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You Talkin’ to Me?

Joe Pesci, left, and Robert De Niro have drinks in a bar in a scene from Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman."

You could make an arguable case that not only is Martin Scorsese America’s greatest living director, but that he’s made the best movie of every decade dating back to the 1970’s. There was Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) and The Departed (2006), all considered masterworks of their time. Even casual moviegoers are likely familiar with Scorsese’s cinematic hallmarks: violence, corruption and an anti-hero spiraling uncontrollably toward a violent fate.

The Irishman is not your average Martin Scorsese film. Sprawling, intimate and oftentimes surprisingly melancholy, Irishman is a moving portrait of the emotional toll of sitting atop the mob underworld.

While the director has tackled daunting subjects before, ranging from Howard Hughes (The Aviator) to Jesus (The Last Temptation of Christ), this may be Scorsese’s most ambitious film yet, spanning most of the 20th Century and using 210 minutes to do it. This bears repeating: Irishman is 15 minutes longer than Titanic. Is it too long? By at least a half hour. Does that dilute the film? Hardly.

For one thing, the director has assembled the Holy Trinity of actors in Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci. Scorsese could have had the trio reading baking recipes and it probably would have made for compelling viewing.

Here, they gather for the first time in deeply delivered portrayals. De Niro plays the titular character, a World War II-vet-turned-Teamster driver named Frank Sheeran that ends up as a middle man between mafia don Russell Bufalino (Pesci) and the hot-headed-but-lovable union boss Jimmy Hoffa (Pacino). The movie is told from Sheeran’s point of view; he matter-of-factly narrates the story from his perch in an elderly care center. Sheeran recalls his years working for the Bufalino crime family, reflects on his biggest hits and considers his involvement with his good friend Jimmy Hoffa’s disappearance in 1975.

De Niro is terrific, but it’s Pacino and Pesci who truly light up the screen. As Hoffa, Pacino gets to barnstorm the story, giving Irishman most of its kinetic energy. Pesci, meanwhile, who was talked out of retirement to return to acting for the first time in nine years, nearly makes the film unexpected single-handedly. While he was the violent hothead in Scorsese classics including Bull, Goodfellas and Casino, here he infuses the movie with palpable menace simply with a brooding stoicism.

Their performances are augmented by the film’s astounding “de-aging” software. While at first jarring, the special effect is soon a natural element of the world Irishman is creating and becomes as unnoticeable as, say, the special effects in the CGI remake of The Lion King. The 76-year-old De Niro, in particular, transforms from fresh-scrubbed World War II soldier to wrinkled, white-haired octogenarian. The de-aging is especially effective in the outstanding third act, when Sheeran’s once-fearsome hitman devolves into just another senior citizen who must come to grips with both his past and mortality.

But Irishman offers more than special effects. Screenwriter Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) crams the screenplay with some crackling wit (all without using tired mob dialogue like “fugghedaboutit” or references to guys getting “whacked”). Instead, we get a surprising dose of humor: an animated Hoffa explaining how to best fight a man, depending on whether he’s armed with a knife or gun; hitmen grousing about smelly fish in the car on their way to a murder; or mob miscreants spiking watermelon with liquor during a sit-down meal. And Ray Romano supplies some laugh-out-loud scenes as De Niro’s perpetually frazzled attorney.

While Scorsese knows violence chapter and verse, he’s also made some melancholic pictures, including The Age of Innocence (1993) and Hugo (2011). Irishman has him working out of both lenses. Yes, we get violence, nearly as soon as Pacino introduces himself to De Niro with the line “I hear you paint houses” — a wink-wink reference to the blood that splatters the walls after a hit.

But what’s striking about the movie is an introspective spirituality that runs through the narrative. This isn’t Ray Liotta declaring in Goodfellas “My whole life I wanted to be a gangster!” Instead, De Niro is conflicted about his role in the premature deaths of others, right up until his final moments on screen. A young Scorsese could not have made Irishman, just as today’s Scorsese likely could have not made Goodfellas.

Which brings us back to what is possibly Irishman‘s biggest hurdle for audiences: its 3 1/2-hour running time. Oddly, Netflix may be a suitable venue for the film (the streaming service picked up the $170 million movie when Paramount balked). While Scorsese’s underbelly films always look better through the prism of a theater screen, Irishman is in many ways a throwback picture, both in scope and star power. It could also use an intermission. A pause button and smaller screen will not ruin this experience.

Regardless of how you view the film, Irishman deserves viewing. Five years ago, even the notion of such a film seemed impossible, from its de-aging special effects to its availability on TV three weeks after its debut. But let’s face it: The Irishman may be the capstone film of four silver screen legends, turning in performances reminiscent of their mob-story heydays. That’s an offer you really shouldn’t refuse.

How Much is that Picture in the Window?

Image result for the irishman

You can tell fall is just around the corner, because the war between Netflix and theater chains has heated up once more.

Last year, the streaming giant took on big studios and exhibitors with its Oscar-winning drama, Roma. This year, they’ve upped the ante with Martin Scorsese’s mob drama The Irishman. The $169 million film will make its world premiere Sept. 27 at the New York Film Festival, where it’s the opening night film. Image result for roma

A month later, it will air on Netflix after talks between the company and major theater chains, including AMC and Cineplex, broke down. For weeks, there had been speculation the Oscar-hungry Netflix would further soften its stance regarding theatrical windows, but it couldn’t reach a compromise with the largest theatrical chains. Instead, The Irishman will open Nov. 1 in select independent cinemas willing to carry the film, thus giving Netflix the right to run for a Best Picture Academy Award. It will debut on Netflix Nov. 27.

Netflix used the same tactic to qualify Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma for Oscar contention. While that film won Cuarón a Best Director statue, Roma did not capture Best Picture. It did, however, spark a high-profile reaction from some of Hollywood’s top directors, including Christopher Nolan and Steven Spielberg, who argued Netflix should be limited to Emmy competition. But an Academy Board of Governor’s vote earlier this year rejected the rule change, opening the door for the streaming service to continue its Oscar strategy. Image result for spielberg nolan

Last year, Netflix acknowledged the value of the theatrical experience when announcing that Roma and other Oscar hopefuls would play exclusively in cinemas for two to three weeks before being made available to its subscribers. But that wasn’t enough to appease all Oscar voters — or theater chains, which insist on a 90-day window between the time a title opens and is released on home entertainment.

When Roma lost the best picture race, some cited the lack of box office grosses for the snub. After picking up The Irishman when Paramount passed, top Netflix executives and Scorsese himself immediately began a dialogue with theaters to see what could be done for the film, which stars Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci and Harvey Keitel.

Some thought Scorsese had the clout to broker a peace: He’s been nominated for a Best Director Oscar eight times, more than any other living director. He’s also a powerhouse at the box office; his hits include The Wolf of Wall Street, which grossed nearly $400 million globally, and the Oscar-winning The Departed ($291 million). But no deal could be reached.

Based on the 2004 book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt, The Irishman tells the deathbed story of a mob hit man who claimed to have had a role in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa. Image result for the irishman

Earlier this summer, sources say Netflix offered up a 30-day theatrical window before talks crumbled. While Netflix’s minor expansion of its theatrical window this year suggests it’s willing to inch closer to traditional business models for certain films with awards prospects (Roma‘s exclusive theatrical window was 23 days), that window remains far shorter than exhibitors and studios want.

Netflix is hardly alone in questioning the validity of the traditional 90-day theatrical window, considering that most films earn the majority of their gross in the first 45 days. And with the rise of other streaming services such as Disney+, the debate will undoubtedly grow louder.

In the meantime, without the support of a chain like AMC, Netflix will be relegated to playing its titles in indie cinemas such as the Landmark and Laemmle. (Netflix either rents the locations, known as “four walling,” or pays generous terms.)

Scorsese shot the movie on both film and digital and is relying on Industrial Light & Magic to de-age his principal cast for flashback sequences. The Irishman will play first in cinemas in New York and Los Angeles before expanding into additional markets in the U.S. and the U.K. on Nov. 8. It will further expand on Nov. 15 and Nov. 22, according to Netflix.

When the Sun Hits Your Eye Like a Baked Apple Pie

It was 117 degrees here yesterday.

If I hear one more newscaster, shop keep or friendly passerby say ‘At least it’s a dry heat,’ I’m going to lose what’s left of my unmelted mind. Microwaves cook with a dry heat, too. They’ll still detonate your goddamn corn.

Now for something a little cooler, factslaps:

The only difference between fog and mist is visibility: if you can’t see more than 100 metres ahead, it’s fog, not mist.
Prior to 1868, eating meat from four legged animals had been prohibited in Japan for more than a thousand years.
The Dutch army had only one tank during WWII.
Most Americans can buy an AR-15 rifle before they can legally buy a beer.
Japanese manufacture Toto built a motorcycle that runs on poop.
Al Pacino turned down the role of Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise.
Porsche’s first car, in 1898, was electric.
The Mayor of Bogotá, Colombia, once hired 420 mimes artists to make fun of traffic violators because he believes Colombians fear ridicule more than being fined.
A study says 13.9 million people call in sick or arrive late to work the day after the Super Bowl.
The Nazis are believed to have sterilized 400,000 Germans deemed to have lives not worth living.
Scooby Doo, Where Are You! was originally called Who’s S-S-Scared?
The cities of Jericho, Luxor, Damascus, Byblos and Beirut have been continuously inhabited for more than 5,000 years.
One of the oldest species of animal still with us are the horseshoe crabs who appeared 445 million years ago. They’ve survived for 75% of the entire span of animal life on the planet.
The Nigerian film industry, or Nollywood, is the second largest in the world in terms of numbers of films produced.
In 1996, Australia enacted strict gun laws. It had no mass shooting since.