Black Mass (2015)

Of course, being set in Boston and knowing of a little of the history, I had to see this film.  I have heard various things about Whitey Bulger, including my father having repeatedly pointed out the location where Whitey buried several of his victims bodies, which was near where my father docked his boat.

Still, I only new a little about Whitey Bulger before watching this film.  Of course it was interesting to learn the history of what Whitey Bulger did and how it went on for so long.  While it shows a lot of vicious killings, I have been told the truth is far worse and more gruesome.

The setting and camera work of the movie were superb, as they completely captured the look and feel of Boston and, more specifically, Southie.

Most of the roles that Johnny Depp takes have him play a character who is are not even vaguely handsome, as he never relies on this looks.  I have always respected Johnny Depp for not taking the easy way out and just making pretty boy films, which with his considerable female fan-base would have provided ample box office returns.  

I don't understand why this film wasn't nominated for any academy awards.  I was shocked that Johnny Depp didn't get an oscar for his work in this film.  He did a much better job than decaprio, who should only get an oscar for acting not gay for all these years.

The entire time I was watching Black Mass I kept wondering if it really was Johnny Depp. Not once did Johnny Depp give any indication of who he was other than Whitey Bulger.  Even his contact lenses seemed like his actual eyes, which is odd because whenever you see some one wearing colored contacts in real life the stand out as looking unnatural.

This film certainly was interesting.  It would be hard to call it "enjoyable", as Whitey did so many horrific things depicted in the film, but it was certainly a good watch, and I recommend it highly.  Still, it is hard to say if some one not interested in Boston or learning more about Whitey Bulger would like this film.

Next Stop, Wonderland (1998)

This is a film I have wanted to watch for long time, but had a hard time tracking down a copy.  My motivation for watching this film was that Boston's most notorious DJ, Charles Laquidara makes an appearance in this film.  Unfortunately, his appearance is extremely short, and only stood out because of his voice, for those who recognize it.

The film itself is fairly good, and is labeled a romantic comedy, though it may be stretching the use of the word comedy.  It featured some good shots of Boston, as well as all outdoor shots being in Boston, make it clear this movie was filmed in Boston.  It makes a good nostalgic trip for those who know Boston, but offers little in the way of a tour of the city (not that was it intended to).

The cast of actors did well in all their perspective roles, though there was nary a Boston accent to be heard.  While Hope Davis is beautiful, she appears quite a bit younger in the posters for the film than she appears in the actual film.  Holland Taylor also appears in the film, who was hard to place, but turns out to have had a prominent role of the 80s sitcom Bossom Buddies.

Unfortunately, the attraction and attachment between the two lead characters was never suitably established, so their real motivation for getting together is unclear.  It would be nice if there had been a second part to this film, to show what made their relationship work, when all their previous relationships had failed, though perhaps we are supposed to deduce that from their personalities as shown in the film.