Simon's Movie Reviews

When Todd Phillips’ Joker shook the world of comic book movies in 2019 (which is now starting to feel like a decade ago) two films kept being cited as influences: Taxi Driver (1976) and The King of Comedy (1983). Having already seen the violent Taxi Driver years ago I could see how that made sense and was curious to see how The King of Comedy also influenced the origin story of the Clown Prince of Crime. This week Amazon helped me fill in that cinematic blind spot, as I found yet another way to pass time indoors during this cold winter pandemic. Both Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy were directed by Martin Scorsese, star Robert De Niro as a loner living in New York City, and play with perceptions of reality. However, while Taxi Driver proved to be hit, The King of Comedy earned praises but not as much box-office success. Perhaps it is because it does not have as much violence as Taxi Driver or memorable lines, but I would venture it is because this movie was ahead of its time. Th...

The Departed will go down in history as the movie that finally gave Martin Scorsese an Academy Award for best director. Many could argue it was a career award as there are plenty of other movies he made that could have earned him the prize decades earlier. Goodfellas and Raging Bull come to mind, but The Departed easily earns its place among them. Scorsese had tackled stories about organized crime before, however this one has a particular Irish feel not to mention one hell of a story about criminals, cops, and the choices they make. The film was released in the fall of 2006, right in time for awards season. A smart move since it ended winning the Oscar for best picture. That fall I was spending my first semester at the University of Sherbrooke and couldn’t wait to see it after seeing the superbly edited trailer featuring not just The Rolling Stones’ Gimme Shelter (of course), but also I’m Shipping Up to Boston by The Dropkick Murphys and a cover of Comfortably Numb by Van Mo...

When people hear the name “Martin Scorsese” the first thing they tend to think of is gangster movies. Making gems such as “Mean Streets,” “Goodfellas,” “Casino” and “The Departed” will do that. Apart from the gangster element, all of these movies have another thing in common: kick-ass soundtracks. Having lived through the 1960s, Scorsese knows good music, which he has shown in documentaries such as “Shine a Light,” “The Blues” and “The Last Waltz.” That last one was shot in 1978 and features the final concert of The Band who were accompanied on stage by performers such as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Ringo Starr. Here is a movie for lovers of rock history and great filmmaking. The original plan was for me to watch this great rock doc during one of the showings of the film club in the university of Sherbrooke in 2010. It would have been perfect since it was supposed to be the last evening. We would watch “The Last Waltz” before waltzing out of universit...

Watching Martin Scorsese’s “Mean Streets” (1973) is like taking a look at one of the smaller pyramids of Egypt before the BIG ones were built. Before Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio were working opposite sides of the law in “The Departed,” before Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci were running Vegas in “Casino,” and before Ray Liotta became a gangster in “Goofellas,” Harvey Keitel was trying to survive the mean streets of New York. All the classic elements are there: strong performances, gangsters who are both reckless and conflicted by their choices, and a kick-ass soundtrack by The Rolling Stones. This movie was another entry in the film club I joined while studying at the University of Sherbrooke, where we would watch double features every night in the faculty basement. That week’s programming: a Martin Scorsese double feature starting with “Mean Streets” and ending with, I believe, “Goodfellas.” Appropriate, since “Mean Streets” was the beginning of success for Scorsese, while “...

In 1990 Martin Scorsese made “Goodfellas” one of the definitive movies about organized crimes in the United-States. Along with “The Godfather” trilogy, it provides an impeccable depiction of the gangster lifestyle. Yet, maybe because I saw it first, I find “Casino,” his tale of the mob’s power hold in 1970’s Las Vegas, more entertaining. Both movies are very stylish, have first rate performances by Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci, provide a detailed look at a criminal organization, and actually make you root for these criminals. “Casino” however, does not only depict a gangster lifestyle, but also depicts the unusual marriage between the mafia and the entertainment industry. De Niro’s character does not only have to juggle his personal life with his criminal life: he also has to juggle in front of the cameras when he gets his own TV show. I first saw this cinematic masterpiece on TV about six years ago. The channel, MPIX, is one of those channels where they show classics o...