Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper and Sandra Bullock in the Jan de Bont movie ‘Speed’

In coming across a list of favorite movies since 1992 attributed to Quentin Tarantino recently, my expectation didn’t immediately think of the Jan de Bont directed movie Speed (1994) starring Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper and Sandra Bullock. The fresh look at the film happily offered more than I remembered.

(From left, Keanu Reeves as Jack Traven and Jeff Daniels as Harry Temple in the Jan de Bont movie Speed).

Working as bomb disposal experts for the Los Angeles, California Police Department‘s SWAT team included Jeff Daniels as Harry Temple and Keanu Reeves as Jack Traven. Our first introduction to these all stars comes when Traven and Temple thwart an attempted extortionist bombing in an elevator.

(Joe Morton as Lieutenant Herb ‘Mac’ McMahon in the Jan de Bont movie Speed).

The averted tragedy takes a pair of unique turns that saves the day twice, resulting in the promotion of Harry Temple following the incident. It was praise from Lieutenant “Mac” McMahon, as portrayed by Joe Morton, that in part sees Harry ascended to detective.

(From left, Dennis Hopper as Howard Payne and Sandra Bullock as Annie Porter in the Jan de Bont movie Speed).

Despite the superior work in averting one disaster, the suspense, action and danger of bomber Howard Payne, as portrayed by Dennis Hopper, has not come to an end with one averted attempt at making death in large numbers. Circumstances represent themselves when Payne reemerges with an attempt to repeat the extortion again. This time, Payne has attached the bomb to a bus that will explode if the bus slows to less than 50 miles per hour. Passengers leaving the bus also prompts an explosion.

(The bus in the Jan de Bont movie Speed).

Passenger Annie Porter, as portrayed by Sandra Bullock, just barely becomes a passenger on the ill-fated bus. Porter is joined with passengers Ortiz and Doug Stephens, portrayed by Carlos Carrasco and Alan Ruck, respectively. The drama of keeping the bus going, with Jack Travern interacting with a second attempt to end Payne’s revenge, become the drama that we witness through the remainder of the film.

(From left, Alan Ruck as Doug Stephens and Carlos Carrasco as Ortiz in the Jan de Bont movie Speed).

Speed offered a solid portion of good versus evil, wrong versus right, suspenseful intrigue that asks you to suspend a degree of disbelief. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and there is suspense for the characters that women and men can find emotionally satisfying. That a love interest of sorts is formed between Traven and Porter is the whip cream and cherry that tops the dish of ice cream that is Speed. I give Speed 3.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci and the Martin Scorsese movie ‘Goodfellas’

Mob movies rank highly with Matt Lynn Digital friends Airport Friend and Cobra. In their respective rankings of top movies, the latter lists three mobster movies among the top nine movies he has ever seen. The former, Airport Friend, includes Goodfellas (1990) as the eighth movie overall on his listing of top films. We turn our attention to the film based on the Nicholas Pileggi book Wiseguy.

(From left, Ray Liotta as Henry Hill and Lorraine Bracco as Karen Hill in the movie Goodfellas).

Wise guy Henry Hill, portrayed in Goodfellas as an adult by Ray Liotta, is a central character in a tight knit group of mobsters based in New York City. Karen Hill, as portrayed by Lorraine Bracco, becomes what begins as an understanding wife. The course of the life the Hills leads to something exceedingly different from what Henry or Karen’s parents experienced, which leads to friction in the marriage as the years explored in Goodfellas are explored.

(From left, Ray Liotta as Henry Hill and Paul Sorvino as Paul Cicero in the movie Goodfellas).

Paul Cicero as portrayed by Paul Sorvino becomes an important mob leader for the career that Henry Hill is staking with his little piece of the mob action. From the point where Cicero agrees to bring the young Henry Hill, as portrayed by Christopher Serrone, into the racket to the point where Hill starts a hustle with young Tommy DeVito, as portrayed by Joseph D’Onofrio, the beginning of mob careers for Tommy and Henry are just getting established as teenagers.

(From left, Ray Liotta as Henry Hill, Joe Pesci as Tommy DeVito, Catherine Scorsese as Tommy DeVito’s Mother and Robert De Niro as James Conway in the movie Goodfellas).

Tommy DeVito is portrayed as an adult by Joe Pesci in Goodfellas. Catherine Scorsese plays his mother, Mrs. DeVito. Tommy DeVito never gets married in the film. Henry Hill and DeVito both get into the types of work you’d expect with insight into the personalities and varying degrees of commitment to sticking with the racket.

(From left, Michael Imperioli as Spider and Dennis Farina in the movie Goodfellas).

Of significant influence and authority over the full scheme of Hill, DeVito and Cicero is the role of James Conway. Robert De Niro portrays James Conway. Roles portrayed by Michael Imperioli (as Spider) and by Dennis Farina in part demonstrated how running afoul of Tommy DeVito become things to clean-up either individually or collectively for the crew run by Conway. The outcomes of these two are warnings about loyalty to Hill and DeVito especially. It is in the narrative cycle and personal outcomes for many in this tale that the appeal of mobster movies come for friends like Airport Friend and Cobra, should I understand their feelings properly.

(From left, actor Robert De Niro with film director Martin Scorsese on set of Goodfellas).

Martin Scorsese directed Goodfellas, along with taking screenplay writing credits alongside Nicholas Pileggi. The movie itself offers emotionally compelling cinema with a story of the conflicting needs and turns of an admittedly self-absorbed, sociopathic set of morally-bankrupt characters. The themes of loyalty, respect, getting made or rebuffed, and the finality of the tale is clear, strong, and compellingly told. The story was told with some sense of justice meted out. I’ll leave it to those familiar with the movie, and the state of the larger United States civil and political culture today, to decide if this remains the best Scorsese gangster movie made. I rate Goodfellas at 4.50-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, August 22, 2020