SILENCE [2016]

After 27 years of toying with the idea, director Martin Scorsese finally tackles Silence, a film adaptation of Shūsaku Endō's novel of the same name.
Set in 17th Century Japan, a time when the Japanese were brutally exterminating anything or body related to Christianity.  two Jesuit priests quietly sneak into the nation in search for their missing mentor.
It's such a huge story but Scorsese scales it down into such intimacy it's very apparent the director approached the project with immensely personal feelings about it.  However dry the film might be in spots it never stops asking questions with emotional complexity to keep you captivated.  No matter how much it asks it seldom supplies answers and instead begs the viewer to seek out their own, should they ever find the correct one.

4 confessions too many out of 5

HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT [2015]

A Letter to Elia director Kent Jones pieces together this audio/visual companion piece to what is probably the most essential book for film-lovers everywhere, Hitchcock/Truffaut.
Director François Truffaut interviewed Alfred Hitchcock over a period of 8 days on the subject of his impact on cinema and then published it as a book in 1966.  This film explores some of the more interesting bits of conversation and the influence it had on many of the modern visually-driven directors of today.  Jones manages to turn the subject matter into something tantalizing to the well-educated film connoisseur as well as clearly giving informative insight into the craft for those who are new to film as a finely tuned art.  Pair this one with De Palma and you have a wonderful evening of master suspense film-makers talking about what they do best.

4 lite entertainers or masterful storytellers out of 5

LIFE ITSELF [2014]

As a lover of films, good and bad, I loathed Roger Ebert.
As an opinionated douche, I hold great respect for the fellow film-lover.
Following Ebert's bitter-sweet memoir of the same name, Hoop Dreams director Steve James tells the inspiring story of the celebrated film critic's tale through a series of interviews, news footage and intimate moments of the man during his final days before his death in 2013.  James is unapologetic with his portrayal as we're given a glimpse at his stubbornness, arrogance and heated qualms with fellow film critic Gene Siskel.  As a kid I eagerly followed his television show and shared his loved of films although I rarely ever shared his opinions on the subject matter, sometimes with great discord.  It's the time spent with his wife and how much the difficult relationship meant to him is where we could learn a thing or two from seeing the couple work together.

4 thumbs up out of 5

SIDE BY SIDE [2012]

Side By Side is probably one of the most fascinating documentaries for die-hard film junkies and most definitely one of the dullest for the casual popcorn muncher.
Actor dude Keanu Reeves interviews a slew of modern directors, editors & cinematographers about the pros & cons of digital and celluloid film.  Reeves makes for a wonderful interviewer, asking all the right questions with an impressive knowledge of the subject, aided by a quiet charm and wit about him.  The film itself never picks sides (it's not shot on film by the way) and with all the arguments made from each side I found myself rooting for both by the end.  Either way, as it so firmly exclaims, as long as the heart of the film is in the right place, it shouldn't matter how it's made.

3½ M.I.A. Tarantinos out of 5

Cape Fear (1991)

I can almost see why Scorsese would want to remake such a classic—he wouldn't be restrained by the same kind of moral restrictions as before—but the end result isn't as good as it could've been. He goes to great lengths to show that film has moved on from when the original was made, employing a multitude of techniques that almost overwhelm the story.
If the relationships of the family unit were more believable they might have balanced it out more evenly, but there’s something missing from the performances of both Nolte and Lange. Lewis fares better, though, and like Mitchum before him De Niro as the Max Cady character is the main reason to watch. The finale is balls, but everything he does prior to it is great.
Mitchum gets a small role and there’s a cameo from Gregory Peck, both of whom starred in the original film (1962).

3½ prison skills out of 5

THE WOLF OF WALL STREET [2013]

Martin Scorsese directs Wall Street stockbroker/fraudster Jordan Belfort's memoir in the debaucherous The Wolf Of Wall Street.
It's a tongue-in-cheek view of the lifestyle of the spoiled and overly greedy culture that you'll either see as glorified or completely disgusting, depending on what sort of approach you take to the film.  Scorsese applies the exact same style he would to one of his gangster films, like time period music, voice-over narration, breaking down the fourth wall and it all works seamlessly.  The only difference is it's laced with a wicked sense of humor and there's next to no violence but made up for with 569 f-bombs dropped over the 3 hour running time.  It's got a fantastic cast playing some of the most scummiest people to grace the screen in quite awhile and if done right, it can make for a fascinating and head-shaking watch.

4 bad hairpieces out of 5

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

There’s some very silly casting in TLToC. There’s a white Jesus, a ginger Judas from NY and a Rock Star Pontius from Blighty; it’s laughable. The music is similarly ill-fitting most of the time, but the screenplay by Paul Schrader, adapted from Nikos Kazantzakis’ novel, is so good in the first half that I was able to keep my chuckles in check and enjoy the show.
It presents Jesus as a man with hopes, fears and doubts, like any other man would have in his position. His real strength comes from his response to those states of being, not from something wholly supernatural.
The part that got many Christians' cotton undies in a twist is during one of Marty’s slips and is best forgotten. If they’d put it into context before throwing stones they might have understood that.

3½ women called Mary out of 5

CASINO [1995]

Goodfellas writer Nicolas Pileggi reunites with director Martin Scorsese for the similarly toned crime-drama Casino.
An absorbing story is spun, filled with violence, great music, fascinating voice-over narratives and excellent performances from all three leads.  It's not really driven by any sort of plot but more of a snapshot of these criminal's lives over the years and their many troubled interactions with each other.  It's your standard Martin Scorsese film but a damn fine one at that.  I think Marty realized that and hasn't returned to this style of film-making until Boardwalk Empire nearly 20 years later.

4½ heads in a vise out of 5

Taxi Driver (1976)

Travis has a methodical and direct approach to life, but the bustle of the streets and the filth of the alleys make him sick with revulsion. His conscience eats at him daily as he watches it fall deeper into sin.
De Niro is utterly believable as the lonely night worker at odds with the city and its vices. His reasoning guides the film narrative; his words characterize the world in our mind and we become sympathetic to his subjective interpretations.
Scorsese's direction, De Niro's anti-hero and Bernard Herrmann's last ever score were a match made in film heaven. Essential viewing,

5 bouts of insomnia out of 5

Shine a Light (2008)

A Strolling Bones concert directed by Martin Scorsese that’s very similar to what he did with The Band in 1978. It includes guest musicians, candid behind the scenes documentary footage and archive TV footage, which, embarrassingly for Marty, is a lot more interesting than what he caught in his lens. The guests range from superb (Buddy Guy) to just awful (Jack White); Christina Aguilera is also amazing. The set list is disappointing, for me at least, but the performances are top class. They may be prehistoric rockers but they have more energy than I do on even my best days.

3 doll houses out of 5

The Last Waltz (1978)

A documentary of the farewell performance from The Band in 1978. The quiet moments of band member interviews are intercut with some great performances onstage. Featuring a host of very talented special guests (Eric Clapton, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Ronnie Hawkins, Dr. John, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Ringo Starr, Muddy Waters, Ronnie Wood, Bobby Charles and Neil Young) and directed by Scorsese when he was still good, it's a document of a time long past. For old guys and people like me. Just old guys then, I suppose. :(

4 loads of fanny… off Annie out of 5

Hugo (2011)

"We could get into trouble."
"That's how you know it's an adventure..."

This movie is not at all what I imagined it would be. Taking place largely in a 1930s Parisian train station, it follows a boy who winds clocks, a reserved toy shop owner, a charming young girl, and an inept inspector as they try to piece together the mystery of a broken automaton (I can't help but recall Edward Scissorhands). But that's only a small part of the story. I figured it would involve a lot of gears and clockwork and steampunk values, but it actually ties into early cinema...I won't spoil it any further than that. This charming fable for adults (and advanced children) is a delight to watch, and the score by Howard Shore is marvelous.

4.5 heart-shaped keys out of 5

THE DEPARTED [2006]

Iconic director Martin Scorsese seems to make a career defining film every 8 years or so. Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Goodfellas and now The Departed. Based upon Andrew Lau's 2002 Hong Kong crime drama, Infernal Affairs, Scorsese takes that story and makes it his own by changing the setting, a few of the characters and the ending and it's all for the greater effect of the cultural differences.
The cast is quite frankly amazing (Mark Wahlberg steals the show), Howard Shore's suitably tango flavored music is nothing short of excellent, the camera work is top notch and the pacing is perfect in every way.
This is American film making at it's best and Scorsese & crew deserve every single amount of acclaim they've received for this film. Hell, even Andrew Lau was thoroughly impressed and that has to count for something.

5 "X" marks the spots out of 5

SHUTTER ISLAND [2010]

Director Martin Scorsese takes Leonardo DiCaprio for a spooky ride in Shutter Island. Based on Gone Baby Gone author Dennis Lehane's novel, Scorsese gives it vibrant flair of noir-ish dreamlike creepiness.
DiCaprio is good but it's Sir Ben Kingsley and Mark Ruffalo who turn in subtly superb performances that may go unnoticed upon a first viewing. The morbid surreal atmosphere is so thick here you can cut with a rusted knife. The plot twists and turns with each corner taken but never gets too mind-boggling to detract from the flow of the story.
With each viewing it gets better and better as you notice the extreme attention to careful detail. It's not Scorsese's best film but it's a helluva a lot better than most cinema we're subjected to today.

4 Truth And Lies out of 5

THE AVIATOR [2004]

Martin Scorsese delivers yet another film of delicately crafted shots, extravagant set pieces and noteworthy costumes. The Aviator tells the story of the eccentric film director and aviator Howard Hughes.
Leonardo DiCaprio hands in a wonderful performance as Hughes, as does Cate Blanchett who does a hauntingly believable and spot on performance as Katherine Hepburn. Filled with an entire army of beautiful performances, I'd be hard off to list them all.
Scorsese takes us back to the Golden Age of Hollywood in both the era itself and even in his own filming techniques. It's a beautiful and fascinating film that I was surprised to find I was so enthralled with. My initial reaction to a film about Hughes was "this will be boring" and found that I couldn't be any more wrong.

4 ½ Errol Fuckin Flynn's out of 5