Carla Gugino

  • 09 June 2004

Occupation

Actor

The Space Between Us Review

OK

While the premise of this movie makes it look like a sci-fi adventure, the truth is that it's actually a young adult romance, like The Fault in Our Stars with E.T. overtones. The film may be watchable, but the script simply never bothers to develop anything. The science is wobbly, the romance is paper-thin, the sentimentality is off the charts, and the cheesy dialogue would completely defeat a less experienced cast.

It opens with an extended prologue about the first manned mission to Mars and how, after the team arrives, Elliot (Asa Butterfield) was born to an astronaut who died in childbirth. Earth-based mission director Nathaniel (Gary Oldman) decides to keep his existence a secret, so he's raised by motherly science officer Kendra (Carla Gugino) and his robot best pal (voiced by director Peter Chelsom). When he turns 16, Nathaniel decides it's time for Elliot to visit Earth, not knowing that he has developed an online relationship with the tearaway teen Tulsa (Britt Robertson) in Colorado. So when he lands on Earth, Elliot escapes and teams up with Tulsa to search for his father. But Nathaniel and Kendra know that Elliot can't survive for long in Earth's gravity.

There's nothing about this film that's terribly convincing. Events are inexplicable, plot points are under-explained and the filmmakers oddly make no attempt to create a sense of advanced technology or style in 2034. The clothing and cars are distinctly 2016 vintage, and only the impractical clear-glass computer screens add an improbably futuristic tinge. Of course, the 12-year-olds this film was made for won't care about the details; they'll be caught up in the swoony romantic fantasy. Butterfield is a solid actor who can make even a character this thinly defined believable and likeable. His heavy-gravity physicality is nicely understated. And he sparks some chemistry with the high-energy Robertson. Meanwhile, Oldman and Gugino add a hint of gravitas in their thankless roles.

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San Andreas Review

By Rich Cline

OK

Set up as an old-style disaster movie with only a fraction of the plot, this earthquake action adventure is preposterous enough to just about work as a guilty pleasure. Everything else about the film is simply absurd, from the fake science to the simplistic family dynamic that strains to hold the story together. But it's definitely a big-screen spectacle, and Dwayne Johnson was made to fill the big screen.

He plays Los Angeles Fire & Rescue chopper pilot Ray, who is going through a divorce from Emma (Carla Gugino) after the death of his young daughter. Now his older daughter Blake (Alexandra Daddario) needs help moving up the coast, but Ray has been called to respond to a freak quake in Nevada. So she travels instead to San Francisco with her mother's millionaire boyfriend (Ioan Gruffudd). Then jittery Cal Tech scientist Lawrence (Paul Giamatti) works out that this temblor is heading for L.A. and will move up the coast to San Francisco, perhaps creating the biggest seismic event the world has ever seen. As he issues urgent warnings, Ray rescues Emma from a collapsing L.A. skyscraper, and they both head north to save their daughter. Meanwhile, Blake has teamed up with sexy Brit Ben (Hugo Johnstone-Burt) and his perky little brother Ollie (Art Parkinson) to survive the chaos in San Francisco.

Despite the filmmakers' stated goal to recreate a classic disaster epic like The Poseidon Adventure (1972) or Earthquake (1974), this film doesn't bother to feature an ensemble cast with complex intertwined storylines. Instead, it heaps all of the drama onto Johnson's beefy shoulders. He has more than enough charisma to hold it together, even if his one big emotional scene feels a bit, well, stony. Everyone else provides a masterclass in panic-stricken acting, running and screaming and fearing for everyone's lives even though it's clear from the start that very few characters will die. Hundreds of thousands of anonymous digitally rendered victims perish, but the movie doesn't bat an eyelid about them.

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Video - Timothy Spall And Jack O'Connell Arrive At National Board Of Review Gala - Part 1

'Mr. Turner' star Timothy Spall and 'Unbroken' star Jack O'Connell arrived among the many filmmakers and actors at the 2015 National Board of Review Gala, held at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York.

Continue: Video - Timothy Spall And Jack O'Connell Arrive At National Board Of Review Gala - Part 1

San Andreas Trailer

California is well-known for playing host to regular earthquakes, being located right on top of the San Andreas fault; in other words, the tectonic plate boundary that separates the Pacific and the North American Plates. However, rarely have earthquakes been seen that have reduced whole cites to rubble, caused huge chasms in the Earth and deadly tidal waves through streets killing thousands of people. The only option for residents is to get as far away as possible, though with such a huge disaster ripping through the state, this one is still going to have an effect on the other side of the country. Meanwhile, chopper pilot Ray and his estranged wife are desperate to find their missing daughter Blake first, and use a Fire Department rescue helicopter to search high and low throughout the state.

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Video - Rockers Chris Cornell And Michael Stipe Show Support At 'American Hustle' NY Premiere - Part 3

The New York premiere of 'American Hustle' at the Ziegfeld Theater got off to a rocking start with red carpet appearances from the likes of Soundgarden lead singer Chris Cornell with his wife Vicky Karayiannis, and former lead singer of R.E.M. Michael Stipe.

Continue: Video - Rockers Chris Cornell And Michael Stipe Show Support At 'American Hustle' NY Premiere - Part 3

Video - Robert Redford Arrives With His Wife At The 'All Is Lost' NYFF Premiere - Part 1

Robert Redford and his wife Sibylle Szaggars posed on the red carpet at the premiere of his new ocean adventure movie 'All Is Lost' during the New York Film Festival. Redford is the sole actor in the flick about a lone sailor whose boat gets wrecked beyond repair leaving him stranded on a life raft in the middle of a storm.

Continue: Video - Robert Redford Arrives With His Wife At The 'All Is Lost' NYFF Premiere - Part 1

Carla Gugino - Yoko Ono's Imagine No Fracking Installation at ABC Home & Carpet - New York City, NY, United States - Friday 19th April 2013

Carla Gugino - Roundabout Theatre Company's Spring Gala held at the Hammerstein Ballroom - New York City, NY, United States - Monday 11th March 2013

Carla Gugino - New York Premiere of 'House Of Cards' New York City NY United States Wednesday 30th January 2013

New Year's Eve Review

By Rich Cline

Terrible

The team that made the thin-but-enjoyable Valentine's Day in 2010 reunites for another massively overextended rom-com with a remarkable A-list ensemble. But this time the stories and filmmaking overdose on ill-conceived schmaltz.

As the countdown to 2012 begins, an executive (Swank) is frazzled about a technical glitch in the iconic Time's Square ball-drop. Meanwhile, a courier (Efron) is trying to help a frumpy secretary (Pfeiffer) achieve her dreams. A chef (Heigl) is catering a glittering event while trying to avoid her rock star ex (Bon Jovi), whose back-up singer (Michele) is stuck in a lift with a lovelorn slacker (Kutcher). A mother (Parker) is worried about her teen daughter (Breslin). And a tuxedoed millionaire (Duhamel) is trying to get to an important event in the city.

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I Melt With You Trailer

Jonathan; Ron; Richard and Tim met at college 25 years ago and have been friends ever since. Jonathan is a doctor; Ron is a banker and Richard is a English teacher at a high school. This year is no different from any other year: the four men leave their families and careers to rent a beach house in California for a week, which is spent partying with college girls and an extortionate amount of booze and drugs.

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New Year's Eve Trailer

On New Year's Eve, there is no better place to be than New York. All over the city, thousands are preparing for the most magical night of the year.

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Carla Gugino and Connie Britton - L to R, Carla Gugino, Connie britton, Jake Bernard Calloway, Lisa Schlosser, Emily Schlosser, Billy Schlosser, Carmen Ruby Floyd New York City, USA - The African Children's Choir annual fundraising gala at The Box Monday 18th October 2010

Connie Britton, Carla Gugino and Pink - Connie Britton and Carla Gugino Hollywood, California - The 6th annual Pink Party held at Drai's at the W Hollywood Saturday 25th September 2010

Righteous Kill Review

By Blake French

Very Good

Robert De Niro and Al Pacino -- has there ever been a better acting team? For the first time since 1995's Heat, the two have leading roles in the same film, and their presence has allowed Righteous Kill to build a substantial amount of buzz. While the movie doesn't live up to the anticipation, it does pack a decent punch, thanks entirely to the leading men.

When hard-boiled rapists, pedophiles, murders, and drug lords slip through the legal system, are people who take the law into their own hands criminals or heroes? Righteous Kill explores the familiar subject of vigilante killers with a slight twist. This time, the killer is a cop.

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