Julia Roberts And ‘Duplicity’ Arrive March 20th
by John NolteThis* one lost me at “From the Writer-Director of ‘Michael Clayton,’” a film I found dreadfully dull and completely illogical. (Of course, Tilda Swinton’s intelligent, savvy high-powered lawyer would fall for the old taping-you-without-you-knowing-it trick — not everyone saw “Wall Street.” And who knew you could so easily fake your death by tossing a wallet and watch into a burning car? The coroner must have been relieved to find identification in good enough shape to name a body burnt to nothing.) Suspending disbelief is not the same as suspending intelligence.
–
To be honest, anything with Julia Roberts** pretty much loses me from the start. She was never a great actress female actor, but before Diva-dom struck about 40 minutes into “Erin Brockovich (2000),” she had a remarkably warm and accessible screen presence. That’s gone now. Even the famous smile feels calculated. Roberts can’t do “empowered” without coming off as cold and distant. Kate Winslet*** and Naomi Watts can play ‘em tough without losing the important undercurrent of vulnerability and tenderness. In her day, even Sharon Stone could pull this off on some level.
Clive Owen, on the other hand, is the real deal but this thriller looks and feels an awful lot like his previous thriller “The International,” which flopped pretty hard just a few weeks ago. How many people will confuse the two? The trailer tries to strike a jaunty vibe with that already-tired “Oceans 11-12-13″ score, but even I was surprised (pleasantly) when Naomi Watts showed up for “The International” instead of Roberts.
*The original plan was to write about “Terminator Salvation,” but Christian Bale and I are done professionally.
**Eric Roberts, on the other hand, rawks in way too many ways to count. “Charlie! They took my thumb!”
***Embarrassingly bad Revolutionary Road performance excepted.
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This movie looks boring to me. The only interest I have is what day will they stop airing commercials. And how much money will it lose? I can hardly wait until I no longer see Julia's HUGE toothy smile in my living room, hawking this loser.
(I have March 13th and 6 million in the office pool.)
One could most definitely pass an evening with Mr Nolte enjoying the cinematic art form… 'Michael Clayton' just didn't stink, that's all. He's dead on about watermelon lips Roberts to boot. Did anyone even buy her in 'Oceans 11'?
This film seems cookie cutter Hollywood stuff that's really just elevated cable fare…
This movie looks terrible.
Strangely, ever since I saw Ocean's Eleven, I always think of her as cold-hearted Tess. I don't know why, but that movie changed my perception of her. Or maybe it just confirmed it.
The trailer notes that Roberts and Owen are taking the millions from a 'huge corporation'. Typical liberal garbage…because a corporation is big, theft is OK.
That's the take nowadays…if you steal from 'the rich', or vandalize a power plant, or otherwise commit a crime, as long as it is against a typical liberal 'villian', you are excused.
I liked Mystic Pizza. Her best work.
Is it just me, or is she taking on a kinda (not intentional) crazy-scariness when she laughs now?
like Robin Hood, only for real reeeeeeeeeal dumb people.
funny how they never get round to stealing from uber rich hollywood types in these dreckfests.
Agreed on Eric Roberts- what a fantastic, fun actor. Even in a small part in The Dark Knight, he was great. I agree with Mickey Rourke- isn't it time for him to get a comeback?
Aw, c'mon, a supporting role in a friggin' Star Trek movie, directed by a guy whose best work is in television? They're lucky to have even Karl Urban!
Of course, I say this as someone who's a decade younger than Urban…Seriously though, is he really considered a metro man-boy around here? I kinda like the guy. Not as much as Owen, but still.
And still not seeing Duplicity.
Aw, c'mon, a supporting role in a friggin' Star Trek movie, directed by a guy whose best work is in television? They're lucky to have even Karl Urban!
Of course, I say this as someone who's a decade younger than Urban…Seriously though, is he really considered a metro man-boy around here? I kinda like the guy. Not as much as Owen, but still.
And still not seeing Duplicity.
Every time I see her in a film still or preview lately, she just looks like she's about to start yelling at paparazzi for following her.
That's one of the after effects of BDS.
The only thing I liked about Julia Roberts in "Mystic Pizza" was imagining her taking a whole pizza into her mouth without stretching it. I'm guessing she could probably have accommodated two of the male leads along with the pizza. Since she made her recent trip to our good friends in the Middle East, I've renamed her "Iranian Brockovich."
IMHO I think her best role was BLADE in the Puppet Master series:
http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b397/Chipmunk19...
Yeah, I saw that too. What did Eric Roberts do anyway to get in hot water?
I saw that he's gonna be in Stallone's The Expendables – which is gonna be AWESOME!
Julia Roberts is an actress who tries to play the role of a serious actress. She fails miserably. Every time. I won't waste my time on this movie either. Life's too short.
http://the100mostannoyingthings.blogspot.com/
FU Julia.
Not that she really cares what us "Between Repugnant and Reptile" folk think.
FU again I say.
Looks really bad. Never saw the attraction for Julia. I was okay with Ocean's 11 but she was the weak link. I liked her best in The Player, as Julia Roberts (an actress whose presense ruins the crediblity of a film.)
Julia Roberts has another movie coming out? Moving on, nothing to see here. For the life of me, I've never understood her popularity.
She also cannot spell. Any 3rd-grader knows that "Repub" comes BEFORE "Repug" in the dictionary. Sing it with me: A, B, C, D…..
Wow, I'd never even thought about that!!! ROFLMAO!!!
LOL!!
Oh I wish I could see someone say this to her face…
Well, I shouldn't be too cocky. I only just realized it myself. But I usually hear it. This time, looking at it written down, it was like, "Wait a second….."
What did Mr. Bale do to enrage Dirty Harry?
I think the order she had intended was
Reptile
Republican
Repugnant
So either way "Republican" is between those two.
Not that I'm defending the repugnant b*tch.
The single most over-rated actress EVER.
How many times can the human race put up with that ridiculous laugh, "OH..HA HA HA"
Arg with a capital ARG!!!!
I didn't know that could cause such a physical manifestation. It's nice to know JB and others like her will have a long career in the Baby Jane horror genre.
Obviously, I agree with people's distatse for her now, because I share it, but before Celebra-Diva-itis struck, she was a very appealing actress. I even bought into the wish-fulfillment angle in Notting Hill.
Unfortunately, that's all evaporated and even her older films suffer.
Ah heck. I liked it better when I thought she got it wrong. Serves me right for not *really* looking at the words in question.
Well that's the difference between us conservatives and the liberals.
We would rather be RIGHT, they would rather get their jab in.
Mickey Rourke is getting his comeback (Sin City, The Wrestler), but for some reason nobody in Hollywood wants to acknowledge it.
I was talking about Eric Roberts needing a comeback. Rourke said that Roberts needed one in his acceptance speech at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Why do all her movie trailers have a shot of her laughing hysterically with her head thrown back and her mouth wide open? I didn't think it was that cute in "Pretty Woman" and now in this new trailer it is down-right creepy. From the way she treats the "pappers" it seems the only time she laughs is either in a movie or in an interview promoting a movie. She can walk and talk in a movie, but I don't see any range of emotion besides laughing and yelling. Can't she just give us all a break and retire?
To call her talented overrated is to be overly kind.
DANG! Lawhawk – you owe me a screen wipe!
Always disliked her in movies until …. Charlie Wilsons war. Not the biggest part but I thought she nailed it. I especially liked the way she delivered her lines while looking in the mirror, combing her lashes with a safety pin. I am not an actor but thought that took a real pro to do it that way. Or is that just standard bits of business?
Litmus test for whether an actress is 'talented'. Picture them on stage doing Ibsen, Shaw or Shakespeare. Especially Shakespeare. If you can't see it, it's because they can't do it. I can't see Julia on stage in anything, except sweeping the set after the curtain goes down.
Exactly. They just nominated him for best actor because, well, because… Sorry, Jake, you'll have to explain that one yourself.
My thoughts exactly, SQT!
It may be a lame joke, but it works both ways:
I just looked up the word "Democrat" in the dictionary. I found it between "demented" and "demon."
What? How could you not understand? She fought big-chemical all while trying to breath in a tightly corseted plunge top and violently smothering boobs. Did I mention big-chemical??
Poor Julia looks like a pinched school marm who needs a good screw and a rich, gooey pile of eclairs. Adjectives interchangeable.
You know what I could not believe? That they showcased that ragged cackle on the commercials for "Charlie Wilson's War". It made me not want to see it.
She was goodish before she started to see herself as a superstar. She must have had a ego crash and burn when nobody seemed to give a rip when she exited to raise her children.
Yuck with a capital YUCK!!!!
Julia Roberts is a HORRIBLE actress. Probably a decent person, I dunno, I haven't met her, I've not heard anything to say otherwise on that front. But she's GOD-AWFUL at her job, the worst of the worst from the crop of 80s rom-com actresses who's sole skill was being passably attractive enough to not bother male audiences while being plain enough to not be sexually-threatening to female ones. Ever since it became "okay" for rom-com leading ladies to be knockouts (see: Anne Hathaway) they have outlived their usefulness.
That said, the ONE time I thought she gave a great performance in anything was playing a hard-bitten femme-fatale spy in "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind." (I know y'all feel obligated to hate George Clooney, but see this anyway – it's an AWESOME little dark comedy with a legendary lead turn by the criminally-underutilized Sam Rockwell.) THIS looks almost like she's playing the same basic part, so I'll take a look.
I am crying.
The best parts about Mystic Pizza are Lili Taylor and Annabeth Gish. The worst part about Mystic Pizza is they put Julia Roberts on the cover of the DVD and VHS.
Granted, I thought she was good in Pelican Brief…
Interestingly, I thought the previews for this movie were for The International.
LOL!! Of course, big-chemical…now I get the whole award thing.
You know, I never did see "Charlie Wilson's War" precisely because Roberts and her laugh were in it. My husband actually liked it but I still can't bring myself to watch it.
I had a roomate in college who was a huge Rpberts fan. She would watch Stepmom/ or Notting Hill/ or Runaway Bride, then rewind, and watch again!!!! On MY TV!!!!!! God it was a long semester.
My grannie's favorite movie was "Pretty Woman". Almost every time I visited her she had it on. One day I said "you know Vivian is a whore right? She said " Well no! You don't think he bought her that necklace for her fashion sense do you?"
Disturbing.
Agree with everyone about Julia's ego and acting skills or lack thereof, but I love Clive Owen. Judging from the previews, I see zero chemistry between them. Zero. So I wouldn't see it even for Clive.
Wag-a-muffin: $6 million. Wow! I don't predict box office for the same reason I don't sing (I suck at it), but that would be a disaster.
I wish Owen picked better projects. He'd have made a great Dr. McCoy in the Trek reboot — you know, if they had decided on an adult cast.
I saw her on Broadway in 2006 in Three Days of Rain and she was awful. She had no stage presence, was awkward and clumsy and you could barely hear her. On her entrance, one got the feeling she was a playgoer who got lost on the way back from the ladies room and somehow wandered onto the stage. Her line delivery never changed – she reminded me of the director's assistant who has to feed auditioning actors -their cue lines. She was universally panned, Time Out hit the nail on the head:
"Julia Roberts has made a career out of being a highly palatable mediocrity. She's not terribly beautiful or glamorous, and her acting range is limited to wan screwball muggin in chick flicks. But we're told she's a superstar – presumably because her hordes of fans think of her as "one of us." Now Roberts smolders dully in the revival of Richard Greenberg's slender, elegant drama from 1997. Struggling beside the charismatic, hardworking Paul Rudd and the ebullient, supple Bradley Cooper, Roberts is left looking glum, stiff and lost. Director Joe Mantello's production is solid and attractive, and the playwright's customary glib, hyperarticulate patter is its usual pleasure. But two hours of Julia is like three months of rain." -DC (Time Out- New York)
I sat there dumbfounded wondering how could she possible have a career in acting when she is so stiff and charmless – the camera sure does wonders and she should thank God for film editors. Anyone who has ever seen Closer realizes how amateurish she is and how her costars seem stuck with someone barely able to read lines.
That same year I also saw in NYC, Cate Blanchett in Hedda Gabler (Ibsen) and Meryl Streep in Mother Courage (Brecht) and both were extremely accomplished. Julia needs to stick to getting her mug on People magazine and should avoid the stage at all costs.
What's worse is that, as the trailer for this new film demonstrates, she sounds like she's actually trying to sound like Hillary Clinton (flat, mildly nasal, undynamic and vaguely argumentative monotone) when she speaks. Total disconnect with the way she looks. Well, the way she looks when she's not self-consciously in the "I'm being a superstar now" mode of acting, which is never anymore. What a pathetic hack. Money doesn't buy everything, that's for sure.
I haven't been able to watch a movie with Roberts in it in years. Eric really did get all the talent in the family (and dare I say looks?) I feel like watching a movie with Julia in it is just an exercise in watching Julia and not the character. I never bought her for a second as Erin Brockovich and couldn't fathom the Academy Award.
Good news everyone. Obama has just enlisted Julia Roberts to open her (enourmous) mouth and swallow our entire national debt. I knew that Julia (like most liberals) would gladly open her mouth for Obama (behind Keith Olbermann, of course) , but to save our country. Thank you Julia!
OK, all this and I'm still not sure whether or not I'll get my $11.50 worth and see that ultra-natural psychotic horse laugh in yet another Juliamoovie. Tell me it's not just in the trailer and that's it's long and grooovy like her forked devil tongue…
WOW! Thanks for the info, James.
And poor you! I would guess you had to pay substantial bucks for that ticket, not to mention sit there in that seat for two hours (and 'three months of rain') listening to a disaster on stage. Poor you. But thanks a lot for the incredible info!
I feel so sorry for you! How long were you sentenced for her murder?
Keanu Reeves did Shakespeare. No, really. And he was really, really bad.
She's so bad that Richard Gere insisted on bringing his pet gerbil onto the sets whle they were filming "Pretty Woman."
I was also beginning to wonder why every single trailer you see from a Julia Roberts flick prominently showcases a shot of her doing that irritatingly stupid heehaw laugh. Apparently Hollywood believes it's a huge selling point. Criminy…
WTH Nolte? Are you still holding his outburst against him? You should take a lesson from the mighty furious D.
http://dknowsall.blogspot.com/2009/02/hollywood-b...
The only human being I can think of with a bigger–or as big–mouth and as many thousands of teeth is Carly Simon. At least Carly can actually sing wheras Julia dear Julia couldn't act her way out of a paper bag. She is just so many kinds of awful.
I like Clive Owen a lot but far too many of his movies are absolute stinkers.
I think that she and whoever casts her in these abominations believe that her laugh is "charming" not realizing that it is freakish and annoying beyond belief.
Shame on you!
Oh look, another Julia Roberts movie I won't pay to see.
Anne Hathaway. I swear when she opens her mouth I fear the top of her head is going to flip back like a pez dispenser…….
and Carly is a hottie.
I think Owen is a great actor who also is not a metrosexual boy toy but WIlliam Shatner was in his mid thirties when doing Star Trek in the 60's so I don't think Clive would be the right age to be McCoy. Boy does this Star Trek talk have legs.
Is it me or does Julia Roberts now look like a middle-aged octomom looking like Angelia Jolie?
That Sequoia did Shakespeare? My God.
(They must have invented Botox from looking at his face.)
Between the nose and the teeth, Julia Roberts looks like the lovechild of Bob Hope and Martha Raye. Moviegoers have not seen the likes of her ivory-filled maw since Roy Scheider was chumming over the transom of the Orca…
While commenting about her performance is fine, knocking how an actress looks is so low-rent. Don't stoop to that level, please.
Oh, I agree she has box office muscle. And it hurts me to say a native Georgia girl is a bad actress, but she's a bad actress. I think most people can't help but wonder how she gained so much box office draw, considering.
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