Tag: Brad Pitt (Page 1 of 5)

Movie Review: “Babylon” (2022)

Margot Robbie stars in Babylon 2022

You have to give Damien Chazelle credit for trying. “Babylon” was an ambitious project. But despite all of the big stars, wild scenes and stunning visuals, the film is a disappointing mess. All of the brilliant cinematography doesn’t count for much when the audience can’t connect with the characters or the story. The 3-hour run time makes these flaws even more annoying. I couldn’t wait for the movie to end.

The film generated a lot of buzz around the opening party scene that features stunning shot of the beautiful and charismatic Margot Robbie dancing up a storm. Robbie draws you in and you can’t take your eyes off of her. She executes her elaborate dance moves in her spectacular red dress in the middle of what can only be described as managed chaos. It’s the best scene of the film and it goes on for quite a while, yet even this scene falls flat. All of the moves are overly choreographed and stylized. There are various couple engaging in sex in the middle of all the frenzied dancing, but none of it is remotely natural or believable. Rather, it comes across as awkward as opposed to erotic, reminding me of robotic orgy scenes in “Eyes Wide Shut.” Everyone is supposed to be having fun, but they just seem like they’re pretending.

Things slow down a bit with the rest of the film, which sadly does little to make anyone become more interested in the characters. The stories revolve around several stars of Hollywood’s silent film era and the excesses of those times. But many of these scenes do little to advance the story, but rather give Chazelle an excuse to create elaborate, cinematic scenes showing how these films were made. The scenes look great, but most are tedious and boring. You always feel like you’re watching a stylized movie . . . the film never grabs you and makes you feel like you’re there. It just feels like a bizarre series of sketches with little purpose.

A lot of acting talent is wasted here. Brad Pitt has proven his acting chomps again and again, but here he seems robotic as he recites his poorly written lines. There’s little that’s believable about his character or his performance. His character is a silent film star, living the life of a rich and adored celebrity, who then struggles with the emergence of talkies. But the audience isn’t given a chance to becomes emotionally invested in his plight.

Margot Robbie does her best with her part, but she’s asked to deliver an over-the-top performance. She delivers, but there’s little to like about her character beyond her stunning appearance. Tobey Maguire gives a creepy and memorable performance as he guides us through an underground party with disturbing visuals that we’d prefer to forget.

The ending is the film is supposed to make the audience feel nostalgic about the silent film era in Hollywood through the eyes of the lead character Manny (Diego Calva). But flashbacks to characters in their glory days don’t land as well if the audience doesn’t care about those characters.

Sadly, it’s not surprising that this film bombed at the box office. It’s difficult to imagine how a director who delivered the brilliant “Whiplash” could also create this self-indulgent disaster, but even the best creative minds have their misses. Don’t waste your time on this one.

1.5/5 Stars

New “Allied” trailer

Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard have been in the news for all the wrong reasons, with gossip surrounding their alleged relationship with the divorce filing of Angelina Jolie.

Here’s the trailer to their new film, “Allied,” is the story of intelligence officer Max Vatan who in 1942 North Africa encounters French Resistance fighter Marianne Beausejour on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.

Inspiration from celebrity engagements

There are so may areas where celebrities and pop culture influence our lives, with style being one of the areas where we see the most impact. There’s nothing like a red carpet event to drive talk and trends around dresses and accessories. The Oscars in particular generate so much buzz, and one dress can have a major impact on style trends.

Of course that applies to things like jewelry and engagement rings as well. Quite a bit of ink (and virtual ink) is spilled on the love lives of stars like Jennifer Aniston and Angelina Jolie. You have photographers zeroing in on Jennifer’s giant rose-cut diamond given to her by Justin Theroux, and then naturally comparing this to what she got from Brad Pitt. You can just imagine the countless woman who searched on diamond and jewelry sites looking for a similar ring and dreaming about getting their own proposal. Just click here and you can search for yourself. Guys usually ignore all this stuff, but it’s wise to pay at least a little bit of attention if you ever plan on doing your own ring shopping. Frankly, these celebrity stories of engagement rings give guys an opportunity to gauge the reaction of their girlfriends, and the smart ones use that info so that they get the right reaction when and if they decide to buy a ring.

Of course, you also have the celebrity trainwrecks like Kim Kardashian, though in some ways we should all thank her. By going so over-the-top with her own wedding plans, and then following that up with a marriage that lasted shorter than some one-night stands, Kim showed the world how absurd some of this stuff can be. Ring trends and fashion are nice things, but people shouldn’t lose focus on the bigger picture. Girls love the weeding fantasy, but the life that comes later is so much more important.

The Legality Behind Paparazzi Pics

TMZ’s a guilty pleasure for many American’s wanting to know what’s going on in the world of celebrities. But for others it wasn’t that long ago that they would remember news reports from the UK about Princess Diana’s death, and how her life was tragically cut short because of the paparazzi’s need for a picture. Therein lies the tension between photog’s clamoring for the juicy picture they know the world will want to see, and the famous people who have their privacy invaded, and lives severely disrupted.

Who’s the Victim?

Over the last few years there has been buzz about celebrity’s that have sued magazines, and paparazzi who in turn sued celebrities. A recent New York Times article is a reminder of one of the world’s largest multimedia conglomerates, News of the World, and their phone hacking scandal that reached both sides of the pond, affecting celebrities in Britain as well as the US. But the paparazzi have had their share of unfair treatment as well. So who is really the victim here?

Mike Tyson TKO’ed

A 2010 PopEater article talks about Mike Tyson getting sued by a paparazzi photographer for $25 million. According to the report, an altercation at LAX resulted in the photographer receiving injuries to:

• His face.
• Spine.
• Neck.
• Brain.

The Huffington post points out that Tyson alleged the paparazzi photographer, Antonio Echevarria, “aggressively pursed” him and his family through the airport. However, there were no physical injuries or marks on Tyson, and Tyson had been quoted as threatening to kill Echevarria.

Sean Penn’s Paparazzi Vandalism

TMZ reported about Sean Penn’s “no contest plea” to a 2010 incident in which Penn kicked a photographer, who filed a civil lawsuit alleging a knee injury. It settled a little over a year later with an undisclosed monetary amount and Penn facing:

• 36 Months of probation.
• 300 Hours of mandatory community service.

Celebrities Who Have Been Injured

Part of the reason celebrities fight back isn’t just because their privacy is being assaulted, but often so isn’t their safety. Nicole Richie had to be taken to a hospital after a 2009 car accident that was caused when paparazzi following her rear-ended the car she was in. Brad Pitt was rear-ended by a photographer trying to snap his picture while he was riding a motorcycle. Other celebrities that have runs in with the paparazzi include:

• Madonna getting knocked in the face while carrying her baby.
• Jessica Simpson and her friend got smacked in the face.
• Rihanna knocked by a London photog.

What’s the Law?

Although celebrities are affected wherever they go, California is a definite hot spot for celeb-paparazzi battles. In 2009, celebrity, Governor Schwarzenegger offered legal help to his Hollywood pals by passing an anti-paparazzi law. What does this mean?

• Photos and their earnings may have to be forfeited.
• Fines for cameramen.
• Lawsuits for media outlets that publish illegal photos.

The battle between the famous and those who take their picture will not be going away anytime soon. And with increased injuries, and even deaths the likelihood is that there will be an increase in legislation as well.

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