Mark Kermode reviews Black Mass
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- Опубліковано 26 лис 2015
- Mark Kermode reviews Black Mass. The story of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger: a violent and infamous gangster, brother of a state senator and informant to the FBI.
Please tell us what you think of the film -- or Mark’s review of the film below. We love to include your views on the show every Friday.
www.bbc.co.uk/5live
Fridays at 2pm on BBC 5 live. - Фільми й анімація
Right at the end of the review listen, Was that Mayo using a stun gun on Mark..?
+Wilks363 Nope, it was Bulger.
+Wilks363
LOL
+Wilks363 It is the sound of a celuloid on the wheel of a projector.
Maybe the minion fart gun?
Who the hell heavily dislikes Fear and Loathing??
Phenomenal picture.
surprises me there was no mention of Donnie Brasco, seems an obvious connection
Exactly what I was about to post
Peter Sarsgaard was solid in this film.
The original, real-life Clarence Boddicker.
Mark Kermode, Master of the incomplete...
+Victor Moregore Here's a clip.
i like the taser at the end
Kevin Weeks (played by Jesse Plemens) barely figured in the story...he was Bulgers right hand man and was part of everything he did. Poor screenplay
I don't know why this movie bothered getting great actors to play small supporting rolls. Benedict Cumberbatch, Jesse Plemons, Corey Stoll etc were all completely wasted on this film. The only people who had a chance to shine in this were Depp and Edgerton, everybody else was just wasted.
One small thing, Cumberbatches accent was very wonky and I heard him slip back into his normal voice a few times. Only other time I can recall him doing an American voice was 12 yeas a slave, and I mostly couldn't hear him in that over the terrible sound editing.
Apart from that the film was pretty good, had some excellent scenes and Edgerton and Depp were on top form. I don't really have much to say about it, I would only recommend it to people who like William Friedkin films (it has a weird connection to him) and people who like Scorsese-esk Mafia flicks.
+James Bastion I'm annoyed by casting of Edgerton as well as I am with Cumberbatch. Depp is needed for a strong lead but there must be some up and coming Boston natives to fill in other roles.
Yeah, lots of really good comedians are from there. They could have given the film a more dark comedic edge by putting in people like Bill Burr, Louis CK etc. I personally think Edgerton did a good job, even if his accent is wonky.
The dinner scene Kermode's comparing to "funny, how" in Goodfellas would've been a terrific failure if it wasn't for Depp's brilliant acting. Depp should have fired his agent a long time ago. He would rank with Daniel Day Lewis and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Depp's better than DiCaprio) if his agent did not place him in such stinkers as POTC.
To sum up that review = "Its good surface" (Seen it last night and agree..!).
Are we going to have a rant for Paranormal activity the ghost dimension ?
Everybody I know loves Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Kermode nails it here
I actually thought that this film's problem is that it focused on the WRONG character(s). Bulger was and is a brutal thug, and he is not a complicated one at that so the film suffers by comparison with much, much better films like Goodfellas or the Godfather Or the excellent, underrated film about Jesse James with Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. I thought the whole film should have been entirely from the pov of Joel Edgerton's character, with Bulger as an enigmatic figure that the audience only sees in glimpses. I thought by far that Joel Edgerton's character (John Connolly) and Corey Stoll's character (forgetting name -- the honest and smart detective who exposes the corruption) were the soul of the film and should have been the main characters. I was mesmerized every time they were on screen but indifferent w/Bulger, not really a fault of Depp's acting as this is one of his better films recently, but the character is just flat. He is a brute who kills without any of the "Robin Hood code" that can make a gangster more compelling. Bulger slaughters everyone, young helpless girls, lifelong friends, etc without any remorse or hesitation.
My thoughts exactly.
There is no suggestion in the film that Whitey Bulger's brother's political position provides Whitey with protection.
Two actors in costume and mask.
Sure it´s like that with most films but not that obvious.
Kermode really now what "more surface than sustance" really means, what a great critic he is. And well im happy Depp is back
Personally I found the bad make-up very distracting. It was only thing about this mediocre movie that stood out.
Here is a tip for anyone doing a Boston accent, from someone who's lived his whole life there: the only people who pronounce Boston "bah-stin" are people attempting to do a Boston accent, and failing horribly. No one with a Boston accent ever says it that way.
I don't know where it came from, I've even seen Tshirt vendors in Boston selling shirts that say "Baaston, MA," no one says it though.
The movie was a whole lot of Meh
idrathernot I belive it is
Never heard of this guy before, but I've watched a few of his movie reviews and it seems like he has pretty good taste in film.
The Nightmare generally he does, but occasionally he will say that he thinks the twilight movies are good, and that predator was a bad film!
The film takes the cast into terrific acting that delves into the film’s great direction, good scriptwriting & its lack of storytelling is terrific. (84%) (4/5 stars) (positive)
Confusing
Haven't seen the movie, but get the feeling i'm going to be distracted by the image of Johnny Depp caked under layers of prosthetics and a bald cap, with his "look-at-me-I'm-the-world's-best-actor" acting. Hope, instead it's like Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker, a character so finely crafted, you don't even remember it's Ledger.
Thoroughly enjoyed this movie.
Finally, Kermode said it. I was not that impressed by Black Mass. Its a by-the-numbers gangster movie, overhyped by good performances.
+Angela Chan I agree
So basically what you're saying is "if this movie came out in the mid 90's, I would love it." 🤔
first movie ever I fell asleep while watching in the cinema.......enough said
The funny thing is; the "better" gangster movies are *fictions*. Maybe the problem is; reality isn't as "poetic" and "profound" as the imagination of authors and directors? Gangsters aren't philosophers - they are gangsters. Maybe?
very very late, but Goodfellas is based on a true story
This vampire movie isn't very good. Edgerton was way ott. Depps make-up did most of the work. I agree with everything.
The Lone Ranger WAS good. Mark... hello, hello! It WAS good! There should have been more! My family all loved it!
isn't fear and loathing the film liked?
Gillian's unfiltered adaptation of F&L was brilliant. If you don't like the film, you don't like the HST novel either.
Loved the book hated the film. And I think Gilliam is a genius btw.
Depp is just Depp, he has become such a cult of personality that I am not even excited about this film.
hello my fellow kermode fan. always see you here
+Luvie1980 You speak the truth. I think some people think heavy make-up is all it takes. The performance has to come from within. I didn't see any of that in any of the actors. It was just mediocre. Sarsgaard is the best part of the movie.
Keyser Soze Can you read? Can you comprehend what I wrote? I am not answering your dumb question. GFY!
Auntkekebaby Agreed.
Great story made into a very mediocre film.
Seven and a half minutes of thinking "Yes, fine, but how was Benedict Cumberbatch?".
bog standard gangster cobblers
I've not seen this but it looks pretty drab.
The film was ridiculously boring!
The best thing about the film was the trailer.
I left the theatre knowing as little about whitey bulger as I did coming in to the cinema. his character development was weak and completely forced. depp's character was extremely one dimensional. the scenes with his son are lazy and toe curling made worse by the child's horrendous acting. they're blatant, forced, in your face snippets of character development with the rest of the film telling us what we know already; he's evil. try and see how many adjectives you can come up for depp and Joel Edgerton's characters. the plot was overly simplistic, predictable, cliched and unnecessarily repetitive. there were about 5 scenes of depp killing someone that served no purpose as two scenes would have sufficed.
depp was amazing in this film , your probably one of those people that shits all ove r every single depp movie regardless if its bad or good
Black Mass is incredibly surface level by the numbers crime movie. And Depp isnt as much back in form than the best thing in average movie. The make up is distracting. He looks like a character from Harry Potter.
It shouldn't be so important but Depps make up in this is a DISGRACE...TOTALLY ruins it...
This film was so so so boring. Normally Kermode gets it bang on, but for me this film was utter mediocrity. Half way through I was waiting for something interesting to happen…by the end I realised there wasn't anything. Watch The Departed.
It was cliched, there was nothing to interest the viewer in the characters. Cumberbatch could not do an American accent. Why was he cast other than for being he is fashionable? That's the wrong reason. An American actor could have played the role with ease and brought more depth to the character. It was slow to get started and had a very abrupt end.
The Brits are the weaker cousins.
If you liked Goodfellas and The Godfather but thought they had too much depth and the female characters were too well written then this is the gangster film for you.
I was so bored watching this. It's a by-the-numbers portrayal of a nasty guy with nothing interesting about him. I think I was supposed to be scared of Bulger but I found his performance really flat & for most of the film I was just thinking "it's Johnny Depp in blue contacts and a bald cap"
....all the supporting players have nothing to them but an accent and the screenplay is unoriginal to the point of total cliche and there were no surprises; every death/killing was absolutely expected. For similar themes [and accents ha] The Departed is far better & that's a remake
I like Joel Edgerton though
:)
Why does Kermode need to bring his Feminist ideology into everything? It's getting ridiculous at this stage. Fine actresses they may be, but the film for whatever other faults it may have, is I'm told a pretty accurate representation of the Bulger story. So did Mark not consider that perhaps the women involved just weren't very central to that story? I really don't see how not having strong female characters in a film based on a true crime story can be taken as valid criticism and I think calling for female characters to be expanded upon in this case is really just pushing a personal agenda and moving away from objective critique.
Oh now, now. The point of this 'millenium' is to tell the story. In this case women played a role. But it wasn't on screen where it should be. 'Fem-tard' or 'fem-nazi's' conservative's meme is *execrable*.
V Kuchichana I'm sorry, I don't really understand your comment at all. I've been trying to interpret it but i cant make any sense of it, so maybe if you could explain it to me again in simpler English I could respond.
Mark's review sounds like a load of hogwash to me, and speaks to a bit of tunnel vision on his part. Expecting a particular set of ideas that appeals to him out of a true crime story is missing the point, especially with the desire for previously unexplored notions in a story which is inspired by events over many decades past. Same thing with his points about gender equity; the story is primarily about specific men, and trying to change that fact would dilute and warp its factually-based identity. It is easier to make these sort of changes in emphasis with a fully fictionalized representation.