My 200 Favorite Movies: Bernie, The Drop & Lucky Number Slevin

Photo Credit: MoviePosters2.com

Yesterday I reviewed Oscar winners No Country for Old Men, Kramer vs. Kramer and The Wrestler; today we transition to three lesser-known films. Maybe you'll find a "sleeper" to watch in here...

BERNIE (2011)

Richard Linklater is one of my favorite directors, and Jack Black has really grown on me over the years. With that talented duo pulling the strings of Bernie -- a fascinating and (somehow) funny true story about Bernie Tiede (Black), a well-liked funeral director who murdered his mean old female companion, Marjorie Nugent (a game Shirley MacLaine) -- we are undoubtedly in good hands. 

Matthew McConaughey is hilariously deadpan as local District Attorney Danny Buck, the only man in Carthage, TX who actually wants Bernie to be convicted. Matthew's real-life mom, Kay, gets into the act as one of the townspeople lobbying for Bernie's acquittal. You can see where he gets it from.

** Frascella's Score: 9 out of 10 **

THE DROP (2014)

Any time I think of The Drop, the words "tight" and "lean" immediately pop into my head. Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone) is an absolutely phenomenal crime drama writer, and The Drop represents another impressive bullet point on his resume. 

There is nothing extraneous or superfluous in this film; Lehane's screenplay is economical, and virtually everything is there for a reason. Tom Hardy is a chameleon in one of the two leads as Bob Saginowski, a Brooklyn dive bartender and right-hand man of Cousin Marv (the great James Gandolfini, in his final role). 

I won't say much about the plot, except that it may not be what you initially think it is. Matthias Schoenaerts is a standout as wannabe thug Eric Deeds, and the always excellent John Ortiz provides energy as the sharp Detective Torres, who always seems to have his eye on Deeds, Bob and Marv. This film is a great sleeper.

** Frascella's Score: 9.5 out of 10 **

LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN (2006)

You would think a film starring Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Josh Hartnett, Lucy Liu, Ben Kingsley and Stanley Tucci would be better known, right? 

Usually when a cast like that doesn't generate much buzz or critical acclaim, the movie is a stone cold flop. Oddly enough, that isn't the case here. I'm not exactly sure what happened with Lucky Number Slevin (though, it does have a very strong 7.7 score on IMDB), but it didn't do well in the box office and was generally bypassed by the critics. 

Anyway, "Slevin" is actually the name of the protagonist, played with relative intrigue by Harnett, who has since faded out of the limelight. Hartnett is kind of like the audience throughout the film -- he keeps getting thrown into inexplicable situations and can't quite figure out how he got there. That's part of the fun of this film; we're never quite sure who is good, bad, innocent or guilty. 

Slevin crosses paths with the mysteriously sexy Lindsey (Liu), the merciless "Boss" (Freeman), the not-too-holy "Rabbi" (Kingsley), a conflicted hitman named Mr. Goodkat (Willis) and a curious and relentless cop (Tucci). Either physically or emotionally, Slevin takes a beating from virtually all of these characters. 

Nevertheless, in the end, it's nothing a little "Kansas City Shuffle" can't fix. This is a tricky and fun film with many welcome twists and turns.

** Frascella's Score: 9 out of 10 **

MY UP-TO-DATE ARCHIVE OF ALL REVIEWS AND SCORES

(The Top 200 series will continue, but the list below includes ALL of my past reviews and scores.)

1. Up in the Air (9.5/10)
2. Steve Jobs (9.5/10)
3. No Country for Old Men (9.5/10)
4. The Wrestler (9.5/10)
5. The Drop (9.5/10)
6. Kramer vs. Kramer (9.5/10)
7. Margin Call (9/10)
8. Hannah and Her Sisters (9/10)
9. Mystic River (9/10)
10. L.A. Confidential (9/10)
11. Lady Bird (9/10)
12. Stay (9/10)
13. Gone Girl (9/10)
14. Nocturnal Animals (9/10)
15. 45 Years (9/10)
16. The Edge of Seventeen (9/10)
17. Bernie (9/10)
18. Lucky Number Slevin (9/10)
19. Tape (9/10)
20. A Perfect Murder (9/10)

21. War Dogs (8.5/10)
22. The Founder (8.5/10)
23. In Bruges (8.5/10)

24. Split (8.5/10)

25. Bad Moms (8.5/10)

26. Basquiat (8.5/10)

27. Moonlight (8/10)
28. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (7.5/10)

29. The Revenant (7.5/10)
30. The Good Shepherd (7.5/10)

31. The Shallows (7.5/10)
32. Focus (7.5/10) 

33. The Night Before (7.5/10)
34. The Walk (7/10)

35. 10 Cloverfield Lane (7/10)
36. Loving (7/10) - No review available
37. A Most Violent Year (6.5/10) - No review available
38. The Shape of Water (6/10) - discussed in this review
39. The Boy (6/10) - No review available

40. Joy (5.5/10)
41. Taking Lives (5.5/10)

42. La La Land (5.5/10)
43. The Visit (5/10) - discussed in this review
44. 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (5/10)
45. Make Love Great Again (5/10) - No review available
46. Molly's Game (5/10)
47. Set It Up (5/10)
48. Get a Job (5/10) - No review available
49. The Interpreter (5/10) - No review available
50. Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates (4.5/10) - No review available
51. Brooklyn (4.5/10) - discussed in this review, and this review
52. Ocean's 8 (4/10)
53. Everything Must Go (4/10) - No review available
54. Why Him? (3.5/10) - No review available
55. The Program (3/10)
56. Pitch Perfect 3 (2/10)
57. Shut In (2/10) - No review available
58. Premonition (2/10) - No review available

59. Rings (1.5/10)
60. Mother's Day (1.5/10)