Killing Them Softly (2012)

Directed by: Andrew Dominik

Starring: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Richard Jenkins

Overall Rating: 77.2

"This guy wants to tell me we're living in a community? Don't make me laugh. I'm living in America, and in America you're on your own. America's not a country. It's just a business. Now fuckin' pay me."

I'm sure it's not normal to quote the last lines of a film as the first lines of a review, but I feel it's these lines that so eloquently describe Killing Them Softly.  Being a film that was so critically praised, but scorned by movie-goers, I knew there was going to be a "love it or hate it" mentality associated, but all in all, the film achieves what it sent out to do: It tells a story within a story.

The film takes us into the underground of the 21st century of the mobster-mentality.  A mentality so strongly rooted in its past, but still always looking for innovation and advancement.  When a card game is robbed, the top of the mob food chain has to take action to prevent future crimes from happening, so they send in an enforcer to clean up.  This enforcer named Jackie Cogan, played with unassuming strength by Brad Pitt, harkens the audience back to a day of the Godfather or Goodfellas.  He's a no-nonsense guy who is going to do what he's told, but if he doesn't like what is being told to him, he's also going to make sure you know it.

The brilliance of the movie is the ongoing parallel between the mob and the financial collapse of 2008.  When the card game is robbed, the criminal economy crashes.  Nobody is sure of the security of any other games.  In order to get the money flowing again, the criminal world must be "bailed out", by Cogan and the bosses wiping the slate clean.  Innocent?  It doesn't matter.  If you're implicated, you're guilty.  And if you're guilty, you're going to have to pay so that others can prosper.

Cogan embodies the average American.  When discussing orders with his go-between (Jenkins) and hearing that the decision makers can't make decisions and the whole process of the "mob" has become like a corporation, he broods frustration.  He's willing to do the dirty work to make things right, but is prevented by people above his pay grade.

Scoot McNairy (Argo) shines and gets the majority of screen time.  Frankie is good for a number of laughs, but is also the morality of both sides.  He understands what his role in everything is, but is unwilling to accept it.  Whether working with his dirty partner to knock off the card game, or working with Cogan to save his own ass, McNairy shows both the arrogance of a schlub who was able to rob something that shouldn't have been able to have been robbed, as well as the cowering fear associated with said robbery.

It's easy to see why so many critics gave the film high praise, while the consensus among the audience was negative (a 48% by viewers on Rotten Tomatoes).  While the story may not explode off the screen, the subtlety that director Andrew Dominik displays makes the overall visuals of the film very pleasant.  Whether it's a slow motion car crash or execution, or a camera placed on a car door being opened and closed, we get a slew of unique shots that showcase the talent of the director.  Yes the pacing is slow, but coming from the man who made a Western about Jesse James with all of 3 minutes of action, you should have tempered your expectations going in.

It's not The Sopranos or Goodfellas, but Killing Them Softly does take the audience into the junked up world of the new age of the mob.  It's not glitz and glamor like Scorsese told us, but a dirty, drag-em-out game that very few get to win.  And we come full circle back to the capitalism parallel...

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 6
Dialogue: 7
Acting: 7
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 9

Se7en (1995)

Directed by: David Fincher

Starring: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow

Overall Rating: 98.5

"Se7en" was, and continues to be, one of the best crime thrillers ever put to film.  Writer Andrew Kevin Walker and Director David Fincher teamed up for their first collaboration, which would lead to future partnerships between the two dark minds.

"Se7en" is the story of a young, eager detective (Pitt) on his first major case partnering with an about-to-retire detective (Freeman).  What unfolds over the course of the film is the fact that the case they are working on is a serial killer named John Doe whose victims are all killed based on the seven deadly sins.

The story of "Se7en", however, is more than just solving a case.  It's understanding the lives and driving forces of Mills and Somerset.  We learn of Mills' psyche as he realizes the magnitude of the case he is on, and how his entire career can be shaped by a positive outcome.  Somerset however, has been around the road a few times, yet has never seen anything like the John Doe killings.  It's Somerset's mentality in nurturing and trying to prepare Mills' understanding the magnitude of what he is facing that is the driving force of the movie.  An elder passing on knowledge, and the youthful exuberance of Pitt refusing to believe him.  Add in Mills' wife (Paltrow) to play a medium between the two detectives, and it's a constant moral struggle to find proper meaning in a chaotic situation.

This movie was Fincher's second full-feature movie, and really first to create his own world (his debut was the already created Alien3 universe).  The dark, dreary, rainy world in which Fincher throws his protagonists into elevates the mood from suspenseful to outright creepy.  It's also the first time that Fincher collaborated with Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor (who would later work on "The Social Network" and "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo").  The opening credits, which takes a montage and mix-up of NIN's "Closer" is one of the most iconic openings outside of the Bond universe.

Andrew Kevin Walker's script is the perfect blend of intense and light.  Detective Mills in particular has some of the most unique, yet funny lines.  It's odd to find yourself laughing during such a dark film, but such is the intention of Walker and Fincher.  During the climactic car ride featuring Mills, Somerset, and Doe, we get a glimpse into all 3 characters minds: Doe's insanity, Somerset's intellect, and Mills' dismissive humor.

"Se7en" is the type of crime drama that despite knowing the outcome, stands up after multiple viewings.  The fast pace and sharp dialogue, mixed in with a suspenseful score and great acting performances make it a thriller for the ages.

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 10
Acting: 9
Direction: 9
Audio/Visual: 10

Fight Club (1999)

Directed by: David Fincher
Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter

Overall Rating: 100.0

The movie that made me a film freak.  Before watching Fight Club, movies were just a source of entertainment for me.  After Fight Club, they became an artform.  The first time I heard David Fincher, Brad Pitt, and Edward Norton's commentary about the making of this movie and learning all of the subtle nuances that Fincher added in to honor the great Chuck Palahniuk's anarchistic masterpiece, I was mesmerized.  For anyone who's seen the movie multiple times, I'd suggest reading the trivia page on IMDb and see how of these nuances you missed during your first few viewings.  I'm guessing it's a majority.  Watching Fight Club is like watching a baseball game, every time you watch, you see something you've never seen before.

In addition to the brilliant film-making by David Fincher, there is also a lot of substance from Palahniuk's source material.  Every man on this planet has a spot deep within them that just wants to see the world crumble around them.  Palahniuk imagines a world where a simple man lives his life knowing he's an insignificant smudge on this thing we call Earth.  His name is Tyler Durden, and In Tyler We Trust. 

David Fincher was even forced to place advertising inside his movie by Fox, as they had a deal with Pepsi.  To comply, Fincher put a visible Pepsi and Mt. Dew vending machine at two points of the movie.  They also happened to be two of the most violent, gut-wrenching parts of the movie to intentionally make the viewer sick as they saw those machines.  In the Fight Club world, this is a beautiful, calculated move.

Fight Club creates a new breed of macho-ism.  It's not how one looks that defines him as a man, it's how one acts.  Fuck designer shirts and 7-minute abs.  Living in a society that focuses more on what Kim Kardashian's farts smell like, rather than mass genocide taking place in third world countries can do nothing but make anarchy look pretty damn sweet.  As you're watching the destruction on the screen, it's not horrific, it's gratifying.  Fuck credit cards and coffee shops.

The Dust Brothers provide a fantastic industrial soundtrack to accompany the dark images being shown.  Add in one of the top uses of a song in any film, with the Pixies' "Where is My Mind" closing out the final moments of the movie, and you leave the film feeling slightly exhausted, but in a good way.

A socially powerful film, Fight Club is one of those movies that any young man should watch to try to find out more about himself before entering "the real world".

Individual Ratings
Enjoyment Factor: 10
Dialogue: 10
Acting: 9
Direction: 10
Audio/Visual: 10