Category: Actors

Awe & Ardor (TV’s Top Cops)

Emma3 Comments

Vincent D’Onofrio (Det. Bobby Goren, Law & Order: Criminal Intent)

 

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The good actors that I’ve met – I’ve met some of the best actors that we’ll ever see – and I know for sure the one thing that we all have in common when we all look in each other’s eyes, is that we’re all struggling to achieve 100%. That’s all I see when I see another artist. All of us are trying to achieve 100% in our work. That’s all we struggle to do. We never do, but we never stop trying until the day we die. It’s that struggle to achieve 100%, that’s where our performance lies, that’s what the audience gets. They get the struggle.

 

The last 2 seasons were FULL of Goren-related drama on L&O: CI (currently shown on the USA network).  Bobby lost his fragile, schizophrenic mother (played by the fabulous Rita Moreno) and learned that his biological father Mark Ford Brady (Roy Scheider) was a serial killer.  Then his older/former junkie brother Frank (Tony Goldwyn) was found murdered- pushed out of his apt. window.  He made some uncharacteristic decisions, and took a BIG risk to help Frank’s son- his new-found nephew.   Wow, that’s a LOT to take in!  Bobby had to leave the job for a while, too.

 

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Bobby is NOT your typical cop (unlike Eames)- he’s a criminal profiler with a genius IQ.  He can get into a perp’s mind; he’s very much concerned with the “why” of a crime.     

 

 

Goren is based on Sherlock Holmes but, instead of relying upon physical evidence like Holmes, D’Onofrio’s character focuses on psychology to identify the perpetrators, whom he often draws into confessing or yielding condemning evidence.  –IMDB

 

 

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D’Onofrio (seen above in The Whole Wide World co-starring Renee Zellweger) has taken on MANY quirky roles over the years.  He’s known in the industry as an “actor’s actor.”  With Det. Goren, character is revealed bit by bit.  Bobby is not a “people-person,” so he keeps a LOT to himself.  But he’s not ALWAYS in control.  Because of his unstable childhood (including an often absent/distant father), Goren has learned to be self-sufficient.    

 

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What a CUTE nose!  The towering 6’3″ D’Onofrio (seen above at a 1996 movie premiere) is an interesting actor to watch b/c he pushes himself to become a character.  Sometimes it may be TOO much- several years ago on the L&O: CI set, he was hospitalized for exhaustion.  D’Onofrio is a “method” actor.  (He gained weight for a movie re: Orson Welles.)  Zellweger thanked him in her Oscar speech- how cool is that!?   

 

Did you know?: D’Onofrio was born in Brooklyn, so he’s a REAL New Yorker!

 

 

Chris Meloni (Det. Elliot Stabler, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit)

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A city like New York has clashing cultures and clashing ideas and big ideas, but these sorts of things weren’t being thrown in the air and bandied about where I came from.

 

Meloni has played a great cop (Stabler) AND a great criminal (Keller on Oz).  Both characters are intimidating, unpredictable, an have a strong physical presence.  Come on- that’s an AWESOME bod! 

 

 

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When it’s mid-February, and it’s bitterly cold outside, I am really glad that I’m not working in construction anymore.

 

 

 

The above pic is from Oz, where Meloni played a sociopathic killer.   Unlike the manipulative Keller, El (as partner Olivia Benson calls him) has a VERY strong sense of right and wrong.  I’ve been watching SVU since it started!  I missed a FEW eps here and there, BUT am catching up.              

 

 

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Elliot is especially affected by cases involving children/teens; he has gone through trials w/ his family as a result of his tough job.  He is a very loyal partner to Liv.  Meloni is an actor that you can’t pidgeon-hole into “good” or “bad” character; he’s in the gray area.  This makes him fun to watch! 

 

Did you know?: Meloni is half-Italian and half-French Canadian.  He’s often mistaken for (another fine actor) Elias Koteas.

 

 

 

Chris Noth (Det. Mike Logan, Law & Order / Law & Order: Criminal Intent)

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The original L&O series has had MANY strong actors: Michael Moriarty, Jerry Orbach, and Sam Waterston to name a few.  But who looks and acts like a real-life cop?  It’s Chris Noth; he’s played Det. Mike Logan on 2 L&O shows.  

 

 

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Wow, what a great profile!  I liked the longer hair, too.  Through the years, Mike has slowly matured and softened (somewhat) as a person and as a cop.  But, he’s still got a petulant/abrasive side.  Mike has worked w/ many partners, but will be leaving the L&O: CI soon.  (Jeff Goldblum will take over in the coming season.) 

 

 

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I don’t know the politics of Hollywood. Am I hungry for great material? Every actor is. How I can get to it, that’s another story.

 

Noth achieved even greater success/notice when he got the role of “Mr. Big” on SATC (above pic).  Hmmm… I wonder what Big would think of Logan’s wardrobe?  Noth and Sara Jessica Parker had GREAT chemisty together!

 

 

Did you know?: Noth, unlike Logan who’s Irish American, is Jewish.

 

 

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Related Links:

 

 

The Reel Vincent D’Onofrio (a fan’s blog):

http://www.thereelvincentdonofrio.com/reelblog/reelblog.html

 

Trailer for The Whole Wide World (an unconventional love story based on real events):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpUe7UBsWBk&NR=1

 

Chris Meloni’s Official Web Site (a VERY cool site!):

http://www.christopher-meloni.com/frame.html

 

A VERY cool desktop wallpaper design:

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http://surreal-art.com/files/vincentcollage.jpg

Movie Review: “Room at the Top” (1959)

Emma2 Comments
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The English factory town is dreary, but Joe Lampton has landed a job with a future.  To have something to do at night, he joins a theatrical group. His boss’s daughter, Susan, is playing ingenue roles on stage (and in real life). She is attracted to Joe, and Joe thinks about how much faster he will get ahead if he is the boss’s son-in-law.  This plan is complicated by his strong desire to be with an older woman who also belongs to the theatrical group.  Alice is French and unhappily married to a wealthy and powerful older man.  Joe believes he can get away with seeing both Susan and Alice.

–IMDB synopsis

Hey readers,

It’s ALMOST Valentine’s Day- good or ill, depending on how your personal life is going!  Don’t look for good clean romance in this controversial (for its time) Brit film!  The anti-hero (Hey, some women LOVE bad boys!) is played by an intense, enigmatic, and engaging actor- Laurence Harvey (who I’ve seen in The Manchurian Candidate). 

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I learned that Laurence Harvey was born in Lithuania; this explains the sharp features.  He grew up in South Africa, and eventually came to the English stage.

Harvey was born to play Joe Lampton, if not in kin, then in kind. Lampton was a working-class bloke who dreams of escaping his social strata for something better. It was a perfect match of actor and role, as the icy Harvey persona made Joe’s ruthless ambition to climb the greasy pole of success fittingly chilling.

 -Excerpt from IMDB  bio

25 y.o. Joe (Harvey) has recently gotten a job as an accountant in a factory in a small industrial town.  He shares a small flat (as the Brits call an apt) w/ a co-worker, and is friendly with the guys around the office.  The audience slowly learns that there are MANY layers to Joe, though he seems quiet and guarded at first. 

From the moment he glimpses his boss’ bubbly young daughter, Susan, he can’t keep her out of his head.  He eyes her hungrily- a prize to be won.  Though she has a steady man in her life, the inexperienced Susan is quickly drawn to Joe.  “I’ve never met a man like you,” she says with wonder in her eyes.  While Susan ponders what Joe is REALLY like, another woman catches his eye.  

Alice (Simone Signoret- an Oscar winner for this role) is a blonde, buxom, older woman w/ a sad look in her eyes.  When Joe snaps angrily at another man for mocking his working-class roots, Alice goes to console him.  From her expressions, you can see that she relates to him.  Soon they are a VERY hot item!  (This movie contains dialogue and romantic scenes QUITE different from other ’50s films.)

Though Susan wants to see Joe, her family and friends treat him like an interloper to their moneyed circle.  Joe replies politely to these snobs, but his anger is bubbling underneath.  George, another man who likes Susan, mentions his own war record.  We learn that even during wartime, not all men were treated equal! 

Joe lets the rage out when he’s with Alice, but it doesn’t scare her.  Alice stands up to him, saying that he is a “coward.”  Joe is insecure about his background.  He holds double standards, too.

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Joe shares some tender and happy moments with Alice, giving his calculating side a rest.  You may wonder if he really DOES love her!  Signoret does a terrific job of portraying a passionate, vulnerable, yet also strong woman.  Her character really pops off the screen; she kept it “real” (as the kids would say).  Harvey has a strong physical presence and a sense of danger about him- fitting for this role.  He makes Joe a very compelling young man!  Both actors handled some great/snappy dialogue and played emotional scenes very well. 

Check this film out if you want something different, multi-faceted, and intelligent.  Room at the Top is about ambition, lust, love, morality (different for men than for women), and above all- social class. Accent is sometimes tied to class; Joe switches to his Northern accent (Sean Bean has one!) when he’s angry or talking with family.  But at other times, that accent is much lighter.   The posh set don’t have such an accent, or they hide it!  (Joe is NOT the only one in the town w/ a contradictory nature.) 

Morality is underlying everything, too.  Joes’ roommate/friend warns him that flaunting an affair in this little town is dangerous.  People start to talk- Alice does NOT escape unscathed.  Susan’s patience and virtue are also tested by Joe, but she thinks they can live happily ever after.  Go see for yourself what happens!

Movie Review: “Beyond the Sea”

Emma2 Comments

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Yes, Kevin Spacey (who plays Bobby Darin) sings ALL the songs in this movie.  (He’s a VERY good singer!)  He also wears several hairpieces (just as Darin did) and had his nose made bigger and broader (via clever makeup).  Spacey also directed, co-wrote, and produced this picture; he spent 5 years on the entire process.  Bobby Darin (real name: Walden Robert Cassuto) was one of Spacey’s fave singers growing up. 

Darin was a sickly boy from a working-class Bronx family who had a love for music and performing.  (There is an adorable child actor who plays the young Bobby!)  His mother Polly (Brenda Blethyn), a former performer herself, knew that he would someday be “bigger than Sinatra.”    It’s an unusual biography- not the typical format.

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Above is a pic of Mary (tall and gorgeous Brit/Italian Greta Scacchi) with her daughter, Sandra Dee (young/up-and-coming Brit Kate Bosworth).  Sandy was an actress, and teen idol, who Bobby fell for while shooting a film in Italy.  They had a long, though sometimes dramatic, marriage. 

Darin’s brother-in-law (the great Brit character actor Bob Hoskins) and older sister also journey with the young man from “rags to riches.”  John Goodman plays the music producer who motivates and manages Darin’s career.

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Here are the REAL Bobby and Sandy; they worked to overcome their “teen dream” public personas and be taken as serious performers. 

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There are several song and dance numbers in Beyond the Sea, reminding you of ’40s musicals.   These will put a smile on your face!  Spacey, always an interesting actor to watch (Seven, A Time to Kill, American Beauty, etc.), seems to relate very well to his character.  Like Darin, he loves performing live and connecting with an audience.  Also, Spacey enjoys acting, and always looks like he’s thinking about his character. 

Below are the songs (available on iTunes) I especially liked from the movie soundtrack:

As Long As I’m Singing

Beyond the Sea

Dream Lover

That’s All

Movie Review: “An Officer and a Gentleman” (1981)

Emma1 Comment

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This is a GREAT growing-up movie, directed by Taylor Hackford (who recently made Ray) that young people (older teens/20s) will easily relate to.  It’s full of (real-life) drama and characters who remain in your mind after the film is over.  It was shot on-location in Washington state.       

 

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You may know that Louis Gossett, Jr. won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Foley, the steel-tough drill instructor who serves as a father-figure to protagonist- young, undisciplined Zack Mayo (Richard Gere). 

 

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Zack lost his mother before his teens, tragically.  He flew to the Phillipines to live with his sailor father Byron (Robert Loggia); he’s an alcoholic, womanizer, and disinterested parent.  But he’s all that Zac has…  

 

Byron: I’m out at sea three weeks out of every month, and when I’m back at port I don’t have time for this daddy stuff ’cause that’s not who I am.

Young Zack: That’s okay, sir.

Byron: Wait a second, kid, you don’t understand. I’m too old for this. I don’t care what the Navy says. This is no place to bring up a kid like I told you on the telephone. You’re better off at that state school back in Virginia. 
     

Warms the heart, doesn’t it?

 

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Though discouraged by his not-so-dear dad, Zack decides to try out for the Navy’s officer school.  His secret dream has been to become a pilot.  At the school, on Port Rainier, Zack becomes part of a motley crue of recruits.  Foley will serve as “mom and dad for the next 13 weeks,” one recruit comments.  As well as leading his group in various exercises, Foley warns the men about the “Puget Debs”, the local single girls who take the ferry each weekend in hopes of landing themselves a pilot husband.  

 

 

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Zack (nicknamed Mayonaisse) quickly distinguishes himself in various physical trials, but struggles with certain lecture classes.  He even makes friends, including Sid Worley (David Keith), a sweet/enthusiastic young man from an Oklahoma military family.  (Last season, you may’ve seen Keith on an ep of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.)       

 

 

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I’ve never had a girl.

 

Zack meets Paula (Debra Winger), one of the local girls who works at a paper factory, at a dance.  Zack flatly states that he’s not looking for a relationship, just “some fun.”  Paula insists that she’s not a husband-hunter.  But over time, they grow closer and closer.  (The former loner even goes over to her house for Thanksgiving dinner!)       

 

Gere and Winger have GREAT chemistry!  They are comfortable getting physically close, discussing personal issues, but also laugh and joke around.  (But a producer felt she was not HOT enough for the part!)  Strong, positive emotions are new to Zack; he admits that Paula is his first girlfriend.  Paula, who is wise and hopeful, encourages him in his endeavors.       

 

 

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Zack is pushed by the training, and by Paula’s need to get emotionally closer.  In the meantime, Sid struggles with his own insecurities and a relationship of his own.  

 

Several men drop out of the program, including a VERY young David Caruso.  (He has a couple of GREAT scenes!)  One weekend, Foley (nearly) pushes Zack to his breaking point.  But he won’t give up…     

 

 

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Okay, so you may know the (fairy-tale-like) ending of the film!  Check out An Officer and a Gentleman– it has plenty of action and unexpected moments.  It’s not just a “chick-flick” as I read before.  (My mom, who got the DVD, really liked the story, too!)

 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084434/

Movie Review: Masterpiece Theater’s “Wuthering Heights”

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This young lady (Emily Bronte) wrote one of the most scandalous books of her time!  (Some consider it a pretty outrageous book in our time, too.)  She was the daughter of a clergyman, rarely left home, never married, and died at age 30.

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Here is a portrait of Emily painted by her older brother, Bramwell.  Many literary experts think that Bramwell was the inspiration for the charater of Heathcliff.  Bramwell was much more a person of the world than his sisters (Charlotte, Emily and Anne); he was said to have a hot temper, drink heavily, and gamble.

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Emily’s Heathcliff, unlike Charlotte’s Mr. Rochester (Jane Eyre), is not merely a brooding romantic hero who can be turned around by a good woman.  Healthcliff is an anti-hero- more like a force of nature than a man.  When Cathy lies ill and pregnant in this latest ITV adaptation, she begs Nelly (the ever-loyal housekeeper) to throw open the windows.  She wants to feel the wind upon her- feel close to Heathcliff.

This adaptation is not very close to the book, but it has several strong points.  The music suits the mood of the story very well.  The use of unknown actors works well, as we have no preconceived notions of what we’ll see.  As characters changed over time, and the actors’ portrayals became more believable.

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Heathcliff, in deed, stands unredeemed.  -Charlotte Bronte

Tom Hardy, though not conventionally handsome, makes an excellent Heathcliff.  This Healthcliff is “very changeable” (like Mr. Rochester), but filled to the brim w/ rage.  Hardy is somehow able to make the audience feel some empathy with him at crucial times in the story.  I especially enjoyed these scenes: Heathcliff coming to tea after Cathy and Edgar Linton’s marriage, confronting her on the moors after she’s been w/ Edgar, and holding/comforting the nearly-dead Cathy at the crag.

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Tom Hardy does a lot of acting with his eyes and facial expressions, as Healthcliff is a mysterious man.  But he’s also able to say the dialogue with conviction.  The low/deep voice he uses makes you lean forward and pay attention.  He created good chemistry with Cathy (Charlotte Riley), but I felt he was a much stronger actor.  He’s older and has had much more experience.  (While I watched him, I thought of Gene Hackman, another actor who is very masculine, intense, and able to stay in the moment.)

Burn Gorman, an actor you may’ve seen in Bleak House, did a terrific job as the depressed, unstable, and alcoholic Hindley.  The young lady who played little Catherine (Cathy’s daughter) did very well also; she was full of her mother’s curiosity and energy.  Edgar was handsome, likeable, but weak (as in the book).

There were many things different from Bronte’s book, most notably Healthcliff shooting himself.  Also, no one mentions that Healthcilff might be Mr. Earnshaw’s son by a Liverpool whore.  There is no way to be certain that he and Cathy “hooked up” at the crag (as plainly shown/said in Part I).  Could it have happened?  As my mom said- yes, but people didn’t state these things explicitly then.   Heathcliff doesn’t physically abuse wife Isabella, though he says hurtful things and neglects her.

What didn’t work was the scene where Cathy confesses to Nelly her feelings for both Edgar and Heathcliff.  The actress didn’t put too much emphasis on these important lines.  Before he rode off, Healthcliff was supposed to hear part of her speech (Edgar wants to marry her, it would degrade her to marry a “servant”, and so on.)  But in this film, Healthcliff goes off while she starts talking about Edgar.  Too bad- missed opportunity for the director!

Ultimately, Heathcliff and Cathy’s love was obsessive and destructive.  Cathy was torn between Heathcliff (passion/uncertainty) and Edgar (wealth/respectability).  Because of his tortured past, Heathcliff was “more full of hate than love,” as Cathy says.  He wanted revenge so badly that he nearly destroyed the younger generation.  When he came back a rich gentleman, Healthcliff was unable to rid himself of his emotional baggage.  He was his own worst enemy!