TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Motompa Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Quiet Muffin This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

classicsoncall Take Art Carney out of the sewer and he's a pretty good character actor. You didn't get a sense of his range as an actor while portraying Ed Norton in "The Honeymooners". Here he's joined by George Burns and Lee Strasberg as retirees trying to make ends meet as their lives hit the doldrums sitting on park benches and watching the rest of their years pass by. One thing I had to check was the ages of the three actors in the picture; Carney is actually the youngster of this group at sixty one when the film was made. Strasberg was seventy eight and Burns was eighty one with another two decades to go! Once all the shenanigans with the bank job are out of the way, the story turns poignant for Joe Harris (Burns) as he has to endure the passing of his two long time buddies. Burns as expected is wonderful in the role, though I wish director Martin Brest had made him a gentler curmudgeon in that scene with the bratty looking kid in the park. He cursed the kid out twice and that didn't seem in keeping with his character. But then again, he concocted the robbery scheme and threw caution to the wind at the gaming tables. For the sake of the story, I'll go along with the seventy grand haul in Las Vegas, but it does make you wonder if they could have pulled it off for real.Apart from the story, I did a major double take when the camera panned that cemetery that was filmed for the movie. Holy cow - it was huge! So much so that I had to look it up. Assuming it was in or close to the Astoria, Queens neighborhood the three elderly gents lived in, a search came up with the Calvary Cemetery in Astoria. It's one of the oldest cemeteries in the country, and one of the largest in terms of interments with, get this - over three million burials! It's always very cool when a movie leads me to an interesting bit of trivia like that. So now you know too.

U.N. Owen There's a saying; 'those who can, do, those who can't teach…'I'll come back to this in a minute.Going In Style's a film, in a style I love; it's a terrific 'caper' film, but, this time, instead of the usual types of crooks, i.e., the ex-cons just outta the joint, who wanna make one big score, or the group of misfits, who are brought together by a central character, but, each member has their own hidden agenda(s),, it's 3 men - 3 old men, who find sitting on a park bench, quietly - 'enough activity' for one day.When I grew up, I was never a fan of George Burns - it seemed the media made him out to be a monument to longevity, and Mr. Burns, being no fool - gave them what they wanted (and he got the cheques!); the sweet, slightly lecherous, geriatric grandpa-type - in a tux, with a stogie in mouth.Mr. Carney had done the Honeymooners, and though I never enjoyed the series, I always found Art a very interesting actor, who wasn't given too many chances to show what he could do. The previous film he excelled in - Harry and Tonto - was made 5 years prior (then, again, Hollywood doesn't give ANY actors - esp. those over 40, and especially women many leading roles, so, I know it wasn't Mr. Carney's not wanting to work).The 3 actors are 3 men, who all have very different takes on what it means to be 'older' in New York City.Joe (George Burns) is bitter at his lot in life. Al (Art Carney) is the 'middle' - he tries to be jovial, but, there's an underlying pathos. The last (and, to me - least) of the trio is played by Lee Strasberg, as Willie - he's really almost a catatonic shell - so burnt out - either for real, or just doesn't give a rat's behind, he's (mentally) off in the æther - former feeding the pigeons, until it's his turn.Now, Mr. Strasberg founded the Actor's Studio, in New York City, and many illustrious actors were associated with it - and the 'Method' (style acting), including Marlon Brando, and (ah!) the supremely under-appreciated Marilyn Monroe.Mr. Strasberg's appearances in film, or, on stage are very limited - and though some may say this was because he was 'busy training actors', my personal feeling - of his talent are very limited.Back to the opening quote; that's a direct jab at Mr. Strasberg. Though I truly enjoy this film, I think the one thing which weighs it down is Strasberg, and I thank the editor's for making his non- performance as least irritating as possible (in 'Method' acting - the 'Cliff notes' version, the actor has to have 'motivation' - understanding for everything about their character. I know I'm saying this very simplistically, I don't want to bore those not interested. What many critics of this style of acting used to say was they ('Method' actors) were 'mumblers', they spent so much time getting 'into character', that, most of the time was just 'frou-frou'. True, there were/are some very brilliant performances, but, by-and-large, I think that if one were to weigh 'great' against 'poor' Method performances, the scale would be tipped heavily in the 'poor' direction).If one is - like me - someone who watches a film from differing 'aspects', i.e., focusing on one performance, during one viewing, etc., then when I'm seeing/focusing on Strasberg's performance, he literally comes off as a shuffling, mentally vapid old shell.Now that I've told you what (I think) is the dross, I turn to the other 2/3rd's; Burns and Carney.Burns does a delightful 180°'s on the 'old, lecherous, geriatric' he'd been playing for the better part of the decade, on various network specials. Here' he's foul-mouthed, and I love his disposition. He's giving us the 'other side' - sadly, what's more the reality, for many older people, who are for better-or-worse - forgotten by loved ones, or outlived loved ones. He's not 'happy' to be in his 'golden years'! He's not hanging out (as he is on those treacly network specials) with Loni Anderson (ugh) and Brooke Shields. He's angry, and boy, does he have a right to be.He's left with $49/mo social security ($163.29 in 2016!) That's inexcusable, that someone who's worked their whole lives, and is only here for a short while longer, is left in such a sorry state.In the middle is Mr. Carney' s Al, who - though not as outwardly angry by what's their 'lot' in life, as Joe, he's a bit more complacent, but, I see in his effort to humour Joe, a sadness. He still sings songs from 'back when', he's trying to hold on - in a optimistic way.The writing by Mr. Brest (who was a 'kid' - only 28 - when he wrote and directed this (!) is wise beyond those 28 years, in the writing - the character's 'voices' are so well shaped, and the direction is also good.If you want to see a good film which shows just what all those people we ALL see sitting on those benches would secretly love to do, themselves, watch Going In Style.You'll have laughs, and as with any competent 'caper' flick, plenty of thrills.

Woodyanders Feisty Joe (a marvelously sprightly performance by George Burns), jolly Al (a terrific Art Carney), and mopey Willie (the excellent Lee Strasberg) are three old retirees who share an apartment in Queens, New York. The guys decide to pull off a daring and outrageous bank robbery in order to alleviate the stultifying tedium of their dreary and uneventful twilight years. Writer/director Martin Brest, who was only 28 when he did this picture, offers a moving and amusing seriocomic delight about the plight of the elderly and the need to go out with a bang instead of a whimper. Among the notable highlights in this often funny and sometimes surprisingly poignant winner are Al's impromptu street dance, the hilarious heist sequence (our heroes all wear Groucho Marx glasses!), Joe crying while looking at an old black and white photo of his deceased wife, and Joe and Al living it up in Las Vegas. Burns, Carney and Strasberg all shine in their roles; Burns in particular is simply superb. Charles Hallahan lends nice support as Al's amiable nephew Pete. Billy Williams' bright, polished cinematography, Michael Small's catchy, jaunty score, and the warm, gentle, upbeat tone all further enhance the overall sterling quality of this sweet little treat.

moonspinner55 Three elderly friends concoct a scheme to rob a bank...but what will they do with all that money? Although bank robbery is hardly endearing, director Martin Brest (doing very nimble work) glosses over the extremities and gives us George Burns, Art Carney and Lee Strasberg at their most amiable. Brest isn't afraid to be tender, but he's not maudlin and has a good sense of humor and pacing. Unfortunately, the screenplay loses steam in its third act, which gets gummed up with much realer issues and plot-snags (an unconvincing jaunt to Las Vegas is also weak). Up to that point, however, surprisingly good, with the three leads impeccably interacting. *** from ****