Mean Streets (1973)

I am always looking to catch some classic films to kind of learn where some actors and directors have come from and how they got to be where they are. I had never really seen a lot of Martin Scorcese's (The Irishman) early films so when I saw that Netflix had the 1973 film Mean Streets I had to check it out for today. The film stars Harvey Keitel (Thelma & Louise) as Charlie, an up and coming wannabe mob guy who will do anything to please his Uncle and get himself some street credit. All of that is put to the test for Charlie when things start going south due to friends who can't seem to keep their heads on straight and relationships that he is embarrassed to address in front of anyone. The film also stars Robert De Niro (Hands Of Stone) as Johnny Boy, David Proval (The Shawshank Redemption) as Tony, Amy Robinson (From Hell) as Teresa, Richard Romanus (Point Of No Return) as Michael, Cesare Danova (National Lampoon's Animal House) as Giovanni, Victor Argo (King Of New York) as Mario, George Memmoli (Phantom Of The Paradise) as Joey,  Jeannie Bell (TNT Jackson) as Diane, David Carradine (Kill Bill Vol. 1) as Drunk, and Robert Carradine (Mom Got A Date With A Vampire) as Boy With Gun.

The film felt like it was a journey in the life of low level wannabe gangsters and the shenanigans that they do while trying to build some cred. I have seen Robert De Niro at just about every level of the gangster tier and he definitely does not disappoint as the irresponsible Johnny Boy who likes to borrow money without paying it back to everyone so he puts Charlie in a real bind. It was also a film that I had a real hard time figuring out who was in charge in this film the whole time because it seemed like different guys took charge in different scenes so the hierarchy was a little messed up. Scorcese once again shows his love for The Rolling Stones in this film, but instead of using the usual track, we hear Jumpin Jack Flash in this film which was a nice change from the usual. I'd be interested to see how many Scorcese films actually featuring Rolling Stones tracks, but we could always do that some other time when I actually care enough to keep track. I loved the cinematography because you can sort of see Scorcese's signature all over this film and for the most part the acting was really well done. Keitel was of course very good in the film and David Proval was great as well, but in second place behind De Niro was definitely Richard Romanus who I kept thinking was hi brother Robert Romanus from Fast Times At Ridgemont High. A lot of cool actors seemed to get their start here, but like I said it was a decent film that I think is worth checking out if you are a fan of Scorcese. So, I am going to give the movie an B+ for a final grade.

Thelma & Louise (1991)

With this challenge, I am trying to knock off some titles off of my list that were critically acclaimed films that I never bothered to watch, but I know the iconic scenes. You are going to notice on this blog that there are a lot of those. One of those films on my list was on courtesy of HULU and that was 1991's Thelma & Louise which was directed by Ridley Scott (Blade Runner). The film stars Susan Sarandon (The Witches Of Eastwick) as Louise and Geena Davis (Tootsie) as Thelma, a couple of girlfriends who decide one weekend that they want to get away from it all to do some fishing and hang out. Those plans come to a screeching halt when Louise murders a man who tried to rape Thelma and now the two are on the run from the cops as they try to make it to Mexico. The film also stars Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore) as Darryl, Michael Madsen (Once Upon A Time In Mexico) as Jimmy, Harvey Keitel (Isle Of Dogs) as Hal, Stephen Tobolowsky (Groundhog Day) as Max, Brad Pitt (Once Upon A Time In Hollywood) as J.D.,  Timothy Carhart (Black Sheep) as Harlan, Lucinda Jenney (Thinner) as Lena, the waitress, Sonny Carl Davis (Fast Times At Ridgemont High) as Albert, and Ken Swofford (The Andromeda Strain) as Major.

This is another film that I waited too long to watch and one of the striking things about this film is that screenwriting. Callie Khouri who is a writer for Nashville among other things gets full credit for the terrific job she did on the film. She set up all the right events like the hook which was Harlan getting shot and then all of the turning points and subplots were just so fluid and the characters she created were awesome from Pitt's appearance as J.D. which was fantastic. This was when Pitt was in his crazy character phase like Kalifornia, etc. and that is essentially why we love Brad Pitt because he's awesome. Sarandon and Davis really carry the ball all the way through this film and to be honest they do not drop it at all. David and Sarandon were amazing with Sarandon having a slight edge even though Davis has some bad ass scenes too. One of my favorite things about this film because it is just as much a driving movie as much as it is a crime drama is that the cinematography is absolutely amazing especially when they get to Arizona. There is some beautiful shots of those beautiful and unique mountains that you can picture when you think of The Grand Canyon and Arizona. It's almost it's own character as they drive across the south and we feel we are on the trip with them. One of the things that bugged me is the scene when they cops are arriving to Darryl's house and it looks like it;'s raining on one side and not the other but you can clearly tell some of it is hoses. Other than that, this is a definitely a film worth checking out especially for the famous hand holding car scene at the end. That is why I am giving the film an A- for a final grade.

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.