Lets face it, all of the best gangster movies were all made before the '90's. That however doesn't mean that some good gangster movie are stopped being made. "Donnie Brasco" is such a good movie, that's a typical gangster movie with most of the usual ingredients, with as an extra touch some drama added to it.
Perhaps that the movie tries to be a bit too dramatic at times. Some moments feel too forced and fabricated, just to enhances the movie its dramatic moments. It's just not always interesting and distracts from the movie its main plot. Still lot of things work out, such as the growing sympathy, from Donnie Brasco/Joseph D. 'Joe' Pistone for the small time gangster Lefty, who has never really made it- and gets drawn into the gangster-life. But lots of things also don't. Such as the whole plot with Pistone's wife and children.
The main story is good and compelling. Its all the more interesting since its a true story. Its a typical gangster movie story that is solidly written, with all of the much needed ingredients and characters in it. Genre fans will most definitely be not disappointed with this movie.
Al Pacino is as great as you would expect from him, in a this sort of movie. Johnny Depp also suits his role well. James Madesen also plays a rather big role in the movie but I don't know, he sort of feels out of place in a this sort of gangster movie. Works for Tarantino movies but just not the 'Scorsese type' of movies, so to speak. Further more the movie also has Paul Giamatti and Tim Blake Nelson in small roles, before they were really known.
Too bad that at the time of its release this movie never really got the praise it deserved. The people mostly ignored the movie, myself included. Luckily now more and more people start to 'rediscover' this movie and are given it the praise it deserves. For "Donnie Brasco" is a well made gangster movie, that perhaps was made at the wrong time, when the gangster genre was already presumed death and dried up. It's the same reason why "Casino" failed. Who knows, if this movie was made in the '70's, people might regard it as a classic by now.
The best element of the movie is definitely the concept of the two main characters, who are being played by John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton, constantly fighting each other, even when one of them isn't even in the sequence itself. The constant battle between the two characters provides the movie with some good moments, however the entire story and setting of the rest of the movie is just OK. The rest of the movie is well made but it isn't always terribly interesting to follow.
The life of an air traffic controller is hectic. An old math teacher of mine actually used to be an air traffic controller at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and he often told us about the stress and difficult situations he got into. This movie however provides a better look into the life and average working days of an air traffic controller than any of those stories. They really did a good job there. However the story of the movie isn't terribly interesting or involving. The movie mainly relies on its two main characters, with as a direct result that the rest of the movie its story and characters gets muddled in. For instance the Angelina Jolie character gets totally uninteresting and at times even feels unnecessary, even though despite the fact that her character plays a quite important role in the movie its story.
All of the actors do a good job, especially of course the two main leads; John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton, who are great together or better said, great against each other. Both of their characters are also really good and strong. Cate Blanchett also did a great job and she impressed me in her role.
The movie is nicely made and constructed but it all just isn't that impressive or memorable all together. It's nothing more than an average comedy, from director Mike Newell.
This movie certainly does have its moments and it also is a perfectly fun watchable one but it at the same time also is a pretty forgettable one. There isn't much wrong with the movie, it's just not a very interesting or involving one to watch.
Although the previous 3 Harry Potter movies were good as entertainment, I probably never was the biggest fan of the movie franchise. The previous movies all had their flaws, mainly with the pace and character treatment. However "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" seems to do everything right, what the previous did wrong. I was surprised as well as impressed with this fourth Harry Potter establishment.
The main characters in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" are maturing and luckily so is the movie and its story. Harry Potter and friend face beside the usual problems (Voldemort, the Malfoy's, some evil school teachers) also a whole new different sort of problem; puberty. Hermione has her occasional mood swings and easily gets agitated and Ron seems to be more interested in the girls at school (especially the French) than in brewing potions. It all gives the main characters a totally humane face and suddenly makes us look differently at them and we realize that they're growing up fast now. It makes the movie a whole lot more realistic and it's easier for the viewer as well to identify with the main characters.
There were several problems with the previous three Harry Potter movies. One was occasionally the pace. It was offbeat at times and there were some unnecessary characters and subplots in them. The pace in "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" however is fantastic. It doesn't waste any time and everything happens very quick and the movie feels very consistent. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" had the problem that it took itself far too serious. It was a good movie but there was little fun and things to enjoy in it. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" however is far more humor filled and in fact is the Harry Potter movie with the most humor in it as of yet. It are not childish jokes but instead consist out of very well constructed and realistic comical situations and dialogs. It makes the movie very entertaining and pleasant to watch, even though the movie itself is just as dark, if not darker, as "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".
Yes, this really is a PG-13 rating movie. There are some scary moments in it and finally also Lord Voldemort transforms into a far more threatening, convincing and scary, almost horror-like looking villain. He also is perfectly scary and villainous portrayed by actor Ralph Fiennes.
There was always a big difference between the adult cast and young cast. Both seemed like a different separated class and they never really felt completely as a whole. This time however the young cast perfectly blends in with the adults, which is I think mainly due to the way of directing by Mike Newell. I have the feeling that previous Harry Potter directors tried to impress the viewers with the big well known adult cast that had many well known names in them. "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" however focuses more on the three young main characters and Harry Potter himself in particular in this case. The adult cast this time really play nothing more than the sidekicks of the movie and that's also the way it should be I think. The Harry Potter movies are all about the three main characters and it makes a whole lot more sense of the movie to focus mainly just on them. The screen time with the adult cast has surprisingly cut down, compared to all the previous two movies. Some people might be disappointed by this but I'm of opinion that this was the right step for the story and also the entire movie franchise in particular.
But yes, of course the adult cast is still impressive to watch, they just had been given lesser chance to shine this time. I'm especially glad Alan Rickman and Jason Isaacs returned and reprized their roles. But the movie also has some fresh new names in it, such as; Miranda Richardson, Brendan Gleeson and the earlier mentioned Ralph Fiennes. They are a welcome addition to the already impressive cast list.
The story itself is exciting, mysterious and fun as well to watch. The movie is perfectly constructed and also has some fine looking special effects, consumes and sets. It's a fine adventurous and more serious movie to watch for both young ones and adults, even though the movie occasionally gets to scary and serious for the very young ones probably.
It does all the little thing the previous three movies did wrong, right this time. It makes "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" so far the best, most realistic, most thrilling and exciting Harry Potter movie yet.
