robert de niro Tagged Articles at Cinematical
AFI Fest Review: Everybody's Fine
Filed under: Other Festivals », Miramax »
Several months ago while Quentin Tarantino promoted Inglourious Basterds, he mentioned that he might only make a few more films before he retires because, as he said, he didn't want to make "old man" movies. If anyone is unclear as to precisely what an "old man" movie is, they need look no further than Everybody's Fine, Robert De Niro's latest film, about a father trying to reconnect with his adult children after the death of his wife.
De Niro, once an indisputable fount of actorly integrity and hard work, has in recent years played a series of characters that either demanded little of his oft-discussed commitment, or exploited his persona as an intimidating figure both on and off screen. And while the character he plays here indicates a return to the kind of character work that made him a screen icon, there's no denying that the film itself is the cinematic equivalent of career achievement award, which is why Everybody's Fine is well-done and effective but too treacly to be truly powerful.
Making The (Up) Grade: Heat
Filed under: Warner Brothers », Fandom », Home Entertainment »
Every few years, it seems necessary in the course of critiquing home video releases to clarify and designate the difference between all of those terms that distributors and producers come up with to describe films that arrive in stores in a version other than their theatrical iteration. For example, "unrated" no longer simply means that a film is too bawdy or offensive to garner a proper MPAA rating; rather, in many cases it means that the studio re-inserted footage, and didn't bother to screen it for the ratings board at all. "Director's cuts," meanwhile, sometimes really reflect the original vision of a filmmaker for his movie, and sometimes just qualify as an alternate version that was supervised or approved by the director. And most importantly, none of these changes are an automatic indication that the film will be superior to the one that you saw in theaters, even if there's a little more gore or nudity or (God forbid) character development.
Ironically, the new Blu-ray for Heat carries no such designation – to anyone buying it, this is the same film they saw in theaters and on standard-definition DVD. However, at the top of the list of the disc's special features, the topline attraction is "new content changes supervised by director Michael Mann." Even for someone who's seen more than his share of extended, alternate, unrated and director's cuts, this was particularly intriguing, which is why Heat is the subject of this week's "Making The (Up) Grade."
Discuss: Movies That Everyone Seems To Love But You
Filed under: Action », Drama », Fandom »
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a little post about Movies That Nobody Seems To Like But You, and it was an awful lot of fun for you (over 100 comments) and me -- so today I thought we could flip it around because I happen to know for a fact that there are movies that everyone seems to love but you ... because for me, that movie is Heat.
Released in 1995, Michael Mann's crime drama was an unofficial remake of his made-for-TV film, L.A. Takedown, and is still considered one of the greatest crime films of all time. The story centered on an LAPD homicide detective and a career criminal (played by 'Method heavies' Al Pacino and Robert De Niro) in a battle of wits with Mann's trademark themes of masculine identity and how our work can define us as people. But, no matter how many times I have tried to give this movie just one more chance, I still walk away wondering what I'm missing. In fact, it's a great example of how it doesn't matter how good a movie may be, it will always come down to your personal tastes.
After the jump: it's not a 'guy thing' and what's the big deal with that diner scene?...
Robert DeNiro and Jude Law Join 'Thor'?
The casting twists and turns of the Marvel Universe are nearly as interesting as the movies themselves -- ok, not quite, but you have to let me run with a little hyperbole. The casting for Kenneth Branagh's Thor has been top notch so far, but the latest casting rumors might just take the film into the realm of unbelievable. According to Ain't It Cool News, German actor Matthias Schweighöfer revealed in German GQ that not only was he up for a role in Thor, but that Jude Law and Robert DeNiro were part of the cast. Obviously, this is coming from a magazine and through a bit of translation, so we'll have to see if its officially confirmed. But running on the big assumption that this is a done deal, Thor has managed to land the biggest and most illustrious cast of Marvel yet -- and after Iron Man 1 and 2, that's saying a lot.
But who on earth could they be playing? I had Stellan Skarsgard pegged as Odin, but could it actually be DeNiro? Law actually fits the profile of a few Asgardians. I could easily see him as Balder, half brother of Thor. As for Schweighofer, there's a dozen Asgardians I could see him as. I can't wait to see the pieces come together on this intruging rumor.
'Machete' and the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Casting Twists
Filed under: Action », Comedy », Horror », Casting »
The Machete casting news is official. Buried in a longer article, Variety has listed the final cast list for the feature-length adaptation of Danny Trejo's man with the knives. Almost all the rumors are correct, with the exception of Jonah Hill. The roster: Trejo, of course, plus Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Steven Seagal, Lindsay Lohan, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson, and Jeff Fahey.Strange? Yes. Surprising? Yes. Perfect? I don't know. Now don't get me wrong -- you could fill the film with tween celebs and I'd still head out to see it as long as Danny Trejo was the star. Yet while I usually love big casting twists, this one isn't invoking a reaction either way. It's not due to disinterest, as I've been dying for this to become a reality for a long time -- from rumors of a DVD spin-off, to big-screen potential, to love of Machete as a gun-toter, to silly fangirl hopes from a fake poster.
Cinematical Seven: Great Modern Comedy Teams
Filed under: Brad Pitt », Cinematical Seven », George Clooney »
So many comedians don't really play well with others. They're mostly scene-stealers with little regard for anyone who gets in their way. So it's always a treat to find some that click together. If they click, their connection usually passes on to the audience. Two mega-comedians, Adam Sandler & Seth Rogen, team up for the first time in this week's Funny People. It remains to be seen just what kind of chemistry they'll have, or if it deserves to be repeated, but in any case, it's a good time to revisit some of cinema's greatest comedy team-ups. [Note: I thought I would stay modern and therefore exclude Martin & Lewis, Laurel & Hardy, Fields & West, Abbott & Costello, Hepburn & Grant, Hepburn & Tracy, etc. Just because it goes without saying.]
1. Simon Pegg & Nick Frost
They're friends in real life and it shows in their films Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Hot Fuzz (2007). Pegg gets to do all the heroic stuff, and the romantic stuff, and he's great at it; his character arc and his performance in Shaun of the Dead are remarkably rich and subtle. But Frost has the hard job. He must balance his persona of annoying slacker with lovable sidekick, throwing in just a tiny hint of homoerotic attachment to his friend. This is an A+ in chemistry.
Scenes We Love: Casino
Filed under: Universal », Fandom », Trailers and Clips », Scenes We Love »
The thing I've always loved about Martin Scorsese is that the man lives to tell you a story. He piles on the details and approaches every angle -- and as a result he creates living breathing people -- and thanks to him, his crime flicks are about as close to the mob as I need to get. When Casino was released in 1995, it was considered Scorsese's return to the world of crime after taking a little diversion with films like Age of Innocence and Cape Fear. But, the comparisons between Casino and Goodfellas were inevitable, and unfortunately Casino was branded the inferior film. Now I'm not denying the genius of Goodfellas, but I stand by the fact that Casino is a kick-a** film in its own right.
'Righteous Kill 2' -- The Video Game!
Filed under: Tech Stuff », Movie Games »
The predictably and sadly stinky Righteous Kill, starring Al Pacino and Robert De Niro as cranky old cops trying to solve a possible serial killer case and make old rights wrong etc. etc ad infinitum, has a video game. No, I didn't know it either! Probably because it was put out by Merscom and Starz Media and is a downloadable PC game that can be yours for just $6.99 via Big Fish Games. And now there's a sequel called Righteous Kill: Revenge of the Poet Killer, which can also be yours for $6.99. Both games have the barest connections to the actual movie. Here's the description of the first game:
"Step into the shoes of Erica Dean as she investigates crime scenes in New York City. It`s a man hunt for a vigilante on a killing spree through 16 locations containing over a thousand hidden objects. With the help of Sergeant Vasquez, Erica will use clues she collects in a number of detective-themed mini games. Inspired by the motion picture film, Righteous Kill features clips from the movie and 15 animated levels."
Scenes We Love: The Untouchables
Filed under: Fandom », Scenes We Love »
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It's no secret Robert De Niro has fallen on hard times in recent years, especially insofar as "hard times" are defined as "choosing to appear in terrible movies almost exclusively." But he's played several iconic characters in the past, including Al Capone in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables.
This film has many famous scenes. Here's one of my favorites, in which Capone has a friendly meeting with his associates, discusses his love of baseball, and then hits a line drive up the middle. His speech leading up to it is great ("Enthusiasms... enthusiasms... enthusiasms"), and the tension is unbearable -- especially if, say, you first watched this movie years ago and know how the scene will end but don't remember exactly when it's going to happen.
The scene is based on a legend about Al Capone that may or may not be true. Albert Anselmi, John Scalise, and Joseph Giunta were found dead in May 1929, all of them shot and horrifically beaten. Years later, the story would emerge that they'd been lured to a dinner by Capone (they were all associates of his), who had turned on them with a baseball bat before other Capone henchmen stepped in to finish the job. I don't know if it's true, but I like to think it is.
By the way, while the violence here isn't as explicit as I remembered it, it's still pretty harsh. It might be considered "not safe for work" if you work in a place where the bludgeoning of ineffective team members is frowned upon.
Pacino and De Niro Angry at Being Portrayed as Watchmen
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy »
Al Pacino and Robert De Niro finally co-starred together last year in Righteous Kill, and now they're teaming up again: to sue the film's distributor, Overture, and the Tutima watch manufacturer for allegedly misusing their names to sell watches. Yes, these two will appear in terrible films until the cows come home -- but don't you DARE suggest they endorse a particular brand of wristwatch. According to the Reuters news service, a series of ads last year (such as the one pictured) used the actors' names, voices, and faces to endorse Tutima watches. In addition to print advertisements, a clip from Righteous Kill appeared on Tutima's website. The actors claim they never gave permission for such an endorsement, and that they'd have said no if they'd been asked.
In the words of the lawsuit, De Niro has only ever endorsed a product "under very specific and compelling circumstances," and Pacino "has never commercially endorsed any product or service in the United States." The stars of 88 Minutes and The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle have standards, you know. (I suspect one of those standards is that they'll do whatever you want; you just gotta pay them.)
Actors do have the right to control when their names, images, and voices are used for commercial purposes, of course. If Overture really didn't make the proper arrangements with Pacino and De Niro before allowing Tutima to use them, well ... they're gonna be in trouble. According to the Associated Press, Overture was surprised by the lawsuit, takes all legal action very seriously, etc., etc.
Black Friday Movie Deals: Best Buy
Sex and Nudity Don't Draw You to the Movies?
What Makes a Real Vampire?
Robert Downey Jr. Wants to Retire?
Jaycee Dugard's Horrific Story to Get a Sleazy Adaptation
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