Posts Tagged ‘Mark Ruffalo’

Each year, more and more of Hollywood’s biggest names go to Comic-Con to confirm movie deal rumors.  My favorite one from this weekend comes from the people at Marvel Comics.  Mark Ruffalo officially confirmed his role in the upcoming comic book film ‘The Avengers’.  Ruffalo will be playing the role of ‘The Hulk’.

The Hulk was previously played by Edward Norton in the character’s title film.  Producers had originally offered the role to Norton once again before deciding on Ruffalo.  It has been rumored that Norton was offered a low salary after having been very difficult to work with on the ‘The Hulk’.  Norton and Marvel disputed both privately and publicly over the film’s final cut before Marvel ultimately won. Once the film was released, Marvel was disappointed by Norton’s lack of promotion.

One of the most likeable men in Hollywood, Ruffalo is sure to deliver on every level in ‘The Avengers’.  He is a notoriously nice guy with real acting chops.  The movie is sure to kill at the box office with its all-star cast including Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Chris Evans as Captain America and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.  Don Cheadle replaced Terrence Howard in the role of War Machine for ‘Iron Man 2′, but it is not yet decided weather he will continue in the role for ‘The Avengers’.

“Blindness” is kind of a scary movie depicting the outbreak of a seemingly contagious illness that renders people blind. Understandably, the worst of humanity comes out. Mark Ruffalo, Julianne Moore, Danny Glover, Alice Braga, and Gael García Bernal are some of the actors that make up a group of quarantined individuals living in a vacant mental institution where, literally, the blind are leading the blind, with one exception, a Doctor’s wife who lies about being sick in order to stay with her husband (who is sick). 

“Blindness” is a unique epidemic film that can be admired for its take on the genre, the acting, as well as its views of humanity during such desperate times.   The Good: – Terrific Acting – One sign of a great actor is when they can make audiences hate them, love them, sympathize with them, etc.  “Blindness” features actors capable of bringing viewers into their world so much so that it’s impossible to sit back and submissively watch this movie.

- A Different Take on the “Disease” Film Genre – Within the portfolio of “disease contaminating society” films out there “Blindness” is special. The characters don’t actually die from the “white blindness” disease.  The illness in this movie doesn’t mean death, life as a zombie or other tragic fate – the illness isn’t necessarily the “bad guy.”

- The Tempo – “Blindness’” plot progresses at a nice pace. The audience learns about the disease and how the world is dealing with it at the same pace as the characters in the movie. The pacing is so that the deterioration of society and desperation are sincere – viewers aren’t thrown into chaos and expected to buy into it.

The Bad: - Not a Happy Movie – About 15 minutes of “Blindness” are happy and worthy of a smile, I could have used a little more.

- It’s Pretty Darn Realistic! – Unlike zombie or alien attack movies, “Blindness” is slightly more plausible, making it that much scarier. Seeing how people change and the terrible things they do in the movie makes me cross my fingers that something like this will never happen.

In The End: “Blindness” is a quality film in regards to the acting and plot, but won’t leave audiences with a warm and tingly feeling once it’s over.

A week after being shot in the head in Beverly Hills, Scott Ruffalo, the 39-year-old brother of Mark Ruffalo, succumbed to his injuries and died Monday night at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

Police have issued a warrant for Shaha Mishaal Adham, a woman closely associated with a wealthy Saudi Arabian family. A motive has not yet been offered.

Mark Ruffalo is best known for his roles in Zodiac (starring Jake Gyllenhaal), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (starring Jim Carrey), You Can Count on Me (starring Laura Linney), and the recently released Blindness (starring Julianne Moore).

“Blindness” is the title of Jose Saragamo’s best-selling and critically acclaimed novel; the adaptation of “Blindness” to the big screen opens September 26 and stars Julianne Moore and Mark Ruffalo. The movie is directed by Fernando Meirelles.

The premise is an unsettling one to say the least. A community is afflicted by a contagious form of ‘white blindness,’ going from normal vision to seeing nothing but white. The community is thrown into a widespread panic and those afflicted are placed in quarantine at an asylum.

The film stars Ruffalo as a doctor afflicted with the blindness (after treating a patient) and Moore as his wife, the only one exempt from the condition and the main protagonist of the story.

One can only imagine the kind of chaos and despair which would ensue from this epidemic. It will be interesting to see how this madness will translate to the big screen. Saragamo’s novel chronicles the moral and spiritual decline of those afflicted. It’s a harrowing read and should be an entertaining movie.