Vinessa Shaw

Film Review: Disappointing ‘Puncture’ With Chris Evans Doesn’t Stick

BrianTT — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 13:33:26 -0400

Rating: 2.5/5.0

CHICAGO – There’s something about “Puncture” that feels like it should work. It’s easy to see why someone thought this true tale of a troubled man who realizes he has been presented with immense responsibility would make an engaging film, but the fact is that having an interesting true story doesn’t always translate to riveting drama. Despite the interesting facts of the legal and personal drama at its core, “Puncture” is surprisingly flat (no pun intended) and, even with a very-good lead performance, isn’t memorable enough to recommend.

Chris Evans does career-best work as Mike Weiss, a small-town attorney who just started a practice with his good buddy Paul Danziger (Mark Kassen). Their little firm struggles to make ends meet by taking horrible personal injury cases and occasionally getting tossed an interesting potential settlement from a buddy (Jesse L. Martin) at a major firm. Paul has a pregnant wife who he is concerned about supporting but Mike has more significant personal problems like intense hardcore drug addiction and infidelity that leads to his wife pulling a gun on him at a party and leaving him.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Puncture” in our reviews section.

Weiss and Danziger stumble into the case of their lives when they meet a sick nurse named Vicky (Vinessa Shaw) and a medical supplier named Jeffrey Dancort (Marshall Bell). Vicky was stuck by a contaminated needle a few years back and she’s going to die because of it. Like so many nurses do every year due to needle sticks that could be prevented through the use of an amazing new needle designed by Dancort. The one-time-use needle retracts after usage and would not only save the lives of thousands of health care professionals but revolutionize third-world countries where needle re-usage is a major cause of the spread of disease. The problem is that some very powerful people make a lot of money on the current needle design and they don’t want people to know about the new technology.

Can Mike prove that major companies have kept a safety precaution under wraps for the almighty dollar while people died? Can he keep his own personal demons at bay while he goes through a case that would not only change his life but possibly thousands of others? Can the little guy tackle big business if the little guy is a junkie? It’s clearly material that’s rich for an engaging, inspirational drama, but “Puncture” can’t find its tone and writer Chris Lopata and directors Adam & Mark Kassen never give the piece the energy it needs to connect.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Puncture” review.

“Puncture” stars Chris Evans, Michael Biehn, Vinessa Shaw, Brett Cullen, Kate Burton, Jesse L. Martin, Marshall Bell, and Mark Kassen. It was written by Chris Lopata and directed by Adam & Mark Kassen. It opens in Chicago on October 7th, 2011.

Puncture
Photo credit: Millennium Pictures

Blu-Ray Review: Don’t Miss Joaquin Phoenix in Excellent ‘Two Lovers’

BrianTT — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 08:00:00 -0400

CHICAGO – James Gray’s highly underrated and tragically underseen “Two Lovers” will undoubtedly find a loyal and loving audience on Blu-Ray. Joaquin Phoenix’s totally obnoxious behavior overshadowed what is arguably the best performance of his career in this ’70s-esque drama about a man caught between what he has and what he wants.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

Happiness is not having what you want, it’s wanting what you have. Poor Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) can’t figure out either in “Two Lovers,” a daringly old-fashioned drama with an undeniably ’70s style but themes as old as the written word.

Two Lovers was released on Blu-Ray on June 30th, 2009.
Photo credit: Magnolia

Leonard is a suicidal romantic, a victim of a failed engagement a few years back who is awkwardly set up with the lovely Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) by his parents (Moni Moshonov & Isabella Rossellini). She is a beautiful, sweet girl and the two hit it off but Leonard is far more intrigued by the dangerous girl across the alley, the troubled Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow).

Michelle is everything that Sandra is not, right down to the color of her hair. She’s a club girl with drug problems and happens to the mistress of a married man (Elias Koteas). Leonard is a shy, nice friend, but nothing more. She’s the perfect object of affection for a suicidal Romeo like Leonard.

Two Lovers was released on Blu-Ray on June 30th, 2009.
Photo credit: Magnolia

Sandra and Michelle could almost be figments of Leonard’s imagination. They are the incredibly common archetypes of romance. Sandra is the girl who comes to Leonard, both as a set-up by her father and eventually to his bed. She is a sweet, beautiful girl that anyone would love to call wife, but it’s too easy for Leonard. He’s drawn to the opposite. He’d rather have the mistress than the potential wife and rather chase the vision across the alley than the one willing to come into his room.

Throughout all kinds of fiction and in cities around the world, young men will forever chase girl A and not realize until it’s possibly too late that girl B was the right one for him. James Gray’s script for “Two Lovers,” co-written by Richard Menello, understands this vicious romantic cycle better than any in a long time.

And Gray directs this great script with a style you don’t see that often any more. Don’t expect pop music montages or gross-out humor. Gray shoots most of “Two Lovers” from a distance. There’s a fantastic scene outside a night club that features no close-up, almost as if we are on the street with Leonard and Michelle, overhearing their conversation. The handheld, believable style is reminiscent of the dramas of the ’70s.

Even with its expert direction, easily the best of Gray’s career, and very good screenplay, “Two Lovers” wouldn’t work without its cast and they’re all excellent. Paltrow may seem miscast but I found her vibrant and engaging, more so than she has been in years and Shaw is perfect, but this is Phoenix’s vehicle all the way. He’s in nearly every scene and he rocks. It’s one of the best male performances of 2009 to date.

“Two Lovers” is a wonderfully shot film and I’m ecstastic that Magnolia chose to release a relatively small film (at the box office) on Blu-Ray. Not every Blu-Ray release in your collection should be CGI overload. Drama can look great in HD too.

“Two Lovers” is presented in 1080P with a 2.40:1 aspect ratio and accompanied by an excellent 5.1 DTS-HD audio track.

Special features include a commentary by director James Gray, behind-the-scenes featurette, deleted scenes, photo gallery, and HDNet: A Look at Two Lovers.

‘Two Lovers’ is released by Magnolia Home Video and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, Moni Moshonov, and Vinessa Shaw. It was written by James Gray & Richard Menello and directed by Gray. The Blu-Ray and DVD were released on June 30th, 2009. It is rated R.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow Shine in Excellent ‘Two Lovers’

BrianTT — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:18:29 -0500

CHICAGO – How many men have missed out on a great relationship because they were chasing a romantic vision largely of their own making? James Gray’s excellent “Two Lovers,” the film that Joaquin Phoenix has notoriously been promoting in a style similar to that of Andy Kaufman, is a wonderful character-driven drama about a man caught between what he has and what he wants.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

As a friend of mine quoted after seeing the movie, “happiness is not having what you want, it’s wanting what you have.” It sounds corny, but this is essentially the dilemma in which that poor Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) finds himself in “Two Lovers,” a daringly old-fashioned drama with a ’70s style but themes as old as the written word.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Two Lovers” in our reviews section.

We meet Leonard on a delivery run for his father’s (Moni Moshonov) dry-cleaning business. He throws the clothes off a Brooklyn pier and jumps in after them in what looks like a suicide attempt. After being saved, he returns home to his mother (Isabella Rossellini) and we learn that this is not Leonard’s first attempt and that he’s possibly bipolar. It doesn’t help that he was a victim of a failed engagement a few years earlier.

The same night that Leonard returns from his impromptu swim, his father happens to be having a potential business partner over for dinner. The partner brings his wife and lovely daughter Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), clearly an attempted set-up for the sweet, awkward Leonard. Sandra is beautiful and the two hit it off, flirting and planning to see each other again. It all seems a bit too safe for a suicidal romantic like Leonard.

‘Two Lovers’ stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Moni Moshonov, Isabella Rossellini, and Elia Koteas. It was written by Richard Menello & James Gray and was directed by Gray. It opens in Chicago on February 27th, 2009. It is rated R.

Continuing reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Two Lovers” review.

Joaquin Phoenix and Vinessa Shaw in Two Lovers.
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures