video review : Killers Of The Flower Moon

video review : Killers Of The Flower Moon

Martin Scorsese’s Killers Of The Flower Moon is, coming after The Irishman, somewhat of a disappointment. There is suspense, at least for those unfamiliar with David Grann’s book about The Osage Murders, but it comes scantily as is often the case with stories based on real-life events. The acting, led by Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, is generally superb, along with the cinematography. It’s the convoluted plot that could use a shot in the belly.

Headrights money is an underlining theme here, but if you’re not paying attention, you could easily get lost on the reservation. Plot-turning revelations happen in a flash. It’s hard, for example, to keep count of how many people are Killed with little fanfare. This is, in that sense, another Scorsese gangster flick. Being set in mostly 1920s Oklahoma; a time and place where a homely pie-faced Lily Gladstone could pass as “beautiful”; is what distinguishes it.

my rating : 3 of 5

2023

video review : Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

video review : Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino says he wants to retire after ten movies. This is number nine. If he were to ask me what I think he should do to end his career on a high note, I’d sum it up with one word; suspense. That’s what makes his best movies; Inglourious Basterds and Jackie Brown; the classics they are. They’re filled almost to the brim with moments of suspense.

There’s a scene in Hollywood in which one of its two leading men; Brad Pitt as stuntman Cliff Booth; drives a sexy hitchhiker girl to Spahn Movie Ranch, where she says she lives. She invites him on the premises to meet her hippie friends. The tension that follows could be cut with a knife, but it leads nowhere. The suspense doesn’t return until the movie is about to end.

That ending, in which members of Charles Manson’s killer cult target Cliff and his famous actor buddy Rick Dalton; Leonardo DiCaprio as the other leading man; is violent and enthralling. Most of what comes before it is relatively uneventful. A lot of the movie is spent watching Dalton act in movies that are more entertaining than the one you’re watching.

my rating : 3 of 5

2019

video review : The Revenant

video review : The Revenant

The revenant the title refers to is a pelt hunter named Glass, the story’s most important and most annoying character. After being attacked and almost killed by a bear, an early peak as far as memorable scenes go, he’s left injured for most of the movie. His constant grunting and sighing is what irks to the point of nearly ruining an otherwise thrilling adventure.

The cinematography and choreography of the first ten minutes or so, the Indian ambush, are particularly engaging. There are underlying themes of love and war; nostalgic endearment and bitter revenge are more like it; but The Revenant is mainly a tale of survival as protagonist Hugh Glass, left for dead in the cold and snowy wilderness, fights to survive.

my rating : 4 of 5

2015

video review : The Departed

video review : The Departed

Under the wing of crime boss Frank Costello, Colin Sullivan manages to infiltrate the Massachusetts police force as an informant for the Irish Mob. At the same time, the police manage to plant an undercover rookie in with Costello’s crew to bust him from the inside. It’s when the two rats start tailing each other that the plot starts to captivate.

my rating : 4 of 5

2006