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.
Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/WarnerBrosAU/

The film starts out with a boat ride that would be helped by a shot of Dramamine as U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels (DiCaprio) and his partner Chuck Aule (Mark Ruffalo) are sent to a hospital for the criminally insane located on an isolated island to investigate the disappearance of one of its patients. This sets off a chain of events that will push the already unstable Marshal to and over the edge.

The movie’s trailer to the contrary, the film is more of a psychological thriller than an outright horror story and from the first frame on things seems strange and edgy. The first strains of the film score are also abrasive and over stated as if the filmmaker wants you to not get comfortable. The events that unravel from there redefine the main characters and the viewer needs to pay attention.

If this film’s ultimate success is dependent on return patronage, it’s got the bases covered because a twist in the film’s ending will have you wanting to see the film again to examine all the clues that lead up to it. Scorsese has had an uneven run with his last few films and while Shutter Island is no classic, it’s still a lot of fun and takes some detecting from the audience to fully enjoy.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/ParamountPicturesAU

It’s a sign of the expertise at work here that the 180 minute long film literally flies by. It’s also helped along by Leonardo DiCaprio’s most manic performance yet. If you thought he was full on in Django Unchained, he ramps it up ten fold here. Quite a few of the support cast members also turn in career defining roles. This includes Jonah Hill, who get the mix of powerful and pathetic just right and Aussie soap star Margot Robbie’s clothing optional performance that proves her place on the big screen.

A number of critics have taken Scorsese to task for glorifying all the drug use and sexist behavior. They must have been watching another film because never has a film showed so vividly how this kind of hedonist lifestyle fuelled by debauchery and excess leads to empty and hollow lives, big money or not. If you read about the real world characters from this period in Wall Street’s history it might even be considered tame by comparison.

In the 365 days that have just gone past (2013) it was a year in film that set a high water mark for both great films and great performances. Even in this crowded company, The Wolf Of Wall Street stands out and should be included in anyone’s list of must see movies.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/roadshow

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.

Rob Hudson
www.facebook.com/NetflixANZ

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.
www.netflix.com

Silence is the story of two young 17th century priests who go in search of their missing mentor in the mysterious and exotic land of Japan, where their faith is outlawed and their presence forbidden.  What follows is a dazzling and heart-stopping test of their endurance, faith and survival.

The film portrays a spiritual journey guaranteed to find warm reception from critics.  Based on the best-selling Japanese novel of the same name Silence stars Liam Neeson, Adam Driver and Andrew Garfield alongside a strong Japanese cast.

www.facebook.com/silencemovie

Competition will be drawn 15 February 2017, winners will be notified by mail.

Whether it’s wolves, bulls, butchers or taxi drivers, Scorsese’s complicated anti-heroes navigate mean streets of their own morality, torn between rebellion and acceptance, sin and redemption. While his characters spiral out of control, Scorsese captures every frame with masterly control.

SCORSESE, drawn from his personal collection, explores his inspirations, creative process and key collaborations, offering comprehensive insight into Scorsese’s career as an unparalleled screen stylist and a tireless champion of cinema.

Growing up in New York’s Little Italy and suffering from acute asthma, Scorsese’s childhood was spent looking down at the world from his window and up at the screen in his local cinema. While determined to make movies that honoured the Hollywood and European traditions he loved, his films inevitably reflect his own experience.

Featuring over 600 objects and a rich selection of footage from across the director’s work in film, documentary and television, SCORSESE invites fans, cinephiles and culture buffs to explore the world of one of the most influential directors of our time.

An exhibition conceived and organised by the Die Deutsche Kinemathek – Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin.

Scorsese Exhibition
26 May – 18 September 2016
ACMI – Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au

Following his 2011 visit to the Polish National Film, Television and Theatre School in Łódž – the birthplace of the Polish Film School of the 1950s and 60s that put Polish cinema on the film map – Scorsese was compelled to bring the great masterpieces of Polish cinema to audiences.

Long drawn to the power of Polish cinema from his days as a film student in New York, Scorsese selected 21 seminal films that profoundly resonated with him. Masterpieces of Polish Cinema includes works from luminaries such as Andrzej Wajda, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Krzysztof Zanussi, Andrzej Munk, Jerzy Kawalerowicz and Wojciech Has.

ACMI is proud to be showcasing 13 of the 21 films featured in Masterpieces of Polish Cinema from Sunday 5 October to Sunday 26 October 2014. Screening exclusively at ACMI in Australia, all 13 films have been digitally remastered and are newly subtitled with the assistance of Scorsese’s Film Foundation.

This special season, which spans three decades between 1957 and 1987, captures and critiques Poland’s social and political upheaval of the time. For many critics and viewers, the films stand up to repeated viewings for their emotional and creative depth, as well as their sweeping, humanistic themes.

Commenting on Polish cinema, Scorsese said: “This is a cinema of personal vision, very strong social commitment and a poetic responsibility from which we’ve all learned, and which sets a very high standard, which as a filmmaker, I strive to achieve with every film.”

ACMI’s Head of Film Programs, Richard Sowada is immensely proud that ACMI will be able to share these cinematic masterpieces with Australian audiences.

“This important series explores a range of themes and genres, from existentialism in Night Train, to eccentricity in Innocent Sorcerers, and absurdism in The Hourglass Sanatorium. It also includes Wajda’s iconic film set on the last day of World War II,Ashes and Diamonds, which Scorsese deems to be one of the finest films ever made. Audiences will have a unique opportunity to discover (and rediscover) these digitally restored masterpieces.”

Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema was organised with thanks to Propaganda Foundation, DI Factory, The Film Foundation and KinoRP Project.

Martin Scorsese Presents: masterpieces of Polish Cinema
Sunday 5 October to Sunday 26 October 2014
ACMI – Federation Square Melbourne
www.acmi.net.au

It’s a sign of the expertise at work here that the 180 minute long film literally flies by. It’s also helped along by Leonardo DiCaprio’s most manic performance yet. If you thought he was full on in Django Unchained, he ramps it up ten fold here. Quite a few of the support cast members also turn in career defining roles. This includes Jonah Hill, who get the mix of powerful and pathetic just right and Aussie soap star Margot Robbie’s clothing optional performance that proves her place on the big screen.

A number of critics have taken Scorsese to task for glorifying all the drug use and sexist behavior. They must have been watching another film because never has a film showed so vividly how this kind of hedonist lifestyle fuelled by debauchery and excess leads to empty and hollow lives, big money or not. If you read about the real world characters from this period in Wall Street’s history it might even be considered tame by comparison.

In the 365 days that have just gone past (2013) it was a year in film that set a high water mark for both great films and great performances. Even in this crowded company, The Wolf Of Wall Street stands out and should be included in anyone’s list of must see movies.

Rob Hudson
www.thewolfofwallstreet.com