The Untouchables: Classic

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This week I re-watched one of my all-time favorite movie, The Untouchables. This Brian De Palma crime classic centers on the effort to arrest the notorious gangster, Al Capone. The movie takes place in the beginning of the 1930’s at the height of the prohibition in Chicago, Illinois. Eliot Ness and his gang of “Untouchables” must bend the rules of the law in order to capture the heavily influential criminal. 

The film stars Kevin Coster as Eliot Ness, Sean Connery as Jimmy Malone, and Robert De Niro plays Al Capone.  The film takes advantage of several engaging shots that really bring the viewer into the retro setting of this film to life. One thing I noticed this time watching it that I had not noticed before is that the clothing was all chosen and designed by Giorgio Armani. I am not really a fashion buff, but I know the significance of Mr. Armani’s name and I believe he did a really good job. The music in the film is entirely done with a full orchestra and it really lines up to the time period and the subject at hand.

The acting is superb. All characters shine especially De Niro’s interpretation of Capone. De Niro, known for his mobster roles, does the part great justice and really helps you understand how sick he really was.

I recommend the film to all.

My Kevin Costner Obsession

My dad doesn't always watch movies... But when he does, he watches Kevin Costner movies.

As a kid growing up, I didn't have the attention span to make it through a single one. I have recently made it my mission to watch all the movies he has ever produced, directed, and/or starred in, though. This may take me a while, as his movies all seem to be approximately 4 hours long. 

If you looked at ratings by Rotten Tomatoes, Kevin Costner has definitely had some big hits, and some even bigger misses. However, I find that some of the movies with the lowest ratings seem to be some of my favorites. For example, The Postman. Rotten Tomatoes critics gave it a whopping 9%, but I prefer to call it a masterpiece. Costner both directs and stars in this movie, where a makeshift postman reunites a post-apocalyptic America by delivering mail. Maybe an odd concept to wrap one's head around, but I dont want to spoil the movie for those who may actually read this post and have the intrest of watching it. 

Kevin Costner's typical style defies Hollywood norms. He makes movies as long as they need to be, rather than editing them down to a more appealing length for the general public. In some cases, his movies turn out twice the length of a typical feature film. Another rule he seems to break is to choose factual details rather than bending the truth to make more drama and/or action, shown best in his movie entitled "Wyatt Earp" that shows the life of the horse thief turned lawman of the Wild West. This is a risky style to follow, but I like how different he is and I havent come across a Costner movie that I wholeheartedly disliked. His differing style that leads to spectacular movies (in my opinion) is my inspiration for breaking the rules, and finding something outside of normal that is still appealing to at least a small portion of viewers. 

I encourage you all to IMDb Kevin Costner and watch at least one of his films. 

-Scott Walle