Truth Is More Boring Than Fiction..."Black Mass"

Black Mass (2015)

Rated R

Starring Johnny Depp, Benedict Cumberbatch, Joel Edgerton, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott,

Directed by Scott Cooper

The Story:

Based on the true story of James "Whitey" Bulger (Depp), this drama attempts to show how devious he was by ensnaring FBI Agent John Connolly (Edgerton) into making him an informant for the FBI which then gave him carte blanche to do as he pleased in the criminal underworld of Boston. Meanwhile his brother Billy (Cumberbatch) was a respected politician that helped his brother enough, but not to the point of being in the same spotlight with him.

Here you have a 2 hour drama that felt like 12 hours of your life slipped by.

Excruciatingly dull, this is a mafia drama with really, very little drama.

All we see are members of Bulger's gang confessing to this that or the other via flashbacks.

It turns out that Bulger's informant status may very have been completely fabricated by John Connolly. Bulger never ratted on anyone, a fact he holds very strongly too today. Connolly simply used testimony from other snitches to create Bulger's file.

The cast itself is a remarkable assemblage of talent. The sad part is, they are given very little to do.

Cumberbatch seems wasted in what is essentially a glorified cameo. That part could have been given to just about anyone and carried the same gravitas to the role.

Kevin Bacon seems to give the most passionate performance, too bad his screen time is likely 5 minutes or less.

I may have mocked Depp in the past for only playing the same character (Captain Jack) for the last 15 years or so, but when given a role like this...

Perhaps Captain Jack is him actually acting and doing a pretty good job, because he is stale, wooden and rather boring in this role. Of course, I have to go all the way back to Edward Scissorhands to find a Johnny Depp role I did like, so take it with a grain of salt.

:)

There is little passion, energy or excitement throughout the movie. There doesn't feel like escalating tension that Bulger is just getting away with things or people are becoming suspicious that Connolly may be helping Bulger out.

I'll give this one a "D" for disappointment.

Final Grade: D+

A Movie Review You May Or May Not Refuse..."The Family"

The Family (2013)
Rated R for Language and Violence

Starring Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dianna Agron, John D'Leo, Tommy Lee Jones

Directed and written by Luc Besson

The Story:

Fred Blake (DeNiro) and his family (Pfeiffer, Agron and D'Leo) are a Mafia family in witness protection who keep getting relocated by Agent Stansfield (Jones) because the Mafia is gunning (literally!) for them.  But while you can take the family out of New York and into a sleepy French town, they don't exactly leave their instincts behind with how they deal with problems.  As Fred begins penning his memoirs, the family he snitched on is closing in on finding their location.

Another little gem from Besson, but it starts off a little slower than many of his films.

However, it remains infinitely watchable throughout, and DeNiro plays a mob guy better than pretty much anyone at this point in his career.

Don't get me started on how surreal it becomes late in the film when he attends a screening of Goodfellas to comment on how realistic that movie is.

Am I Talking About Me?

:)

Stroke of genius.

As I've mentioned previously, it's great to see Pfeiffer back on the screen.  It seems like years went by with nothing from her, and suddenly she's popping up all over the place.  She's a great actress, and it's great to have her back.

Tommy Lee Jones is great, as always, if a bit underused in the film.

However, I am thankful that they didn't use the tried and true Agent is a snitch angle and kept him on the straight and narrow trying to protect his assignment.

While I cannot condone the methods that Frank and his family use for solving problems, many of them would actually cause stress levels to drop and customer satisfaction to rise if they were practices used by everyday consumers.

:)

Final Grade: C+/B- area

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Not a purchase, but I could watch it again in the future with no problem.