Movie 22 of 2008: Donny Brasco

Movie Description:

In the late 1970s, FBI agent Joe Pistone (Depp) is assigned to infiltrate a New York City mafia family. Calling himself Donnie Brasco, and posing as a diamond expert, he befriends Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is in tatters, and Dominick Napolitano (Michael Madsen). Lefty can't seem to make any money, his son is a junkie, and he is continually passed over for promotion to a higher position within the Family. He continually reminds Brasco of his growing disillusionment about having spent 30 years in the mafia (and killing 26 people), with little to show for it. In Donnie, however, Lefty sees a young protégé who might be able to succeed where he had failed. He takes Donnie under his wing, and under Lefty's tutelage Donnie quickly becomes accepted by the other Family members, although he is never elevated above the rank of "associate" member (the lowest mafia rank). But the longer Pistone plays the role of a gangster, the more he finds himself actually becoming Donnie Brasco during his rare off duty hours. His change in personality drives a wedge between him and his wife (played by Anne Heche) and three children. Over time, Pistone comes to realize that the slightest mistake in his performance as a mobster could result in the death of him and his family. In addition, Joe Pistone has come to regard Lefty as a close and trusted friend. He knows that when the day finally comes that the FBI arrests his mob associates, he will be ending Lefty's life as surely as if he himself had killed him.

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My Opinion:

This was one of the few Johnny Depp movies I hadn't seen yet, but I now have. It's definitely not one of my fave Depp movies, but I did enjoy it. Al Pacino is also a fabulous actor (especially in THE DEVIL'S ADVOCATE) so that helped make the movie a winner as well. I'll probably re-watch this one someday though as I was kinda drifting in and out towards the end.

Movie 21 of 2008: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Movie Description:

Sweeney Todd is a villain/anti-hero appearing in various English language works starting in the mid-19th century as a barber and an early example of a serial killer. His weapon is a cut-throat razor (or "straight razor" in American English), with which he slits his victims' throats. In some versions of the story, Mrs. Lovett, who is his partner in crime and variously his friend or lover (and whose first name is variously Marjorie, Sarah, Nellie, Shirley or Claudette) hides the crimes by butchering the corpses of Todd's victims, baking their flesh into meat pies, and selling them to unknowing customers. His wife, Lucy Barker, is a woman so contested that it caused him to be exiled for life and fuel his vengeance. He is also assisted by an unwitting apprentice lad named Tobias Ragg, who later aids in unmasking his crimes. In most recent versions of the story, Sweeney either helps or hinders (sometimes both) the love affair of a young woman, Johanna Barker, and a sailor named Mark Ingesterie or more commonly known as Anthony Hope. In the musical stage production and 2007 film, Johanna is Todd's daughter Johanna Barker.

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My Opinion:

This was actually my 2nd viewing of this movie as I originally saw this at the theater back in December the week it came out. I enjoyed this movie a lot! Granted... I'm a bit biased as I'm a fairly huge fan of both Johnny Depp and Tim Burton and when they work together on a film the outcome is always amazing! The songs in this movie are fabulous and I ended up ordering the soundtrack the day after I saw this movie the first time. I don't know if I should've laughed so much during this movie considering the theme, but I found several things about the movie to be quite amusing... even the way the blood splattered. LOL!!! Maybe I'm a bit sick & twisted... who knows!

Movie 20 of 2008: L.A. Confidential

Movie Description:

L.A. Confidential is a 1997 feature film based on the 1990 crime fiction novel of the same title by James Ellroy, the third in his L.A. Quartet novel cycle. Both book and film tell the story about a group of Los Angeles police in the 1950s, and police corruption bumping up against Hollywood celebrity. The film adaptation was produced and directed by Curtis Hanson and co-written by Brian Helgeland and Hanson. At the time, both Australian actors Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce were relative unknowns in North America and one of the film’s backers, Arnon Milchan was worried about the lack of movie stars in the lead roles. However, he supported Hanson’s casting decisions and this gave the director the confidence to approach Kim Basinger, Danny DeVito and Kevin Spacey. When Hanson gave Spacey the script, he told him to think of Dean Martin while in the role.

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My Opinion:

I honestly didn’t focus on this movie as much as I probably should’ve when watching it so I can’t give a full opinion of this. I did enjoy it, but I didn’t keep up with the movie enough to get a true idea of what all happened in it. LOL!!! Maybe I’ll watch it again one day.

Movie 19 of 2008: 21

Movie Description:

Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) is an MIT student who – needing to pay school tuition – finds answers in counting cards. In his non-linear equations class, he amazes his professor, Mickey Rosa, by correctly understanding variable change and correctly solving the Monty Hall Problem. As a superior math and statistics student, he is recruited to join a group of mathematically-gifted students that heads to Las Vegas every weekend with fake identities and the know-how to turn the odds at blackjack in their favor. Unorthodox math professor Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey) leads the way. By counting cards and employing an intricate system of signs and signals, the team can beat the casinos. Drawn by the money, the Vegas lifestyle, and his teammate, Jill Taylor (Kate Bosworth), Ben begins to push the limits. Though counting cards isn’t illegal, the stakes are high, and the challenge becomes not only keeping the numbers straight, but staying one step ahead of the casinos’ menacing enforcer, Cole Williams (Laurence Fishburne).

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My Opinion:

I went to see this not realizing until it started that this movie is based on the book, BRINGING DOWN THE HOUSE by Ben Mezrich. (see below for cover art of original book) I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and thought that all of the actors/actresses did a fabulous job. The plotline was extremely interesting with the whole "counting cards" thing as I was finding myself trying to remember all the methods that they were using. Ha ha!!! I’ve never played BlackJack in a casino, nor will I ever most likely, but it still was intriguing to me. Typically I won’t read a book once I’ve seen the movie of it as it kind of ruins it for me, but I am curious to see how much more there was to the book considering how much I enjoyed the movie. I highly recommend to anyone looking for a comedy/action movie.

Movie 18 of 2008: The Break-Up

Movie Description:

In Chicago, the art dealer Brooke Meyers feels not appreciated and neglected by her immature husband Gary Grobowski, who is partner of his two brothers in a tourism business, and decides to break-up with him to make Gary misses her. Gary misunderstands her true intention, both follows the wrong advices of family members and friends, beginning a war of sexes with no winner.

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My Opinion:

I just stumbled across this movie at the rental store and since I typically like Vince Vaughn I decided to rent it. Unfortunately, I didn't care much for the movie. It had some funny moments, but overall the movie was fairly boring. If you really want a romantic comedy to watch, check it out, but if you're wanting lots of romance or lots of comedy... this isn't going to be either of those. It's mild in both categories, but I don't know what else to classify it as besides a romantic comedy because it's not quite serious enough to be labelled a "drama".

Movie 17 of 2008: Beetle Juice

Movie Description:

Beetlejuice: Thanks to the carelessness of a cute little dog, newlyweds Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin are killed in a freak auto accident. Upon arriving in the outer offices of Heaven, the couple finds that, thanks to a century's worth of bureaucratic red tape, they're on a long celestial waiting list. Before they can earn their wings, Davis and Baldwin must occupy their old house as ghosts for the next fifty years. Alas, the house is now owned by insufferable yuppies Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones. Horrified at the prospect of sharing space with these obnoxious interlopers, Davis and Baldwin do their best to scare O'Hara and Jones away, but their house-haunting skills are pathetic at best. In desperation, the ghostly couple engage the services of a veteran scaremeister: a yellow-haired, snaggle-toothed, profane, flatulent "gonzo" spirit named Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton). The problem: Beetlejuice cannot be trusted-especially when he falls in love with O'Hara and Jones' gloomy, black-clad teenaged daughter Winona Ryder. Beetlejuice producer David Geffen, director Tim Burton, and composer Danny Elfman were also involved in an animated TV-series spin-off.

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My Opinion:

This actually wasn't my first viewing of Beetle Juice. I remember going to the theater with my friend, Missy, to see this when it first came out back in '88. I believe this was the night I stayed overnight and we didn't go to bed at all, but I remember the movie creeping me out back then so that could be part of the reason I didn't sleep. LOL!!! Re-watching this movie was a blast from the past and I really enjoyed it. As I said in my post earlier today about Ed Wood, I really love Tim Burton's movies. I have a feeling I'm going to be watching and/or re-watching some of his other movies again very soon. Beetle Juice is definitely not a scary movie, but I can see why I was freaked out a bit at a much younger age. I think my favorite scene from the movie is the scene at the dinner table where Adam & Barbara make everyone dance/sing to IKO IKO! Of course, I also have always loved that song so it makes it that much better. (I even knew a dance to it way back when...) Definitely a movie worth checking out if you haven't done so already, but I'm sure most people have seen it.

Movie 16 of 2008: Ed Wood

Movie Description:

From Tim Burton, acclaimed director of BIG FISH, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, and BATMAN, and the producer of THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, comes the hilarious, true-life story of the wackiest filmmaker in Hollywood history, Ed Wood! Johnny Depp (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, CHOCOLAT, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS) stars as the high-spirited movieman who refuses to let unfinished scenes, terrible reviews, and hostile studio executives derail his big-screen dreams. With an oddball collection of showbiz misfits, Ed takes the art of bad moviemaking to an all-time low! The all-star cast features Bill Murray (LOST IN TRANSLATION, THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS), Sarah Jessica Parker (TV's SEX AND THE CITY), Patricia Arquette (STIGMATA, LITTLE NICKY), and an Academy Award(R)-winning performance by Martin Landau (Best Supporting Actor, 1994) as Bela Lugosi. Hailed by critics everywhere, this laugh-packed comedy hit is sure to entertain everyone!

Movie Trailer:



Interview with Johnny Depp about Ed Wood:

(Note: I can't believe they spelled Johnny's name wrong at the 0:33 mark!!!)



My Opinion:

First off... to those surprised I haven't seen EVERY Johnny Depp movie, well... I haven't! LOL!!! (though I have seen the majority of 'em!) Anyway, Ed Wood was a really great movie! I wouldn't put it in my top 5 Johnny movies, but I enjoyed it quite a lot. This movie was done completely in black and white, which made for a bit of a different viewing than most movies today. Tim Burton always picks the best cast of characters and ED WOOD is no exception. Burton is probably my favorite director (granted it helps that he knows to cast Johnny in a lot of roles - 7 of his movies feature Johnny, 3 of which he plays a character named Ed). I recommend this movie to anyone who hasn't seen it as it's a really good movie!