Into this world of titans, steps Barry Levinson with The Alto Knights and frankly it’s all a bit of a mess. Some of the calamities come from concepts that don’t connect and storytelling that lacks that visceral edge. Concept-wise having Robert De Niro play the two main leads with only bad make-up to distinguish between the two doesn’t work at all. It also causes a bit of confusion as to who is whom.

Storytelling-wise, even though it is based on a true story and real people, it waters down the gangster life to be one filled with domestic bliss (and boredom) and detunes their barbaric behaviour to a glimmer of the true savagery they were capable of. It also portrays a number of them as bumbling fools, they were most certainly not. Pacing is also a problem as the films build to a climax that just never happens.

It takes a convergence of many mistakes to make a gangster film as uninteresting as The Alto Knights. There are however a few moments to saviour. If you are a fan of nineteen-fifties Detroit Iron there are some absolutely classic examples of that automotive art on display and there is a scene of gastronomic excess that will make you so hungry for Italian food, that you should see an early screening so the restaurants will be open on your way home.
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The film follows two of New York’s most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello (De Niro) and Vito Genovese (De Niro), as they vie for control of the city’s streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a deadly collision course that will reshape the Mafia (and America) forever.

“The Alto Knights” was written by Oscar nominee Nicholas Pileggi (“Goodfellas”) and produced by Oscar winner Irwin Winkler (“Rocky,” “Goodfellas”), Levinson, Jason Sosnoff, Charles Winkler and David Winkler, with Mike Drake executive producing.

De Niro stars alongside Debra Messing (“Will & Grace”), Cosmo Jarvis (“Shōgun”), Kathrine Narducci (“The Irishman”), Michael Rispoli (“Billions”), Michael Adler (“Peppermint”), Ed Amatrudo (“Till,” “Nashville”), Joe Bacino (“Kick-Ass”), Anthony J. Gallo (“The Irishman”), Wallace Langham (“Ford v Ferrari”), Louis Mustillo (“Cooper’s Bar,” “Mike & Molly”), Frank Piccirillo, Matt Servitto (“Billions”) and Robert Uricola (“Raging Bull”).

Joining Levinson (“Rainman,” “Dopesick”) behind the camera are Oscar-nominated director of photography Dante Spinotti (“The Insider,” “L.A. Confidential”), production designer Neil Spisak (the “Spider-Man” films, “Dopesick”), Oscar-nominated editor Douglas Crise (“Babel,” “Dopesick”), Oscar-nominated costume designer Jeffrey Kurland (“Bullets Over Broadway,” “Tenet”), award-winning casting director Ellen Chenoweth (“Past Lives”) and composer David Fleming (“Hillbilly Elegy,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”).

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents an Irwin Winkler Production, a Barry Levinson Film, “The Alto Knights.” The film will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures worldwide and released in Australian cinemas on March 20.
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The film centers around Sebastian (Maniscalco) who is encouraged by his fiancée (Leslie Bibb) to bring his immigrant, hairdresser father, Salvo (De Niro), to a weekend get-together with her super-rich and exceedingly eccentric family (Kim Cattrall, Anders Holm, Brett Dier, David Rasche). The weekend develops into what can only be described as a culture clash, leaving Sebastian and Salvo to discover that the great thing about family is everything about family.

About My Father is directed by Laura Terruso and stars Sebastian Maniscalco, Robert De Niro, Leslie Bibb, Anders Holm, David Rasche, Brett Dier, and Kim Cattrall

About My Father is coming to Australian cinemas on August 3, 2023.
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A fascinating and richly intricate tale that brilliantly weaves historical fact with fiction for a timely, cinematic experience, 20th Century Studios’ and New Regency’s original crime epic about three close friends who find themselves at the centre of one of the most shocking secret plots in American history, will open exclusively in cinemas November 3, 2022.

“Amsterdam” stars Academy Award® winner Christian Bale, two-time Oscar® nominee Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Alessandro Nivola, Andrea Riseborough, Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Rock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Michael Shannon, Mike Myers, Taylor Swift, Zoe Saldaña, with Oscar-winner Rami Malek and two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro.

Written and directed by five-time Oscar nominee David O. Russell, “Amsterdam” is produced by Arnon Milchan, Matthew Budman, Anthony Katagas, David O. Russell, and Christian Bale, with Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, and Sam Hanson serving as executive producers.

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Peter (Oakes Fegley) and his Grandpa Jack (Robert DeNiro) used to be very close, but when Grandpa moves in with the family, Peter is forced to give up his most prized possession, his bedroom. Peter will stop at nothing to get his room back, scheming with friends to devise a series of pranks to drive him out. But, Grandpa doesn’t give up easily and before long, it’s an all out war!

The War With Grandpa will be released in Australian cinemas December 3!
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Based on the 2004 book, I Heard You Paint Houses by a former homicide prosecutor, Charles Brandt, it focuses on the life of mob hitman Frank “The Irishman” Sheeran played by Robert De Niro. In a confession given after the book was published, Sheeran claims to have been the hitman behind the murder and disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa who is played by Al Pacino. Spoiler alert, his body is not buried under the turf at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.

The film is masterfully made and it exists thanks to the new paradigm of films being made for the streaming platforms. Scorsese is on record saying that no major studio would give him the running time or money needed to fully realise his vision and what a visions it is. No film in his canon has the main protagonists end up in such bleak conditions, as an anticrime film, it is vivid.

Given the uncommon extended screen time to tell a story that was decades in the making, it underlines how rare this opportunity is for fans of film. Even with its ultimate destination in your living room, you need to make the effort to get out and see it on the big screen (one measured in metres not inches) as few things improve upon the collective experience quite like the cinema.

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The former labor union high official and hitman, learned to kill serving in Italy during the Second World War. He now looks back on his life and the hits that defined his mob career, maintaining connections with the Bufalino crime family.

In particular, the part he claims to have played in the disappearance of his life-long friend, Jimmy Hoffa, the former president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, who mysteriously vanished in late July 1975 at the age of 62.

The Irishman will release in Australian cinemas for a limited run at Dendy Cinemas on November 7 before its Netflix debut on November 27.
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Set in a grotty version of Gotham City with its fluid timeline and using contrasting elements to their fullest effect, you are never left to slide into a comfortable viewing experience. From mismatching colours to the acerbic soundtrack to confrontational close ups, you are keep on your toes.

It’s a sign of the film’s power that you relate to Arthur Fleck/Joker in the full range of emotions. You will feel sympathy, anger, revulsion, triumph and horror in almost equal measure. Writer/director/producer Todd Phillips also has a large number of surprises up his sleeve for both comic book fans and viewers that are only peripherally interested in comic book lore.

Far from being exploitive of people with mental health illnesses, it is absolutely a cautionary tale about letting the less advantaged people in our society fall between the cracks. It also emphasises the criminal proclivity that oozes out from the shadows of broken family units. Loose empathy at your own peril.

Rob Hudson
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The other he can never remove; it’s the guise he projects in a futile attempt to feel he’s a part of the world around him, and not the misunderstood man whom life is repeatedly beating down. Fatherless, Arthur has a fragile mother, arguably his best friend, who nicknamed him Happy, a moniker that’s fostered in Arthur a smile that hides the heartache beneath. But, when bullied by teens on the streets, taunted by suits on the subway, or simply teased by his fellow clowns at work, this social outlier only becomes even more out of sync with everyone around him.

Directed, co-written and produced by Todd Phillips, “Joker” is the filmmaker’s original vision of the infamous DC villain, an origin story infused with, but distinctly outside, the character’s more traditional mythologies. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, who is indelibly portrayed by Joaquin Phoenix, is of a man struggling to find his way in Gotham’s fractured society. Longing for any light to shine on him, he tries his hand as a stand-up comic, but finds the joke always seems to be on him. Caught in a cyclical existence between apathy and cruelty and, ultimately, betrayal, Arthur makes one bad decision after another that brings about a chain reaction of escalating events in this gritty, allegorical character study.

JOKER stars Joaquin Phoenix, Robert De Niro, Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Brett Cullen, Glenn Fleshler, Bill Camp, Shea Whigham, Marc Maron, Douglas Hodge, Josh Pais and Leigh Gill.

JOKER releases in Australia in theatres on October 3, 2019!
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“Joker” centers around the iconic arch nemesis and is an original, standalone story not seen before on the big screen. Phillips’ exploration of Arthur Fleck, a man disregarded by society, is not only a gritty character study, but also a broader cautionary tale.

JOKER also stars Zazie Beetz, Frances Conroy, Marc Maron, Bill Camp, Glenn Fleshler, Shea Whigham, Brett Cullen, Douglas Hodge and Josh Pais.

JOKER releases in Australia on October 3, 2019.
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