- Martin Scorsese's latest is outrageously entertaining. Over the daunting (but typical for the director) runtime of about 3 hours, the viewer is bombarded by one surprising, shocking, usually illegal action after the next. By the time you've reacted to one outrageous scene, we're already halfway into the next. The pacing is lightning fast and the dialogue ricochets along with it. It's dynamic and impressive work. Viewers will have one of two reactions: 1) laughter the ridiculousness of the characters' actions and that any of this behavior is remotely based on actual events or 2) complete and utter disgust. You'll know within the first minutes of the film. Scorsese throws you into the world of the film and doesn't let up. Leonardo DiCaprio gives another incredible performance, one that draws comparisons to his other roles (i.e. con man Frank Abagnale in Catch Me If You Can and his title role as The Great Gatsby). If you've seen the trailer, you know what tone to expect for the film. You could never predict the film itself. DiCaprio has stated "we're not condoning this behavior, we're indicting it." But they sure are having fun doing it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5
Killing Them Softly (2012)
- Andrew Dominik's crime thriller comes across as a heavy-handed, un-engaging indictment of capitalism. Its heart is in the right place, but its ideals are forced into the plot via various political interviews and press conferences of Presidents Bush and Obama. I watched a behind-the-scenes special in which Dominik said the film's message was for "crime not to be glamorous, but that it's a job and kind of a drag." That works, in theory. But when you have an extended, beautifully filmed slow-motion sequence of a character being shot multiple times as bullet casings grace against rain droplets, that statement becomes a bit hypocritical. Brad Pitt and Scoot McNairy shine in their respective roles and serve the film well. Unfortunately, the James Gandolfini character (which the film seems obsessed with given his amount of screen time) was exceedingly boring and more of a cliche than a truly developed character. Killing Them Softly had the potential to be a unique crime thriller with brains to match its brawn all within a lean runtime of 98 minutes. However, the end result is a mixed bag that drags along, never really satisfies its ambitious goals, and denies the casual viewer very many action sequences.
- Rating: 2.5 out of 5
Sources for Above Images:
TWOWS: http://www.nerdist.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/wows2.gif
KTS: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCgitvuOzQnfJaFLz3E_urc_HCgLA7vG0bXSMn3Zcwz5UMjcDk04X9XbBOmGuMIkXpokGMYnMeHmW82YcTPRUbL2XryL-W0zbZfKO7rSUo8Fi5Z0EPXAAd-58ackK2JxepribndxGN9iY/s1600/killingthemsoftly.jpg
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