The Departed

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 2:31 Long
A Review by:
The Dude on the Right

The Departed
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Warner Bros.
Release Date: 2006
Directed By: Martin Scorsese

I guess this is a remake of some big Asian film from a few year’s back, but if it gets released on its tentative date, October 6th, Oscar buzz will already start hitting this film if only because Martin Scorsese is directing and it’s got a great cast of Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Mark Wahlberg, Alec Baldwin. From what I can gather you get the Irish-American mafia infiltrating the Boston police department, and the Boston police department infiltrating the Irish-American mafia, and they all have their allegiances both to who they’re spying on and who they’re spying for.

Right now the movie looks to be very entertaining, and it’s rated R for three great reasons in my book, strong brutal violence, pervasive language, some strong sexual content and as an added bonus, drug material.

Scorsese’s got the track record, especially when it comes to movies like this, so I doubt he’ll screw it up.

That’s it for this preview! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Anger Management

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:46 Long
A Review by:
The Dude on the Right

Anger Management
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, Marisa Tomei
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Columbia Pictures
Directed By: Peter Segal

As Adam Sandler seems to continue his trek to be considered a respected actor and not just a joke that’s been played too many times, now comes “Anger Management,” teaming him with Jack Nicholson and including Marisa Tomei, both respected in their profession. Can Adam prove himself to be in their league, or is he his normal over-the-top self? Only the movie will tell, but for now I can tell you this…

“Anger Management” has Sandler sentenced to take some, well, anger management therapy, after an altercation on an airplane. Assigned to him is Nicholson, who moves in with Sandler, and begins his twisted therapy. At first Sandler seems to do his best to keep his cool, but then Nicholson pushes him over the edge and hilarity is supposed to ensue.

The movie does look to have potential, especially Nicholson’s character, and Sandler has the potential to team up well with him, but for me it will be difficult to take Sandler’s character seriously, especially when to me he will always be Happy, Billy, and Pip. Hopefully he can make me forget them.

That’s it for this preview! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

The Bucket List

MPAA Rated – PG-13
It’s 1:37 Long
A Preview by:
The Dude on the Right

The Bucket List
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, Sean Hayes, Beverly Todd, Rob Morrow
MPAA Rated: PG-13
Released By: Warners Bros.
Release Date: 2007
Directed By: Rob Reiner

You know what? Chicken Butt! Actually, though, when I saw the trailer for “The Bucket List,” I found a film I think I am really looking forward to seeing, and I’m guessing I will cry during it. Hell, the trailer nearly made me weepy.

The story basically goes that Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two dudes on their way to die. The thing is they both have a list of things they always wanted to do before they “kicked the bucket,” and Edward (Jack) has the money to make the things on the list happen, but Carter (Morgan), has the “down-to-Earth” person-ess to get Edward to remember, and reunite, with the family he has lost.

This movie has two fabulous actors in roles, namely Jack Nickolson and Morgan Freeman, so how can you ever count them out in a movie, especially together, and the trailer looks like they meld together very well. And then you have the tear-jerker story of two dudes facing their deaths and being able to realize dreams of what they always wanted to do.

I can probably already say that I will laugh, I will cry, and I will love this movie, just from the trailer. I hope the movie lives up to the trailer.

That’s it for this preview! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!!

Blood and Wine

MPAA Rated – R
It’s 1:40 Long
A Review by:
– Stu Gotz

Blood and Wine
Movie Stats & Links
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Judy Davis, Jennifer Lopez, Stephen Dorff, Michael Caine
MPAA Rated: R
Released By: Fox Searchlight
Release Date: 1996
Kiddie Movie: Much less appropriate for kids than it is for dates.
Date Movie: Save the money and take her to a Steak and Shake instead.
Gratuitous Sex: One nipple would have rated this movie an additional half star from me.
Gratuitous Violence: I had a violent attitude after seeing this movie.
Action: Fights, car chases, all with a dash of salt.
Laughs: I sat in my seat laughing about how bad the movie was.
Memorable Scene: Actually… The fact that the movie didn’t slap a happy romantic cliché ending was the only thing memorable about this movie for me.
Memorable Quote: “Baby, I’m gonna take you away from all this.” Do real people really say this while dancing the marimba in lingerie? Not in my book. But then again this movie was definitely not my type of book.
Directed By: Bob Rafelson

Have you ever made chicken soup? I’m not talking about busting out a can of Campbell’s but actually making it from scratch? The recipe for chicken soup is pretty simple and hard to mess up (although it can be done). By adding the right components, at the right time, and in the right amounts, nine times out of ten you wind up with a pretty basic soup. In time and with a little practice one can even learn how to doctor up a basic chicken soup recipe and make it into something totally kick-ass and far from basic.

Did you know that Hollywood knows the secret to kick-ass chicken soup and very often applies it to the recipe of making movies. A lot of times the creation is supreme, but other times it’s just plain old broth. Such is the case of the new Jack Nicholson and Michael Cane movie “Blood & Wine.”

This movie reminded me of my Jeep on a cold winter’s day – it just didn’t want to start. But back to the soup comparison. Like waiting for that pot of water to boil, this movie seemed to take forever to build to something exciting. After the water did get boiling the writers added some good stock in the way of bad guy characters in Alex Gates (Nicholson) and Victor Spansky (Cane). Lots of potential here. Later came a little salt which reviled the plot to a jewel heist. To spice things up a bit some salsa was added in the way of Gabriella (Jennifer Lopez – hubba-hubba, what a babe) who portrayed a Latin love interest. For good measure the writers even threw in a little sour lemon as a way to potentially spoil a perfect crime.

They followed the recipe, and even tried to add something special, so why was it that this movie was so bad? I think it’s because I’ve been fed chicken broth, stew, casserole, gumbo, and flambé all my life. I’m tired of that recipe and its deviations. What I want is something new, and this movie is not new. Actually, to be fair, the movie should actually get acclaim for being a perfect example of a “Hollywood Cook Book Movie,” but for me it was like one of those old Gum Shoe novels made for late night TV. Slow, boring, and predictable. I really don’t know whose ass I wanted to kick more after seeing the movie, Fox for releasing it or the Dude on the Right for making me pay $4.50 to go see it. I cannot recommend this movie to the everyday kind of guy, but if you’re a film student the structure will appeal to you, and if you’re a dorky Chicago film critic it will appeal to you because you’re an artsy horses ass that has lost touch with the blue collar class people like me. Sorry Jack but I can only give your movie 1 out of 5 stars. Please don’t kick my ass! Later…