Opinion Battles Year 4 Round 9 Favourite Martin Scorsese

Its time for Round 9 of Opinion Battles! This time we are choosing our Favorite Martin Scorsese Film. Mine was a no-brainer. Hugo all the way! Its such a leap from the usual and so fantastical and awesome.

Head on over to Movie Reviews 101 to check out the other choices from the participants and remember to drop a vote for the choice you agree with the most!

Movie Reviews 101

Opinion Battles Year 4 Round 9

Favourite Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is one of the greatest directors of all time, his latest film ‘The Irishman’ will be coming out soon and we will be looking at the films we enjoy from this legend who has given as a excellent collections of classic movies.

Next Round Worst Horror Franchise (5 Movies minimum) – Closing Date Friday 5^th October 2018

Darren – Movie Reviews 101

Shutter Island

When it comes of Martin Scorsese, I know and respect he is one of the greatest of all the directors in the world, however I am not a fane of gangster films, which takes a couple of titles of the table for me, when picking the favourite of his career. I have gone with Shutter Island because I love a good mystery thriller and watching the pieces of this puzzle unfold is one of…

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Ultimate 90’s Blogathon: Goodfellas (1990) by MovieRob

Next up is MovieRob. MovieRob is the blogosphere’s movie watching beast! If you head over to his blog, you’ll see so many reviews already done.  He runs a monthly segment called Genre Grandeur and on this milestones, he’ll do various franchises or invite fellow bloggers to join in on a Movies From the Hat segment. If you haven’t followed him, you should to make sure you don’t miss out on the fun! He’s giving us a look at a 90’s favorite, Goodfellas.

Its all yours, Rob!

Huge thanks to Kim and Drew for hosting this awesome blogathon.

Here’s my review of Goodfellas (1990)

“For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world. ” – Henry Hill

Number of Times Seen – At least 5 times (Theater in ’90. cable, video, 8 May 2008 and 2 Feb 2017)

Brief Synopsis – Biopic of a New York gangster during the 60’s and 70’s.

My Take on it – This is one of the best films of the 90’s and it gives us an excellent look at how the life of New York mobsters were run in the 60’s and 70’s

The cast is superb and a little known Ray Liotta plays the lead role so well.  He is joined by excellent performances by Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco and Paul Sorvino.

This is Director Martin Scorsese’s masterpiece IMHO mainly because he is able to manipulate the audience into caring and in some cases even loving these characters no matter how terrible the things they do are.

In some ways, it is quite easy to see this as a continuation of Francis Ford Coppola’s Godfather series and it’s somewhat ironic that the final chapter of that series and this film both vied for Best Picture in 1990.

Love how this film tries to show us the ‘modern effects’ of the mob on society.

This allows us to feel the realism of the story.

This film is classified as a biopic despite the fact that we will never truly know how much is fact and how much is fiction.

This is one of Scorsese’s best film mainly because of the fact that it feels so realistic and that the characters are so strongly created and likeable to us.

Bottom Line – Excellent look at the life of mobsters in New York in the 70’s. Scorsese does an amazing job getting us to love these characters despite everything they do. In some ways, its easy to see that this is a continuation of Coppola’s Godfather series to show the ‘modern’ effects of the mob on society. Works really well as a biopic despite the fact that we’ll never really know how much is true. Amazing cast led by little known Liotta.  One of Scorsese’s best films to date because of the realism and strong characters. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – The now-legendary Steadicam trip through the nightclub kitchen was a happy accident. Scorsese had been denied permission to go through the front, and had to improvise an alternative. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (10/10)

Thanks to MovieRob for a great review! 🙂
Tomorrow’s entry will be over at Drew’s Movie Reviews, remember to head over there to check it out!

The Departed (2006)

A round of applause please! I made it through The Departed finally! I figured it was the stylish way to end off the Infernal Affairs trilogy review and finally get this crossed off my to-do list.

Lets check it out!

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Vera Farmiga, Ray Winstone, Alec Baldwin

An undercover state cop who has infiltrated an Irish gang and a mole in the police force working for the same mob race to track down and identify each other before being exposed to the enemy, after both sides realize their outfit has a rat.-IMDB

The Departed is inspired by Infernals Affairs in case you didn’t know before. Directed by Martin Scorsese, it has a style that cannot be replaced or doubted. I’ve always been a fan of his despite sometimes really not liking the length especially in gang/crime movies. The Departed really could have benefit from being shorter. The first half was so slow. I literally wanted to cry because it felt like it would never end. And then the halfway point hit and the majority of the events were almost identical to Infernal Affairs.  I’m not saying thats a bad thing but I guess because I found the original to be genius, this one didn’t have as much of an impact.Does that make sense?

However, like Infernal Affairs, it has a very strong cast. I may not be very knowledgable about Matt Damon but I have always liked Leonardo DiCaprio and Jack Nicholson. They both did well. I still think Leonardo did better than Matt in some ways. The best has to go to Jack Nicholson in his role as the bad guy, the leaderof the Irish gang. He had this outrageous unpredictable nature and that gave immense life to the movie. I couldn’t really picture another actor taking up that role in having such an impact. Another actor that I loved was Mark Wahlberg. He was completely an asshole but it worked well to give the movie some conflict and friction.

These movies are all about the boys but the difference is in the love story behind this. In this one, it just has one lady, but who wants to compete with the lovely Vera Farmiga? She really can act in any role. Her character brought in nice balance especially because she was kind of like the intermediary between the undercover and mole. Her one character replacing the two separate ones gave The Departed a nice little twist that I thought worked very well.

Casting and cinematography are definitely not my issues with this. My issue is really the story itself. I can get that background check would lead to Leonardo’s character being discovered and his getting kicked out. But although its not an obvious connection, Matt’s was really visible ever since he was a kid. How was it not apparent? Maybe its just me being nitpicky but I felt on some levels this was just a little too over the top for my liking.

I really don’t have much to say anymore. Overall, The Departed was an okay remake of its original. It had an awesome cast that brought life to a stretched out story. Although it did give it a new twist to it, I’m still debating if I really liked the ending. I know I’m the minority who doesn’t think this was absolutely great but thats okay. We can’t agree with everything 😉

What did you think of The Departed?

Part 2: Thrillers

Now that we’ve warmed up with the nice family oriented Halloween flicks, we’re getting ready to hit the hardcore stuff.  Of course, before we go all out and jump into a week of sleepless nights, I’ll hit us off with some thrillers (all kinds except horror).  Just a bit scary at times, dark at time, messed up at times…you know what I mean, right? I love thrillers so it was really a toss-up on what I could put in here.  Why do I like it more than others? Because of the suspense in most of them, there’s always something to try and figure out.  Whats around the corner? Will there be a twist? A good thriller will let you buy into it, let it lead you on and bring you some occasional scare.  I did manage to get my hands on two new movies that this Thriller Marathon will include.

Here’s 8 THRILLERS to bring up the intensity till next week when we hit the intense horror segment.

1) DISTURBIA (2007)

Director: D.J. Caruso

Cast: Shia Leboeuf, Sarah Roemer, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Morse

Plot summary: Kale Brecht (Shia Leboeuf) gets home arrest for punching his Spanish teacher in class for the summer.  Kale’s mother (Carrie-Anne Moss) cuts off all his internet and TV leaving him with nothing to do.  As a result, he starts spying on the neighbors.  When the news starts talking about missing women, who were later found dead, he starts suspecting one of his neighbors, Robert Turner (David Morse).  With his best friend Ronnie (Aaron Yoo) and his new neighbor, Ashley (Sarah Roemer), they start spying and following Turner.

I was surprised actually that this movie was good.  I got it because it was a thriller (and it was on special).  Honestly, I’m not a big fan of Shia Leboeuf.  The only movie I enjoyed him in was Transformers, but thats just because I enjoyed that movie a lot.  I checked the director’s background.  D.J. Caruso did Taking Lives before Disturbia. I was alright with that movie.  Taking Lives was also a surprisingly good thriller. One I had debated to put on this list actually.  Just for information sake, D.J. Caruso did Eagle Eye and I am Number Four afterwards.  Eagle Eye was alright, but man, I am Number Four…I’m speechless.  That movie was crap.  Maybe I’ll review it one day after I read the source material.  Anyways, all I can say, this was a fine piece of work by D.J. Caruso after I saw what his later movies were.  This movie is a mix of humor, a bit of teen romance, and suspense.  The deal with thrillers is that you are willing to buy into it every time you rewatch it.  I bought into it every time I saw this. This movie is pretty fun thriller and its a great way to start off my thrillers portion.

2) THE OTHERS (2001)

Directed by: Alejandro Amenabar

Cast: Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston

Plot: This movie starts in 1945 Channel Islands in a big family house.  Grace (Nicole Kidman) is a mother of two photosensitive children, Anne and Nicholas.  She is confined to the house under strict rules to protect her children.  Her husband (Christopher Eccleston) has gone off to war a few years back and is not determined whether he is alive or not.  We also get joined by 3 servants that come to help her take care of the house: Mrs. Mills (Fionnula Flanagan), Mr. Tuttle (Erik Skyes) and Lydia.  Suddenly, mysterious things start happening in the house.  Her daughter claims that she’s been seeing others in the house.  The house seems to be invaded by others.

This is a really suspenseful movie.  Its full of startling moments and your mind will keep thinking of what would happen next.  Nicole Kidman is superb as always and does great a playing a distressed and panicked yet protective mother.  Fionnula Flanagan is just amazing.  Her acting was captivating to watch and so very believable.  This is a mystery thriller that carries you deep into the plot and wondering whats around the next corner.  Keeps us wondering what is going on in the house and whether it is haunted.

3) SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme

Cast: Jodie Foster, Sir Anthony Hopkins

Plot: A young FBI agent in training Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster) is sent to interrogate an imprisoned psychopath/psychiatrist, Hannibal”the Cannibal” Lecter, in hopes of helping solve the serial killings by a man nicknamed Buffalo Bill.  Dr. Lecter decides to help Starling in exchange for her sharing her own story at the same time.

This movie is the first thriller I ever saw.  It was deep and disturbing in so many ways.  I finally bought this one the other day and added it into this marathon.  It may not pack in a lot of startling sudden scares but the chilling role of Dr. Lecter and the serial killings itself is enough to make it impact the audience mentally.  There really is nothing more I can express than the fact that its the first thriller I ever saw, its also one of my favorites.  After seeing this, I now I have the desire to watch Red Dragon and Hannibal, both equally great thrillers.  No one can portray a cannibal and psychopath as well as Anthony Hopkins ever will.

4) SHUTTER ISLAND (2010)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Cast: Leonardo diCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley

Plot: U.S. Marshal Edward (aka Teddy) Daniels (Leonardo diCaprio) get assigned with a new partner, Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) to investigate after a woman, both prisoner and mental patient, disappears mysteriously from her room with no trace on Shutter Island.  This is an island where it is a maximum security prison ward for highly dangerous mentally unstable felons.  We soon learn that Teddy himself has wanted to go there to investigate something else for his own personal reasons.  It is here that the story unfolds.

This is a new one that I picked up the other day at HMV because it was on special and well, I’m a big Leonardo diCaprio.  This is an awesome thriller.  I haven’t seen one this good in a really long time.  I’m a huge fan of all the actors and I think Leonardo diCaprio is at the top of his game here.  Of course, it helps that he’s partnered with Martin Scorsese, a really wonderful actor.  This one made my boyfriend and I  ask a lot of  “What’s next?” around every corner and after everything that happened.  We were guessing and thinking about every next moment that could happen.  It was some thrill ride, I tell you.  One you definitely shouldn’t miss!

5) ORPHAN (2009)

Director: Jaume Collet-Serra

Cast: Vera Farmiga, Peter Sarsgaard, Isabelle Fuhrman

Plot: A couple, Kate (Vera Farmiga) and John (Peter Sarsgaard) loses an unborn child and decides to adopt a 9 year old girl, Esther.  Esther is originally from Russia and her last family had died in a fire where she barely made it out alive.  Kate and John both think that Esther is smart, kind and well-mannered at first sight and she gets along with their two children, Max and Daniel.  Slowly, there seems to be “something wrong with Esther”.  Unusual things start happening around her.

This movie is really chilling thriller.  I’m serious, I haven’t been scared and startled and disturbed in a while.  I had to spend an hour after the movie to watch some comedy to relax my mind.  Its just really awesome.  It packs in a lot of “Oh, shit” moment.  I haven’t seen anything else by this director but man, he does really well.  This story is believable and the girl who plays Esther is amazing.  The little girl that plays Max, who is deaf, is also the little girl in Resident Evil: Retribution playing Becky.  If you haven’t seen this one, out of my whole list, I think you definitely should check this one out.  It’ll pack in some startling experience.

6) PAPRIKA (2006)

Director: Satoshi Kon

Plot: “This is your brain on anime”.  Thats generally what it is I guess.  Paprika is a girl who can enter into your dreams through a device created called DC Mini.  This device can record and let you rewatch the dreams you’ve had.  When the device is stolen from the Institute of Psychiatric Research, the three scientists that invented it try to search for it with the help of Paprika.  The thief is causing a lot of chaos by entering into people’s minds and thoughts while they are awake and distract them with dreams of their own or others.

Last week was for animation but this anime is deep and definitely NOT for children.  For one, its rated R.  Well, why it fits here its because its categorized as an animated thriller.  It was some thrill alright.  I was confused and deep in thought while watching this one.  The essence in this may be partially in the animation but I think what captivates us is the story itself and the mystery behind it.  I guess its a bit like Inception actually.  Its pretty well laid out as a story and you will be wondering about how things will unfold.  I’m definitely going to give this one a second run to better understand what was going on in entirety.  The whole concept between light and darkness, the merge between reality and dreams.

7) BURIED (2010)

Director: Rodrigo Cortes

Cast: Ryan Reynolds

Plot: A trucker in Iraq wakes up to find himself buried underground with only a lighter and a cell phone.  He then fights to learn what has got him in that position and figure out a way to get out before its too late.

That is as simple as I can go with this movie without ruining it for anyone that hasn’t seen it yet.  I personally got this movie because I saw the trailer and thought it was awesome, before that I hadn’t even known its existence.  So yes, Ryan Reynolds is amazing in this one man show.  The other person he interacts with is on the phone.  It reflected really well the urgency and gripping turns in the story.  I really loved this movie (most of the time). It was quite the enjoyable movie experience.  I always appreciated movies where its just one man show movies (first one I saw was probably Phone booth).

8) SIXTH SENSE (1999)

Director: M. Night Shyamalan

Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette

Plot: A child psychologist, Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) takes on the task of helping a young boy, Cole Sear, who claims that he can see dead people. These dead people are those who don’t know that they have died and continues to haunt him.  Cole’s mom (Toni Collette) desperately wants to help rid his son of his problems.

I’m ending this with a bang.  After all, according to that poster its the #1 Thriller of All Time.  This thriller was crazy awesome. I think it was the best movie which we everyone knows has the best twist ending ever.  I never saw it coming ever.  I was also younger when I first saw this movie.  Deal with movies with twist, is its rewatchability has to be that the actual movie plot has something you can take from it or else, you can’t watch it again.  This movie packs in some good acting and fantastic plot. It was the movie that put Night Shyamalan on the map (lets not discuss what happened afterwards), but this movie was great. It gave us deep emotions and some nice scares. I’m pretty the majority of you have seen this, but if you haven’t, you have to!

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT!

After watching this whole line-up, I’m sure that you all notice that its actually not really too scary.  I really didn’t have time to watch more and/or make another list.  I don’t think it needs much more though.  I forgot to grab Se7en off my boyfriend’s collection at his place, if not, I’d definitely add that in.  I also wanted to put in Butterfly Effect, but I had lent it out.  Those were the original last 2 that was to complete the list.  Overall, the current list already have pretty good films.  Some do pack in some scary moments and others balance with a bit more thinking, a bit more profound ideas to ponder a bit on maybe.

For all of you that want to pack in some fright, I got my boyfriend to help me out with the next one.  So, it should definitely be intense.   I’ll explain to you all why I need this extra help next week.  In the meantime, we will work out a way to choose the best horror movies in our collective movie collections. Next list will be top 10 Intense Horror.  Hopefully you’ll come back to check it out!

As for this list, any that you disagree with? Didn’t enjoy as much as I did? Would you put anything extra? I love watching thrillers and would love to get some suggestions for ones that I haven’t seen.