Tag Archives: Tim Robbins

Halloween Countdown, Day 28

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

Jacob’s Ladder isn’t exactly a horror film, but it is as unsettling and creepy as any movie you’ll watch. The entire 113 minutes transpires in that momentary flash between life and death, with both light and dark trying to make a claim on Jacob Singer’s soul.

Tim Robbins plays Singer with a weary sweetness that’s almost too tender and vulnerable to bear. In a blistering supporting turn, the recently (and far too soon) deceased Elizabeth Pena impresses as the passionate carnal angel Jezebel. The real star here, weirdly enough, is director Adrian Lyne.

Known more for erotic thrillers, here he beautifully articulates a dreamscape that keeps you guessing. The New York of the film crawls with unseemly creatures hiding among us. Filmed as a grimy, colorless nightmare, Jacob’s Ladder creates an atmosphere of paranoia and dread.

By 1990, the Vietnam film has run its course, but with some distance from the post-Platoon glut, the “flashback” crisis that underlines Singer’s confused nightmare feels less stale. It allows the movie to work on a number of levels: as a metaphysical mystery, a supernatural thriller, and a horror film.

The horror is peppered throughout, and there are several scenes that will make your skin crawl.

The storyline is challenging and may seem like a sleight of hand more than anything, but Robins’s deeply human performance and some memorable scares make it a standout for the season.

Weekend Countdown: Best Cameos Ever

The cameo-tastic This Is the End releases to DVD on Tuesday, which got us talking about our favorite cameos ever. Peruse, see if you agree, and let us know if we missed anyone.

20. Nicolas Cage: Werewolf Women of the SS (Grindhouse)

Thank you Quentin Tarantino for liking really bad exploitation movies when you were a kid. Thank you Rob Zombie for creating this outstanding fake trailer. Thank you Nic Cage for your ability to channel your own weirdness so beautifully.

 

19.Tim Robbins: Anchorman

No commercials – no mercy!

 

18. Paul Shaffer: This Is Spinal Tap

Artie Fufkin, Polymer Records
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT3D3Xc68oQ

 

17. Steve Martin: The The Muppet Movie

Oh, waiter!

 

16. Johnny Depp: 21 Jump Street

Not just Johnny – that’s Peter DeLuise (Officer Doug Penhall), too. Surprised he had the time to devote to the project.

 

15. Bruce Willis & Julia Roberts: The Player

Robert Altman was a genius.

 

14. Patrick Ewing: Exorcist 3

And Fabio!

cameo20

13. Gene Hackman: Young Frankenstein

I’ll make espresso!

 

12. David Bowie: Zoolander

Walk off!

 

11. Neil Patrick Harris: Harold & Kumar go to White Castle

Almost as brilliant as Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog.

 

10. Will Farrell: Wedding Crashers

Mom! The meatloaf!

 

9. James Brolin & Morgan Fairchild: Pee-wee’s Big Adventure

Paging Mr. Herman.

 

8. Bill Murray: Little Shop of Horrors

It’s your professionalism I admire.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7euWlQBKnw

 

7. Matt Damon: Eurotrip

Nice tats, Matt!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFCOa4tjHeo

 

6. Tom Cruise: Tropic Thunder

It’s far too big a role to be considered a cameo, and yet, the list felt weirdly free of gold chains and knuckle hair without it.

5. Christopher Walken: True Romance

Back to back Walken!

 

4. Christopher Walken: Pulp Fiction

Up his ass…

 

3. Bruce Springsteen: High Fidelity

Taking advice from the boss man.

 

2. Bill Murray: Zombieland
I just saw Eddie Van Halen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDzHsQapOKQ

 

1. Alec Baldwin: Glengarry Glen Ross

Put that coffee down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kZg_ALxEz0

Please Put Your Pants On

Thanks for Sharing

by Hope Madden

In 2010, Stuart Blumberg wrote a film that frankly depicted the crisis of a loving but stagnant marriage upended by infidelity. Though it may have been the intrigue of “new era family” that piqued audience interest in The Kids Are All Right, it was the talented cast and the casually insightful writing that made the film worth seeing.

In fact, Blumberg has made a career out of clever scripts that take a familiar approach to an unfamiliar topic, such as  The Girl Next Door, the teen romance between a shy young man and his porn star neighbor.

For his directorial debut he pulled from a screenplay he co-wrote with Matt Winston. Thanks for Sharing offers a romantic dramedy about sex addiction.

The great Mark Ruffalo anchors the cast as Adam, sex addict. Adam’s been sober for 5 years, thanks in part to the salty wisdom of his sponsor, Mike (Tim Robbins), though he’s having trouble with his new court-appointed sponsee Neil (Josh Gad), who isn’t taking the program seriously.

Complications arise for all three addicts, who face temptation anew as life asks them to juggle adversity and addiction simultaneously. The film is refreshingly clear on the point that overcoming addition is harder than most movies make it out to be.

Credit Blumberg once again for his script’s candor. Every character is gifted with sharp dialogue that does more than shape the role; it articulates profound difficulty of overcoming this particular problem. This cast takes advantage.

Ruffalo finds humanity in every character, and his take on Adam’s wobbly sense of control is touching. Gwyneth Paltrow offers another strong turn, and both actors benefit as much from Blumberg’s bright dialogue as the film benefits from the duo’s easy onscreen chemistry.

Though Robbins delivers a lot of the film’s funnier lines, Gad brings schlubby humor while sparring with a charmingly vulgar Alecia Moore (taking a break from her day job as pop star “Pink”).

Unfortunately, Blumberg the director is less confident than Blumberg the writer. He’s too uncomfortable with the tension he creates, switching from one storyline to the next when things get dark and confining his characters with predictable, tidy formulas.

It may be impossible to watch a film about sex addiction without remembering Michael Fassbender’s scarring performance in 2011’s Shame. While that film wallows in the filth and self loathing, Thanks for Sharing dips a toe and quickly hoses off. For a man who’s made a career of exploiting the mundane inner workings of naughtiness, he should be more comfortable getting a little messy.

 

Verdict-3-0-Stars

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvituQpwkfI