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Reviews
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
Not as good as the original. But still a fine film.
We should probably get one thing, probably the biggest thing out of the way first: It's not as good as the original. But then again, few remakes are ever as good as the original.
Now once you get that clear in your mind, you'll find that this new version of Nightmare is still a good movie on it's own merits. It has some good "jump" scares (plenty of people in the audience I was in managed to jump out of their skins here and there) and it has the required gore (though not as much as you'd imagine). The CGI used in this film does a good job of creating the blur between reality and dreams. And contrary to most opinions, I found Jackie Earl Haley's version of Freddy more frightening then the joke-a-minute Robert Englund (though I still love that version). He's much more menacing. A truly threatening presence.
The overall story hasn't changed much. It still revolves around Freddie Kruger, a man accused of terrorizing children, being hunted down and burned alive by a lynch mob of angry parents. Only Freddie didn't exactly die. Instead, he becomes a bogeyman in the dreams of the children he was accused of harming, who are now teenagers. And the simple terror formula is also the same: If Freddie kills you in your sleep, you're dead for real.
There are only a few plot variations from the original that make this film sort of a mystery as well as a horror story. And there are a few, well placed references to the original series.
When compared to Rob Zombie's woeful "Halloween" remakes and the decent but blah "Friday the 13th" reboot, this is a far better working and if you just sit back and watch the film, you might actually enjoy it!
Public Enemies (2009)
Public Enemies: The "Heat" of the Gangster Era
As I write this, I have read the mixed reviews by both professional critics and even my fellow commentators on IMDb. About how the movie is slow, meandering. Or that it's over-blown, over-long, or too stylistic. It's funny, but I can recall a similar critique of another Michael Mann movie when it premiered....
1995's "Heat" with Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Yes, I can clearly recall such mixed reactions. Yet, going on 15 years later, if you ask people to list their top 10 crime dramas, "Heat" is sure to be on the list. And I feel that someday "Public Enemies" will be too.
As someone who avidly reads about the history of the Gangster Era of the 1920's and 30's, I was not disappointed in either the filming, the writing, or the acting in this film. It was "stylish". But that's what made it great. It was about the style and glamor that existed in that era. How it was both stylish and glamorous to be a bank robber at the height of the Great Depression. Men like John Dillinger, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, Alvin Karpis, and "Baby Face" Nelson and others, with their cock-sure attitudes and flamboyance, were turned into heroes by the desperate public and the media despite the fact that they were little more than killers and thieves. What the movie does is analyze the mythology surrounding these outlaws and then showing us the truth about who they were and where their life of crime ultimately led them.
All of this brings us to the three main things that made this movie great: Johnny Depp, Christian Bale, and Michael Mann.
Johnny Depp as John Dillinger: Depp's Dillinger is a spot on portrayal of the kind of man Dillinger was. Indeed, he plays Dillinger as a man who knows his time is short so he lives out every moment to the fullest. This attitude is personified by Dillinger's statement "We're having so much fun, we ain't thinking about tomorrow." That was true of the real Dillinger. I loved the way Depp is always watchful of everything that goes on around him with a laid-back "devil may care" attitude and a sarcastic smile. He always seems to be on the look out and gets a private thrill whenever he manages to pull off his latest trick. However, that same attitude that makes him so lovable was also Dillinger's curse: He never contemplated when things would go terribly wrong. Which makes him so human when you see the anger and anguish in how his fool-heartiness causes the walls to crumble around him.
Christian Bale as Melvin Purvis, FBI: I can say it is absolutely refreshing to see Melvin Purvis portrayed as something other than a mythic "super-lawman". In many other previous portrayals of Purvis, he is given the mythic stature of a Wyatt Earp or Eliot Ness, declaring his greatness from the start. Here, Bale's humanizing portrayal of Melvin Purvis is as intricate and welcoming as Johnny Depp's portrayal of John Dillinger.
In this film, Bale portrays Purvis for what he truly was: A clean-cut man, with quiet dignity, humility, and grace who was suddenly thrust into thick of the most famous manhunts in American history. Bale's Purvis is a decent man full of compassion who is forced into situations he does not truly enjoy being in. Take his introductory scene: He is shown hunting down and ultimately killing "Pretty Boy" Floyd. Even though he is doing his sworn duty, Purvis doesn't take pleasure in killing Floyd. In fact, he appears to genuinely regret killing another man. At one point, J. Edgar Hoover is so determined to get John Dillinger and his gang that he orders Purvis to arrest friends and relatives and to push them hard for info on Dillinger. Purvis's immediate reaction is one of shock and moral objection. As when he kills Floyd, you can see it in his eyes: Purvis does not want to do it and he personally does not like it when he has to employ such tactics. This all culminates into an act of heart-felt compassion and chivalry when he puts a stop to a "third degree" interrogation.
Michael Mann, Director: As I said before, the stylistic approach of this film is what makes the tone so great. And when it comes to stylish crime dramas, Michael Mann is the best. He's employed such tactics on "Miami Vice", "Crime Story", "Heat", and "Collateral". And he has again succeeded in creating a vivid template to this film. One of my favorite visual devices he employs here is that hand-held camera like he used in "Collateral" which gives a "reality TV" feel to some scenes as if we're running alongside of Dillinger and Purvis. That camera style helps to add a heightened sense of realism to the moments of violence that explode off of the screen. Meanwhile, the "traditional" movie camera is employed to set the scene and give the film an epic, Norman Rockwell Americana feel. Working in tandem, the cameras achieve the feel I spoke of earlier of how the movie gives us the glossy veneer of the mythology and then peels it away to reveal the hard-core ugliness of gangsters beneath the surface.
I think all three men are worth of at least an Oscar nomination for this film.
In short (I know, it's too late for that!) I'd just like to say that even though the movie may seem long at two and half hours, it is NOT dull. It draws the audience in with great depth of character and then blows us back with sudden explosive violence that was true to the era. If you want the exact facts of the era, go read a book. But if you want to be entertained, go see "Public Enemies". You will not be disappointed.
The Bronx Is Burning (2007)
"The Bronx" is BRILLIANT
I might as well tell you right off, I am not a Yankees fan....
But I am a baseball fan and I respect their legacy. And I love history. So "The Bronx Is Burning" fills both of my favorite subjects: Baseball and History.
The overall plot of the movie is the recounting of how the 1977 New York Yankees rose up to win their first World Series title in more than a decade against the social strife that threatened to destroy the Greatest City On Earth. This includes the rise of urban poverty and crime, a heated Mayoral election, the mis-management of city services like the NYPD and the Sanitation Workers, a sweltering summer heatwave, and of course, the "Son Of Sam" killings. These events outside the baseball field are intricately woven into the story (with the over-riding subplot being the hunt for the "Son Of Sam") and actually are set up in a way that the subplot narratives actually have some bearing on the main story of the New York Yankess.
In 1977, one year after losing the World Series to the "Big Red Machine" Cincinatti Reds, the bullying and pompous owner George Stienbrenner (Oliver Platt, perfectly over the top) began exerting the pressure for which he is notorious for upon the scrappy and fiery manager, Yankees legend Billy "The Kid" Martin (John Turturro, heart-wrenchingly tragic) to win...OR ELSE! To "help" Martin reach this goal, he signs free agent slugger, the cocky and arrogant Reggie Jackson (Daniel Sunjata, perfectly smug) to give the Yanks the final muscle to push their way back into Greatness.
Sounds like the perfect recipe for success, right? WRONG! Martin never wanted Reggie there because he had too many left hand hitters on his roster and the fact that Reggie, despite his massive power, strikes out too much. Another strike against the slugger in Martin's eyes was that Reggie was too selfish and arrogant to be a team player. So needless to say, things were sour from the start...and they got worse from there.
The mini-series chronicles the many notorious incidents that peppered the Yankees' run for the title. This includes Stienbrenner nattering Martin on every miscue and telling him how he should make out his line ups. Martin and his embittered personality which was fueled (as in real life) by his excess drinking. And Reggie's self-righteousness and ability to toss out brash statements that only served to further alienate him from his team mates, which came to a head with an interview he gave for SPORT Magazine in which he seemingly attacked his team mates, and fueled the rivalry between the put-upon Martin and his star slugger which culminated in the notorious dugout brawl at Fenway Park. Also in the mix for this mess is the legendary catcher, Thurman Munson (Who bore the brunt of Reggie's attacks in the magazine article), the dim-witted but lovable Hall of Famer Yogi Berra (Martin's bench coach), the under appreciated Bucky Dent (or Bucky "F****ing" Dent to the Red Sox fans), the quick-witted Mickey "Mick the Quick" Rivers, and the average guy Lou Pinella.
What I loved about this mini-series is how the New York subplots, especially the "Son Of Sam" manhunt are perfectly woven into the story of the Yankees. For example: a cop refers to the "S.O.S." killer as "a raving maniac"....cut to George Stienbrenner in the middle of a rant. A scene about the mayoral race and the arrogance of the candidate...cut to Reggie Jackson being smug. An outside character making comments that if someone doesn't stop this, it will kill them...cut to Martin getting drunk and brooding. It's the intricate lacing of the narrative that makes the story compelling and will make even the most casual sports fan want to go grab the book by Johnathan Mahler upon which the series is based.
This is truly a great mini-series and anyone who didn't see it on TV or felt compelled to go grab the DVD...You must be crazier than the Son Of Sam!
Dick Tracy (1990)
Sorely Underrated Comic Book Adaptation
With all the emphasis on the big bang CGI spectaculars of today's comic book movies, it's easy to forget what a great movie Dick Tracy is when listing the great comic book movies. While I love the eye-popping special effects as much as the next person, it's also important to have a great story...something Dick Tracy has in spades.
For the uninitiated, Dick Tracy is a comic book that pre-dates even Batman and Superman, having made his debut in 1931. The "cops and robbers" storyline is based off of creator Chester Gould's experiences living in Chicago during the Roaring 20's. In fact, the heroic gang buster Tracy is partially based on the legendary Eliot Ness and Tracy's chief adversary, Al "Big Boy" Caprice, was based on the infamous Al Capone. What set the comic apart (and Warren Beatty faithfully recreates)was it's pulp crime thriller story lines with some basis in reality. Unlike Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man, Tracy rarely faced the same foe twice. As in reality, most of Tracy's villains either: A. Were arrested and went to prison for life. B. Were killed in a gunfight with Tracy. OR C. Died some twisted and/or ironic death befitting their character. It's gripping tales, strange villains, and exciting pace has made it a mainstay of the Sunday morning comics.
In the film, Warren Beatty stars, produces, and directs this exciting adaption of the comic. In the title role, Beatty's terrific. Channeling his inner-Humphrey Bogart, Beatty gives a dead-on portrayal of the tough and morally indestructible hero, tempering the character with the right balance of human faults to make you root for him.
Since there's no clear-cut "epic" story in the Tracy mythos, the story plays like a recreation of 1930's gangland wars with a heightened sense of reality. Al "Big Boy" Caprice (Al Pacino) is a brutal and ambitious crime boss looking to form an organized crime syndicate with other villains from the legendary "Rogues' Gallery" including the trigger-happy Flattop (type-cast villain, William Forsythe), the scratch-happy Itchy (Ed O'Ross from "Six Feet Under"), the appropriately named Mumbles (Beatty's "Ishtar" co-star Dustin Hoffman), the intimidating Influence (veteran character actor Henry Silva), and the sour Pruneface (veteran R.G. Armstrong), along with others. But there's only one thing standing in his way in Big Boy's quest to control the city: Dick Tracy.
But Tracy has problems of his own. Despite his toughness, Tracy can't even muster the courage to propose to his sweetheart Tess Trueheart (Glenne Headly). He has to look after a street urchin called "The Kid" (Charlie Korimso). And fend off the sexual advances of Big Boy's night club siren, Breathless Mahoney (Madonna, spoofing her "Material Girl" persona). Add to that a mysterious, not to mention FACELESS, foe who's helping Tracy fight the bad guys one minute and setting him up the next moment.
The movie, despite the depth of plot, moves fairly quickly with an energy that never wanes one bit. From a visual standpoint, the vivid color schemes are used to give the film it's comic book feel, which a touch of film noir undertones. Danny Elfman's score (as good as anything John Williams has done) really drives the piece. And the All-star cast which also includes Paul Sorvino, James Caan, Charles Durning, Dick Van Dyke, and "Bonnie & Clyde" alums Michael J. Pollard and Estelle Parsons, elevate the film's integrity, making it a must see for any true comic book fan wondering what comics were like BEFORE the tidal wave of super heroes flooded the scene.
On the Waterfront (1954)
A Contender...for the most powerful film ever made!
For years, I've been hearing what a great actor Marlon Brando is. And in my 29 years on this earth, I've only seen two of his movies: "Superman The Movie" and "The Godfather". But a few months ago, I finally decided to check out one of Brando's "classic" films. I bought, without having ever seen before, "On The Waterfront". And I can tell you, as a passionate film viewer, I was not disappointed. Now I know what the film critics, historians, actors, and movie fans have already known since forever: Marlon Brando is a GREAT actor and "On the Waterfront" is a great movie.
The story is fairly simple and straightforward: Based off of a series of news exposes on the Mafia's control of New York's Longshoremans Union, the film tells the story of Terry Malloy (Brando), a once promising prize fighter reduced to working on the docks and occasionally working for the mob's front man on the docks, Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). It's while working as an enforcer for Friendly that Malloy inadvertently sets up a friend and fellow dock worker to be killed. Although Malloy is used to violence and death and generally dismisses such matters with a shrug, this time is different. Malloy wasn't told the guy was to be killed. And thus begins Malloy's rift with Friendly. That rift is further helped by his growing relationship to the dead guy's sister, Eve (Eva Marie Saint in her film debut) and the efforts of a crusading Catholic Priest Father Barry(Karl Malden). But Malloy is finding hard to quit Friendly's outfit...especially since his big brother Charlie (Rod Stieger) is one of Friendly's top men.
While the story in and of itself is straightforward, the film is anything but that. All of the characters are layered with great depth. There are no cardboard cutouts in this film. Every character is well rounded with a sense of who they are, where they came from, and why they are the way they are. And although the film's setting lends to the notion of an "epic" film, it's intimacy in staging scenes, especially long dialog scenes, makes it feel like an "Indie" flick.
Every lead actor has a chance to shine. Karl Malden's scene as Father Barry giving a sermon over the corpse of a dead dockworker and Lee J. Cobb's rant about how he worked his way up from the docks is just as powerful as the now legendary "Contender" scene between Brando and Stieger. (Go to the trivia section of this film. When you learn what went on while that scene was being shot...you'll be even more amazed) And Eva Marie Saint is no slouch, either. Unlike most leading ladies, she's not there for the scenery. She's just as compelling as Brando and the rest.
Speaking of the "Contender" scene...It is a very powerful moment though it didn't effect me as it should have. It's not that I think the scene is over-rated, it's just that every time somebody does a piece on Marlon Brando on TV, they always show that scene. So although I've never seen the movie until now, I pretty well knew that scene by heart. If I do have a gripe about the film (Even 10 out of 10 star movies aren't TOTALLY perfect), it's a minor one. I felt the music score was a little too intrusive at times (particullarly in a scene between Brando and Saint). But that's my only gripe. And if that's it, that oughta tell you something...This IS a GREAT movie.
Now...I'll have to go watch "A Streetcar Named Desire" and "The Wild One" now that I'm discovering Brando's true greatness.
Bullets or Ballots (1936)
Robinson the Gangbuster!
Today, when we see actors like Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino jump from playing a bad guy to a good guy, we hardly bat an eye. After all, it IS Robert DeNiro or Al Pacino. But in those olden days of Hollywood, if you were a bad guy, you would always play the bad guy. That's one of the reasons why "Bullets Or Ballots" is so incredible. It features Edward G. Robinson, famous for playing gangsters in films like "Little Caesar", playing a good guy. And that's just one of the interesting, not to mention entertaining, aspects of this movie.
When this movie was released in 1936, America was going through a social shift. During the Prohibition Era of the 1920's, gangsters were romanticized as urban "Robin Hoods" (Personified in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby") because they sold beer to a thirsty public who did not support the Prohibition laws. But after the bloody rampage of the Roaring 20's gang wars of men like Al Capone, "Dutch" Schultz, and The Purple Gang, and the Depression Era Bank Robbing sprees of John Dillinger, "Babyface" Nelson, and "Machine Gun" Kelly, America had had enough of the gangsters. Sensing the social shift, Warner Brothers stopped making movies about the gangster (more or less) and started making movies celebrating the cops and federal agents who battled the mob. The first of these films was "G-Men" starring James Cagney as an FBI agent in 1935. "Bullets Or Ballots" came next.
In the film, Edward G. Robinson portrays Johnny Blake, and Eliot Ness-like gang buster in the NYPD. Blake is such a good cop that not only is he admired by his fellow cops but he's also respected by the mob. While that may seem a little corny, it turns out to be very poignant in the end. When a wave of reform sweeps the city with the appointment of a new, honest, grand jury, and an honest police chief, Blake finds himself kicked off the force on a trumped up charge of "derilection of duty". Blake is then offered a job as the "chief of security" by New York mobster Al Kruger (Barton MacLane in another tough guy roll). Kruger wants Blake to use his police know-how to make sure the rackets are running smoothly and cannot be dismantled by the new reform movement. Because of that afore mentioned respect Kruger and the other mobsters have for Blake, the former cop moves into the organization with ease, despite being kept under the watchful eye of "Bugs" Fenner (a pre-fame Humphrey Bogart in a cookie-cutter thug roll he would be stuck playing before his breakthrough in "Casablanca"), a gangster who is still suspicious of Blake. Johnny's new position also puts him at odds with many of his former friends in the police department as well as his girlfriend, Lee (Joan Blondell) who runs an independent gambling racket out of her nightclub. But little do they know, and "Bugs" Fenner rightfully suspects, Johnny Blake has not turned bad...he's still working for the police as an undercover officer! In a clever ruse developed by Blake and the new police chief, Blake has faked getting thrown off the force in order to infiltrate the crime syndicate and collapse it from within.
This is an exciting movie with the right balance of twists, turns, drama, action, and even humor (With the inclusion gangland comic relief Frank McHugh), making it an movie sadly over looked when mentioning the great gangster pictures of the era. The only part of this film I didn't like was the cringe-worthy portrayal of African Americans in this film. In the movie, there is a woman named Nellie who runs the gambling racket for Lee out of her club. She's of the grossly stereotypical "Yessah, Miss Lee" ignorant blacks. Unfortunately, this type of character was considered "acceptable" by film making standards in those days and is my only reason for not giving one of my all-time favorite gangster movies a full 10 stars.
The Untouchables (1959)
One of the best crime dramas in the history of TV
After having seen Brian DePalma's film (of which I've probably seen a thousand times), I have to say as a fan of crime dramas and gangster movies and shows in particular, this is one of the best crime dramas I've ever watched.
The series loosely (And I do mean loosely...) follows the true story of how Federal Prohibition Agent Eliot Ness formed an independent squad of G-Men to fight the Chicago Mob, specifically the legendary Al Capone. In real life, "The Untouchables" ( A name they actually wouldn't get until years later) fought the Chicago mob from 1930 to Prohibition's end in 1933.
The show originally premiered as a two-hour made-for-TV movie titled "The Scarface Mob" and based directly from Eliot Ness's autobiography. However when the show became such an unexpected hit, the producers decided to turn it into a weekly series. The only problem was that the true adventures of Eliot Ness were covered almost entirely in the movie. So they were forced create new adventures for Ness where he battled bank robbers, kidnappers, other Chicago mobsters (real and fictional), and even had Ness going up against other famous criminals like "Ma" Barker, "Lucky" Luciano, "Dutch" Schultz, and "Legs" Diamond. Which is something the real Ness never did. The sad side-effect of these newly created stories is that historians have been trying to devalue Ness's contributions to fighting crime ever since.
That being said, the series is as hard hitting and gritty as an old James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart movie. It's balance between a semi-documentary, helped by the staccato narrations of famed New York crime reporter Walter Winchell, and the film noir style lighting and camera angles heighten the drama.
The solid storytelling is anchored further by the rock-solid cast which includes series regular Bruce Gordon as the menacing Frank Nitti, Al Capone's successor as well as other inspired guest stars like Peter Falk (Colombo), Leslie Neilsen (The "Naked Gun" movies), Jack Warden, and a wide variety of recognizable tough guy character actors. Playing the members of Ness's squad are Jerry Paris (The Dick Van Dyke Show) as the sensible Martin Flarety, Abel Fernandez as good-natured Native American William Youngfellow, Steve London as the sleepy-eyed Jack Rossman, and Nicholas Geogiande as the eager young Italian Enrico Rossi (Although Brian DePalam says he wasn't inspired by the series and actually didn't care for it, it's easy to see that Rossi may've played some influence in Andy Garcia's character). And, of course, the centerpiece to this series is Robert Stack's indelible, and enduring, portrayal of Eliot Ness with the right blend of toughness, compassion, and moral outrage that isn't bland, nor does it deserve the "boy scout" label that some have used to mock the character. Stack is incredible. And this series is truly entertaining.
If you get the chance, buy this series. While some of the show's elements might seem dated or cheesy, it's still a compelling show that will keep you hooked.
Shark (2006)
A Great Showcase For James Woods
It's hard, it's fast, and it's fun to watch...If you're a James Woods fan. Though the characters may have different names, Woods stays the same. Whether or not you'll like this show will depend on whether or not you like the fast talking, smarmy, and sarcastic Woods. If you like him, you'll like the show. In this series, Woods plays Sebastian "The Shark" Stark (Try not to confuse the names!) a slick, high-priced criminal defense lawyer (Think Johnny Cochran or F. Lee Bailey type) who suddenly grows a conscious. After he gets one of his rich and powerful clients cleared of beating his wife, only to find out the guy's murdered his wife later, Stark gets a wake up call that he's working on the wrong side of the law and quits his practice and joins the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office as the senior prosecutor of a new "High Profile Unit" which means he'll be taking on the very same wealthy, well-to-do clients he'd gotten off. Helping Stark along on his transition from devil to angel is the arrival of his estranged teen aged daughter Julie who is now living with him. But just because he's working for the good guys and trying to teach a wayward daughter right from wrong doesn't mean he's a saint. Stark uses the very same dirty and under-handed tactics as a defense attorney to put the bad guys away. He routinely treads the line between legal and illegal in order to "do the right thing" all while educating an eager group of young prosecutors working under him. While it may not have the depth of more serious courtroom dramas, it certainly is more entertaining, like the "Miami Vice" of legal shows. And just like "Vice", it's glitz and glamor, which works as a glossy veneer to the drama, will keep you hanging on every episode.
'G' Men (1935)
One of Cangey's Best Gangster Pictures!
By the mid-1930's, Americans were waking up to the fact that gangsters shouldn't be idolized, they should be demonized. Taking a cue from the nation's social shift, Warner Brothers, who had romanticized the gangster in movies like "The Public Enemy" and "Little Caesar" began making movies that celebrated law enforcement. The first of these was "G-Men". Trading in his defiant sneer for a solid gold badge, James Cagney plays James "Brick" Davis, an orphan from the ghettos of New York who was raised by a gangster and incredibly becomes an honest lawyer. After his friend from college, now an FBI agent, is killed in the line of duty by fugitive gangsters, Davis joins the "G-Men" in hopes of nailing the killers lead by character actor Barton MacLane as the murderous ring leader, Brad Collins. While in training, Davis develops a love-hate relationship with his instructor, Jeff McCord (played by "King Kong" hero, Robert Armstrong), a friendship with fellow G-man, Hugh Ferrell (Lloyd Nolan of the Michael Shayne mystery series), and a romance with McCord's sister, Kay (Margaret Lindsey). But in the end, the film's exciting story hinges on the dramatization of how the FBI rose up to become the organization it is today and put an end the "Mid-West Crimewave" of gangsters like John Dillinger, "Pretty Boy" Floyd, "Baby Face" Nelson, and others, portrayed fictionally by MacLane's Collins and his cohorts. In the annals of classic gangster movies, this one belongs in the upper-echelon of any movie fans ranks.