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JT (287 KP) rated Killing Them Softly (2012) in Movies
Mar 10, 2020
There was quite a significant gap between films for writer/director Andrew Dominik, five years in fact. His last feature length outing The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was a Western epic and here he has teamed up with Brad Pitt again for Killing Them Softly, one with a significantly shorter run time.
Pitt plays Jackie Cogan a gun for hire who is called in to clean up the mess made after a mob protected card game is robbed and the criminal economy takes an unexpected nose dive. With the criminal underworld unsure of who to trust and with no games being run it’s up to Cogan to eliminate those responsible and get trust restored.
The film is also set against real footage of Bush and Obama referring to the struggling US economy and the need for the country to pull together as a community to get itself back on track, which is ironic given the narrative that Dominik is conveying. The group behind the heist are hardly your career criminals, Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) are a pair of down and outs looking for some fast cash.
These guys are a highlight, prepping for the robbery with yellow rubber gloves, masks and a sawn off shotgun so short it would take everyone out who’s in the room. Mendelsohn is especially solid, his appearance as a disheveled drug taking dog thief is one of the few comedic elements to an otherwise dry film.
Killing Them Softly is a film where you have to rely heavily on the acting, and there is plenty on show. Pitt of course is ever commanding in his role, slicked back hair and leather jacket he’s the archetypal hitman, he calls the shots and others listen.
Then there is James Gandolfini, no stranger to the world of fictional organized crime having been head of the most famous TV family, the Sopranos. Gandolfini is another hitman, called on by Pitt to assist in taking out one of the targets, however the only thing he’s capable of doing is consuming large amounts of booze and women.
Add into the mix Ray Liotta (another with a fictional mafia past) who’s responsible for knocking off his own card game in the beginning, he’s the innocent party this time around and is whacked in a spectacular slow motion capture drive by. Dominik’s script is nowhere near as tight or as in depth as Chopper, it becomes confused at times and it’s hard to know exactly where it is supposed to lead us.
There is no question that the acting is top draw and there are some great scenes of dialogue that leaves you wanting more, of course it does seem to drift on a bit too much and the short sharp cuts between actors can get annoying.
It’s fair to say it has its share of brutal violence, poor Markie Trattman (Liotta) is on the receiving end of one of cinemas heaviest beatings, and when the hits are made there is no getting away from the realism to them, blood will fly.
At the end of the film Cogan has been short changed for his work, and as an audience you might feel short changed that the film promised was not the one returned?
Pitt plays Jackie Cogan a gun for hire who is called in to clean up the mess made after a mob protected card game is robbed and the criminal economy takes an unexpected nose dive. With the criminal underworld unsure of who to trust and with no games being run it’s up to Cogan to eliminate those responsible and get trust restored.
The film is also set against real footage of Bush and Obama referring to the struggling US economy and the need for the country to pull together as a community to get itself back on track, which is ironic given the narrative that Dominik is conveying. The group behind the heist are hardly your career criminals, Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) are a pair of down and outs looking for some fast cash.
These guys are a highlight, prepping for the robbery with yellow rubber gloves, masks and a sawn off shotgun so short it would take everyone out who’s in the room. Mendelsohn is especially solid, his appearance as a disheveled drug taking dog thief is one of the few comedic elements to an otherwise dry film.
Killing Them Softly is a film where you have to rely heavily on the acting, and there is plenty on show. Pitt of course is ever commanding in his role, slicked back hair and leather jacket he’s the archetypal hitman, he calls the shots and others listen.
Then there is James Gandolfini, no stranger to the world of fictional organized crime having been head of the most famous TV family, the Sopranos. Gandolfini is another hitman, called on by Pitt to assist in taking out one of the targets, however the only thing he’s capable of doing is consuming large amounts of booze and women.
Add into the mix Ray Liotta (another with a fictional mafia past) who’s responsible for knocking off his own card game in the beginning, he’s the innocent party this time around and is whacked in a spectacular slow motion capture drive by. Dominik’s script is nowhere near as tight or as in depth as Chopper, it becomes confused at times and it’s hard to know exactly where it is supposed to lead us.
There is no question that the acting is top draw and there are some great scenes of dialogue that leaves you wanting more, of course it does seem to drift on a bit too much and the short sharp cuts between actors can get annoying.
It’s fair to say it has its share of brutal violence, poor Markie Trattman (Liotta) is on the receiving end of one of cinemas heaviest beatings, and when the hits are made there is no getting away from the realism to them, blood will fly.
At the end of the film Cogan has been short changed for his work, and as an audience you might feel short changed that the film promised was not the one returned?
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Gareth von Kallenbach (962 KP) rated News of the World (2020) in Movies
Dec 24, 2020
Tom Hanks and Director Paul Greengrass have combined to create a truly moving and memorable western which is one of the best films of 2020.
Hanks stars as Captain Kidd; a former Confederate Captain making his way in occupied Texas in the post-Civil-War era. Kidd travels from town to town reading various newspaper stories of interest to gathered locals who are too busy or unable to read the news and look forward to his lively interpretations of news of interest on a local and national level.
On his way to his next location; Kidd comes upon a fair skinned blonde girl wearing Native American clothing and speaking a tribal dialect he does not understand. The fact that their cart has been overturned and a lone male is hanging from a tree leads Kidd to uncover the tragic history of the child.
According to documents he discovers in the wreck; she was taken during a raid and her parents and sibling killed. The tribe that raised her was subsequently killed leaving her an orphan twice over. As such; the girl named Johanna (Helena Zengel); is to be taken to a nearby town and remanded to a local agency for transportation to an Aunt and her husband over 600 miles away.
Kidd sees it as his duty to take her to the nearby town which is confirmed by some passing Union soldiers who occupy the area during the Reconstruction era much to the scorn of the locals who are stinging from losing the Civil War.
Things do not go as planned as Kid is told that the authority in charge of such cases is away for three months so he must either wait or deliver the girl himself.
Thanks to the help of a former soldier under his command, Kidd sets out on the road to Dallas and then to the very dangerous areas beyond as he attempts to take Johanna to safety.
Along the way the two will face danger, challenges, and bond on a very memorable journey.
Hanks is very solid in the role and his character is compassionate yet complex. There is a reason for his generosity and he attempts to make peace with the pain and regret in his life by trying to do what is right and coming to terms with what has plagued him.
The film moves at a steady pace and does not have many extended action sequences but when action does arrive it is central to the story and never seems gratuitous.
Zengel is a great pairing with Hanks as the young German actress will be one to watch going forward. She is able to convey so much without an abundance of lines and you can clearly see how well she and Hanks clicked.
The visuals of the film are scenic as the audience really gets a look at the rugged beauty of the land and life during this era. It was fascinating to see what Dallas and San Antonio looked like in the 1860s after knowing them as the modern cities that they are today.
There is much to like about the film and I am eagerly putting “News of the World” on my best of 2020 list and I truly hope this film gets the recognition it deserves come awards time as it is truly a wonderful and inspiring film that is cinema at its finest.
4.5 stars out of 5
Hanks stars as Captain Kidd; a former Confederate Captain making his way in occupied Texas in the post-Civil-War era. Kidd travels from town to town reading various newspaper stories of interest to gathered locals who are too busy or unable to read the news and look forward to his lively interpretations of news of interest on a local and national level.
On his way to his next location; Kidd comes upon a fair skinned blonde girl wearing Native American clothing and speaking a tribal dialect he does not understand. The fact that their cart has been overturned and a lone male is hanging from a tree leads Kidd to uncover the tragic history of the child.
According to documents he discovers in the wreck; she was taken during a raid and her parents and sibling killed. The tribe that raised her was subsequently killed leaving her an orphan twice over. As such; the girl named Johanna (Helena Zengel); is to be taken to a nearby town and remanded to a local agency for transportation to an Aunt and her husband over 600 miles away.
Kidd sees it as his duty to take her to the nearby town which is confirmed by some passing Union soldiers who occupy the area during the Reconstruction era much to the scorn of the locals who are stinging from losing the Civil War.
Things do not go as planned as Kid is told that the authority in charge of such cases is away for three months so he must either wait or deliver the girl himself.
Thanks to the help of a former soldier under his command, Kidd sets out on the road to Dallas and then to the very dangerous areas beyond as he attempts to take Johanna to safety.
Along the way the two will face danger, challenges, and bond on a very memorable journey.
Hanks is very solid in the role and his character is compassionate yet complex. There is a reason for his generosity and he attempts to make peace with the pain and regret in his life by trying to do what is right and coming to terms with what has plagued him.
The film moves at a steady pace and does not have many extended action sequences but when action does arrive it is central to the story and never seems gratuitous.
Zengel is a great pairing with Hanks as the young German actress will be one to watch going forward. She is able to convey so much without an abundance of lines and you can clearly see how well she and Hanks clicked.
The visuals of the film are scenic as the audience really gets a look at the rugged beauty of the land and life during this era. It was fascinating to see what Dallas and San Antonio looked like in the 1860s after knowing them as the modern cities that they are today.
There is much to like about the film and I am eagerly putting “News of the World” on my best of 2020 list and I truly hope this film gets the recognition it deserves come awards time as it is truly a wonderful and inspiring film that is cinema at its finest.
4.5 stars out of 5
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