The Devil's Advocate (1997)

A movie that has always intrigued me since it's release was 1997's The Devil's Advocate and I have no idea why it took me 23 years to watch the film. Nevertheless, I needed something to watch for today and Netflix happened to have the film so I chose it for today. The film stars Keanu Reeves (Toy Story 4) as hot shot young Florida defense attorney Kevin Lomax who has an unbelievable track record in Florida as he has never lost a case in his life. That kind of record garners some attention from the big Apple as Kevin is offered a very well paying job to be the new defense attorney at a high law firm with a high end boss. The only problem is that things may not appear to be what they are as Kevin takes the job and it could cost him everything. The film also stars Al Pacino (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as John Milton, Charlize Theron (Mad Max Fury Road) as Mary Ann Lomax,  Jeffrey Jones (Mom and Dad Save The World) as Eddie Barzoon, Judith Ivey (Flags Of Our Fathers) as Alice Lomax, Connie Nielsen (The Hunted) as Christabella Andreoli, Craig T. Nelson (The Family Stone) as Alexander Cullen, Tamara Tunie (As The World Turns) as Mrs. Jackie Heath, Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Shaft) as Leamon Heath, Debra Monk (This Is Where I Leave You) as Pam Garrety, George Wyner (Spaceballs) as Meisel, and the film was directed by Taylor Hackford (Ray).

One of the things that hit me really hard for some reason was the scene when Keanu was struggling to get into Charlize's room at the hospital and she cuts her own throat. For some reason and I don't know why, but it just shocked me and made me sad. If you think about it for a minute, they did their job and that is what was great about this film is that it was the total package. The story was so well written that it had me intrigued from the minute it started to the minute it ended. The twist at the end got me really good because I thought the film was over before that happened and I was like where the hell can they go from here? Let me tell you when you see it, they do not disappoint. The other thing that was great about the film was the strength of the performances which was knocked out of the park by Keanu Reeves and Al Pacino who made a great on screen duo in this film. Then there is everyone else that starred int he film that did an amazing job like Charlize Theron who played the right kind of crazy and even Debra Monk as well. This was an excellent film and I can not believe that it took me this long to watch it. Some of the effects were a little cheesy in some parts, but overall it wasn't that bad. That is why I am going to go ahead and give the film an A for a final grade.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

If there was ever a director that I had a ton of respect for, that distinct honor would go to Quentin Tarantino who has directed some amazing films in his career like Inglorious Basterds, The Hateful Eight, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, and so many more. That is why I jumped at the chance to check out his latest that he also wrote in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio (Inception) as faded Hollywood TV star Rick Dalton who along with his bodyguard Cliff Booth (Academy Award Winner Brad Pitt) are trying to find their place and achieve more fame in an Hollywood whose golden age is starting to fade away in 1969. The film also stars Margot Robbie (Birds Of Prey) as Sharon Tate, Emile Hirsch (Vincent N Roxxy) as Jay Sebring, Timothy Olyphant (Gone In 60 Seconds) as James Stacy, Austin Butler (The Dead Don't Die) as Tex Watson, Dakota Fanning (The Runaways) as Squeaky Fromme, Bruce Dern (Nebraska) as George Spahn, Mike Moh (Inhumans) as Bruce Lee, Luke Perry (Riverdale) as Wayne Maunder, Damian Lewis (Dreamcatcher) as Steve McQueen, Al Pacino (The Irishman) as Marvin Schwarz, Samantha Robinson (The Love Witch) as Abigail Folger, Damon Herriman (Justified) as Charlie, Lena Dunham (Girls) as Gypsy,  Victoria Pedretti (The Haunting Of Hill House) as Lulu, James Landry Hébert (Gangster Squad) as Clem, and Kurt Russell and Zoë Bell (Death Proof) as Randy and Janet Miller.

That list of actors doesn't even put a dent on how many actors, long lost actors, and really good actors were in this film like Scoot McNairy, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Danielle Harris, James Remar, Lew Temple, Rebecca Gayheart, Martin Kove, Clu Gulager, Rumer Willis, Clifton Collins Jr., Harley Quinn Smith, Nicholas Hammond, and so many more. I know a lot of people complained about the pace of the film, but I have to be honest in saying that you know what to expect from a Tarantino film. One is that it's always going to be slow paced and it's going to feature a lot of dialogue included in it usually. So, once you know those things, his films are actually quite enjoyable and you have to appreciate what he brought to the table with this film. The sets alone in this film are absolutely amazing and the way it's presented to you is fantastic. Part of me felt like I was watching a special from 1969 mixed with what was going on. While I loved what DiCaprio brought to the film, the real MVP in my opinion was Brad Pitt and deservedly so considering he won the Oscar for best supporting actor for his part in this film. He carried the film and he had all of the best lines and scenes. The film is kind of a slow burn for the final battle scene at the end that makes the wait very worth it especially if you love Brad Pitt. While I didn't care for the change in the history of what happened, I also didn't mind it either. That is why I am going to give the film an A+ for a final grade because it was awesome. The Bruce Lee scene is controversial (in a way), but it was also funny at the same time.

The Irishman (2019)

If there was ever one film that everyone was talking about then it was definitely 2019's The Irishman which was directed by Martin Scorcese (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as he reunites with Robert De Niro (The Score) and Joe Pesci (Raging Bull) for the first time since 1995's Casino. The film stars De Niro as aging hitman Frank Sheeran who has to try and balance his loyalty towards the mafia and to his friend and boss Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) through the 1950's until Hoffa's disappearance in the 1970's. Sit back and relax as Frank tells you the tale of having both a privileged and dangerous life that came with its consequences. The film also stars Pesci as Russell Bufalino, Harvey Keitel (Pulp Fiction) as Angelo Bruno, Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Bill Bufalino, Bobby Cannavale (Boardwalk Empire) as Skinny Razor, Anna Paquin (X-Men) as Peggy Sheeran, Stephen Graham (Boardwalk Empire) as Anthony 'Tony Pro' Provenzano, Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire) as Robert Kennedy, Jesse Plemons (Game Night) as Chuckie O'Brien, Paul Herman (Silver Linings Playbook) as Whispers DiTullio, Louis Cancelmi (21 Bridges) as Sally Bugs, Sebastian Maniscalco (The House) as Crazy Joe Gallo, Steven Van Zandt (The Sopranos) as Jerry Vale, and Stephanie Kurtzuba (The Wolf Of Wall Street) as Irene Sheeran.

There are a few things you have to be willing to do in order to watch this film and one of those is that you have to be willing to devote three hours of your life to this film because it goes for that long. It's a really good story and it's well acted if you give those three hours of your life to it. The other thing you have to do is that you have to get used to the fact that they used CGI to make everyone younger, but the fact of the matter is that Robert De Niro had no business trying to beat the crap out of a guy during the film. What I mean by that is that he looked like a guy in maybe his 40's with the CGI who fought like an 80 year old man with bad hips. Once you can get passed that then it's an excellent film and one of the other things I liked is when they introduced a character that was minor or major, there was always stats that told you when they bit the bullet. I thought that was a little different, but the film is very much a 21ST century version of Goodfellas with the narration and so on. I have to say that I think Al Pacino was on top of his game as he played Jimmy Hoffa with conviction. He sort of made Jimmy a loveable and hateable character in the idea that you can see why the mob wanted to get rid of him, but you could also see why people loved him as well. I definitely am taking into consideration that how they explained his death in this film is probably what really happened. How else could he have disappeared for this long? I definitely think it's worth at least one watch which is why I am giving the film an B+ and I just wanted to say that I loved Stephen Graham in this film.