Black Mass

The icy blue eyes of notorious Boston crime boss James "Whitey" Bulger stare out from the screen in Scott Cooper's "Black Mass" like the gaze of some confident jungle predator calmly lying in wait, holding his ground until the moment he moves in for the kill. And that same coolly calculated composure extends to every aspect of how the actor playing Bulger embodies the role, or rather disappears into it. But if Johnny Depp's mesmerizing performance — a bracing return to form for the star after a series of critical and commercial misfires — is the chief selling point of "Black Mass," there is much else to recommend this sober, sprawling, deeply engrossing evocation of Bulger's South Boston fiefdom and his complex relationship with the FBI agent John Connolly, played with equally impressive skill by Joel Edgerton. Something of an anti-"The Departed" (which was partly inspired by the Bulger case), the movie has an intentionally muted, '70s-style look and feel that may limit its appeal to the date-night multiplex crowd, but quality- starved adult moviegoers should flock to one of the fall's first serious, awards-caliber attractions. Not only that but Benedict Cumberbatch (who plays as a Senator and as Whitey's brother) has given a stellar performance. He is truly a talented person who gives his all in every film/show he acts.

BOTTOM LINE: Johnny Depp deserves an Oscar, if not then at least a nomination. Truly worth watching

In the 70's, the Irish criminal James "Whitey" Bulger (Johnny Depp) is the leader of the Winter Hill Gang in South Boston after imprisonments for many years. His brother William "Billy" Bulger (Benedict Cumberbatch) is a Massachusetts Senator. When the ambitious FBI agent John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) is assigned to investigate the mafia in Boston, he proposes a deal to Whitey, who is a childhood friend, to become an FBI informant; in return, the FBI would neglect any investigation of his gang. They take down the Italian mob with Whitey's information while Whitey becomes one of the most powerful and notorious gangsters in South Boston. But when the prosecutor Fred Wyshak (Corey Stoll) is assigned to Boston, he demands investigation of Whitey despite the interference of Connolly and Whitey becomes one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List criminals.

"Black Mass" is another crime film based on the biography of a notorious gangster, this time the criminal James "Whitey" Bulger in South Boston. The impressive performance of Johnny Depp is maybe the greatest attraction of this movie. The story is like many others of notorious American gangsters, with violence, corruption and justice in the end. "Black Mass" never disappoints fans of this genre and the production is careful with the atmosphere in the late 70's and 80's. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Aliança do Crime" ("Crime Alliance")

Black Mass (2015)

*** (out of 4)

Violent telling of Boston criminal James 'Whitey' Bulger (Johnny Depp) who started as just a small crook but quickly rose to be one of the biggest crime lords out there. A lot of this was due to his childhood friend John Connolly (Joel Edgerton), a FBI agent, who began working with the criminal in exchange for information.

BLACK MASS really wasn't as great as I was hoping it would be but there's no question that it's a solid film that managed to features some very good performances. I think the film falls short of being great for a number of reasons but one of the biggest is the fact that we've seen this type of gangster film countless times before and there's really nothing here that separates this film from various others out there.

I will say that the best thing about the film was the performance from Depp who really sinks his teeth into this role. Depp had been criticized for some of his film choices over the past few years but this is certainly him jumping back into the game and showing what he can do. I thought he was extremely good here and especially with that coldness he brought the character. He's surrounding by some nice support from Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon, Peter Sarsgaard, Rory Cochrane and Dakota Johnson.

The gangster genre has delivered some of the greatest movies ever made and it's created some rather by-the-number films that were quickly forgotten. I wouldn't say this film is going to be forgotten but it's certainly not going to reach the levels of GOODFELLAS, THE GODFATHER or WHITE HEAT. With that said, there's a nice little story here, some great performances and some graphic violence that makes it worth watching.

I was very interested in watching this film as a true-crime buff. We all understand that there will be a certain amount of theatrical license taken whenever dealing with such subject matter. I didn't expect it to be too far off base from reality since the Whitey Bulger fiasco has been highly publicized. Johnny Depp was a little odd choice in my opinion by his been known to pull bigger rabbits on the hat (even literally). Good to have Johnny Depp reminders every once in while he's a legitimate actor not just trying to fund additional island property.

The problem in films of this nature tend to be how familiar the general public is with the issues and our opinions of what we believe reality to be. We hold film a little too stringently against reality or at least what the media has presented as reality to most of us. I would like to think that enough due diligence has gone into whatever form of dramaturgy has happened by responsible parties to present a relatively balanced film. But in general we want the grit and grime without regard for legalities or implications.

True, the film focuses on alliances and the levity provided that we have always suspected. And we have seen a ton of films in this genre with such focus and we have fabricated our own concepts of how such organizations work, how such unholy alliances are formed, and therefore have an expectation of what we should see. This past history in turn doesn't really provide a fair shake for any film in the current time frame as we have so much the compare it to.

I believe that the real demystification of this spell (not to say the cast wasn't good or to question the deftness of Depp) is that we seem to have seen this story a lot. We know how it ends, we realize there's very little arc and we'd like to see a twist to the hat trick that we haven't seen before... If it sticks to the reality of the situation, it's simply not gonna happen.

Does it deliver? Yes. Is it a Tarantino yarn? Not remotely. Will you be entertained, to a greater extent? Yes.

I think this year DiCaprio may have Depp on this one.

Now this is what I call a quality movie. One of those movies you truly enjoy from the first to the last second. And the fact that it is based on a true story makes it even better. Johnny Depp absolutely runs the whole movie. The other actors did a great job as well but Depp is the actor that gives an exceptional performance. Don't expect to see the Depp you are used to because they transformed is whole look and you barely recognize him. Black Mass, the story of James 'Whitey' Bulger (played by Johnny Depp) is very interesting and pleasant to watch if you are into crime and Mafia stories. For sure, one of the better movies I saw in the last months.