Two Takes on MEAN STREETS

Cole's Rating: ★★★ ½

Jesse's Rating: ★★★ ½

Director: Martin Scorsese
Year: 1973

Cast: Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Amy Robinson

Genre: Crime/Drama
MPAA Rating: R

Cole's Take: “Ey! Ey! I payed you last Tuesday!”, proclaimed Robert De Niro in his 1973 role that put himself, along with Martin Scorsese, on the map in the film industry. What’s so great about Mean Streets is how personable it all is, and maybe that’s why it’s arguably Scorsese’s best work. The film digs into what he might have experienced while growing up in New York’s Little Italy, which makes it his most delicate movie of all time.

        Characters and dialogue, that’s what Mean Streets is all about. Not too much happens, and it doesn’t rate much as far as entertainment goes, but that’s alright because of how genuine the characters/performances are. Everything is very rawly shot, so it seems as if Martin Scorsese creates a semi-autobiographical reality, then has the camera spy on them in their everyday lives. You witness bar fights that are so sloppy and un-choreographed that you feel as if you’re watching the real thing; you witness low-lives fighting each other over a few bucks; you witness Charlie (played by Harvey Keitel, who gives one of his best performances) deciding between caring for the irresponsible, immature Johnny Boy (played by De Niro who never misses a beat), and working his way up in the small-time mob. You witness these things because you aren’t watching them, you’re living them along with Scorsese. He creates such well-crafted characters that you love and want to care for yourself, and then invents a harrowingly upsetting, yet realistic and highly effective conclusion that leaves the characters walking around with you after the credits role. What he does here is something that every filmmaker yearns to do, and that is make an authentic (and artistic) movie, that is echoed in every single movie by the same director that follows. Seeing as it was one of the first movies to put rock-and-roll into its soundtrack so effectively, there’s much more of that to come (seen in The Departed), as there is shocking cuts that happen from scene to scene (seen very often in The Color of Money), as there is De Niro performing like the cinematic equivalency of a “raging bull” (seen in, well, Raging Bull). I could go on and on. 

        To conclude, I’d say that while Mean Streets isn’t his best work, it’s still an incredible watch if you’re a patient and loving person. It’s not a typical Scorsese movie; it’s the original.

Jesse's Take: Mean Streets is Martin Scorsese's first real foray into his bravado directorial style for years to come. This film is a very personal, very insightful look at what he might of went through as a young man growing up in New York City's seedy district of Little Italy. There's a moderate mob element to the proceedings and an intense character study of Harvey Keitel's Charlie, a man who has to choose between looking out for his troubled friend Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro who's performance is the brilliant equivalent of a charging rhino) and moving up the chain of small time New York Mafia. Mean Streets is raw, somewhat improvised, and carries the feeling that the world's greatest living director saw the future of cinema years ahead of everybody else. The ending (which I could never reveal) is gut wrenching in ways that I can't describe.

        One of the best aspects you could pull from this pioneering indie (it sure feels like independent filmmaking) is that the all the characters make an impression on you. They stay with you long after the credits roll. To add to that, everything Scorsese made after Mean Streets goes back to Mean Streets. It's the blueprint for pretty much his whole body of work. During the first half of the film, Keitel utters the line, "twenty dollars, let's go to da movies!" Yeah, if you go to the movies, make it Mean Streets. It's a keeper.

Two Takes on THE INTERNSHIP

Cole's Rating: ★★ ½

Jesse's Rating: ★★★

Director: Shawn Levy

Year: 2013

Cast: Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson, Rose Byrne

Genre: Comedy

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Cole's Take:

        What’s disappointing in modern day cinema is when a film has an incredible opportunity with the brilliant ideas that the script offers, and when the same film is diluted with what dilutes a large amount of movies nowadays: happy endings, unnecessary crude humor, and sentimentality. The Internship has all that and more, which for me, makes it the biggest letdown so far this year.

        It purports Owen Wilson (who delivers in all of his performances including this) and Vince Vaughn as two old saps who lose their jobs in the sales industry because what they are selling becomes obsolete due to technology. They then desperately attempt to find jobs, and somehow wind up at with an internship at Google, which may very well be the movie’s most ironic element because it didn’t play its cards right. Vaughn’s character is shown sitting at his computer, drinking beer, and typing in “sales jobs for people with few skills”. Next thing you know, he types in Google (because apparently he couldn’t find anything interesting in the previous search results), invents fake college certificates, holds a interview, and boom! The result is an internship at Google which may lead to a job. Forget about the fact that they are 40 years old and have no technological abilities. Seems too good to be true, right? It clearly doesn’t take itself seriously; so why should we? Instead of using this great concept to its advantage, it throws it aside, and substitutes it with the mentioned gag humor and stupid scenes. Not to mention the astounding number of cameos that literally make you say out-loud, “What the heck?”. The only thing missing here is Adam Sandler.

        But as all Vaughn movies do, it had its moments. And again, as all Vaughn movies do, it was really funny for a while, until it, inevitably, started to become sappy; it was also riddled with the most cliche characters you can think of. To our misfortune (because it defies reality) it ends happily, tying all loose ends with double nots, might I add, which makes this another swing-and-miss for him. Just add this one to the list! One of his films that is not on it is The Break-Up (go figure, it doesn’t end happily). Near the end of the movie, Vaughn claims “Not to get too sentimental.” Gimme’ a break, Vaughn!

        I recommend it as a viewer, not critic. It’s a shame that I can’t recommend it as both, but that’s just how so many movies are nowadays. They’re deceptive, and unconditionally enjoyable. They wear a mask, and demand you to like them. The Internship masks what could actually have made it better: its concept of two old men trying (fighting, even) to keep up with modern day society and the technological advances that open up so many jobs and futures (a term dealt with heavily in this movie, which was something I appreciated). It’s certainly not a bad watch, but it could’ve, and should’ve, been a lot better.

-Written by Cole Pollyea

Jesse's Take:

        Slated as an early June release, The Internship tells the story of two guys (wrist watch salesmen I'm thinking) who lose their jobs to the unfortunate medium of technology and decide to travel to California. Their objective: Get jobs at Google and start a new life. The two best friends (Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson as Billy and Nick respectively) are much older than all the interns at the Google factory and feel out of place at first. But they inject a sort of teamwork aspect that their "Big Brother" team somewhat lacks. This sets off a chain of events and brings everybody closer to their goal of getting full time jobs at what Billy states is "the best job in America".

        So after viewing The Watch (unnecessarily rated R junk) and The Dilemma (a dark and restless vehicle trying to pass off as comedy), I was a little skeptical about going to see the latest quote unquote "Vince Vaughn movie". I've been critical of this guy in the past because he relentlessly gives the same performance over and over (it started with Old School and he hasn't looked back since). As a result, I'd be lying if I said I had high expectations venturing into the theater to see The Internship. But wouldn't you know it, this film surprised me. It is a refreshing, lightweight comedy that piles on good, solid, palatable laughs. It's got a lot of characters in it that win you over. And it's got Owen Wilson on board to compliment his best bud Vaughn. Because of this, Vaughn automatically becomes a much more likable actor this time around. The two of them echo back to their Wedding Crashers days by basically playing the same characters (it's like they're always on a mission), having sort of similar adventures (Owen's gets to be smooth with the ladies again), and making all of us laugh wholeheartedly.

        But let's be honest, The Internship is no masterpiece. Much of what happens in it does not permeate to real life (there's maybe a 10% chance these guys would be hired at this particular organization full of genius code breakers). This flick feels more like a fantasy than a dose of surmised reality (the term "it's only a movie" applies here like you wouldn't believe). Overall though, this motion picture just wants to have fun. It tells a good story (not a true one mind you), has an outrageous Will Ferrell cameo, and caters to the whole Vaughn/Wilson chemistry thing. And although The Internship strives to be great but comes up a little short, that's okay because it defines the word "harmless." It also has a breeziness to it that's contagious. With the exception of a little too much improvisation from the cast (they talk real fast like they're in old 50's movies), what's on screen still gets my recommendation. Reason being is that it sets a gold standard for a PG-13 laugh fast. It does this by teetering on the brink of R rated movie fare while thankfully not going over the edge. It's a welcome surprise when you can giggle and snarl in the theater without the abundance of cuss words.

        With the summer movie season in full swing, The Internship doesn't quite fit the mold of a huge bloated blockbuster like we see every year (yes, I'm talking about Transformers). But for what it's worth I enjoyed myself for two straight hours. It's not easy to make a film where everything comes together perfectly (you know script, direction, editing, music, etc.). So to sum up my review, I'd say yes, this film has many flaws, but for laughable escapist entertainment, it undoubtedly does the trick.

-Written by Jesse Burleson