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The Untouchables, a review by Jon

The Untouchables
5 out of 5



The critics and public agree Brian De Palma's THE UNTOUCHABLES is a must see masterpiece - a glorious, fierce larger-than-life depiction of the mob warlord who ruled Prohibition-era Chicago...and the law enforcer who vowed to bring him down. This classic confrontation between good and evil stars Kevin Costner as federal agent Eliot Ness, Robert De Niro as gangland kingpin Al Capone and Sean Connery as Malone, the cop who teaches Ness how to beat the mob: shoot fast and shoot first.


If The Untouchables was released today, chances are you’d ask what comic it was based on. A serious historical story, played with an exuberant panache for audacious entertainment, it is possibly Brian De Palma’s finest work, with him channelling cinema heritage to produce a modern Gangster movie, in the way L.A. Confidential would do for Film Noir ten or so years later.

You might accuse it of naivety, which would be fair in several respects, but it’s played so smoothly and without a shred of shame that you get swept up in the enthusiasm of setting a Western in Chicago and there are moments that are truly magnificent. This is old school cinema.

De Palma is being rude, really. He has at least three iconic moments in one film, which is just greedy! Not least the baby’s pram and the train station steps, which prove the magic of unpredictability in film. That scene was supposed to be a big train crash, but running low on cash, they needed a quick replacement. One tribute to Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin later and we have an exhilarating lesson in action cinema.

Everyone is well cast, with Kevin Costner finding a perfect role for his movie star image in Elliot Ness, Andy Garcia with the world at his feet before Godfather Part III (oops) and Charles Martin Smith having great fun as Wallace. He said to De Palma that he wanted to embody the audience. As a shotgun wielding accountant, whooping as he rides horseback into a gunfight on a bridge, he definitely did that! Sean Connery rounds out Ness’ Untouchables in his most memorable non-Bond role. He is fantastic and the best of the lot, despite his wavering accent! Of course, Robert De Niro was born to play Capone. The “baseball” scene at dinner is just incredible.

It is sporadically violent throughout and I miss this sort of Brian De Palma film because he demonstrates such old fashioned skill in building these set-pieces that the violence is never gratuitous. He balances the brutality with suspense to make Hitchcock proud. The station steps, again, are a perfect example of this. The way the pram wheels squeak, pulling our attention during Costner’s slow-mo gauntlet run is very clever.

The whole production is brought together by the brilliant Morricone score. Brilliant though the film is, the music is half the winning formula. The four Untouchables, striding into a post office on a liquor raid, brandishing shotguns, while the music swells like a fifth member of the team, is an abiding memory.

(From Jon's Alphabet Marathon 2010 on July 29th, 2010)

Flash of Genius, a review by Rich

Flash of Genius



The Kearns were a typical 1960s Detroit family, trying to live their version of the American Dream. Local university professor Bob married teacher Phyllis and, by their mid-30s, had six kids who brought them a hectic but satisfying Midwestern existence. When Bob invents a device that would eventually be used by every car in the world, the Kearns think they have struck gold. But their aspirations are dashed after the auto giants who embraced Bob's creation unceremoniously shunned the man who invented it. Ignored, threatened and then buried in years of litigation, Bob is haunted by what was done to his family and their future. He becomes a man obsessed with justice and the conviction that his life's work--or for that matter, anyone's work--be acknowledged by those who stood to benefit. And while paying the toll for refusing to compromise his dignity, this everyday David will try the unthinkable: to bring Goliath to his knees.

A film regarding an inventors fight to prove he had created the worlds first intermittent windscreen wiper does not sound the most exciting idea, and so it proved. Clearly the film is concerned more with the fight Bob had with Ford to prove his patents were valid, and the effect such a lengthy legal battle had on both himself and his family.
Greg Kinnear comes out of the film with credit, at times he holds together a tired script and ponderous pacing. This is not the worst film you can invest in, but I would best describe it as a good made for TV film.
 



(From Riches Random Reviews on March 12th, 2009)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Ramen Fighter Miki (2006/Japan) IMDb | Wikipedia Anime Works (United States) Length: 300 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
In a world where terror grips the land and innocents have no solace from violence and brutality, one girl walks the line between life and death to bring her own special brand of... Ramen.

Miki Onimaru works at her parent's ramen shop, making deliveries, waiting tables, and attracting customers with cute, girlish charm. Somehow, Miki can't complete even one of these simple tasks without the full employment of her extensive bone-crushing, skull-splitting martial arts moves and penchant for unleashing relentless destruction. Can Miki get through the day without messing up and angering her Mom, who makes her look like a gentle kitten in comparison?


Ramen Fighter Miki
1.01 The Invincible Poster Girl/ The Other Poster Girl
Writer: Jun Sadogawa (Original Material By), Toko Machida (Writer), Toko Machida (Screenwriter)
Director: Nobuo Tomizawa
Cast: Hitomi Nabatame (Miki Onimaru (voice)), Ami Koshimizu (Megumi Kannazuki (voice)), Yuichi Nakamura (Akihiko Ohta (voice)), Sayuri Sadaoka (Makiko Onimaru (voice)), Kiyotaka Furushima (Fugetsu (voice)), Yudai Sato (Junior High School Student (voice)), Hiroshi Iida (Customer (voice)), Saori Seto (Child A (voice)), Kei Kobayashi (Child B (voice)), Fumie Mizusawa (Teacher (voice)), Ayumi Fujimura (Child 1 (voice)), Megumi Yamato (Child 3 (voice))

Rather over the top comedy about a fighting girl working in a Ramen shop who has a rivalry with another girl working in a neighboring shop.
The first episode is not that good but I remember enjoying later episodes.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 24th, 2012)