Directed by: Martin Scorsese Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci
Whether you want to accept it or not, organized crime actually exists, in many parts of the world. Goodfellas is based on a true story, explores the lives of gangsters in Brooklyn, chonicling the events of Henry Hill (Ray Liotta).
As he gets older, he marries and has children, but still continues his long-term relationship with the organized crime family run under mob boss Paulie (Paul Sorvino), and befriends a calm, steady gangster named Jimmy (Robert De Niro) and wild man Tommy (Joe Pesci).
This is surely one of the great films from the gangster film genre. Director Martin Scorsese fully shows this unromantic view on the gangsters lifestyle. He shows that the gangsters do is steal, kill, and don’t associate with many others outside of their family, which in all shows how these character interact with one-another. What Scorsese is mostly showing and telling that these people are scum, and this is so crushing in a beautiful and artful way.
So, which is better: Goodfellas or The Godfather? Of course they're both amazing films in their own right, and both are focused on organized crime, yet each of them give a totally different approach. I feel that The Godfather is focused more on the family-side of things while Goodfellas spends more time with its characters.
Imagine a world where you stop aging at twenty-five, then you're genetically engineered to only live one more year-unless you can buy your way out of it. The rich "earn" decades at a time, becoming essentially immortal while the rest struggle to work or otherwise beg, borrow or steal enough hours to make it through the day.
That is the cycle of life for the people of this futuristic science fiction, In Time (2011), people like Will Salas played by Justin Timberlake. Will is a "time-watcher" of the ghetto who is just like everyone else wants to buy their way into an immortal youth. When his mother, played by the gorgeous Olivia Wilde dies, he meets a man who escapes the uptown life and gives Will his remaining time with one caveat, he must do something productive with it.
First he gives a couple dozen years to his best friend, Borel (Johnny Galecki) who we later learn spends it all on booze and as a result dies. The rest of the movie is your basic Robin Hood story, he travels through the toll gates out of the ghetto to the uptown neighborhoods. This is something that has never been done before, for obvious reasons. When Will is accused of murder by the timekeeper (Cillian Murphy) he is forced to take the banker's daughter Sylvia Weiss (Amanda Seyfried) hostage.
Living minute to minute, the two team up to be a powerful tool against the system. Sylvia decides the best way to get back at her father for sheltering her for all these years is to rob him blindly one 'bank' at a time. Keeping enough time to keep themselves alive, and giving the rest away to others struggling. An ordinary Robin Hood story, stealing from the rich to give to the poor.
The concept of this movie was excellent, but the way it was executed was terrible. For starters, let's take our main character, Justin Timberlake who quite frankly we find out cannot pull off a "tough guy" act, the idea of giving him the girl in the end is pretty believable although choosing a talented actress such as Amanda Seyfried may have had a little something to do with that. Next, the irony of our "timekeeper" dying because he stop keeping track of his own time? That was not only expected but silly to write into the script, as he was killed off without even trying.
Other than those two disappointments, this movie was excellent. The run time was perfect, I didn't think it was. One other thing that impressed me about this movie was just how much it was right on with the analogy of how it truly is in some parts of the world where the rich have everything while the poor are neglected and struggling to make ends meet.
Overall, if you find yourself looking for a science fiction thinker, don't look any further than this title. If you are looking for something a bit more adventurous, you can do a lot better than this.
Director: Robert Stevenson Starring: Sean Connery, Janet Munro, Albert Sharpe
The Movie: A frisky old storyteller named Darby O'Gill is desperately seeking the proverbial pot of gold. There's just one tiny thing standing in his way: a 21-inch leprechaun named King Brian. In order to get the gold, Darby must match his wits against the shrewd little trickster - which proves no small task, indeed!
Review: Happy St Patrick's Day, ye followers! If you know me, or think you do, it should come to no surprise that I just love Disney movies and "Darby O'Gill" is no exception. This movie was one of the first DVDs I ever added to my collection, I've probably seen it every other year around this time since. It never gets old, and proves to me every time I watch it that Disney actually made some quality non-animated movies back in the day.
This movie stars the young pre-Bond Sean Connery, as Michael MacBride who comes to replace Albert Sharpe's Darby O'Gill in a poor village of Ireland when he almost instantly falls in love with Darby's daughter Katie, the beautiful Janet Munro. The only problem is, she subtly finds out Michael is there to evict her and her father from the only place they've called home. It's up to Michael to prove to Katie that his intentions are honorable, and that he really does love her, but not before standing up to the village drunk-stronghold Pony Sugrue (Kieron Moore).
The little people as they are undoubtedly referred to in this film are considered make believe, only seen by those who had a bit too much to drink. As a matter of fact, when Darby tricks King Brian into staying, the only person who could actually see him was Darby himself. He is granted three wishes, to which he decides to think hard about as to not be tricked into losing them again.
The scenery is beautiful, the actors skillful and wholeheartedly into their work, and the music is catchy and delightful. Don't be put off by the date this was made, this movie is definitely not one you'll want to miss.
Director: Francis Lawrence Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Picking up where Catching Fire left off, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014) takes place in District 13, the once forgotten district containing refugees of fallen districts before it. Once Katiness (Jennifer Lawrence) awakens from her coma she is told her former homestead that was District 12 was destroyed by President Snow (Donald Sutherland) following the rebellion she reluctantly lead.
Under the leadership of District 13 President Coin (Julianne Moore) and the advice of her trusted friends, uses the courage she's shown during the games to become the symbol of the rebellion for the remaining districts of Panem, with one caveat: To rescue Peeta and the other Hunger Games victors currently held against their will at the Capitol. Now to be honest, I'm an avid movie watcher and haven't read a page of the books these movies are adapted from. The first movie was entertaining enough for me to actually go see in theaters, but much like the Twilight movies, the excitement stops there. Surely Catching Fire was better than I expected, but there was a bit of a drop that gave me the impression that I didn't need to see any further sequels of this franchise on the big screen. It became obvious once Lionsgate announced they were splitting this last installment into two parts, that this franchise has become a cash cow for them. Mockingjay is nothing special, an excessively long melodrama that refused to follow the premise of the former two movies, which was to intrigue and entertain from one scene to another.
See the expression on her face? Even she's uncertain about this film.
Slow to arrive at a possible climax-inducing cliffhanger, the director seemed to miss the potential for a meatier action sequence. There were, however, some good scenes of the rebels fighting for their freedom but they were more of a exposition than anything else.
R.I.P. Philip Seymour Hoffman 1967-2014
Unfortunate fault to this film chapter's downfall, was it's subtle cash grab strategy of being split into two movies. Obviously this shouldn't come to surprise anyone, the first half is supposed to recreate our main character to become a heroine against the ruthless ruler of Panem. There wasn't much to see here, although it was refreshing to see the story shift from the arena type games to a more realistic battle of the empire. It's lack of action seemed to bore more than entertain, which doesn't make much sense for a movie, which was created to entertain. We can only hope the second half of this chapter in The Hunger Games novel will offer a lot more gripping action and drama, but still will be nothing I'm going to bother seeing on day one.
Director: Richard Franklin Starring: Henry Thomas, Dabney Coleman, Michael Murphy, Christina Nigra Running Time: 101 Minutes
Two years ago Steven Spielberg introduced us to the young Henry Thomas who played Elliot, the kid who befriended a lost alien in E.T. Now we see Henry Thomas in his most courageous role yet, in "Cloak & Dagger" featuring an imaginative young boy named Davey Osborne who loves role-playing games. His mother passed away recently and his father, Hal (Dabney Coleman) is an overly busy colonel in the U.S. Air Force, so he often looks to find aid in an imaginary super-spy named Jack Flack (also Dabney Coleman).
One day on an top secret assignment for some Twinkies, he witnesses a real murder of an FBI agent who passes a video game called "Cloak & Dagger" to him just before he is killed. Ironically, when the police come, the body is gone, and no one will believe him. Soon Davey finds himself up to his neck in hairbreadth escapes, real bullets, and a race against the clock action. His friend and neighbor Kim (Christina Nigra) gets caught in the middle of Davey's wild imagination which she quickly learns isn't as made up as she once thought. In order to rescue Kim, Davey has to return the game to the "bad guys" led by Michael Murphy. Soon it's a race of the clock to get to Kim before midnight to disable the bomb which was wired in her walkie-talkie, coincidentally it's also the same time the creepy old terrorists' flight out of the country is.
Over the years there's no doubt this movie has dated some, for instance the walkie talkies and the large trunks big enough to stash bodies into, two things you don't see much of today. Today a rated PG family film most likely wouldn't carry a child being hunted, threatened, and held hostage over a video game. It's movies like this one that makes me cherish what we had in the 80s and very early 90s. "Cloak & Dagger" is one of the greatest forgotten gems of the 80s, featuring deadly spies, imaginary superheroes, and a real life adventure based on an ATARI game. The well-anticipated twist at the end makes this movie worth watching to the end.This film is suitable for the whole family whose time has finally come to get the recognition it deserves.
My Rating: 10/10 - OWN IT!
This review was written in part for Forgotten Films' 1984 a-thon
Director: Joe Johnston Starring: Robin Williams, Bonnie Hunt, Kirsten Dunst, Bradley Pierce Running Time: 104 Minutes
Summary: Starting in 1969, young Alan Parrish and young Sarah Whittle discover a mysterious board game that reluctantly changes their lives. Upon his surprise, Alan finds himself transported into the dark side of the jungles of Jumanji! Twenty-six years later, he is freed by two unexpecting children. Alan (Robin Williams) reunites with Sarah (Bonnie Hunt) and together with Judy (Kirsten Dunst) and her brother Peter (Bradley Pierce) to outwit the game's powerful forces and return to the lives they once had. A combination of breathtaking special effects with a sleuth of magic and thrills bring you the game that must be played to believe! I was only eight years old when this movie premiered and I thought it was perfect. It's probably among the few childhood classics I can think of, unfortunately over ten years have gone by since I last watched it so with the recent news of the loss of a great Hollywood comic (R-I-P!) I knew I had to revisit this one. It's story still holds up very well as the most entertained I've ever watched, out of the thousands of movies I've seen in my lifetime.
"It's not my turn."
Once the movie begins much like you were playing the game personally you are hooked through to when a player reaches the end and calls out it's name. Some may say this is a children's adventure movie but it's much more, it's got everything: comedy, action, adventure, a time travel science fiction feeling, and even a love story all in one and is definitely not just targeted for children. Not that I'm saying it's not recommended, I only firmly believe children and adults a like will love this movie. It's story of two orphaned kids from the mid-90s playing a game with two kids from the late-60s portrays just how there were two universes set up, and that with every roll of the dice their lives changed each time.
"RUN! It's a stampede!"
The end of the movie marks the end of the virtual universe if you will, it was inevitable that Alan and Sarah would return to 1969 - twenty-some years before their teammates were even born. Flash forward a few years, we see Alan taking over his father's shoe business, alongside Sarah who we see is now an expectant mother, at a Christmas party they meet with the advertising agent who happens to be Judy and Peter's father who wasn't set to start his job until after a ski trip in the mountains that would inevitably turn Judy and Peter into orphans. Alan and Sarah rewrote their future by insisting they start sooner rather than later.
"A law of Jumanji having been broken. You will slip back even more than your token."
Consensus: This movie is a great 100 minute adventure ride for everyone of all ages!
Rating: 8/10 -- Run out and buy this movie, you won't regret it!
Director: Doug Liman Starring: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton Running Time: 113 Minutes
Yeah, I get out to the theaters once in awhile, and with all the hype over Edge of Tomorrow I knew I just had to see what everyone was talking about. Director Doug Liman brings us a Groundhog Day-style action movie starring the once exciting Tom Cruise. Let's face it, this guy's grown old, his style of acting has drastically dropped sub-par. Not to say he didn't do a good job here, but let's just say I was more excited to see Emily Blunt than him.
As the movie rolls on screen, we immediately meet Officer Cage (Tom Cruise) who wakes up on a dock with a drill sergeant type yelling over him to get up. Living the same day over and over again, sounds boring but Liman does a great job at keeping the audience entertained for the entire run time. Soon we meet Rita (Emily Blunt), the bad-ass with a temper for those who get in her way. She has no room for others in her life, until the charming and persistent Cruise. The script seemed to be well written, to include some comical and serious scenes.
For the first time in awhile, Tom Cruise doesn't play a smiling hero. He's the fumbling inexperienced soldier, and guess who's there to train him? "Full metal bitch," herself, Rita. In Edge of Tomorrow, we see a story that will not only enlighten science fiction fans but keep action fans begging for more.
This movie isn't for everybody, but it was indeed one of the most surprising summer blockbusters of 2014 and I gladly recommend it.
Directed by: Peter Berg Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch Running Time: 121 Minutes
Politics aside, Lone Survivor was a war movie based on the Red Wings mission of 2005 which entailed going after the Taliban leader Shah who was responsible for killing many soldiers of the U.S. armed forces. One of the Navy SEALs, Marcus Luttrell (portrayed in this film by "Marky-Mark" Wahlberg) was the only survivor and this was his story.
I'm not sure why I was so anxious to see this movie. It surely wasn't the actors or even the direction of the film. I grew up in a military family, so the whole idea of glorifying war didn't impress me.
The mission was only to hunt down Shah and call in re-enforcements when the time comes. Everything changes when they take prisoner of three locals and must make the decision to let them go, leave them tied up, or kill them on the spot. What would you do? All this happens within thirty minutes of the title scene, and when the proverbial shit hits the fan. One would think a properly trained soldier would know not to let witnesses go until your back up has arrived. As you can by now guess, they let them go under the impression that they'd be safe because its 'only an old man and two kids.' Anyway, at least one of them weren't so innocent and as we could see coming, the group of American soldiers are soon surrounded by Taliban forces.
Exaggeration was also used profusely in this movie, to show the bravery of American soldiers most likely. Throughout the gun fights, we see our team taking bullets and shrapnel left and right without much difference to their later actions. What the heck were the Taliban soldiers shooting, rubber bullets? They also seemed immortal to jumping off cliffs, tumbling down a hundred feet or more, landing head first on sharp rocks below them. When their back up re-enforcements showed up, unprotected and apparently not ready for duty as they stand on the helicopter surrounded by the Taliban forces rather than quickly getting off and fighting upon arrival.
There's an abundance of slow-mode shots, clear close-ups of hits, all perfect to make you cringe at what the four soldiers are going through. As soon as Marcus finds himself alone, he finds his way to a friendly Afghanistan village filled with people who doesn't like the Taliban forces any more than the American soldiers. This gives him the opportunity to track down his re-enforcements, and by re-enforcements I mean Blackhawk and Apache helicopters both which were supposed to show up sooner.
All that aside, this was a story of honor, bravery, and courage for not only the Navy SEALs but also the Afghanistan allies alike. It is a movie I would recommend for at least one viewing.
Directed by: Edward Zwick Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, Djimon Hounsou Running Time: 143 minutes
Synopsis: An ex-merchenary turned smuggler (Leonardo DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions, recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick [Glory, The Last Samurai], this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact. Married? Thinking about it? I'd be willing to bet you'll be shopping for or dreaming of a nice big diamond ring if you haven't already got one. Have you thought about where that shiny rock came from? Here's a hint, it didn't come from Jared. According to Blood Diamond, rebel forces invaded small villages in Sierra Leone to enslave able bodied men to dig and sift through the sands of the desert for flawless diamonds only to be sold or traded at no restitution to the slaves. This story is about a particular fisherman, Solomon who managed to escape a mining camp, with the assistance of former mercenary Danny and American overseas reporter Maddy. Upon arriving at the refugee camps, Solomon learns his son Dia was taken by the rebel forces to be transformed into a child soldier. While Danny's only interested in the rare pink diamond that Solomon found and hid, the only thing Solomon wants is to rescue his son and get his family back.
Nominated for five academy awards including best supporting actor(Leonardo DiCaprio), leading actor(Djimon Hounsou), film editing, sound mixing, and sound editing. It's unfortunate that Blood Diamond didn't win any awards at the 2006 Oscars. Somehow this movie slipped under my radar, I just came across the DVD for this earlier this year and thought the synopsis sounded interesting, in the political sense.
The cast line up was what really sold me on this, let's start with Jennifer Connelly, her filmography for the past decade has been pretty active, not perfect but hey, let's face it her gorgeous body isn't hard on the eyes and I've been entertained by her past performances. Now we turn to Leonardo DiCaprio, what isn't there to like about him? His filmography is compiled of very successful movies, many big blockbusters. Moving onto Djimon Hounson, I'll be completely honest and say I had no idea who this guy was before I watched this movie, I didn't recognize him from The Island or Gladiator, both movies I've seen many a dozen times or better. His performance was better than DiCaprio's in this movie, I couldn't imagine playing the role of a slave, and I don't think many would want to. Zwick did a outstanding job at directing this movie, and it shouldn't go ignored, it's not his first time directing a civil war movie, if you've seen Glory - based in the USA during the 1800s - you'll want to see this one.
Overall, I'd say this movie is not for the faint of heart. Not because of the sight of blood or lack-thereof, but the general nature of violence portrayed in this film. The director didn't hold back on the violence, we see the rebels force themselves into the villages and slaughter women and children, enslaving males for the mining camps, and taking boys to transform into child soldiers. On the other hand, Zwick made this movie incredibly realistic so just turning on the evening news you could see just how factual this movie is. In some parts of the world, there's still a civil war..There's still child soldiers out there killing and being recruited into the rebel forces. Just give it a shot, what do you have to lose?
(** site notice: I'm trying out a few new formats for my reviews, so this one and the ones to come may look different than usual, but rest assured they are still written by me -no copying other than the synopsis off the back of the DVD case**)
Director: Steven Spielberg Starring: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore Running Time: 115 minutes
Synopsis: Steven Spielberg's heartwarming masterpiece of love between a young boy and a visitor from another planet has quickly become the most popular film of all time. Filled with unparalleled magic and imagination that made audiences around the world laugh and cry, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial follows the moving story of a lost little alien who befriends a 10-year-old boy named Elliot. While E.T. learns about life on Earth, Elliot learns that friendship knows no earthly bounds. Overflowing with memorable performances, a stirring musical score and scenes of wonderment, E.T. invites everyone to share the thrill of its magic touch. It's more than a movie-it's an experience you'll never forget.
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. I was five or six when I first watched this masterpiece, I distinctly remember being blown away on how this movie had a bit of everything: drama, comedy, science fiction, and adventure. To add icing to the cake, it was even made right rather than slapped together like some movies today. I decided to revisit this film after all these years and was surprised on how much it still holds up today, at a little over thirty years old. Only a handful of titles I've seen in my lifetime have triggered some emotion, and by that I mean I cried. Who didn't? If you say you didn't shed a single tear scene where E.T. was dying on the table so Elliot could live, I'd have to call you a liar.
This movie's not perfect. I personally think that would be near impossible to accomplish but to remain a classic even after thirty years, Spielberg must've done something right. There's no future predictions gone horribly wrong like we've seen in some pre-1990 films. There's proof that life existed without mobile phones and computers, back when kids would use their imagination and play with action figures or Matchbox cars. Just typing that last sentence made me appreciate the type of childhood I had, while feeling bad for kids who are growing up in this Millennium.
Spielberg is one of my favorite directors, I'll watch anything put out by this man. I trust him to entertain me, and (so far) he hasn't let me down yet. For years, I had only known Elliot as "that kid who played Davey Osborne from Cloak & Dagger." He deserves more credit though for he's starred in some decent movies since the 80s; Psycho IV, Suicide Kings, 11:14, and Dear John to name a few. Then there's Drew Barrymore, who I never realized until recently that she played Elliot's sister Gertie. There's no point in lying here, I like most of her filmography but when I was younger and first saw this film I despised her role as Gertie to a point which almost ruined the film.
I always compared my life to Elliot's, for years I didn't know why, maybe I just didn't care to come up with a reason. It's hit me during this last revisit, I can relate to Elliot, as a middle child myself I've gone through stages of my life where I didn't think anyone paid any attention to me. It's the reason why I didn't like Gertie (Drew Barrymore) in this film; being the youngest leaking secrets and constantly believing she was the center of the universe throughout the film.
