Gina-Gershon Movie Reviews

Philip Casnoff has the opportunity to be Frank, and does so very well. He is VERY believable. You can tell that he took time to study Frank very hard because he picked up his accent and body movements.

This film starts well, at the beginning! It shows the odds that were against him and his great desire to sing. He begins his career in the Hoboken 4, and sings "Shine" which becomes somewhat a hit. The 4 hour long movie goes through his life, depicting his rise to stardom as he sings with Harry James, and Tommy Dorsey. It also takes you through many loves and many movies that he filmed like On the Town, and Pal Joey. The film even portrays the acedemy award ceremony where he wins best oscar for From Here To Eternity.

When I watched this movie, I felt like I was really watching Frank's life being lived in front of me. You hear his music all throughout the film. After you watch Sinatra, check out a book and cd set called Frank Sinatra An American Legend. The cd contains most of the music that he sang in the movie as well as commericals and promotions that he did!

If you have always wanted to know how Frank lived it, checks this movie out. It is as realistic as it gets.

Joey Pants (as folks seem to call him in the biz) plays a middle-managment gangster who borders on the pathetic; his attitude is definitely much bigger than he is. After a collection operation gone a bit awry, Violet (Tilly) and Corky (Gershon) hatch a plan to make off with more than two million dollars of the mafia's money. The plan is simple enough, but naturally is doesn't go off exactly as planned; blood is shed, there's a lot of running around and screaming, cover-up is laid upon cover-up, and some pruning shears come into play more than once.

This is great film noir, and everyone is cast perfectly. The brothers do an excellent job of direction, with novel angles and shooting methods (you wouldn't expect anything less from these guys, would you?) They also employ some classic film noir sequences that work perfectly. It should hold your attention throughout, very enjoyably.

"Bound" is a great film. The overall suspense is nail-biting. Another thing I like about this movie, is the fact that it is laid out extremely well, and leaves no loose ends at all. You don't end up feeling confused, or wondering why the film happened the way that it did. Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly have great chemistry in this film and provide passionate love scenes and a partnership that is extremely solid. It really is fun to watch the two women work together in and out of the bedroom. Joe Pantoliano however gives the film's best performance. He plays the role of an angry mobster perfectly, as well as the confused mark who never knew what hit him. Watching him lose control is great.

The DVD itself is excellent. Not only is it affordable, but it also includes the unrated version of the film and commentary from the directors, as well as Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, and Joe Pantoliano. I highly recommend this movie!!

Joey Pants (as folks seem to call him in the biz) plays a middle-managment gangster who borders on the pathetic; his attitude is definitely much bigger than he is. After a collection operation gone a bit awry, Violet (Tilly) and Corky (Gershon) hatch a plan to make off with more than two million dollars of the mafia's money. The plan is simple enough, but naturally is doesn't go off exactly as planned; blood is shed, there's a lot of running around and screaming, cover-up is laid upon cover-up, and some pruning shears come into play more than once.

This is great film noir, and everyone is cast perfectly. The brothers do an excellent job of direction, with novel angles and shooting methods (you wouldn't expect anything less from these guys, would you?) They also employ some classic film noir sequences that work perfectly. It should hold your attention throughout, very enjoyably.

"Bound" is a great film. The overall suspense is nail-biting. Another thing I like about this movie, is the fact that it is laid out extremely well, and leaves no loose ends at all. You don't end up feeling confused, or wondering why the film happened the way that it did. Gina Gershon and Jennifer Tilly have great chemistry in this film and provide passionate love scenes and a partnership that is extremely solid. It really is fun to watch the two women work together in and out of the bedroom. Joe Pantoliano however gives the film's best performance. He plays the role of an angry mobster perfectly, as well as the confused mark who never knew what hit him. Watching him lose control is great.

The DVD itself is excellent. Not only is it affordable, but it also includes the unrated version of the film and commentary from the directors, as well as Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon, and Joe Pantoliano. I highly recommend this movie!!

Since coming to Hollywood John Woo has done little to impress. He mad a very strong debut with Hard Target but the film was cut to shreds and the impact severely muted. Broken Arrow was thoroughly unexciting and Face/Off is not much better.

The bulk of the blame lies not with Woo but with Travolta. As Sean Archer he's fine. But as soon as he becomes Castor Troy he turns the camp all the way up to 11. Face/Off eventually becomes an unashamed pantomime. Cage, as both characters, is very good. But Travolta takes Troy to the same place he took Vic Deakins in Broken Arrow. It's like he assumes that no matter what he does, it's automatically cool because IT'S A JOHN WOO FILM. Sorry, but that logic doesn't work out in real life.

The plot, while being crafty, doesn't really do much. Exactly what does Troy plan after becoming Archer? To look like his enemy for the rest of his life? If not it was a bad idea burning down the Plastic Surgery Joint then. Some interesting imagery is used and the subtext gives the movie a sharper edge despite its superficial appearance. All the 'gun ballet' stuff does is glamorise guns. And that's becoming real old hat.

Weird tho, when you think that this film is written by the folks that gave us The Mask and Death Wish V: The Face of Death. And John Woo would also dabble in face swapping later on with Mission: Impossible 2.

The DVD is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. The only extra is a trailer.

Director Woo fills the screen with slow motion gun battles and even slower motion character reveals. His action is usually immune to things like logic, physics and gravity but that never gets in the way. If you thought it was in the way, a stray bullet'd probably fly off the screen and hit you. Pretentious elements adorn the screen as much as gunfire. From a tremendous battle of good vs. evil to the sound of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' to white doves filling a church during a shootout. He puts a lot of respect toward the films top performances. In doing so, he sorts out the potentially confusing screenplay leaving only the most inattentive behind.

John Travolta has the responsibility of setting up the character of covert agent Sean Archer. Nicholas Cage, the terrorist Castor Troy. Both have to reveal not only the character but also their identifiable quirks, as they will quickly switch roles. Both actors appear to be having a blast at each other's expense. Closing out the confusing triangle is Joan Allen as Archer's brilliant wife. She is willing to allow the story to take its course, only getting involved when she is forced.

The screenplay nicely increases the stakes after the face Switch when both men use each others power to escalate their own needs. Woo's presentation of the final stand-off in the church is sure to bring a smile to your face with it's clever reveals. This is the stuff that elevates the story above most action fodder.

FACE-OFF is a great film with a lot to offer, especially to your sub-woofer. The audio transfer carries it well but the video transfer could use a remaster. There are no special features other than the trailer. Enjoy FACE-OFF.

Since coming to Hollywood John Woo has done little to impress. He mad a very strong debut with Hard Target but the film was cut to shreds and the impact severely muted. Broken Arrow was thoroughly unexciting and Face/Off is not much better.

The bulk of the blame lies not with Woo but with Travolta. As Sean Archer he's fine. But as soon as he becomes Castor Troy he turns the camp all the way up to 11. Face/Off eventually becomes an unashamed pantomime. Cage, as both characters, is very good. But Travolta takes Troy to the same place he took Vic Deakins in Broken Arrow. It's like he assumes that no matter what he does, it's automatically cool because IT'S A JOHN WOO FILM. Sorry, but that logic doesn't work out in real life.

The plot, while being crafty, doesn't really do much. Exactly what does Troy plan after becoming Archer? To look like his enemy for the rest of his life? If not it was a bad idea burning down the Plastic Surgery Joint then. Some interesting imagery is used and the subtext gives the movie a sharper edge despite its superficial appearance. All the 'gun ballet' stuff does is glamorise guns. And that's becoming real old hat.

Weird tho, when you think that this film is written by the folks that gave us The Mask and Death Wish V: The Face of Death. And John Woo would also dabble in face swapping later on with Mission: Impossible 2.

The DVD is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. The only extra is a trailer.

Director Woo fills the screen with slow motion gun battles and even slower motion character reveals. His action is usually immune to things like logic, physics and gravity but that never gets in the way. If you thought it was in the way, a stray bullet'd probably fly off the screen and hit you. Pretentious elements adorn the screen as much as gunfire. From a tremendous battle of good vs. evil to the sound of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' to white doves filling a church during a shootout. He puts a lot of respect toward the films top performances. In doing so, he sorts out the potentially confusing screenplay leaving only the most inattentive behind.

John Travolta has the responsibility of setting up the character of covert agent Sean Archer. Nicholas Cage, the terrorist Castor Troy. Both have to reveal not only the character but also their identifiable quirks, as they will quickly switch roles. Both actors appear to be having a blast at each other's expense. Closing out the confusing triangle is Joan Allen as Archer's brilliant wife. She is willing to allow the story to take its course, only getting involved when she is forced.

The screenplay nicely increases the stakes after the face Switch when both men use each others power to escalate their own needs. Woo's presentation of the final stand-off in the church is sure to bring a smile to your face with it's clever reveals. This is the stuff that elevates the story above most action fodder.

FACE-OFF is a great film with a lot to offer, especially to your sub-woofer. The audio transfer carries it well but the video transfer could use a remaster. There are no special features other than the trailer. Enjoy FACE-OFF.

Since coming to Hollywood John Woo has done little to impress. He mad a very strong debut with Hard Target but the film was cut to shreds and the impact severely muted. Broken Arrow was thoroughly unexciting and Face/Off is not much better.

The bulk of the blame lies not with Woo but with Travolta. As Sean Archer he's fine. But as soon as he becomes Castor Troy he turns the camp all the way up to 11. Face/Off eventually becomes an unashamed pantomime. Cage, as both characters, is very good. But Travolta takes Troy to the same place he took Vic Deakins in Broken Arrow. It's like he assumes that no matter what he does, it's automatically cool because IT'S A JOHN WOO FILM. Sorry, but that logic doesn't work out in real life.

The plot, while being crafty, doesn't really do much. Exactly what does Troy plan after becoming Archer? To look like his enemy for the rest of his life? If not it was a bad idea burning down the Plastic Surgery Joint then. Some interesting imagery is used and the subtext gives the movie a sharper edge despite its superficial appearance. All the 'gun ballet' stuff does is glamorise guns. And that's becoming real old hat.

Weird tho, when you think that this film is written by the folks that gave us The Mask and Death Wish V: The Face of Death. And John Woo would also dabble in face swapping later on with Mission: Impossible 2.

The DVD is in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound. The only extra is a trailer.

Director Woo fills the screen with slow motion gun battles and even slower motion character reveals. His action is usually immune to things like logic, physics and gravity but that never gets in the way. If you thought it was in the way, a stray bullet'd probably fly off the screen and hit you. Pretentious elements adorn the screen as much as gunfire. From a tremendous battle of good vs. evil to the sound of 'Somewhere Over the Rainbow' to white doves filling a church during a shootout. He puts a lot of respect toward the films top performances. In doing so, he sorts out the potentially confusing screenplay leaving only the most inattentive behind.

John Travolta has the responsibility of setting up the character of covert agent Sean Archer. Nicholas Cage, the terrorist Castor Troy. Both have to reveal not only the character but also their identifiable quirks, as they will quickly switch roles. Both actors appear to be having a blast at each other's expense. Closing out the confusing triangle is Joan Allen as Archer's brilliant wife. She is willing to allow the story to take its course, only getting involved when she is forced.

The screenplay nicely increases the stakes after the face Switch when both men use each others power to escalate their own needs. Woo's presentation of the final stand-off in the church is sure to bring a smile to your face with it's clever reveals. This is the stuff that elevates the story above most action fodder.

FACE-OFF is a great film with a lot to offer, especially to your sub-woofer. The audio transfer carries it well but the video transfer could use a remaster. There are no special features other than the trailer. Enjoy FACE-OFF.

The DVD transer is good and the sound is good too, but the extras are dissapointing. What they call a making of featurette is actually just a really short (under 10 minutes) segment with a couple interviews. A great film that didn't get the treatment it deserves on DVD. Oh well, if you're a big fan of the film it'll probably be worth it.

"I've got my heart going now," Wallace says.

The scene sets the perfect tone for the "The Insider," an unflinching look at modern journalism. After that, can we look at Wallace straight? When, in another tirade, he accuses a corporate drone of strong-arming him, is he, in fact, strong-arming her? When he cries, are his tears real? And if Mike Wallace is an icon in this business, what does that say about the ethics of everybody else?

Mann takes those questions and applies them to the trials of Jeffrey Wiegand (Russell Crowe), a tobacco whistle-blower whose interview with "60 Minutes" was delayed for more than three months because of CBS's fear of lawsuit. Wiegand, under legal pressure from Big Tobacco, loses everything in the process: his wife (Diane Venora), money, reputation, freedom. And CBS hangs him out to dry.

The specific details of exactly what Wiegand knew - laid out nicely in the Vanity Fair piece "The Man Who Knew Too Much" - are inconsequential in the movie, for they merely confirm what we've supsected for half a century. More provocative is Mann's two-fold approach that shows Wiegand's downward spiral, and Bergman's fight to keep the interview intact.

The film's second half proves it, as "The Insider" shifts to a behind-the-lies look at the CBS decision and Bergman's counteroffensive to get executive producer Don Hewitt (Philip Balker hall) and Wallace back on board. Bergman's crusade is a little simplified - Pacino's performance plays up the "one-man-and-his-mic" fantasy - and yet because Wiegand's livelihood is at stake, we root hard.

Mann, a master technician, jams the camera up in everybody's face to create intimacy rare in a movie this big Cinematographer Dante Spinotti has always been superb, and the visuals are crisp and have a full-bodied atmosphere to them.

And then there is Russell Crowe, in the role that put him on the A-list. Wiegand, a brash, sometimes compulsive personality, is played body and soul by Crowe as a determined, principled man who refuses to be pushed around.

"All the President's Men" got most of its thrill in how it utilized the anonymous insider "Deep Throat." This time, we know exactly who Deep Throat is, and how, unlike the 1970s, he doesn't call the shots anymore. That's how much journalism has changed.

I wasn't disappointed. Many people seem put off by the film's overlength. I say if the movie has you in it's grasp dramatically then it's more for your money... Russell Crowe is absolutely rivetting as the flawed protagonist. He expresses more with his facial expressions and subtle eye movements than most actors can by screaming dialogue and flailing their arms about. There is a priceless scene towards the end where a scruffy, pathetic Wigand comes undone in a hotel room - ethereal, haunting and compelling.

The always-dependable Al Pacino complements Crowe's implosive performance with his own passionate portrayal of 60-minutes producer Lowell Bergman. Pacino's Bergman struggles hard against forces aligned against journalistic integrity: corporate tobacco's smear campaign against Wigand, the pressures posed by CBS not to air the news segment, not to mention the lack of support by his comrades. Both Bergman and Wigand deal with the pressures differently within their own element and when they clash it is drama of the highest caliber. Outstanding supporting performances by Christopher Plummer as Mike Wallace and Philip Baker Hall as Don Hewitt add icing to the cake.

Michael Mann builds an air of suspense and paranoia in ways that few directors can. Scenes such as those of Wigand at a golf-driving range and Wigand being woken by his daughter in the middle of the night provoke tension. As a viewer, I could relate to Wigand's claustrophobia and his fear for his family. Mann accomplishes this with flair and style to spare with arty close-ups and slow motion, hand-held camera shots and an absolutely breathtaking score by Lisa Gerrard and Pieter Bourke (- Any wonder that their music appears on Crowe's next film, "Gladiator"?)

I loved this movie. Please see it with an open mind, and not just the "Gee, smoking is bad for you... DUH." attitude. You won't be sorry.

"I've got my heart going now," Wallace says.

The scene sets the perfect tone for the "The Insider," an unflinching look at modern journalism. After that, can we look at Wallace straight? When, in another tirade, he accuses a corporate drone of strong-arming him, is he, in fact, strong-arming her? When he cries, are his tears real? And if Mike Wallace is an icon in this business, what does that say about the ethics of everybody else?

Mann takes those questions and applies them to the trials of Jeffrey Wiegand (Russell Crowe), a tobacco whistle-blower whose interview with "60 Minutes" was delayed for more than three months because of CBS's fear of lawsuit. Wiegand, under legal pressure from Big Tobacco, loses everything in the process: his wife (Diane Venora), money, reputation, freedom. And CBS hangs him out to dry.

The specific details of exactly what Wiegand knew - laid out nicely in the Vanity Fair piece "The Man Who Knew Too Much" - are inconsequential in the movie, for they merely confirm what we've supsected for half a century. More provocative is Mann's two-fold approach that shows Wiegand's downward spiral, and Bergman's fight to keep the interview intact.

The film's second half proves it, as "The Insider" shifts to a behind-the-lies look at the CBS decision and Bergman's counteroffensive to get executive producer Don Hewitt (Philip Balker hall) and Wallace back on board. Bergman's crusade is a little simplified - Pacino's performance plays up the "one-man-and-his-mic" fantasy - and yet because Wiegand's livelihood is at stake, we root hard.

Mann, a master technician, jams the camera up in everybody's face to create intimacy rare in a movie this big Cinematographer Dante Spinotti has always been superb, and the visuals are crisp and have a full-bodied atmosphere to them.

And then there is Russell Crowe, in the role that put him on the A-list. Wiegand, a brash, sometimes compulsive personality, is played body and soul by Crowe as a determined, principled man who refuses to be pushed around.

"All the President's Men" got most of its thrill in how it utilized the anonymous insider "Deep Throat." This time, we know exactly who Deep Throat is, and how, unlike the 1970s, he doesn't call the shots anymore. That's how much journalism has changed.

Wigand, already suffocating beneath the weight of his awesome secret, is pushed to the limit when his former employer questions his integrity and threatens his family. Bitterness, anger and a concern for the public welfare lead Wigand to tell his story in court and as a taped television interview, both exposing the tobacco industry's deliberate manipulation of nicotine. Wigand risks his family, his reputation, lawsuits and possible jail time to release this information. But before the segment can air on 60 Minutes, CBS gets cold feet. The insider is hung out to dry. Fortunately, Bergman refuses to accept defeat. He works the system in a desperate attempt to get the truth out, fighting as much for journalistic freedom as for public safety and his new friend.
The Insider is a methodical drama about moral imperatives. No car chases. No sleazy sex scenes. It follows flawed, yet principled people as they strive to do what they believe is right, regardless of the consequences. Outstanding performances by Crowe and Pacino--ranging from explosive passion to brooding introspection--support the rest of this riveting "man against the system" story. In fact, the duo battle two greedy behemoths. The first is a multibillion-dollar tobacco industry. The second is CBS, a multibillion-dollar media conglomerate more concerned about a pending merger than in airing the most important public-health story in recent history. Unfortunately, those worthwhile character studies and history lessons are shrouded in obscenities that linger like a cloud of second-hand smoke. It's toxic and it stinks. Stay out of the theater. Resist the temptation to rent this movie on home video. Rather, wait for The Insider to air on prime-time television and pray the networks filter out the inappropriate language.