Review by jjames Reviews
With an experienced director, two stars capable of carrying an action adventure and a terrific first scene, Killing Season promises to be a quality film. With a dulled color pallette that is tinted green, the opening immerses us in the horrors of Serbian genocide against Bosnian Muslims, and also in western soldiers’ intervention, an intervention that culminates in United States’ soldiers executing Serbian combatants. It is both horrifying and scintillating.
Review by Tim of Not Now, I’m Drinking a Beer and Watching a Movie.
One of the great mysteries of this film-watching life is why basically every film ever made about fire-fighters is so mind numbingly boring. All the ingredients should be there – fire trucks whizzing through the cities, blokes winding down with a bender after a shift, oh and all the freaking FIRE everywhere too.
Review by Abbi of Where The Wild Things Are
I have to admit when I picked Once Upon a Time in America from the list of available De Niro films I had no idea it was 229 minutes long… and I probably wouldn’t have picked it if I did. I am not a great believer in the idea that longer is better when it comes to films, because it normally isn’t and also I can’t sit still for very long because I have a short attention span. With all of that in mind, I guess the theme of this review is going to be, was it worth the time investment?
But first… a synopsis…
Review by Smash of Smashing Through Life
Wow, what a wild ride this movie is. Going into it I had some preconceived notions about what was going to happen based on numerous cultural references, most notably the episode of The Simpsons that parodied it. But I was still pleasantly surprised. Mostly by Scorsese’s pacing, it was a lot quicker than I expected, but also by De Niro’s character. The thing that struck me the most was how intelligent and balanced Max Cady was despite his warped morality and misplaced sense of justice. I was expecting a lunatic stalker, but I got something much more complex and it was immensely gratifying.
Review by Joseph of The Cinema Monster
Bobby De Niro, is there anyone with a face more recognizable? How about a voice? One so memorable that it’s assisted countless lines of film dialogue into becoming the most quoted and imitated in cinematic history. This is a man who’s performances on screen have literally transcended their fictitious origins to become part of his aura, you know, his personality and reputation. You can’t mention his name without it sending a deathly chill through your bones, as if he was watching you from a far at that very moment, waiting patiently to quietly end your life. But of course, this isn’t the truth. Robert De Niro merely portrays the mafioso lifestyle and nothing more. It just so happens that he does his job so well that the killer, ruthless mentality has followed him, become entangled and melded to his existence. In all honesty though, we wouldn’t have it any other way. It merely adds to his legend and signifies the unfathomably power of his talent and how he has perfected his craft.
Review by Dirk of The Dirk Malcolm Alternative
The opening moments of The Mission are one of those scenes that are often described as ‘iconic’, like “you talkin’ to me” or Marilyn’s frock blowing up. It features a priest strapped to a cross floating through white water rapids. The waters become more intense as eventually the priest ‘tombstones’ over the impressive Iguazu Falls. The Christian image of crucifixion is dwarfed by the mighty torrent of natural forces. Its an image that sets up the thematic concerns of the film perfectly and is so enduring that it was recently used by Steve Bell to illustrate David Cameron’s speech to the Conservative party conference.
Review by Mark of Three Rows Back
The long and fruitful partnership between Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese has spawned a multitude of enduring classics forever etched in our collective cinematic consciousness.
In the four years between the release of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull, De Niro and Scorsese collaborated on New York, New York, the oft neglected offspring of their remarkable relationship.
Review by Cortney of My Nerdy Pony
I found Stanley & Iris a few months ago while searching for something to watch on Netflix- I’m sure alot of you know how frustrating it is. The movie sat in my queue for a long time because the premise didn’t sound too exciting: a romantic drama about a widowed, working class mom who finds love with an illiterate man.
I finally sat down and gave it a try, and although I don’t think this movie is a must-see, I believe die-hard De Niro fans may find his performance enjoyable.
Review by Luke of Oracle of Film
Plot: When Federal agent, Eliot Ness (Costner) realises his case against crime lord, Al Capone (De Niro) is going nowhere, he assembles a team of cops prepared to go outside the law to catch him.
When looking back at the classic movies, the genre that really sticks out for me is Noir. Noir movies are important for American cinema and often become the landmark films of long ago (Double Indemnity, Chinatown, LA Confidential). Many films look up to the clever direction and writing of these classics. It took me a while to get around to checking it out, but The Untouchables is up there with the best of them.
Review by Eric of The Ipc
So, I have to be honest here, since I am an honest guy and admit that I fudged a little bit when it came to this blogathon and I volunteered to do Ronin. The specs for entry were that it had to be something with DeNiro in it that you’ve never seen before. But I had seen this. I remember the day fondly. I was still working at that fucking restaurant, seven days a week, 16 hours a day, but I finally had a day off for the first time in a month so, I was friends with one of the bartenders there and we decided to hang around and drink beer all morning. Later, when his girlfriend got off work, we all decided to go see Ronin at the theater.
