|
Post by Kapitan on Apr 4, 2019 18:05:10 GMT
I have a strange relationship with Casino: I love almost every performance and MANY scenes, lines, moments...but in hindsight especially I don’t think it’s a good movie.
That and (sticking with DeNiro) Sleepers both are like that for me. In fact they may be the only two movies I feel that way about. I would ineptly describe it as a feeling that the project ends up feeling like a hodgepodge edit trying to tie together either way too much or maybe too little content driving the real story.
But DeNiro in Casino...amazing. Maybe my favorite performance of his. When he is eating with Sharon Stone and he says something like “do you really think I’d let you take my daughter from me? You think I’d let that happen?” He’s terrifying.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 4, 2019 18:17:06 GMT
I have a strange relationship with Casino: I love almost every performance and MANY scenes, lines, moments...but in hindsight especially I don’t think it’s a good movie. That and (sticking with DeNiro) Sleepers both are like that for me. In fact they may be the only two movies I feel that way about. I would ineptly describe it as a feeling that the project ends up feeling like a hodgepodge edit trying to tie together either way too much or maybe too little content driving the real story. But DeNiro in Casino...amazing. Maybe my favorite performance of his. When he is eating with Sharon Stone and he says something like “do you really think I’d let you take my daughter from me? You think I’d let that happen?” He’s terrifying. Yeah, I think in Casino, DeNiro's performance outshines the movie. The almost final sequence when "The House Of The Rising Sun" is playing is one of Scorsese's finest moments IMO.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 4, 2019 18:19:12 GMT
Last night I watched the movie, Cape Fear, with Nick Nolte and Robert DeNiro. I like the original version with Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, but I think I prefer this one. DeNiro's performance might be a little over-the-top, but it does get to you, especially the last half hour of the movie. Anybody else a fan of the movie?
My 5 Favorite Robert DeNiro performances:
1. Goodfellas 2. Taxi Driver 3. Casino 4. Raging Bull 5. Cape Fear
Dark Horse: Jackie Brown
Underrated DeNiro movie - The Fan (1996) I only ever saw The Fan once (and not all of it) and I thought it was weird or strange. I'll have to catch it again some night when it's on cable TV.
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on Apr 4, 2019 18:26:25 GMT
I assume it's not often considered among his very best, but Men Of Honor is one of my favorite DeNiro movies. In fact, I think it's about time to rewatch it.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 4, 2019 18:35:52 GMT
I assume it's not often considered among his very best, but Men Of Honor is one of my favorite DeNiro movies. In fact, I think it's about time to rewatch it. Men Of Honor is a good one!
|
|
|
Post by kds on Apr 4, 2019 18:54:19 GMT
Underrated DeNiro movie - The Fan (1996) I only ever saw The Fan once (and not all of it) and I thought it was weird or strange. I'll have to catch it again some night when it's on cable TV. The one knock I'd give it is that the baseball scenes are done very badly. Despite the on set presence of former players Steve Lyons, John Kruk, and Cal Ripken Jr., the baseball scenes look like they were done by somebody whose never seen one inning of a game.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 19:42:57 GMT
I have a strange relationship with Casino: I love almost every performance and MANY scenes, lines, moments...but in hindsight especially I don’t think it’s a good movie. That and (sticking with DeNiro) Sleepers both are like that for me. In fact they may be the only two movies I feel that way about. I would ineptly describe it as a feeling that the project ends up feeling like a hodgepodge edit trying to tie together either way too much or maybe too little content driving the real story. But DeNiro in Casino...amazing. Maybe my favorite performance of his. When he is eating with Sharon Stone and he says something like “do you really think I’d let you take my daughter from me? You think I’d let that happen?” He’s terrifying. I think Casino and also The Wolf of Wall Street are very good movies, but they're essentially less great, less innovative clones of Goodfellas. It's like Scorsese remade the same film twice to try to outdo himself, but came up short each time. I think Goodfellas works so much better because of a mixture of Henry Hill's life just being more interesting and Ray Liotta. Ray added something new to Goodfellas, and without his presence it just feels like Casino is missing that extra ingredient that ties everything together. Im really not a big Leo DiCaprio fan, and I loathe how WOWS glorifies these Wall Street shysters and their lifestyle. It felt like too much glamorizing of that lifestyle and not enough of a downfall, while Goodfellas' entire third act was about Henry getting busted for drugs and desperately struggling for his life. There's no such comeuppance in Wall Street. I think Taxi Driver is both Scorsese's best movie and De Niro's best performance. Mean Streets is also great but doesn't get as much respect as the others. I prefer De Niro's performances as an undisciplined hoodlum lowlife as opposed to the high-class gangster mastermind he is in Goodfellas and Casino.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
Likes:
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2019 19:58:30 GMT
The Godfather I and II were on TV Monday night so I watched them...again. I think I prefer The Godfather I over II. Marlon Brando's performance is just so good; he becomes the character he's playing. Brando is the difference for me. Part II is great, too, but I don't like those flashbacks to young Vito's life played by Robert DeNiro. It's almost filler.
Anybody have a preference? I or II.
I prefer Part II. I think the brother against brother aspect, and comparing the rise and fall of a dynasty, is more interesting than watching Michael Corleone succumb to his family's business. Godfather 2 has many loose ends and unclear character motives which I find more interesting to watch because it requires more thought from the viewer. Not only that, the cinematography and story are much darker, so there's just this sense of dread that pervades the whole thing. The first movie isn't exactly upbeat but there's something almost lighthearted about it which prevents me from taking it as seriously. Part 1 is also more straightforward, and I get how someone could prefer it for that reason. It has a more dramatic shift in the lead character, which my friends who like it better than 2 have cited as the primary reason it's their favorite in the series.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Apr 4, 2019 21:29:31 GMT
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on Aug 2, 2019 16:35:40 GMT
I just saw this trailer for 1917. Theatrical release is December 25th. I'm looking forward to this.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Aug 2, 2019 16:48:32 GMT
WWI is such an interesting (and I think underappreciated/not well known) topic. I admit my education on it was very, very weak: we'd spend time in school on the Revolutionary War, Civil War, speed through WWI without really having it explained, and then on to WWII. (History apparently ended at WWII for 1980s and 90s students, other than the occasional "oh, and then there was Korea and Vietnam" bookend.)
If you want to check it out, though, I'd recommend starting soon, as the next new episode will bump the first one from that series (though archived ones remain available for purchase for a low price).
|
|
|
Post by B.E. on Aug 2, 2019 17:14:41 GMT
WWI is such an interesting (and I think underappreciated/not well known) topic. I admit my education on it was very, very weak: we'd spend time in school on the Revolutionary War, Civil War, speed through WWI without really having it explained, and then on to WWII. (History apparently ended at WWII for 1980s and 90s students, other than the occasional "oh, and then there was Korea and Vietnam" bookend.) If you want to check it out, though, I'd recommend starting soon, as the next new episode will bump the first one from that series (though archived ones remain available for purchase for a low price).
Thanks for the heads up (especially about it being bumped!). I agree. WWI gets overlooked. For Americans, I think the Korean War is even less talked about/more overlooked. There were something like 35,000 U.S. deaths (in a 3-4 year period) and yet it hardly seems to register as a major conflict in the minds of many Americans.
|
|
|
Post by Kapitan on Aug 21, 2019 15:00:09 GMT
As referenced in the politics thread, I watched a (circa early 90s?) 5-part documentary about the founding of modern Israel. While I had some broad outlines of the story, I learned a lot and am interested enough to dig in further.
|
|
|
Post by kds on Aug 22, 2019 12:40:07 GMT
I don't know if it says more about the state of modern Hollywood, or more about me, but I'm (cautiously) excited about two movies coming out next summer, and it's probably been the most excited I've been about new movies in years:
Bill and Ted Face the Music - The third entry of the Bill and Ted franchise
Jason Reitman's Untitled Ghostbusters Movie - The third entry of the original Ghostbusters franchise.
|
|
|
Post by Sheriff John Stone on Aug 22, 2019 12:45:59 GMT
In September on PBS, they will be airing an 8 part, 16 hour Ken Burns' documentary on the history of Country Music. Burns' documentaries are always well done and I'm really looking forward to this one.
|
|