House of Gucci

 House of Gucci (2021)

Starring Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, Al Pacino, Jared Leto, and Jeremy Irons

Directed by Ridley Scott

Written by Becky Johnston and Roberto Bentivegna

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  C+

Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy (1990)

Starring Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, Al Pacino, Madonna, Glenne Headly, Dustin Hoffman, William Forsythe, Mandy Patinkin, Charles Durning, Paul Sorvino, and Dick Van Dyke

Directed by Warren Beatty

Written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps, Jr.

Click here for my Letterboxd review

Click here for my original RyMickey Rambling review

The RyMickey Rating: B+

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood (2019)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Luke Perry, and Al Pacino

Directed by Quentin Tarantino

Written by Quentin Tarantino

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  D

The Irishman

The Irishman (2019)
Starring Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Ray Romano, Bobby Cannavale, Anna Paquin, Stephen Graham, Harvey Keitel, and Jesse Plemons
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Written by Steven Zaillian

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - Danny Collins

Danny Collins (2015)

Starring Al Pacino, Annette Bening, Jennifer Garner, Bobby Cannavale, and Christopher Plummer

Directed by Dan Fogelman
***This movie is currently streaming on Amazon Prime***

I hold absolutely no affinity towards Al Pacino, so I wasn't exactly jumping to see Danny Collins when it was released last spring.  Much to my surprise, this is one of those hidden gems that I love to uncover while making my way through a year's films.  Pacino is the title character, an aging rock star who still is living the wild lifestyle well into his golden years.  When his manager Frank (Christopher Plummer) surprises Danny with a personal letter from John Lennon that had been missing for decades, Danny suddenly has a change of heart thanks to Lennon's words.  He decides to clean himself up, stop his lucrative touring, and head to New Jersey to meet his estranged adult son Tom (Bobby Cannavale) for the first time.  Tom isn't exactly jumping at the chance to help Danny find peace with himself seeing as how he'd never met the man, but with the urging of his wife (Jennifer Garner) Tom begins to see that Danny may be a changed man.

Cliché?  You bet.  But writer-director Dan Fogelman (who also wrote the stellar Crazy Stupid Love and Tangled) has crafted such witty wordplay spouted by surprisingly well-rounded and gosh-darn likable characters that you can't help but have a smile on your face as you watch this.  Pacino is hugely entertaining bringing a cocky suaveness to Danny, but never taking him over the edge into prickishness.  Bobby Cannavale brings a surprising amount of heart to the film as his story gradually is revealed to be a bit more layered than initially believed.  Pacino and Cannavale share the film's final scene and it's so brilliantly and simplistically written by Fogelman that it will surely end up on my Top Scenes of the Year list.

Perhaps the best part of Danny Collins, though, is the witty repartee that occurs between Danny and the manager of the Hilton Hotel he's staying in while in New Jersey.  As Mary Sinclair, Annette Bening is irresistibly charming, yet resolute when standing her ground against Danny who has a slightly egotistical attitude in his air when he initially arrives.  As Mary and Danny banter back and forth, the chemistry between Pacino and Bening is palpable and extremely entertaining to watch.  While we viewers certainly have an idea of where this character duo may be heading, Fogelman doesn't necessarily take us down the expected path which was a pleasure to discover.  The cast is a huge key to the success of Danny Collins who take what may be a typical dramedy (with some admittedly clever dialog) and transform it into something more magical than could be expected.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Dick Tracy

Dick Tracy (1990)

Starring Warren Beatty, Charlie Korsmo, Glenne Headley, Al Pacino, and Madonna 

with cameo appearances by Dustin Hoffman, Kathy Bates, Paul Sorvino, James Caan, and Dick van Dyke

Directed by Warren Beatty

Seems like I'm on a streak of childhood memories here, so why not continue with Warren Beatty's 1990 rendition of Dick Tracy.  Utilizing some rather unique comic book flavored art direction, bright and bold costumes, and killer make-up, Beatty has created a retro-looking 1930s comic book on the big screen.  It's unfortunate that the story lags a little bit, lacking the punch and drive one would have liked to really propel this comic gangster storyline.

Things aren't faring so well in Dick Tracy's big city.  Tracy (Warren Beatty) is the town's best police detective, but he's run into some trouble with the city's big crime bosses led by the eccentric Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino).  When Caprice takes over the Club Ritz, turning into his crime headquarters, Tracy knows there's something awry, but can't quite catch the crooks in the act.  When Tracy tries to convince the club's singer, Breathless Mahoney (Madonna), to squeal on her boss, he gets more than he bargained for with the sultry chanteuse creating a rift between him and his longtime girlfriend Tess (Glenne Headley).

Everything in Dick Tracy is over the top and it's certainly meant to be that way.  Because Beatty pushes everything to the limit, the film's overall "fake" aesthetic works.  Whether it be the outrageous Academy Award-winning make-up or the obviously fake painted backdrops, the visuals here are oftentimes stunning (the film also won an Oscar for Art Direction).  Bold usage of bright colors and nifty camera angles fill the screen with great images.

Unfortunately, the film gets bogged down a bit too much by a slightly convoluted storyline involving the mobster scene and it ends up running about twenty minutes too long.  The flick moves along at a brisk pace for about 45 minutes at which point I can't help but think it began to flounder about feeling the need to simply pad the running time.  A bit better job at editing would have made this movie a true classic.

As it stands now, it's a perfectly adequate comic book movie with some very good performances.  Beatty is slightly wooden as Dick Tracy, but I think that's the point.  Tracy is the upright and straight shooter amidst the world of the crazy mobsters, which includes a zany performance from Al Pacino and a great cameo from Dustin Hoffman as a mumbling goon.  Madonna also fares quite well here and has the opportunity to belt out some sexy songs written by Stephen Sondheim (one of which rounded out this film's trio of Academy Award wins).

Overall, Dick Tracy is worth a watch if you've never seen it before.  And it's a film I wouldn't mind watching again a couple of years in the future.  It's one of those that while I might not seek out, I'd certainly watch it if it popped up on tv.

The RyMickey Rating:  B