MOVIE INFO
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn) runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and-if he has his way-every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It's enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop...except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O'Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling), who come together to try to tear Cohen's world apart.
I have heard a theory that if you throw enough shit at a wall then something will stick. Though I'm pretty sure shit would do nothing but stick to a wall. I mean what is the alternative? If you pack a slingshot full of fudge and snap it at your garage door, is it really going to ricochet back into your nutsack?
I digress.
But I did get the feeling this is what the casting director was trying to achieve in this film by getting such heavy hitters to play walk on parts.
Nick Nolte turns up, does nothing.
Robert Patrick turns up, does nothing.
Michael Pena (End of Watch guy) does nothing.
Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) does nothing.
Giovanni Ribisi (Every fu*king movie) does nothing.
Sean Penn is almost playing a caricature of what he thinks a 50's mob boss would sound like and is not scary or intimidating. The opening scene is Sean Penn torturing a guy by having him drawn between two cars. Now compare that to Joe Pesci who is one of the scariest gangster thats ever turned up in a gangster flick, and he can invoke more fear in an audience by just asking Ray Liotta repeatedly "What's so funny about me?"
Emma Stone is super cute and this is the second film I've seen Ryan Gosling tongue her in. Getting bored of that.
In its defence, the films failure to invest any time in its characters means it gets to tick along at quite a pace. So plenty of gunplay and punches to the face. Oh the gunplay isn't bad actually, can't go wrong with a bad guy holding two Tommy guns.
But with every passing film like this you get to appreciate films like The Untouchables. Which is a masterpiece compared to this. You remember when the accountant gets shot in the lift? (don't bug me with spoiler comments, the film is 25 years old) That scene was heartbreaking. Something similar happens to a character in this (you'll know what I mean when you get to it) and my over active tear ducts barely flinched.
Worst bit - Someone throwing a cop badge into a body of water.
Best bit - The music when Gosling went looking to kill Penn in the nightclub.
Tomato Meter - 33% (critics)
Tomato Meter - 66% (audience)
Peter Meter - 58%
Hey everyone it is snowing, the roads are chaos! But that didn't stop me and my buddy Rory from doing the Braintree drift down to the local Cineworld to see The Impossible.
MOVIE INFO
Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand, looking forward to a few days in tropical paradise. But on the morning of December 26th, as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities the night before, a terrifying roar rises up from the center of the earth. As Maria freezes in fear, a huge wall of black water races across the hotel grounds toward her.
This film is horribly brilliant. A bit like 127 Hours where that guy has to cut his own arm off. You are completely gripped when watching it, but it's not a film you'll enjoy watching, or maybe ever want to watch again.
The overactive tear ducts were put under a relentless assault, and I buckled many times.
Ewan Mcgregor actually does some acting which is refreshing.
The true story in this film, is what other human beings do to each other when dealing with such disaster. There are marvelous scenes of people coming together helping strangers. Conquering language barriers and going above and beyond the call of duty to help their fellow man. Then you get to compare those stories with people that aren't so forthcoming with their generosity. And it's all in the name of survival.
Anyway I think people need to see this film regardless of whether they think they might enjoy it or not.
Worst bit - The guy deciding to sit infront of me in an empty theatre meaning I couldn't put my feet over the edge of the chair.
Best bit - Ewan McGregor phoning home in the airport.
Tomato Meter - 81% (critics)
Tomato Meter - 85% (audience)
Peter Meter - 80%
I tell you what else I sat through this weekend; CLEOPATRA. Of course it was research for my degree. (Did I mention I'm doing a degree?) Now this film is just under 4 hours long, but it was beautiful. Liz Taylor is utterly stunning in this, what a perfect temptress. And I have never seen Richard Burton in a film before and he shouts more dialogue than Pacino. Oh and Q from the Bond film turns up in one scene, what more could you want from a movie? I got to do a 500 word essay on the film so won't go into it but recommend you watch CLEOPATRA and not GANGSTER SQUAD or THE IMPOSSIBLE.
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