victor rasuk Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Intertwining stories set in urban jungles are hot these days; Crash and Traffic both thrived on the big screen, and now Buddy Giovinazzo is adapting his own collection of short stories, Life is Hot in Cracktown. Evan Ross, Michael Rapaport, Kerry Washington and Victor Rasuk have signed on to star in the pic, which follows the lives of several people living in a crack-infested neighborhood. But will it feel fresh? Young drug dealers, distraught parents, kids getting killed on the streets -- it's all been done before. Here's hoping the talented cast helps to ignite a flame that lasts throughout.

In fact, the storyline isn't too much of a stretch for the four; Washington recently starred as a prostitute/addict in The Dead Girl; Rapaport has dabbled in a slew of urban dramas; Rasuk first crashed onto the scene in the little indie drama Raising Victor Vargas; and Ross -- son of Diana Ross -- broke through with ATL and has also signed on to another drug-related flick, Brooklyn to Manhattan. And speaking of Ross (who stars in the upcoming Pride), he's been wrapped up in a bit of controversy as of late after the MPAA banned a poster for Pride that featured Ross in a pair of "tight-fitting" swimming trunks. Perhaps the best response came from the Lionsgate spokesperson: "Apparently the MPAA accused us of enlarging his bulge. He's just naturally well-endowed. That's the long and short of it." Shouldn't we all be so lucky ...

I know, I know. Today's all about Oscar nominations. But I still want to talk about the amazing day I had at the Moviefone house for Unscripted shootings. First, I get there and Heather Graham and Victor Rasuk have just finished taping an episode (for their movie 'Adrift in Manhattan'), and they came back to the greenroom to get their coats. They were both very cool, really friendly and all. And apparently Heather had asked Victor if he'd slept with some girl he'd mentioned as being a "big influence" on him, and he hadn't answered her, so she was like, "well, obviously the answer to that question is yes."

No sooner had Heather and Victor left, than in come Zooey Deschanel and Chris Klein for their Unscripted shoot, for their movie 'The Good Life.' They roll into the house with their entourage --

Typical misery-laden Sundance fare all the way, Alfredo De Villa's Adrift in Manhattan offers three semi-connected stories of angst, loss, loneliness and general unhappiness. Have a ball. Story #1 -- Heather Graham (Boogie Nights) plays miserable optometrist Rose Phipps, a heartsick woman who is suffering over the loss of her young son while dismissing the offers of reconciliation that her recently estranged husband (William Baldwin, Backdraft) keeps tossing out there. Story #2 -- Victor Rasuk (Raising Victor Vargas) plays a semi-creepy young photography enthusiast who has a subtly unsettling relationship with his mother and a potentially unhealthy obsession with the aforementioned (miserable) optometrist/hottie. Story #3 -- Dominic Chianese (The Sopranos) plays an old painter who is gradually going blind, but slowly kick-starts a tentative romance with a co-worker played by (an excellent) Elizabeth Pena (Jacob's Ladder) -- but will the younger woman (gasp) accept a man who is losing his eyesight??

Do any of these mini-movies sound particularly enthralling to you? How about all three in one 89-minute block? Well, this kind of flick is the absolute bread and butter of the Sundance Film Festival, which makes for a pretty depressing afternoon or two, trust me. While not exactly what you'd call a bad movie, Adrift in Manhattan is simply too predictable, familiar and obvious to warrant much in the way of attention or enthusiasm. (Throw a rock into any year's Sundance guide and you're guaranteed to hit at least two or three multi-pronged grave and oh-so-earnest weep-dramas like Adrift in Manhattan) A well-polished indie-style soap opera, the movie is packed with quivering lips, angry tirades and cathartic sex ... but none of it really adds up to a whole heck of a lot. Director Alfredo De Villa (who traveled somewhat similar territory in his Washington Heights) has a knowing touch for emotion and nuance, but ladles the angst so liberally that the movie begins to feel a little bit like a Lifetime Channel flick.