Showing Tag: " gangster" (Show all posts)

REVIEW: Just Saying, Johnny Depp Is Psychotic & Cerebral As Top Echelon FBI Informant Whitey Bulger In Black Mass

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, September 19, 2015, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Black Mass





Directed By: Scott Cooper

Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Jesse Plemons, Corey Stoll, Peter Sarsgaard, and Dakota Johnson

Johnny Depp's career has hit a trough in recent years.  Despite the billion dollar successes of Alice in Wonderland and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides several years ago, film duds such as The Tourist, Dark Shadows, Transcendence, and The Lone Ranger loom large on his recent filmography.  Believe me, these duds a...

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REVIEW: In Normandy, France, The Blake Family Adds a Bad Chapter to Writer-Mobster Giovanni Manzoni's Memoirs

Posted by James Brown on Friday, September 13, 2013, In : 0.09% Cocktails 
The Family





Directed By: Luc Besson

Starring: Robert De Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Tommy Lee Jones, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo, and Domenick Lombardozzi


Several weeks ago, screen legend Robert De Niro turned 70 years old.  With a filmography spanning five decades ranging from Mean Streets to Silver Linings Playbook, it suffices to say that the Raging Bull has had an illustrious career on the big screen and stands as one of the greatest performers of all time.  That being said, I have to tell you that...

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REVIEW: From a Porn Lab to the Mob, The Iceman is One Cold-Blooded Contract Killer

Posted by James Brown on Sunday, May 19, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
The Iceman





Directed By: Ariel Vromen

Starring: Michael Shannon, Winona Ryder, Chris Evans, Ray Liotta, James Franco, David Schwimmer, Stephen Dorff, and Erin Cummings

Michael Shannon might just be the most underrated actor of his generation.  Despite a very impressive filmography and a long list of memorable characters on screen, Shannon has never attained mainstream popularity and is still relatively unknown to the movie-going public at large.  It's unfortunate because he's a really prolific ac...

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REVIEW: Spring Break Forever Bitches! These Four Little Chickies' Trip to Florida Seems Like a Dream

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, March 23, 2013, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 
Spring Breakers





Directed By: Harmony Korine

Starring: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, and Gucci Mane

I came into Spring Breakers with some pretty low expectations.  The trailer simply didn't make the sale for me.  A gangster party movie with some all grown up, scantily clad teen princesses and a thugged up James Franco didn't leave me expecting much.  There are so many ways that a movie like this could go wrong.  In my mind, there was no way this thing ...

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REVIEW: For Stand Up Guys Pacino, Walken, and Arkin, It's Time to Kick Ass or Chew Gum?! Seriously?

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, February 2, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 

Stand Up Guys





Directed By: Fisher Stevens

Starring: Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, Alan Arkin, Julianna Margulies, Mark Margolis, Katheryn Winnick, Vanessa Ferlito, Addison Timlin, and Lucy Punch

Al Pacino is my favorite actor in all of film history.  He is the consummate performer on the big screen, the small screen, and stage.  If you say Pacino is in something, I'm watching whatever it is.  It doesn't matter whether he's playing Michael Corleone, Sonny Wortzik, or even Joe Paterno.  I'm d...


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REVIEW: In the Matter of Progress vs. a Better Future, Gangster Squad Loses Its Badge

Posted by James Brown on Friday, January 11, 2013, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 

Gangster Squad





Directed By: Ruben Fleischer

Starring: Josh Brolin, Ryan Gosling, Nick Nolte, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi, Michael Peña, and Robert Patrick

2012 was the year of long movies.  Many of them were good, but they were long.  The Avengers, Skyfall, and Lincoln all flirted with the two and a half hour mark, while The Dark Knight Rises, Les Misérables, and Django Unchained blew right past it.  Those are some long movies.  Because of this I made a New Year'...


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REVIEW: Like America, Killing Them Softly is All About the Almighty Dollar

Posted by James Brown on Saturday, December 1, 2012, In : 0.03% Wine Coolers 

Killing Them Softly





Directed By: Andrew Dominik

Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard

In recent years, a lot of people have begun to think that America has lost its way, that we're on a downward trajectory as a people, and that the highest offices in government go to the highest bidders.  While we can certainly debate the first two points, there's no debating the final one.  After all, we live in an America where th...


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REVIEW: The Moonshine Bootlegging Bondurant Brothers May Think They're Invincible, But Lawless Shows All Their Flaws

Posted by James Brown on Thursday, August 30, 2012, In : 0.06% Beer or Wine 
Lawless





Directed By: John Hillcoat

Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Guy Pearce, and Dane DeHaan

On paper, Lawless may be the perfect movie for me.  I've been in need of a good crime movie as of late.  They're so rare these days.  On top of that, it's about moonshine bootlegging during Prohibition.  That's just about as good as it gets for the SoberFilmCritic.  That being said, Lawless doesn't fully realize its potential as director J...
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