REVIEW: Donnie Brasco (1997)

Director: Mike Newell | Genre: Crime / Drama | Runtime: 127 min.

This true story focuses on the efforts of Joe Pistole (Johnny Depp), an FBI agent who has to go deep undercover within the mafia families of New York under the name of Donnie Brasco - however, after building an intense friendship with Lefty Ruggiero (Al Pacino), a recognised member within the mafia, Brasco quickly runs into problems as he doesn't want Ruggiero to take the wrap once the case is over.

Whilst there's a lot of violence and blood in Donnie Brasco, much like many gangster movies, the most interesting and entertaining scenes are those where we see the friendship progress between Brasco and Ruggiero, which is constantly challenged through other mafia associates but more importantly Brasco's wife Maggie (Anne Heche), who finds it increasingly difficult to maintain a relationship with Brasco whilst he's undercover, leading to often difficult arguments and events. 

It's interesting to see Ruggiero slowly reveal himself as a generally low member of the mafia although he acts as if he's near the top when first meeting Brasco. This could be seen as a man who's willing to finally admit he's not willing to put in the work to a business he thought admired him through this delusional world he made for himself, instead a part of him wants to leave the crime underworld behind and perhaps live a "normal" life. 

And Brasco sees this throughout the movie and tries to discreetly find ways of getting Ruggiero out of the mafia and into normal society so to speak. Instead things regularly go wrong, whether it's suspicion from the boss Sonny (Michael Madsen) who hints that Brasco is a rat or various confrontations between Ruggiero and other mafia associates.

Whilst at first glance, this movie might seem like yet another gangster flick based on true events, which of course it is, it's the relationships between various characters that truly stands out - a true example of how emotions and judgement can rapidly change based on the level of friendship between one another.

8/10

REVIEW: ATM (2012)

Director: David Brooks | Genre: Horror / Thriller | Runtime: 90min.

When a group of friends/co-workers head for the ATM, they quickly realise it was the wrong thing to do - it turns out a homicidal maniac is stalking there every move, effectively leaving the trio stuck with nowhere to go.

Most of us have been to an ATM and been disheartened with the considerably low amount of funds in our accounts, but it would be a good guess you haven't been trapped inside a kiosk with a creepy guy on the outside playing on your fears and emotions. 

This movie is exactly that, but fails to deliver any genuine thrills or horror - you might remember Josh Peck from Drake and Josh, well now he's playing the role of Corey Thompson, a lazy and unreliable friend of David Hargrove (Brian Geraghty), who was originally planning on driving fellow colleague Emily Brandt (Alice Eve) home with possibly the chance of a nightcap. 

However, Corey drags himself along, effectively ruining Brian and Emily's night - Corey needs cash so the group visit a nearby ATM, but when they decide to leave, a mysterious figure is waiting outside starting at them. From here on, the group must determine what this guy wants, perhaps he's a robber or a menacing killer who violently murders innocent people. We all know the answer. 

Practically all of the movie is set within the ATM kiosk and the surrounding car park, which is fine if the locations were used effectively - instead we are given this predictable series of events with little imagination. This type of movie should encourage plot twists or at least a mildly interesting narrative to keep us entertained - after all, we're staring at the same surroundings for the most part, at least give us a reason to keep on watching.

Not knowing anything about the killer is absolutely fine, but only for a certain amount of time - this movie tells us practically nothing about him. It's understandable that he should remain mysterious but without even a little backstory, it's difficult to really engage with what's going on. 

And it's a shame because the concept is great - that sense of isolation even when in a group, knowing that any move you make could put your life at risk, but the screenplay is lazy and poorly executed. Overall, it's not advised to waste your time on ATM - there are many more horror/thrillers out there that are genuinlely clever, unique and original, this movie is none of them.

2/10

REVIEW: Frankenstein's Army (2013)

Director: Richard Raaphorst | Genre: Found Footage / Horror | Runtime: 84 min.

World War II is almost finished and a squad of Russian soldiers are making their way through eastern Germany when they find themselves in a Nazi lab headed by Victor Frankenstein - it's here that "super-soldiers" are being put together with aid from the limbs of dead Nazi comrades. Obviously.

With the onslaught of horror movies these days, it's easy to dismiss most as just "another horror flick", but it's Frankenstein's Army that tries to break that mold - filled with enough gore to keep the usual crowd happy, there's also much more to this movie in terms of visual appeal. Sure, we're all tired of the "found footage" genre and it's a shame director Richard Raaphorst decided to go down that route as it would have been much better shot like a regular movie. 

Instead, we get this annoying shaky camera, which is understandable as to why but makes the viewing experience generally irritating and no one wants that. It's the incredible sets and monster designs that really make this film worth watching - it's definitely not the narrative, the core storyline is bland and doesn't offer much in terms of imagination, that's where Frankenstein's monsters come in to save the day so to speak. 

Each one has something incredibly grotesque about them whether it's the guy who is stitched together with various pieces of human flesh or the Mosquito man, who's equipped with various sharp objects ready to pierce the flesh of anyone who gets in his (its?) way. There are a few twists and turns along the way, nothing that will shock you too much - during the first quarter or so, it's mildly entertaining to see how the Russian soldiers act around each other providing some laughs here and there, but ultimately you'll most likely be anticipating their inevitable deaths from the previously mentioned monsters.

Overall, Frankenstein's Army will keep you entertained just long enough to get that gruesome horror fix, but it's true downfall is the found footage aspect - it doesn't make the movie scary, which I imagine it was intended to do. This bizarre, yet generally entertaining movie stands as a symbolic reminder of Hitler's last desperate attempts at victory towards the end of World War II, let's just hope this never actually happened.

6/10