Cole Samuels

Da 5 Bloods is probably Spike Lee’s most ambitious film yet! It’s got brilliant visuals, strong acting, great direction and tackles various themes that resonate with most. In typical Spike fashion, this film’s themes deal with race, politics, self acceptance, dealing with your demons and the narrative of today. The film follows 4 Vietnam veterans who return to reclaim their long-lost treasure buried during the war as well as deal with their mistakes of the past, one of returning their friends remains to the United States. Such a simple plot would seem mundane at first glance, however, Spike finds a way to keep the story interesting with all the twist and turns involved in the overall film. Spike has not always executed a film in this way where some of his films struggle to keep the interest of the audience throughout the film. The acting in this film is A1 especially from Delroy Lindo who plays one of the vets who is deeply troubled by his past and past mistakes that have haunted him since Vietnam. Lindo executes his character so well that you can feel the intensity that his character offers to the overall script. The cinematography in this film is beautiful with unorthodox angles and beautiful shots of Thailand where the film was shot. Overall, I think this film will go over some people’s heads due to the controversial issues that it tackles and it might offend certain demographics who don’t take responsibility and have opposing opinions about some of the films themes. However, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and I think it’s Spike’s most ambitious film yet. I rate films based on the film itself and not on subjective biases that a lot of people who dislike the film do. Well done Spike!!🙌🏽🙌🏽

Scorsese has outdone himself with this love letter epilogue called "The Irishman". It seems as if the older Scorsese gets, the more he manages to master art and nuance of film. This mafioso period piece with remnants of politics, betrayal and survival documents the life of Frank Sheeran, a WW2 veteran who had a close affiliation with the Bufalino crime family and Jimmy Hoffa. Based on the non-fictional book "I Heard You Paint Houses" the film, clocking in at 3 hours and 30 mins, does a brilliant job at luring the viewers into the various characters and does not feel like a lengthy film at all. The film spans over 50 years from 1950 to 2000. Robert De Niro who plays Frank Sheeran, the main character within the film, delivers an enthralling performance from start to finish. Joe Pesci, who has stayed away from the spotlight, delivers an astounding performance playing Russell "McGee" Bufalino who's demeanor is more calm, mellow but commanding as opposed to Goodfellas and Casino. However, it is Al Pacino who plays Jimmy Hoffa that steals the show delivering a stupendous performance who has links with the mob and ultimately befriends Frank Sheeran. Scorsese's cinematic chops are in prime form in the film, paying attention to detail in every sequence of the film, allowing the film's sequencing to run as smoothly and adequately as possible. The screenplay by Steve Zaillian is as enticing, gripping and poignant as a film can get leaving audiences with questions of their own by the end of the film. The editing, costume design and cinematography among other elements all complement each other in order to bring about life to the screen. The best way to see the film is on the big screen for the full experience, the TV screen just wont cut it but it boils down to preference. Some people have complained about the film's length, which I have found surprising because I thought the runtime was perfect and I would not have minded if the film added an extra 10 to 20 minutes. Films like Once Upon A Time in America, Schindler's List and The Godfather 1 and 2 have all shared similar lengths and at the time of release, the length of the films were not criticised as much as this film. It shows how the attention spans of today's audience has changed. Another factor of concern was to do with CGI de-aging that Scorsese used on all three characters. I personally thought the technology was excellent and it really de-ages the characters really well. Viewers are able to notice the technology in the first flashback scene where Pesci and De Niro are having a conversation about the truck. However, others thought it looked phony on the characters and that it was annoying to observe. Other complaints that audiences had was that the film was boring. This genre, in this space and time is dying and people are more interested in mental health based films, injustice films and comic book films. With that being said, The Irishman will not appeal to everybody because it deals with the mafioso genre which has not performed well this decade (Live by Night, Black Mass etc) with a mixture of politics as well which demands a more mature audience. I rate this film 5/5 and urge people to see the film without any interruption. I would also emphasize that audiences see the film twice due to various information and elements in the film being missed in the first screening. I would recommend that the viewer wait a week to view it a second time. Martin Scorsese is my favorite director and I must say The Irishman has become my favorite film by the director. Congratulations Scorsese on this masterpiece!