Skip to main content

Review: The Vacuum of L.A. (Gangster Squad)

Gangster Squad starts with Sgt. John O'Meara commenting on the current state of Los Angeles in 1949. Several characters mention the City of Angels has turned into a cesspool since the arrival and subsequent takeover by gangster Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn). What we see and are shown never alludes to anything other than a hell-hole, but Sgt. John O'Meara's words must mean something.

To Sgt. O'Meara (Josh Brolin) honor and integrity are tangible things, they can be sought out and reclaimed. He has returned from The War to see his home ravaged and manipulated into a gangster's playground. His wife is pregnant and just wants him to take the check and keep low. After busting up an entire operation by himself, O'Meara has let it be known: he won't take this sitting down.

Sgt. Jerry Wooters (Ryan Gosling) has taken the opposite approach: retreat into liquor and women because the worst has not gotten here yet. Wooters' apathy hides a great deal, but O'Meara knows better. A travesty outside a nightclub Wooters frequents changes his mind pretty quickly. With the addition of several street-savvy members to the crew, including a gun-slinger and a wireman, O'Meara is ready to take down Cohen.

What follows next is almost cartoonish in its depiction of destabilizing a criminal organization. Faces are bludgeoned to a pulp, cops are out wasting thugs left and right, explosions go unnoticed, every procedure is thrown out the window. One expects tough antics, but when fisticuffs take place instead of slapping cuffs on in every occasion, the film makes it hard to take any of the proceedings seriously.

As jarring as some of those scenes are, the film's true downfall is Sean Penn's Cohen. Penn gnashes his teeth against everything in sight: fellow actors, scenery, his lines. His fierceness is never doubted, but it is hard to picture who would let his man be in charge of anything. Psychopaths tend not to be the masters of economics that they think they are.

On paper, Gangster Squad could easily have been the next Untouchables, but it rarely has the drive or charm that film had. The shoot-outs are loud and often though they leave no mark. For all of the action sandwiched into the runtime, it is hard to care about the stakes. A shame considering the worthwhile cast and lively cinematography. Gangster Squad is so reminiscent of other better flicks that it has no identity of its own.

**/****

Popular posts from this blog

The Best of the Decade

Over the last ten years, the cinema has given us a great deal to be thankful for: a rebirth of the Batman franchise, a series of examinations of what it means to live in this particular decade, and a mass of character studies whether they be animated or popcorn thrillers. As much as I have enjoyed the offerings, a list must be culled together for the end of the year. Except this year is different, this year ten films must be selected from hundreds. Below are some of the best of the aughts. Enjoy! 10) There Will Be Blood Paul Thomas Anderson's magnum opus, a scathing look at extremism in America and the evils of greed and profiteering from religion. It also features the best performance of the decade with Daniel Day-Lewis as oil-man Daniel Plainview. 9)  Up A beautiful tale that entrances all ages,  Up managed to captivate children and tell a tale that adults cherish as well. 8) The Dark Knight Maybe just a comic book film, but it is the best comic book film

Paprika vs. Inception

Months before Inception hit the theaters forums were alive with rumors that Christopher Nolan either accidentally or intentionally stole some details from another film, the Japanese anime Paprika. The biggest point of comparison for some bloggers and forum runners was the fact that both of the films featured a device that allowed a person, or people, to travel into another’s dreams and delve into their subconscious. Minor points of comparison include scenes in Paprika where the character Paprika breaks through a mirrored wall by holding her hand to it, as well as a scene where a police detective falls his way down a hallway. Claims have been made that Inception abounds with imagery similar to or exactly like the anime movie, but with the recent release of the film on DVD and Blu-Ray, and with Paprika available for several years now, an examination of the two plots can be made more fully. Let us begin with the primary claim— Inception stole the idea of a dream

Armond White's Top Ten Films on Flickchart

Armond White is film criticism’s most famous contrarian. At one moment he writes  a review declaring  Toy Story 3  to be the most obscene excuse for toy commercials  he has ever watched, and then two weeks later types out  a glowing review of  Resident Evil: Afterlife . He is of split-mind for sure. But what does his Flickchart look like? Read the rest at Flickchart !