Leonardo DiCaprio – Spinning Platters

Film Review: “One Battle After Another”

Revolutions and zany bombast mix together in Anderson’s stick of cinematic dynamite

“Ghetto Pat” aka Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) is on the run/hunt.

Well-crafted films can accomplish two objectives: entertain audiences and support an artist’s viewpoint (the “message” of the film, if you will). Writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood; Phantom Thread; Licorice Pizza) has established himself as one of the finest filmmakers working today, capable of rewarding audiences and deep thinkers alike. Even though his films haven’t been box office juggernauts, they are strongly respected within the filmmaking and film-loving communities. Anderson’s tenth feature film, One Battle After Another, is his most mainstream film, a potential box office hit and a crowd pleaser, but also his most politically-minded. One Battle After Another is a wild character-driven thriller with an unassailable comic sensibility. The film also presents a poignant critique on the nation’s current sociopolitical climate. Anderson’s sense of action, hijinks, and thematic storytelling are honed to a sharp, surrealist point in One Battle After Another, thus creating a richly rewarding cinematic triumph. Continue reading “Film Review: “One Battle After Another””

Film Review: “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Best reasons to see Scorsese’s new picture? De Niro, DiCaprio, and Gladstone

Ernest (Leonardo DiCaprio) shares a moment with his wife Mollie (Lily Gladstone).

Much has been made of the length of director Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, which clocks in at three hours and 26 minutes. But give the guy some credit: his previous film, 2019’s much lauded The Irishman, ran three hours and 29 minutes. So he’s heard you, and has let you out of your seat a full three minutes earlier this time. What a guy! But seriously–while a few scenes do feel like they could be trimmed, others you’ll wish you could dwell in longer. For the most part, then, the run time becomes a non-issue. The story is so well told that you’ll remain fully engaged throughout the majority of this sobering but absorbing picture.

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Film Feature: Chris Piper’s Top 10 Films of 2021

Films make a big comeback in 2021

2021 in American cinema was remarkable in how it seemed so… normal. Whatever the numbers say, my feeling was that the year started a little slowly, then found its footing around March, then kicked into something like a normal gear over the summer. As fall approached, and it seemed to me more theaters reopened, a slate of films pretty much like those in 2019 awaited. Winter seemed to bring somewhat larger than normal crop of smaller-budget films, and here we are, at the end of the year with a number of solid films released, awards season in full swing, and waiting for Oscar noms in just over a month.

So here are my top 10 films of 2021. See these 10 films in any order you want, preferably in the theater, but on your couch if you must. Here’s hoping for more of more of the same in 2022. Continue reading “Film Feature: Chris Piper’s Top 10 Films of 2021”

Film Feature: Carrie and Chris Pick the 2020 Oscars

Film critics Carrie and Chris on who will – and who should – win the 92nd Academy Awards

The 92nd Academy Awards air tomorrow, Sunday, February 9th, on ABC at 5:00 pm PST. Once again, Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chris Piper share their predictions — and hopes — for the major categories. A lot of the winners feel like locks, based on earlier award season wins, but, honestly, we’d rather have some upsets to make for an interesting show then have all our predictions come true. Fingers crossed for some liveliness!

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Film Review: Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood

A tarnished Golden State, and overripe fruit

Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) in Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood — Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) are cruisin’ for a bruisin’.

Let’s face it, we all want another Pulp Fiction. We all remember, either on opening night (me!), a bit later, or maybe way later through a TV the way we felt during, and right after, living through that unique moment in American cinema. How did Quentin Tarantino get away with gangsters talking about the Royale with cheese? Is that really John Travolta? Can we like him again? Did we just see Christopher Walken pop off a two-minute monologue about hiding family heirlooms in anal cavities? And wait, how could the middle of the story happen at the end of the film? Yep, we all remember, and let’s also face it that we’ve been waiting, WANTING another Pulp Fiction ever since. We should just stop with all that, because Tarantino’s ninth film, the excellent Once Upon a Time in … Hollywood proves, finally and triumphantly, that all the peculiar elements of his films can come together gracefully to create a dissimilar but still profoundly satisfying cinematic experience.

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Film Review: The Revenant

Revenge is a dish best served cold and gorgeously shot.

This is it, everyone. This is the movie that Leonardo DiCaprio will win an Oscar for…I think. That’s not to say that The Revenant is Leo’s best performance. I’d say that it ranks a few titles above midway through his filmography, right above Blood Diamond and just below The Departed (and far below The Aviator and Revolutionary Road). Nevertheless, it’s Leo’s most physically demanding performance and let’s give credit to director/writer/producer Alejandro González Iñárritu for convincing the actor to dive so deep into the demands of the role. The Revenant is most impressive when experiencing its outstanding technical achievements. As a simple tale of survival and revenge, its not overly impressive from a storytelling standpoint. But in capturing the tone and setting of the story, the skill set of the actors and filmmakers on display lift The Revenant to very memorable heights.

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Film Feature: Chad’s Top 10 Films of 2015

Spinning Platters film critics present their top 10 films of 2015

Spinning Platters film critics Carrie Kahn and Chad Liffmann each share their ten favorite films of 2015. Here is Chad’s list, presented in reverse-awesome order. Also check out Carrie‘s top ten list!

10.) Cinderella
Lily James emerging from her pumpkin-turned-coach.

A lack of the classic Disney song ‘Cinderelli!’ didn’t prevent Kenneth Branagh’s live action version of Cinderella from reaching magical heights. After a plethora of disappointing “re-imaginings” and “discover the true story” versions of classics — Maleficent, Alice in Wonderland, Oz the Great and Powerful — it was time for a movie to play it straight, and Cinderella did just that. With amazing performances from Lily James and Cate Blanchett and beautiful costumes and set designs, Cinderella (hopefully) represents the first in a new series of live action Disney remakes that stick to the strong source materials without egregious silly additions. (Read my full review of Cinderella here.)

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Film Review: The Great Gatsby

Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby

Baz Luhrmann’s new adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel The Great Gatsby has been generating buzz for months. Critics, Hollywood insiders, bloggers, and anyone with a pulse have all been asking: Can an Australian director, filming in Australia, with many British and Australian actors, pull off a film of a classic American novel? Will filming in 3D help or hinder the film? Will the film be worth seeing? The short answers are no, no, and no. Continue reading “Film Review: The Great Gatsby”

Film Review: Django Unchained

django-unchained-2

starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson

written and directed by: Quentin Tarantino

MPAA: Rated R for strong graphic violence throughout, a vicious fight, language and some nudity

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Blu-ray Review: “Titanic”

starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Frances Fisher, Kathy Bates

written and directed by: James Cameron

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language

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