Check out this piece from the British website The Sun about the awesome chick who was recruited to help Rihanna look legit in her role as a sailor in Peter Berg’s ’Battleship’.

I’m the ‘bad ass chick’ who taught Rihanna to shoot in Battleship

Ex-Navy officer is inspiration behind singer’s debut movie role

Arms ‘n’ charms … gun-totting Jackie Carrizosa

john chapple

Jackie Carrizosa is the former US Navy officer behind the singer’s tough sailor character Cora Raikes in the upcoming sci-fi blockbuster Battleship.

The feisty 22-year-old brunette was the only girl playing in the US Navy’s football side when she was spotted by the movie’s director, Peter Berg, and drafted in to help the Umbrella singer sail through her first movie part.

Former gunner’s mate Jackie spent a month living millions of men’s ultimate fantasy — teaching Rihanna how to handle weapons, speak Navy lingo and even play footie like one of the lads.

She said: “We were on set from sunrise to sunset — Rihanna was really tough. She was way better than her stunt double.

“She’s not afraid to get bruised or cut. All the stuff her stunt double would normally do, she was doing herself. I taught her how to handle the weapons. When she had a gun in her hand she couldn’t stop smiling. She loved it.”

‘Bad ass’ … Rihanna based her role on Jackie Carrizosa, seen here on set of movie

John Chapple

And Rihanna herself offered the ultimate praise to her trigger-happy mentor. She said: “My character’s name is Raikes. She’s a weapons officer, she’s not afraid of anything. She loves weapons, she knows them — not only her weapons, but every other weapon on the ship.

“We had this bad ass chick on set, her name is Jackie, she was also in the Navy. I was playing what she does in real life. She was all tattooed up and I just looked at her and I was like, ‘You are Raikes’.

“I watched her and really tried to get in her character. She’s fearless and she’s one of the boys and it’s really fun to explore that.”

The Sun tracked down Jackie to her first workplace since completing a four-year stint in the Navy — at a machine gun range in Las Vegas where she has continued to be surrounded by her beloved guns.

…

(Jackie defends the 2nd Amendment:)

But Jackie defended the controversial right to own guns in America. She also backed gun ranges such as the one where she works.

But Jackie said: “A lot of Brits get excited around the guns, especially because we have a lot of hot girls that work here.

…

“I don’t think I’ve seen a single person walk out of the range not smiling. It should be your right to buy a weapon — but it should come with great responsibility.

“As long as you are safe and following the rules then no one is going to get hurt. It’s when you get complacent and start ignoring the rules that things go wrong.

“It’s like anything. Spoons make people fat, pencils misspell words.”

Right on, sister!

Read the entire article: https://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/4239949/Im-the-bad-ass-chick-who-taught-Rihanna-to-shoot-in-Battleship.html

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Daniel Craig and Naomie Harris on the set of Skyfall

An excerpt from the article:

Naomie Harris, on the other hand, has been seen in two Pirates of the Caribbean movies and once again gets in on the exciting action, spending most of her video showing off the fire arms skills she’s learned during her training for the film. A longtime fan of the film series, she gushes over the opportunity — and looks like she’s going to give Craig’s Bond a run for his money. And footage of her appearance at the press conference announcing the film shows that Marlohe is not the only gorgeous Bond girl this time around.

And a video of Naomie Harris making us all look good:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=xp9ibpMo_w0

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/bond-girls-berenice-marlohe-naomi-harris-skyfall-video-blog-305890?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

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Have you noticed how many women have been beating the crap out of people in movies recently? Lisbeth Salander, that tattooed girl herself, is of course the surly new archetype of ass-kicking woman. But last year there was also the teenage version of the affectless taker-of-names, in the highly enjoyable film Hanna. The assassin version was protagonist of the easily forgettable Columbiana, and the mercenary version in the equally forgettable Haywire, while The Tourist was the surprisingly entertaining Angelina Jolie version. Then there’s Kate Beckinsale in Underworld, the requisite vampire version (because these days you need a vampire version of absolutely everything), a darker heir to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And soon to arrive is the film adaptation of the wildly popular Hunger Games trilogy, promising to fulfill both the dystopian and the young-adult versions in one fell swoop.

This is also happening on television, most notably with Piper Perabo’s oddly compelling combination of ass-kicking and wisecracking and tight-skirt-wearing, on Covert Affairs, a more comedic, less preposterous (but alas less good) Alias.

What’s with all this female-perpetrated violence? Two and a half years ago, when I started writing a thriller called The Expats about a spy turned expat homemaker who relapses, I thought I was doing something marginally original. Sure, Angelina Jolie had been beating people up for years, but she was a statistical outlier in a field populated by her beau and his pals, while Rooney Mara was playing an ex-girlfriend. Now everywhere I turn there are stoic, buff women running around shooting guns, and elbowing people in their tracheas. (And by “people,” I mean men; these women are not, for the most part, beating each other up.)

Why? Is this Fourth Wave Feminism, wherein women are the new action heroes—the assassins, the spies, the hired guns, the defenders against the occult? (We even have an actual nonfiction First Lady who looks like she has a fearsome right hook, a far cry from the Rosalynn Carters and Nancy Reagans of my youth.) Is this a bona fide cultural shift, in the way we view gender roles? Or just a venal marketing shift, in the way moviemakers are angling to earn a buck? Or both?

Read full article here: https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/03/23/the-fourth-wave-of-feminism-femme-fatale/

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• Denzel – a badass and a very pretty man.
• Ryan Reynolds – funny and a very pretty man. Also beginning to really prove himself as an actor these days.
• It looks like a legit spy action movie.
• The trailer had me hooked. See why:

  Click here to view the embedded video.

Why this movie is almost good:

• The action scenes are stellar. Kudos to the stunt team on this one. I was on the edge of my seat during every fight sequence.
• Denzel flashes the pearly whites – any time that man smiles it just makes you feel as though all is right with the world. He is a charmer, am I right?
• Great website.
• The audio is fantastic – I know you might think that this is not major factor, but trust me, it is very easy to screw this part of a movie up. The sound team on this movie was super solid.
• Great editing.
• Ryan Reynolds sans shirt. Um… have you seen those abs?
• Seriously, though- Reynolds performance is pretty solid in this movie. I am starting to really like his acting.
• Great location – the movie is set in South Africa and they do a great job of allowing the audience the chance to get the vibe of that country.

Why this movie is… well, kinda bad: (please note, this is not Ryan or Denzels fault)

• The trailer is totally misleading. Strike that – actually, it is quite leading: when you watch the trailer you can’t help but wonder what the plot will be. The thing is, when you walk out of the movie you are still wondering.
• The movie rips on people in the Clandestine Services big time. Look, I know not everyone in the CIA is a good guy, but ya know what? Most of them are. I am so over movies slamming people who serve our country and support freedom for people around the world. Lame-o-la.
• Wait, what was the plot again?
• Over played ending. I just didn’t buy it. If the movie was epic, I might have been invested enough to care. The character development was just not there.
• The tag line: No One is Safe. What does that even mean? And how on earth does that phrase apply to this movie?
• Did I mention that the plot runs about as deep as a thimble?
• Technical issues. Highly unrealistic protocol scenarios. About halfway through the movie I began to wonder if the writer, David Guggenheim, did any research at all. But then, who knows? I am no CIA operative.  Maybe this exact scenario actually happened and Guggenheim (I do love saying his name) documented it word for word. Maybe it was the director, Daniel Espinosa, who blew it big time. Listen, making a movie is tough and making a good movie is darn near impossible. You get an A for effort, boys but sadly, in my book, Safe House isn’t where it needs to be. Better luck next time.

If you are interested in seeing a movie strictly for the action, I would recommend Safe House. Otherwise, rent it at redbox after you have seen every other Denzel and/or Ryan Reynolds movie ever made. Ever. Including Van Wilder.

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Bond film Skyfall (Pic: Getty)

New Bond film, Skyfall, was announced today, with Daniel Craig returning for the third time as 007.

The 23rd movie in the Bond series is due for release in late 2012 and also stars Javier Bardem as the latest villain, Dame Judi Dench as ‘M’ and Ralph Fiennes as another secret agent.

But no Bond film would be complete without a touch of sex and glamour brought by the obligatory Bond girls.

Here’s ten things you need to know about the Skyfall Bond girls, Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris.

Bond girl Berenice Marlohe

1. Naomie Melanie Harris is an English actress who was born and raised in London, England, the daughter of sitcom writer Lisselle Kayla, a single mother who had emigrated to England from Jamaica as a child.

2. Naomie is best known for her starring role as Amy Jackson in the British children’s sci-fi series, The Tomorrow People.

3. Thirty-five year old Naomie has also starred as Selena in zombie flick 28 Days Later and the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films.

Secret agent Eve, played by Naomie Harris

4. Relatively unknown model and actress Berenice was spotted when she appeared in a car advert for French 4×4 Dacia Duster.

….

7. Naomie has been training for two months for the role, learning how to perform stunts and fire guns. She said: “[I’ve been doing] stunt-driving and firing machine guns, which I’ve discovered I’ve got a real taste for.”

The Bond girls with 007 Daniel Craig
Read more: https://www.mirror.co.uk/celebs/news/2011/11/03/skyfall-ten-things-you-should-know-about-the-new-james-bond-girls-115875-23535164/#ixzz1cethPT1D

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Hayley Atwell on ‘Captain America’ and Her Action Heroine, Peggy Carter

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Women with Guns: Thelma & Louise On Its 20th Anniversary vs. Hit TNT Series Rizzoli & Isles

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Thelma & Louise, Matthew Brennan’s latest “Now and Then” compares and contrasts Ridley Scott and Callie Khouri’s groundbreaking road trip and TNT’s police procedural/buddy series Rizzoli & Isles.

Louise (Susan Sarandon) pulls no punches, but she’s fastidious, too. She pins her hair back tight and tugs her jacket on as snugly as she can; her kitchen is spotless enough to be a makeshift hospital room. Thelma (Geena Davis), on the other hand, is slovenly, loud. She skitters around in a floral housedress, surrounded by so many coupons, newspaper clippings, telephone bills, and other ephemera you’d be hard pressed to tell kitchen from master bedroom. She’s also charmingly nonchalant, dropping a silver gun in her purse like an extra shade of lipstick. In Thelma & Louise , a real pistol crack of a feminist caper, the gun’s the thing.

Indeed, when a slithering cowboy named Harlan rapes Thelma in the parking lot of a roadside honky-tonk, the gun, which she’s passed off to Louise in the interim, proves pivotal. His invective is so virulent that the spit swings down in great gobs from his mouth — a primal hatred he turns on Louise when she arrives, weapon drawn. “We’re just havin’ a little fun,” he leers.

Sounds like you have a real fucked up idea of fun!” she replies. And then, her voice cracking slightly as the emotion rises up inside her: “In the future, when a woman’s crying like that, she isn’t having any fun!”

What he says next is so despicable it’s not worth printing, but needless to say it’s all the justification she needs. She shoots him dead, and her fierce retort when Thelma suggests they go to the police gets at the heart of why the movie remains so powerfully perceptive two decades on. “About a hundred goddamn people saw you dancin’ cheek to cheek with him all night!” she yells. “Like they’re going to believe that [you were raped]! We don’t live in that kind of a world, Thelma!”

Thelma & Louise is risky, hard-nosed, and freewheeling, passing through desert landscapes and low-slung towns on the way to freedom. Brilliantly, Sarandon plays Louise high-strung and nervous, dragging on every cigarette as though it’ll be her last; Davis elevates Thelma above a funny femme fatale with the merest inflection. “Somethin’s crossed over in me,” she tells Louise, her voice flickering between exhilaration for her new life and regret for wasting her old one. “I can’t go back. I couldn’t live.”

The world we do live in falls short — unfortunately, it’s still one where an attractive woman who has one too many drinks and dances cheek to cheek “had it coming to her.” Our heroines rightly give ’em hell anyway: a sleazy truck driver learns his lesson, Brad Pitt obliges us with some male objectification by baring his backside, and the police see that happiness is more than a little tract house on the prairie. I’ve always felt ambivalent about Thelma & Louise, uncertain whether it’s unquestionably happy or unbearably sad. I’ve never had the same ambivalence about Thelma and Louise themselves, because in the end their facility with a gun is less important than seeing their hands clasped together in a kind of communion, grabbing control of their destiny. Sink or swim, they’re in this thing together.

Read the entire post here:

https://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2011/08/01/women_with_guns_thelma_louise_on_its_20th_anniversary_vs._hit_tnt_series_ri/

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Thankfully, I could not have been more wrong. Watching Captain America was the most fun experience I’ve had at the movies all summer.  Set in WWII era New York, Steve Rogers, played by the oh-so-yummy Chris Evans in a miniaturized form, attempts to join the Army only to have his dreams crushed due to his laundry list of physical ailments. If you’ve seen Evans in other roles (like Human Torch in Fantastic Four), you’re aware that this hunky star is far from scrawny, yet in the early part of the film Evans is nearly unrecognizable thanks to a special effects display that rivals that of the Armie Hammer duplication in The Social Network. Upon the news that Steve’s best friend, Bucky, has received his orders of shipping out to fight the Nazis, an Albert Einstein double named Abraham Erskine (subtle, no?) overhears Steve revealing the reasons he so desperately desires to join his friend in the fight despite his physical challenges. It just so happens that Erskine, played by Stanley Tucci, is looking for a person with such a heart and will as Steve’s for an experiment he’s been working on. Steve then steps in to Erskine’s laboratory and is bitten by a rogue radioactive spider… oh, wait… wrong movie. Why don’t I just let the trailer do the talking:

Click here to view the embedded video.

While the film is strong all the way around – from effects and score to script and cinematography – one character is a bona fide scene stealer. Hayley Atwell plays British ex-pat turned Army Special Agent Peggy Carter, Steve Rogers’ eventual love interest. I’ve gotta give the writers some serious kudos on this one. Peggy is strong, smart, beautiful, tough and incredibly classy.  Simply stated, she’s the perfect female movie icon.  Her 1940s hair and makeup make this gun girl long to have been born about 5 decades earlier. Her interactions with Tommy Lee Jones’ Colonel Phillips highlight the fact that Peggy is years ahead of her time and has been forced to break through a glass ceiling or two to attain her position. What 21st century chick doesn’t appreciate that contribution? The amazingly well cast Atwell glides through this role as if it were written for her. She also happens to know how to handle a gun and leave the boys jaws on the table as she walks out of the room. Basically, she’s everything I want to be when I grow up. Atwell’s performance alone is enough to make me buy a second ticket. Ok, ok, fine. Chris Evans’ pectoral muscles might have something to do with it, too.

Now for the gun report: you’ll see plenty of WWII-era Army standard issue handguns, rifles, shotguns and tank artillery. I can’t help but think that the prop department must have had some fun creating the look and feel of the futuristic rifles and modified Nazi Lugers that harness the earth-destroying, human-vaporizing power of The Tesseract. Incidentally, Hugo Weaving is spot on as Johann Schmitd, the head of HYDRA and Captain America’s Nazi megalomaniac rival who seeks to conquer the world with these weapons.  Disappointingly, Evans (or perhaps, the stunt coordinator) gets a thumbs down for his gun handling in the train sequence.  I swear, if I see one more actor with his or her finger on the trigger before he or she is ready to fire I’m gonna call up Freddy Wong and get him to lay the smack down, if ya know what I mean. I’ll let Chris Evans off the hook this time because his primary weapon is a big metal disc, not a gun, so his firearm training might not have been that extensive and also because, well… he’s hot.*

Don’t miss this film in theaters. It’s definitely a summer must-see. I give it two big shiny gold guns up for style, script, casting and general awesomeness.  It’s a great patriotic flick that’s perfect for the whole family. And be sure to stay all the way through the end credits for a little Easter Egg that they leave you. Gotta love Marvel for upholding that fun tradition. Until then, enjoy these little snippets of raw interview with the oh-so-classy Miss Atwell:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

*For the record, if Chris Evans was using a real gun as opposed to a movie gun and displayed poor handling, I definitely would lay the smack down, despite his hotness.

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Since the dawn of the motion picture era, Hollywood has always had a strange fascination with firearms. As the legendary film director Jean Luc Godard famously said, “All you need for a film is a girl and a gun.” We at Girl’s Guide absolutely agree.

Of course, just like most things that come out of Lalaland, as we locals affectionately call it, Hollywood’s perception and representation of guns is at best, a little skewed. Most firearms owners, for example, don’t know how to “bend a bullet” quite like Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy. And the last time I checked, no one really shoots laser guns a la Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford. Still, audiences all over the world can’t help but line up to see the next incarnation of filmic firearms.

Since Hollywood loves to celebrate itself (and oh how we love to watch), let’s jump on that bandwagon, shall we? Here’s a look my Top 10 list of the most glamorous gun moments in movie history.

10) Thelma and Louise – Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis star in this, the quintessential “girl and a gun movie.” Sad ending, but a super fun ride. Not to mention the three magic words: Brad Pitt cameo.

9) Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle – Demi Moore. Dual Desert Eagles. Done.

8 ) You may think I’m crazy about this one, but the fact that somehow Sigourney Weaver managed to fight off oozing creatures from space and do it with an undeniable gritty glamor is pretty impressive.  Alien from 1979 definitely makes the list.

7) The Matrix- After watching this film, who among us didn’t want to be Trinity?

6) True Grit – Hailee Steinfeld kept it super duper classy in this Cohen Bros remake. And wasn’t she just adorable at the Oscars? Can’t wait to see more from this little starlet.

5) Termiator 1 & 2 – Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner. Again, a gritty but totally fantastic leading lady. And can someone please find me her trainer’s phone number?

4) Bonnie and Clyde – Faye Dunaway is cool and totally glam in this 1967 film.

3) Wanted – Angelina Jolie does it again.

2 ) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back – Carrie Fisher is a legendary icon in this film. You know you’re doing something right if you can make millions of girls everywhere wear buns over their ears. Hats off to you, sister.

1) As time goes by, Casablanca continues to be, in my humble opinion, the greatest movie ever.  It just doesn’t get any classier than the gorgeous screen siren, Ingrid Bergman. Bonus: though it technically only shows up in one scene, she knows how to use that revolver. Better look out, all you Nazi bad guys!

Those are the Top 10 on my list. Did I miss one? Leave me your thoughts in the comments below.

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I’m too young to have seen the original so you won’t see any comparisons here, but based on my opinion, this movie is absolutely Oscar worthy.  From the first moments in the film, the viewer is drawn into a world of the Wild West, led by Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross, a 14 year old forced to take care of her father’s affairs and find his murderer when the law won’t do it for her. This young lady is one to watch.  I imagine very few young actresses could hold their own and then some with the likes of veterans Jeff Bridges & Matt Damon, and she did it stunningly. In the course of trying to avenge her father’s death, she is aided by the aforementioned Bridges as US Marshal Rooster Cogburn and Damon as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, men who each in their own way show they have true grit.  Oh yeah, and Josh Brolin is in it as the bad-guy murderer, but in my humble opinion, should not have been given third billing (yeah yeah I know he got it not for his role but for his family name).

Steinfeld, Damon & Bridges star in True Grit

Why would this be a movie for GG to review, you might ask?  It doesn’t feature a butt-kicking, gun-wielding heroine like some of our other favorite movies… at least not in the typical sense.  But let me tell you, Mattie Ross is a young woman who is empowered because of her circumstances and instead of leaving business to men, takes things into her own hands.

The movie opens with the following Bible verse:

“The wicked flee when no man pursueth” Proverbs 28:1

Miss Ross decides to pursue thus not allowing the wicked to flee (so perhaps the quote should say “when no WOman pursueth”!).

I don’t know much about what life was like back then, but I imagine a 14-year-old girl showing as much “grit” as Mattie Ross did were frowned upon (there’s an unforgettable scene between LaBoeuf and Ross that, when seen through today’s lens, might be considered appalling, but I imagine back then it was not uncommon). And, of course, she does get two shots off her father’s Colt Walker 1847 by the end of the film.

Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross

Not surprisingly, these two shots knock her on her ass, as this gun is much too large for her.  This leads to a great exchange between Steinfeld and Brolin who plays Tom Chaney, Mattie’s father’s murderer. He says something about Mattie playing with guns instead of dolls when she was a child, to which she responds, “If I knew about guns, I would have chosen one that didn’t miss.” That might be one of the best movie lines ever written (and, by the way, I realize I didn’t get it exactly correct – please forgive me this one – the quotes are not up on imdb.com yet but as soon as they are, I will update it with the correct one!).

I don’t like to give away too much in my movie reviews, but I give this movie two, shining guns up. And if I don’t see these actors on stage at the Oscars this year, I will be very disappointed!

And if you’d like to see Miss Steinfeld talking about some training she did for the movie, including going shooting for the first time, check out this interview on imdb.com: https://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi888838169/

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