MARC SMILEN

Great gripping drama with some small does of humor. Carlito truly has changed his ways. We dont see a drug dealer with a cold, homicidal heart. And this is his downfall. He doesn't want to kill Benny Blanco from the bronx. But insulting Benny Blanco was a fatal error. Carlito wants to change his ways, but hasnt lost some of his arrogance. Jorge Porcel offers a bit of comedic relief. With a smile on his fat, cherubic face, he says he's no longer Zaso, his name now is Ron. Of course Zaso owes too much money to the wrong people, so Carlito has leverage to buy his way into Zaso's nightclub. Otherwise Zaso will end up in the trunk of a car on the Belt parkway. As carlito says: "Oooh, whats that smell. Zaso. Used to be Ron." Sean Penn is Carlito's lawyer Davey Kleinfeld. Davey stole money from Tony Taglialucci. Carlito is shocked by Davey Kleinfeld's descent into criminal ways, yet Carlito is compelled to remain loyal to Davey. Carlito's fate is further sealed, when he unwittingly becomes entangled in Davey Kleinfeld's schemes against Taglialucci. One of Taglialucci's soldiers who later comes looking for Carlito is Petey Amadesso. Pete's a made guy. His uncle is a heavy hitter with the Pleasant Avenue crew. Petey is Played by actor Richard Foronjy. Richard Foronjy is an icon of charactor actors, having appeared in this, and also "Midnight Run," Fun with Dick and Jane," " Serpico," and also in episodes of TV shows "who's the boss" and "Taxi." The great supporting cast also includes Luis Guzman; James Rebhorn; John Legguzamo; John Ortiz; and Viggo Mortenson. Some short appearances by Angel Salazar and Al Israel, who were both in Scarface, which was another film produced by the late Martin Bregman.

Maverick is 36 years older. Is he more mature and wiser? Let us remember the first Top Gun. Maverick went below the 10,000 foot hard-deck, against the direct orders of Commander Mike Metcalf, call-sign Viper. Maverick is now the one issuing the orders. Who will go against direct orders? Who will be dangerous? Who will remember the number one rule: You dont leave your wing-man. And we're not talking about Chicken wings. Although many Naval aviators enjoy chicken wings. But there is a proper time and place for chicken wings. Goose's son is one of the Top Gun pilots!! If he loses his edge up there, Maverick might still have the phone number for that truck-driving school. They're the best of the Navy's pilots. Maverick is going to make them better! When there's one missile left, will they hit their target? What's the sense in being a hero, if you don't live to tell your story! Every Aviator says "Ive got a tale to tell." But that's a line from a Madonna song, from another eighties movie. Maverick issues orders to the Top Gun training class. But he's still a Captain, still taking orders from the Navy Admirals. There's an Aviator named Bob, call sign "Bob," who looks like he should be in a suit and tie, selling insurance. I watched the movie at a Regal theater. Regal theaters sell beer and wine, and I bought a beer that I carried to my seat in the Theater. Im not sure this is supposed to be allowed during the theater run of Top Gun. Drinking beer during Top Gun might be against Navy regulations. ....The hard-deck for this Top Gun class is 5000 feet. Maverick wants it much lower. They're training for a very difficult mission. They will be lucky if anybody comes home from this mission. The movie has many planes! But nothing is Plain about a Top Gun movie. Its great entertainment. Though the unfortunate outcome might be upgrades by unfriendly countries to their Strategic-Air-Missile defense systems, after this movie is seen across the globe. ....a side-note: Food caterers on movie sets are called "craft services." And you have real Navy airplanes in this movie. So they had craft services. And they had Aircraft services. Take the C out of the word craft, and you have raft. and that's what an Airman needs, if he's shot down over water. He needs a raft. But any character that gets shot down in this movie will be ejecting over land. And what a picturesque land it is. The vast forested landscape of an unknown Eastern-European nation, blanketed in snow. Our flyers just barely make it safely through the arches of an ancient Aqueduct. Visually stunning landscapes throughout the movie. Jennifer Connelly has a small role in this movie. Some viewers might find her visually stunning, albeit she's has a tall skinny, lanky look. Maverick finds time to park his plane in her hangar. sidenote: ....There was a trailer promoting the next "Mission Impossible" movie. It looks very good. The story development of the Mission Impossible movies has come a long way from the first movie. And I originally thought they should have quit after the second or third "Mission Impossible" movie. Although I also thought the same thing after the third "Matrix" movie. But I saw "Matrix revolutions" on cable TV recently, And I enjoyed the story continuity....Although Matrix Revolutions has a very ambiguous ending. Did Neo and Trinity go back to their pods? Did they choose to be permanently plugged into the Matrix?

I enjoy the dramatic re-creation of early 20thc England. The movie is typical Downton Abbey style. The movie has a niche audience. I dare say the movie is not going to make huge money. Its not going to appeal to newcomers not familiar with his Lordship's family. The dowager countess was gifted a villa in France, and the writers have cooked up some new Crawley family issues that will stir up gossip among the Downton Abbey servants. Some additional drama ensues, when a movie director brings his crew to Downton Abeey to film a movie. His lordship is not keen on his house being the location for a movie shoot, but the proceeds will allow him to fund repair of the mansion's roof.

The movie rips off some concepts from the Nick Cage Treasure movies. Still a very entertaining two hours. Combining history of Magellan, with fiction is brilliant. A centuries old sailing vessel suspended from a helicopter: unique special effects. At this point Mark Wahlberg plays Mark Wahlberg. No great acting range, but he does the job. At this point, most people have seen the reality show Wahlburgers, so most people are aware of Wahlbergs old friend known as Johnny Drama. Considering Mark Wahlburg is an A-list actor, at this point its absurd that Mark Wahlberg can't get Johnny Drama cast in a small role in a movie like this, considering movies like this are entertaining but cant be taken too seriously.