ph: Matt Irwin
Sunday, November 10, 2013
Casino (1995)
Greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two mobster best friends and a trophy wife over a Las Vegas gambling empire.
Mafia crime thriller of epic dimensions directed so expertly and fast-paced and with a great cast as if on speed you never notice the time spent.
Halliwell***: "Deft, involving and intriguing depiction of the inescapable corruption of the spirit, in a city built on greed. It begins in a leisurely, documentary style before focusing on individuals as flawed as the system they operate and as expendable as the chips they bet."
Maltin**: "Long, tedious tale...Disappointing reteaming of Scorsese and writer Nicholas Pileggi, who scored big with GOODFELLAS; this time, their story is overlong, repetitive, and aloof. Stone makes her mark amidst a heavy-weight cast with a full-blown dramatic performance."
Absolute Power (1997)
A career thief witnesses a horrific crime involving the U.S. President.
An implausible plot is still quite entertaining due to a good cast and routinely professional direction.
Halliwell*: "Old-fashioned, lacklustre thriller with an implausible plot, though it does occasionally crank up the suspense; however, the finale is a disappointement."
Maltin**: "Barely credible (and fatally diluted) adaptation of David Baldacci's best-seller by William Goldman. Eastwood and Harris (as a wily cop) play a fun game of cat and mouse; but Hackman is over the top, and the whole thing runs aground in the second half."
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow Marine recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting set in 1968 in Hue, Vietnam.
Oddly split into 2 largely separate stories this is a paradigmatic anti-war movie by one of cinema's major directors.
Viewed anew I still stay with my original opinion.
Halliwell**: "Smartly ordered but rather ordinary and predictable war film to come from one of cinema's acknowledged masters after seven years of silence."
Maltin***: "The first half is so strong (thanks in part to real-life former D.I. Ermey) that the second half suffers in comparison, as it covers more familiar ground, while keeping emotions in check. Still, it's compelling, well acted, and supremely well crafted, certainly in keeping with Kubrick's recurring theme of dehumanization."
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