Tag Archives: New Orleans

Italian Retirement

19 December 2023 By in Movies Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Fast Charlie

Theaters:  7 October 2023 (Limited)

Streaming:  8 December 2023

Runtime:  90 minutes

Genre:  Action–Comedy–Crime–Drama–Mystery–Thriller

els:  7.0/10

IMDB:  5.9/10

Rotten Tomatoes Critics:  86/100

Rotten Tomatoes Audience:  87/100

Metacritic Metascore:  70/100

Metacritic User Score:  6.0/10

Awards: —

Directed by: Philip Noyce

Written by:  Richard Wenk–Based on Gun Monkeys by Victor Gischler

Music by:  Fil Eisler

Cast: Pierce Brosnan–James Caan–Morena Baccarin

Film Locations:  USA

Budget:  $16 million

Worldwide Box Office:  —

Fast Charlie is directed by Australian Philip Noyce whose best work revolves around the action, crime, and thriller genres. His oeuvre includes the 1992 Patriot Games, the 1994 Clear and Present Danger, and the 1999 The Bone Collector. Pierce Brosnan was Noyce’s first choice as Charlie due to gun skills and his acting abilities–Bond, James Bond. Brosnan does seem a natural in this film even though his interpretation of a southern accent is so heavy the vowels just drag into next week with a possible nap needed along the way. Never mind that the actual local New Orleans’ accent is closer to Jersey speak than a Charleston drawl.

Pierce Brosnan is Charlie Swift, a fixer, a concierge as he refers to himself when asked. If a problem requires that people disappear, he’s the man, the hitman to be exact. Charlie’s first hit in the movie is for money. After that they are for honor and revenge with the order being negotiable. Along the way he finally discovers the rational for his dream retirement in the hills and vineyards of Tuscany, Italy.

Brosnan sums up the movie his way, explaining the movie with a bit of inside baseball jargon thrown in for good measure: ‘Charlie is a little bit more of a chamber piece because of the tonality of his life and wanting to be as authentic as possible within the setting. When the curtain goes up, you really are in a specific place and time. It’s a more interior piece. But then of course, you put the gun in his hand, and he has to go shoot people.‘ Not sure what all that means except maybe it describes a swiftly made, low budget action movie that works.

FootnoteA

This is a movie to let go of your world for an hour and a half. There are no big messages to ponder. No hidden meaning to watch for. Just a good story with a no-hole plot, competent to particularly good acting and no extraneous scenes directing. There will be no awards for this flick, but the audience doesn’t care. As Glenn Kenny over at RogerEbert.com succinctly explains, “This is the farthest thing in the cinematic firmament from a world-changer you can imagine, but as an evening’s entertainment, it’ll more than do.“

On a final note, James Caan, 82, Sonny Corleone of The Godfather fame, gave his final performance in Fast Charlie. Filming for the movie began in April of 2022 and Caan passed away in July of 2022. Go out doing what you love. RIP.

References and Readings:

Footnotes:

  • FootnoteA: Pierce Bronsan as Fast Charlie. IMDb. 2023

Dying Young

5 March 2018 By in Movies Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Theaters – December 2008; Streaming – May 2009) M Button 2008Rated: PG  —  Runtime: 166 minutes

Genre: Drama – Fantasy – Mystery – Romance – Suspense

els – 7.5/10

IMDB – 7.8/10

Amazon – 4.6/5 stars

Rotten Tomatoes Critics – 7.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes Audience – 3.7/5

Metacritic Metascore – 70/100

Metacritic User Score – 7.3/10

Awards:  3 Academy Awards – Nominated for 13

Director:  David Fincher

Written by:  Eric Roth (story and screenplay), Robin Swicord (story), F. Scott Fitzgerald (story)

Music by:  Alexandre Desplat

Cast:  Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Julia Ormond

Film Locations:  Cambodia; Montreal, Canada; India; Burbank, Los Angeles, California – Donaldsonville, Laplace, Mandeville, Morgan City, New Orleans, Louisiana, US; St. Thomas, US Virgin Island

Budget:  $167,000,000

Worldwide Take:  $379,000,000

Mr. Gateau, the best clockmaker in all of the southern US, is commissioned to build a clock for a new train station set to open in 1918. When the clock is unveiled, it is running backwards. Mr. Gateau, who lost a son to the recent war, affirms that it is running as designed; to  grant those lost to the war a way back to life and the living.  On 11 November 1918, Armistice Day, Benjamin Button (Brad Pitt) is born, wrinkled and worn, losing his mother to his birth and his father, abandoning him on the porch of an orphanage. Benjamin is a consistent contradiction, experiencing life in a counter-clockwise direction.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button took 20 years, 7 potential directors prior to Fincher, 3 lead actors before Pitt, 3 different possible producers, and 2 production companies to finally deliver a product for the viewing public to consume. David Fincher brings his visual effect expertise to the forefront, as he usually does, with this enchanted story of love and time. He balances the CGI with a spellbinding collage of romance and courage that moves beyond the flesh. The visual effects are absolutely stunning, keeping this fantasy real and believable.  Fincher was likely the only director that could make this movie and keep the audience interested.

Brad Pitt contributes a somewhat predictable performance, detached but lovable, low-key and restrained, letting his body language provide the message, more so than his dialogue. It works and adds to the mystic of the film but it’s Cate Blanchett’s Daisy that draws you into this movie.  Daisy is a very complex character and Blanchett handles it with grace, charm, and a natural style that holds you in a delightful, enamored state of wonder throughout the film. Sad that she wasn’t even nominated for her more than deserving efforts by the Academy or the Golden Globes.

Benjamin Button is beautifully made, telling a story of true love that outstrips the concepts of time.