Raging Bull

Origin: U.S (Chartoff-Winkler Productions) 1980
Length: 129 minutes
Format: BW/Technicolor
Director: Martin Scorsese
Producer: Robert Chartoff, Irwin Winkler
Screenplay: Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin, from book by Jake La Motta, Joseph Carter, Peter Savage
Photography: Michael Chapman
Music: Pietro Mascagni
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto, Theresa Saldana, Mario Gallo, Frank Adonis, Joseph Bono, Frank Topham, Lori Anne Flax, Charles Scorsese, Don Dunphy, Bill Hanrahan, Rita Bennett
Oscars: Robert De Niro(actor), Thelma Schoonmaker(editing)
Oscar Nominations: Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff(best picture), Martin Scorsese(director), Joe Pesci(actor in support role), Cathy Moriarty(actress in support role), Michael Chapman(photography), Donald O. Mitchell, Bill Nicholson, David J. Kimball, Les Lazarowitz(sound)
Links: Raging Bull Wiki, Raging Bull Trailer, Jake LaMotta Wiki

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This boxing biopic was a personal project for actor Robert De Niro, who discovered the as-told-to autobiography of former middleweight champion Jake La Motta and persuaded director Martin Scorsese and writer Paul Schrader, his Taxi Driver collaborators, to commit to the intense, apparently unpromising material. With the Rocky movies - ironically also produced by Irwin Winkler and Robert Chartoff - celebrating the ring underdog who survives and triumphs standing as the most successful sports saga of all time, Raging Bull dares to deal with the anti-Rocky, a hungry contender who winds up a bloated has-been without really learning anything along the way, or finding satisfaction in his achievements.

Raging Bull has garnered a high critical reputation and is now widely regarded as one of the greatest movies ever made along with Scorsese and De Niro's other famed collaboration from that era, Taxi Driver(1976). It is one of five films that has been named to the National Film Registry in its first year of eligibility( along with Do The Right Thing, Taxi Driver, Toy Story and Fargo).

Taxi Driver (Matt)

I went into this movie with high expectations. I mean, it's "Taxi Driver", most everyone has at least heard of this movie. Just look at the film credits: Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, and look at the oscar nominations: best picture, best actor, best actress in a supporting role, music. Woah, this movie was bound to be a home run. How could it possibly go wrong?

I didn't like it. The acting was great but the story just wasn't enough to keep me interested. It seemed to just be a movie about a guy with issues who winds up taking them too far. I think I was too detached from De Niro's character to build up much of an emotional response to what I was seeing on screen. I don't mean that De Niro's acting wasn't great, because it was, just that the story wasn't sufficent to pull me in.

The music in this film was also a bit off-putting to me. Every time that sax riff would play it would jerk me out of the film, and it just didn't seem to fit to me.

Basically, this movie felt to me like it was an action movie that only had about 5 minutes of actual action. Everything else was just buildup to that moment. I think I would have liked it better had that action been a bit larger in scale but as it was it felt a bit anti-climactic (did I spell that right?).

I give it 4 awkward advice scenes out of 10.

~Matt

Taxi Driver(John)

Well, this was my kind of movie. For some reason, I am drawn to the film noir and psycho killer movies. American Psycho is one of my favorite movies. I can see where that film took a lot from Taxi Driver.

So, Robert De Niro was amazing in this movie. You could just see the transition that was taking place in his mind throughout the movie. He made me feel like I was watching a true lonely insomniac try to function in society. He had a hard time expressing things to other people and I could see the exhaustion in his eyes. The other cast complimented him well, but overall they mostly felt like set pieces for De Niro's performance.

The music was very noir-ish throughout the movie. But, there were other pieces added in that gave you the erratic feeling that let you know that this is no ordinary noir film. I loved the voice over narration that is typical with noir films.

The world of New York hasn't looked more gritty. The film definitely showed the darker side of New York. Prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, dirty government officials, you name it. It was all conveyed perfectly I thought.

Overall I really liked the movie. It was a little confusing at times, but I think that was the point. De Niro was excellent but I felt that the other cast members were only there to compliment him. I would've liked to know more about the young girl and even Harvey Kietel's character. But I realize that wasn't the point of the film so I'm okay with it.

I'm giving Taxi Driver an 8.5 out of 10.

Taxi Driver

Origin: U.S (Bill/Phillips, Columbia, Italo/Judeo) 1976
Length: 113 minutes
Format: Metrocolor
Director: Martin Scorsese
Producer: Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips
Screenplay: Paul Schrader
Photography: Michael Chapman
Music: Bernard Herrmann
Cast: Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepard, Peter Boyle, Jodie Foster, Harvey Keitel, Leonard Harris, Albert Brooks, Diahnne Abbott, Frank Adu, Victor Argo, Gino Ardito, Garth Avery, Harry Cohn, Copper Cunningham, Brenda Dickson-Weinberg
Oscar Nominations: Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips(best picture), Robert De Niro(actor), Jodie Foster(actress in support role), Bernard Herrmann(music)
Cannes Film Festival: Martin Scorsese(Golden Palm)
Links: Taxi Driver Wiki, Taxi Driver Trailer

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"Some day a real rain will come and wash all this scum off the street." So mutters tormented taxi driver malcontent Travis Bickle, played with maximum intensity by Robert De Niro in the first of his lauded lead turns for Martin Scorsese. Bickle's job shuttling back and forth across New York City - "anytime, anywhere", he boasts - provides him an insomniac's view of the city's underbelly, all those things on dark backstreets that most people never witness. But he's become so inured to the world around him that he feels numb, invisible, and ultimately impotent.
Yet Bickle is not so much outraged at the signs of social and physical decay around him as he is frustrated that he no longer knows anything else. He's also conflicted, attracted to the very things he purports to despise. Sick of himself and what he sees, he embarks on a final, desperate quest to reintegrate himself into society. "I don't believe that one should devote his life to morbid self-attention," he says, "I believe that one should become a person like other people." But in Paul Schrader's bleak, hell-on-earth script, there's no way out. Bickle is already too far gone.

The Outlaw Josey Wales (Matt)

This movie is my father-in-law's favorite movie, and he really likes the western genre so I was excited to get a chance to watch this film. I have not seen many westerns, my experience with them has been limited mostly to the newer ones such as Appaloosa and Open Range. I've also seen a few of the Man with No Name movies, but that's it. Believe it or not, I've never seen a movie starring John Wayne. I have no excuses.

Clint Eastwood is, to me, the face of the western genre. When I think of a cowboy riding into town with gun belts strapped to his waist or herding cows across prairies it's him that I see, and in this movie he did not let that image down. Josey Wales was not a mean guy. He chose a peaceful life for himself but the war and the men caught up in it decided that wasn't the life that he was meant for. In the first 5 to 10 minutes his house is burned to the ground and his wife and son are murdered. What follows is a nice fellow pushed to the brink. He is branded an outlaw and hunted by both the law and bounty hunters, and he always stays one step ahead of them.

Watching this movie, anytime Joesy was ambushed I would get excited. I would start trying to figure out how he was going to get out of this one. Of course he always does manage to get out of it, and I was always delighted with the carnage that ensued.

On top of all the action there was a lot of comedy thrown in, Josey's habit of spitting tobacco was always enjoyable. Anytime he said a line after a pause in dialogue he would spit, and if there was anything dead or alive nearby, it was getting spit on. It doesn't sound here as funny as it actually is, you'll see what I mean if you watch this movie.

The old indian, Lone Watie, played by Chief Dan George, was wonderful. He was always either making you laugh or making you think. I want to see more of him, and I intend to do so. In the following clip you can see him in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHvtKL28uL8&feature=PlayList&p=3C5A38D203C5578F&index=0

If you haven't seen this movie then do yourself a favor and go watch it. Right now.

You are still here, go. It's waiting for you.

Seriously.

9 spittoon dings out of 10.

~Matt

The Outlaw Josey Wales(John)

I'm glad I finally got to watch all of this movie. My dad is a huge western fan and I've seen bits and pieces of this film throughout my life but had never taken the time to watch it. It was excellent.

First and foremost is Clint Eastwood. He is the definition of western(beside John Wayne, of course). And the fact that this movie is considered one of the best western films ever lends credit to Eastwood's directing prowess as well. The movie kept me interested throughout. I love revenge stories and this one did not disappoint. There were humorous moments in the film as well. The old Indian does an awesome job of providing comic relief. And I was eagerly anticipating the next time Josey Wales would spit on something. It was also nice to see regulars from other Eastwood films such as his ex-wife and the biker dude from Any Which Way But Loose.

The scenery was your typical western motif. Deserts, ghost towns and Indians fleshed out the world. I liked how there was really no flashy costumes that are typical in some westerns. This film definitely tried to keep a "real" tone. There was plenty of gore and the action sequences were well played out.

The music was very good as well. The score was very bombastic during the action sequences. And some parts were kinda reminiscent of the Man With No Name series of films.

I can safely say I loved this movie. I can't think of one thing I didn't like about the movie. It's probably been my favorite since the start of this "endeavor". It may be because I basically grew up watching parts of the movie, or because I'm a big Clint Eastwood film. Either way, I have to give this one a 9.5 out of 10.

- John Murphy

The Outlaw Josey Wales

Origin: U.S (Malpaso) 1976
Length: 135 minutes
Format: Color
Director: Clint Eastwood
Producer: Robert Daley
Screenplay: Sonia Chernus, Phillip Kaufman, from the novel Gone to Texas by Forrest Carter
Photography: Bruce Surtees
Music: Jerry Fielding
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Chief Dan George, Sondra Locke, Bill McKinney, John Vernon, Paula Trueman, Sam Bottoms, Geraldine Keams, Woodrow Parfrey, Joyce Jameson, Sheb Wooley, Royal Dano, Matt Clark, John Verros, Will Sampson
Oscar Nominations: Jerry Fielding(music)
Links: Outlaw Josey Wales Wiki, Forrest Carter Wiki

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A truly great Western, and probably director-star Clint Eastwood's all-round best picture. Josey Wales is the typical Eastwood character-a scarred, vengeance crazed, super skilled die-hard gunman who refuses to surrender after the Civil War is over and heads for Texas with hordes of scurvy bounty killers on his trail. Though the film racks up a genocidal body count as Josey guns down assorted human filth, it develops a surprising warm streak as the grim hero gradually loses his loner status by collecting a retinue of waifs and strays who finally form a community in the West that enables him to set aside his guns and settle down.

The movie Unforgiven(1992) is considered a despairing thematic sequal to this film.

In 1996, this film was placed in the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry.

This film is considered by many enthusiasts to be one of the greatest westerns ever made, including Johnny Carson and Eastwood himself, who has been quoted as saying that "The Outlaw Josey Wales" is his favorite of all the movies he has made.

Atonement (Matt)

I did not really know what to expect going into this film. My only exposure to the movie up to the point when I watched it was the trailer. As far as the story was concerned however, I was clueless. I had decided that this was going to be a love story with a little bit of action thrown in for the benefit of the dudes who were dragged by a significant other into the film against their wishes. I dismissed it as cliche and had this movie not been this week's choice, I would never have seen it.

I now realize that I should not be so quick to judge. This movie was excellent.

The acting I felt was great. I try to judge acting by asking myself if at any time realized I was watching people pretend to be the characters instead of watching the characters in a story and the answer to that question was a big no. I was never taken out of the story. I was pulling for the couple to succeed. I shared in their anger at the younger sister who's lie destroyed their lives. My emotions ran all over the place with this movie, and I think that is a pretty solid mark of a good movie.

There were a few places however where I found myself struggling to keep up with what was going on. The movie likes to throw in flashbacks without warning, and this can cause the viewer to get confused as to what they are watching. I found myself more than once trying to decide if what I was watching happened in the past or was in the future.

There were some very long shots in this movie, one in particular occurs when Robbie arrives at the sea. I wish I had timed the scene, it felt like it lasted 10 minutes. It had a great effect also, making the scene into one long shot increased uneasiness and helped me to experience the feeling of loss that the character was going through.

So yeah, my initial impressions were wrong. I now know better than to judge a movie by its trailer. I'll give this movie 8 sets of runaway twins out of 10.

~Matt

Atonement(John)

Atonement was not at all what I expected it to be. I thought it was going to be a sappy love story. That was not the case at all. The story is really more about the consequences of the character's actions and how they atone for their transgressions. The love elements serve as something that audiences can relate to. There were numerous flashbacks and hallucination scenes. It was a little confusing at first, but once I saw what they were trying to do, I was good to go.
The characters were interesting for the most part. I really liked young Brilley until she turned on Robbie. And Robbie was definitely an interesting character. Here's a guy who was born a servant and has a very good education. But he's still looked upon as a servant in some ways. And the stuff that happens to him in the movie were both tragic and sad. I didn't think Keira Knightly was pretty in this film. I think it was the hair. But, she did a good acting job.
The musical score and cinematography were both amazing. The setting for the film couldn't have been better. The typewriter pieces within the score gave a sense of urgency that let you know that Brilley was up to something.
I definitely didn't think I would like this film but it surprised me. I'll give it an 8 out of 10.
- John Murphy