Scarface by Brian De Palma, 1993 (R)

with Al Pacino (Simone, You Don't Know Jack), Steven Bauer (Traffic), Michelle Pfeiffer (People Like Us, Dark Shadows), Robert Loggia, F. Murray Abraham (Homeland), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Richard Belzer (Fame)

Al Pacino chews scenery as lowly Cuban refugee Tony Montana, who becomes a Florida drug kingpin but makes the fatal mistake of "getting high on his own supply." Michelle Pfeiffer has a small role as "the blonde" Tony lusts after. A remake of the 1932 film starring Paul Muni, Scarface gets a face-lift by transferring its venue to Miami, reflecting the drug rackets of the early 1980s.

Ok, that movie was a trip... I get it that at the time, it was a story that had some appeal, and the performance of Al Pacino was something to remember, and unlimited quotes for each appropriate setting, but oh my... This is loud, long, way to violent to be realistic. I mean maybe it was that bad at the time, but surely, there are more subtle ways of showing it... The characters are also caricatures, which really bothered me, the plot is therefor quite predictable. Or is it that it has been followed by so many movies which tried to tell that story, over and over? I don't know, maybe it is that, or maybe it is just not my type of movies... Looking forward for your feedback on it...

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Lawless by John Hillcoat, 2012 (R)

with Shia LaBeouf (The Company You Keep, Constantine), Tom Hardy (This Means War, Warrior, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Larry Crowne, The Dark Knight Rises, Inception), Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby), Guy Pearce (Mildred Pierce, The King's Speech, The Hurt Locker, Prometheus, Iron Man 3), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty, The Debt, The Help, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter), The Debt, The Help, The Tree of Life, Take Shelter), Mia Wasikowska (Albert Nobbs, Alice in Wonderland, The Kids Are All Right), Dane DeHaan (Jack & Diane), Chris McGarry, Tim Tolin, Gary Oldman (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, The Dark Knight Rises), Lew Temple (Unstoppable)

This true-to-life action saga profiles Virginia's bootlegging Bondurant gang, whose exploits during the Prohibition era made them outlaw heroes. The three Bondurant brothers tussle with the law and each other as they try to survive changing times.

This is not a genre I am familiar with. Prohibition time in the countryside, gangster movie. And perhaps because it doesn't generally appeal to me. My curiosity for this one was the cast, with Jessica Chastain and Tom Hardy who I really like in general. Anyway, the story is good, the rhythm keeps you hanging in there, good guys are bad guys and bad guys are really freaky. The movie is about men, and how their humanity is defined through the changes of the society. It is intelligent, not sophisticated, there are no crazy pursuits, everything feels like it should have been back then, and somehow that feels right. (Tired of special effect action movies...)

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