#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.

#396: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

Director: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Brad Pitt & Casey Affleck



Jesse James was one of the greatest outlaws of American history. After he and his brother Frank fought as Confederate guerillas in the Civil War, they started one of the greatest gangs ever to exist. They became living legends in the 1870’s, when they robbed banks, trains and stagecoaches. After many members of the gang were killed in 1876, they recruited new members, including the young Robert Ford. Robert idolized Jesse in childhood, but his view of the great antihero begins to change shape while living in the James household, and decides to kill his former idol to collect a state reward.

The premise of the film is wonderful, studying Robert Ford rather than the more infamous Jesse James. Of course, we know what happens to James from the outset. It is Affleck’s portrayal of Ford that really makes the film interesting. Ford’s view of James is carefully analyzed, showing how legends can often be far from the truth.

However, this was one boring movie. It doesn’t help that I couldn’t understand about half of what the characters were saying with their greatly slurred Southern accents. I also found the narrator’s voice one of the most lulling performances in recent history. It was really only the last 10 or 15 minutes of the film that really stood out to me, describing what happened once Jesse James was killed.

Certainly a good choice for history buffs. Otherwise, meh.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• When Jesse goes looking for Jim Cummins he introduces himself as "Dick Turpin". Dick Turpin was a legendary English rogue and famous historical highwayman romanticized in English ballads and popular theatre of the 18th and 19th century. Dick Liddil introduces himself as "Matt Collins", which is actually a play on the name of Liddil's wife, Mattie Collins.
• According to Andrew Dominik, Brad Pitt had it put in his contract that the name of the movie was not to be changed.

#417: Lords of Dogtown (2005)

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Cast: Victor Rasuk, John Robinson & Emile Hirsch

Three friends, Tony Alva, Stacy Peralta and Jay Adams, have to find a new sport to replace surfing when the waves stop coming to the pier. Because of the draught that year in the 1970s, pools were emptied. Tony, Stacy and Jay take up skateboarding, eventually becoming some of the first members of the group called The Z-Boys. Soon afterwards, the three become famous in the skating world, but the fame brings the three on separate paths.

This true story is depicted with brilliance, giving an incredible sense of the culture in Venice, California. The colors are so bright, nearly bleached by the sun. I honestly felt like I was going to need to put on sun block just by watching this film.

I honestly thought the acting was good - and nothing more. However, Heath Ledger is praised like woah for this film. He plays the creator of Z-Boys, Skip Engblom, who worked at a surf board shop until the draught, and who acts as the boys' manager until he proves himself unable to carry out the task. His character was incredibly flamboyant, but this is said to be a perfect description of the real Skip Engblom. It's hard to believe some of the characters from California actually exist.

If you have any interest at all in skating and the punk/skater culture that was brought about by the Z-Boys, this movie is a must-see. I'd recommend it for anyone into sports films.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Many parts of the dilapidated pier set (e.g. the big dipper) were added using CGI to keep costs down. However, the derelict ferris wheel was real and had been purchased on eBay for a few thousand dollars.
• While filming a scene in an empty pool, director Catherine Hardwicke fell and was knocked unconscious for two minutes. Many of the cast and crew thought she had died. When she came to, the pro-skaters there said "Now you know how it feels. Welcome to the club."
• To prepare for his role as young Jay Adams, Emile Hirsch flew to Hawaii to spend time with Jay Adams who had just been released from jail for assault and drug charges and had just gotten married.

#422: A Man Escaped (1956)

(Original Title: Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut)

Director: Robert Bresson

Cast: François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock & Jacques Ertaud

In April of 1943, French resistance member André Devigny was arrested by the German authorities and brought to prison in Lyon. In his cell, nothing but escape was on his mind. Using the bare furnishings inside his cell, he conceived a plan - but has to carry it out before August 28, the day set for his execution.

The film is designed for the viewer to be forced to endure just a glimpse of the patience and determination required to even stay sane while detained in such horrible conditions. We grow an understanding of how much we overlook the opportunity to treasure the smallest of things, taking full advantage of their uses. Much of the success of this film is thanks to the advice from the man himself, André Devigny, who gave many details of his travails to director Robert Bresson. The film gets even more credibility by having a majority of the piece filmed inside the actual prison, Fort Montluc.

The minimal use of music, script or even visual detail gives a sense of dread to this film, leading us to have just the slightest of ideas of the horrendous state of affairs in Occupied France.

You should most certainly watch this film, considered one of the classics of French cinema. Even Paul Dano agrees with me.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• Bresson insisted on complete authenticity. Original author Andre Devigny served as adviser on the film, which was actually shot in the same Montluc prison where he was incarcerated. Devigny also loaned Bresson the ropes and hooks he had used in his escape.
• After seeing the film, Jean-Luc Godard said that Bresson was "to French cinema what Mozart is to German music and Dostoevsky is to Russian literature".
• Robert Bresson himself had been a prisoner of war during WWII.
• The first film of Bresson's where he used a completely non-professional cast.

#428: The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

Original Title: Jeder für sich und Gott gegen alle (Eng: Every Man for Himself and God Against All)

Director: Werner Herzog

Cast: Bruno S., Walter Ladengast & Brigitte Mira

SURPRISE! Starz has been kind enough to post the full video on YouTube! If you're interested, here's the link:

Kaspar Hauser appeared on the streets of Nuremberg in 1828. Nobody knew him. He carried a bible in one hand, an anonymous note in the other. He was unable to walk properly, and the only words he could speak were, "horse!", "don't know", and "I want to be a cavalryman, as my father was". The townspeople took care of him, teaching him to walk, speak, and other ways of civilization. When he was able, he explained that he had spent his whole life in a small room, being fed through a hole in the door. His unseen captor spoke only rarely. Years later, Hauser was attacked with a knife. He claimed he recognized his attacker's voice as his captor from his previous life. After another few years, Hauser was attacked again, fatally stabbed.

Oh, and this is a true story.

Nobody ever learned the true story behind Hauser. Many of his benefactors in Nuremberg complained that Hauser was a compulsive liar, and doubted his claims of being held in confinement. His speedy learning process hinted at this as well. Even his death is doubted - many believe he was trying to prolong the publicity he had come to know so well by stabbing himself.

Herzog decided to ignore all of that in his film. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser tells the tale of the boy from his own point of view. Instead of detailing the actual events with accuracy, Herzog uses the famous tale to question the conventions of society. Hauser is constantly baffled by conventional behaviors. For example, he asks why women can "only knit and cook". He is also completely repulsed when he is showcased one evening by an upper-class Englishman who hopes to adopt Hauser - most likely to flaunt his possession of such an enigma.

The strangest part of the film by far is the casting. Herzog decided not to cast a teenager for Hauser, which would have been appropriate. Instead, he cast 42-year-old Bruno S., the street performer and son of a prostitute. Bruno's life was (and continues to be, to this day,) a difficult one. After his mother died early in Bruno's life, he became what the Nazis called an ausschusskinder, or discarded child - a term no longer used in Germany. These children were sent to psychiatric clinics where the Nazis performed experiments. Bruno's state of mind has always been questionable, which has led to controversy whether he knew what he was doing with Herzog, and whether Herzog took advantage of Bruno's state of mind.

Ebert described this film as 'lyrical', which is as precise of a description as you will come to find. It isn't fantastic acting or even remarkable visually, but the storytelling is thought-provoking, seeing the world from the eyes of somebody who had never experienced it before.

Fun Trivia (Stolen from IMDB):

• No trivia available :( But at least you have the whole movie linked above!

#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.