Donnie Brasco, Star Wars, Trainspotting

reviewed Tues, 18 Mar 1997

DONNIE BRASCO -- A tight, engrossing, psychological drama of friendship and loyalty, this film trascends the Mafia genre -- it feels like office politics as much as organized crime.  Writer Paul Attanasio (Quiz Show, "Homicide" [the TV show, not the movie]) and director Mike "Four Weddings and a Funeral" Newell do a top-notch job of immersing you in the language and attitude of the low-level Mafia soldiers infiltrated by Donnie Brasco, aka Joe Pistone, aka Johnny Depp.

The relationship between Depp's Brasco and Al Pacino's Lefty Ruggiero is the heart of the film, and their performances are top-notch as well.  Johnny Depp can do more acting with his eyes alone than many of his peers can do with their whole bodies -- in one scene, Newell cuts off the rest of Depp's face as he silently watches his family, who he has had to more or less abandon while he works undercover, eating breakfast, and those soulful eyes speak volumes.  And Al Pacino thankfully eschews the louder-is-better histrionics of his past several movies in favor of some real, nuanced acting -- his Lefty is a sad sack Mob lieutenant whose career is flatlining -- more Willy Loman than John Gotti.

This is a terrific film; go see it.

STAR WARS -- Twenty years later, this movie can still entertain like few other films in the theaters today.  None of you lives under a rock, so I'm not going to review it, but I do have to say that I really disapprove of the new computer-animated additions even more after seeing the film than I did before.  They're so damn obvious -- they stick out even more than Pamela Anderson's breasts, and they're as unnecessary as... well, as Pamela Anderson herself.  You should have left it alone, George, and gotten to work on the new movies sooner.

TRAINSPOTTING -- Finally rented this one, and it's a hoot.  Fiercely energetic and hysterically funny, and Ewan MacGregor is sensational.  I'm glad I rented it instead of seeing it in the theater, however, because 1) I could rewind it to decipher some of the Scottish accents, and 2) there are some scenes that are really pretty vile, making me thankful I had a fast-forward button to reach for (i.e., for those of you who've seen it, the toilet bowl scene).  I recommend it, but you might want to keep that remote control handy.

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