Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall in the Francis Ford Coppola movie ‘The Godfather Part II’

Matt Lynn Digital reviewed the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather (1972) in January 2023. Today, we look to Ford Coppola‘s sequel as released in December 1974, namely The Godfather Part II (1974). Both claim the Mario Puzo book The Godfather as source material, with screenwriting credit for Puzo and Ford Coppola.

(From left, Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen and Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The original movie told the story of a clandestine organized crime dynasty’s transfer from an aging patriarch to a reluctant son of the original; the second movie tells of the early life and career of that patriarch from Sicily, Italy to New York City, New York as prequel while showing the son expand and control the dynasty as sequel. This storytelling decision to expand upon the original while speaking to the fate of the Don Vito Corleone’s family broke cinematic ground with meaning while offering satisfaction.

(From left, Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone and Leopoldo Trieste as Signor Roberto in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The story of Don Michael Corleone within The Godfather Part II opens in 1958 in Lake Tahoe on the California and Nevada border, accepting meetings in that role on the day of his son’s First Communion. Capo Frankie Pentangeli raises dismay about extracurricular behavior in the Bronx by Jewish mobster Hyman Roth’s organization. Meanwhile, Senator Pat Geary insults the Corleones specifically and Italians generally, demanding a bribe for casino operations that Michael aims not to pay. A failed assassination attempt on Michael Corleone leads him, while departing, to confide in consiglieri Tom Hagan that he, Corleone, fears a traitor exists within the organization. Al Pacino, Michael V. Gazzo, Lee Strasberg, G.D. Spradlin and Robert Duvall portrayed Corleone, Pantengeli, Roth, Geary and Hagan, respectively.

(Giuseppe Sillato as Don Francesco in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The story of Don Vito Corleone starts within The Godfather Part II as nine-year-old Vito Andolini in the Corleone neighborhood of Sicily in 1901. An insult to Mafia chieftain Don Francesco by Vito’s father led to the murder of Vito’s family, with Vito fleeing to New York City with the name Vito Corleone. It was 1917 that Vito loses his job due to interference by Don Fanucci before Vito’s neighbor, Peter Clemenza, asks Vito to hold some guns to avoid criminal consequences. The pair later strike up the beginnings of the Corleone crime empire while we get to meet Vito’s wife, Carmela, and the couple’s four kids. Oreste Baldini, Giuseppe Sillato, Robert De Niro, Gastone Moschin, Bruno Kirby, Francesca De Sapio, Roman Coppola and Louis Marino portrayed Vito Andolini – as a Boy, Don Francesco, Vito Corleone, Don Fanucci, young Peter Clemenza, young Carmela Corleone, Sonny Corleone – as a Boy and young Michael Corleone.

(From left, Al Pacino as Michael Corleone and John Cazale as Fredo Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The stories escalate from there, with Michael moving against Geary for political support while aiming for business plans in Cuba. Intrigue with Pentangeli and Roth bring Johnny Ola and Fredo Corleone into clearer focus, while Geary goes to bat for Michael Corleone and the Corleone criminal enterprise against a Senate Committee in Washington DC. When Mama (Carmela) Corleone as portrayed by Morgana King, drama for Michael comes full force with revelations for Connie, Fredo, Kay and the ongoing legacy of the family. Meanwhile with the prequel, a partnership with Salvatore Tessio brings additional friction with Don Fanucci that leads to the initial expansion of the Corleone crime family that many years later becomes the storyline explored with Michael. Dominic Chianese, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton and John Aprea portrayed Johnny Ola, Fredo Corleone, Connie Corleone, Kay Adams Corleone, and Young (Salvatore) Tessio, respectively.

(Diane Keaton as Kay Adams Corleone in the Francis Ford Coppola movie The Godfather Part II).

The Godfather Part II movie raises so many questions and suspense that are resolved with clarity, directness and brutality. Loyalty and betrayal are strong themes running throughout; that the story of Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone have moved from an initial innocence to an assertive, yet seemingly principled criminal philosophy is remarkable and substantial when looked at in parallel. I grant The Godfather Part II as directed by Francis Ford Coppola 4.75-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, April 6, 2024

Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone in the Martin Scorsese movie ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’

Set primarily in Osage County, Oklahoma, the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon (2023) is based largely on the David Grann book Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI. That intrigue around the murders of a Native American tribe relocated to Oklahoma, Missouri and Arkansas with negotiated mineral rights led to government sanctioned theft, racism, and at least tacit sanctioning of murder against Osage Indians generally is where the book and the movie begin to intersect. The Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover, as a growing investigative service, provides another intersection point.

(From left, Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart, Scott Shepherd as Byron Burkhart, Robert De Niro as William King Hale, Katherine Willis as Myrtle Hale and Delani Chambers as Willie Hale in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

With movie writing credits to Eric Roth and Martin Scorsese, the murdering of Osage people for oil rights on a one-by-one basis is the focus. Prior to the realization of this, the introduction of a modicum of Osage cultural tradition with the burial of the a ceremonial pipe, mourning their descendants’ assimilation into white American society. Sharing the yearly “flower moon” phenomenon of Oklahoma fields of bloom, we soon see several Osage dancing among oil gushing from the ground in their territory. Assuming the Osage “incompetent” to manage money in the American sense of it, Osage are assigned allotments of money in full and half-blood members headrights, which cannot be sold and transfer through inheritance to relatives upon death. In addition to graft that is addressed yet is not central to the movie, an incentive for untimely deaths had been created for unscrupulous whites.

(From left, Lily Gladstone as Mollie Kyle Burkhart and Leonardo DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

It is with this background that we meet Ernest Burkhart, as portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Having returned from World War One service unintelligent and greedy, Ernest moves in with his brother, Byron Burkhart as portrayed by Scott Shepherd, and his uncle William King Hale as portrayed by Robert De Niro. It’s on the family ranch that we learn of Hale‘s giving gifts to the Osage and speaking their language while serving in a neglectful law enforcement capacity. The depths of Hale‘s conniving against that proposed interest includes suggesting to Ernest Burhart‘s that his nephew strike up a romance with Mollie Kyle, who takes the Burkhart surname when Ernest and Molly marry in a ceremony with Osage and Roman Catholic elements. Lily Gladstone portrayed Mollie Kyle Burkhart, with Mollie’s relationship with Ernest Burkhart becoming a central focus of the movie.

(From left, Cara Jade Myers as Anna Brown, Tantoo Cardinal as Lizzie Q, Jillian Dion as Minnie Smith and Janae Collins as Reta Smith in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The criminal enterprise elements of the movie grow from here into what we see to be patterns of attack on the wealth and people of the Osage nation in general and Mollie Kyle Burkhart‘s family specifically. The patterns of attack on Lizzie Q, Anna Brown, Minnie Smith and Reta Smith, as portrayed by Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, Jillian Dion and Janae Collins, respectively, being front and center in the murderous plots. It is the escalating plot geared at Bill Smith‘s two wives (Minnie and Reta) and Ernest‘s wife (Molly), in addition to the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot that occurred with an arguably equivalent impunity, led to the Osage tribe’s council seeking reprieve in Washington DC against the corrupt forces in play on the Osage reservation, including a direct appeal to United States president Calvin Coolidge. Jason Isbell portrayed Bill Smith.

(From left, Jesse Plemons as Thomas Bruce White Sr., Tatanka Means as John Wren, John Lithgow as Prosecutor Peter Leaward and Brendan Fraser as W.S. Hamilton in the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

Despite of and in the face of these developments, William King Hale escalates his criminality further with the killing of Henry Roan, Mollie‘s first husband as portrayed by William Belleau, the ordering of the murdering of his own hired killers, and unsuccessfully attempting to murder Ernest after he testifies against his uncle. The Bureau of Investigation inquest by agents Thomas Bruce White Sr. and John Wren leads to a trial litigated by Prosecutor Peter Leaward. W.S. Hamilton defends William King Hale and Ernest Burkhart. Jesse Plemons, Tatanka Means, John Lithgow and Brendan Fraser portrayed White Sr., Wren, Leaward and Hamilton, respectively.

(From left, director Martin Scorsese and actor Robert De Niro on set for the Martin Scorsese movie Killers of the Flower Moon).

The means of bringing together the larger questions of the fates of William King Hale, Ernest Burkhart, Molly Kyle Burkhart and Anna Brown through a dramatized radio program intermixed with flashback provided an unexpected and dramatically cinematic flare to the movie’s resolution. The movie reels of the Tulsa Race Riots in addition to the opening storytelling tributes to the silent movie era of cinema were appreciated artful touches at earlier parts of the movie. These elevation points raised the bar for me on what quality filmmaking truly can be. It is with these points as backdrops to the story told that I grant Killers of the Flower Moon as directed by Martin Scorsese with a highly accomplished cast 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Saturday, November 4, 2023

Jackson Browne and the album ‘Late for the Sky’

Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, Jackson Browne released his third studio album Late for the Sky on Friday, September 13th, 1974. The album was added to the National Recording Registry for preservation in 2020. The registry is maintained by the Library of Congress of the United States of America. Browne’s style on this album has been classified as pop/rock, contemporary pop/rock, singer/songwriter and soft rock.

(Cover art for Jackson Browne‘s third studio album, Late for the Sky).

As quoted by Songfacts here back to an interview in Mojo Magazine, the song Late for the Sky is “about a moment when you realize that something has changed, it’s over, and you’re late for wherever you’re going to be next.” The song would later be played in the movie Taxi Driver (1976) when character Travis Bickle, portrayed by Robert De Niro, sinks into a dangerous depression.

Fountain of Sorrow was the second single from the Late for the Sky album. A Mojo Magazine article quoted by Songfacts here identifies Jackson Browne as saying the song “talks about disappointment, but in a forgiving way…It acknowledges that people are always looking for something in each other that they may not find, and says that not only is that OK, but what’s more enduring is the goodwill and acceptance of each other’s right to be on this search and to make your own choices, and that one’s longing or sorrow is part of your own search, not a byproduct of somebody else’s.”

(Fountain of Sorrow was the second released single in support of Jackson Browne‘s album Late for the Sky).

Farther On is quoted at Old Time Music here as an “attempt [by Browne] to find hope and purpose amidst the chaos and uncertainty of existence.  The song’s central message encourages individuals to push through hardships, embrace change, and continue moving forward, despite the challenges that may come their way.” These points feel correct to me, despite the website’s misidentification of the album where this song is released.

The Late Show offers a consoling viewpoint of human nature and the massive amounts of people you encounter who cannot open their hearts and help to seeing you through your life journey. The further point is that the consolation comes not in the support of large numbers of people but in the quality comfort of friends willing and able to offer friendship in moments of need.

(Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, Jackson Browne of Heildeberg, Germany wrote all the songs on his Late for the Sky album).

The Road and the Sky offers further evidence that Jackson Browne feels things spiritually while contemplating those feelings with substance. The Road and the Sky tells of Browne‘s desire for a partner in his spiritual journey that allows him to experience feeling without the demand for being the only person choosing the road that should be taken in continuing to exist.

In a 2016 interview quoted here, For a Dancer was written “for a friend of [Browne’s] who died in a fire…He was in the sauna in a house that burned down, so he had no idea anything was going on. It was very sad. He was a really interesting guy.” The strings and piano accompaniment included with this song are quite beautiful.

Walking Slow was the first song released in support of the Late for the Sky album, though didn’t chart of its own accord. The song gets into nostalgia for Jackson Browne‘s past while celebrating what was a sense of security with his family, his home and his career. The uplifting tone of the song stands out in comparison to other songs on the album.

(Released in support of the 1974 Jackson Browne album Late for the Sky, Walking Slow was the initial single released in support of that album).

Before the Deluge has more meaning to me than the point-of-view indicated by Old Time Music here. While certainly there is temptation to see strictly “a vivid picture of a world on the brink of destruction, exploring themes of societal decay, environmental devastation, and the desperate need for change,” I sense a moral call that invokes the biblical tale of Noah and the Flood in the Old Testament book of Genesis.

Beyond writing the music and singing the songs on Late for the Sky, Jackson Browne played acoustic guitar, piano and slide guitar. Additional musicians included David Campbell with string arrangements on Late Show, Joyce Everson, Beth Fitchet Wood, Dan Fogelberg, Don Henley, Terry Reid and J.D. Souther with harmony vocals, Doug Haywood (aka John Douglas Heywood) on bass guitar and harmony vocals, David Lindley (aka Perry Lindley) on electric guitar, lap steel guitar, fiddle and harmony vocals, Fritz Richmond on jug for Walking Slow, Jai Winding on piano, organ and keyboards, Clarence White on keyboards, Larry Zack on drums and percussion and H. Driver, Henry Thome and Michael Condello on handclaps.

Matt – Wednesday, September 13, 2023

Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer in the Michael Mann movie ‘Heat’

An ensemble cast to rival ensemble casts starred in a Michael Mann movie noted for its action, crime and drama. Al Pacino and Robert De Niro starred opposite one another in the movie about crime, law enforcement and the effect these lifestyles have on love in the Los Angeles, California based movie Heat (1995).

(From left, Val Kilmer as Chris Shiherlis, Robert De Niro as Neil McCauley and Tom Sizemore as Michael Cheritto in the Michael Mann movie Heat).

The movie itself begins with professional thief Neil McCauley, as portrayed by Robert De Niro, robbing more than a million dollars of bearer bonds from an armored truck with a crew including Chris Shiherlis, Michael Cheritto, Trejo and Waingro, with the last being new to the crew. Waingro, McCauley and Cheritto each kill someone during the heist, which brings heat upon and within the crew in introducing important thematic elements that will run through the full scale of the movie. Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo and Kevin Gage portrayed Shiherlis, Cheritto, Trejo and Waingro, respectively.

(From left, Diane Venora as Justine Hanna and Al Pacino as Lieutenant Vincent Hanna in the Michael Mann movie Heat).

With the theft and homicides history, the Los Angeles Police Department investigates the crimes. Lieutenant Vincent Hanna, as portrayed by Al Pacino, assesses quickly that the robbery was well planned. We learn quickly that Hanna has a strained relationship with his third wife, Lauren, in addition to difficulty emotionally connecting with his stepdaughter, Lauren Gustafson. Justine Hanna and Lauren Gustafson were portrayed by Diane Venora and Natalie Portman, respectively.

(From left, Ashley Judd as Charlene Shiherlis, Amy Brenneman as Eady and Natalie Portman as Lauren Gustafson in the Michael Mann movie Heat).

Meanwhile, the instinct of professional thieves is to manage the reality or perception of heat in their professional or personal lives. We learn after the heist that Chris Shiherlis was having marital problems with Charlene Shiherlis, as portrayed by Ashley Judd. We see Neil McCauley take a romantic interest in Eady, a graphic designer much younger than he is yet worth a look. Meanwhile, McCauley has a direct interest in putting an end to provocative behavior from Waingro, which becomes an extended storyline for the movie. Amy Brenneman portrayed Eady.

(From left, Kevin Gage as Waingro, Jon Voight as Nate and William Fichtner as Roger Van Zant in the Michael Mann movie Heat).

These relationships simultaneously worsen, suggest potential redemption for, and called for enlightened coercion when McCauley and his fence aim to engage solutions to their criminal and personal problems. In the aftermath of the robbery, Roger Van Zant has his hands in part of McCauley’s criminal plays. As the original robbery victim; Van Zant, as portrayed by William Fichtner, winds up in contact with Nate, the fence, and Waingro with criminal plots in furtherance of the original robbery. Waingro’s plans are pointed more strictly at addressing the heat raised by his actions in and since the opening robbery. Jon Voight portrayed Nate. The ways that each of these threads pull upon one another in resolving the many storylines is well done.

(From left, writer, director and producer Michael Mann, actress Ashley Judd and actor Robert De Niro in support of the Michael Mann movie Heat).

While the movie, as reported by Rotten Tomatoes here, performed slightly better among audiences than critics, there is more to recommend the film than to detract from it overall. The intrigue throughout the story was masterfully done, with the reward landing in the showdown between stars that one had been hoping for from the beginning the show. My biggest complaint was in the final portrayal of the ending, which left me wanting something slightly more in the form rather than the portrayal or outcome of it. Given the largely masterful criminal drama movie, I grant Heat as written, directed and produced by Michael Mann 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, November 16, 2022

Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson and Robert Forster in the Quentin Tarantino movie ‘Jackie Brown’

The American crime movie Jackie Brown (1997) was filmed influenced in subject matter and filming style of blaxploitation movies like Coffy (1973) and Foxy Brown (1974). The film is the third directed by Quentin Tarantino, originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. The movie was adapted from the Elmore Leonard book Rum Punch.

(Pam Grier as the character Jackie Brown in the Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown).

Pam Grier starred as title character Jackie Brown for the movie of the same name. Brown is a stewardess that moves drugs from Mexico into the United States for gun runner Ordell Robbie of Los Angeles, California. Samuel L. Jackson portrayed Robbie, who bails out courier Beaumont Livingston with bail bondsmen Max Cherry early in the movie. When Livingston shows up dead shortly thereafter, a distinct set of events involving the three is set in motion. Robert Forster portrayed Cherry. Chris Tucker portrayed Livingston.

(Robert Forster as Max Cherry in the Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown).

ATF agent Ray Nicolette and Los Angeles Police Department detective Mark Dargus, as portrayed respectively by Michael Keaton and Michael Bowen, tie into the Brown and Robbie tale. When Nicolette and Dargus catch Jackie Brown carrying illegal drugs, they setup a sting with Brown to take down the larger illegal enterprise. Robbie seeks Cherry’s help with getting Brown out of jail.

(From left, Michael Bowen as LAPD Detective Mark Dargus and Michael Keaton as ATF Agent Ray Nicolette in the Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown).

Against the above backdrop, the racket of arms and drug dealing undertaken by Ordell Robbie is pitted against the backdrop of hedonistic partners Melanie Ralston and Louis Gara, as portrayed by Bridget Fonda and Robert De Niro, respectively. Ralston enjoys surfing, the lifestyle afforded by her connection to moving material for Robbie. The conniving is play between Gara and Ralston, the first recently out of prison, is rivaled by additional intrigue brewing still between Jackie Brown and multiple other players in this drama.

(From left, Bridget Fonda as Melanie Ralston, Robert De Niro as Louis Gara and Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell Robbie in the Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown).

Quentin Tarantino adapted the Elmore Leonard story for the screen, thus the notions of misdirection that have been hallmarks of scripts written for movies by Tarantino elsewhere. That there is still another con that ends up pitting Max Cherry against Dargus and Nicolette as well as members of the illegal plays in play make for an entertaining foray into the fare that has, in my opinion, made Tarantino movies so popular with the general public as well as many critics.

(Actress Pam Grier and director Quentin Tarantino as seen during the filming of the Quentin Tarantino movie Jackie Brown).

There is much to be taken from watching this movie that I have left to your imagination. My suggestion is that you watch Jackie Brown for yourself, as I grant the movie as directed by Quention Tarantino 4.25-stars on a scale of 1-to-5.

Matt – Wednesday, June 29, 2022

The Year 2021 in Movies

Continuing with the final part of our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through today. Today we share the sixty-eight (68) movies reviewed across ten (10) decades by Matt Lynn Digital in 2021.

(The 1941 movie Citizen Kane is one of seven movies that Matt Lynn Digital gave 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5).

Citizen Kane (1941) was written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles. The Michael Curtiz directed film Casablanca (1942) also earned 4.5-stars, as did the Alfred Hitchcock directed film Psycho (1960).

(The 1961 movie The Hustler starred Paul Newman and Jackie Gleason).

The Robert Rossen directed film The Hustler (1961) is joined by the Martin Scorsese film Taxi Driver (1976), the James Cameron directed movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) and the David Fincher movie Se7en (1995) as also having earned 4.5-stars by Matt Lynn Digital in 2021.

(Several films by Alfred Hitchcock made their way into the Matt Lynn Digital reviews in 2021. North by Northwest and Strangers on a Train were a couple of favorites).

The Shop Around the Corner (1940) as directed by Ernst Lubitsch is one of eleven movies having earned 4.25-stars in 2021. The Alfred Hitchcock movie Strangers on a Train (1951) joins the Hitchcock film North by Northwest (1959) in the same category.

(Martin Scorsese movies are well received by Matt Lynn Digital. The 1995 movie Casino received 4.25-stars).

A Christmas Story (1983) as directed by Bob Clark has consistently hit me in a warm spot. The Richard Donner directed Lethal Weapon (1987) offers comedic action at a solid pace.  The Rob Reiner directed movie Misery (1990) juxtaposes mystery against the sweet storytelling of the Harold Ramis movie Groundhog Day (1993). Casino (1995) by director Martin Scorsese is the second film in our reviews to pair Scorsese with actor Robert De Niro. The Sixth Sense (1999) as directed by M. Night Shyamalan also earned our rating of 4.25-stars.

(The 2003 Ridley Scott movie Matchstick Men dips our toes into the 21st century of cinema).

The Ridley Scott movie Matchstick Men (2003) earned 4.25-stars, as did the David Fincher movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).

(The clean-cut reputation of the actor James Stewart is put to the test in his portrayal of Paul Biegler is the 1959 Otto Preminger movie Anatomy of a Murder).

Frankenstein (1931) as directed by James Whale received 4-stars as an origin tale into the more frightening side of cinema. The movie Saboteur (1942), the movie Rope (1948) and the movie Dial M for Murder (1954), as directed by Alfred Hitchcock, all earned similar ratings. The Otto Preminger directed movie Anatomy of a Murder (1959) closed out the three decades of cinema rated at this level.

(The 1974 Mel Brooks movie Young Frankenstein comedically poked fun of the 1931 James Whale movie Frankenstein).

The Mel Brooks directed movie Young Frankenstein (1974) worked on a level equal to the film that inspired it. Richard Donner succeeded in the horror movie genre with The Omen (1976) while John Carpenter delivered a similar 4-star rated movie with Halloween (1978). The Hugh Hudson directed film Chariots of Fire (1981) won four Academy Awards while the James Cameron sequel movie Aliens (1986) won a pair of awards.

(Seven Academy Awards and 4-stars from Matt Lynn Digital awaited the Kevin Costner‘s directorial debut movie, Dances with Wolves).

The epic Western Dances with Wolves (1990) as directed by Kevin Costner earned 4-stars, as did the Steven Spielberg movie Jurassic Park (1993), the movie Jumanji (1995) starring Robin Williams and the Tony Scott directed movie Enemy of the State (1998).

(The adventure of The Polar Express centers around the experience of finding joy in the notion of Christmas. Matt Lynn Digital granted the movie 4-stars).

The Stephen Frears movie High Fidelity (2000), the Paul Haggis directed movie Crash (2004), the Robert Zemeckis movie The Polar Express (2004), Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011) starring Gary Oldman and the Jake Kasdan directed movie Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017) all earned four stars.

(John Ford directed the western named Stagecoach. The movie starring John Wayne was granted 3.75-stars).

Alfred Hitchcock directed two separate movies based on the same source material twice. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934) as well as The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) each earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital. The John Ford directed movie Stagecoach (1939), starring John Wayne, is accompanied by Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt (1943), John Ford’s The Quiet Man (1952), and both The Trouble with Harry (1955) and The Wrong Man (1956) by Alfred Hitchcock.

(The 1962 Stanley Kubrick movie Lolita is often misunderstood yet tells a morally difficult story for those that can stick with it for understanding).

Stanley Kubrick directed the movie Lolita (1962), which is one of twenty-seven movies granted 3.75-stars by Matt Lynn Digital. Alfred Hitchcock‘s movie Torn Curtain (1966), Brian De Palma‘s movie Sisters (1972), the Don Siegel directed movie Escape from Alcatraz (1979), the John Hughes directed movie Sixteen Candles (1984), Ron Howard‘s movie Cocoon (1985) and the David Cronenberg directed movie The Fly (1986) each received a similar 3.75-stars.

(The 1992 movie Reservoir Dogs as directed by Quentin Tarantino received 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Total Recall (1990) starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sharon Stone are joined by the Quentin Tarantino movie Reservoir Dogs (1992), the Brian De Palma movie Carlito’s Way (1993), the Jan de Bont directed movie Speed (1994), The Santa Clause (1994) starring Tim Allen and the Kevin Smith directed movies Clerks (1994) and Chasing Amy (1997).

(The 2002 movie Insomnia from director Christopher Nolan offered a character focused with less abstraction focus in earning 3.75-stars).

The Howard Deutch sports comedy movie The Replacements (2000) introduced a string of movies, including the Christopher Nolan movie Insomnia (2002), the Gavin O’Connor movie Miracle (2004), the Tim Burton directed movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), the Clint Eastwood directed movie Richard Jewell (2019) and the Christopher Nolan movie Tenet (2020), that offered quality movie making rated at 3.75-stars.

(The 2003 movie Timeline as directed by Richard Donner is one of three movies to earn 3.5-stars by Matt Lynn Digital).

Sylvester Stallone stars in the movie Cliffhanger (1993), which stands beside the Wolfgang Petersen directed movie Outbreak (1995) and the Richard Donner directed movie Timeline (2003) as receiving 3.5-stars.

(Brian De Palma‘s 1990 movie The Bonfire of the Vanities received 3-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 from Matt Lynn Digital).

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) as directed by Brian De Palma was not a commercial success, earning a 3-star rating from Matt Lynn Digital. The movie lost over $31 million, despite a reasonably strong cast.

Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have albums that you’d like us to review, or similar work to that mentioned above, please be sure to let us know.

Matt – Friday, December 31, 2021

Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci and the Martin Scorsese movie ‘Casino’

The Nicholas Pileggi book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas reunited director Martin Scorsese with actor Robert De Niro for an unprecedented eighth time. Casino (1995), while enjoyed by many, is generally well regarded in the Scorsese movie canon, though much enjoyed as a solid movie with solid use of music and storytelling, is not ranked among the best movies directed by the celebrated director.

(From left, Robert De Niro as Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, Sharon Stone as Ginger McKenna and James Woods as Lester Diamond in the Martin Scorsese movie Casino).

Casino functions as a love triangle mixed in with a robust story of greed, money, power and murder between two childhood friends with the Tangiers Casino and Hotel of the 1970s in Las Vegas, Nevada at the center. Robert De Niro portrays Jewish American Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, a gambler and handicapping expert asked by organized criminals from Chicago, Illinois to oversee day-to-day operations at the Tangiers, which ostensibly is overseen by Phillip Green as portrayed by Kevin Pollak.

(From left, Frank Vincent as Frank Marino and Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro in the Martin Scorsese movie Casino).

Nicky Santoro, as portrayed by Joe Pesci, is the childhood friend to Rothstein. Santoro also is a made man, meaning fully initiated with trust into the Mafia as a trusted member of the family. Santoro is an enforcer that keeps people in line with organized crime through violence, with Frank Marino as portrayed by Frank Vincent as a trusted helper. The story of Rothstein and Santoro is nearly as important as the story of Rothstein, Ginger McKenna and, ultimately, Lester Diamond.

(From left, Robert De Niro as Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein and Don Rickles as Billy Sherbert in the Martin Scorsese movie Casino).

Lester Diamond, as played by James Woods, is the preexisting con-artist turned pimp with significant emotional influence over Ginger McKenna, who becomes Sam Rothstein’s wife. Sharon Stone portrays McKenna, a hustler, dancer and former prostitute who Rothstein marries in his early 40s despite this past. Don Rickles portrays Billy Sherbert, Rothstein’s enforcer. It is Sherbert and Santoro that in part support the triangle between Diamond, McKenna and Rothstein, though intrigue aided by an intriguing soundtrack aid the story that at multiple points that become the central story for the future of the Tangiers Casino and Hotel.

(From left, Robert De Niro as Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein and L.Q. Jones as Pat Webb in the Martin Scorsese movie Casino).

That larger story comes to include Pat Webb, Clark County gaming commission chairman. L.Q. Jones portrays Webb, and the precise way this plays out is worth the time you should invest in the movie Casino, especially if you are a fan of organized crime movies. The underlying story for how these two come to meet in the scene pictured above remains a solid piece of humor in the face of competition over the fate of a gambling empire and matters of the heart.

(From left, Casino director Martin Scorsese with actor Robert De Niro on set of the Martin Scorsese movie Casino).

Family, loyalty and the torment that comes from keeping those you love close feels like the core stories for how to have a run in organized crime. The movie Casino spins nearly three hours of intrigue that largely works. The movie Goodfellas (1990), which preceded Casino by a mere five years, gets more love for playing in a similar sandbox while more authoritatively depicting a lifestyle that resonated better for critics and the general public alike. I rate Casino at 4.25-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, January 9, 2021

The Year 2020 in Movies

With the oddness that has been the year 2020, new movie releases have been few and far between. Matt Lynn Digital continued to look into the past for movies to enjoy and review with you. The year saw us review thirty-six (36) films through the year, which we will share with you by decade, shared from highest rated to lowest.

(Argo starring Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin and  John Goodman was a 2012 gem that leads the 2010s with 4.5-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Argo (2012) leads the way for movies from the 2010s. The film earned 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5 stars, which is the highest rating matched only twice for movies this year. Earning 4.0-stars for the decade were Game Night (2018) starring Jason Batemen and Rachel McAdams, Captain Phillips (2013) starring Tom Hanks and Barkhad Abdi and The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) starring Matthew McConaughey and, for a second time this decade, Bryan Cranston.

(Matt Damon makes two appearances for the 2010s, the first with the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari).

 Ford v Ferrari (2019) offers the first of two starring roles in the Matt Lynn Digital movie reviews for Matt Damon and Christian Bale. The story of the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans earn a rating of 3.75-stars along with The Martian (2015), which starred Matt Damon, Kristen Wiig and Jeff Daniels and Gravity (2013) starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and Ed Harris.

(Tom Hanks returns to our list with the 4.25-stars granted Cast Away by Matt Lynn Digital).

The Robert Zemeckis film Cast Away (2000) starts in the holiday season where the character portrayed by Tom Hanks faces tremendous odds while delivering an outstanding movie granted 4.25-stars. The movie Ray (2004), starring Jamie Foxx in the role as Ray Charles and the Ang Lee movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) starring Michelle Yeoh and Yun-Fat Chow each earned 4-stars in their 2020 reviews.

(The Martin Scorsese film Gangs of New York featured among the best portrayals of a movie villain ever delivered by Daniel Day-Lewis. The film earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital).

Gangs of New York (2002) leads a stable of five movies to earn 3.75-stars from the decade that began the 21st century. While prominent, the performances by Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Neeson and John C. Reilly held sway in part for where the ranking placed. Other films from this decade gaining 3.75-stars included The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, The Blind Side (2009) starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, Friday Night Lights (2004) starring Lucas Black, Billy Bob Thornton and Tim McGraw, and Elf (2003) starring Will Ferrell, James Caan and Zooey Deschanel.  The Skulls (2000) starring Joshua Jackson,  Paul Walker and  Craig T. Nelson earned 3.5-stars.

(Fight Club starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton and Helena Bonham Carter and the Martin Scorsese movie Goodfellas starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Lorraine Bracco lead the 1990s with 4.5-stars granted by Matt Lynn Digital).

The film Fight Club (1999) and the film Goodfellas (1990) bookend the 1990s with a pair of movies earning the 2020 top rating of 4.5-stars offered by Matt Lynn Digital. The football movie Rudy (1993) starring Sean Astin and Ned Beatty is joined by baseball movie The Sandlot (1993) with Denis Leary and the military, political intrigue movie The Hunt for Red October (1990) starring Sean Connery, James Earl Jones, Alec Baldwin and Sam Neill with ratings of 4.0-stars.

(For Love of the Game starring Kevin Costner, John C. Reilly and Kelly Preston lead 1990s films getting 3.75-stars by Matt Lynn Digital).

Baseball and borderline romantic comedy film For Love of the Game (1999) earned 3.75-stars from Matt Lynn Digital in 2020. The film Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) with  Richard Dreyfuss and the Ron Howard film Far and Away (1992) with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman join For Love of the Game with 3.75-stars. Earning 3.25 stars is the film The Usual Suspects (1995), which starred Kevin Spacey, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Pollak.

(The Brian De Palma and Oliver Stone film Scarface with  Al Pacino,  Michelle Pfeiffer, Robert Loggia and Steven Bauer kicks off the 1980s with a 4-star rating by Matt Lynn Digital).

The 4-stars earned by the organized crime movie Scarface (1983) is joined by the Steven Spielberg film Empire of the Sun (1987) starring Christian Bale, John Malkovich and Joe Pantoliano and Tim Burton‘s film Beetlejuice (1988) starring Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Winona Ryder and Michael Keaton. The Richard Donner film Scroooged (1988) starring Bill Murray, John Forsythe, David Johansen and Carol Kane completes the decade with 3.75-stars.

(Ridley Scott‘s film Alien starring Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt and Ian Holm earns the best rating of the 1970s for Matt Lynn Digital at 4.25-stars).

Alien (1979) closed out the 1970s with quite the impact, garnering 4.25-stars for a science fiction story that stands on its own. The Martin Scorsese concert goodbye The Last Waltz (1978) with The Band leads three other productions getting 3.75-stars. Joining The Last Waltz with 3.75-stars include the baseball movie The Bad News Bears (1976) with Walter Mathau and Tatum O’Neal, the western movie The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) starring Clint Eastwood and John Vernon and the comedic war movie Kelly’s Heroes (1970) starring Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Don Rickles, Carroll O’ Connor and Gavin MacLeod.

(The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance and The Lady Vanishes achieved two different things in two different decades to complete the movie reviews by Matt Lynn Digital in 2020).

The John Ford movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Vance (1962) starred John Wayne, James Stewart, Lee Marvin and Vera Miles in a western that earned 3.75-stars. The Lady Vanishes (1938) put Alfred Hitchcock on the proverbial map with a political commentary in the guise of a thriller starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas and May Whitty. The Lady Vanishes earned 4.0-stars from Matt Lynn Digital.

(Blog friend Cobra reviewed the movies Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight in a single sharing on Matt Lynn Digital).

Matt Lynn Digital also enjoyed sharing a review of Richard Linklater‘s Before Trilogy of movies. Blog friend Cobra reviewed Before Sunrise (1995), Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013) in a single review. Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy explore the notion of relationships a bit more fully and cleverly than often happens with any movie franchise. It is with thanks that we look back to this sharing.

Share the Matt Lynn Digital blog with your friends if you see value in what we are doing. We feel these reviews provide excellent content that we would like to continue offering.

Matt – Wednesday, December 30, 2020

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

Joaquin Phoenix and the film ‘Joker’

The film Joker (2019) works. Joaquin Phoenix starring in a gritty, physically demanding, emotional gut punch of a role as Arthur Fleck demands your attention. While given credible support in roles supporting him, make no mistake that Joaquin Phoenix as star of this character study surpasses the critical appreciation granted Christian Bale for Batman Begins (2005). While in the conversation, it is hard for me to say Phoenix’ Joker surpasses that of Heath Ledger from The Dark Knight (2008).

(Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in the film Joker).

While thinking quite highly of the film Joker and the role Joaquin Phoenix played, this commentary is largely intended to keep the story of the experience to myself. Robert De Niro starring in a role reminiscent of Johnny Carson‘s The Tonight Show brings credibility to a sense of time and place in setting to a time of the maybe the 1970’s with the fictional city of Gotham standing in for New York City.

(Robert De Niro as Murray Franklin in the film Joker).

Arthur Fleck faced the gritty hardship of experiencing the difficult sides of a life that lacked stability, a future, and other elements that brought the Joker, as a character and villain, into conflict with the character Batman we know through the myth of the comic books, the multiple television series, and the multiple movie franchises. Arthur’s relationship with Penny Fleck, as portrayed by Frances Conroy, is given appropriate treatment in Joker.

(Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck, Arthur’s mother, in the film Joker).

Further, critical roles were given convincing voice in giving the role of Arthur Fleck an escalating series of events, each deepening Fleck into his culmination as sociopath Joker. Bringing Gotham with him in parallel offers a tangible sense of what guides the Batman we see on the reverse side of the coin. Those leveling criticism of this film as juvenile, bleak, clichéd, derivative or not angry enough miss a large point that this was a character study. Part of what made the slow burn of Quention Tarantino‘s film Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019) film work made Joker also work.

(Joaquin Phoenix with director and co-screenwriter Todd Phillips from the film Joker).

Todd Phillips directed Joker. Scott Silver joined Phillips with screenwriting credits. My feeling of this movie, following my first viewing on Sunday of opening weekend, is that the film deserves the 4.0-stars on a scale of one-to-five that I am granting it. The audience score (91% favorable) rather than the score of critics (69% favorable) from Rotten Tomatoes on Sunday evening at roughly 10:30 PM Eastern Time, is more in line with my experience.

Matt – Wednesday, October 9, 2019