In Contention

Tag: Righteous Kill

  • De Niro and Pacino: “Top 10 reasons I like being an actor”

    From last night’s “Late Night with David Letterman.”  These are all keepers, but I especially like #3 and #1:

  • 9/12 Oscarweb Round-up

    Meryl Streep in Doubt• Not that “Righteous Kill” is going to be an Oscar movie, but Brian Williams scoring a sit-down with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro for the first time is pretty sweet. [MSNBC]

    • Roger Ebert clears up the TIFF tiff that the New York Daily News was dying to report. [Chicago Sun-Times]

    • So far, Lou Lumenick has had nothing to say for himself. [Lumenick on Film]

    • David Poland takes Mike Leigh’s advice, catches Uros Stovanovic’s “Tears For Sale.” [Movie City News]

    • Recounting the decades-long journey of “On the Road” from page to screen. [The Independent]

    • A solid profile of 2008 “it” girl Elizabeth Banks with a hell of a lede. [Associated Press]

    • Peter Knegt, Brian Brooks and Jenny Sung chime in from Toronto. [indieWIRE]

    • Xan Brooks follows up yesterday’s Sodebergh/Douglas/Liberace news with a list of the 10 most eyebrow-raising casting decisions. [The Guardian]

    • Jeffrey Wells echoes our own John Foote’s sentiments that Christian McKay is a show-stopper in “Me and Orson Welles.” [Hollywood Elsewhere]

    • According to Anne Thompson, the “Doubt” trailer will land on Apple some time today. [Thompson on Hollywood]

    • And to whet your appetite, I found this interesting little trailer for a stage production of John Shanley’s drama in…Wisconsin. [YouTube]

  • Brilliant

    New York Magazine

    (Courtesy: New York Magazine)

  • Where have you gone, Al Pacino?

    It has been more than 30 years since Al Pacino gave his career-defining performance as cold blooded Michael Corleone in “The Godfather Part II.” He radiated quiet danger the moment he appeared on screen without ever raising his voice or allowing his mouth to wrap its way around words and spit them out like venom.

    While a one-two punch of “88 Minutes” and “Righteous Kill” slithers its way to theaters this year, audiences are reminded once again that one of the cinema’s all-time legends has immersed himself once again in either sub-par material or, as has become his cliche, the tendency to overreach and overact on his way to becoming a walking spoof of himself.

    There was a time when Pacino was thought of as one of the greatest American actors in movies…period. His work in the 1970s was nothing short of sublime, with strong performances in “The Godfather,” “Serpico,” “Scarecrow,” the aforementioned sequel to Coppola’s study of La Cosa Nostra and “Dog Day Afternoon.” In the latter he gave his most electrifying and properly energized portrayal.

    Along with many of the fresh-faced actors of the day, Pacino owned the decade. Sure he faltered with “Bobby Deerfield,” which meant he was not the type for romantic films…right? Or was this his limitations beginning to become apparent?

    (more…)