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
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: 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."
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Lehane, Dennis (II)
Data di nascita: 4 August 1965
Coniuge: Sheila::(? - ?) (divorced)
Ultimi lavori: 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
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Affleck, Casey
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: 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
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Harris, Ed (I)
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: 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.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Freeman, Morgan (I)
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: 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)
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Gone Baby Gone
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: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?
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Eastwood, Clint
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: 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)
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Mystic River (2003)
Mystic River
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: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.
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Affleck, Ben
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: 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)
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
Good Will Hunting (1997)
Will Hunting - Genio ribelle
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: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!
Filmography links and data courtesy of IMDb.
), col supporto del classico John Malkovich - ad onor del vero gli altri interpreti mi hanno lasciato un po' più freddino, fatto salvo per Jason Butler Harner ed i ragazzini scelti con acume.
