#395: Casino (1995)

Director: Martin Scorcese

Cast: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone & Joe Pesci

One of Las Vegas's greatest casinos, the Tangiers, is in the hands of mobsters. When the Jewish-American Sam "Ace" Rothstein is noticed for being a great handicapper, bringing in the bucks like no other, he is recruited to manage the casino. The mob bosses are skimming the profits from the casino, while Nick Santoro ensures that the money gets into the right hands and keeps the gangsters in line. While on the job, Rothstein meets his future wife, Ginger, who works as a hustler at the Tangiers. Of course, their arrangement can't last long, and the troubles that are brought to the Tangiers have a lasting impact on the city of Las Vegas.

I wish I enjoyed mafia movies. I really do. I've tried so many times. Alas, I wasn't into this one. Maybe I just don't have enough to relate to in the film - I've never been to a casino, I've never been in a physical fight, and I've never done anything remotely illegal for money. Oh, and I only say "fuck" 2.3 times per minute.

I really don't have much bad to say about the film, though. Sharon Stone was remarkable, and seeing her descent from a young, sexy, live-out-loud hustler to a drug-inducing, wrinkle-ridden ho is outstanding. Robert De Niro also is on top form here, becoming a very likable mobster who somehow maintains his morals.

But that's the thing. Yes, the acting is great... but I just don't see what else there really is. It was 150 minutes of something that I didn't really care all that much about. A big problem with this is that there isn't any humor whatsoever, which is why I liked Ocean's Eleven so much. I really hope I can get into The Godfather when it comes around... what a let-down that could be for me.

Welp, if you enjoy mob films, this might just be for you.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The word "Fuck" is said 422 times, including in the narration - 2.4 times per minute on average. The film also holds the Guinness world record for the most swearing in a film.
• Martin Scorsese stated before the film's release that he created the "head in the vise" scene as a sacrifice, certain the MPAA would insist it be cut. He hoped this would draw fire away from other violent scenes that would seem less so by comparison. When the MPAA made no objection to the vise scene, he left it in, albeit slightly edited.
• As they were shooting scenes in Las Vegas set in the 1970s, the husband of an elderly woman extra was given a period-correct leisure suit to wear by the wardrobe department. However, instead of providing the woman with period clothes, they told her, much to her chagrin, that her out-of-date attire was just fine.

#431: Electra Glide in Blue (1973)

Director: James William Guercio

Cast: Robert Blake, Billy Green Bush, Mitch Ryan, Jeannine Riley & Elisha Cook Jr.

John Wintergreen, a cop with an altitude deficiency, has been on his bike in the desert pulling over speedsters for a good long while. John's got a good heart, which is a commodity in this area where most cops have a superiority complex. John's desperate to move on in his career and become a homicide detective, but never gets the opportunity, until he finds a body in a hut one day. A reclusive man had been shot in the chest, and the detective waves it off as suicide. John uses this event as a way to boost his career, all while hiding the fact that he had slept with his partner's girlfriend.

Ugh. UGH. This film was pretty terrible. The script was one of the worst things I have ever heard. Each character just talks for hours on end without much dialogue at all. The acting is overdone by everyone except Robert Blake (as John Wintergreen). All this could probably be blamed on director J.W. Guercio. This was Guercio's directorial debut... and finale. Considering he'd won 36 Grammys with bands Chicago and Blood, Sweat & Tears, he probably should've stuck to his guns and stayed in the music business.

The story had some promise. The question of whether the case was a suicide or homicide is never really answered, leaving us to speculate that John had taken advantage of the unknown circumstances and unfairly pinned somebody as the murderer. We can also speculate whether this action was conscious or unconscious. The problem with the story? I don't think many people really care. And with no conclusion at the end, it doesn't really matter.

There are some huge fans of this film, saying it's one of the best motorcycle films in history. Considering how during the chase scenes I felt like I was watching a bad drivers ed movie, I'm going to have to disagree.

If you like film... you probably shouldn't see this movie.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• First time director James William Guercio wanted the great Conrad L. Hall to photograph this film, but it was not in the budget. Guercio reduced his own salary to one dollar so he could secure Hall as the cinematographer.
• The cover for the LP-soundtrack of this movie consists of one large picture, showing 7 tall Motor Officers and 1 short one (Robert Blake). Exactly the same picture is hanging on the wall of the office of captain Frank Furillo (Daniel Travanti) in the TV-series "Hill Street Blues".
• Bassist and lead vocalist for the group "Chicago", Peter Cetera, plays a character named "Bob Zemko". A real actor who plays a bit part is also in the cast. His actual name was Bob Zemko. He died a year after making this, his only film.

#443: Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Director: Sidney Lumet
Cast: Al Pacino, John Cazale & Charles Durning

Based on a true event, Dog Day Afternoon demonstrates the effect a camera has on people. When the police and news crews surround the bank that Sonny and Sal unsuccessfully attempt to rob, the street fills up with people, cheering on their anti-hero. Everyone involved in the situation relishes their moment in the spotlight, including a bank teller who decides to stay as a hostage and a pizza deliveryman who drops off the bank workers’ dinner. The plot snowballs as more of Sonny’s relations enter the picture, creating an incredibly complex character that is never analyzed, only presented.

A political commentary is strung throughout the story, though never the centerpiece of the film. An inflated economy brings Sonny to his current position, the known brutality of police keep him in the position, and sexual orientation (and the views of society on it) drives him to succeed. However, despite all the political undertones, the film never outwardly exposes itself as a statement on the present state of society.

The humor in this film is completely new, making a crime drama a lighthearted experience. Rather than being considered a comedy (or docudramedy, as it were), the humor is never there for hardy laughs, but simply makes the film a quirky take on the way criminals become glamorized through the media.

Two thumbs up for a very unique take on a real life bank robbery.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The real bank robber (John Wojtowicz) had watched The Godfather (1972) the day he robbed the Chase Manhattan bank to get ideas. Both Al Pacino and John Cazale were in "The Godfather".
• Al Pacino's performance as Sonny Wortzik is ranked #4 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
• In the 1972 "Life" magazine article that inspired the film, P.F. Kluge and Thomas Moore describe robber John Wojtowicz as "a dark, thin fellow with the broken-faced good looks of an Al Pacino or a Dustin Hoffman". Al Pacino, of course, played the role based on Wojtowicz, and when he nearly quit the film early on, the role was offered to Dustin Hoffman.
• The bank's manager Robert Barrett later said he had more laughs in that one night than he'd had in weeks, while teller Shirley Bell said if they'd been her houseguests on a Saturday night it would have been hilarious.
• Pacino's now legendary shouting to the crowd of "Attica! Attica!" was an improvisation.

#466: Snatch (2000)

Director: Guy Ritchie

Cast: Jason Statham, Stephen Graham, Brad Pitt, Alan Ford, Rade Serbedzija, Ade, Robbie Gee, Lennie James, Dennis Farina & Benicio Del Toro

Snatch is an action-packed, witty, gritty movie with two stories being interwoven. The first story is following the movements of criminals trying to get their hands on a recently stolen 86-karat diamond. After being brought to London, a former KGB agent hires a trio of stupidity-laden thieves to rob a bookie and retrieve the diamond. Meanwhile, a gangster threatens a boxing promoter when the promoter's most recently found fighter fails to intentionally lose the match, which the gangster had planned to rig.

While glancing through Rotten Tomatoes, I came across Tarantino's name a lot. Loads of people are discrediting Guy Ritchie for this film because the style reflects Tarantino's throughout. I, on the other hand, must disagree. The only similarity I can find is a high level of grittiness in combination with a witty dialogue. Aside from that, none of Tarantino's trademarks are to be seen (such as blood being splattered everywhere, a retro soundtrack, and any kind of color scheme throughout the film).

The character probably most remembered for this film is Brad Pitt's role as Mickey, a gypsy with a completely unintelligible accent. His character is completely ludicrous, but somehow believable at the same time. The accent alone is not traceable, but there's no doubt that it sounds authentic.

There's really nothing outstanding about the film-making of Snatch, but it holds its own as an incredibly entertaining film with brilliantly colorful characters. One-and-a-half thumbs up.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Every mistake that Sol, Vincent and Tyrone make were inspired by various late-night TV shows about real-life crimes gone horribly wrong.
• When Guy Ritchie told Brad Pitt that he would be playing a boxer, Pitt became concerned because he had just finished shooting Fight Club(1999) and did not want to play the same type of role again. Pitt book the role anyway because he wanted to work with Ritchie so badly.
• During the opening credits, the Hasidic-clad diamond thieves are discussing the Virgin Mary. This is a reference to Reservoir Dogs (1992), where during the opening scene the thieves are discussing the Madonna song "Like a Virgin".
• According to the DVD commentary, Bow, the dog was very difficult to work with. During car scene with Vincent, Sol and Tyrone, the dog was actually attacking Lennie James, and James was actually bitten in the crotch by the dog but didn't suffer any serious injury. The dog was replaced after that incident.
• Brad Pitt's character and indecipherable speech was inspired by many critics' complaints about the accents of the characters in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998). Guy Ritchie decided to counter the criticisms by creating a character that not only couldn't be understood by the audience but the also couldn't be understood by characters in the movie.

#489: Brick (2005)

Director: Rian Johnson

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emilie de Ravin, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas & Noah Fleiss

A true film noir using a California high school as the backdrop, Brick can be a huge surprise to the modern audience. Despite the age of all the characters in the plot, this film is not a parody of the genre. It is a film noir through and through.

After Brendan, a loner at his school, receives a cryptic phone call from his ex-girlfriend Emily, he soon finds her body lying at the entrance to a secluded tunnel. With the help of an extremely intelligent student known only as The Brain, Brendan is out to find Emily's killer. Throughout his hunt, he becomes involved with the towns most nefarious drug lord known as The Pin; Kara, the school's biggest drama queen; Laura, the social butterfly; and Brad, the self-proclaimed greatest athlete in the school. When the film unravels itself, you're guaranteed a surprise that'll leave you dumbfounded.

The cinematography of the film, with its odd camera angles and zoomed in shots, are often compared to Donnie Darko. The score by Nathan Johnson is thoroughly a modern jazz, which strengthens the film's ties with the classic film noir. All the actors deserve praise for this film, and many of them have had continued success since, making appearances in today's most popular TV shows such as Lost, Heroes, 24, and Entourage.

I have to admit, I was completely clueless as to what happened by the end of this film. My excuse for this is that I was not expecting this film to be as serious as it is. I've straightened myself out with the plot, and it really is some fantastic writing with great twists along the way. So, I warn you all now - pay attention to this film, because it is not a high school-oriented film.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• The horn signal Brendan instructs Laura to give him (long, short, long, short) is the same as the doorbell signal Sam Spade tells Brigid O'Shaughnessy he'll use in The Maltese Falcon (1941). Brendan's earlier line to Laura, "Now you are dangerous," is taken from the film as well.
• The film makers had filmed a version of the film scene with the playing field all muddy and damaged. When they came back to film more of the scene they discovered that the school had refurbished the field and it was now perfect and bright green. That's why most of the shots in the scene are angled upwards to hide the field from view.
• According to the review in "The New Yorker", this film was edited on a home computer.

#500: Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Director: Steven Soderbergh

Cast: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and an all-star ensemble cast

This recreation of Lewis Milestone's 1960 film of the same title is a huge hit among us twenty-something gents - and why wouldn't it? It's got gambling, explosions, and a plot with a nice twist at the end! Although not all reviewers gave it a five-star rating (it has a rating of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes), it certainly didn't fail for their audience; it grossed $38m on its opening weekend.

The film centers on Danny Ocean, just released from prison. In the opening scene, he is asked what he is going to do when he gets out. The day he's released, he's back to work, scheming how to rob three of Las Vegas's biggest casinos. The plan is incredibly complex, using the brilliant minds, athletics, and positions in society of Ocean and his 10 cohorts to bring the plan together.

Although I haven't seen the original film, starring The Rat Pack, I've read enough to know that they've certainly changed a lot of the script to keep this film up to date. The original Eleven were all friends from the Air Force during World War II, while the 2001 film's ensemble are all experienced criminals. The original also leaves the criminals empty-handed at the end. It appears that Soderbergh had other plans in mind for the team... (omgz sequelz!)

As far as personal observations go, I'd like to point out how diverse Soderbergh's films are. He's directed all three Ocean's films, Erin Brockovich, Solaris, Traffic and the recent two-part biography, Che. I've honestly never heard his name before today - I can't deny how bad I am with names - but, holy diversity, Batman! I also noticed that some of the shots he chose looked very old-fashioned to me, and I have to wonder whether he took some of them directly from the original.

Fun Trivia (stolen from IMDB):

• Sammy Davis Jr. appeared in the original version of this film. Don Cheadle, who appears in this version, played Davis in The Rat Pack(1998) (TV).
• George Clooney also begins the film in prison in Out of Sight (1998) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000).
• In the scene near the end when Andy Garcia realizes that the police he was watching was a video he gets on the walkie talkie and hears from one of his guards "What happened to all that money?". The voice heard is actually the voice used in the original version.
• The wig used by Rusty (Brad Pitt) in his disguise as a doctor was Mike Myers's rehearsal wig for Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997).

This was the first time I've seen this film, and I'm really not quite sure why. Maybe not a masterpiece, but extremely entertaining. Two thumbs up!