Piper Perabo

George and the Dragon

  • Title: George and the Dragon
  • IMDb: link

Flashback Friday takes us back to 2004’s George and the Dragon (quite loosely based on the medieval legend) starring James Purefoy as a crusading knight on his way home who gets caught up on the search for a missing princess (Piper Perabo) who it turns out wasn’t so much kidnapped by a dragon but saved from a marriage to a local lord (Patrick Swayze) her father had chosen for her. Refusing to abandon the dragon’s egg, Princess Lunna gets George into all kinds of trouble and hijinks in this likeable family-friendly film.

George and the Dragon Read More »

Guilty Pleasure – Coyote Ugly

  • Title: Coyote Ugly
  • IMDb: link

Coyote Ugly DVD reviewThrowback Thursday takes us back to… wait, has it really been 19 years? Piper Perabo stars in 2000’s Coyote Ugly as aspiring songwriter Violet Sanford who leaves the comfort of her sleepy New Jersey suburb to move to New York City and become a singing barmaid at a trendy bar known for its attractive waitresses dancing on the bar.

While not what one would call objectively good (sappy and predictable are both apt descriptions), the movie does work as a guilty pleasure mostly for Perabo’s lead performance, the high energy from her often scantily-clad co-stars (Izabella Miko, Bridget Moynahan, Tyra Banks), and the film’s soundtrack sporting four songs written by Diane Warren (which proved more successful than the film itself).

The larger supporting cast includes Maria Bello as the bar’s gruff owner with a heart of gold, Adam Garcia as Violet’s love interest (who is thrown together with Violet in a sickeningly-sweet meet-cute), and John Goodman as Violet’s disapproving father, both of her move to New York and how she spends her nights.

Guilty Pleasure – Coyote Ugly Read More »

Angel Has Fallen (And Can’t Get Up)

  • Title: Angel Has Fallen
  • IMDB: link

Angel Has Fallen movie reviewGerard Butler returns as Secret Service Agent Mike Banning who was introduced in the dumb, and not really that much fun, Olympus Has Fallen. Things haven’t changed much. The sequel frames the decorated agent as the mastermind behind the assassination attempt of the President (Morgan Freeman). Armed with circumstantial evidence, and ignoring the agent saving the President’s life and his service record, a dimwitted FBI Agent (Jada Pinkett Smith) fingers Banning for the bad guy while his friends at the Secret Service do nothing to help. Luckily for our hero, the real villain is just stupid enough to not only fail to kill his patsy but also arrange for his escape allowing Banning to go on the run and attempt to clear his name.

Since it isn’t much of a list, let’s look at what works in the film. I’m always happy to see Piper Perabo who offers the film’s best performance as Banning’s wife, angry at him for keeping secrets about his health but not enough to believe her husband has become a terrorist. And second, there’s Nick Nolte who is the only one having fun in this dog of a movie that takes the ridiculous events far too seriously.

Angel Has Fallen (And Can’t Get Up) Read More »

Covert Affairs – The Complete Fifth Season

  • Title: Covert Affairs – Season Five
  • wiki: link

Covert Affairs - The Complete Fifth SeasonAnnie Walker‘s (Piper Perabo) spy adventures come to an end in the final season of Covert Affairs. The Fifth Season introduces a new love interest for Annie in Ryan McQuaid (Nic Bishop), whose guilt or innocence in a terrorist plot against the United States takes up a big chunk of the season, and sees Annie leave the CIA over medical issues the Agency feel could compromise her effectiveness in the field.

Highlights include the season premiere which introduces McQuaid and brings Annie back into the CIA following her takedown of Henry Wilcox (Gregory Itzin), Annie going to work for McQuaid, Amy Jo Johnson joining the cast to investigate the Chicago bombing, Annie and McQuaid’s trip to Caracas, the final appearance of Eyal Lavin (Oded Fehr), Auggie (Christopher Gorham) getting lost in a conspiracy, the struggle to prove McQuaid’s innocence, Auggie’s abduction and torture by Aleksandre Belenko (Shawn Dowyle), the revelation of how Annie spent her summer, the return of Natasha (Liane Balaban), trips to Paris and Azerbaijan, and the final two episodes of taking down Belenko.

Covert Affairs – The Complete Fifth Season Read More »

R.I.P. Annie Walker

Covert Affairs

Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that USA Network has cancelled Covert Affairs. Premiering in the summer of 2010 the show starred Piper Perabo as talented but green new agent Annie Walker who grew and blossomed into the Agency’s best field agent over the show’s five year run. Sadly, this ends the show on a cliffhanger with the futures of several characters still in doubt. It also leaves me with only a single USA show that I’m still watching (Graceland) for a network that has been a staple of my regular viewing for years. You will be missed Miss Walker but you gave us a great ride.

R.I.P. Annie Walker Read More »