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Six Diverse Movies From The Beautiful Actress Maria Bello
This article reviews six films of the talented and gorgeous Maria Bello: A History of Violence, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Payback, Butterfly on a Wheel and Coyote Ugly and The Jane Austen Book Club.
A History of Violence
Cover of A History of Violence [Blu-ray]
Powerful, disturbing and gripping. If you have any differences with the director, David Cronenberg- set them aside. You can also be a fan. Cronenberg is better known for the sci-fi elements he engraves in his movies, such as eXistenZ with Jude Law, Scanners, The Fly, Videodrome and many more. He has also done some drama but no matter what the genre, I don’t think Cronenberg did something anything better or more powerful than this movie, including the follow-up Eastern Promises that also stars Viggo Mortensen.
This movie is one of those perfect movies. I am thinking hard to find a fault with this movie and I just can’t. The actors are Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris and William Hurt. They are all actors I follow the works of and they don’t disappoint in this one either.
Mortensen stars as Tom Stall who runs a diner and is happy with his wife (Maria Bello) and two children. When Tom defends his customers and kills the two dangerous criminals. Tom is deemed a hero and the media goes nuts about him. However he also attracts the attention of a mysterious guy- who thinks Tom has a different past than the one he claims to have. How is Tom going to turn his life back to normal?
Wonderful script, amazing direction and I did mention the acting. Just writing about the film made me want to watch it again. Very strongly recommended. More than 72.500 votes on IMDB and it has been voted a 7.6. I think it deserves an 8, at the very least.
Butterfly on a wheel
This film is as good as a low-budget thriller gets. Pierce Brosnan, Maria Bello and Gerard Butler star in this film. Nice to see Pierce as the bad guy and Gerard as not the ideal man/hero for a change. Grey characters and nice Plot. You can read the review and watch the trailer here.
Private Lives of Pippa Lee
This is one strange and intriguing drama with an interesting cast: Robin Wright Penn, Keanu Reeves, Black Lively, Julianne Moore, Maria Bello and Winona Ryder. Below is the link to my review.
http://cinemaroll.com/drama/lovely-and-weird-the-private-lives-of-pippa-lee/
The Jane Austen Book Club
Below is an excerpt from my blog post of the same name:
Jocelyn (Maria Bello), Kathy Baker (Bernie), Amy Brenneman (Sylvia), Prudie (played by Emily Blunt- is brought to the group by Bernie) are all friends with distinctly different personalities and chosen life paths. Sylvia is married to her high school sweetheart, who happens to be Jocelyn’s ex. Her husband has left her for another woman and she is not taking this very well. Their lesbian daughter is not too happy about her dad’s affair either and she seeks happiness through the extreme sports. Jocelyn is beautiful, single, loves dogs and as much as she enjoys fixing people up, she doesn’t seem that interested in dating herself…
Payback
Even the trailer is enough to keep you laughing. Porter (Mel Gibson) is probably the unluckiest crook you are ever going to see. Sure, he is smart but he has a wife and ex-partner who crossed him and tried to kill him. His ex-partner is involved in a “syndicate” (very bad guys with resources) and taking back his money won’t be easy. His ally? His ex-flame/hooker Rosie (Maria Bello). It is one of Mel’s most entertaining. To read further about the movie:
http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/11-great-mel-gibson-films-you-should-consider-watching/
Coyote Ugly
Cover of Coyote Ugly
This is a fun rom-com about a small town girl (Violet- played by Piper Perabo) going to New York to make it as a singer. But city life is weirder and more dangerous than she thinks. When she loses all her money to a burglary, she settles for a gig that pays well: Working at a bar called Coyote Ugly- where the pretty bartenders get to dance on stools and keep the customers entertained. This is no stripping, but still it is one sexy sight. The owner is a beautiful but tough woman named Lil (Maria Bello). Violet faces a lot of challenges as she struggles with the demanding customers, pursuit of her dreams, a passionate relationship with Kevin (Adam Garcia) and the secret she keeps from loving yet old-fashioned dad (John Goodman)
Good fun, nice romantic story, good soundtrack and a good-looking cast- with the exception of Goodman. Sorry, John. Have fun.
18 Comments
Good review.
Thank you, I really like Maria Bello and her films. It doesn’t hurt that she pairs with Mel Gibson, Gerard Butler and Viggo Mortensen.
Excellent review….
Thanks quasim, but I would like it more if you gave a little more of a feedback.
Nice one! I have been wondering as to what title to select for my next Love film DVD rental and thanks to your recommendation I am going to put History of Violence at the top of the list.
Keep up the good work, and of course the darts!!
Yep, A History of Violence is very cool. I so want to watch it again.
Hey, why would I ever leave darts? Plus, my favorite Irish pub has great music, nice electronic darts and of course good drinks…
I couldn’t give up writing even if I tried. ; )
I remember her from Coyote Ugly. She is talented and very attractive woman.
She’s indeed a great actress and her movies are great too. This is a wonderful tribute and review
Thanks. I really like her. I saw her first in Payback and then Coyote Ugly. The more I watched her movies, the more I realized she just makes good movies, if not great. : )
But if I have to choose, the best (the most effective) would be A History of Violence.
Hey really nice review and also Like this movie “Butterfly on a wheel” seen around 5 times awesome article mate Thanks
she is undoubtedly a beauty… I will check some of her movies…
Have always liked her.I loved History of Violence.
I am a great fan of Maria Bello. Thanks for sharing.
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http://socyberty.com/relationships/sign-language/
Your valuable comments will be highly regarded.
Great to see you guys like Maria Bello, too ; )
Yep, Butterfly on the Wheel has the best cast and ending ever
What a great story and a lovely movie- and not with a big budget.
This is my list of Top 5 movie endings, and Butterfly on a wheel is listed. Don’t worry- I don’t give away spoilers:
http://cinemaroll.com/cinemarolling/top-five-movie-endings/
She’s cute but not my type of actress.
I dnt like her very much .. but yeah she looks good…
Nice review. Maria is a great actress and can play well with any role given to her.
Yes, she is amazing. Recklessrealist, what do you mean she is not your type as an actress?:)
Deep blue, I totally agree.