Today's Movie: Casino Jack

Casino Jack was released in 2010, and it tells the story of the lead-up-to and eventual fall of former Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Directed by George Hinkenlooper (who died before the film's release) the movie stars Kevin Spacey, Barry Pepper, Jon Lovitz, Kelly Preston. and Rachelle Lefevre.

For anyone already familiar with the story, this is a comedic-dramatization of events. One of the problems that sometimes arises when making a Hollywood version of a story like that of Abramoff is that there is no good guy to root for. While Spacey (his own future scandals aside) plays Abramoff as likeable as possible, everyone related to this story is at fault. The lobbyist, the Senators who take money from the lobbyist, the people paying the lobbyists to sway the Senator's vote in their favor... it's a story of fraud, greed and corruption and leads to the movie being a bit of a mess tonally. That being said, I do like the film overall. I think that the acting is pretty solid throughout, and I'm a bit of a sucker for true crime stories. It's also not a particularly long movie, only about 1hr 45mins, but it packs a lot into that time and keeps the story moving. 

Casino Jack wasn't a critical or box-office hit but, I think there is enough good stuff in the film to make it worthwhile. 

I give it a 3 out of 5.

The Irishman

Now available on Netflix, The Irishman is the latest film by Martin Scorsese. The movie is based on the book I Heard You Paint Houses which is about the life of mafia hitman Frank Sheeran. It's also is a reteaming of Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci who had previously starred in two other Scorsese crime films (which happen to be two of my favorite movies); Goodfellas in 1990 and Casino in 1995.

This is a good movie. A very good movie in fact, although that shouldn't be much of a surprise as Scorsese is one of the all-time great filmmakers and mafia stories are kind of his sweet spot. I didn't enjoy it quite as much as Goodfellas or Casino but, it did surpass my expectations. I guess because it was a Netflix movie I thought it might be a lesser Scorsese film and also, to be fair, Pesci was retired and De Niro has been phoning it in the past few years. Alongside those two, the film also features the likes of Al Pacino, Bobby Cannavale, Harvey Keitel, and Ray Ramano who's surprisingly really in good in this movie. 

One thing that may turn a few people away is the runtime. It's long, like three and half hours long. However, I think it earns just about every minute of that runtime. I didn't read the Charles Brandt book I Heard You Paint Houses but, I did read up a bit on Frank Sheeran in the lead up to this movie's release. This is a lot of story to condense, and I think the film nailed it. It's well-written, expertly directed, and all of the actors brought their A-game. I highly recommend checking this one out, especially if you're a fan of films about organized crime. 

It's easily one of my favorites of 2019, and I give it 4.5 out of 5.

Today's Movie: Hot Pursuit

2015's Hot Pursuit is a cop and crook on-the-run comedy starring Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara. In the film Witherspoon plays the part of Rose Cooper, a by-the-book, yet bumbling police officer assigned to transport the wife of a drug dealer to Dallas so she and her husband can testify against the leader of a cartel. After the husband is ambushed and murdered, Cooper and the wife Daniella Riva (played by Sofia Vergara) flee. With them on the run, and two dirty police officers on their tail, Cooper and Riva must get to Dallas in time for the trial and to clear Copper's name.

Now, I like Reese Witherspoon and I like odd-couple comedies, but I found this movie to be surprisingly unfunny. I'd say a good 95% of the comedy relates to one of following gags: 1) Reese Witherspoon is short. 2) The character of Cooper is uptight. 3) Mrs. Riva is a shrill, overdramatic, caricature of a Latina woman. There is no subtlety to either lead performance, and pretty much none of it landed for me. The basic police officer and criminal having to work together premise has been done a million times but, I think with these two actresses there was the potential here to make a fun comedy. Unfortunately, whether it was Director Anne Fletcher (who is known for making lackluster-at-best films), or a bad screenplay, or likely both, Hot Pursuit just isn't a good movie. As for a few positives; I think the total runtime is less than 90 minutes, and there is a cameo by Mike Birbiglia.

Overall, I'm going to give this one a 1 out of 5.

The Hawk is Dying

Starring Paul Giamatti, Michael Pitt, and Michelle Williams, The Hawk is Dying is a 2006 drama directed by Julian Goldberger. In the film, Paul Giamatti plays a vehical upholster named George whos true passion and obsession is falconry. His goal is to train a hawk with the help of his autistic nephew Fred (played by Michael Pitt). Although all of their attempts thus far have failed, they capture a red-tailed hawk and George thinks that this is going to be the one. Unfortunatly, after Fred drowns in a freak accident, George starts to spiral out of control becoming more obsessed with training the new hawk.

Giamatti is one of my favorite actors working today, so the movie gets a little extra bump in my book for simply having him in it. With that being said, it's not a great movie. I found it fairly interesting and didn't once consider switching to something else but, it's really only worth checking out for the lead performance. It's a slow paced and morose film, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it just falls a little flat. 

Overall, not bad. Not great. Just an OK movie. 
2.5 out of 5

Midway (2019)

Last night my wife and I went to see the new Roland Emmerich film Midway. Now, Emmerich doesn't have the best track record as a director but, this one looked pretty good from the trailers. The film, as the title would suggest, is about the Battle of Midway in 1942 and it stars Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckhart, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Dennis Quaid, and Tadanobu Asano.

The movie covers a lot of ground: It starts out before the United States got involved in WWII, takes us through the attack on Pearl Harbor, and of course the lead-up to and eventual Battle of Midway. The movie crams a lot into it's 2hr and 18min runtime which means it was never boring but, by contrast, it did feel a bit clunky at times. However, even with the occasionally odd pacing I feel that, outside of 1996's Independence Day, this is probably Emmerich's best film. It's a slick production and, although none of the acting is great but, its good enough.

I'm generally a fan of war movies and I think if given the choice between the two, I prefer the 1976 Midway film starring Charlton Heston and Henry Fonda over this one. That being said, I still had a pretty good time watching this film. Overall, I liked it but didn't love it. So consider this a light-recommend.

3 out of 5

Beat the Devil

Beat the Devil is a 1953 adventure-comedy directed by John Huston. The film stars Humphrey Bogart, who had previously starred in a number of notable Huston films like 1941's The Maltese Falcon, 1948's The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and 1951's The African Queen. Alongside Bogart is a pretty solid cast of  Jennifer Jones and Gina Lollobrigida, Robert Morley, Peter Lorre and Bernard Lee. 

The plot involves a group of questionable characters who are all headed to Africa and looking to acquire some valuable, uranium-rich land. Along the way thier boat sinks and, upon reaching shore, they are taken captive suspected of being spies. Story-wise it's nothing special for a movie like this, with many of the characters trying to smooth-talk their way out of situations and willing to doublecross each other if it means advancing their own self-interest. Where the film shines is with the cast, and the bander between the characters is really the main selling point here. Overall, It's not a great movie but, it's fun and good for a couple of laughs.

I give it a 2.5 out of 5.

Today's Movie: Moon

Released in 2009 and directed by Duncan Jones, Moon is easily one of my all-time favorite sci-fi films.

In the movie Sam Bell (played by Sam Rockwell) works alone at a mining station on the far side of the moon, with only the station's artificial intelligence system named GERTY (voiced by Kevin Spacey) to keep him company. The station exists as a way to mine a fuel source known as helium-3 from the moon's soil by Lunar Industries. Sam is nearing the end of his three-year contract with Lunar and is all set to return home to his wife and daughter back on Earth. One day when making a routine visit to one of the remote helium-3 harvesters, Sam becomes distracted and crashes his rover. He wakes up in the stations infirmary unclear as to how he got there. Curious to find some answers, Sam eventually decides to head back to the crash site. When he opens up the rover and climbs inside, he finds that there is someone inside... himself!

Without giving away the other twists and turns of the plot, I'll just say this; I think Moon is a fantastic movie and I and even placed it on my Top 100 Favorite Films list. Sam Rockwell, who I think is a phenomenal actor, turns in one of the best performances of his career in this one. It's also a very well written, well directed, and engaging film. I'm a bit surprised that I never hear anyone talk about it, as it currently holds a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.9/10 on the IMDb. If you've never seen Moon, I highly recommend checking it out. 

5 out of 5.

The Green Mile

It may be hard to believe but, the film adaptation of Stephen King's The Green Mile is fast approaching it's 20th anniversary. The film was released in December of 1999. It was a both a hit at the box-office and with critics, garnering a slew of various award nominations and winning a few along the way. Directed by Frank Darabont (who had just directed a big-screen version of  another King story, The Shawshank Redemption, a few years earlier) The Green Mile definitely a movie worth checking out if you've never seen it -or- if you're like me and just haven't rewatched it in a decade or so.

Set primarily in Louisiana in 1935, the film focuses on a prison cell block where death row inmates are kept. Named the 'Green Mile' because of the green colored floors, we're quickly introduced to the block's new inmate John Coffey (played by the late Michael Clarke Duncan). Although Coffey is an intimidatingly large man, he doesn't seem to have the personality or demeanor of a murderer. Coffey soon starts to endear himself to the guards, especially Paul (played by Tom Hanks) and they eventually discover that he has supernatural healing abilities. There are a couple small surprises along the way but overall I think it's a pretty straightforward story. The strength of this film, beyond just being an interesting story, is in the cast and how it's paced. The movie is a little over three hours long and sure, maybe a minute or two could've been shaved off. However, I think it mostly warrants that runtime and at no point do I feel like the movie drags scenes out unnecessarily. With regards to the cast, having a group consisting of actors like Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, Sam Rockwell, James Cromwell, David Morse, Michael Jeter, and Doug Hutchison really does help to elevate the material.

It's a good movie. I recommend it. 4 out of 5.

Today's Movie: J. Edgar

Released in 2011 J. Edgar is a Clint Eastwood directed film about the career of former FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The film stars a pretty good cast consisting of actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Naomi Watts, Judi Dench, and Armie Hammer. It did OK at the box-office and did garner a few award nominations (mostly for DiCaprio's performance). However, it wasn't a huge hit and it received mixed reviews. As of this post, it holds a 43% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 6.5/10 on the IMDb.

A common complaint I hear levied against this movie is that it's too slow and, as a result, kind of boring. Now, I think the film is far from perfect but, it does have a few key elements that work for me and I think make it a perfectly enjoyable movie. First off, Leonardo DiCaprio's performance is really good. The film alternates between an older Hoover and his younger self, as he recounts the stories of his long career. I think that in both instances, as the young and old Hoover, DiCaprio does a solid job. Additionally, I think that both Hoover and the early years of the FBI are interesting topics. 

To be fair, the movie isn't all good. For example; some of the old man make-up (particularly that applied to Armie Hammer) is unconvincing and, as stated earlier, the film is a bit slow. It doesn't drag so much that it becomes frustrating but, there are some scenes that probably could've been trimmed down, reworked, or cut out completely. One thing that does bug me though is the drab color palette. I'm fine with some color correction to make a film and characters feel muted and a little cold, but why so many directors go for this 'concrete gray' look I'll never understand.

Overall, I like this one. Is it my favorite DiCaprio performance? No. Is it my favorite film directed by Clint Eastwood? No. And honestly, if you're interested in checking out a film about the early history of the FBI then I'd recommend  1959's The FBI Story starring James Stewart over this one. That being said, I think this is a solid movie and I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

The Devil's in the Details

The Devil's in the Details is a crime-thriller about an ex-soldier who is kidnapped by a drug cartel as part of an elaborate plan to rob another cartel. This soldier, Thomas (played by Joel Mathews) is chosen because his sister is a cop, his father is a judge, and his brother is a border patrol agent. So Thomas has connections to all the right people to orchestrate this heist.

It's an interesting premise but, overall, this movie isn't very good. Ray Liotta who plays an ex-Navy Seal and Thomas' psychiatrist does a fine job in the film but, unfortunately he's only playing a supporting role. The rest of the cast is a mixed-bag, with Joel Mathews probably being the weakest of the bunch. The film itself is a bit of a jumbled mess; poorly directed, with a halfhearted attempt at a twist, and an unsatisfying ending. However, despite it's shortcomings, I did find the movie engaging enough that I watched it all the way through without ever reaching for the remote to turn it off. 

I don't recommend The Devil's in the Detail's, unless you're like me and will just watch anything with Ray Liotta in it.

I give this one a 1.5 out of 5.

The Power of Few

Released in 2013 The Power of Few was both written and directed by Leone Marucci. As far as I know this is the only film Marucci has made. Hopefully it stays that way, because this movie is not good. 

The movie is centered around a series of events (a double murder followed immediately by a car crash) and the perspectives of all of those who were involved in or witnessed it. This is a story-telling technique that has been used in a number of films, to varying degrees of success, but in this one it just comes off as pretentious. The intersecting parties/storylines are that of a teenage boy who is planning on robbing a store to get some medicine he needs for his baby brother. A guy who is on the run from two gang members because he's going to testify in court. Two homeless guys, one of which used to be a local news anchor. A courier. A shopkeeper who wants to be an actor. Two special agents trying to locate a mysterious package. And finally a spy who has stolen the Shroud of Turin from the Vatican.

Despite the fairly interesting gimmick of having all these people cross paths Pulp Fiction-style, and featuring a halfway decent cast, I couldn't get into this movie. I don’t give many films a zero rating, but I struggled to find anything about this one that I liked and I almost bailed on it several times. The acting is hit-and-miss, it's over edited, and it feels so much longer than it's actual runtime. Overall, at no point did I find this films plot compelling and I don't recommend wasting your time watching it.

0 out of 5.