di un servizio fotografico.
Prima, dopo o durante la canonica scopatina, l'Helmut Newton dei miserrimi estrae il suo rasoio e sgozza le più o meno ingenue fanciulle.
Trasportate chissà come ancora vive in cantina, verranno torturate per eccellenti motivi che ai più potranno sfuggire.

Pur mietendo vittime a decine (30 in tutto, pare), nessuno si prende la briga di indagare, non fosse per la sorellina (dodicenne o giù di lì) della presunta fidanzata del serial kiler.
Nel mentre, in alcune trame del tutto disgiunte, veniamo informati che Bimbo Gigi Scannavacche è un neonazista nipote di un gerarca del terzo reich (la foto del nonno con Hitler e Mussolini! ), che ha incubi riguardanti una notevole pataccona che potrebbe essere sua madre come chiunque altro, e che l'11 settembre gli ha creato ulteriore confusione mentale. Non che ne avesse bisogno...

Non è neanche un "gore" classico, qui si punta più sul pseudo-vomitevole in quantità industriale, e francamente si riesce pure a mancare il bersaglio.
Sì ok, sangue ad ettolitri, sgozzamenti, sevizie e tutto il resto, ma non c'è un mezzo secondo che riesca davvero spaventare. Disgustare? Forse chi è poco avvezzo al genere o è troppo sensibile, ma in realtà il tutto suscita più noia ed ilarità che altro.
Nudo integrale (specie nella prima metà, che di fatto è un soft-soft-porn) come se piovesse, ed anche un po' di sesso più o meno esplicito; mi chiedo sempre come qualcuno che abbia più di 15 anni possa ancora considerare shockante o provocatorio un po' di fica depilata solo per il fatto d'essere lì: in un horror o ci fai qualcosa di sensato, o lascia perdere, va...
Presunto culmine sovversivo del film, l'omicidio di una bambina e l'utilizzo di un bimbetto di neanche 2 anni per una scena che grida "arrestate il regista, vi prego". In tutta onestà: YAWN.

Stupido a livelli allarmante, l'intera sceneggiatura non è sufficiente neppure per il fondo di una gabbietta per uccelli; nulla ha la benché minima logica (il tizio va in giro e ammazza - punto) e, come detto, si mira solo al (presunto) shock.
Va detto che è un film che strizza l'occhio agli amanti di molti generi: ce n'è per gli affezzionati della gnocca, degli slasher, dei vampiri (ogni tanto ci si beve il sangue, quindi suppongo valga), dei cannibali (pasto sano e ricco di proteine, il torso putrefatto ), delle feci-e-urine (vittime che evacuano durante la tortura e così via), della necrofilia (fellatio con testa decapitata: enough said) e del non-sense in generale.

Non che manchino i momenti divertenti, specie per una visione in compagnia: la mancanza di logica è sempre fonte di sane risate, e poi c'è Sven Garrett che può essere definito solo come Il Peggior Attore di Ogni Epoca; nella foga tanto dell'omicidio quanto dell'orgasmo fa delle smorfie da antologia (e non dimentichiamo il BUAAARGHHH che emette, una volta scoperto dalla bambozza!)
In teoria ci sono un paio di camei per attirare gli amanti dell'horror e dei ringraziamenti peculiari sui titoli di coda, ma non vale neanche la pena parlarne.

Insomma, consigliato solo se siete pronti e dell'umore per un film di rara imbecillità. Mi raccomando, in versione integrale (una dolorosa ora e quaranta), reperibile anche nei peggiori videonoleggi.
Fu un mezzo (anche un quarto di) caso in Inghilterra, dove è stato bandito dalla censura. L'unico messo peggio di quelli che lo hanno bandito, è il regista stesso, comunque.

Voto: 1. Trashometro^® 8/10:
Tags: horror, gore, slasher, fotograto, prostituta, omicidio, nazista, rasoio, gerarca nazista, madre, ossessione, follia, delirio, rapina, strage, 11 settembre, auto, necrofilia, cannibalismo, sesso, nudo integrale, sesso, morte, serial killer, Las Vegas, fidanzata, sorella, tortura, minorenne, forbici, arma, inseguimento, autobus, macchina fotografica, strip-club, sexy-shop, sangue, feci, urina, regista incapace, trash, il film più laido di ogni tempo.

Murder-Set-Pieces (2004)

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Regista: Nick Palumbo
Scrittore: Nick Palumbo
Genere: Horror, Horror
Valutazione: 3.7/10 (1311 voti)
Durata: 105 min
Paese: USA
Lingua: English

Cast:

• Sven Garrett .... The Photographer
• Tony Todd .... Clerk
• Cerina Vincent .... Beautiful Girl
• Gunnar Hansen .... Nazi Mechanic
• Edwin Neal .... Good Samaritan
• Jade Risser .... Jade
• Valerie Baber .... Charlotte
• Natasha Bunker .... Dancing Blonde Girl
• Jennifer Cross .... Basement Girl #4
• Jerami Cruise .... Video Victim

Trama:
Set against Sin City, Las Vegas, "Murder-Set-Pieces" tells the story of a fashion photographer whose vocation is murder - a voyeuristic nightmare of blood, sex and brutality.

Trivia random: 30 people are murdered in this film and 55 gallons of blood was spilled.
Citazione random: The Photographer: What happens to you when you die?::Jade: You just rot away.::The Photographer: And you believe that?::Jade: Yea, I guess.::The Photographer: Remind me to take your picture sometime.

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Garrett, Sven

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Nome di battesimo: Gadzimski, Sven
Data di nascita: 2 June 1973

Ultimi lavori:

• Final Engagement (2007) (V) .... Ray Gareson [attore]
• Murder-Set-Pieces (2004) .... The Photographer [attore]
• A Miami Tail (2003) .... Cop [attore]
• Night Shift (2002) .... Karl (as Sven Gadzimski) [attore]
• The Miami Chronicles (2001) .... (as Sven Gadzimski) [attore]

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.

Palumbo, Nick

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Data di nascita: 12 November 1970
Altezza: 5' 10" (1.78 m)

Ultimi lavori:

• Frigid (2008) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Sinister (2005) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Murder-Set-Pieces (2004) .... (producer) [produttore]
• Necromaniac: Schizophreniac 2 (2003) (V) .... Lt. Hayes [attore]
• Nutbag (2000) .... (writer) [scrittore]

Biografia:
Filmmaker Nick Palumbo was born in Washington, D.C. in 1970. He has been obsessed with film since catching "The Wizard of Oz" on TV in 1974. Palumbo immediately identified with the Wicked Witch, and ever since then became a film fanatic. In 1977, his father introduced him to filmmakers Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and Werner Herzog via a revival house movie theater. Even at 7 years old Palumbo was spellbound. He knew then what he wanted to do with his life. Palumbo attended film school in Los Angeles from 1989-1991. After learning the technical aspects of filmmaking, he worked on several low-budget features to gain knowledge and experience. In 1999, Palumbo started his own production company, Fright Flix Productions. In 2000, undaunted by not cracking into the Hollywood Machine, Palumbo wrote, produced, and directed his first feature film "Nutbag". His extremely controversial horror debut put him at the forefront of independent filmmakers. Dividing his time between Las Vegas, New York City and Los Angeles, Palumbo continued to work on productions and write original screenplays. In 2002, he followed with the 4-minute 35mm short film "Sinister". In 2004, Palumbo wrote, produced, and directed his next 35mm feature film, the shocking "Murder-Set-Pieces". "M-S-P" had a limited theatrical run in 2005. The film was the first Un-rated American horror/slasher film to hit theaters in 25 years! Lauded by critics from around the world as "a masterpiece of horror", "Murder-Set-Pieces" is the most expensive and controversial independent horror film ever made. Palumbo is known in the movie industry for his controversial, ultra-violent films, but in real life he's an easy going, fun loving guy. Now living in Los Angeles, Palumbo enjoys art, traveling, meeting new people, music, muscle cars, reading, and making films. His favorite film of all time is Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter"(1955). Palumbo's new film is called _Frigid (2006)_ ...a shot on 35mm survivalist/horror film photographed on location in Eastern Europe. Frigid tells the story of a group of beautiful young girls on holiday across Europe who encounter unimaginable horrors.

Trivia random: He lists directors Stanley Kubrick, Roman Polanski and Dario Argento as his biggest influences.
Citazione random: "Many years ago I read that Thomas Jefferson said, "The harder I work, the luckier I get". "That is the way I have lived my life."

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Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.