Scorsese Flashback: Mean Streets

Mean Streets:  4 ½ out of 5

I was given the opportunity to provide a guest review of a film by Martin Scorsese for Andy Swinnerton’s site, Rorschach Reviews, which got me so excited that I asked if I could review two films.  As a result, this is the second of two new reviews I have written in regards to Scorsese’s past work, covering his 1973 effort, Mean Streets, starring Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro.

Charlie:  You don't make up for your sins in church. You do it in the streets. You do it at home. The rest is bullshit and you know it.

I previously reviewed Bringing out the Dead for my two-part guest reviewing stint that has been focused on covering the career of Martin Scorsese.  Now I am writing about one of Scorsese’s earliest works, which is a fitting companion piece to his 1999 effort.  Mean Streets is one of Scorsese’s more personal films, as it tackles a topic that he has put on film quite often, small-time gangsters, while also factoring in his Catholicism.  The film is less about story and more focused on the lives of these characters and being able to familiarize the audience with the kind of atmosphere they live in.  Many of Scorsese’s best films are more about characters and a series of events that lead up to something, rather than really being driven by a narrative and Mean Streets is one of the best examples of this.  It was made with a fairly low budget and has signs of an early director finding his bearings, but the roots of many of Scorsese’s other films, let alone the work seen from other directors, have been firmly planted here.  While Scorsese would go on to make some of the best films of their respective decades, Mean Streets is a great film to have as one of his starting points.

‘V/H/S/2’ Now Ready For Playback

V/H/S/2:  4 out of 5

Doctor:  You might see some glitches…

A horror anthology is one of the easiest types of films to see as hit or miss.  Not only can some of the segments either be good, bad, or just okay, but the film itself can drag depending on how many short films we are watching and whether or not the connective tissue between each film (if there is any) is effective.  V/H/S suffered from this issue.  Some of the segments were better than others; one segment was straight up terrible, in my eyes; and I really disliked the wraparound material to keep it connected in some fashion.  What is great about V/H/S 2 is how it manages to correct most of these issues.  It is a leaner and meaner experience.  I had less issue with the wraparounds, I enjoyed all the segments, the film does not drag, and the creativity is even more prevalent throughout.  There may still be curiosity regarding why digital camera footage has been put onto V/H/S tapes, but the film is an effective horror experience overall.

‘Man Of Steel’ Strives For Greatness, Settles On Good

Man Of Steel:  3 out of 5

Jonathan Kent:  You just have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, he's going to change the world.

We’ll always have Superman: The Movie.  While Superman has arguably been the most recognizable superhero since his creation in 1938 and has remained a national icon, the 1978 film from Richard Donner seems to be the only time cinema had truly done its best to do him justice, let alone be the film that created the template (still in use) for a majority of superhero movies.  Superman II is a great example as well, though that film is practically the second half of the first, given that it was part of one big story and shot back-to-back with the first film.  For whatever reason, other attempts at a Superman film just cannot seem to do anything else that is interesting with the character, regardless of spectacle, the cast involved, or whoever may be directing or producing.  Man of Steel is the best Superman film since the first two Christopher Reeve films, but it still ends up waving off some of the more interesting ideas in favor of letting us see super fights on an enormous scale and settling for bursts of emotional content, amidst an unfocused story.  As a person who already does not find Superman to be any more fascinating than the story written around him, the potential for this newest iteration to explore the character is downplayed, despite the film still playing out as a visually stimulating experience in the realm of big summer blockbusters.

‘This Is The End’, Though The Laughter Doesn’t Stop

This Is The End:  4 out of 5

Craig Robinson:  We’re actors!  We pretend to be hard, but really, we’re soft as baby s**t!

The apocalypse has been quite a popular topic for film in recent years.  It has also been handled in various forms; from disaster drama (2012, Knowing), to the various zombie films (the upcoming World War Z), to romantic dramas (Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, a film I will continue to go to bat for).  Even the provocative, avant-garde filmmaker Lars von Trier took a stab at the end of the world with Melancholia.  So with the end of the world as such a popular subject for film, why not see it as a broad studio comedy?  This Is The End is a wild joke-fest about the world coming to an end, as well as something akin to The Avengers of comedies, given that it stars many comedic actors all playing versions of themselves in a weird sorta-pseudo-sequel to every Judd Apatow-produced comedy, even though he had nothing to do with this film.  Regardless, This Is The End is a hilarious, no-holds bar, star-filled extravaganza that manages to bury some interesting themes within its very bawdy self.

Out Now with Aaron and Abe: Bonus Episode – 2013 Summer Indie Showcase

This week’s episode of Out Now with Aaron and Abe finds the guys taking a step back from the major theater releases and focusing, instead, on many of the films currently in limited release.  Abe is around for a little fun, but the majority of the episode finds Aaron and guests Adam Gentry and Mark Johnson delving into a good number of films, including Before Midnight, The Place Beyond the Pines, Frances Ha, Mud, and more.  There is a little time for some regular segments, such as “Out Now Quickies”, but this is a different sort of episode, that finds time to mention the smaller films that deserve more attention.

So now, if you’ve got an hour to kill…

 

‘Much Ado About Nothing’, Whedon Addition

Much Ado About Nothing:  3 ½ out of 5

Hero: Nature never framed a woman's heart of prouder stuff than that of Beatrice - disdain and scorn ride sparkling in her eyes.

Writer/director Joss Whedon is in a pretty good place right now.  He is coming off making one of the biggest films ever (The Avengers), which had the bonus pleasure of being pretty universally well-liked, and has essentially elevated from being loved by geek audiences all over to being a filmmaker who has the ability to do whatever he wants.  That’s a bit of an exaggeration, but Whedon has made, of all things, a new adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, simply because he needed a palette cleanser of sorts.  Here’s a film that was made by Whedon, while on vacation from making The Avengers, using his own home in Santa Monica and a cast consisting of many friends/actors he has worked with before.  As a result, the title ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ works as a double meaning for the film overall, as it is entertaining, but slight.  Some may want to make more of a big deal out of it, but I would say even Whedon is just happy with having done something like this, with little thought of it as a big game changer as far as his oeuvre of films is concerned.

Those Precious ‘Kings Of Summer’

The Kings of Summer:  3 ½ out of 5

Joe:  This is the sight of our new house man.
Patrick:  What?  Like a tree house?
Joe:  No, like a real house.

Apparently I have been watching and enjoying a lot of coming-of-age films in recent months (Mud, The Way Way Back), let alone in the past year (Moonrise Kingdom), but I have been quite entertained by each one.  The Kings of Summer joins the ranks as one of these entertaining types of stories, though I would say I am the least warm on it for minor reasons that will surely differ for other viewers.  The film features young and adult actors working well together, exhibiting great chemistry, and making the most out of their comedic and dramatic moments.  It is also a very stylish feature, calling a lot of attention to itself as a film that is very much directed.  I can only wish I got more out of it, but as it stands, The Kings of Summer is another solid picture in limited release, worth checking out as another alternative summer movie option.

Out Now with Aaron and Abe: Bonus Episode – Audio Commentary For Superman: The Movie (Director’s Cut)

Look, up on the web!  It’s a Google search, it’s a YouTube vid…no, it’s a special bonus episode of Out Now with Aaron and Abe.  The guys are joined by Scott Mendelson, Brandon Peters, and Jordan Grout for an audio commentary for the original superhero film, Superman: The Movie (Director’s Cut), starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, and Gene Hackman.  This Richard Donner-directed film set the bar for superhero movies that would follow and everyone is up to the task of discussing the film, its legacy, other superhero films, and more.  As always, feel free to synch up the movie with our recorded commentary or give it a listen on its own, the guys rarely stop talking, it’s their superpower.  

Important Note:  This commentary features both juvenile uses of language and jokes that may be considered un-PC.  We of course are just trying to have a fun time…

So now, if you’ve got an hour to kill…

‘The Internship’ Should Or Could Lead To A Full-Time Comedy

The Internship:  2 ½ out of 5

Nick:  We’re looking at some kind of mental Hunger Games against a bunch of geniuses for just a handful of jobs.

One would have thought that following the box office success of Wedding Crashers, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson would have teamed up again sooner in an effort to ride on top of that momentum.  Especially given that instead of doing a redundant sequel to a film, they have instead come up with a new premise that has some relevance to society today, even if setting the base at Google feels kind of dated, let alone an excuse to promote Google as the greatest thing their ever was.  The Internship is a new comedy from Vaughn and Wilson, but only time will tell (or at least the box office totals this upcoming weekend) whether or not audiences are still looking forward to seeing this duo play around in films together.  Of course, whether or not the film is a solid comedy will also factor in and I can at least say that I had a good time overall, despite various issues.  Maybe jumping into the premise of this movie about new beginnings will reveal more.

‘The Purge’ Left Me Feeling Empty

The Purge:  2 out of 5

James:  Tonight allows people a release…

The Purge is a good example of an interesting premise being overtaken by idiotic characters.  Here’s a thriller that has a killer setup:  all crime is legal for 12 hours a year.  Even if the film is limited in scope and budget, there are a lot of places one could take this idea and find ways to hit upon social commentary in a violent but exciting sort of way.  Unfortunately, The Purge never really delivers on being anything more than a basic home invasion thriller that is not very thrilling.  It wastes away its potential originality by having every character behave in remarkably dumb fashion and squanders the chance to play up its 1%-ers-on-a-rampage angle in a way that is anything more than just an excuse for violence.  I can enjoy a good thriller, but The Purge misses out on capitalizing on a concept of capitalists committing crime.