GoodFellas
Greetings, Goodfellas is a crime film by Martin Scorsese, director of many famous movies such as Shutter Island, the Last Temptation of Christ and Taxi Driver, which was released in the year 1990. The film is based on the non-fiction book ‘Wiseguy’ by Nicholas Pileggi which in turn is based on the life of mobster Henry Hill and his factual exploits in the criminal underworld. The movie has a sizeable cast of noteworthy actors including Ray Liotta as the protagonist and aforementioned Henry Hill, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Samuel L. Jackson and Paul Sorvino. Goodfellas has an extensive and varied list of music and musicians included within it, which changes as the story progresses into the different decades. It begins with singers from the 1950s such as Bobby Vinton or Tony Bennett with more doo-wop style songs and eventually concludes in the early 1980s with a punk soundtrack with the likes of Sid Vicious.
The movie begins with Henry and his two colleagues driving a car down a New York road at night in 1970. His co-workers are Jimmy ‘the Gent’ Conway, an American of Irish extraction, and the unhinged, aggressive Mafioso Tommy DeVito. As Henry drives along he can hear a thumping noise at the back of the automobile and proposes he has a flat tire. He pulls the vehicle over to inspect the noise which can be heard coming from the trunk of the car. DeVito unsheathes a knife as Jimmy pulls out a gun and Henry opens the boot to reveal a bloodied man wrapped in sheets. The unidentified man, on the verge of death, begs for them to spare his life but is quickly silenced by Tommy who stabs him. Jimmy shoots the man several times for good measure as well. The graphic scene causes Henry to think back on his life and how at one point in his youth he had decided he wanted to be a self-made man. The story reverts back to 1955 with a young Henry Hill and his introduction to the Italian mafia that were are prominent presence in his New York neighbourhood. He begins his criminal occupation by working as a low level fence, buying stolen goods from thieves and selling them on to unsuspecting citizens, for local mob boss Paul ‘Paulie’ Cicero.
Hill further ingratiates himself into the family when he is caught selling ill-gotten packs of cigarettes by police officers and brought to court. Much to the delight of Cicero, Henry doesn’t snitch on his new found friends and receives a light sentence for his crimes as well as new found respect within the syndicate for his loyalty. Later on in the film, Henry has risen up the ranks of the organization and gotten accustomed to the riches, the perks and the glamorous lifestyle of being a gangster. He meets his future wife named Karen Friedman at a club one night and despite her initial reservations about his dangerous profession, she eventually succumbs to the highly lucrative, extravagant and exciting life the career provided her with. The high wouldn’t last forever as things begin to take a serious downward turn for Henry as his domestic life becomes troubled with his extra martial affairs later on and he develops a serious drug addiction. Matters become much worse in 1970 when the unstable Tommy kills another gangster from a different family for insulting him. The mobster was known as Billy Batts, the man from the beginning of the movie who was dying in the trunk. Henry, Tommy and Jimmy bury the body in a faraway location as Hill fears that the gruesome murder will be found out by the criminal organization who will naturally want revenge.
Overall, I really liked this film and appreciated the humour that was sprinkled throughout this rather dark, bloody tale. I found the rise and fall of Henry Hill to be a very intriguing story and would like to read the novel at some point to become further acquainted with the late Henry’s life. While Hill died in 2012, a few of the inspirations for the characters in the movie are still alive at the time of writing such as Hill’s ex-wife Karen. Due to my immense enjoyment of Goodfellas, I would like to watch more of Martin’s works and am particular interested in Casino. The 1995 film is another crime picture which stars Robert Di Niro as well as Joe Pesci and is another collaborative project between Scorsese and Pileggi.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the day
By love you mean big lightning bolts to the heart, where you can't eat and you can't work, and you just run off and get married and make babies. The reason you haven't felt it is because it doesn't exist. What you call love was invented by guys like me...to sell nylons.
Don Draper
Mad Men
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Greetings, the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a famous novella from 1886 and was written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It is arguably Stevenson’s most iconic works, rivalled only by Treasure Island in this regard. This book is one that I had wanted to read for a while, in part, because I have developed an interest in reading some of the old classics that laid the foundation for modern day literature and storytelling. I haven’t read that many of these older tales but made a start by getting through King Solomon’s Mines and started collecting some novels for future use. Another appealing factor was that it served as the inspiration and provided an important influence in the creation of my favourite Batman adversary, Harvey ‘Two-Face’ Dent, according to the Dark Knight co-creator Bob Kane.
The plot follows the perspective of Gabriel John Utterson, the lawyer and personal friend of the titular Dr Henry Jekyll. Gabriel and his cousin Richard are walking down a street one night when they pass a particular doorway. Richard tells Gabriel of a peculiar incident that occurred there some months ago. A man of horrid appearance named Edward Hyde had trampled upon a young girl after accidently bumping into her. This occurred right in front of Enfield who then pressed Hyde to pay a £100 to prevent news of the incident from being spread across the city. A disgruntled Edward agreed to do so and reluctantly brought them to the door that Richard had indicated to his cousin. It was here that he provided a cheque to them in the name of Dr Henry Jekyll. The story alarms Utterson as Jekyll had recently rewritten his will to make Hyde the only beneficiary and fears that the doctor is being blackmailed.
John travels to Jekyll’s house and confronts him about these matters. Henry is defensive upon hearing the theory. He asks his friend to leave the case alone and to let Edward be but this causes Utterson to be more curious as Jekyll was becoming more withdrawn the past few months to the point of being a hermit. The matter of Hyde arises again when in October the foul man beats one of Utterson’s clients, Sir Danvers Carew MP, to death with a walking stick. A servant of Carew’s sees the murders take place and informs the police of the atrocity. The police then come to John who in turn leads them to Hyde’s abode but they find it empty. A broken cane, the one that killed Danvers, is found inside and leads to some further questions as Utterson had presented the very same cane to Dr Jekyll as a gift. John continues his investigation despite Henry’s objections and eventually begins to unravel a mystery steeped in the supernatural.
Overall, while the book may be a bit slow at times and certainly isn’t as shocking to today’s desensitized audience, I found it to be a good read. The character, or arguably characters, of Dr Henry Jekyll and Mr Edward Hyde still has a large effect on modern popular culture. The character has appeared in various films such as Hugh Jackman’s Van Helsing, the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and the recent reboot of The Mummy which was intended to launch Universal’s Dark Universe series but was slated by reviewers upon release. While not a particularly current example, James Nesbitt also portrayed a similar but modernized version of Stevenson’s creation in a British television series called Jekyll from 2007. There have also be numerous adaptations of the source material including movie versions in 1931 and 1941 which star Fredrich March and Spencer Tracy as the main character respectively. I would recommend this short novella if you are looking to plunge into some of the old classics and genre defining books.
Plot=7/10
Characters-7/10
Wording=8/10
Overall=7/10
Quote of the Day
Shall we play a game?
Joshua/WOPR
War Games
Avengers: Infinity War
Greetings, Avengers: Infinity War was a long anticipated instalment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which began in 2008 with Iron Man, and is the latest movie to be released in this major interlinked project which currently spans 19 films. All of its main characters were joined together in this picture, with a few exceptions, after previously staring in their own separate adventures. Notable absentees from Infinity War’s line up include Antman and Hawkeye who are only referenced in passing. Some of the most noteworthy actors or actresses include Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Pratt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Tom Holland, Scarlett Johansson, Zoe Saldana, Mark Ruffalo and Josh Brolin. Even though there is a strong cast of numerous heroes and heroines, there is still another batch of supporting characters who play a more minor role in the plot such as Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, Idris Elba as Heimdall or Peter Dinklage as Eitri. The music was composed by Alan Silvestri who had been involved in conducting the score for previous Marvel films in the series.
The plot begins where Thor: Ragnarok’s post-credit scene ended in which an Asgardian refugee ship is approached by an unknown vessel. It is revealed that the ship belonged to the Mad Titan Thanos. The villain attacks the ship, which was escorting the Asgardian survivors from the events of the previous film, in the hopes of retrieving one of the Infinity Gems known as the Power Stone. There are six of these gems scattered throughout the universe and Thanos has already acquired one before the opening scenes. Once they are all inserted into the Infinity Gauntlet wielded by Thanos, he will have harnessed unimaginable power and is able eradicate half the universe with the click of his fingers. The Asgardian ship falls to Thanos and his forces despite being protected by Thor, the Hulk, Loki and Heimdall. Thanos successfully captures the stone that was aboard the vessel, killing both Heimdall and Loki in the process but not before Heimdall transports the Hulk to Earth via the Bifrost. Thor is left badly wounded in the crumbling remains of the ship as Thanos departs for Earth in search of the Time Stone which is guarded by Doctor Strange.
The Hulk crash lands into the abode of the aforementioned Doctor in New York City and warns both Strange as well as his assistant Wong that Thanos is coming for them. In light of the news, Strange opens a portal to another location in the city where Tony Stark, better known as his alter ego Iron Man, is enjoying a walk in the park with Pepper Potts. Doctor Strange quickly relays the news and recruits Stark in his fight against their approaching enemies. A space ship arrives in the centre of New York, heralding the arrival of the Mad Titan’s henchmen by the names of Maw and Obsidian. The appearance of the vessel draws the attention of Peter Parker who then investigates the scene as his superhero persona, the friendly neighbourhood Spiderman, before quickly getting involved in the fight for the Gem. Maw is unable to steal the Time Stone due to an enchantment Strange had sealed upon it and so he decides to kidnap the defeated sorcerer while the others are engaged battle. Stark and Spiderman notice the ship is about to depart with the captured Doctor on board and find a way to enter it without raising any suspicions as it leaves Earth’s atmosphere.
Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. The encounter with Thanos had been teased for a long time since its initial set up in the original Avengers film from 2012. I believe the Cinematic Universe as a whole, even though I have yet to see some of the more recent releases, has actually improved in quality since its earlier works. I certainly felt the previous Avengers film, Age of Ultron, was a lower point in the series that has since been vastly eclipsed by Infinity Wars in terms of entertainment value. There is plenty of good humour throughout the movie. I particularly enjoyed the comedic back and forth exchanges between Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy. The whole group of heroes never team up in one scene altogether as it eventually splits into two distinct groups who are trying to halt Thanos in different locations. In my opinion, the film was impressively handled in relation to spreading out the screen time between its large cast but of course some characters such as Black Widow were effectively reduced to a much more minor role. While this isn’t going to be everyone’s idea of good fun, I definitely enjoyed watching Infinity War and am very interested in seeing the next instalment because, in part, of a suspenseful cliff hanger.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the Day
TOGA! TOGA!
Bluto
Animal House
Mad Men
Greetings, Mad Men is an award winning television show composed of seven seasons that ran from 2007 to 2015. Mad Men has a highly skilled cast of numerous actors and actresses which include Jon Hamm as the iconic character Don Draper, Elisabeth Moss, January Jones, John Slattery, Christina Hendricks, Vincent Kartheiser, Robert Morse, Aaron Staton as well as Jared Harris to name but a few. There is also a large number of supporting actors as well, some of whom disappear from the series entirely after a few seasons or take on a more diminished role, such as Community’s Alison Brie as Trudy Campbell. The original soundtrack was composed by David Carbonara but also utilises contemporary music throughout, especially in the lead up to the end credits of most episodes. A great range of artists were featured in Mad Men’s score. Popular songs from well renowned entertainers including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Ella Fitzgerald, Roy Orbison, Vic Damon, Bobby Vinton and the Beatles were incorporated into the show.
The plot begins in 1960 and concludes its run in 1970 with the season seven finale. Don Draper, creative director for a small advertising agency called Sterling Cooper, is contemplating how to sell cigarettes in the backdrop of increased public awareness about the harm the product causes. Don isn’t satisfied with creating an advertisement based on an academic psychological report that suggests customers could be allured to cigarettes precisely because of the dangers it poses to their health and wellbeing. A frustrated Draper needs to get his creative mind stimulated and decides to visit his paramour. In what becomes a common trait with Don and the women he seduces, he has his way with her, before getting some clarity on his solution. He manages to create a winning strategy which focuses not on the debate about the impactful effect on health but on how the cigarette is produced. The straightforward but inventive manoeuvre impresses executives from the Lucky Strike Tobacco Company and is a small introductory indicator of how he earned his reputation in the advertising business. Draper heads home in a scene which reveals to the audience that he has two children, Sally and Bobby, as well as that he was cheating on his stay at home wife Betty with another woman. The character of Don and the potential troubles he will face becomes clearer to the viewer at this point.
At the same time a young woman named Peggy Olsen takes up her first job in Manhattan as Don’s new secretary. Peggy seems enthusiastic to be an employee in New York with all the freedoms or opportunities it provides her with but she is all too aware of the large bustling, city and how foreign its ways are to her. On her arrival, Peggy meets office manager Joan Holloway who quickly shows her the ropes and pecking order of the workplace. A large part of her advice centres on making Peggy as attractive to her male co-workers as possible in the interest of Olson’s career progression or the possibility of finding a future husband. It isn’t long before Peggy is introduced to a few of her new colleagues which includes Peter Campbell, Ken Cosgrove, Harry Crane and Paul Kinsey. Peggy eventually begins to settle into the culture of Sterling Cooper, which can be often very turbulent, and starts to dream of breaking new ground by becoming the company’s first female Copy Writer.
Overall, I was really impressed and entertained by Mad Men which kept my interest hooked from start to finish. It is a very stylish show that tackles various topics such as racism, sexism, homosexuality, drug abuse and alcoholism through the lens of culturally shifting 1960s America. Mad Men also includes important historical events into its storylines. Some of these become the main topic of the episode, such as the assassinations of Kennedy and King, notorious murders or race riots in the United States. While the series has a large range of characters, it mostly centres on the evolution of Olson and the breakdowns of Draper due to his suffering relationships or the unravelling of his past. Don’s complex identity and a hard upbringing is a core aspect of Mad Men’s appeal. It drives much of his story-arch and shapes his character with vices such as his alcoholism and his constant need to womanize with a long list of mistresses, paramours or sexual conquests despite already having a partner. In conclusion, Mad Men is a television series that I would definitely encourage people to watch if they haven’t seen it as of yet.
Plot=10/10
Characters=10/10
Special Effects=10/10
Overall=10/10
Quote of the Day
You... you've got me? Who's got you?
Lois Lane
Superman
Batman: The Telltale Series
Greetings, Batman: The Telltale series is a 2016 video game developed and published, as the title explains, by Telltale Games. Telltale Games are well renowned for their episodic format and a story driven campaign that is affected overall by the player’s personal choices. Many games from well-known franchises have been created by the company and that list includes, but is not limited to, Back to the Future, Sam and Max, Tales of Monkey Island, the Walking Dead as well as Game of Thrones. This series features a plethora of talented voice actors and actresses which consist of Troy Baker, Dave Fennoy, Travis Willingham, Laura Bailey and Erin Yvette among others. The music was composed by Jared Emerson-Johnson, who has written the music for many of Telltale’s works. In keeping with the style of previous games, Batman has plenty of dialogue branches for the player to choose from and uses a series of quick time events as a mechanism for the action sequences.
The plot begins with Batman attempting to stop a theft in Gotham City Hall in which he encounters the professional burglar known as Catwoman for the first time. Batman fails to apprehend Catwoman as she makes her escape but he managed to attain the device she had attempted to steal, a computer drive. Both the Caped Crusader and Catwoman had managed to injure their opponent during their tussle, sustaining visible wounds in the process. Bruce returns to Wayne Manor in which his best friend and aspiring mayoral candidate, Harvey Dent, is hosting a fundraiser for his campaign. Dent, who is running against the incumbent and corrupt Mayor Hill, hopes to make Gotham free of the violent crime that plagues the city with the help of Wayne’s financial endorsement. The event takes a surprising turn when Carmine Falcone of the Falcone criminal syndicate enters the manor in full view of the press, including Viki Vale of the Gotham Gazette. Bruce takes Falcone into a private room at Alfred’s behest to shield their conversation from the prying eyes of suspicious fund raisers and the media.
Once inside the room, Carmine expresses his concerns about Dent’s policies further explaining that he and Bruce’s deceased father go back a long time, once forming a strong business orientated relationship. Falcone offers Bruce the opportunity to take up his father’s mantle and secretly run Gotham alongside Carmine’s mob as well as with Mayor Hill before the mob boss leaves the manor. Bruce initially shrugs off the notion that his family’s wealth came by illegitimate means but reputable news sources begin to spread it as credible, tarnishing the Wayne name and causing damage to Harvey’s campaign in the process. The next day, Bruce meets with Harvey in order to discuss the claims and to contain or disprove the story as effectively as possible. It is here that Wayne meets Dent’s girlfriend, a woman named Selina Kyle who is otherwise known as Catwoman. It isn’t long before both Bruce and Selina uncover each other’s identity due to the wounds they managed to land on each other.
I really enjoyed this dark take on the Batman property which managed to reinvent or reimagine many characters such as a modernized Penguin and Viki Vale in interesting, unexpected ways. Many noteworthy and classic villains were involved in the five episodes although Bruce’s primary antagonist, the Joker, is relatively unused which makes a nice difference to the rest of the Batman games. Another difference that I appreciated is that the Dark Knight’s alter ego of wealthy industrialist Bruce Wayne plays a much larger role than in previous games such as the Arkham series in which he is normally overlooked. The player also has to choose between the two identities in some confrontational situations, allowing Wayne to play an even greater role in this particular adaptation. The Telltale team also ensure that many of Batman’s key skills or aspects are incorporated into their depiction such as the detective mode that gives players the opportunity to solve various crime scenes related to the overarching plot. A Sequel entitled Batman: The Enemy Within has also been published and it is one I would like to get my hands on, especially after the fun I had with this instalment.
Plot=9/10
Characters=9/10
Graphics=8/10
Overall=9/10
Quote of the Day
Mini-Me, you complete me.
Dr. Evil
Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me
10 Cloverfield Lane
Greetings, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a 2016 film and the second instalment in the Cloverfield anthology franchise which began with the 2008 movie, Cloverfield. Despite being of the same series, the sequel doesn’t use the found footage style that the original was famed for but utilizes a more traditional third person narrative. The cast is small in number but boasts a highly talented membership which includes John Goodman, Mary Elizabeth Winstead as well as John Gallagher Junior as the main trio. Bradley Cooper can also be heard as the voice of the main protagonist’s ex-boyfriend while Suzanne Cryer has a brief role as a disease stricken neighbour. Other instalments in the series include a 2018 film named the Cloverfield Paradox and another, with the working title of Overlord, scheduled for release in October of this year. The soundtrack was scored by Bear McCreary who had previously conducted the music for television shows including the Walking Dead and Battlestar Galactica.
The film begins with a woman called Michelle clearing her possessions out of her home after she breaks up with her boyfriend. She decides to drive far away from New Orleans and travels as far as rural Louisiana when the radio stations begin reporting that major cities are suffering from unexplained blackouts. As the reports begin to flood in, Michelle is hit by a speeding truck and the impact knocks her car off the road. The collision causes her to fall into a state of unconsciousness and Michelle wakes up to discover she is being held in a secure room that is not dissimilar to a cell. The protagonist realizes to her horror that she has been handcuffed to the wall and that her phone is placed on the other side of the room. The wounds she had sustained from the vehicular accident had also been tended to. It isn’t long before the door is opened and a man named Howard makes an appearance.
Howard explains to a distressed Michelle that she has been placed in a safe location, an underground bunker, as the world up above is now uninhabitable. He believes that the air was poisoned by a nuclear or chemical fallout and theorizes that the attack was carried out by Extra-terrestrial or Russian forces. Michelle is hostile towards Howard in the beginning, even managing to physically assault him in her captive and wounded state. As time goes by she becomes more sceptical of Howard’s story as she clearly hears a roaming car above her room but nonetheless she begins to calm down. Howard decides that she is now free to explore the rest of the bunker and introduces her to fellow resident Emmet before providing evidence of the fallout to Michelle. He takes her to the viewport of the exit hatch and shows her two dead and deteriorating pigs that had been caught up in the attack. Michelle is still unbelieving and decides, during their first dinner together, to steal Howard’s keys and try to escape.
I really enjoyed this film and consider it to be a big improvement upon the original. I will most likely remember this film in the years to come while I can only recall the general gist of the previous instalment which didn’t have much in the way of memorable or interesting characters. I liked the tense atmosphere that 10 Cloverfield managed to create and that it could still entertain despite its very limited setting. The three actors did a great job in carrying the movie forward and I thought that John Goodman gave a particularly noteworthy performance as the creepy and unstable Howard. I aim to watch the sequels too at some point although I am aware that the most recent entry, Cloverfield Paradox, was panned by critics.
Plot=8/10
Characters=8/10
Special Effects=8
Overall=8/10
Quote of the Day
I did warn you not to trust me.
Petyr Baelish
Game of Thrones
