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Eastern Promises
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Eastern Promises
The new thriller reteaming acclaimed director David Cronenberg with his A History of Violence leading man Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises is written by Steve Knight (Academy Award-nominated screenwriter of Dirty Pretty Things). As in the earlier film, director and star together explore the psyche, physicality, and fortunes of a man whose true nature may never be wholly revealed. The mysterious and charismatic Russian-born Nikolai Luzhin (Mr. Mortensen) is a driver for one of London's most notorious organized crime families of Eastern European origin. The family itself is part of the Vory V Zakone criminal brotherhood. Headed by Semyon (Academy Award nominee Armin Mueller-Stahl), whose courtly charm as the welcoming proprietor of the plush Trans-Siberian restaurant impeccably masks a cold and brutal core, the family's fortunes are tested by Semyon's volatile son and enforcer, Kirill (Vincent Cassel), who is more tightly bound to Nikolai than to his own father. But Nikolai's carefully maintained existence is jarred once he crosses paths at Christmastime with Anna Khitrova (Academy Award nominee Naomi Watts), a midwife at a North London hospital. Anna is deeply affected by the desperate situation of a young teenager who dies while giving birth to a baby. Anna resolves to try to trace the baby's lineage and relatives. The girl's personal diary also survives her; it is written in Russian, and Anna seeks answers in it. Anna's mother Helen (Sinéad Cusack) does not discourage her, but Anna's irascible Russian-born uncle Stepan (Jerzy Skolimowski) urges caution. He is right to do so; by delving into the diary, Anna has accidentally unleashed the full fury of the Vory. With Semyon and Kirill closing ranks and Anna pressing her inquiries, Nikolai unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. The family tightens its grip on him; who can, or should, he trust? Several lives - including his own - hang in the balance as a harrowing chain of murder, deceit, and retribution reverberates through the darkest corners of both the family and London itself.
Good stuff.D E S E R V E_V I C T O R YR.I.P. Sean Taylor (1983-2007), a True CaneTags: None -
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Re: Eastern Promises
No, it didn't. That chick does Russian women no justice. I seen the movie yesterday, and I loved it! Something about the movie that rubbed me the right way, whether it was the storyline or how the entire movie flowed, all in all one of the best "mob" movies I seen. The Russian accents were garbage, though. This movie was very similar to the style of "A History of Violence", even the Russian driver resembled the scarface villain from that movie. Edit: Now that I read about it, there were more than one similarities to the movie " A History of Violence". Didn't know that prior to watching it or reading this thread.Cost of Super Bowl XLII ticket -$750
Trip from NYC to Glendale, Arizona -$650
Vintage Eli Manning jersey -$230
Picturing the faces of Chargers' fans and certain studio analysts as they watch Eli play in the Super Bowl XLII from their respective homes, or for some - a television studio - Priceless.Comment
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Re: Eastern Promises
I saw this yesterday, along with Resident Evil: Extinction (talk about night and day). Very good movie, a lot more methodical than the plot called for IMO. The violence and sex is typical Cronenberg, somewhat surreal but realistic. The fight in the bathhouse was pretty intense. Viggo nails his accent, so much so, if you didn't know it was him--you would think it was a native. Not really a Russian mafia film, even though it's being marketed as one.
Good stuff.Comment
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Re: Eastern Promises
I just watched this movie tonight on HD-DVD. Having enjoyed A History of Violence, I figured I'd enjoy this as well and I was correct. A few thoughts below....
SpoilerHoly **** at the fight at the bathhouse. That was just madness and it was one of the more visceral, brutal fight sequences I can recall. I know brutal violence (and brutal sex) are Cronenberg's trademarks, but damn. That was a serious fight sequence. Even if you did have Viggo's sack kind of hanging out there while the fighting was happening.
Also, I liked how the Naomi Watts character was attracted to someone she regarded as repulsive and against everything she stood for, much like Maria Bello's character did the same thing in A History of Violence. The tone of the two movies was very similar, but they were different enough such that I enjoyed them both.
And as to the argument above, the teenage whore that Viggo nailed in the movie was most definitely hot stuff.Helen: Everyone's special, Dash.
Dash: [muttering] Which is another way of saying no one is.Comment
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Re: Eastern Promises
I just watched this on DVD last night and it was a fantastic thriller. Right after I started watching I decided to turn off the DVD and play some 360 as I haven't played any since Thanksgiving but the movie was so compelling I couldn't stop watching, then when they got to the one scene that epitomizes brutality I knew I was in it for the rest of the way. What an amazingly emotional and engrossing piece of cinema. Hollywood needs more movies like this, movies that are intelligent, unpredictable and highly interesting.Streaming PC & PS5 games, join me most nights after 6:00pm ET on TwitchTV https://www.twitch.tv/shaunh20
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Re: Eastern Promises
Just watched this..... fantastic film. Not for the queasy stomach. Viggo was top notch, much better than History of Violence which did nothing for me.
(c'mon tho, you guys talking about the female sex slaves is low though ..... it's not like they were depicting consenting sex.)Comment
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Re: Eastern Promises
The movie was definitely brutal in the sense that it didn't hide anything. Sex? Yea, we're gonna show you how it really gets done. Violence? Yea, there's blood, gore, necks splitting open, fists beating down a man's head into a hard surfaced floor. It goes on. It isn't afraid to show the truth.
I'm a bit surprised it's being tagged a thriller. I didn't ever feel like sitting on the edge of my seat. It was very slow paced and methodical. But that's not a bad thing. I think the movie was very well written, probably one of the best written movies along with Mr. Brooks in 2007 (yea, that's right, I said it. Mr. Damn Brooks was well-written).
I go back and when I think of this movie I'm compelled to watch it again. I just enjoyed seeing everything unravel. Felt like a very good book that you can go back to anytime.
Of course, it goes without question that Naomi Watts once again falls in love with a guy that doesn't fit her character. She's got a knack for playing those girls. But I liked her performance. I heard nothing about this movie and only picked it up because she was in it. Very satisfied with the viewing."It may well be that we spectators, who are not divinely gifted as athletes, are the only ones able to truly see, articulate and animate the experience of the gift we are denied. And that those who receive and act out the gift of athletic genius must, perforce, be blind and dumb about it -- and not because blindness and dumbness are the price of the gift, but because they are its essence." - David Foster Wallace
"You'll not find more penny-wise/pound-foolish behavior than in Major League Baseball." - Rob NeyerComment
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Re: Eastern Promises
"Of course, it goes without question that Naomi Watts once again falls in love with a guy that doesn't fit her character."
Yeah, wasn't she in King Kong?
The movie was good, but the ending sort of caught me by surprise. I'm not complaining, it just ended on a slower note than I thought it would.The line must be drawn HERE! This far, no further!Comment
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