CMJ Film Fest Review: The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom is a cute quirky film quite reminiscent of The Darjeeling Limited and no it wasn't because the film shared the same NYIndieSeen favorite talent Mr. Adrien Brody. BUT...I digress and say that this movie is what I like to call a smunny flick. Smunny movies are films that are smart and funny at the same time. The film is about two brothers played by Indieseen favorites Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo who are both con-artists. They've been conning since they were kids. Really...kid cons.

The movie begins that way and then takes us to the present as the brothers-- who are now adults in their prime. Our friend Bloom, (played by Brody) is jaded by his conniving ways and wants to retire from the swindling business. However, his brother Stephen (played by Ruffalo) who sees what he does as an art form, persuades his sibling to pull off just one more con. The ultimate plan to extort 1.75 million dollars from a wealthy heiress.

Of course the plan goes awry when Bloom finds that he's falling in love with the girl played by Rachel Weisz. However, in my opinion; one of the funniest, cutest, and interesting characters in the entire movie has absolutely little to no dialogue. Rinko Kikuchi , who also had a mute role in the film Babel, plays Bang Bang the 3rd "silent partner" with tha brothaz. The wardrobe attire of the actors is quite dated...in the sense that we forget this film is set in present day, but their outfits look like this film should have taken place in the late 19th centry and maybe very early 20th. I love Bang Bang's wardrobes and "Olseneque" bug eyed sunglasses. She's got a cool swagger with her constant smoking and condescending attitude. Lovez it!

The movie literaly takes us around the world as the the crew takes us from Prague to Mexico to New Jersey. An interesting film that was recently screened at the Hamptons International Film Festival and is scheduled in limited release on December 19th. If you're a fan of smunny movies you'll love The Brothers Bloom. A heist film mixed with romance, lies and deceit. What more can you ask for??

Top 10 Parker Posey Movies

Who embodies New York indie cinema more than actress Parker Posey?? She's considered to be the Queen of independent cinema, however she's crossed-over a few times to mainstream to get a bigger paycheck. Hey it doesn't hurt. It seems like almost every indie film that has come out in the last 10 years has Parker in it. I remember 8 years ago when I used to work at a video store there was this one guy who rented all of these films that starred Parker Posey. I didn't quite know who she was back then and he insisted I rent some of her movies. I gotta say, I can see why the guy hada thing for her. She's one of the best and yet most underrated actresses in Hollywood. But we love her and want to pay homage to our IndieSeen Favorite!!

Here is our list (both mainstream and independent) of our favorite Parker Posey films!!

10. Superman Returns - This movie sucked major monster's balls. However, thanks to the scene stealing performances of Parker Posey and Kevin Spacey, I acutally kept my eyes open while watching this craptacular flick!

9. Scream 3 - The last installment on this horror trilogy was a hilarious train wreck. We can't say much about the quality of the film's plot or ragged performances, but Posey posing as Gale Weathers was definitely a treat! Posey played it so well we would have been better off having her play the original Gale Weathers

Fast forward to 2:40 see Parker in all her glory

8. SubUrbia - Linklater's signature classic about losers and burnouts features five teens who have nothing else better to do with their lives. However a mutual friend becomes a successful rock star and his manager is Erica played by Posey. Erica is obnoxious, stuck up, and pretentious...just like we like our Parker!

7. The Oh in Ohio - Posey plays a woman who is orgasmically-challenged. Uh..I just made that term up. But basically she can't climax and need some serious help! Uuuuuhhhhaaahhhh!

6. A Mighty Wind - What better way to enjoy a movie night than to watch a folk song mockumentary? Posey is by far the best when it comes to the Christopher Guest improvisational flicks!

Parker Posey is not featured in this clip

5. Best In Show - Here's another one for ya. This anal-retentive A personality dog owner will do everything it takes to make sure her puppy is the winner! A sure fire winner!

4. Clockwatchers - Working as a temp at a shitty job never seemed so adventerous as it does in this Posey classic.

3. The House Of Yes - In the film she plays a woman who is obsessed and thinks she is Jackie Kennedy and has a creepy “incestuous-like” relationship with her brother Marty who brings his fiancée with him to visit the family. It’s a fun dysfunctional family type flick.

2. Waiting For Guffman - A hilarious comedy about a small town who puts on a pageant, despite the residents lack of theatrical or stage performance experience. Again...Posey kills it in another mockumentary classic

1. Party Girl - After getting in trouble with the law, Posey ends up having to work as a librarian for her godmother to pay her back for bailing her out. Posey is a New York night life scenester at heart and has to wrestle with her burning desires to drug, drink, and be fabulous and her godmother's constant finger waving dissaproval.

IndieSeen Favorite: Kerry Washington

She’s like a friend in my head. So I could totally see myself having a shopping date with Kerry Washington. She’s just that kinda girl. You know the one who you can always rely on to be there if you just wanna go out and do some randomness? “Let’s go to the movies, let’s go shopping, let’s spy on that hottie that works at American Apparel”. She’s just that kinda girl who you can chill with. Oh yea, and she just so happens to be a pretty damn good actress. Luckily Kerry is not letting Hollywood sleep on her. It seems like this chick comes out with 2 or 3 movies every year. She’s a hardworking kinda gal.

She’s been in some really great movies too. I love it when Kerry goes the indie route because it seems like she’s at her best in films like United States Of Leland and The Dead Girl. If you ever need research on how to play a character that has been completely washed out by drug use…look at Kerry at her best in The Dead Girl. I mean she’s of course done well in blockbuster films like Ray and Last King Of Scotland. She just knows how to work it!

And man does she work it! She’s piping hot! And totally single for you fellas out there. I think she was involved with the little kid from the movie Big…remember that guy? Kerry Washington is our NY neighborhood friend with roots in The Bronx. She graduated from Spence School here which is a well known institution for Hollywood actors.

Kerry will be back in theaters on September 19th in a new riveting film starring Samuel L Jackson and Patrick Wilson called Lakeview Terrace. We already envy Kerry because she got to have hot steamy sexy time action with fine ass Patrick Wilson. All I gotta say is Patrick Wilson can totally get it. Nuff said right there. Anyways, the film is about An LAPD officer who will stop at nothing to force out the interracial couple who just moved in next door. The movie trailer looks hot too. Look for the scene with Wilson and Washington getting it on in the pool. You’ll find yourself need a cool glass of water afterwards.

Kerry, we love you for being a great actress and making us all feel like you could be our bestest friend! Keep it hot girl. You’re definitely an A-lister to us!!

Wanna see Kerry's latest film? Here's the trailer:

IndieSeen Favorite: Paul Rudd

I like this guy. The first time I saw Paul Rudd was in Clueless. He played Josh, the older step-brother to Cher that always had a crush on her and the two fall for each other. It seems kinda a little incestuous that the two start getting a little romantical towards one another, but he wasn’t really her brother by blood…so who cares if you think your step-brother is hot??

Paul Rudd in some ways reminds me of Tom Hanks. His style is similar to that of Hanks in which each actor can be slapstick funny and Oscar-worthy dramatic. This Kansas-bred boy did his undergraduate studies at the University Of Kansas and then went on to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts where he was classmates with Matthew Lillard.

What I think is cool about Rudd is he likes to switch it up a little. Even though he is known for working in feature films, he also has starred in a number of sketch comedy TV shows. He has been on shows like Strangers With Candy, Robot Chicken, and Reno 911!

He’s been in a number of good indies too. Some of my personal favorites are: The Shape Of Things, P.S., 200 Cigarettes, and The OH in Ohio. He’s reunited with 40 Year Old Virgin director Judd Apatow in Knocked Up scheduled to come out this year. The film stars Izzie…I mean Katherine Heigl and Seth Rogen—another 40 Year Old Virgin alumni.

Paul Rudd currently lives in Manhattan and can be spotted in the area when he’s not shooting in L.A.

IndieSeen EyeCandy

You either wanna be her or you wanna do her. Either way, Nia Long is one of the sexiest women on celluloid. I remember her waaaaay back from the indie classic Boyz In The Hood. She played Brandi, the girlfriend to Cuba Good Jr’s character.

I love her style and her grace on screen. She even held her own in the testosterone filled yuppie classic Boiler Room. That’s like one of my favorite films with her. She’s been in countless films and I could certainly rant and rave and go on and on about it, but lets talk about her. I mean damn she even made Jude Law melt when they did Alfie.

Cute, sexy, divine, mocha, and delish!

She’s been voted by People for the 50 Most Beautiful People and by Black Men Magazine as the 10 Sexiest Women of the Year. HELLO. She’s starring in the upcoming Sandra Bullock film Premonition which comes out next week.

IndieSeen Favorite: Parker Posey

Love her or hate her Parker Posey is the queen of independent cinema. She has appeared in over 40 different indie films and counting. She has this quirky, eccentric attitude that she brings to a lot of the characters in the roles she play. Sometimes her characters annoy the hell out of you. Sometimes you wish you could BE her character. Either way, we love Parker because she supports indie cinema and is the reason why countless numbers of individuals watch and uphold all that is indie!

The first notable appearance she made on film was in the Richard Linklater classic Dazed and Confused. However I fell for Parker when she appeared as the girl who takes on New York City in the indie cult classic Party Girl. Who didn’t want to be her in that film? We all admire to some

capacity being the popular player and the life of the party. She embodied all this is cool is this flick. She went on to star in other indie hits such as Sleep With Me and Gregg Araki’s androgynous sexual film Doom Generation.

Then for the first time Parker teamed up with Christopher Guest. She starred in the 1996 mockumentary Waiting For Guffman. A hilarious comedy about a small town who puts on a pageant, despite the residents lack of theatrical or stage performance experience. Posey proved to all of us that she is amazing to watch with a minimal amount of script dialogue to adhere to, for Guest is known for using mainly improv in his mockumentaries.

The House Of Yes is another personal favorite of mine. In the film she plays a woman who is obsessed and thinks she is Jackie Kennedy and has a creepy

“incestuous-like” relationship with her brother Marty who brings his fiancée with him to visit the family. It’s a fun dysfunctional family type flick. And no one can play dysfunctional behavior better than Parker Posey. I also really liked her in Clockwatchers which explores the lives of four temps who are tired of their white collar office job.

I could go on and on about countless films that she had been in that I adored. She recently was seen in Superman Returns as Kitty and her character I must say was really the only interesting character to watch during that entire film. If it were not for Parker Posey, I probably would have fallen asleep.

She can frequently be spotted here in Manhattan. She’s often seen hanging out in Union Square and spotted shopping at the Whole Foods Store in that area. We suspect she has an apartment down there. She is currently filming the Chinese thriller remake of The Eye which is about a girl who is recently cured of her blindness, can now see images of the supernatural.

IndieSeen Favorite: Mark Ruffalo

I remember the first time I saw Mark Ruffalo was in this indie film called You Can Count On Me. The film was great and had a heatwarming story, but I must honestly say that Mark Ruffalo’s performance was what drove the film to me. I liked his mumbling reserved character and I felt so much empathy for this guy who was trying to do right in his self-destructive life. He has this innocent-like quality to all of his roles that is so appealing.

I found out Mark Ruffalo lived in my hometown of Virginia Beach for several years and after high school he moved out San Diego. He actually attended classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory and co-founded the Orpheus Theatre Company. Smart guy. He was a struggling artist though just like the rest of us and bartended for several years to make ends meet.

Mark has had a phenomenal career. After working on the NY indie hit You Can Count ON Me, he went on to star in films such as XX/XY, View From The Top, Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, and 13 Going On 30.

Can I just say he was sooo adorable in 13 Going On 30? It’s one of the favorite guilty pleasure movies of all time. I only say guilty pleasure because it’s a commercial film with Jennifer Garner as its lead star, not really my forte…but I love the movie nonetheless. His film right now Zodiac is leading at the box office. The film Zodiac the real life notorious Zodiac, a serial killer who terrorized San Francisco with a string of seemingly random murders during the 1960s and 1970s.

He’s enjoyable to watch and I look forward to seeing his next film.

IndieSeen Favorite: Adrien Brody

He’s sexy. Yea, I know he’s all skinny and stuff but still. He has a charisma that many actors just don’t have.

I mean, he’s not your stereotypical pretty boy sexy, but he’s got sex appeal that just translates on screen in every film he’s in. I remember seeing Adrien Brody in this indie film called Restaurant. I was surprised because Lauryn Hill was in and I was like, WTF? He actually played her ex boyfriend in the film...hotness. He also resumes another interracial relationship with Elise Neal in the film. It’s basically about these New Jersey waiters who dream of becoming actors…sounds all too real right? Then he was the little Jewish boy in Liberty Heights. He was sooo cute. This Barry Levinson film was about race relations in 1950s Baltimore. It dealt with all issues of your typical coming of age film from anti-semitism to interracial dating.


Then he was in another indie film called Dummy. Its an odd quirky film about a ventriloquist who’s life is lived through his dummy who he keeps on knee and to his heart as he lives his dysfunctional life. However, Adrien’s life was about to change after he finished filming Dummy. He went on to star as the lead in a film called The Pianist.

The film is about a Polish Jewish musician who struggles to survive the Holocaust in World War 2. His performance was mesmerizing and everyone was fooled that the accent was fictional. I mean…I knew that becuz I saw him in Liberty Heights. However, Adrien didn’t become a movie star until The Pianist was released and he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.

Of course after that he went on to make one A list movie to the next. Films like
The Village, King Kong, and Hollywoodland just to name a few. He’s currently here in NYC filming Darjeeling Unlimited. This Queens-bred boy with a strong affinity for hip hop, can always be seen walkin the streets of New York.


I hoped to be grabbed like Halle if I present an Oscar to him…

IndieSeen Favorite: Kevin Spacey

Oh, How I Love Thee? Let me count the ways....

Kevin Spacey is by far the greatest actor in Hollywood. No one can match his skills as method actor. What I like the most about this guy is his discreet ways of portraying a character. It's not too over the top or overacted. It's subtle and modest.

I also love the sarcastic sense of humor he bring to every part. Ya gotta love it. I remember seeing him first in this indie film called Henry and June. He played the role of Harry Osborn. However, the earliest film I've seen him in that resonates with me the most however, is Glengarry Glenross. He was a prick of a boss John Williamson who manages to screw up Al Pacino's sales. I LOVE that fuckin movie!!!

However, if you haven't seen the indie cult classic Swimming With The Sharks then you need to fuckin stop reading this blog and rent that movie right now. Go ahead rent it! Kevin Spacey plays the epitomy of every asshole Hollywood agent that represents all that is wrong with the entertainment industry. Personal assistants everywhere need to use watch this movie as a training film, cuz trust me, you will grow from the experience of seeing how a Hollywood agent acts.

Aaahh and then there's Verbal Kint in The Usual Suspects. We loved him as the studdering muttering Verbal Kint who couldn't shutup. He surprised us of course but his performance sure didn't. I mean damn after all he did win an Oscar for his performance.

Then there is his performance as slick L.A. narcotics detective Jack Vincennes in 50's era Los Angeles in L.A. Confidential. He plays a cop who seeks headlines, tries to hob knob with the stars, and can be bought at a price. But you see his subtle turn from dirty cop to a police officer who tries to set things right and unfortunately it leads to his surprising demise.

Who could forget when we see Spacey masturbating in American Beauty? That's just classic. The first mainstream A list film with a masturbating scene. YEAH!!! I loved seeing Lester tell off his wife in the drive-thru! Classic stuff right there bitches!

I could go on and on and on about this film career. Seven, A Time To Kill, The Negotiator, Pay It Forward and Edison Force.

Edison Force?? Ok, well we all make mistakes.

So we just wanna say we love you Kevin for being the best actor EVER! Luv yaz!!

IndieSeen Favorite: Jeffrey Wright

I LOVE this man.

The first time I saw Jeffrey Wright was in this indie film called Basquiat. I thought it was one of the most accurate and real portrayals of a non-fictional character. He WAS Jean Michel Basquiat. I think what amazed me the most is he depicted him with such subtlety. It wasn’t over the top or rigid. It was seamless and flawless and I knew he was someone I needed to focus my attention towards.

Like it is stated on IMDB, Jeffrey Wright is by far one of the most underrated and underexposed actors in Hollywood. Perhaps exposure for Jeffrey himself, is not his intentions, which is why the bulk of his work in predominantly has been films in the independent circuit. However, he is considered to be A-list talent, and if you’re an indie filmmaker, you better have a damn good resume and an impressive body of work to even CONSIDER having him cast in your next film. He’s a forced to be reckoned with.

Born and raised in Washington DC, Wright graduated from the prestigious Amherst college in 1987. Although he studied Political Science while at Amherst, Wright left the school with something that would prove to be more valuable: a love for acting. Shortly after graduating he won an acting scholarship to NYU, but dropped out after only two months to pursue acting full time.

Good thing he did, because then we wouldn’t have this great talent to model after in cinema. He went onto star in several films including Shaft as the unforgettable Peoples Hernandez (I really thought he was Hispanic when I saw that), and he played Martin Luther King Jr. in HBO made for TV movie Boycott. Another unforgettable made for TV movie by HBO he starred in was the multi-award winning film Lackawanna Blues. In 2005, he starred in the independent film Broken Flowers with Bill Murray. His ego is not too big to still go indie, which we love. However, because he such a phenomenal star, he’s in big budget films like Syriana, Casino Royale, and the upcoming Live Free or Die Hard movie.

It seems like he becomes a chameleon in every role he’s in. He truly becomes vulnerable and falls deep into the characters he plays. My favorite performance of his by far was as the flamboyant Belize who provides medical assistance to a dying AIDS patient played by Al Pacino in the HBO film Angels In America. Even playing beside Al Pacino, Wright somehow manages to steal the scene. I never knew it was possible to upstage (and I mean that in a good way) Al Pacino. However, Wright certainly does in Angels. If you have not seen Angels In America you MUST rent that and it is available on Netflix.

IndieSeen Favorite: Gabrielle Union

3 words for this girl : 'FAB' 'U' 'Lous', A definite IndieSeen favorite, Gabrielle Union got her start playing the "token black girl" in those late 90's teen flicks like , 10 Things I Hate About You and She's All That, always out shining whatever Upcoming WB starlet of the moment she was in the scene with.
Confident and sexy Gabrielle has that Foxxy girl next door charm about her, she can play sweet one minute and Saucy the next.
Originally attending the University of Nebraska in hopes of becoming a Lawyer she ended up transferring to UCLA where she interned at a Modeling Agency, while working there she was offered a contract with them, she gained fame as a model for a while before deciding to pursue a career in film.
this gorgeous girl has been working steadily in Hollywood for quite some time, appearing in guest spots on shows like Malibu Shores and Moesha, after her breakout role in 2000's hit cheerleader romp Bring it on opposite Kirsten Dunst she starred in Abandon, The Brothers, and Two Can Play That Game, she also became notable for being the very first Prominent African American female character to appear on the sitcom Friends in 1999 (that's a damn shame)
Gabrielle got her first star turn as the uptight and seemingly always in control Eva Dandridge in the enjoyable 2003 Gary Hardwick film Deliver us from Eva opposite LL cool J.
Gabrielle has an intelligence and spark that shines on film as if she's born for the screen, she captivates.
Never coming off as over the top she has a subtle whimsical lena Horne elegance about her.
the 35 year old stunner continues to charm the screen in recent fair like Running With Scissors, and the New release Daddy's Little Girl, you can also see her in the critically buzzed 2005 independent feature NeoNed.
Its always refreshing to see an actress of color especially one as appealing as Union get the credit and roles she deserves.
this Fall you can see Gabrielle starring in the Highly anticipated Americanized version of the blockbuster British soap Footballers wives.
In the New ABC serial she is set to play Chardonay Lane a high maintenance aspiring pop star married to a Football playing Golden boy.
It's a role that closely mirrors her life as she was once married to Jacksonville jaguars running back Chris Howard, however the two divorced in November of 2005.
What a fool he is for letting this Goddess go.
Gabrielle is a force to be reckoned with in Hollywood and has future Icon written all over her.

IndieSeen Favorite: Sean Patrick Thomas

Sean Patrick Thomas is someone we love. Why? Because first of all he’s easy on the eyes. Second, he was the only brotha holdin down in all of those teen movies that suddenly came out in the late 90’s?

I remember seeing him in Can’t Hardly Wait and I thought he was sooo cute. He was funny as hell too. Then he stole Cecile’s heart in Cruel Intentions. He was the guy who was supposedly from the streets but lives on 59th and Park in Manhattan?

Then I remember seeing him in Save The Last Dance he liked totally inspired Julia Stiles to pursue her talent of dancing. Such a great love story!

Oh course you can’t forget about the college-educated brainiac barber who was always right in the film Barber Shop. He would get into it with everybody. I love the first scene he’s in when he’s at the coffee shop ordering a latte. So typical of college jerkys like that.

Anyways, we just wanna give a quick shoutout To the S.P.T!

sincerely: J

IndieSeen Favorite: Anthony Mackie

Anthony Mackie has been in a bunch of films. He's an underrated actor with an impressive resume. He's the guy where you've seen his face, but you don't particularly know his name. Youve probably seen him in a role or two before , but just cant seem to place him. Well we're here to let you know who this talented actor is, and why NYIndieSeen Digs him!

Anthony Mackie attend Julliard School here in NYC and before that had plans to become an engineer. He actually had a small role starting out in Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile. He had bit roles in other films and TV, but his first leading man role was in the indie hit Brother To Brother. The Rodney Evans film won the Special Jury Prize and the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic category at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. It won at several other film festivals including the New York Lesbian Gay Film Festival.

Mackie afterwards got a chance to work with Spike Lee in She Hate Me. Staying humble and sticking to his indie roots, he went on to work on a film that has been nominated for several Independent Spirit Awards, the film Half Nelson is currently the talk of the town. It seems that Mackie chooses to play strong yet flawed characters in his films. In We Are Marshall he played Nate Ruffin, the surviving team captain who keeps the the essence of high school football afloat after all of his team dies in a tragic plane crash.

If you look him up on IMDB, he's working on alot of projects, including a film directed by Boy's Don't Cry filmmaker Kimberly Peirce.

IndieSeen Favorite: Peter Sarsgaard

I remember the first film I saw Peter Sarsgaard in was Boys Don't Cry. And even though he played the ex-con turned killer John Lotter, I couldn't help but feel some empathy for his character. Like the guy was trying to get on the right track with his life. I actually grew some affection for the character. That's when I realized I knew this new guy Peter Sarsgaard was someone to look out for. Not to mention he's pretty easy on the eyes.

He has had a pretty awesome career since Boys Don't Cry. However, he made his screen debut in Dead Man Walking. He's been films such as Shattered Glass, Garden State, Kinsey, Flightplan, and Jarhead. It seems like we've seen him in every movie that's come out in the past 3 years. Well, if it were up to me, I wouldn't mind seeing him in EVERY movie that comes out, because he's just that good.

His style and technique is fun to watch, and he's got this boy next door charm about him that is appealing in any role he plays. His soft subtle approach is often compared to another IndieSeen favorite in this archive....John Malkovich. Hmm...maybe that's why we like him. He currently lives with his fiancee Maggie Gyllenhaal (the SEXY guy's sister) in New York City.

IndieSeen Favorite: Kasi Lemmons

Kasi Lemmons is one of the most underrated African-American female indie film directors to date. She started out her career living as a New Yorker by attending NYU film school. She also studied on the West coast at UCLA. She came back here to pursue her acting career at 18 and started in a small role in the pivotal Spike Lee film School Daze. She had grown an interest in making documentaries, and decided to attend film school at The New School for Social Research in NY.

She also developed a skill for writing and continued to do so, while balancing an acting career. She starred in supporting roles such as Silence Of The Lambs, Candyman, Hard Target, and Fear Of A Black Hat.


She decided to move on to bigger and better things, rather playing small bit roles in film, by getting behind the camera. She continued to finish a screenplay she had been working on while in film school called Eve's Bayou. Her husband, Vonde Curtis-Hall, starred in a short film directed by Kasi which was an adaptation from her feature length screenplay. The short film called Dr. Hugo, was pitched to studios, so that Kasi can convince Hollywood producers that she can direct a feature length film.

She managed to convince producers and in 1997 she directed Eve's Bayou. The film was the highest grossing independent film of that year. Quite remarkable for a first time director. She won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature of that year. The film starred Samuel L. Jackson and Lynn Whitfield. Jackson was also a co-producer for the film. She teamed up again with Samuel in Caveman's Valentine where he plays a schizophrenic.

According to IMDB, Lemmons has just completed the film Talk To Me based on an ex-con who becomes a popular talk show host and community activist in the 1960's. The film stars great talents such as Don Cheadle and Martin Sheen.

IndieSeen Favorite: John Malkovich

He's a force to be reckoned with in the Best Actor category of ANY type of award. His acting is precise, accurate, and seamless. We love him because his films has made a large impact in both the independent and mainstream communites. Sometimes its hard to balance and figure out if its the film that intrigues us, or the mere presence of John Malkovich being a part of the ensemble cast. Like most seasoned actors, he started in Theater, and from there he moved onto to TV in the 80's. His first most remakrable TV appearance was at Biff Loman in Death Of A Salesman which also starred the legendary Dustin Hoffman. His first noted film was the Spielberg epic Empire Of The Sun he co-starred with a young Christian Bale. As the sleazy, yet cunning protege.

We also remember him playing a cunning character in the devious Dangerous Liasions. He was deceptive, yet charming which comes across so natural for this actor. My personal favorite of the Malkovich brand of films is Of Mice and Men. He played Lennie Small. Reading the book, you don't automatically think of John Malkovich as the obese Lennie Small, but he managed to play the role so well that the film recieved rave reviews from film critics everywhere. He brought an innocence to the role, but was quite subtle and honest with the emotion he brought to Lennie. It's by far one of the best of his performances.

John went on to play in other films such as Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde in Mary Reilly. He seems to be attracted to roles where he plays a bad guy or someone is struggling to prove himself and do good, but just has failed intentions. That "type" of character was reprised once again in Con-Air. He played an prisoner who hijacks an airplane. He brought a sense of sarcastic humor to the character which has become sort of a trademark for Malkovich in his acting style.

But John Malkovich is so good, so well received, so adored as an actor that there was a movie actually named after him. In 1999, Being John Malkovich was released. Its a quirky film about a puppeteer who discovers a door that is the portal to John Malkovich's brain. Then he laters sees this as an opportunity and begins to sell "trips" to Malkovich's mind. Pretty trippy huh? Well it was directed by Spike Jonze and written by Charlie Kaufman, so you can't exactly expect the film to be on the straight and narrow.

This man has had a solid career and makes hit after hit. You can catch him now in Eragon, a fantasy about a Dragon's egg. The film is currently in theaters.

Indie Seen Favorite: Neve Campbell

Neve Campbell, can I tell you how much i used to love this girl?
Anybody remember that period in the mid to late 90's when Scream had just come out and became this huge hit, and everybody was talking about the resurgence of the horror genre and Hollywood's new focus on the teenage demographic.
Entertainment weekly, Newsweek and every other publication at the time did articles with titles like "Teen Steam" and the "New Hollywood Brat pack".
then the WB started focusing on angsty whiny teens with issues and Jennifer love hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, And those Dawsons Creek kids became like mega stars over night.
All these 17 magazine cover Kids started Popping up in a different teen-Flick a week: remember The Faculty, She's All that, 10 thing I Hate about you, Disturbing behaviour, Can't hardly Wait?
yeah, yeah you do, and I'm sure you have some of these gems hidden in your DVD collection too .

well one of the earliest insta-stars to come out of that whole craze was Canadian Actress
Neve Campbell.
At the time she was the star of the mega successful Scream Franchise, where she played perennial stalker victim Sydney Prescott, and the Hit Fox series Party of Five (it was All about the third season of Party of Five) which lead to her being honored as "the most believable teenager on television" by Time Magazine.

I think I may have been a bit obsessed with this one at the time. I'm not sure why. she had these cute little quirks about her.
Like she would touch her face all awkwardly in every other scene, or make these weird arm motions during a dramatic moment.
At the time I thought those were Majorly adorable traits, but looking back at it I've come to realize that those were the signs of a Not so good actress. She did basically the same thing in the whole series of P05, The Craft, and the Scream Sequels.

in 1998 she was sick of playing the sweet girl next door roles and went all bad ass in the excellent John Mcnaughton film Wild Things, where she played bisexual schemer Suzie Toller.
that film became most notable for that skinemax moment of a threesome with Denise Richards, Campbell and Matt Dillon in a sleazy hotel room.
The Movie was a guilty pleasure, critics loved it and Neves "Q" went up a few notches.
Not so well received however was her next turn in the abysmal and reportedly heavily altered Disco themed film 54, the film starred Ryan Phillippe as a go-go boy who gets caught up in the drugs and glam of the infamous 1970's club. For a film that took place in the debauchery of 54 it was surprisingly tame and boring. It was a choppy confusing mess and they also reportedly cut out some hot man on man action between Ryan Phillippe and Breckin Meyers in the movie (Blasphemy!!)
In it Neve Campbell played some sort of Soap Actress who becomes Phillippe's love interest.. nevermind the fact that they had absolutely no chemistry together, but the relationship in the film felt tacked on and Wholly unnecessary.
The Film bombed and deservedly so.
Neves next Mistake was as the Female lead in a Mathew Perry comedy
Three to tango.
I personally adored this movie, cause Neve was in it at her awkwardly cute best, but I was able to step back and see that had she not been in the film I would have seen it for what it really was, A predictable schmaltzy Hollywood Rom-Com that wasn't particularly Funny, but props to Oliver platt who costarred as a sassy gay guy, and managed to come away from this one mostly unscathed. (honestly Oliver Platt should play a sassy gay guy in every crappy movie that comes out. It would make it ten times more digestible
Examp: "From Justin to Kelly To Oliver," I love it)

After the End of her television series Party of Five in 2000, Neve saw herself delving into more Independent Film roles, which is always the sign of an actress attempting to be taken seriously. she was rewarded with critically acclaimed turns in "Investigating Sex", Robert Altman's "The Company" and the Henry Bromell film "Panic" opposite William H Macy.
while the critics noted that her technique had been improving remarkably, her lack of a
bona-fide hit movie in some time or particularly interesting personal life lead to the significant Dimming of her star wattage and she basically fell off of every ones Radar.

Neve campbell, is still out there working in indie movie land, I'm not sure if this is now by choice or because she has no other options. but she recently appeared in the James Toback film "When will I be Loved" where she was subjected to Mainly Favorable reviews. ( its also the first movie where she throws away that pesky no nudity clause she had and gets butt ass naked).
she also appears in the straight to video Danny Devito Comedy Relative strangers and is set to costar in the Drama "The Death of Harry Tobin" in 2008.

Honestly I'm not sure where things went wrong with this one, Actually yeah I kind of do. Alot of people I used to confess my love for her too would always complain about how she was so annoying, and couldn't act and had an irritating voice.
Then we'd inevitably get into a heated shouting match about it, in a fit of rage someone would "accidentally" get stabbed with that scissor that was laying on my desk and I would have to hide the bodies. It was an incredibly tacky habit.
but now that i think about it in the beginning she could get a little annoying, no matter what movie i was watching
It was always me watching "Neve Campbell" Act in a movie. (except when it came to her turn in that awful Blind Horizon movie and then it was me falling asleep to Neve Campbell acting in a movie.)

its not to late for Neve to make a comeback, I mean she's still cute, she could go for that whole Sandra bullock awkward leading lady thing, pop up in some goofy romantic comedies.
First of course, she'll have to do Scream 4 to get her name back out there, maybe start Banging Ashton Kutcher or Wilmer Valderlamya or something or get into some asinine feud with Posh spice to get back in to the papers,
(why posh spice?, why not?)
and Viola' she's BACK.
it's that easy!
So Neve. Start Banging and hopefully will be seeing you on the big screen again soon.

Love ya bitch!

P.S. Why are they taking forevez to release season 3 of Party of Five on DVD, I mean WTF!!
Lets get it together people!