The King of Comedy

The King of Comedy (1982)

Starring Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard, and Shelley Hack

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Written by Paul D. Zimmerman

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C+

Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver (1976)

Starring Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Peter Boyle, and Cybill Shepherd

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Written by Paul Schrader

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating:  A-

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 - Silence

Silence (2016)

Starring Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Yosuke Kubozuka, Issey Ogata, Tadanobu Asano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Yoshi Oida, and Liam Neeson

Directed by Martin Scorsese

I had heard of the epic boringness of Martin Scorsese's Silence and admittedly was hesitant to watch the nearly 165-minute flick, but the story of two Jesuit priests heading to Japan in the mid-1600s to attempt to spread Christianity was surprisingly gripping and beautifully shot and acted.  Could it have been trimmed a little bit more in order to move things along a tiny bit faster?  Definitely.  However, the film is a refreshingly original look at an aspect of life -- religion -- that is rarely explored in cinema by directors as well known and qualified as Scorsese.

The premise of Silence is very simple -- perhaps too simple for a film of its length -- as we follow two young priests Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Garupe (Adam Driver) on their journey to Japan as they search for Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) who has apparently apostatized (renounced his faith) after horrible torture at the hands of Japanese authorities desperate to eradicate Christianity from their country.  Forced to stay hidden in their search for fear of being caught by the Japanese and the man known as "the Inquisitor" (Issey Ogata) who leads the hunt against Christians, Rodrigues and Garupe secretly administer to the underground Christian community while trying to determine the location of Ferreira.

Scorsese (who directed and co-wrote Silence) has crafted an elegantly gritty period piece, fully realizing the mid-1600s Japanese environment.  Darkened secluded grottos and secret underground basements create a claustrophobic atmosphere that envelops the characters and the audience.  The horror of intense torture isn't sugarcoated making for some intense sequences that add to the seriousness of the journey of Rodrigues and Garupe and make their resolute steadfastness to Christian theology all the more admirable.  [At least it's admirable if you yourself believe in their cause...for others, the mileage may vary.]  While this isn't necessarily an actor-driven piece with any particular stand-outs, Scorsese's ensemble of American and Japanese actors is a very good one, keying in on the pain suffered by the Christians forced to hide their beliefs as well as the driven desire by the non-Christian Japanese to eradicate the religion from their island.

Silence does have a few too many moments of nothingness...a few too many moments of silence perhaps.  While I understand the purposes of these sequences in that they mirror the sequestered nature of the Christians living in Japan, this is still a movie and the momentum of the story is often stunted because of the slower pace.  However, Silence is a film that, in time, I'd like to give another look because these less-pulsing moments may perhaps be more integral to the story than I thought during my initial viewing.  Despite this qualm, Silence is an oftentimes riveting look at an aspect of Christianity that was unknown to me, filmed in a reverent and capable manner.

The RyMickey Rating:  B

Movie Review - The Wolf of Wall Street

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, Kyle Chandler, Rob Reiner, Jean Dujardin, Joanna Lumley, Cristin Milioti, and P.J. Byrne 

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Much has already been said about the language, vulgarity, and loooong running time of The Wolf of Wall Street and I'll readily admit that it's full of f-bombs, various sexual proclivities, and rampant drug use throughout its 179-minute length.  However, I enjoyed the heck out of this one, finding myself constantly smiling at the sheer absurdity of the whole affair and almost being upset that my humdrum life couldn't hold a candle to the chaotic mayhem of Jordan Belfort's.  Granted, Belfort is a womanizing, scheming crook who contains nary a moralistic bone in his body and he's a horrific sleaze of a guy so my notion of trying to vicariously live like him faded really quickly, but thanks to a glorious performance by Leonardo DiCaprio and some vivacious direction from Martin Scorsese, this movie paints a vivid picture of the true story of the infamous stockbroker who duped thousands of people into losing boatloads of money.

While the overarching theme of the film is about the stock market and that aforementioned duping of the public by Belfort, Scorsese and screenwriter Terrence Winter wisely push that aside instead focusing on the wildly outrageous shenanigans of the rich Belfort (played by DiCaprio) and his cohorts as they spend their (well-earned or illegally earned?) dough on quaaludes, cocaine, prostitutes, yachts, extravagant homes, jewelry, flying dwarfs...I could go on and on.  Seeing the world of excess is admittedly at first a little exciting, but we all know that it's too good to be true.  This fantastical world is ripe for a breakdown and that certainly is the case here with Belfort's fall just as engrossing as his rise up the corporate ladder.

Front and center in nearly every scene of the movie is Leonardo DiCaprio, a guy who I've certainly come to appreciate in recent years for his acting prowess.  However, I've never seen him take on a role with such gusto and joie de vivre as he does here with Jordan Belfort.  With the perfect amount of sly charm, self absorption, self-confidence, financial smarts, and sex appeal, DiCaprio gives a performance that is loose, funny, and captivating.

While DiCaprio's Belfort certainly takes center stage, he isn't alone in shining onscreen.  Jonah Hill is quite good as a Long Island nobody whom Belfort grooms into his right hand man.  The jaw-droppingly gorgeous Margot Robbie plays Belfort's second wife and she's a stunning newcomer I can't wait to see more of in the future.  Additionally, Matthew McConaughey makes the most out of a mere ten minute scene as Belfort's first teacher in the stock trade.  He steals the show right off the bat (which DiCaprio then steals back from him) and sets the movie on a great path right from the outset.

All this praise I'm heaping on the film makes it seem as if this one's ripe for an "A" rating.  Well, that's not going to happen and the reason harkens back to that aforementioned running time.  This thing moves along at a fast clip for its first hour and its last hour takes us on a bit of a different journey with Belfort's world beginning to crumble, but that middle hour leaves a bit to be desired.  We've already borne witness to the hedonistic tendencies of Belfort and his crew and this middle act teeters on actually becoming a bit boring -- there's only so much coke snorting you can take.  Perhaps Scorsese was mirroring the excessive nature of Belfort with the excessive running time, but a trimming of maybe thirty minutes would've put this one right in the running for a top three spot of the year for me.  As it stands now, it's a very good film that could've been near perfect, buoyed by the best performance I've seen in 2013 in Mr. DiCaprio.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+

Movie Review - Hugo

Hugo (2011)

Starring Asa Butterfield, Chloe Grace Moretz, Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Emily Mortimer, Christopher Lee, Michael Stuhlbarg, Helen McCrory, Frances de la Tour, Richard Griffiths, and Jude Law

Directed by Martin Scorsese

Perhaps Hugo means a bit more to me, a guy who studied a bit of film in college, than the average viewer, but your ever so humble reviewer found Martin Scorsese's homage to early cinema a visual treat, a fanciful adventure, and a bit of a cinematic film lesson all wrapped into one.  Admittedly, I'm not a Martin Scorsese devotee (I've maybe seen six of his movies and most of those are from the last decade), but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Hugo's whimsical and gentle nature is not a style that would typically be attributed to the much-lauded director.  Still, while Hugo is certainly a film that you can take the whole family to watch, it shouldn't be mistaken for a "kiddie" picture.  Instead, its message about preserving film history for future generations hit a nerve in this filmgoer who already misses the pre-digital days pined over in Hugo in which the actual flickering of a shutter flashed light onto a silver screen in a darkened room.

When young Hugo Cabret's (Asa Butterfield) father passes away, he is sent to live with his uncle in a small "apartment" behind the gears of the giant clock in a huge Parisian train station.  Hugo spends his day fixing and setting the various clocks in the station while also snatching up a few croissants and bottles of milk for a bit of sustenance always being mindful of the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) whose goal in life seems to be snatching up orphaned children and sending them to the dreaded orphanage.  On one afternoon, Hugo attempts to steal a toy from the toy shop in the station run by Georges (Ben Kingsley) only to find himself caught by the grumpy owner who forces Hugo to work for him rather than turn the kid over to the Inspector.  As Georges begins to discover some of Hugo's secrets, Hugo and his new friend, Georges's goddaughter Isabelle (Chloe Grace Moretz), begin to discover a few secrets about Georges as well which explain why he is the curmudgeon that he is.

While appearing to be a simple tale, there's great depth here as (SPOILER ALERT) Georges is discovered to the famous filmmaker Georges Mélies who magically created some of the earliest, yet hugely complex for their time, cinematic tales.  A true visionary, Hugo turns into a beautiful remembrance of this oft-forgotten director (and older cinema in general), with Scorsese giving time onscreen to such classics as Mélies's  Le voyage dans la lune (from 1902) and the 1923 Harold Lloyd-starring Safety Last.  By acknowledging what came before him and embracing the simplicity of those earlier tales while at the same time crafting a completely "modern" tale utilizing beautiful 3D technology and computer effects, Scorsese has made a film with a lovely blend that balances both the past and the present.

Along with some stunning visuals, Scorsese has culled some very nice performances from Chloe Moretz (of Let Me In fame) and Asa Butterfield, the latter of whom uses his wide eyes to convey moments of both heartbreaking sadness and ebullient joy.  Ben Kingsley as the famous director who had to give up his passion is at first a tiny bit off-putting in his sheer grouchiness, but as his tale is slowly unraveled, his character is given much more depth than I ever could have expected at the film's outset.  [There's an extended sequence where Georges details the reasons he was forced to give up filmmaking that is touchingly handled by both Kingsley and Scorsese.]  Sacha Baron Cohen adds an appropriate amount of humor and there are some lovely small supporting turns from Emily Mortimer, Frances de la Tour, and Richard Griffiths whose roles as Parisian train station customers and workers brought a smile to my face.

2011 (or more specifically that final two months of 2011) seems to be a year where films about moviemaking have been given a chance to shine.  From My Week with Marilyn to The Artist, it's been a treat for a film lover.  Hugo is the latest addition to that mix and it's a beautifully crafted film to watch with a charming story to admire as it unfolds.  Time to go and watch some more Mélies...those few college film class viewings weren't nearly enough.

The RyMickey Rating:  A

Movie Review - Shutter Island

Shutter Island (2010)

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo, Emily Mortimer, Michelle Williams, and Patricia Clarkson

Directed by Martin Scorsese

It's the mid 1950s and patient Rachel Solando has disappeared from a psychiatric hospital located on Shutter Island. Two U.S. Marshals are called in to investigate the case. Little do the two marshals know that the island is home to some interesting and perhaps unethical treatments and they may be the hospital's next "experiments."

That summary is pulled directly from my book review of Shutter Island that I posted last year.  The novel was an enjoyable read, but didn't really work as a whole for me.  There were dream sequences that seemed oddly written and characters seemed to simply appear in order to give a clue to the main character, U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (here played by Mr. DiCaprio).

Fortunately, my qualms with the book worked extremely well onscreen thanks, in large part, to some beautiful direction by Martin Scorsese.  Feeling quite old school, Scorsese has crafted big budget "pulp" film.  While those cheaply made film noirs of the 40s and 50s certainly appeared to be made on a miniscule budget (see this as an example), no expense was spared here.  Thanks to some fantastic scenic design by Dante Ferretti, Scorsese proves to be a master behind the camera, crafting some beautiful and ingenious shots that lifted this film way above the average cinematic experience.

While Act Two of the film drags a bit, Act Three proves to be quite engaging...much moreso than the book.  I remember the book feeling like it ended much too quickly, but in the film, I was actually astounded by how Scorsese and screenwriter Laeta Kalogridis allowed the film to play out at a relatively slow pace.  They weren't afraid to explain things, unlike the book which seemed to have a need to bring the tale to an end as quickly as possible.

However, the film isn't perfect.  Leo has an accent that fades in and out which irked me a little bit.  It also seems that Scorsese wanted his actors to "overact" similar to those film noirs of yore, but it seemed a little jarring at times.  My biggest issue -- which would certainly nary be a quibble to most -- is that there were some very poorly edited scenes.  Thelma Schoonmaker is Scorsese's go-to editor, but here there were multiple scenes with inconsistencies.  A raised hand in this shot turns into a lowered hand in the next would be an example.  True, none of these errors affected the story, but they were glaring to me...enough that I'm posting about it here.

Still, overall, this is quite a good film.  A nice homage to cinema of the past.

The RyMickey Rating:  B+