The Good Shepherd (2006)

[Movie 233 / Day 246]


An espionage thriller, The Good Shepherd is a long film and feels it. It's well acted, but I just didn't get into it at all. And whilst everybody else seemed obviously older between the current (1960s) timeline and the flashbacks (going back to the 1930s), Matt Damon didn't, at all. Which makes some scenes difficult to believe, especially those between him and his 20 year old son; where Damon looks just old enough to be his big brother, not his father.

Joe Pesci has a cameo in this and he REALLY looks old. I'm not sure if he was made up, but I didn't even recognise him at first.

My rating: 5.5 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.9 / 10
Running time: 167 mins
IMDB link

Goodfellas (1990)

[Movie 232 / Day 245]


Based on the story of Henry Hill, the plot revolving around Henry's gradual climb up through the hierarchy of the Mafia; starting out with running messages and culminating in drug dealing and murder. Nothing lasts for ever though and eventually it becomes apparent that Henry's days are numbered.

The greatest gangster movie ever? Possibly. Certainly in the top three. Ray Liotta and Joe Pesci have never been better.

My rating: 8.6 / 10
IMDB rating: 8.8 / 10
Running time: 146 mins
IMDB link

Righteous Kill (2008)

[Movie 120 / Day 101]


Together for the first time (apart from Heat, which doesn't count as they're hardly on screen together!), Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro star as two cops trying to trace a serial killer.

Unfortunately, it's pretty formulaic stuff and you can see the twist coming within minutes of the opening credits.

Happily, Pacino and DeNiro are brilliant opposite each other. If only they'd been given a script with some meat.

My rating: 6.6 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.1 / 10
Running time: 101 mins
IMDB link

Ronin (1998)

[Movie 102 / Day 65]


An Irish girl hires a group of mercenaries to steal a mysterious silver case (the contents of which are never divulged). As they do however, one of their number double-crosses the rest and steals the case for himself. The remaining group spend the next third of the film chasing him down before another double-cross means the case changes hands again, leaving two of the original group trying to catch up with a whole bunch of people.

The action is realistic and kept simple - there aren't any massive CGI-laden sequences, everything is done old school with stunt men and choreographers. This shows in the two car chases. The first one is good, featuring an Audi S8 chasing a Citroen XM and an old Mercedes taxi chasing the pair of them... It starts on a country road, goes cross country for a while, before ending up on the narrow cobbled streets of a French town. This chase is good. However, better is to come with the second chase much later on in the movie. This one features an old BMW M5 being chased by a Peugeot 406. This sounds silly, but it works brilliantly - mainly because of the techniques used to keep the action and realism at a high level. The film makers built rigs hanging off the back of the cars where the stunt drivers could drive from whilst the actors sat in the cars using fake steering wheels. They also used right-hand drive cars with fake left-hand steering wheels so the looks of concentration and downright terror on the actors faces during some of the chase sequences are absolutely real. They also choreographed the chases brilliantly, using on-coming traffic and perfect timing to leave tiny gaps between cars. There is almost no speeding up effects used, just good old fashioned stunts. This means the second chase ends up being one of the most exciting ever committed to film.

The whole double-crossing espionage plot is OK, and is really helped by a number of excellent actors (especially Jean Reno and Stellan Skarsgård) and a gritty realism. The star of the show is that chase sequence though.

An under-rated movie, worth a watch.

My rating: 6.7 / 10
IMDB rating: 7.2 / 10
Running time: 122 mins
IMDB link

Backdraft (1991)

[Movie 13 / Day 8]


Movie about Chicago firefighters trying to track down an arsonist. Lots of subplots. Possibly too many. It's a bit long.

William Baldwin is adequate, Kurt Russell is good, Robert De Niro is brilliant, as is Donald Sutherland. Some of the flame effects are amazing - I loved the slow-mo flame rolling along walls.

I wish I'd got it in HD really, the DVD is shockingly bad quality.

Still, I'd forgotten how good this film is and enjoyed watching it for the first time in 15 years.

My rating: 7.1 / 10
IMDB rating: 6.6 / 10
Running time: 132 mins
IMDB link