Al Pacino

Blu-Ray Review: Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’ a Modern Masterpiece

BrianTT — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:23:31 -0700

CHICAGO – Michael Mann might first seem the ideal fit for Blu-Ray. He’s a notorious perfectionist, apparent in every frame of his remarkable output of films that includes such great modern classics as “Manhunter,” “The Insider,” “Collateral,” and “Public Enemies”. But one of Mann’s best films, “Heat,” recently released on Blu-Ray, is an interesting example of a director who has a vision that shouldn’t necessarily be overly polished by the HD format. The film looks like Mann wants it - gritty, dark, and like, well, actual film. It’s a release that some buyers may think doesn’t look “HD enough,” but to this Mann aficionado thinks that it looks just right.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

As for the film itself, it’s one of the rare ’90s films that gets better every time I see it. It’s a battle of wills between two of the most legendary actors of all time - Al Pacino & Robert De Niro - and it is arguably the last time they would ever be this good. It saddens me deeply to think about a young generation who may only know De Niro as the old guy from “Meet the Fockers” and the reputation Pacino must have after junk like “88 Minutes” is something I don’t even want to think about. This is the final gust of wind from when these two were still not just actors, they were forces of nature.

Heat was released on Blu-Ray on November 10th, 2009.
Photo credit: Warner Brothers Home Video

Two of the best actors of all time star as a cop and his number one criminal in Mann’s modern crime epic. Densely plotted, incredibly detailed, and perfectly acted by an ensemble that also includes Val Kilmer, Tom Sizemore, Jon Voight, Ashley Judd, and Amy Brenneman, “Heat” is one of the best movies of its kind ever made, a contemporary action classic.

Before he finalized “Public Enemies,” Mann went into a studio and personally oversaw a detailed remastering of “Heat” for this Blu-Ray release. The result is a 1080p transfer (in 2.40:1) that looks simply amazing. There’s been a bit of controversy as to the lack of detail in it but Mann has made a film that he wants to look gritty and dark and, ultimately, the format shouldn’t be built around presenting the most polished picture but the one that most captures the intention of the filmmaker. I believe the “Heat” Blu-Ray does just that.

As for special features, it’s an extensive lot including a commentary by Mann, 11 additional scenes, and 5 documentaries - “True Crime,” “Crime Stories,” “Into the Fire,” “Pacino and De Niro: The Conversation,” and “Return to the Scene of the Crime”.

There was much controversy surrounding the quality of Mann’s last two films - “Public Enemies” and “Miami Vice” - and, as I mentioned before, the legacy of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro simply must be tarnished by some of the choices these two great actors made in the ’00s. Anyone turned off by any of the recent work by these three gentlemen shouldn’t keep that from going back and seeing what they accomplished when they got together. And anyone who still likes Mann’s films, shouldn’t miss a great Blu-Ray for one of his best.

‘Heat’ is released by Warner Brothers Home Video and stars Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Tom Sizemore, Diane Venora, Amy Brenneman, Ashley Judd, Mykelti Williamson, Wes Studi, Ted Levine, Jon Voight, and Val Kilmer. It was written and directed by Michael Mann. The film was released on Blu-Ray on November 10th, 2009. It is rated R.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Chicago Pride Day Video: Overview of 4 Gay-Themed Films

PatrickMcD — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 08:26:30 -0600

CHICAGO – Happy Chicago Pride Day from HollywoodChicago.com! Attached are two videos featuring HollywoodChicago.com staff writer Patrick McDonald with overviews on four gay-themed films: “Parting Glances” (1986), “Cruising” (1980), “Desert Hearts” (1985) and “Stonewall” (1995).

June 28, 2009 is also the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Inn Riots, which is the symbolic beginning of the gay pride movement.

Reel Pride, Part One

Reel Pride, Part Two

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

Blu-Ray Review: ‘Righteous Kill’ Represents New Low For Talented Actors

BrianTT — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 11:05:47 -0700

CHICAGO – “Is it killing time or is he just killing time?” If you don’t groan at a line of dialogue that shockingly horrendous then we’ve got a Blu-Ray release for you. Marking a new low in a baffling series of career decisions for two of the best actors of all time, “Righteous Kill” is as much an unqualified disaster on Blu-Ray as it was when critics ridiculed it and audiences ignored it in theaters.

Rarely has a film seemed less a part of the New York scene, but Detectives “Turk” (Robert De Niro) and “Rooster” (Al Pacino) have allegedly been partners for 30 years in the NYPD. They’re nearly ready for retirement when one last serial killer arrives on the scene. The bad guy in question is killing people who got off due to glitches in the system that let them go without jail time. In other words, they kind of deserve it, forcing Turk and Rooster to question whether or not he should really be caught.

Righteous Kill is released by Anchor Bay Home Video on January 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Anchor Bay Home Video

The whole film is framed with the confession of one of the two men admitting that he was the serial killer, but, of course, there’s a predictable twist to the entire film that nearly everyone will see coming a mile away. Curtis ‘50 Cent’ Jackson co-stars as drug dealer, John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg play detectives, Brian Dennehy the Lieutenant, and Carla Gugino a woman caught in the middle of the whole ugly affair. And I mean ugly.

Righteous Kill is released by Anchor Bay Home Video on January 6th, 2009.
Photo credit: Anchor Bay Home Video

Shouldn’t the actors in a film at least stay awake while the cameras are rolling? You won’t see many more half-asleep performances than Robert De Niro’s mumbling, awful work in “Righteous Kill”. It’s as if director Jon Avnet purposefully plays up the worst habits of his two legendary stars. De Niro’s always mumbled a bit and had trouble displaying too much energy in the second half of his career and he literally looks half-asleep during the majority of “Righteous Kill”.

Pacino, on the other hand, well, we all know Pacino’s weaknesses. They’re the over-the-top tics that have made him so easy to parody. Think “Hoo-Ah!” from “Scent of a Woman”. Pacino has a monologue near the end of “Righteous Kill” that feels like an impersonator doing an impression of this once-great actor. It’s honestly sad to watch.

Pacino and De Niro definitely phone it in, but they’re too talented to take all the blame for “Righteous Kill”. That should be laid at the feet of Jon Avnet, a director who could politely be called uninteresting. After unleashing “88 Minutes” and “Righteous Kill” on the public in one year, it’s clear that he no longer knows how to effectively tell a story, if he ever did. How often can one director not named Uwe Boll take credit for two of the worst movies of one year?

Al Pacino and Robert De Niro sharing the screen again since their magical teaming in “Heat” would have been a dream come true even just a few years ago. The sad fact of the matter is that neither of the best actors of the last thirty years are what they used to be and teaming them with one of the worst directors working today is only a recipe for disaster.

RELATED READING
Read Dustin Levell’s theatrical review of “Righteous Kill”.

The situation is not helped by Overture/Anchor Bay’s lackluster Blu-Ray release. The video in 1080p is no better than it should be and sometimes a little flatter than you would expect on Blu-Ray. The Dolby True HD 5.1 track is good but not great, more than can be said for the movie it accompanies.

And the special features merit nothing more than a shoulder shrug. The behind-the-scenes featurette, “The Investigation,” is dull and “The Thin Blue Line: An Exploration of Cops and Criminals” is about as insightful as a middle school term paper on the subject. Kids who are more testosterone-driven are more likely to become cops? You don’t say. As for the commentary by Avnet, I’ll admit it, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to it. Not only is there no excuse for a movie as bad as “Righteous Kill,” but I couldn’t sit through watching these two great actors demean themselves another time. Once made me sad enough.

‘Righteous Kill’ is released by Anchor Bay Entertainment and stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Carla Gugino, Curtis Jackson, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, and Brian Dennehy. It was written by Russell Gerwitz and directed by Jon Avnet. It was released on January 6th, 2009.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Like a Bad ‘Law & Order,’ ‘Righteous Kill’ With Al Pacino, Robert De Niro Lacks ‘Heat’

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:37:07 -0600

CHICAGO – Last fall, Francis Ford Coppola made the comment that Al Pacino and Robert De Niro (along with Jack Nicholson) had lost their ambition. Coppola essentially said they have been phoning in their performances and picking safer movies. “Righteous Kill” could be the case study to that argument.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

You have Pacino and De Niro together again. They’re both playing a cop, which is a role they’ve both done time and time again. You give them a script from Russell Gewirtz (who scribed the amazing film “Inside Man”). What could go wrong? As “Righteous Kill” proves, apparently many things.

Read Dustin Levell’s full review of “Righteous Kill” in our reviews section.

View our full, high-resolution “Righteous Kill” image gallery.

Officers “Turk” (Robert De Niro) and “Rooster” (Al Pacino) are partners who have each been with the New York Police Department for 30 years. Their latest case is to catch a serial killer offing the criminals the justice system has let slip through the cracks.

Each serial murder is accompanied with a poem detailing the offenses committed by these lowlifes and why their murder is (sigh) “righteous”. Fellow detectives played by John Leguizamo and Donnie Wahlberg (yes, the older brother of Mark Wahlberg) are also on the case along with Carla Gugino.

She portrays a sexy and sassy officer who’s sleeping with Turk. The story is told as a flashback that’s narrated by video confession by Robert De Niro’s character.

“Righteous Kill,” which stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, John Leguizamo, Donnie Wahlberg, Brian Dennehy, Trilby Glover, Carla Gugino and 50 Cent, opened everywhere on Sept. 12, 2008.

Continuing reading for Dustin Levell’s full “Righteous Kill” review.

Left to right: Robert De Niro and Al Pacino in “Righteous Kill”.
Photo credit: Righteous Productions, Inc.

Carla Gugino in “Righteous Kill”.
Photo credit: Righteous Productions, Inc.

Continuing reading for Dustin Levell’s full “Righteous Kill” review.

‘Ceres’ a High-Octane Probe Into Chicago’s Slippery Investment Banker Slope

HollywoodChicago.com — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:35:08 -0600

CHICAGO – Tucked surreptitiously at the way-way-way-off-Loop location of the Prop Thtr – Chicago’s oldest-surviving non-equity theater in the area – the signature that is “Ceres” is its high-octane energy. The cast act in harmony much in the same way as the “X-Men” character Juggernaut: once their momentum is synthesized, it can’t be stopped.

The theme is carried consistently from the instant “Ceres” lights up all the way through its curtain call. All throughout the middle, The Factory Theater troupe allows theatergoers to feel like privileged voyeurs in the lions’ den of high-volatility investment brokers who crook all their rules, loyalties and ethics in order to make the coveted sale.

Gretchen Carter as Ivy in the Chicago production of “Ceres”.
Photo credit: The Factory Theater

The 1992 film “Glengarry Glen Ross” – perhaps the quintessential exploration of sales in cinema – is shrewdly referenced in “Ceres” to imply partial inspiration. Beyond the Al Pacino machination examination, Chicago writer Heather Tyler acknowledges having drawn a direct muse from “sitting in a room stuffed with attorneys and answering some questions one Thanksgiving”.

Set against the milieu of the Windy City’s financial district and honed specifically on the suspect actions of a furtive assemblage called Unit 57, the ensuing outpouring explores the explosiveness, backbiting camaraderie and infidelity often triggered by the towering profit demands of corporate governance.

Chicago director Angelina Martinez – who took on this play with full realization that right and wrong often aren’t blatantly black or white – sets in motion the dangerous “grey area” with a Chicago cast of nine stage actors and a dozen more film actors. A film is presented in tandem with what’s live on stage and is creatively projected onto the stage’s far wall.

While the film crew had a decidedly more grave air about them, the stage crew sometimes fell victim to zealously delivering their lines while neglecting to feel them and understand their intentions.

While film sound was sometimes a screechy issue on preview night, the production will likely iron out that kink. The title “Ceres” has questionable relevance about a planet that never was and perhaps would have been better served as a variation of “Money Talks,” “Get Outta My Way, Sucka” or “Swindling is the Life For Me – Or is It?”.

While auxiliary topical research would have been a credibility improvement and supplementary lasting lessons from the story as a whole would have left us more fulfilled, Gretchen Carter’s Ivy character importantly and ultimately probes the double-edged ethics sword inherent in this profession – amid a probe, in fact, into her unit’s overall profiteering practices – and leaves us with the message to question the beast even if it’s lavishly feeding the cow.

“Ceres” runs through April 26 at the Prop Thtr at 3502 N. Elston in Chicago. 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; 7 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets cost $20.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com