Goodfellas – Classic Review

Goodfellas tells the story of Henry Hill (Ray Liota) as a kid and his journey up the hierarchy of the Cicero mafia family. It shows the inner workings of how the mafia and how gangsters lived in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Rather than glorify or condemn the lifestyle, Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi (author of the book “Wise Guys”, upon which the movie is based) provide a perspective somewhere in the middle. While you sometimes despise James “Jimmy” Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) for their absurd and ridiculous violent methods, you see some method to the madness within the mob world. Almost everything does and has to have a purpose, besides the occasional hit on a guy who rubbed someone the wrong way or “busted their balls” too much. Paul Sorvino delivers a great performance as Paul Cicero, the family’s boss, remaining distant yet powerful. He emits an aura of authority and wisdom even though he doesn’t speak for the first time until well into the film. As you watch Henry Hill and the Cicero family go through it’s ups and downs, you have a roller coaster of emotions. At one point you feel sympathy for Hill and his struggles early on, but later on you are disgusted by some of his decisions. Scorsese does a wonderful job of never letting you stay certain on your feelings about a character.

Joe Pesci steals the movie as the short-tempered, borderline psychotic Tommy. Each scene he’s in leaves you on the edge to see how he reacts to the situation. I almost felt anxious for everyone else on the screen because I feared for their safety. Pesci found a way to make this insane gangster to be believable, but not predictable, something I haven’t seen besides another supporting actor, Heath Ledger as the Joker. While both rate differently on the moral spectrum, they both are terrifying and engaging to watch. Here’s the most iconic scene of Tommy and perhaps the entire film:

There is tons of trivia and facts about this classic film, here are just a few:

One of the riskiest, yet best devices of the film is the narration by Henry Hill. Whether he was providing context for the scene or simply telling you how he thought as a gangster, it was brilliant and hilarious. One of the arching themes of the movie is that even though the mafia lifestyle isn’t perfect, it beat living like a normal person. This was voiced perfectly in one scene by the narrating Hill: “For us to live any other way was nuts. Uh, to us, those goody-good people who worked shitty jobs for bum paychecks and took the subway to work every day, and worried about their bills, were dead. I mean they were suckers. They had no balls. If we wanted something we just took it. If anyone complained twice they got hit so bad, believe me, they never complained again.” While the methods and actions of the gangsters in this movie were not commendable, you could see why they chose the lifestyle. It wasn’t a matter of, “I want to be a bad guy”, but rather instead “I get what I want and no one will stop me.” Just so happens the police wanted to stop them. As a fan of history, I think this film does something well that history classes and the news tend to over look. Bad guys are rarely bad for the sake of evil. They’re human. They have a conscience and a moral compass. They have goals and dreams. There is always at least 2 choices to a situation, a good one and a bad one (though we try to act as if it’s not there when we judge others). Some people choose the bad because it reaps more rewards or is easier. They don’t make that choice because they enjoy the consequences for either themselves or others, but because of the advantages and results it provides. This film is a great narration on this dilemma in societies and people’s moral conscience.

I recommend this movie to any gangster movie fan or just a fan of film in general. It’s a great treat for your mind and senses.

9/10 

The Wild Bunch – Classics Review

“We all dream of being a child again, even the worst of us. Perhaps the worst most of all.”

Even though westerns are far past their prime, young boys still dream about roughing it out in the desert as a cowboy. The idea of riding into town on your stallion with a rifle on your back and a revolver in your holster and the brim of your hat slightly covering your eyes. We’d sit around the fire with all the other cowboys and swap tales of heroism and mischief we’d seen and done. A simple, but exciting life. This film, though about outlaws, gives the most fun, exciting, and entertaining depiction of life as a cowboy down in Texas and Mexico.

The Wild Bunch has some of the best shootouts of any movie I’ve seen, especially from westerns. They are chaotic and entertaining to watch. Outlaws, soldiers, and bounty hunters bounce in and out of cover taking shots at their enemies. Characters are blown off their feet and spin around with the force and accuracy of some of the shots. Windows, doors and walls are torn to shreds by the countless numbers of bullets flying back and forth between the opposing sides. For example, the movie opens with a rather insane shootout between the Wild Bunch and the bounty hunters in the middle of town:

I watched this on Blu-Ray so the quality of video, and possibly audio, were greatly increased compared to the DVD version. Even so, there were times where it was hard to understand parts of the dialogue and I had to look up on IMDB the story line so I could keep up with plot. It’s a rather simple story. The wild west days of cowboys and outlaws is vanishing (much like the western cinema at the time) and the outlaw gang, the Wild Bunch, are out to get one last score before they call it quits. They eventually find themselves agreeing to a plan with the Mapache, a Mexican war general. All the while, Dutch, an old member of the gang, is now hunting the Wild Bunch to end his jail sentence.

It is a fun movie with great action and some good laughs as well. Definitely a must see for any fans of westerns.

Die Hard – Review (Classic)

“Now I have a machine gun. Ho Ho Ho.”

Die Hard is regarded as one of the best, if not the best action movies of all time. I had never seen the movie in its entirety, only bits and pieces on TV as a kid. I went into this movie hesitant whether the accolades and hype around it would hold up after nearly three decades. And in short, it blew them away. It is one of the most fun, clever and intense movies I’ve seen in a while.

John McClane (Bruce Willis) is an average cop from New York. Besides being on the force for 11 years he does not have any extraordinary skills or experience. When he’s caught in this crazy hostage situation and no way to communicate with anyone outside the building (at first) he is left to improvise quickly in order to save his wife and the other hostages. McClane drops numerous one liners during his radio talks with Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) and his new “partner” Sgt. Al Powell (Reginald VelJohnson), such as the legendary phrase “Yippee ki yay motherf*cker.” While nearly all the characters played their roles great, the two Johnson FBI agents were annoying, plain and boring to me and I was more happy than surprised when their plan “blew up” in their face (Haha). The movie spaced out all the fights and shoot outs to make each action packed moment feel special. Whether the terrorists were blowing up an armored police car or McClane is hanging from the roof by a fire hose, each moment felt different and memorable in and of itself.

You should definitely watch this movie if you haven’t yet or watch it again if you already have. Here’s a taste of the movie…Ben Stiller style:

Braveheart – Review

“There’s a difference between us. You think the people of this country exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure that they have it.” – William Wallace

Please play the music as you read the review…

From the opening scene where the camera soars over the beautiful mountains and plains of Scotland, Braveheart transported me to a place and time I will never forget. A time and place when nature and man were so wonderfully intertwined with one another. The peaceful and soothing sounds of the bagpipes and other wind instruments instilled a feeling of tenderness and brotherhood among the Scottish people.

Very quickly however, I was met with the reality of how dark and grim times had become under the rule of Lord Longshanks (King Edward I). A scene in which Longshanks betrays a truce with the Scottish nobles, sets the tone for the rest of the revolt and William Wallace’s life (Mel Gibson). I was blown away at the thought of this young boy, William, losing his father and brother, the only ones he had left, and moving on with his life with the help of his uncle Argyle. I admired William and the many others of his time like him who were able to lose all at such a young age and still become something great.

One of my favorite lessons the movies teaches is that wits are more important than purely strength. When most people look back on the Scots, they think of unintelligent savages who only concerned themselves with learning how to swing and throw a sword or ax. As the revolt continues throughout the film, William Wallace shows that he is more than just a man who can fight, but a man with deep convictions and beliefs about what he wants and is uncompromising in those beliefs, even if it means death is possible. He detests the fact that the Scottish nobles sit around and talk about deals and propositions in order to survive, but make no plans to “live” and become free of the tyranny of England. Robert the Bruce is torn between making the choice to follow this courageous commoner, but his Father, the “King” of Scotland tells him that compromising with the English is their only way to survive and maintain the titles and land they have obtained. “You admire this man, this William Wallace. Uncompromising men are easy to admire. He has courage; so does a dog. But it is exactly the ability to *compromise* that makes a man noble.” Robert personifies the struggle within us all to decide whether compromising is the right choice or not. Is courageously charging into battle to win freedom, but possibly die and lose it all more “noble” than keeping what they have and living another day.

The warfare in this movie was spectacular. Dismembered limbs, crushed skulls, decapitated heads… it has all the awesome violence you’d want in a war film. It also shows moments of invention and strategy – the extra long spears to kill the horses of the English army and the fake retreat of all the horse riding Scots who returned to slaughter the remaining English soldiers.

SPOILER!

Near the end of the film, right before William is captured by the English after a betrayal on the a noble’s part, he has a short conversation with Hamish, comrade and friend:

Hamish: I don’t want to be a martyr.

William: Nor I. I want to live. I want a home, and children, and peace.

Hamish: Do ya?

William: Ay, I do. I’ve asked God for these things. It’s all for nothing if you don’t have freedom.

Hamish: That’s all a dream, William.

William: A dream? Just a dream? What we’ve been doing all this time; we’ve lived that dream.

In the final scene for William when he undergoes “purification”, he shows how deeply and truly he wanted to achieve his dream. He was willing to die in order to bring true freedom to his home and would not sacrifice those convictions and beliefs in his dying, aching breath. Instead, he used his last bit of energy to proclaim what he so deeply desired:

The story of William Wallace is a beautiful and true one. It is of a man who could no longer stand to be enslaved and appeased by titles, gold, and plots of land in order to look over the injustice that had devoured his once proud nation. Though his dream was never fully realized while he lived, his cry for freedom rang for centuries to come.

Every man dies, not every man lives.