A woman is the picture of beauty. A man always agrees with that. The proof is, a man usually has his dream girl. She must be beautiful at least from his point of view. What he likes is her beauty. And the shape of beauty is in many forms. It can be in eyes, lip, nose, head, hair, body, skin, or breast. For the last one, many men like it in a big or proportional shape, not in a flat or small shape.
But unfortunately, a beautiful breast does not belong to every woman. There are plenty women do not have a breast shape they have been expecting because of many causes.
For example, a breast surgery buries their dream to have a stunning breast. The root cause is cancer. What would you do? Can you have your dream back? Do you still dare to think about having a good shape breast?
Why not? As long as there are still breasts on your chest, you can pump it up to a beautiful shape like you have been expecting since months, or years ago.
Maybe you ever bought some products to gain a great shape like they promoted rapidly. And you tried them many times and spent much money. But in the end you got nothing but anger and disappointment.
Do not worry. There is something new about breast enhancement. This is not like any other breast pumpers they sell in the market. Many medicines contain dangerous materials from chemicals which react quickly to make breasts bigger then before.
This is different. This is not a medicine or cure. This is only supplement, made from natural ingredients. It is made from herb, tree, root, leaf, etc. In Asia, they are used to heal many diseases. So, it is completely save for human body.
When you receive the Seal you begin to care more for your health. And now you have some new options. Stem cells have just been used successfully in regrowing breasts damaged by removing cancerous lumps.
Many women get breast cancer, and many of them have cancerous lumps that can be removed. But many of them elect not to remove those lumps but remove the whole breast. Why? Cosmetics. If the whole breast is removed they can have an implant put in and the two breasts will still look the same. But if some lumps are removed from one breast, most often the two breasts are left looking quite different.
One breast will be natural, and the other breast will be a different size and often a different shape. This is the result of a "lumpectomy," and ugly word for a procedure that leaves women feeling ugly.
Or the women with just some cancerous lumps can elect to have a mastectomy where their whole breast is removed and they get an implant. Since the implant looks like the other breast, many women go with the mastectomy.
That may all be changing soon. A new procedure recently tested in Japan takes fat from a woman's stomach or thighs and uses it to rebuild the tissue of the breast, using stem cells.
Now these stem cells are not embryonic stem cells, but created from the fat taken from the woman by liposuction. The stem cells come from half of the fat taken from her. The other half of the fat is mixed with the stem cells. So it is living tissue with some stem cells added as "starter culture" and can grow into healthy breast tissue, since the breasts are composed largely of fat.
Of course doctors (and already some patients) anticipate this process with excitement for its cosmetic possibilities. Fat can be taken away from where a patient does not want it and put where she needs it in one operation.
The ethics of cosmetic surgery are often dubious. God created you. He created your natural beauty. You do not need to change your natural beauty. It is beautiful the way you were made. But in cases like those of breast cancer survivors, cosmetics is not so doubtful ethically. A woman has every right to want to replace the diseased tissue in her breast with healthy tissue from elsewhere on her body.
And God wants that too. God wants to put that woman and her beauty He created back together. He did not cause her disease. He is the Healer, not the spreader of disease. Healing is what Jesus came to do. Many doctors are expecting uses for such procedures far beyond the "necessary" restoration of natural beauty after disease. They can be developed into the restoration of beauty after the effects of aging also.
But aging also happens naturally and happens to everyone--it is not the result of disease. If you do not eat the right foods and you smoke, among other health risks, you will age unnaturally. So there are ways to combat unwanted aging effects without reconstructive surgery. If you are recovering from disease, God wants you to be able to recover your beauty too.
But if you are aging then your beauty naturally changes (as long as you do not do the unhealthy things that will "age" you unnaturally) and to fight aging with stem cells is not natural recovery, but artificial. Everyone ages at least a little. When you are sealed you will begin to take care of your health more. The most power you have over your health is your diet after quitting bad habits. God will show you how to eat when you receive the Seal.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for stealing the show, goes to Natalie Portman. Of course, she had been in Anywhere But Here and Beautiful Girls along with a slew of other huge hits. But, I didn't sit up and notice her until a pregnant girl with no shoes is abandoned at America's department store in Where the Heart Is. Adopted by a crazy couple, she grew from a childish teenager into a professional lady who finally learns how to trust her heart again. From then on, I have not been able to take my eyes off of her. She rocks the innocent look in Sesame Street while dominating sexy in such works as Black Swan and No Strings Attached. Natalie Portman is hands down the most beautiful woman in the world for stealing the show.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for total whiplash head turner, goes to Katherine Heigl. When you see her smile from the side in that infamous "sucker" scene in The Ugly Truth, your heart passionately screams, "I want to be in that guy's shoes." She's down to earth playful, seriously red carpet hot and even pulls off the bad hair day with beauty most runway models would die to embody.
I think I love her most when she's facing her own mortality in Grey's Anatomy "Good Mourning" or facing someone else's in "Dream a Little Dream." It's in those deadly serious moments that you find her true beauty glowing from within. Katherine Heigl rules the most beautiful woman in the world for total whiplash head turner.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for dripping hot sexy, goes to Charlize Theron. When she caught my attention in The Devil's Advocate, I thought to myself that someone would literally have to be daft to drift away from her into a meaningless marriage. But, that was written into the script. Just look at how she rocked Mighty Joe Young, Reindeer Games, The Italian Job and Hancock. She even made a serial killer seem likable in Monster.
But to really understand the jaw dropping, massive coronary, stand-there-with-nothing-to-say pure sexiness Charlize exudes, all you have to do is witness her raw amour as she walks down the hallway leaving layers of clothing behind in the renowned Dior J'Adore commercial. Charlize Theron demands the most beautiful woman in the world for dripping hot sexy.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for pure enchantment, goes to Christi Paul. The CNN's Headline News anchor as well as for In Session on truTV. She is the ultimate girl next door with the prom queen beauty. But, there were some Miss America aspirations that could have come true as witnessed by her climb from Miss Mansfield to Miss Greater Cleveland as she worked her way up to running for Miss Ohio in 1993.
WDTV was smart to hire her as broadcast journalism just seems to be in her blood. And now you know where I get my news spoon fed from everyday. Christi Paul wears the most beautiful woman in the world crown for pure enchantment.
Robin Meade certainly shares the title of pure enchantment along with Christi Paul. With her adorable laugh and the new style she has brought to the news, I stay on top of what's going on in the world today and it's easy to figure out why. Plus, Robin's song Welcome Home is a touching tribute to the troops who are fighting overseas and that means a lot to a veteran like me. But, the reason why I step out of protocol and share a title between these two gorgeous anchors from CNN is because their lives are so totally similar.
Robin Meade was born in Ohio in 1969. However, she went on to become Miss Ohio in 1992 and was one of the top ten finalists in the 1993 Miss America Beauty Pageant. They both are married with children and living in Georgia. So, I tap Robin Meade to share the most beautiful woman in the world for pure enchantment with Christi Paul. It's the most beautiful woman in the world for crying out loud! I'm sure they don't have a problem sharing it.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for knocking my socks off entirely, goes to Scarlett Johansson. With only one exception, the mysterious skip in 2000, Scarlett has at the very least brought us something new every year since her inception in 1994 with North. Among my favorites are Lost in Translation, The Perfect Score, and In Good Company just to name a few.
But, it's when she plays the parts in such movies as He's Just Not That Into You that you see her amazing sensuousness. Her wonderful laugh, the elegant look over her shoulder, even her ability to be innocent while entrenched in raw passion makes me fall in love with her over and over again. Scarlett Johansson epitomizes the most beautiful woman in the world for knocking my socks off entirely.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for endearing fascination, goes to Julie Bowen. Catching my attention in Ed, I immediately hung on her every scene. I cursed the director and the other actors who were stealing our precious time away from me. But then, she became the love interest in Happy Gilmore and Adam Sandler's daydreams are nothing short of ingenious.
She is the reason I became a fan of Boston Legal just like she's the reason I watch Modern Family now. Her soft brown eyes can flash intense every once in awhile. But, her smile! It's the kind of smile that radiates and it is very contagious. Julie Bowen exhibits utter greatness of the most beautiful woman in the world for endearing fascination.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for being drop dead gorgeous, goes to Diane Lane. She cannot be touched! Since 1979, she has touched my heart and I wasn't even aware of how deeply then. But, I caught on when she exploded on the screen in Streets of Fire. That was the making of history. An all-time favorite of mine, I have enjoyed her in such greats as Chaplin, A Walk on the Moon and Under the Tuscan Sun. But, she brings it home in works like Jack, Judge Dred, and The Perfect Storm where she's not the lead but she steals each scene. She's class and elegance and everything you can say about a princess. A genuine model of all that is beautiful in the world, Diane Lane easily exemplifies the most beautiful woman in the world for being drop dead gorgeous.
The most beautiful woman in the world, for everlasting magnificence, goes to Ashley Judd. So powerful in her back story, she left her mother and sister while they were still on the road performing. She went off on her own to do her own thing and what a gift she has given us! She's in a long line of favorites to cherish such as Double Jeopardy, High Crimes, and Where the Heart Is. She could easily become a cult classic with roles like Eye of the Beholder, Twisted and Bug. She has the allure to bring fans from the outskirts into the mainstream because she can be pleasantly charming even when her character might be suffering from alcoholism, is mentally disturbed or grossly psychotic. Her beauty requires absolutely no makeup as she rocks the red carpet in dresses and skirts that she makes look good, while trumping the beauty of all the celebrities who flock to take their pictures with her. Ashley Judd simply is the world's most beautiful woman in the world for everlasting magnificence.
Good evening, folks. Hope everyone's doing fine. Due to some intense Serie A action today (our version of the SuperBowl), I'm two reviews behind: I still owe you CELLULAR and THE GREY. Please expect those reviews to post, schedule willing, by Wednesday, at the latest.
Then we start our Valentine's 2012 Celebration. Please find below the schedule for reviews for the whole month of February. Due to some Valentine's travel, other social engagements, and the increased activity on the soccer blog, please expect some gaps between reviews this month. No worries, though: they'll all post. The order may also change based on which reviews get done first.
Our movies explore Love in all its shapes and sizes: Straight love, gay love, friendly love, familial love, love for ideals, love for sports, love of art, and more.
# 432 - FOR LOVE OF THE GAME (AKA: Love, Sex, And Baseball)
# 433 - I HATE VALENTINE'S DAY (AKA: Spoilsport - The Movie)
# 434 - THE VOW (AKA: You Were So Wonderful, You Literally Blew My Mind And I Forgot All About You!)
# 435 - CIAO (AKA: Lost In Translation With Spaghetti)
# 436 - VALENTINE'S DAY (AKA: Love Actually Times Eighty)
# 437 - FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (AKA: Girl Power In The South)
# 438 - RUDO Y CURSI (AKA: Soccer Bromance)
# 439 - PUNCTURE (AKA: Why Can't All Lawyers Be As Hot As Chris Evans?)
CAST: Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ving Rhames, Will Patton, Maury Chaykin.
DIRECTOR: Jon Amiel
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one really determined pair of crooks - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: After watching THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (review # 233) and, now, ENTRAPMENT, I have to say that I’m ready to switch careers and become an insurance investigator. If these flicks are to be believed, these folks always get to: (1) wear a lot of sharp clothes; (2) have a lot of hot sex; (3) travel to a lot of exotic places; and (4) look fabulous doing it. In THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, our sexy sleuth is Catherine Banning (Rene Russo), and she got to play “Cat and Mouse” with a hot billionaire playboy named, ahem, Thomas Crown (Pierce Brosnan) because he was implicated in the theft of a $100 million Monet. If you want to know how that particular “Cocktease/Chase” went, then go read the review.
ENTRAPMENT’s sexy sleuth is Virginia “Gin” Baker (Catherine Zeta Jones), and she immediately suspects Robert “Mac” MacDougal when a priceless work of art is stolen from a NYC office tower. Why? Not much. Turns out Mac is a supposedly-retired thief, but Gin is certain he hasn’t changed his ways one bit. She gets her horny boss Hector Cruz (Will Patton) to send her to England undercover, where she poses as a thief herself - and entices Mac to help her steal a priceless Chinese mask from a local exhibit. Mac falls for it, and before you know it, the “reformed” thief and the “fake” thief are planning a much, much bigger heist than the Mask - big enough to net them both $7 billion dollars, folks.
Think of all the edible body oil you could buy with kind of dough… Mmmmmmmmmmmm…
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Mac, with a solid cross (or is that double-cross?) from Gin…
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Sean Connery and Catherine ZJ, all the way…
MOST INTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Mac and Gin pulling off the climactic heist at the twin skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur on New Year’s Eve. Hope no one’s afraid of heights…
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Gin tussling with a London thug as a sort of “initiation” courtesy of Mac. And the final confrontation at the Pudu train station in Kuala Lumpur…
HOTTEST SCENE: Gin, in a catsuit, practicing her way through a series of strings meant to simulate a laser net. Yowza!
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: Will Mac and Gin be able to steal the Mask? And if so, does Gin intend to arrest him with his hand in the cookie jar? Or does she have something else up her sleeve? And what happens when she offers him another additional job that will take them both to Kuala Lumpur for a staggering payday? Is she taking the whole “undercover” things a bit too far? Is she playing both sides for her own agenda? Or is she trying to build a better case against Mac? And will Hector pull her out of the field for her own sake? Or will he continue to let her do the “Mata Hari” thang? Will Mac discover she’s a cop? How will this all end? Well, with faces like those on Mac and Gin, I wouldn’t worry about them too much. It’s a proven fact that hotties can pull off two things very well: (1) bald spots and receding hairlines (Mac); and (2) tight catsuits (Gin). They’re gonna be just fine. Emphasis on “fine”. Ahem.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “ENTRAPMENT”: If you like sleek, entertaining, and just a tad contrived thrillers with stunning and charismatic leads. And if you don’t mind turning your brain off for a couple of hours of decent thrills… And if you liked THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR, and don’t mind seeing a similar, if also inferior, film…
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “ENTRAPMENT”: If you have a hard time suspending your disbelief. And if you don’t allow the sheer beauty of a production and its stars to compensate for some contrived plotting. And if you liked THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR so much that you won’t accept any substitutes….
BUT, SERIOUSLY: In 1998, MGM announced it was remaking the 1968 classic THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR with Pierce Brosnan and Renee Russo stepping into the roles popularized by Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway: a craft billionaire thief - and the cool, equally crafty insurance investigator who pursues him. As usually happens in Hollywood, around the same time, 20th Century Fox announced its own competing “Thief/Insurance Investigator” thriller: ENTRAPMENT - which is essentially THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR with a few minor modifications.
ENTRAPMENT beat THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR to theatres in May of 1999, and opened to solid numbers ($20 million in its first weekend). It would go on to gross close to $90 million in North America - a bonafide hit. A few months later, the THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR remake was released to a smaller opening ($14 million in its first weekend) and a smaller final North American gross ($72 million). So, does this mean ENTRAPMENT is a better film than THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR? In a word, no. Definitely not. That’s not to say it’s a bad film, though. It’s actually a pretty entertaining ride - but it just doesn’t have the solid finesse and charm of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR.
I have to be upfront and say that the THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR remake is one of my favorite movies. It’s much better than the original, which had some glaring story flaws that always bugged me. Those flaws are fixed in the remake, and additional changes are made to make it a far stronger film than the one before it. I won’t go into those comparisons with the original (read review # 233 for that), but I will say this about how it stacks up against ENTRAPMENT: whereas THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR ‘99 focused on the one-upping “cat-and-mouse” love affair between two opposing but surprisingly similar people, ENTRAPMENT chooses to focus instead on energetic but implausible action setpieces that constantly divert us away from the central relationship of its leads.
Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta Jones are two of the most strikingly attractive folks working in film today. In fact, there are those who say that Catherine Zeta Jones, with her exotic and cat-like beauty, takes the best close-up out of any other actress out there right now. It is the sheer beauty and charisma of these two that help elevate ENTRAPMENT above the average mark. Mac and Gin are thinly-drawn characters, but Connery and Zeta-Jones are expressive and talented enough to hint at deeper layers with small gestures and short words.
Watch for the scene where Mac gives Gin a gorgeous evening gown to wear to their first heist. She reacts with a mixture of shyness and sadness, saying no one’s ever given her a gift like that before. Then there’s the lovely final scene at the Pudu station, where Gin waits to rendezvous with Mac, and keeps glancing nervously at the platform’s clock - each passing second signals the growing unlikelihood of Mac ever turning up. Zeta-Jones beautifully plays Gin’s fear, anxiety, sadness, and dwindling hope with no words - just expressions. Then when Mac finally shows up, the relief on her face is like a bursting ray of sunlight. Essentially, Zeta-Jones takes an underwritten role - and connects the dots in a compelling way. As any good actor should.
Connery is also expressive, but buries it under a more stoic and harder exterior. The more he hides his affection for Gin, the more interesting it becomes. He ably suggests Mac’s growing conflicted feelings for this beautiful woman - whom he can’t determine whether is friend or foe. Connery and Zeta-Jones actually make Mac and Gin’s relationship more interesting by avoiding a more conventional “romantic” path, and portraying it more like “mentor-protégé”. As I mentioned before, the main reason ENTRAPMENT scores a *** (above average) rating is because of their combined “X-Factor“.
Ultimately, what keeps ENTRAPMENT from rising to the levels of THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR ‘99 and is a tendency to move away from Mac and Gin’s relationship and focus on the details of the heists themselves. The problem is, unlike the heists of the MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE and OCEAN’S movies, these jobs are too easy. It’s also highly implausible that both Gin and Mac would get their hands on the access codes and security blueprints to their targets so handily. The result is an artificial feel to the heists which undercuts the suspense. The only thing that keep us interested is Gin and Mac themselves.
Will Patton, Ving Rhames, and Maury Chaykin are vivid in key supporting roles. But, in the end, as with many films that barely avoid being an average experience because of the skill and magnetism of its stars, ENTRAPMENT belongs to Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Without them, this heists would’ve been an average one.
And remember the “Sexiest Eyebrow Brigade” that includes Mark Wahlberg, Michael Keaton, Colin O’Donoghue, Chris Evans, Famke Janssen, Jennifer Connelly, and Russell Crowe? Well, I officially add Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones to that list…
To the Americans out there, Happy Super Bowl Sunday. Honestly, I am not much of a NFL fan, so we're tuning in to our own game: the much-anticipated Serie A battle between my adopted hometown Napoli vs. AC Milan. VIVA NAPOLI!
Have a great Super Bowl Sunday, Yanks. To the Serie A fans out there, both in Italy and elsewhere, don't forget to tune in to Napoli vs. AC Milan, starting right now! And please expect the reviews for ENTRAPMENT, CELLULAR, and THE GREY to post by tonight...
CAST: Tom Cruise, Gene Hackman, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Hal Holbrook, Gary Busey, Wilford Brimley, Ed Harris, Holly Hunter, David Strathairn, Karina Lombard.
DIRECTOR: Sydney Pollack
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and one really Machiavellian law firm - straight ahead…
IT’S LIKE THIS: Poor Mitch McDeere (Tom Cruise). He’s a recent Harvard Law grad who was courted by a powerful and prestigious Memphis law firm with the following enticements: (1) they will pay of all of his student loans; (2) they will buy him and his wife Abby (Jeanne Tripplehorn) a nice home with a low-interest mortgage; (3) they will lease Mitch and Abby a super-cool (for 1993, anyway) Mercedes Benz; and (4) they will assign him a brilliant mentor in the form of Avery Tolar (Gene Hackman) to ensure Mitch will find the right path through, uh, the firm.
What’s so bad about that, you ask? Was I being sarcastic when I wrote “poor Mitch”? No, folks - I’m as serious as when I say people who wear a lot of black and white clothing are fucked if they own a white cat and tuxedo cat - you can’t win. You’re better off going naked. Not that I know anyone like that. Ahem. Anyhow, the reason I am feeling very sorry for our dear Mitch is this: that “prestigious and powerful” Memphis Law Firm he signed up with turns out to be pretty grim, after all. You see, Bendini, Lambert, & Locke has some very, very, very questionable clients. Who, you ask? No one too evil - just the Mafia. You know? Those guys who kill you and your entire bloodline for something as simple as, you know, crossing them? Now, that was sarcasm.
Oh, and to make it even more interesting the FBI begins targeting Mitch to get him to snitch on his homeys at the firm. Then, on top of that shit, Mitch’s homeys start getting suspicious and put him and Abby on surveillance. Great employers, I tell ya (more sarcasm). Oh, and to make things even more pleasant, the firm has a habit of killing off employees who don’t agree to cross to the dark side and protect the mob. Yes, folks - suddenly that house and Benz and fat paycheck don’t look nearly as appetizing (zero sarcasm). What good is it if you turn into fish food?
The FBI and the Mafia: let’s just say that there are better cross-fires to get caught in the middle of. Like the Annual Chippendale’s Water Balloon Fight I am looking forward to this summer. If only those bastards would stop waxing their chests, life would be perfect. Maybe we need more hairy Mafiosos to join Chippendale’s. Of course, the FBI would just move in and shut their shit down fast. Damn.
THE DUDE (OR DUDETTE) MOST LIKELY TO SAVE THE DAY: Mitch is pretty wily - but he’d be lost without some solid assists and playmaking courtesy of wife Abby and equally resourceful secretary Tammy Hemphill (Holly Hunter). Go, girlz…
EYE CANDY MOST LIKELY TO FIRE UP A WOODY: Tom and Jeanne are pretty hot - but this award must go to Karina Lombard, who plays an exotic, mysterious chick who seduces Mitch on a Caribbean beach. Under orders from…. (Dun-Da-Dun-DUN!) The Firm.
MOST INTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Mitch fleeing from some assassins! Run, lawyer, run!
MOST UNINTENTIONALLY EXCITING SCENE: Mitch being grilled separately by the FBI - and his own security folks from the firm. Talk about being stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or being up shit creek without a paddle. Or needing to take a serious dump in the woods with no toilet paper. Well, you get the idea…
HOTTEST SCENE: The aforementioned “beach seduction” between Mitch and “Ms. Mysterious”. Oh, and the scene where Abby tries to help Mitch by digging some info out of Avery - and pulling a “Ms. Mysterious” on him. Yup, you got it - she tries to get into Avery's pants. Tit for tat, I guess…
INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW: What will Mitch do? Will he snitch out his colleagues and align with the FBI? Is the FBI right when they say that if Mitch doesn’t work undercover for them, he will go down with the rest of the Attorneys From Hell? Or will Mitch become a money-oriented bastard and let all that money make up for the fact that he’s working from serious criminals? Or will he find another way to do the right thing? What will Abby do to help him? Will private investigator named Eddie Lomax (Gary Busey) whom Mitch approaches for help be able to, you know, help? What about Eddie’s secretary Tammy? What skills does she bring to the table? And what happens when Mitch and Abby find out that The Firm has been breathing down their neck this whole time with wiretaps? How will this shit end? Will Mitch wish he’d just go into Art History or something?
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH “THE FIRM”: If you like very good thrillers that effectively combine suspense, intelligence, drama, humor, and humanity in perfect doses. And if you are fan of Tom Cruise and the bestselling book by John Grisham - and you don’t mind the tinkering that director Sydney Pollack and adapting screenwriter David Rayfiel did with the novel’s third act.
WHY YOU MAY NOT ENJOY “THE FIRM”: If you are not a Thriller fan, and if you don’t particularly care for the novel. Or, conversely, if you are so loyal to the book that you object to how the ending was changed… If so, too bad - this is an excellent thriller…
BUT, SERIOUSLY: We recently reviewed the John Grisham novel-based THE PELICAN BRIEF (review # 423) - and found it to ultimately be an above-average experience, but not an outright good one. While the novel that THE PELICAN BRIEF is based on was exciting, zippy, and energetic, the film itself is curiously somber, chilly, and somewhat lethargic. The thriller elements are solid, if not smashing, and the character elements are, well, competent at best. Indeed, if it weren’t for Julia Roberts’ innate and almost supernatural ability to portray a character’s emotions with only expressions and no words, it would be hard to have a rooting interest in Darby Shaw, the heroine. If they had cast anyone else in that role, THE PELICAN BRIEF would be an **½ experience, easily - nothing more. In essence, Roberts elevates the film with her star power.
THE FIRM is in similar territory in that it is headed up by a superstar with similarly potent charisma (Tom Cruise) and is also based on a John Grisham bestseller. Unlike THE PELICAN BRIEF, though, THE FIRM is an excellent thriller that hits all the right notes of suspense and character. In our review for THE PELICAN BRIEF, we attributed the difference between the two movies to the directorial styles of the men behind the production. Alan J. Pakula (THE PELICAN BRIEF) employed a more impersonal, almost mechanical approach that emphasized the plot over character, while Sydney Pollack went for character over plot - and used a warmer, more personal touch. The result? We care considerably more for the men and women of the THE FIRM than those in THE PELICAN BRIEF.
To be fair, though, BRIEF’s premise, while catchy and enticing (brilliant law student correctly deduces the answer behind two high-profile assassinations - and is endangered), is not quite as compelling as that of FIRM’s (brilliant but humble law grad is wooed by a powerful law firm that seems like a dream come true - only to be revealed as a nightmare when it turns out it is mob-affiliated). FIRM also gives us considerable background on Mitch McDeere - he is from a blue-collar family with a brother in jail - and is determined to rise above his humble beginnings and make something of himself. It’s this hunger not just to succeed, but to have a better life that is far removed from the one he had growing up, that marks Mitch as a very interesting character. His path takes him through some uncomfortable territory when he realizes that everything he idealized (success and power) mean nothing if you sacrifice your morals - and that one should never forget one‘s roots. Yes, he’s money-oriented - but not so much so that he forgets how to be human and ultimately turn his back on that money for a more meaningful existence (more on this below).
Contrast Mitch with Darby from BRIEF - we know next to nothing about her. Besides the fact that she has a scary-sharp, brilliant mind that allows her to correctly deduce the answer behind the assassinations, and was left a lot of money by a dead relative (which she uses to finance her escape from the baddies), her background is a blank. It’s up to Julia Roberts to try to give us an emotional rooting interest in Darby. She largely succeeds because of that hauntingly expressive face - but think about how much better BRIEF would’ve been if Darby had been given the same breadth of backstory as Mitch? With that clever premise, it could’ve been a classic like the similar THREE DAYS OF THE CONDOR - which was also about a too smart-for-his-own-good person (Robert Redford) who stumbles upon a conspiracy, reports it to his superiors - and ultimately becomes a target.
Pollack’s immediate, bracing directorial style also puts us smack-dab in Mitch and Abby’s situation - rather than at a distance, like with Darby’s (because of Pakula‘s chillier approach). Most of us can relate to what the McDeeres go through: graduating from school, trying to find your niche, charting your path through the world, finding where you belong, finding your place. In THE FIRM, their path unfortunately takes them right into the middle of the proverbial viper’s nest - and they must escape from it before it’s too late. Speaking of escape, readers of the the novel probably know by now that Pollack and Rayfiel changed the ending for the movie. Some loyalists disagree with this move, citing disloyalty to the novel. I agree 100% with what Pollack and Rayfield did. Without spoiling it for you folks, the new ending allows Mitch to be a more honorable, decent, less money-oriented person - and allows him and Abby to retain their integrity. The ending of the novel was, quite simply, cheap and cynical - basically making Mitch as bad as the villains. I remember reading the book when it first came out and thinking: “THIS is how it’s supposed to end? With the hero being just as money-hungry as the bad guys?”
It also helps immensely that the supporting characters of FIRM are vibrant figures with vivid personalities, unlike the bland, nearly-interchangeable sideline players of BRIEF. Gene Hackman brings his usual dynamic presence as Avery Tolar, Mitch’s mentor who is not quite as cynical as he makes himself out to be. Hackman paints Avery in contrasting colors of good and misguided, ably suggesting the aura of an aging “bad boy” who is looking for something more meaningful - but doesn’t realize it. Avery has some great scenes with not only Mitch, but also Jeanne Tripplehorn’s Abby. Hackman and Tripplehorn have an interesting unexplored chemistry that makes you lean forward everytime they are onscreen together. Very intriguing.
Hal Holbrook is suitably slippery as the head of the firm, while Wilford Brimley instantly makes us re-think how villains are portrayed with his surprisingly menacing turn as William Devasher, the firm’s security consultant who instantly suspects Mitch of disloyalty to the firm. Brimley is so widely-known as the grandfatherly “Quaker Oats Guy” on TV that he’s the last person you’d think would be a baddie - but the contrast works wonderfully here: behind that paternal/avuncular façade, is one scary guy you wouldn’t want to tussle with. Ed Harris is fine in his equally ambiguous role of Wayne Tarrance, the FBI agent trying to get Mitch to snitch on his superiors. Tarrance is a guy who doesn’t quite care what happens to Mitch - so long as he gets the goods that he wants - but he grossly underestimates Mitch’s wily resourcefulness. Indeed, one of this movie’s great pleasures is watching the three-way game of “Cat and Cat and Mouse” between Devasher, Tarrance, and Mitch.
Then there’s Gary Busey whose oddball aura is perfect for the quirky Eddie Lomax, the P.I. who gets caught (badly) in the crossfire along with Mitch. The male supporting players are rounded out by David Strathairn, Mitch’s older incarcerated brother Ray, who starts out as a source of embarrassment for Mitch - but then ends up giving Mitch some valuable assistance late in the game. Another reason FIRM is so much more satisfying than BRIEF is because of Mitch’s arc of becoming less money-oriented and more family and friend-oriented. This includes the renewal and healing of his troubled relationship with his brother, proving once again that - for better or worse - family is everything.
Finally, special mention must go to the women of the cast - who are more than just eye candy on the sidelines. Jeanne Tripplehorne takes a role that Robin Wright had to drop out of because of pregnancy, and makes it her own. Tripplehorne was a strong presence as the secretive psychologist in BASIC INSTINCT, and plays a more open character here. Abby McDeere has a sharp intelligence about her that is belied by her gracious elegance - and allows her to intuit, way before anyone else, that all is not well at the firm. Because Abby starts out far less money-oriented than Mitch, she is not as dazzled by the “bells-and-whistles” of wealth as he is. This makes it a lot easier for her to sense something is very wrong and to correctly surmise that the firm may be too good to be true. Abby also has a lot more to do in the suspenseful third act of the film than she did in the novel. Same goes for Holly Hunter’s Tammy Hemphill who, in an echo of Darby in BRIEF, witnesses the death of her lover (Eddie Lomax) and must go on the run to stay alive and help Mitch resolve the whole thing without getting themselves killed. Kudos to Pollack and Rayfiel for making these women active players in the unfolding story - and not just fretting on the sidelines.
Then there’s Karina Lombard, who makes a strong impression with just a few minutes of screen time as the enigmatic beauty who seduces Mitch to give the firm something to hold over him. Lombard holds the screen with her ethereal, exotic beauty - and her role somehow feels bigger than it is because of her haunting presence. Tripplehorn, Hunter, and Lombard give us characters that are just as memorable as their male counterparts. Good job, ladies…
In the end, THE FIRM is vastly superior to THE PELICAN BRIEF. More than any other genre, the Thriller Genre tends to be plot-heavy. But just like any other genre, these movies must have characters that we can get behind - otherwise all the thrills, chills, chases, and scares will fall flat. If you don’t care about someone, why should you be concerned about whether they survive or not? THE PELICAN BRIEF barely escaped being an average experience because of Julia Roberts’ skill. Fortunately, THE FIRM has a much stronger, far richer story that didn’t have to depend on Tom Cruise’s charisma to save it. It’s a very good movie on its own. With Cruise, Hackman, Tripplehorne, and the rest of the stellar cast, it becomes an excellent one.
In closing, please see the trailer for the new current TV series that continues Mitch and Abby’s dilemma. Josh Lucas and Molly Parker take over the roles from Cruise and Tripplehorne…
