In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's Reviews

Great review of Lawrence of Arabia! I've never seen it on the big screen, sounds like quite an experience.

Black Mass

As far back as Hollywood can remember, there has always been the crime picture. From the days of silent cinema with D.W. Griffith’s The Musketeers of Pig Alley, to the gangster flicks of the 30’s with Little Caeser and Scarface, to the film Noirs of the 40’s and 50’s, Bonnie & Clyde, Coppola’s The Godfather, to the various works of Scorsese; Hollywood has made a lot of movies involving crime. And Black Mass is the latest film put out by Hollywood in this genre. Now I have wanted to see this movie ever since I saw the trailer a few months back because of the performance of Johnny Depp. Now Depp has not had the best track record with movies the last few years. The man has starred in the very profitable Pirate sequels and the Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland movie. But those films being good are debatable. In addition the man has had some very noticeable bombs. Morticai, Trancendence, Dark Shadows, and The Lone Ranger all lost a crap ton of money. In fact the last movie I saw in the cinema with Johnny Depp was his uncredited cameo in a film I adore, Tusk. And when your best movie in the past three years is not the big Hollywood blockbuster helmed by Tim Burton or Gore Verbinski, but the Kevin Smith movie where a guy gets turned into a walrus and you are not even the star of the flick; you know you are on hard times. But Depp is an incredibly talented actor. Too talented to be kept down. And thankfully this seems to be the film that is changing his fortunes at the cinema, because this is an awesome film!

Now a film with the title “Black Mass” you would expect it to involve something involving Satanism. A bunch of guys gathered around a room looking to schtup a goat or something. But in this case, the mass is not referring to a religious gathering, but Massachusetts. This film takes place in Boston, where one Jimmy “Whitey” Bulger was a big player. And like many crime pictures, this flick is based off of true events. The movie details the rise of Bulger from a small time hood with the White Hill Gang to crime lord of Bean Town. Now how the hell does a South Boston Irish gangster make it to the top of the pile in the crime world? Especially when the competition is the Italian Mafia? Easy. You take out your competition. But one does not do that just by going to the mattresses. Jimmy has a younger brother who is a senator, and has a little help from an FBI agent by the name of John Connelly. Connelly is another Southie who grew up with the Bulger brothers. Connelly is getting pressure from his boss to get evidence to put away the Angiulo crime family. The Angiulo’s are trying to move in on South Boston where Bulger controls all the rackets. Connelly comes up with the idea to try and form an alliance with Bulger. Connelly wants Bulger to become an informant for the FBI. Bulger gives details about the Mafia, the FBI makes some arrests, and Bulger is helping to put away his competition. Bulger naturally does not like the idea. After all, no one likes a stool pigeon. And as Goodfellas told us in the beginning, "you keep your mouth shut and don’t rat out your friends.” But since Bulger is not ratting on his friends and business partners, Bulger eventually goes along with the plan. Fun fact: Whitey Bulger was the basis for Jack Nicholson’s character in Scorsese’s The Departed. Bulger gives the Feds a little info, the Feds make lots of big arrests, and soon Bulger’s competition is put away. Now Bulger is in charge of all the rackets in Boston. But life gets pretty complicated for Bulger and Connelly as the film explores the themes of loyalty, friendship, and the law. All three lines become pretty damn blurry throughout the film.

The film is directed by Scott Cooper. You might remember his last film Out of the Furnace, the revenge flick with Christian Bale and Casey Affleck. The film had great cinematography, very good performances, and a very good premise; but I thought the pacing was crap. Here Cooper seems to have found the proper story beats. We see Bulger before he became an informant in the mid 70’s, his rise in the crime world, and his eventual fall in the 80’s. Each time we get to peek just a little bit into the world of one of the most notorious crime bosses in America. But it is not just the gangster Bulger we see. We see him as a crime boss yes and he is very ruthless as head of the White Hill gang. Hits are carried out whether on his order or by his own hand. But we also see Bulger as a complete human being too. We see him interact with his girlfriend and mother to his child. We see him as a father to his boy. We see him as a son losing to his mother playing gin rummy. We get to see him as a brother, and as a native of Boston. And each role is played perfectly by Johnny Depp. As I have said Depp is one of the best actors working today, and this role was a complete transformation. This is nothing new for Depp, but what is new is what he is transforming into. Previously he has immersed himself into roles where he brings a certain off beat and weird charm to his roles. He used this unique acting ability to bring life to roles like Ed Wood, Raoul Duke (aka Hunter S. Thompson), and Captain Jack Sparrow. Each of these roles has a certain comedic quirkiness and some degree of warmth to the characters. Bulger is a completely different character. While we do see glimpses of some form of humanity from Bulger, the majority of the time all we see is the calculated mind of a gangster. Johnny’s Bulger is cold. He will pat you on the back and say everything is all right seconds before he has you killed. Johnny has gone from charming rogue, to hardened sociopath. And the performance is nothing short of chilling and hypnotizing. The film also has some excellent supporting cast members such as Kevin Bacon and Benedict Cumberbatch, but Depp is the star of the show and the real reason to see this movie.

I was very happy to see this film and to see a return to proper form for Johnny Depp. It had been far too long since he had a film that was financially successful and critically acclaimed. And given how packed the theater was when I saw this movie, I think this film is going to do quite well financially. If you like crime movies, especially ones based off true events then this is the movie to see. If you are a fun of Johnny Depp this is a must see. Here is hoping for some Oscar love for Depp and company.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

I agree completely with your review and thought that everything people said they didn't like... like the pacing/story I loved. I will be getting this on Blu-Ray and hope Depp gets an oscar nom for his hard work.

from me as well.

My favorite Depp movie is Donnie Brasco, and with my familiarity of Bulger with being from Boston, and my love of gangster flicks, of course I'm looking forward to this movie. It was playing last night at the drive-in with The Departed in a double feature, but my wife wasn't up to it. Nice review Gunner, you've got me yearning to see it.

I'll read your review, Guns, once I see the film!

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MovieMeditation's Cinema Reviews // Film Diary 2015 // Letterboxd Profile // MovieMeditation's Top 50 Horror

Going to see Black Mass this afternoon. Hope I enjoy it as much as you Slinger. Good review.

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Letterboxd

“Except for markf, you’re all a disgrace to cinema.”

Thanks for this epic thread, GS. I see we do differ in tastes somewhat, though. Lean directed Lawrence to perfection, just like everything else, I guess. Also, i appreciate you like O'Toole, whom I admired a lot. One thing that stands out for me is the cut from burning out the match to the Sun. imho, it's the best cut ever, and I think it was Lean's favorite, as well.

To see that scene on the cinema screen was a fantastic and breathtaking experience.

Glad you are enjoying my reviews.

I never saw it in cinema, I saw maybe 50 films in cinema, haven't been for a decade now. The only one that would give it a run for its money is, of course



It's a torment for me to put anything above 2001...



Sorry, I just had to post this. Never seen it before. I didn't know George was such a fan. OK I'll ease up on him now...I suddenly can stand him.

Thanks. You inspired me to do something like this on my own. Can I do it?

Once again sorry, the only thing that...is

Do it! The more the merrier!

OK. Thanks! You're the best!

Anytime.

Excellent review for Black Mass (and Lawrence of Arabia, which I read but never commented on). Black Mass is the most excited I've been about a Johnny Depp movie in awhile. I didn't know it was directed by the same guy who made Out of the Furnace. I liked that movie more than most people, although it hasn't really stuck with me. I haven't heard anything particularly negative about Black Mass, but some of the responses have been fairly ho-hum, so it's encouraging to read such a positive review. If you like it, I think I will too.

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Since Johnny Depp is one of if not your favorite actor, I think you are going to be quiet pleased with this movie.

Bridge of Spies

Hello MoFo’s! It is once again time for At the Theater with The Gunslinger45. Sadly my friends I have not been able to do many reviews as I used to. Hell I am not on as often as I used to. This is a combo of the start of the career of my dreams, a new relationship, and still making time to do errands like a normal adult; thus leading to not being able to get out to the movies as often. But I do enjoy writing these reviews and I do want to try and keep doing them. Plus it is nice to write something other than the fact based reports I do every day. Especially since some of the reports I have written have been VERY unpleasant to write. So this past weekend the girlfriend and I decided to go out for a movie. My girlfriend has a fascination with all things Russian. She is a veteran of the US Army like I am; she used to work in Military Intelligence, and the Army taught her the Russian language. She even has many a book series (like Harry Potter) in Russian. So because of this, naturally she wanted to see this movie. And I wanted to see this flick since it is a Spielberg movie. And as you know Spielberg is one of my all time favorite directors. Now when I was young, Spielberg was the filmmaker whose name I learned first; a name that became the embodiment of good movies. Spielberg was also the director who made film my favorite story telling medium. I have been a fan of his for almost as long as I can remember. So when he makes a new film I usually have to see it. The key word is usually. Admittedly the man who could do no wrong at the summer box office has had quality issues with his blockbuster fare for quite a while. Starting with The Lost World, his blockbuster movies took a serious drop in quality. The Lost Work sucked, Minority Report was boring, I did not even bother to see War of the Worlds, and if anyone even acknowledges a 4th Indiana Jones movie I will punch someone square in the dick. Now if you see Spielberg’s name attached to a summer movie it is as an Executive Producer instead. But Spielberg is no one trick pony. The man has been able to create excellent dramatic works beyond the action likes of say Raider of the Lost Ark and Jurassic Park. Hell he won an Oscar for Schindler’s List. And as his blockbusters have waned, his serious works have become more frequent. Amistad, Saving Private Ryan, Munich, Lincoln, and now Bridge of Spies. And much like Saving Private Ryan, Spielberg brings in a big dramatic actor named Tom Hanks. But does this pairing bear good fruit like before? The short answer? Yes. The long answer? Well throw back a shot of vodka and sit back as we examine Bridge of Spies.

We begin this movie in Brooklyn New York, where foreign born Rudolf Abel was arrested for being a Russian spy. His timing could not have been worse either as he was also caught after the Rosenberg’s were executed for giving atomic secrets to the Russians. So naturally the country is crying off with his head. But because we live in a society ruled by law, the man is still entitled to a competent defense. Enter James B. Donovan (Tom Hanks). Donovan is a member of the New York Bar and an insurance lawyer who is given the unfortunate task to defend Rudolf. And overnight he becomes one of the more unpopular members of 1950’s society. Donovan can’t get Rudolf acquitted (due to lots and lots of evidence) but he does keep Rudolf off death row. And this is fortunate since at the same time Rudolf is in prison, Air Force pilot Francis Gary Powers has his U2 spy plane shot down over Soviet soil. The already emotionally and physically exhausted Donovan is now given a new task by the CIA. To negotiate a prisoner swap, one spy for another. But even that becomes more complicated when an American college student in Berlin named Frederick Pryor is detained by the East German government. Now Donovan’s situation is even more complicated. Does he negotiate a swap for the pilot which is a high priority asset and condemn the student to a life of imprisonment at the hands of German communists? Or does he go against the CIA’s wishes and make a move to get the innocent Pryor out?

This film is excellent. Not only is it helmed by one of the best directors ever, it stars a legendary actor who has won multiple Oscars, and was co written by the Coen Brothers. This film is packed to the gills with talent on all fronts of the film-making process. But the film is much more than just another Hanks vehicle. The film has Hank’s character Donovan as an ordinary guy who is trust into a very extra ordinary situation. He is forced into a situation where he is has to make some very hard and sometimes even unpopular choices. But Donovan is a man of great principle. And he is willing to fight for those ideals no matter the cost. In the first half of the film we deal with the trial and defense of Rudolf Abel. As an attorney he is tasked to fight for his client no matter what. And despite the overwhelming evidence of the case, he still does what he can to defend his client. It reminded me a lot of when John Adams defended British soldiers involved with The Boston Massacre. One man defending people just about everyone else wants to see hanged. And while you can’t really condemn those calling for Rudolph’s conviction (he was a spy after all) you can condemn certain people who go too far in trying to hurt Donovan and his family in the process.

The second half of the film takes Donovan to Berlin where he tries to secure the release of the two prisoners. The CIA wants Powers out ASAP and they feel they can get Pryor out another time. As such they pressure Donovan to negotiate for a deal that can get the Powers out. But Hanks is also a big believer in an ideal I connect very closely too; the ideal of leaving no man behind. Anyone who has spent any time in the service knows about this ideal. In the Army it was part of the Soldier’s Creed known as the Warrior’s Ethos. And we were forced to say it over and over so we would never forget it.

“I will always place the mission first.
I will never accept defeat.
I will never quit.
I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

Donovan, who served in World War II in the Navy, is familiar with this concept. And because of this he must battle the pressure to do what is best for his country and clearly in her best interest for what is right. To top if, he must also battle wits with representatives from the East German government and the Russians. Once again putting an ordinary man in a most extra ordinary situation, only this time he is far from home.

Throughout the film Donovan is thrust into situations where he must make tough choices. Many of them are unpopular. And that all ties in to the central message of the movie: doing the right thing is tough to do. In trying to live a life where you try to do good and live up to the ideals you cherish, you will be met at all sides by those who wish to see you compromise those values. But ultimately you must decide to make a choice that you feel is right and can live with yourself afterwards. And people will hate you for your choices. And it is especially hard in this time of social media and 24 hour news where there is always someone trying to be outraged at something. But at the end of the film we see the ultimate payoff of trying to do the right thing. It is a heartwarming scene that one expects from a Spielberg film, and it fits the flick perfectly.

I really enjoyed this movie. You have one of the most charming actors in a Cold War drama directed by one of my most favorite directors. Naturally I was going to love this movie. And as far as how it compares to the other movies I have seen this year I have liked it more than certain other big time films I saw this year. I liked it more than Sicario, Ex Machina, Inside Out, and even both Marvel movies. But Mad Max: Fury Road remains my favorite film of the year. But coming in as my current second favorite film of the year ain’t bad. You did good Spielberg. You did good.

Looks like typical Spielberg and Hanks. I would LOVE for Spielberg specifically to do something out of the norm. Give us something edgy, more in line with his earlier films like Duel or Jaws.

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"A laugh can be a very powerful thing. Why, sometimes in life, it's the only weapon we have."

Suspect's Reviews

Been looking forward to Bridge of Spies for what feels like an age. A film scripted by the Coens, directed by Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks? Film ingredients don't come much better than that.

Hoping that I enjoy it as much as you did GS. And personally I'd also love to see Tom Hanks at least pick up an Oscar nomination this year. He's somehow not been nominated since 2001! That's despite his work in Road to Perdition, Catch Me If You Can, Charlie Wilson's War, Captain Phillips and Saving Mr Banks in that time.

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Somehow I completely missed these - so very glad I got rectify that.
some very brilliant and involved reviews of both Black Mass and Bridge of Spies

13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi

Hello MoFo’s! It is once again time for At the Theater with The Gunslinger45. What can be said about Michael Bay… Actually, check that. Here is how I described Michael Bay in the last movie of his I reviewed, Pain and Gain.

I also go to say I thought The Rock was a good movie and how I rank The Bad Boys movies among my favorite guilty pleasures. So we have now established how I feel about the director. And when I heard that a Benghazi movie was going to be directed by Mr. “Let’s blow everything up” Bay, I was very concerned. I saw Pearl Harbor in the theaters. That was the last and only time Bay attempted to direct a serious movie. And he failed. Miserably. He gave us a historically questionable POS movie that was trying to cash in on the Titanic formula of jamming a love story into a tragedy. And it BLEW! To top it off, he directed one of my all time most HATED movies, Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen. Needless to say, I was worried. This is a very politically hot and sensitive subject, and Bay is not known for subtlety. So with me seeing the movie you are probably asking, “Was this a good movie?” And I can’t believe I am saying this…

No. Bay did not make a good movie. He made a legitimately GREAT movie!

LET THAT SINK IN! The guy who directed 4 crappy Transformers movies, Armageddon, Pearl Harbor, and whose Platinum Dunes company has churned out S**T remakes of classic horror movies ACTUALLY DIRECTED SOMETHING THAT WAS REALLY WELL MADE! And I mean this was beyond the action scenes which I expected to be well done. He was able to capture heart breaking moments, suspense, thrills, tragedy, and lose. It was like he was an actual director or something! And cherry on top the guy made the movie and was pretty damn apolitical about it! So the real question is where the hell did Michael Bay hide all of this talent and how the hell did he pull this movie off? Well gear up and haul asses and elbows as we examine 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.

We begin the movie with an opening title sequence that sets the stage. It is 2012, Libya has overthrewn Gaddafi and proceeded to go full Mussolini on his ass. Problem is now you have a bunch of gangs who have looted Gaddafi’s armories. Said gangs are now fighting a civil war to achieve power and skirmish over local turf. The USA has two embassies in the country: one in Tripoli and another in Benghazi. The “embassy” compound in Benghazi is guarded by local Libyan forces. Now they do have a few American security forces to guard Ambassador Chris Stevens, but they are not the most experienced of operators and are under staffed. About 1 mile from the compound is a secret CIA compound where agents conduct various intelligence operations. The compound itself is guarded by the CIA’s own security detail provided by CIA contractors called the GRS. These are guys who are ex-operators in various military special operations units including ex SEALS, ex Marines, and one former US Army Ranger. These 6 men are paid to protect the compound and any members of the CIA staff who happen to go out to collect intel or meet with contacts. And they happen to butt heads a bit with a man only referred to as “Chief.” Chief is the head CIA officer at the local and is not thought of favorably by the GRS. The GRS see him as a paper pusher and the Chief thinks the GRS are a bunch of morons. But they learn to live with each other. That is until the day reaches closer to the anniversary of 9-11. Naturally the compound and embassy are on high alert due to obvious reasons. It is the anniversary of the biggest terror attack in US history, someone might want to repeat history. Problem is the embassy’s security is still pretty low compared to what embassy protocols state they should be. And that comes back to haunt them on September 11, 2012. Anyone who followed the news knows what happened next. The embassy was attacked, the local security fled or was killed, and hostile Libyans stormed the embassy. The GRS contractors were ready to move out, ordered to stand down, eventually stormed out to save Ambassador Stevens, then had to hole up in the CIA compound until they could be evacuated from Benghazi. The siege lasted approximately 13 hours; hence the title of the book. And the movie follows that hellish night.

Again, I have to say this: Michael Bay made a really great movie. I this was not just a “Holy crap this totally exceeded my expectations so I mistake it for amazing” sort of reaction. I mean I totally get the exceeding the expectations part, but this was a legit war movie. I mean this was as good as Black Hawk Down and Lone Survivor. In fact this movie reminded me a lot of Black Hawk Down. We have Americans in need of rescue, we have an attempt to get everyone out, and we focus on the struggle just to get out alive in one massive firefight. Only instead of a massive cast like in Black Hawk Down, this cast is a lot smaller. This allows for a lot more build up to the fight and we get to know these 6 men a lot more then the various elements in Black Hawk Down. In fact that was another shocking element. Usually Bay opens his movies with action scenes then just follows a bunch of action beats for the rest of the movie. Optimus Prime jumping out of a jet into a crowded city like in Transformers 2, a raid on a military base for missiles in The Rock, or a fire fight at a Ku Klux Klan rally like Bad Boys 2. The rest follows the Bay formula. This movie actually does not open like those other movies. It opens with the contractor Jack riding on a plane to Libya. Top it off the movie spends the majority of the first part of the film establishing the setting, characters, and their relationships with only a few instances of some minor action sequences. And neither of those sequences had any explosions! Let that part sink in too. Michael Bay opting to focus on character relationships, setting, and plot rather then explosions?!?!? Clearly this is a sign of the End of Days. Now sure 13 Hours is not as good as say American Sniper, Apocalypse Now, or Saving Private Ryan; but the movie is certainly worth the price of admission.

One of my biggest surprises was how well Bay was actually able to capture these characters. Each has a wife, a family, and a history in the service. And we get to know a little bit about each of them in the movie: especially Jack De Silva. Jack is the first of the contractors we meet. We see him on the plane coming to Libya in the opening scene. We learn he has a wife and two little girls. Times are tough financially and much to his wife’s displeasure he goes back to contracting to make additional money. We know he is trying to provide for his kids the best he can, and contracting brings in BIG TIME pay. But his wife naturally is scared he will not come home, and just wants her husband to be there for their children. And on that note, Jack has one of the biggest and most emotional scenes in the movie. He is talking to his wife and kids at a McDonalds drive through, and she drops some big news on him.



This results in tears starting to flow for Jack, his wife, and this entire scene creates a wave of emotion that washes over me as the viewer. A heartbreak stemming from separation, pains of regret for not being home, and Jack himself beginning to question what was really important in his life. All of which is perfectly captured in an incredibly poignant scene. And then I remembered… wait a second, Michael Bay is the director of this movie right? WHERE THE HELL WAS THIS FOR THE PAST 20 YEARS?!?!?!?!? And it is not just with Jack. We see various minor and supporting characters grow throughout the course of the movie. Characters with little screen time who are not part of the main GRS team, but who Bay felt the need to see their characters grow. And wouldn't you know it one of them is a woman who is enlisted for her brains and not her body. Again, I had to remind myself Michael Bay is directing this movie. It is actually truly impressive.

So we have a surprising amount of character development and emotional investment in a Michael Bay movie that was not a Pearl Harbor and Bruce Willis is not saying goodbye to Affleck. What about the action? It is a Michael Bay movie. The action scenes were great. And this time he did it with very little CGI. No giant robots and no asteroids. The action scenes are incredibly well done while still carrying certain Bay finger prints. We get plenty of explosions (but they are on a much smaller scale than the Transformers movies), plenty of fire fights, lots of scenes of military personnel assembling, the cuts are very quite with lots of sweeping shorts, and a few vehicles getting shot up. I gotta say this movie played to the man’s strengths as a filmmaker. Because when the attack on the embassy started, the action was perfectly paced. The fight scenes had a perfect ebb and flow to them. It never felt drawn out or too long. Something I always thought was a problem in the Transformers movies. This flick was just right. And unlike the Transformer’s movies, you could actually tell who was who resulting in an engaging and thrilling siege movie sequence.

That being said, this movie does have some controversy around it because of the subject matter. The biggest issue some critics have with this film is over the “stand down” order. This movie and the book the film was based on stated that the CIA base Chief, also known as "Bob” directly told the GRS contractors to stand down. This stand down caused a delay in the GRS acting and lead to the death of Ambassador Michael Stevens. Now “Bob” claims there was no “stand down order” and that is backed up by the Federal Government. Naturally the author of the book Mitchell Zuckoff and the team members of the GRS said there was. One member Tonto even did an interview with Politico and stated they were told to stand down. Now I was not there, and I doubt anyone reading this review was there. I guess the people you would believe depends heavily on whether or not you think the government would ever lie to you. I leave that up to you. Either way the author of the book 13 Hours said Bay nailed the book’s authenticity. In addition, of all the topics that could have been talked about in the movie the stand down order was the only thing of controversy discussed. Sure they hinted at the initial reporting of the attacks spawning out of protests over some internet videos (which turned out was incorrect) but a lot of the other more hot button topics are left out of the movie: namely Hilary Clinton. Whether or not she knew the security was sub par in the embassy, had any intelligence reports about credible attacks, how much did they know, why did they continue to blame the anti Islam video and non-existent protests, etc were never discussed in the movie. This movie is after all made by Michael Bay. Bay is here to show the viewer an action movie and not be political. That is Michael Moore’s job. And Bay delivered action in spades.

I know I have already said it but I am floored that Michael Bay made this movie. Somewhere after all this time Bay found a movie that plays to what he does well and somehow created a well crafted movie. I used to say Bay’s only legitimately good movie was The Rock. Well I can’t say that anymore. Michael Bay deserves all the praise he gets for this flick. Now sure this movie will still get panned by enough critics because Bay directed it, but he seems to have won over enough that he might actually get a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Now does this mean I am a fan of Michael Bay and that he might actually be on his way to a new film making direction? I say no, and I doubt it. While I really liked this movie, Bay has to make a lot more of these kinds of movies to wash away the stain of a lot of his other crappy movies. I can’t call myself a fan, but I think he earned a little more respect, and I need to cut him a little slack. At least for a little while. His next movie is Transformers 5. *SIGH* Well he has earned my praise for now. Whether or not he keeps it is debatable. We shall see.