The Departed

Now it’s time to wrap up “Jack Nicholson Month” with Martin Scorsese’s 2006 gangster flick, “The Departed.” You may have heard the whole talk all over the Internet that “The Departed” is an old-school film, relieved by insight. You probably will think the same thing if you don’t pay any attention to what’s going on. Or maybe you’ll see “The Departed” for what it is: a new American crime classic from the legendary Martin Scorsese, whose talent shows here on its highest toll.

The title card places us in the setting: Boston, some years ago. Now we’re off, watching Leonardo DiCaprio as a cop pretending to be a cover and Matt Damon as his opposite. Both are stuck in circumstances where you can’t tell the good from the bad.

Peter Travers of the Rolling Stone mentioned in his review, “All the actors bring their A games to this triumphant bruiser of a film, its darkly wanton wit the only defense against complete chaos.” DiCaprio and Damon give explosive, emotionally complex performances, but it must be mentioned that Jack Nicholson reaches unimaginable-of heights corrupt evil as Irish mob kingpin Frank Costello. If he’s waving a gun or a female’s toy, buying off cops, insulting Catholic priests as degenerates, deceiving children into a life of crime, bringing in cocaine for favored prostitutes or chatting elbow-deep in blood, Nicholson is electrifying. Unemotionally finishing a woman on a beach, Costello says to his henchmen Mr. French, played by the terrific Ray Winstone, “She fell funny.” However, Costello is no campy Joker. Travers noted, “Channeling James Cagney in White Heat and Paul Muni in Scarface, Nicholson leeches out the glamour to create a landmark portrait of evil.”

Travers went on in his review to say, “William Monahan's stinging script, a revelation after his murky meandering in last year's Kingdom of Heaven, transfers the plot of the terrific 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs to his native Boston so he can drill down to its depraved core. Those familiar with the gangs of Beantown will see Whitey Bulger — the Irish thug still being pursued by the FBI — in Nicholson's sick twist of a character.” This is essential, instinctive filmmaking, indebted to Michael Ballhaus’ vivacious cinematography and Howard Shore’s suggestive score, boosted by Scorsese’s typically smart soundtrack choices – a unique combination of the Rolling Stones, John Lennon, Nas, Van Morrison, the Beach Boys and Patsy Cline. Once again, Thelma Schoonmaker turns editing into art form. Travers described her as “the wizard at Scorsese's side, getting the action to jump off the screen while setting up psychological provocations that reverb hellishly in your head.”

At the time, irrelevant fan-boys would ask: Will Scorsese finally win his Oscar? Is “The Departed” as brilliant as “Goodfellas?” Is it too gory to be a blockbuster? “The Departed,” flawed by a few underwritten characters and some stressed imagery (the symbolic rat), takes you to the edge of your seat.

Billy Costigan (DiCaprio) and Colin Sullivan (Damon), oblivious to one another, are both novices at the Massachusetts State Police Academy. For Billy, it’s a goodbye to the Southerners, the South Boston criminal element that made him. For Colin, it’s a chance to play mole for Costello, who taught him since he was a child. The drama builds up when Billy is told that he will never wear the State uniform. His father figure, Captain Queenan, played by Martin Sheen, wants Billy to go undercover and penetrate Costello’s crew. Billy’s identity will be known only by Queenan and his hard enforcer, Sergeant Dignam, played by Mark Wahlberg, who Travers described as “locked-and-loaded and gives a supporting role major dimensions.” Colin, who thinks the State uniform makes you look “dressed to invade Poland,” joins the suits led by Captain Ellerby, played by Alec Baldwin, in the Special Investigations Unit. Now the two rookies, assigned to rat out the people they work with, begin to loosen from the strain of maintaining identities antithetical to their true natures.

Travers says, “As in Infernal Affairs, there's a heap of coincidence.” You might want to cancel the film’s dramatic license when Billy and Colin both fall in love with Madolyn, played by Vera Farmiga, the shrink who treats Billy and moves in with Colin. Luckily, Farmiga is a glorious actress, an explosive mix of intelligences and love appeal, who reveals that Madolyn is as lost and off-the-rails as the two men.

What about the violence? Most of it is saved for the film’s final act, where it’s enough to give you whiplash. Scorsese rightly refuses to go weak on the corruption that extends from Costello’s arsenal of vipers to the State House, whose gold dome Colin sees from the window of his elegant apartment on Beacon Hill. Damon, building on his no-nonsense turns in “Syriana” and the two Jason Bourne movies, brings looped-spring intensity to Colin, whose double life is taking its toll (for one, he’s often powerless). Scorsese allows mentioning flashes of the child in these men. Colin dreads betrayal of Costello, the gangster who filled his skinny twelve-year-old arms with groceries and made him his slave. Billy uses drugs to deaden his fear but can’t find anything – family, friend, lover, church, government – to trust. DiCaprio does himself proud in a dangerous role that stabs at the heart as Billy’s audacity loses the battle to his clattering nerves. Despite that DiCaprio and Damon share only one big scene, their climactic rooftop face-off reflects the film’s unwelcoming view of a world where nothing is held sacred.

Scorsese doesn’t need gore to make his point. A scene with Billy and a vibrating cell phone matches Hitchcock for suspense. Travers also notes, “Another, deftly borrowed from The Third Man, simply involves Madolyn walking past Colin at a funeral, her impassive gaze deadlier than a speeding bullet. Issues of sin, redemption, identity and loyalty resonate in Scorsese's films, including the atypical Kundun, Age of Innocence and The Aviator.” Each new film absorbs the other, creating a body of work that can stand with the greatest. Scorsese tops the list of American directors because, even when he fails, he attempts passionately to make movies that matter. “The Departed,” a boldly uncompromised vision of a society decomposing from the inside, is one of his best. Act accordingly.

If you haven’t seen this movie, you have to. Stop reading this review, and go out and see it. You will absolutely love it, if you have seen other Scorsese movies. This is another one of my absolute favorite gangster flicks, and I sincerely think everyone should check this one out. You will be thinking throughout what is going to happen and what role is everyone playing. The resolution does not disappoint at all.

Thank you for joining in on “Jack Nicholson Month.” I hope you have enjoyed, and I hope that I made some good recommendations. Stay tuned next month to see what else I have in store for everyone.

Anger Management

Today we are looking at a strangely executed movie known as “Anger Management,” released in 2003. After a misunderstanding on a plane, Dave Buznik, played by Adam Sandler, is ordered to take anger management sessions or get locked up in prison. However, his counselor, Dr. Buddy Rydell, played by Jack Nicholson, has some rather nonstandard methods treatment and, before long, Dave is in more trouble than ever.

Empire stated in their review, “Like a visit to the dentist or an overdue tax demand, the arrival of a new Adam Sandler film is something that strikes fear into the hearts of many - especially the discerning cinemagoer who finds his brand of humour too broad to swallow.”

Along with this, Empire stated, “With a track record that includes Mr. Deeds, Little Nicky and Eight Crazy Nights, it's easy to see why there are plenty who feel this way. But while Sandler has more than a few turkeys under his belt, it's unfair to assume he's incapable of making a good film.” If you remember “The Wedding Singer,” that was an enjoyable hit, and his scary turn in “Punch-Drunk Love” showed that he is capable of channeling his trademark silliness.

That is exactly the case in “Anger Management,” which, not having its own flaws, it’s far more watchable and entertaining than the films that gained Sandler his reputation in the first place. At the very least, the fact that is grossed past the $100 million mark in the USA after three weeks of its release, dragging American cinemas out of their wartime sadness, hints that he must be doing something right.

Now Empire also said, “That said, the film's success doesn't so much hinge on Sandler's pratfalls as on his screen relationship with Jack Nicholson - and it's here that Anger Management hits its stride.” From the legitimately hilarious airborne opening sequence – where Sandler’s simple request for a pair of headphones goes brilliantly into the fear of travelling in such security-alert times – to the many set pieces where the two share the screen, this is an inspired partnership that works far better than anyone ever had a right to expect.

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Nicholson playing the nonstandard doctor. Rydell is a bizarre creation whose methods to cure his patient of his so-called “mood swings” including moving into his apartment, making inevitable moves on his girlfriend, played by the hot Marisa Tomei, and, at one part, encouraging Dave to sing songs from West Side Story in the middle of a crowded New York highway.

Empire commented, “Sandler, for once upstaged by somebody more over-the-top than himself, is in more restrained form than usual (although it would be hard to be anything but, given he has Nicholson's frantic mugging to contend with).” As such, he makes for an impressive outwit, looking slightly confused throughout but saying enough one-liners to hold his own role against his co-star. This is the kind of buddy movie where everybody – not least the two stars – seems to be enjoying themselves, something that is obvious from the first moment that Sandler and Nicholson are together on screen. It’s unfortunate, then, that the pair’s relationship is at the expense of everybody and everything else, with a superb supporting cast – that includes Luis Guzman, Woody Harrelson, January Jones, Krista Allen and John Turturro as Sandler’s “anger buddy” – given far too little to do.

Tomei, as the romantic interest, is also underused. While screenwriter Dorfman twists enough laughs out of the script, he never realizes the full potential of his dark idea, opting instead for a storyline that never quite answers the question of whether Sandler really has anger management issues or not.

The ending feels lame, most likely in an effort to give audiences their feel-good fix but, as crowd-pleasures go, this delivers the laughs and it won’t do Sandler’s reputation any harm. Besides, any film that cameos John C. Reilly as an aggressive Buddhist monk is likely to bring a smile to the face of even the aforementioned “discerning cinemagoer.” Also, expect a cameo from the drop dead gorgeous Heather Graham. Best part about it, she’s in a Red Sox bikini, which will excite men.

A better script and more attention to other cast members would have helped it but, as it is, Empire declared it as, “the best Adam Sandler comedy since The Wedding Singer.” If you want to see it, go ahead, but I won’t highly recommend it, but I will only just suggest that you should check it out.

Look out next week for the finale of “Jack Nicholson Month.”

The Avengers

Alright everyone, last night I saw the much anticipated “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and I am definitely looking forward to reviewing this epic movie. But first, I feel that I should give my opinion on the first movie, “The Avengers,” released in 2012.

Let’s just cut to the chase: “The Avengers” has it all and then some. Six superheroes for the price of one ticket: Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. Peter Traves from the Rolling Stone said in his review of this movie, “It's also the blockbuster I saw in my head when I imagined a movie that brought together the idols of the Marvel world in one shiny, stupendously exciting package.” It’s “Transformers” with a brain, a heart and a working sense of humor. Try and top that Michael Bay.

All bow down to the king of this dizzying, dazzling 3D action epic. Traves said it best, “That would be writer-director Joss Whedon, enjoying the afterglow of stellar reviews for deconstructing horror in The Cabin in the Woods.” Here, in his second directing movie (after “Serenity”), Joss Whedon stages the most successfully good-humored, head-on, exciting series of traps and escapes since Spielberg was a baby. Traves called this “Citizen Kane for Citizen Geek.”

The plot is simply functional. The world will end if Loki, reprised by Tom Hiddleston, the banished demigod, has his way. Loki hates his brother Thor, reprised by Chris Hemsworth, and desires to destroy Earth with help from an alien army. As head of S.H.I.E.L.D (Strategic Hazard Intervention Espionage Logistics Directorate), Nick Fury, reprised by Samuel L. Jackson, has one option: Bring in the Avengers, a group of archetypes with a rep for not getting along with one another.

That’s the conflict, and the signal to unleash the FX. However, Whedon is exploring richer ground. He sees the Avengers as the ultimate dysfunctional family. Their powers have distanced them from the normal world. As a result, they’re lonely, cranky, emotional mistakes, which the actors have an enjoyable time playing. Robert Downey Jr. still seems wonderfully right as Tony Stark or Iron Man (there’s a deactivating itch in his portrayal). He jokes the costume of Captain America, reprised by Chris Evans, and calls the World War II hero an “old man.” The captain questions what’s under the iron suit, flashing a priceless Downey expressionless: “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist.”

There’s no doubt that the two Iron Man movies overshadowed Thor, Captain America and the two Hulk movies at the box office. However, Downey doesn’t confiscate the spotlight. Hemsworth’s giant-size Thor big laughs dismissing his comrades in arms (“You’re so tiny.”) Everyone gets to show their skill sets, including Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), the expert archer, and Natasha Romanoff or Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), a master of gymnastics and martial arts. Johansson has a terrific part taking out some Russian mafias with her hands literally tied behind her back. Wait till you see the funny and touching stuff the clever Clark Gregg does as Agent Phil Coulson.

Mark Ruffalo is the newcomer to the team, replacing Eric Bana and Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, the nuclear physicist with a temper problem that turns him into the green rage machine, Hulk. Traves mentioned, “Ruffalo brings a scruffy warmth and humor to the role that's revelatory.” His verbal fights with Downey – two pros at the top of their games – are just enjoyable to watch.  Traves mentioned, “And, wonder of wonders, the tech­ies finally get the scale of the Hulk right. The computerized unjolly green giant is a jumbo scene-stealer.” It’s hard not to cheer up when Hulk smashes Loki on the floor. Ruffalo is probably the best Hulk since he plays the role like he’s gone through all this torture that he wants nothing to do with it anymore, but unfortunately in this case, he has no choice.

Speaking of Loki, and it’s hard not to, bring on a shower of praise for Hiddleston. A superhero movie is only as good as its villain, and Hiddleston is dynamite. The role of Loki wants sixth sense, humor and crazy daring, and Hiddleston plays it. This British actor is a force to reckon with.

Loki says early in the movie that his heart “burns with glorious purpose.” Traves said, “He's got nothing on Whedon, a filmmaker who knows that even the roaringest action sequences won't resonate without audience investment in the characters.” Whedon is not afraid to slow down to let feelings sink in. Fanboy sacrileges, perhaps, but the key to the film’s supersmart, supercool triumph. In the final third, when Whedon lets it rip and turns the battle intensity up to 11, all your senses will be blown away. Won’t be until “Man of Steel,” where the final action scene will rival the action scene in this movie. I can’t say which one is better though.

Spoiler alert: a mid-credit scene shows the Other (Alexis Denisof) talks with his master (Damion Poitier) about the failed attack on Earth. In the post-credit scene, the Avengers eat in silence at a shawarma restaurant.

If you haven’t seen this movie, why are reading this review? Go out and see it for crying out loud because at the time this movie was released, I thought it was the best Marvel movie. Definitely belongs in the top 10 best comic book adaptations ever, and it's another one of my favorite comic book films, even though I didn’t grow up with The Avengers. The superheroes I grew up with were Batman, Superman, X-Men, Spiderman, and a little of the Hulk and Iron Man. However, this film did not disappoint after much build-up from the previous movies.

Now what can be said about the much-anticipated sequel “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” which came out on the first of May? Time to find out:

Captain America actually says the S word. You heard right. “Language,” yells Iron Man, who can’t hide his hilarity at seeing the Captain, a flag-wearing Greatest Generation war hero, knock his tight image. You won’t have more fun anywhere than losing yourself at “Avengers: Age of Ultron.” You don’t have to be a Marvel geek to get with the vibe. In this sequel to “The Avengers,” (which got writer-director Joss Whedon to reach world box-office domination) the movie swings for the fences, going darker and deeper into the damaged minds of this dysfunctional family of superheroes.

Don’t get me wrong. “Avengers: Age of Ultron” is a whole summer of fireworks thrown into one movie. It doesn’t just go up to 11, it starts there. However, it’s best when Whedon offends against the Hollywood commandment of playing it safe. He takes a few wrong turns, creating a clutter when the action gets too thick. However, it recovers like a pro, inventing a scene that’s epic in every sense of the word.

What do you need to know? That Tony Stark/Iron Man has messed up, big time. His peacekeeping program, Ultron, has become a robotic force of artificial intelligence, motion-captured and voiced by James Spader sounding like Peter Cullan, target on destroying every human on the planet. That can’t happen, so call The Avengers, including Thor and Captain America for hammer-and-shield showmanship, Hulk for tempering rage with romantic moments from Black Widow, and, best of all, Hawkeye for a surprising backstory that Renner fills with exciting humor and emotional heft. He’s better here since in the first movie, Hawkeye spent most of the movie mind controlled. We even find out that he has a wife (Linda Cardellini) and two children, with his wife expecting a third.

For added flavor, Whedon brings in the newbies. There’s the twins, Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). Someone points out that “he’s fast and she’s weird.” That’s not the half of it. Traves mentioned in his review, “When Whedon and his FX team send the twins' fictional Eastern European country into orbit, you'll see why.” Still, no one steals scenes from Ultron, except the Vision, an android played with emotive gravity by Paul Bettany, who also is back voicing Iron Man’s A.I. best friend J.A.R.V.I.S. and who agents the film’s moral challenge.

Wait, what…moral challenge? What kind of escapism is this? Traves mentioned, “IMO, it's the best kind, the kind that sticks with you.” Whedon is the true master of the Marvel Cinematic Universe onscreen. He won’t be back when “Avengers: Infinity Part 1” and “Part 2” start shooting next year. The Russo brothers will take the controls. That makes “Avengers: Age of Ultron” Whedon’s last “Avengers” good job. The monumental battle between the gods and monsters that he creates to end the film does him proud. Take a bow Mr. Whedon.

Don Cheadle is in this movie reprising James Rhodes/War Machine and Anthony Mackie reprises Falcon, although I was mad that they didn’t use him in the final fight. Speaking of the final fight, it is a disappointment that it’s just Ultron showing up, the Avengers fight him, and that’s it. I wish there was more to it than that. However, the action is great, the characters are furthered, there is more comedy, and the movie really takes it up a notch. In my opinion, this is better than the first movie and it’s the best Marvel movie, although it currently has a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Spoiler alert: there’s a mid-credit scene where Thanos, cameo by Josh Brolin, puts on the gauntlet and says that he will retrieve the Infinity Stones himself.

In the end, you have to go see this movie in the theaters, you will love it. I will say that if you haven’t seen the first one; see that before you see this movie. Bear in mind; do not leave the theater to get more food and drinks from the concession stands because you will miss out on stuff. This movie is in the top 5 best comic book adaptations and a good start to comic book movies this year. This is another one of my favorite comic book films.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this long post on the two Avengers movies. However, Phase Two is not over yet. We still have “Ant-Man,” which is coming out later this year, so let’s wait for that. Thank you joining in on my review and stay tuned for next Friday on the next installment of “Jack Nicholson Month.”

As Good As It Gets

Moving right along with “Jack Nicholson Month,” we have one of the popular movies ever made, “As Good As It Gets,” released in 1997. The basic story is a chronic sourpuss grump learns the value of love and charity when he is forced to care of his neighbor’s dog.

Meet Melvin Udall, played by Jack Nicholson, described by Empire as “the Archie Bunker of the 90s.” Melvin has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in this outrageous, politically incorrect comedy from the wave that brought us Broadcast News and produces the hit adult cartoon “The Simpsons,” James L. Brooks. Empire mentioned, “Brooks also steered Jack Nicholson to an Oscar in Terms Of Endearment, a feat the duo repeated here.”

Nicholson is on top of his sneering, eyebrow-arching game as Melvin the hater, obnoxious and offensive to everyone who encounters him. He’s racist, xenophobic, anti-Semitic, homophobic, misogynist and, the cherry on this hater sundae, cruel to small dogs. The only excuse given is that he suffers (believably so) from OCD. Empire described, “Ergo he's nutty as a fruitcake - which gives him license to howl such disgraceful one-liners as would probably get a real person (or an actor less devilishly delicious than Nicholson) beaten up or arrested. “

Melvin earns his living, oddly, writing tasteless romance novels, and lives as reclusively as he can in his Manhattan apartment. One of his obsessive traditions is eating breakfast daily at a café where only tough waitress Carol, played by the actress who played Jamie Buchman from the hit sitcom “Mad About You,” the beautiful Helen Hunt, a single mom with her own stressful sadness, will tolerate Melvin’s criticisms and fight him back.

When Simon (Greg Kinnear), the gay artist who lives across the hall, is hospitalized, old misery-guts Melvin is pressurizes by Simon’s agent (Cuba Gooding Jr.) into caring for his hated neighbor’s ugly but charming dog (Jill the dog) and, of course, bonding is soon started as the dog walks its way into Melvin’s decayed heart. Empire said, “Thus softened up, Melvin is reluctantly but irrevocably goaded into a series of grudging good deeds which are entirely motivated by self-interest but which inch him in the general direction of humanity and improbable but superb redemption.”

Hunt, who for a long time was a TV sitcom star, is wonderfully skilled as comic wordplay as the long-suffering Carol, giving it out as well as she takes it, but she’s also genuine and moving, while former chat show host Kinnear is surprisingly effective in the teary, somebody-needs-a-hug part of the nicely plotted and well-paced happenings. The star trio gets hilarious back-up from Gooding Jr., Yeardley Smith (who voiced Lisa Simpson from “The Simpsons”), veteran Shirley Knight as Carol’s mother, Jesse James as Carol’s son and Skeet Ulrich as the street gangster who brings disaster into Melvin and Simon’s apartment building.

Final Verdict: A healthy sense of irony is required to accept the unacceptable outbursts from Melvin’s mouth and the less nasty jokes, the film being intended in the spirit of Nicholson’s sing to Monty Python’s Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.

This is another believable role that Nicholson played in. He gets all the traits of someone with OCD down just pitch perfect. I know this because I have friends who have OCD so I know how they act. This also has another one of the best quotes ever: “You make me want to be a better man.” Who knows if that has ever worked on a girl before, but I won’t say if you should try it. Still, check this movie out when you get the chance.

Look out next week where we look at another review for “Jack Nicholson Month.”

A Few Good Men

Welcome back to “Jack Nicholson Month” where today we will look at one of the most powerful courtroom drama, “A Few Good Men,” released in 1992. The role doesn’t have to be big, but if it’s good, and if the actor playing it is great, the results can be completely altered. Witness Jack Nicholson’s vicious, funny, excellently reptilian role in Rob Reiner’s entertaining movie, adapted by Aaron Sorkin from his hit Broadway courtroom drama.

Nicholson doesn’t steal the film, which would mean that he somehow separates himself from everybody else in it. Rather, in the course of only a handful of scenes, he seems to fill the entire production, giving it weight, density and point that might not otherwise be apparent.

The role, magnificently written, is made to Nicholson’s order. It’s that of Colonel Nathan R. Jessep of the United States Marine Corps, a tough, racist Vietnam veteran, a career officer shaped by decades of Cold-War politics. By chance, Jessep is stationed in that last corner of the Earth where the Cold War goes on as if there were no yesterday.

Vincent Canby of the New York Times mentioned in his review, “He's the commander of the marines stationed at the American naval base on the southwestern coast of Cuba at Guantanamo Bay, on a small bit of arid real estate protecting one of the best anchorages in the western Atlantic, a legacy of the Spanish-American War. It's there that the United States and Cuba, separated by barbed wire and command posts, have continued to co-exist through the Bay of Pigs invasion, the great missile crisis and a continuing, crippling economic embargo, in one of the strangest examples of symbiosis to be found in all of international relations.”

This geographic fact becomes a central look in the film adaptation, which stylishly opens up the story of a military court-martial without allowing the stress to evaporate. There are times when the movie seems to forcefully spoon-feed the audience important information, and when the audience might as well think whether the emotional disaster of the defense lawyers really are of more interest than the fates of the two men on trial.

However, such things are built into the structure and nature of the drama, which is less about the jobs of the military than about the procedure of this particular question. The story is this: in the course of what appears to be a hazing incident at Guantanamo, a Marine private has died, apparently poisoned by a rag stuffed into his through before his mouth was taped. Two enlisted men are charged with the murder. As often happens during proceedings of this type, the victim and the men on trial become less important than the politics around the case.

The Marine Corps would like to get it over with quickly and efficiently as possible. To this case, a hot-shot young naval lawyer, Lieutenant Daniel Kaffee, played by Tom Cruise, is assigned to the defense with the understanding that he’ll persuade the defendants to accept a plea bargain. Also on the defense is Lieutenant Commander JoAnne Galloway, played by the hot Demi Moore, who acts as Kaffee’s conscience, eventually convincing him that there is a strong possibility that the two enlisted men were, in fact, acting on orders from their officers.

The investigation, mainly started by Kaffee with some lack of enthusiasm, uncovers the fact that the victim, Private William T. Santiago, played by Michael DeLorenzo, had for some time been trying to transfer out of his unit. Also, he ignored both the Marine Corps code and its chain of command. He had wrote letters to Washington, offering to testify that he had witnessed an incident in which a member of his unit had by chance fired on a Cuban watchtower near the base.

As the investigation continues, Kaffee and Galloway, who clearly have never been to the theaters, read a book or spend a lot of time talking to career service personnel, are surprised to discover a kind of military mind that, to them, seem ancient. The two defendants at first behave like robots. Private Louden Downey, played by James Marshall, is so silent that he seems seriously impeded. His co-defendant and spokesman, Lance Corporal Harold W. Dawson, played by Wolfgang Bodison, refuses all offers of help. Canby mentioned, “He will stoically accept whatever punishment is meted out. The two men simply parrot the Marines' code of fidelity to unit, corps, God and country.”

On the evidence-finding trip to Guantanamo, Kaffee, Galloway and their assistant Lieutant Sam Weinberg, played by Kevin Pollak, have their first run-in with Jessep at a scary lunch, during which the Colonel happily lies through his teeth. For Galloway’s benefit, he also describes the special kind of high one can get when sleeping with a superior officer. According to Jessep, that’s one of the few benefits of an integrated service.

Canby noted, “"A Few Good Men" doesn't pack the surprises of "Witness for the Prosecution," nor does it probe very deeply into the psyche of men who exercise the power of dictators in a society that congratulates itself on its freedoms. It's no "Full-Metal Jacket." "A Few Good Men" recalls something of "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial," though it is most troubling not for the questions it raises, but for the casual way it finally treats its two lost, utterly bewildered defendants.”

The screenplay is a good one, directed with care and acted, for the most part, with terrific confidence. Among the supporting cast who do exceptional work are Donald Sutherland’s son, Kiefer Sutherland (aka Jack Bauer from the famous “42” sitcom), as a Marine officer who is going to become exactly like Jessep, J.T. Walsh as an officer fatally damaged by conscience, Kevin Bacon who appears as the military prosecutor, and Bodison, a new young actor whose performance as the more famous defendant gives the film its depressed shock value.

I agree with Canby when he said, “Mr. Cruise, Ms. Moore and Mr. Pollak are perfectly adequate in less flashy roles, which, unlike the others, appear to have been constructed to keep the plot moving right along. They have to play it reasonably straight, which must be crazy when the actors around them are having such an enjoyable time.

Nicholson is in his own league. His Jessep is both a joy to watch because of Nicholson’s skill, and an explanation of why the United States base at Guantanamo Bay, whatever its military value, continues to exist. “A Few Good Men” is a big commercial entertainment of unusually satisfying order. It also has the famous line from the 90s, “You Can’t Handle the Truth!” In the last scene when Cruise and Nicholson are at each other’s throat is something we see a lot in court, for those who watch courtroom shows.

Once again, if you haven’t seen this movie, why are you reading this review? Go out and rent the movie because it’s one of the best courtroom films out there and you’ll absolutely love it. Stay tuned next week to see what I will review next for “Jack Nicholson’s Month.”

Citizen Kane

Happy 100^th Birthday Orson Welles! This man was a magnificent talent for his time. He first gained recognition with his radio broadcast in 1938 on War of the Worlds. By debuting into films, he started off with what every poll has considered being “The Greatest Movie Ever Made,” “Citizen Kane,” released in 1941. After mentioning this a few times in my reviews, I think that it is about time that I finally give in and review this masterpiece.

Chris Cabin started his review out by saying, “The ghosts that haunt barons of industry and commerce—breeding obsession, greed, arrogance, vanity, and cruelty of the most malicious sort—are the same as those that envelope, corrupt, and exhaust the titans of the screen and those most talented of artists, a fact that has never more evident than in Citizen Kane.” Rising Star Orson Welles’s deeply haunting depiction of the life of William Randolph Hearst, from working-class hero to failed political inspiration to newspaper magnate has long been the same with the director’s spectacularly odd and really sad career – and for good reason. Desiring power and control were at once central to both Hearst and Welles’s legacies and the deadly injury that led to both of their most devastating pitfalls.

Getting back to this famous work of Welles’s “Citizen Kane” in his paper-spread office after losing a bid at political office, towering above Gregg Toland’s camera as he gets a proper moral beating from his only true friend in the world, it becomes impossible to not consider all those similar beatings that friends, colleagues and complete strangers gave Welles at the force of the project, during its production, and most of all, upon its release. Hollywood threw an epic impatience, but what appeared on screen was immediately recognizable of a singular artistic vision that made many, if not all, of Welles’s peers and colleagues look behind the times.

Made largely through the recollections of supporting characters, including Kane’s best friend (the great Joseph Cotton) and the showgirl who accidentally ruined his political aspirations (Dorothy Comingore), Kane’s story is as much about locating the psychological bruises that shape public figures as it is about the essential mysteries of said figures. The founding of gossip journalism and the social ills reproduced by that arrival are here just as interesting and important as the building of Xanadu and the collecting of all these exotic treasures. Following the investigative pursuits of reporter Jerry Thompson (William Alland), we see Kane as the adopted son of a steel-hearted tycoon (George Coulouris), but miss that crucial hint to the subtle “Rosebud” which Welles, in a beautiful stroke, reveals only long enough for it to be destroyed and lost forever.

Cabin said in his review, “Considering that "Rosebud" was rumored to be a nickname for Hearst's mistress's, er, loins, it's not completely surprising that most of Welles's projects met a similar fate as that most memorable of all sleighs.” However, like most great cinematic artists, it’s less the drama of “Citizen Kane” that’s remembered than it is rich, vivid look at the picture. Cabin went on and said, “One remembers the vast, echoing main hall of Xanadu, where Kane's showgirl wastes away while piecing together puzzles, or the newspaper office transformed into a den of indulgence and shadowy sin following Kane's ascension to the upper echelons of the newspaper industry.” However, unlike overwriting the dramatic turns these amazing set pieces, each one more eye-candy than the last, emphasize those forgotten moments of tension, grief, disappointment, good humor, and forceful heartbreak. Less famous scenes, such as when we finally see Kane’s political opponent, played by Ray Collins, quietly fillet Kane with his own sense of pride, is all the more powerful in the cramped vicinity of the showgirl’s tiny apartment than it is, nowadays, over the phone or in massive meeting rooms.

Cabin ends his review by saying, “Coming back to the film a solid five years since I last watched it, Citizen Kane remains as hard to talk about as ever, due largely to its symbiotic relationship with its own making and its reception forever complicating and deepening the psychological and philosophical valleys that exist within the proper narrative. I still stare at it, amazed and entertained, but dwarfed by the very idea of attempting to untangle the crow's nest that has formed through the film's ever-expanding histories. And what continuously stupefies me is that time works no miracles on this particular film: Scenes remain familiar, but the narrative seems to shift every time I return to it. No wonder it's such a pain to pin down! It sounds hyperbolic, but I might as well be trying to say something new about the life of Jesus.”

Now, I would end the review here, but there’s more. In the 70^th Anniversary DVD Release, a 1996 documentary was included called “The Battle Over Citizen Kane.” Christopher Null started his review out by saying, “In case your cinematic history only extends as far as the first American Pie, you might be surprised to learn that Citizen Kane is based on the life and times of William Randolph Hearst. Of course, if you didn't know that, you wouldn't know who Hearst was anyway, so you might as well quit reading this, turn off your computer, and get back to your reality TV programming.”

In this two-hour documentary, made for PBS and feeling a lot like it was made for PBS, there’s surprisingly little content useful to its title. Mostly, the film talks about the life of Hearst and the life of Orson Welles, separately. Not until the last half-hour when Citizen Kane is actually made and discussed, particularly as it relates to Hearst’s hatred to it. Rightly so…Welles was impaling the media magnate in the film. Who could blame him for doing everything in his power to stop its release?

The abuse of that power gets surprisingly little play here. Null mentions, “Instead, the same stock shots of San Simeon's building, Kane's opening night, and highlight scenes from the movie itself are shown over and over.” It’s nice to get insight from some of the original actors in this film as well as co-writer Herman Mankiewicz's son, Frank. Even “RKO 281,” the 1999 docudrama about the making of the movie, is just as appropriate at getting across the point that Hearst hated Welles.

Speaking of “RKO 281,” let’s talk about that and finally the review will be over. Based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, “Citizen Kane,” among its many accomplishments, brilliantly captured the spirit of early-20^th-century America, a land dominated by larger-than-life characters that seemed to change the shape of the nation through sheer force of will. The story behind “Citizen Kane” almost as successfully sets the tone for the century’s second half. Keith Phipps mentioned in his review, “By playing off fears of commercial vulnerability, Hearst nearly suppressed, and could have destroyed, the film most frequently cited as the greatest single accomplishment of the medium. A timely bout of financial troubles worked against Hearst, but the pattern was set: The giants' empires would continue to dominate, only their power would shift to bottom-line-obsessed bean counters, more often than not at the expense of art.” “RKO 281,” its name taken from the production code for Orson Welles’s masterpiece, recounts behind-the-scenes struggle that nearly did “Citizen Kane” in. A typically solid, star-filled HBO production, the film stars Liev Schreiber as Welles, James Cromwell as Hearst, Melanie Griffith as Marion Davies, an especially good Brenda Blethyn as Hearst’s mistress Louella Parsons, and John Malkovich as Herman Mankiewicz. Writer John Logan and director Benjamin Ross open the film by drawing somewhat questionable parallels between Welles, the creation, and his enemy, but they in the end route to simply dramatizing the facts in typical HBO style. Still, with a cast this strong and a story this compelling, “RKO 281” proves the style’s capability. Even if it can’t help but look especially flat given its central subject its story remains timely.

In the end, if you haven’t seen “Citizen Kane,” why are reading this review? Go and see the film, even though you might already know what “Rosebud” is. That is one of the greatest quotes ever, and believe it or not, that is the first line said in the movie. Never has a movie sucked me in from the first line that I wanted to know what the mystery behind it was. After finding it out, it was done very nicely, that this easily becomes one of my favorites. I know you might be thinking that since I am a film critic, this should be my favorite since it’s the greatest movie ever, but that’s not necessarily the case. They are just my personal favorites, not films that I consider the best. A lot of you may already know what my favorite film is since I already reviewed that my first year of blogging.

Enough of about all this. Stay tuned for Friday for the second entry in “Jack Nicholson month.”

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

This month I would like to review movies that star one of the greatest actors of all time that is known to play crazy, demented roles, Jack Nicholson. Today I will start off with one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat started off their review by saying, “Ken Kesey's 1962 novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest has achieved cult status among high school and college youth. In a parabolic way, the book catches two very persistent and basic American fantasies: (1) the individual with personal freedom and complete independence, and (2) the rebel standing up to and subverting structures of oppression. Dale Wasserman adapted the novel for the stage, and Kirk Douglas starred in a successful Broadway version of the story in 1963. The drama subsequently played across the country in large and small cities.”

This novel adaptation on a book that I never read should be able to please fans of the book and convert new fans to this modern American classic. Released in 1975, it won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director Milos Forman, Best Actor Jack Nicholson, Best Actress Louise Fletcher and Best Adapted Screenplay Bo Boldman and Lawrence Hauben.

Randle Patrick McMurphy, played by Jack Nicholson, is transferred from a prison work farm to an Oregon state mental hospital for 90 days of psychiatric observation. Dr. Spivey, played by Dean Brooks, the mild-mannered hospital administrator, does not quite know what to make of this man whose papers describe him as aggressive, lazy, resentful and violent. It turns out that he is tough primitive who enjoys people and hates bureaucratic structures.

McMurphy slowly freaks out his fellow patients: Cheswick (Sidney Lassick), a fidgety and disturbed man; Harding (William Redfield), who thinks of himself as an intellectual; Billy Bibbit (Brad Dourif), a stuttering, hesitant kid; Martini (Louie De Palma on the hit sitcom “Taxi” and Frank Reynolds on the recent sitcom “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” Danny DeVito), a juvenile good-natured simpleton; Taber (making his film debut who also starred in “Taxi” as Reverend Jim 'Iggy' Ignatowski, the great Christopher Lloyd), a fearsome looking patient; Chief Bromden (Will Sampson), a giant deaf-mute Native American; and an eccentric assortment of other characters. The ward is ruled by the condescending, controlling and strict Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher, and her strong-armed orderlies. It doesn’t take long for McMurphy to see that she has made weak wonders out of all the patients. Anesthetized by drugs and afraid of the electro-shock therapy used to punish outlaws, the inmates cringe before her during therapy sessions and free time.

Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat mentioned, “McMurphy sets up his own version of Monte Carlo in the ward and bets the men that he can get Nurse Ratched's goat.” His first attack on the synchronized life of the mental institution is an attempt to change the daily schedule so that they can watch the World Series on television. When he doesn’t get what he wants, McMurphy and the men watched the turn-off TV set and pretend they’re watching the game. In another very funny moment, he uses the 6’4” Chief as the center on the awkward inmate basketball team. They beat the orderlies. Then for a real change of pace, he seizes the institution’s bus and takes his inmate friends down to the ocean for a boat ride. The men – most of them self-committed to the institution – experience a combination of joy and dread on the open sea. McMurphy has broken the rules and given them a sense of life on the outside. The capstone of his freedom mission is an all-night party with alcohol and girls.

Jack Nicholson is McMurphy in all his mischievous and rebellious fullness. He shows energy, quick wit, and a flashy smile that signals a rebel’s will not to be broken by the system. Fredericand Mary Ann Brussat said, “It is a role quite in line with Nicholson's depiction of other outsiders in Easy Rider, The Last Detail, and Five Easy Pieces.” In one of the movie’s most alive scenes, McMurphy sits in front of the open window after the all-night party and stares into the camera. Frederic andMary Ann Brussat also said, “But McMurphy realizes in one epiphanous moment that the other inmates have projected their hopes for independence onto him.” Instead of leaving them, he stays to be a man with his punishment for breaking the rules.

Czech director Milos Forman has refused to make McMurphy and Nurse Ratched into cartoon-strip characters. Louise Fletcher underplays the nurse so that her villainy comes across as it should – not crude, but subtle. Nurse Ratched’s humorlessness and obsession for control are convincingly expressed. By toning down the “Them” against “Us” tension of the novel, Forman gives the story more humanity than the stage versions of the work. The director’s great way with the actors shines through in their excellent performances.

Will Sampson’s depiction of Chief Bromden is especially moving. In the last analysis, it is this character who truly understands the meaning and value of McMurphy’s freedom crusade. The Native American is given back to himself. His escape from the hospital in the movie’s emotionally high-pitched finale strikes a note for freedom that is especially rich in its imagery and impact.

After seeing this movie, I don’t think anyone would want to go anywhere near a mental institution. I know I don’t after I saw this, but that’s the power that this amazing movie has. When I was in High School, my cousin invited us over to his school one night since his school was doing a production of the book. I enjoyed myself completely, especially the boy who was playing McMurphy. After seeing that play, I ended up seeing the movie. If you haven’t seen this movie, go out and see it because you will love it.

Stay tuned for next week to see the next review on “Jack Nicholson’s Month.”