#pacino has always said that he wanted to do more comedy and even though donnie brasco is NOT a comedy...
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Al Pacino as Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggerio - DONNIE BRASCO (1997)
#al pacino#alfredo james pacino#film#cinema#donnie brasco#donnie brasco 1997#donnie brasco (1997)#lefty ruggerio#mike newell#pacino has always said that he wanted to do more comedy and even though donnie brasco is NOT a comedy...#his performance as lefty has pacino utilize his comedic side quite often#making lefty a memorable and much appreciated role in pacino's filmography#anyways i don't see enough love for lefty pacino so here's a gifset :)#1997#Benjamin ruggerio
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round up // JULY 20
New music is saving 2020! This is one of my most music-and-musical-heavy Round Ups yet, not even counting the Beverly Hills CopĀ theme Iāve been whistling and dancing to around my apartment this week. (Donāt judgeāyouāll do it to if you watch any of those movies.) And speaking of movies, Iāve got three new movies from 2020 to recommend! When theatres reopen I might go every week even if thereās nothing Iām excited to see, but Iām thankful for VOD movies to tide me over in the meantime.
July Crowd-Pleasers
This Twitter Thread
Iāve laughed out loud so many times I donāt care if this thread is made up. An anonymous Frenchman is documenting the āadventuresā of a British family with a vacation home next door and no clue what Brexit actually means. This journey is a sardonic roller coaster, but I appreciate this tweeter isnāt devoid of empathy.
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)
An insanely satisfying legal thriller that will have you shouting at your TV. Matthew McConaughey is a hot shot lawyer who doesnāt care if his clients are guilty, but he starts to reconsider that position with his newest (Ryan Philippe). What seems like a cut-and-dry defense of a man wrongfully accused escalates into so much more. Iāll stay scant on the details so the twists can surprise you as much as they did me. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8/10
Summer Jams
2020 has gotten, um, a bad reputation, but Iād like to give it a shout-out for one of the best years of summer pop music in a long time. The last time I remember jamming to this many songs on the radio was 2013, the summer of āMirrors,ā āGet Lucky,ā āRoar,ā and āI Love It.ā Thanks to Harry Styles, Lady Gaga, the Jonas Brothers, and Doja Cat, I keep flipping through radio stations looking for the next new song that will make me bop. Enjoy a round up of my favorite summer songs of 2020 so far on Spotify above.
Focus (2015)
As noted last month, I love when a heist movie can pull a fast one on me. Focus may not be a creative height of either Will Smithās or Margot Robbieās careers, but itās a romantic and funny story of two con artists with just enough plot twists to keep me guessing. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 7/10
Love Crazy (1941)
William Powell and Myrna Loy appeared in 14 movies together, and their chemistry in this zany romantic comedyĀ shows us why. The premise starts with their married characters planning an eccentric anniversary celebration, but somehow it escalates to a legal declaration of his insanity. (Unlike My Man Godfrey, Powell is the comic instead of the straight man this time.) While how we talk about mental health has changed much in the last 80 years, this comedy is so screwball it canāt be taken seriously as commentary. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell star in a musical light on songs but huge on charm, laughs, and diamonds. In a perfect world, we would have gotten more musicals directed by Howard Hawks, but if we could only have one, this is proof weāre not living in the darkest timeline. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10
Double Feature ā Very Silly Spoofs: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) + The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Iām very late to both of the parties for Monty PythonĀ (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 8.5/10)Ā and The Naked Gun (Crowd: 9.5/10 // Critic: 8/10), so all I need to say about these absurd comedies is the hype didnāt ruin them for me.
Fast & Furious (2009)
In a strange turn of events, I finally succumbed to watching all Fast and Furious flicks. (Blame it on quarantine.) While my favorite remains the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw (maybe because itās so unlike a normal movie in this franchise, sorry), the fourth movie is another highlight. It features one of the best character team-ups before the stunts become hilariously unrealistic and acknowledges some of the moral complexities of the plot, which is surprisingly uncharacteristic for a movie series about, um, criminals. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10
Double Feature ā Action Crime Movies Based on True Stories in the ā70s: Donnie Brasco (1997) + The Bank Job (2008)
In,Ā Donnie Brasco (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8/10),Ā Johnny Depp is an FBI agent undercover in the Mob, keeping an eye on Al Pacino. In The Bank Job (Crowd: 8.5 // Critic: 7.5/10), Jason Statham is caught up in an MI6 plot to save political face by breaking into a London bank. Both are tense, twisty, and somehow true.
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Jim Gaffigan: Cinco (2017)
While heās best known for jokes about food, Iāll always appreciate how his self-deprecating jokes are never really just about his appearance or his many children, though heās funny enough he could get away with that.
CoversĀ by Switchfoot (2020)
Harry Styles! Vampire Weekend! My music tastes past and present collide in this album of bops Switchfoot covered this year.
Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)
This is really just a plug to watch all three Beverly Hills Cop movies for Eddie Murphy at his funniest, Judge Reinhold at his most underrated, and a score so catchy youāll be dancing to it for days. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10
July Critic Picks
Hamilton (2020)
Who knew? Listening to the Hamilton soundtrack is not the same as watching it in the room where it happens. I reviewed the filmed production with the original cast for ZekeFilm, which was a treat since my May theatre tickets were cancelled. At least weāre not dealing with formal duels in 2020! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 10/10
Double Feature ā Journalism Films Based on True Stories in the ā70s: All the Presidentās Men (1976) + Zodiac (2007)
Maybe itās just because I have a degree in Journalism, but I appreciate a story about a good story. In All the Presidentās Men (Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 10/10), Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman are digging into the Watergate scandal at The Washington PostĀ even when no one else thinks thereās anything to investigate. On the opposite coast in Zodiac (Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10), Jake Gyllenhaal and Robert Downey Jr. are hunting the Zodiac Killer at the San Francisco Chronicle with the help of police officer Mark Ruffalo. This double feature focuses on reporters so committed to their work it comes at personal cost, but it highlights the need for people who are that committed to the truth to make our society function.
Greyhound (2020)
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a studio in possession of a good World War II script must be in want of Tom Hanks, and we can always feel the warmest gratitude for any means of uniting them. I reviewed the film Hanks wrote himself for ZekeFilm. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10
Dark Waters (2019)
Mark Ruffalo plays a real-life lawyer who helped investigate DuPont and change legislation on chemicals. A different kind of legal thriller than The Lincoln Lawyer, butĀ yet another movie confirming Mark Ruffalo is a treasure. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 9/10
These Pieces on How We Interact With Media
Iām a believer in good journalism (see above), so I appreciate when writers do some self-examination on their own craft. Iāve been on an Instagram break the last few months because itās been contributing to an anxiety spiral re: world events. Itās easy to talk in hyperbole, to complain, and to dehumanize others on the Internet, and I know Iām guilty of all three, so kudos to these writers for speaking on them.
āThe Power of Media and Misinformation in the Age of Coronavirus,ā DarlingMagazine.org (April 20)
āMy Big Old Rant,ā SeanDietrich.com (July 10)
āKanye West and the Media Are Once Again Playing a Dangerous Game,ā Vulture.com (July 13)
Brightest Blue by Ellie Goulding (2020)
You might know Ellie for her electro-pop hits, but Iāve always preferred her ballads that let her unique vocals shine. Brightest Blue is another collection of both styles, and itās another strong outing from one of my favorite singers.
West Side Story by Richard Barrios (2020)
The making of West Side Story is a classic collision between art and commerce. This new Turner Classic Movies book details the many conflicts between the creative team, cast, and financiers to make one of the most beloved musicals and most Oscar-winning films in history, and you might be surprised it made it to the screen at all after reading it.
The Vast of Night (2020)
The Twilight Zone-esque movie is all about some weird happenings over the airwaves in a small town. Two high school students, one a nighttime radio host and the other a phone operator, team up to investigate a mysterious noise theyāre hearing. The filmmaking is unconventional but gripping, and the story has major Stranger Things vibes, which is only helped by the fact that one of the stars looks a lot like Sadie Sink. (FYI, her name is actually Sierra McCormick.) Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10
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folklore by Taylor Swift (2020)
Itās tricky to put into words what new music from Taylor Swift means to me because her words have been part of my life for over a decade and I admire what she shares of her creative process so much. Her unexpected eighth album is nothing like LoverāinsteadĀ itās a sonic and poetic continuation of songs and themes fromĀ Fearless and RED, her two most sock-me-in-the-gut-and-how-did-you-get-a-hold-of-my-journal collections. Just 11 months ago she released an album I said was her best yet, but Iām saying it again and even faster than last time.
Bonus: Enjoy this piece about the inspiration for her song āLast Great American Dynastyā from St. Louis Magazine.
Westworld (1973)
Before Jurassic Park, Michael Chrichton wrote and directed another sci-fi adventure set at a theme park with a Hunger Games flair. Here we go to a Western-themed resort where almost-human robots serve patronsā every whimāthat is, until they start rewriting their programming. Ā At least we arenāt dealing with homicidal robot cowboys in 2020! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 9/10
Also in Julyā¦
I wrote a tribute to Olivia de Havilland after her passing at 104. Sheās best known as Melanie in Gone With the Wind, but Iāll argue thatās not the best showcase of her talent.
The Best Picture Project continues with Clark Gable! He starred in 1934ās It Happened One Night and 1935ās Mutiny on the Bounty, but Iām only recommending one of them for your viewing pleasure. You can scroll a little further back or read the reviews here:
It Happened One Night ā Crowd // Critic
Mutiny on the Bounty ā Crowd // Critic
On SO ITāS A SHOW?, our pop culture references spanned 250 years with 1976ās Rocky and the 1726 novel Gulliverās Travels. We found a crazy number of connections between Gilmore Girls actor Milo Ventimiglia and Sylvester Stallone, and we figured out what the hey the word ābrobdingnagianā means.Ā
You can keep up with everything Iām watching in real time on Letterboxd, where Iāve rounded up my favorite journalism films, including All the Presidentās Men, It Happened One Night, andĀ Zodiac.
Images: Switchfoot,Ā Media,Ā Ellie Goulding, West Side Story. all others IMDb.com.
#The Lincoln Lawyer#Focus#Love Crazy#The Naked Gun#Fast & Furious#The Bank Job#Donnie Brasco#Jim Gaffigan#Jim Gaffigan: Cinco#Hamilton#Zodiac#Greyhound#Dark Waters#Ellie Goulding#Brightest Blue#West Side Story#TCM#The Vast of Night#folklore#Taylor Swift#Switchfoot#Westworld#Beverly Hills Cop III#Monty Python and the Holy Grail#Gentlemen Prefer Blondes#Round Up#All the President's Men
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