#pacino has always said that he wanted to do more comedy and even though donnie brasco is NOT a comedy...
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mangocharmer Ā· 5 months ago
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Al Pacino as Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggerio - DONNIE BRASCO (1997)
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crowdvscritic Ā· 4 years ago
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round up // JULY 20
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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 Iā€™ve been whistling and dancing to around my apartment this week. (Donā€™t judgeā€”youā€™ll do it to if you watch any of those movies.) And speaking of movies, Iā€™ve got three new movies from 2020 to recommend! When theatres reopen I might go every week even if thereā€™s nothing Iā€™m excited to see, but Iā€™m thankful for VOD movies to tide me over in the meantime.
July Crowd-Pleasers
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This Twitter Thread
Iā€™ve laughed out loud so many times I donā€™t care if this thread is made up. An anonymous Frenchman is documenting the ā€œadventuresā€ 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 isnā€™t devoid of empathy.
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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 doesnā€™t 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. Iā€™ll 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 Iā€™d 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 ā€œMirrors,ā€ ā€œGet Lucky,ā€ ā€œRoar,ā€ and ā€œI 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.
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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 Smithā€™s or Margot Robbieā€™s careers, but itā€™s 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
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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 canā€™t be taken seriously as commentary. Crowd: 8/10 // Critic: 7.5/10
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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 weā€™re not living in the darkest timeline. Crowd: 8.5/10 // Critic: 8.5/10
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Double Feature ā€” Very Silly Spoofs: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) + The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (1988)
Iā€™m 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 didnā€™t ruin them for me.
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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 itā€™s 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
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Double Feature ā€” Action Crime Movies Based on True Stories in the ā€˜70s: 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 heā€™s best known for jokes about food, Iā€™ll always appreciate how his self-deprecating jokes are never really just about his appearance or his many children, though heā€™s funny enough he could get away with that.
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CoversĀ by Switchfoot (2020)
Harry Styles! Vampire Weekend! My music tastes past and present collide in this album of bops Switchfoot covered this year.
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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 youā€™ll be dancing to it for days. Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 7/10
July Critic Picks
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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 weā€™re not dealing with formal duels in 2020! Crowd: 9/10 // Critic: 10/10
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Double Feature ā€” Journalism Films Based on True Stories in the ā€˜70s: All the Presidentā€™s Men (1976) + Zodiac (2007)
Maybe itā€™s just because I have a degree in Journalism, but I appreciate a story about a good story. In All the Presidentā€™s 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 thereā€™s 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.
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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
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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
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These Pieces on How We Interact With Media
Iā€™m a believer in good journalism (see above), so I appreciate when writers do some self-examination on their own craft. Iā€™ve been on an Instagram break the last few months because itā€™s been contributing to an anxiety spiral re: world events. Itā€™s easy to talk in hyperbole, to complain, and to dehumanize others on the Internet, and I know Iā€™m guilty of all three, so kudos to these writers for speaking on them.
ā€œThe Power of Media and Misinformation in the Age of Coronavirus,ā€ DarlingMagazine.org (April 20)
ā€œMy Big Old Rant,ā€ SeanDietrich.com (July 10)
ā€œKanye West and the Media Are Once Again Playing a Dangerous Game,ā€ Vulture.com (July 13)
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Brightest Blue by Ellie Goulding (2020)
You might know Ellie for her electro-pop hits, but Iā€™ve always preferred her ballads that let her unique vocals shine. Brightest Blue is another collection of both styles, and itā€™s another strong outing from one of my favorite singers.
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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.
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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 theyā€™re 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)
Itā€™s 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 Loverā€”insteadĀ itā€™s 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 Iā€™m saying it again and even faster than last time.
Bonus: Enjoy this piece about the inspiration for her song ā€œLast Great American Dynastyā€ from St. Louis Magazine.
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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 whimā€”that is, until they start rewriting their programming. Ā At least we arenā€™t 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. Sheā€™s best known as Melanie in Gone With the Wind, but Iā€™ll argue thatā€™s not the best showcase of her talent.
The Best Picture Project continues with Clark Gable! He starred in 1934ā€™s It Happened One Night and 1935ā€™s Mutiny on the Bounty, but Iā€™m 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 ITā€™S A SHOW?, our pop culture references spanned 250 years with 1976ā€™s Rocky and the 1726 novel Gulliverā€™s 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 ā€œbrobdingnagianā€ means.Ā 
You can keep up with everything Iā€™m watching in real time on Letterboxd, where Iā€™ve rounded up my favorite journalism films, including All the Presidentā€™s Men, It Happened One Night, andĀ Zodiac.
Images: Switchfoot,Ā Media,Ā Ellie Goulding, West Side Story. all others IMDb.com.
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