No more shines, Billy. - Tommy DeVito
Archive for the ‘Retro Reviews’ Category
Goodfellas (1990)
February 18th, 2010 by The Mayor
Casino (1995)
February 16th, 2010 by The District Attorney
In Vegas, everybody’s gotta watch everybody else. Since the players are looking to beat the casino, the dealers are watching the players. The box men are watching the dealers. The floor men are watching the box men. The pit bosses are watching the floor men. The shift bosses are watching the pit bosses. The casino manager is watching the shift bosses. I’m watching the casino manager. And the eye-in-the-sky is watching us all. – Ace Rothstein
If we learned one thing from Goodfellas, it was that when you team up the likes of Martin Scorsese, Robert DeNiro, and Joe Pesci, something magical happens. 15 years have passed since it’s release in 1995 and that shovel scene at the end is still a cause to cringe. The cinematography, the acting, the premise; all felt very gritty. I mean this movie holds a Guiness World Record for most swear words feature length film. The “F-Bomb” is dropped 422 times, that’s an average number of 2.4 times per minute (thanks IMDB for that interesting statistic). Casino is more of a, ‘remember the good ole days’ cautionary tale of what mob life did to the Vegas strip. It’s a story of one man’s rise from complete obscurity to take a city by storm, only to lose touch with the ever changing moral foundation of a city with a lack there of. (more…)
Unbreakable (2000)
September 6th, 2009 by The Mayor
It’s alright to be afraid, David, because this part won’t be like a comic book. Real life doesn’t fit into little boxes that were drawn for it. – Elijah Price
M. Night Shyamalan has already established his own personal stamp for his films. Sadly this one is the most underrated works of the last decade. The first time I saw it I was blown away at how quiet and moving the movie is, and now almost ten years later after watching it again, I was more taken aback by how much movies have changed and audiences have changed. This movie represents a time when going to the movies was like finishing that great book. You close the last page and sit there, still in awe. Leaving the theater or opening the DVD tray a decade later; I’m still get that feeling with UNBREAKABLE.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
July 24th, 2009 by The Mayor
Not only captures what being a teenager and a high school life felt like, but also embodies what life ought to be like. The premise seems simple enough, our man Ferris decides to take a day off all in the name of sanity; saying goodbye to school and responsibility. Don’t you wish you could do the same? Well the movie is trying to tell you that you can, and should. It’s no surprise that the film has been suggested to be a great anti-suicide message. Who doesn’t feel like breaking out into song and dance at a parade after this movie?
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Iron Giant (1999)
June 20th, 2009 by The Mayor
Forget song-and-dance numbers and cute animal sidekicks, the film’s appeal comes from its winsome characters, its resonant story, and its evocative depiction of New England in the days of Sputnik and “duck and cover” drills. What are we hiding from today? This underrated gem was one of the last great pencil animations to come out, oh how I miss them.
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Tommy Boy (1995)
June 10th, 2009 by The Mayor
Astounding for its number of effective gags, and it is a comedy that loses nothing on repeat viewings. This is Farley at his finest. Funny to note that whenever David Spade talks about this role as he often does on the tonight show, he is quick to point out how lackluster Black Sheep was. This is a smart comedy and even a few moments of tenderness.
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Buffalo 66 (1998)
May 27th, 2009 by The Mayor
I only saw this film a few years ago, my friend made me watch it after much hesitation on my part. Chances are if you are reading this you may have never heard of the movie until now. It is defiantly worth your time to walk to the movie store right now and find it. The darkly beautiful work of a damaged child, you wouldn’t know if you should cry or laugh for most of this movie. The lines are quick and the best ones are often unheard from ongoing laughter. Gallo’s wounded, embittered performance is captivating, and so is his filmmaking. He made this movie for himself in my opinion, and let us in on it. Thank you sir.
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The Sandlot (1993)
May 27th, 2009 by The Mayor
One of the greatest childhood movies ever made…and I hate Baseball. The Sandlot will always stand the test of the time and be a movie that you can watch over and over as you grow older. It never loses its touch. It wasn’t about the sport for me that made me love this movie, as I stated I really can’t stand Baseball. It was the youth and sense of ‘what do you want to be when you get older’ I get every time I watch it. The innocent kids playing at the park, the legends that may or may not be true that you hear about your neighborhood, and the pickle you got into as a kid, it’s all here.
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