Righteous Kill (2008)

Righteous Kill is the third film after The Godfather Part II (1974) and Heat (1995) where both two greatest actors Al Pacino and Robert De Niro starred together (in The Godfather Part II they never shared a scene). The film directed by John Avnet and screenplay written by Russell Gewirtz.

Two aging NYPD homicide detectives Det. Tom "Turk" Cowan (Robert De Niro) and Det. David "Rooster" Fisk (Al Pacino), who have been longtime partners, are faced with a serial killer with monicker the "Poetry Boy", who is murdering sociopathic criminals and leaving short poems with their bodies.

Tensions between the pairs of longtime partners is inevitable as they both start working with a younger, less-experienced team: Det. Perez (John Leguizamo), Det. Riley (Donnie Wahlberg), and Detective Corelli (Carla Gugino). Perez and Riley suspect Turk of being Poetry Boy. Rooster puts Turk in front of a video camera and forces him to read his journal. But finally it revealed that Rooster is the actual Poetry Boy.

Despite features two great performances from two of the greatest actor of all time, Righteous Kill has received mainly negative reviews, saying that the director (John Avnet) sacrifice mystery, suspense, and sensible editing one expects to find in a thriller movie just to keep the audience off-guard. The Times included Righteous Kill on its 100 Worst Films of 2008 list.

Righteous Kill also commercially flat, grossing total of only $78 million with $40 million domestic (US/Canada) and $38 million international.


Cast:

Al Pacino ... Detective David "Rooster" Fisk
Robert De Niro ... Detective Tom "Turk" Cowan
Carla Gugino ... Detective Karen Corelli
John Leguizamo ... Detective Perez
Donnie Wahlberg ... Detective Riley
Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson ... Marcus "Spider" Smith
Brian Dennehy ... Lieutenant Hingis
Frank John Hughes ... Charles Randall
Rob Dyrdek ... Robert "Rambo" Brady

Read More

Chinese Coffee (2000) - Harry Levine

Harry Levine is an aging, failed writer from Greenwich Village who fired from his daily job as doorman. Desperately seeking for cash, he calls on his close friend Jake Manheim, an arts photographer, to collect a substantial amount of long-standing debt. But now the fellas has even less money on hand than him.

Harry then engage in an all-night discussion with Jake, solicits Jake's opinion on manuscript of his latest novel, hoping for an honest review. The novel is a semi-fiction based on their longtime friendship. Instead of honest review, jealousy make the washed-up photographer attacks Harry's manuscript in attempt to destroy his courage and motivation, and this attack lead to a confrontation. However, Harry Levine finally gains his courage.

Chinese Coffee initially released as part of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The independent film was originally a play by Ira Lewis (in which Pacino performed at Circle in the Square in New York in 1992), and made into a film directed by Al Pacino himself. Almost all of the film' scenes shot as a one-on-one conversation between the two main characters, Harry Levine (Al Pacino) and Jake Manheim (Jerry Orbach). Both the play and the film are set in New York City circa 1985.

Despite made on 2000, Chinese Coffee released for wider audiences than film festivals seven years later on 2007, as a part of Pacino: An Actor's Vision, a three-movie boxed set (along with The Local Stigmatic and Looking for Richard).



Cast:

Al Pacino ... Harry Levine
Jerry Orbach ... Jake Manheim
Susan Floyd ... Joanna
Ellen McElduff ... Mavis
Neal Jones ... Eteocles
Michel Moinot ... Maurice
Joel Eidelsberg ... Harry Levine's brother
Paul J.Q. Lee ... Counterman

Read More

The Merchant of Venice (2004) - Shylock

The Merchant of Venice is a 2004 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's comedy of the same name (believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598). It follows Shakespeare's text very closely, and is the first full-length sound film version in English of Shakespeare's play.

The Merchant of Venice story shows a 16th century Venice, where Bassanio wishes to travel to Belmont for a romantic ambition to a wealthy heiress Portia. He then approaches his rich friend Antonio to subsidize his traveling expenses; but Antonio agree only if Bassanio can find a lender.

Bassanio then turns to the Jewish moneylender Shylock and names Antonio as the loan’s guarantor. Shylock agree, but proposes a condition for the loan: if Antonio is unable to repay it at the specified date, he may take a pound of Antonio's flesh.

The Merchant of Venice principal casts are Al Pacino as rich Jewish moneylender Shylock, Joseph Fiennes as Bassanio the young Venice nobleman, Jeremy Irons as Antonio the merchant, and Lynn Collins as Portia the rich heiress of Belmont. The film directed by Michael Radford, and its awesome, realistic look of Venice streets was designed by production designer Bruno Rubeo, who was honored by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists for his excellent work.

Read More

The Recruit (2003) - Walter Burke

The Recruit is a spy movie follows the career of James Clayton, a briliant MIT graduate recruited into the CIA. While at MIT, Clayton develop Sp@rtacus, a computer program which turns computer terminals to which it is networked into its slave - probably similar to the now infamous botnet. Clayton meets Walter Burke. The man who reveals that he is a CIA recruiter, and his familiarity with Clayton's father, who had gone missing when he was young.

The Recruit directed by Roger Donaldson, and the screenplay written by Roger Towne, Kurt Wimmer, and Mitch Glazer. The film stars Al Pacino as CIA recruiter Walter Burke, Colin Farrell as James Clayton, and Bridget Moynahan as Layla Moore, Clayton's fellow recruit.

Read More

Angels in America (2003, HBO miniseries) - Roy Cohn

Angels in America is 6 chapters miniseries (total runtime 352 minutes) adapted from Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize winning play, and directed by Mike Nichols. Kushner adapt his own original text for the screen, in which HBO broadcast the film in various formats.

The first three chapters of Angels in America ("Bad News", "In Vitro" and "The Messenger") were initially broadcast on December 7, 2003, followed by the next, final three chapters ("Stop Moving!", "Beyond Nelly" and "Heaven, I'm in Heaven").

Angels in America won 5 Golden Globes. Al Pacino won Golden Globe Awards for Best Actor in a Miniseries or TV movie, for his performance in the film. Another Golden Globe winning including Best Miniseries or Made for TV Movie, Best Actress in a Miniseries or TV Movie (Meryl Streep), Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Miniseries, or Movie (Jeffrey Wright), and Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries, or Movie (Mary-Louise Parker). The film also broke the record previously held by Roots for the most Emmys awarded to a program in a single year, winning 11 awards from 21 nominations. The record was broken four years later by John Adams.

Angels in America was the most watched made-for-cable movie in 2003. The first episode drew 4.2 million viewers. It also garnering much critical acclaim. The New York Times wrote that "Mike Nichols's television version is a work of art in itself."

The film's core story of the spreading AIDS epidemic and a rapidly changing social and political climate make it listed among best of the filmed AIDS portrayals.

The shooting for Angels in America was done at Kaufman Astoria Studios, New York City, Bethesda Fountain (Central Park), Hadrian's Villa, and the Roman archaeological complex at Tivoli, Italy.

Read More