Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Black Mass (2015)

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Posted by Matt Russell (Member # 8989) on 09-18-2015, 03:59 PM:

Johnny Depp's career has been in sort of a downfall lately, going from flop-to-flop. But Black Mass brings back what Depp does best: put in all he's got into his roles. He plays the (real-life) criminal Whitey Bulger, an Irish-American gangster with a pretty messed up personality, a jealously towards his successful brother (Benedict Cumberbatch in a under-devolped role), and at the same time trying to defeat his enemy: the Italian gangsters. When the FBI requests his help to defeat the Italians, Bulger takes advantage of the opportunity and thus becomes one of the most feared criminals in existence. Joel Edgerton stands out among the supporting cast as FBI agent John Connolly who makes the partnership with Bulger and his gang. The rest are good, but could of been much better as I stated above. Depp, as the front-center of the movie, deserves a Best Actor nomination, and his performance is indeed memorable. The film it's self is also (unsurprisingly) dark and grim, but there are some funny moments poking at Bulger's past crimes as well. Overall, it's a Goodfellas for the 21st century. Time will tell if it holds up as a classic gangster movie, but Black Mass certainly helped start the fall movie season on a high note.
Film: 3 and a half out of 4 stars
Presentation: 4 out of 4 stars (no complaints)
There was also a great trailer for the Rocky spinoff/sequel "Creed" before the feature, and it looks like it has major potential to be an award hopeful later this year.

Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 09-18-2015, 07:42 PM:

CINEMA: 13th Avenue Warren, Wichita, KS
AUDITORIUM: 13
PRESENTATION: Dolby Digital Cinema/THX
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: Betting this popcorn was left over from yesterday
RATING: Three stars (out of four)

I'm not on board with the "Creed" trailer. Looks a little too "Tron: Legacy" for me.

THE PLOT: A deal with the devil. Wackiness ensues.

This is a slow burner. Lots of dialogue with lots of old school gangster hits peppered in. But it's all engaging with excellent performances. I didn't look at the clock once. I DID kind of feel like I was getting the highlight reel...that there's lots more to this story...but that i got the important parts.

The body count is high, and the hits are brutal. The cars, the hair, and the wardrobe were really well done.

Nasty good time.

Posted by Stu Jamieson (Member # 4626) on 10-10-2015, 05:33 PM:

With Black Mass released this week and Kray brother movie, Legend released next week, it must be gangster season!

Johnny Depp breaks step with all that pirate nonsense and delivers his best performance in years as Irish-American organised crime boss, James "Whitey" Bulger. In 1975 as an informant, Bulger enjoyed the protection of the FBI whilst supplying information the Feds used to take down his Italian rivals and allowed him to replace them as a kingpin in Boston. It was a charmed deal for Bulger until the mid nineties when the media blew the lid off this corrupt arrangement.

A barely recognisable Depp gives a transformative, cold, piercing performance. His intense, non-blinking gaze is reminiscent of Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lector or Daniel Henshall's John Bunting in Snowtown. If Depp were not one of the most recognisable names on the planet, this would be his career-making performance.

Other recognisable faces come thick and fast: Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dakota Johnson, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Adam Scott amongst many others - it's enough to make a promising up 'n' coming actor cry! But all performances are great if overshadowed by Depp.

Black Mass is an excellent film about a fascinating moment in history. Highly recommended.

8 out of 10