One of the best prison movies ever. Paul Newman plays Luke who while drunk gets busted for cutting off parking meters with a pipe cutter to get change for a soda.
So begins his adventure on a Chain Gang in the rural south.
One of the most famous movies lines that has been parodied to the end of time is from this movie. Luke refuses to break or conform and is constantly getting beaten and thrown into the cooler. The Warden gives the line “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
George Kennedy won an Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor in this movie.
The egg eating scene is classic where Luke eats 50 hard-boiled eggs.
Hands down one of the best prison movies ever made. If you have not seen Cool Hand Luke it is a must see.
Is it me, or is does Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent always seem to be involved with the best whack scenes. Either Pesci whacks Vincent (Goodfellas), or Vincent whacks Pesci.
Today we feature one of the best scenes ever filmed. Why is it so good? Because it is based on a true story of Tony Spilotro. Tony was sent to Las Vegas starting in the 1970′s to protect the Chicago Casino interests and insure money was flowing back to the bosses from their “Investment.”
Tony’s activities got out of hand over time and the order was given. The Movie Casino is loosely based on this. But I remember when the bodies of the Spilotro brothers were found in an Indiana cornfield not too far from Chicago.
One of the things that gets me is how real this scene feels.
My brother lives in Las Vegas and knows many people who were around from back then. My brother told me that Tony Spilotro was one of the nicest people in the world as long as you didn’t owe him money. Even if you owed him a nickel, he’d be after you and on you until you paid up & it could get very ugly very fast.
The power of Twitter knows no bounds. We are pleased to announce a mutual partnership with contractflicks.com. We will be exchanging links and profiling features from each other’s sites.
One of the most impressive thing about their site is they are able to get exclusive interviews from players in the movie genre.
We are pleased to welcome Contractflicks to the family.
Below is an interview of Vinnie Vella. Vinnie played Artie Piscano in Casino.
We can’t have Whack Month without our favorite hits from The Godfather.
We begin with Sonny Corleone. One of the most most famous hit scenes ever. I remember going to the custom car shows as a kid at McCormick Place in Chicago and seeing the the shot up car from this scene.
James Caan plays Sonny Corleone who takes over leadership of the organization when his father, Vito Corleone was wounded in a botched hit. Gianni Russo plays Carlo, Sonny’s brother-in-law who is married to Connie played by Talia Shire. Carlo smacks around Connie, prompting Sonny to blow his top & come over to help Connie.
On his way to help Connie, Sonny has trouble paying a toll.
Carlo had beat up Connie to set Sonny up for the hit.
Michael Pays Back Carlo
In this scene, Michael exacts payback on Carlo for setting up the hit on Sonny. Carlo takes a permanent trip to Las Vegas.
Clemenza seems to be the one to take care of inside family business. I always wondered how they got rid of Carlo’s body while driving around in a car with the window kicked out like that. Clemeza is not flashy in his methods. He does is quietly.
You Won’t Hear From Paulie No More
Clemenza also takes care of Paulie who called in sick with the Blue Flu the day Don Vito was shot. It is apparent to the family that Paulie is a traitor.
Clemenza takes care of the Paulie problem.
I’ve written a haiku poem about this scene.
Godfather Haiku – The hit on Paulie / Leave gun, take cannoli / Loyal Clemenza
Luca Brasi Takes A Nap
In this scene we see our favorite hitman / specialist falls asleep with the fishes. We never get to see Luca Brasi in action, but that just adds to his aura. Luca Brasi has to be one of the most menacing and intimidating characters to ever appear on the screen.
I can’t imagine how scary it would be to be to see Luca Brasi walking through the door. Consider yourself lucky if you come away with your life and all your body parts intact.
Restaurant Hit
In this scene, Michael Corleone evens the score on the mobster who attempted to kill his father. Not only does he kill Sollozzo, but McClusky, the corrupt Police Captain who broke Michael’s jaw when Michael stopped them from coming into the hospital to finish off his father.
Once Michael crosses this line, there is no turning back. Michael goes from WWII War Hero to Jr. Mafia Don. After the hit, Michael disappears and hides out in Italy.
All Debts Are Settled
Finally we feature the Baptism scene. In this montage, Michael asserts his influence and power by having his enemies dispatched the day he becomes a Godfather to Connie & Carlo’s baby.
Barzini and the heads of the other familes incur Michael’s wrath.
John Travolta was nominated for an Academy Award for his role of Vinnie Vega in Pulp Fiction. Samuel Jackson played his partner, Jules Winnfield. To me, Jackson was the better actor in this movie and should have gotten the nomination.
This classic hit scene involves Jules (Jackson) and Vinnie (Travolta) confronting Brett (Frank Whaley) who has ripped off Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), they have come to collect and eliminate Brett and his colleagues.
It is this scene, in my opinion, that should have given Jackson the Academy Award nomination. The diner scene also added to his stature as an excellent actor.
Ezekiel 25:17
The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who in the name of charity and goodwill shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
Watch carefully as they shoot Brett. Jules and Vinnie ar estanding across from each other, one mis-fire and the other is a goner.
Pulp Fiction Haiku – Jules quotes the bible / That is a tasty burger / Execution looms
In Chicago, this time of year, everyone has cabin fever. We’ve had frigid weather since before Thanksgiving and you are stuck inside after work (if you are working at all). We tend to go a little crazy itching for the weather to change.
It is with this mood that we bring you Whack Month at mobflix.
Frank Vincent (Billy Batts) and Joe Pesci (Tommy) have an altercation that doesn’t end so well for Billy Batts. Billy, a made man, comes home from prison after 6 years and insult Tommy. Tommy used to be a shoe shine boy, and Billy wont let him live it down. Tommy reacts by whacking Billy. One of the best whack scenes ever filmed.
Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert De Niro star in 1987′s The Unouchables. This movie is about the attempts of Eliot Ness, played by Kevin Costner to take down Al Capone (Robert DeNiro). This film is about Chicago, and was filmed in Chicago.
The above scene shows Sean Connery as Jimmy Malone telling Ness what exactly needs to be done to take down Capone.
One of the best scenes in the movie is a shotout on a stairway at Union Station in Chicago. This scene was actually filmed on location at Union Station. Union Station’s great hall still looks like this today, although more dingier.
De Niro gives a great performance as Al Capone and has a notable scene with his underlings and a baseball bat. I purposely did not post the baseball bat scene as I want you to see the entire movie for yourself. When you watch this movie, you need to keep in mind that Capone was eventually taken down, by the IRS for tax evasion. Capone became a guest of the Federal Penitentiary System at the island resort of Alcatraz.
Filmed in Chicago, and about Chicago with an all star cast, The Untouchables makes our list for Chicago Month.
Filmed in 1967 this docu-drama stars Jason Robards as Al Capone. The film goes into to great detail the events leading up to and including the killing of Bugs Morans men 80 years ago today on Feb 14, 1929. The film gives time lines and introduces characters with on screen titles.
Think of it as Tora! Tora! Tora! for Mobsters.
On February 14th, Al Capone’s men dressed as Police Officers came to a North side Chicago Garage to murder Bugs Moran who controlled the north side liquor / beer distribution. Capone and Bugs were rivals and Capone made his move to take over. Conveniently, at the time, Capone was in Florida vacationing.
Machine Gun Jack McGurn was tasked with carrying out the hit. Jack and his gang arrived at the garage of the SMC Cartage Company on 2122 North Clark Street in Lincoln Park on the North Side of Chicago disguised as Police Officers where Bugs Moran was supposedly seen entering. They lined up the men in the garage and mowed them down. The movie depicts as accurately as possible the hit including how the men fell as they were shot.
Up until this point, Capone was seen as a Prohibition Robin Hood. After the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre came the crackdown on organized crime by the Feds & local authorities throughout the country. The glory days of 1920′s gangsters ended.
Peter Gusenberg, a front line enforcer for the Moran organization.
Frank Gusenberg, the brother of Peter Gusenberg and also an enforcer. Frank was miraculously still alive when police first arrived on the scene. He died three hours later, saying only, “Nobody shot me.”
Albert Kachellek, alias “James Clark”, Moran’s second-in-command.
Adam Heyer, the bookkeeper and business manager of the Moran gang.
Reinhart Schwimmer, an optician who had abandoned his practice to gamble on horse racing (unsuccessfully) and associate with the Moran gang. He would, in contemporary parlance, be referred to as a “gang groupie“. Though Schwimmer called himself an “optometrist” he was actually an optician (an eyeglass fitter) and he had no medical training.
Albert Weinshank, who managed several cleaning and dyeing operations for Moran. His physical and even clothing resemblance to Moran is what allegedly set the massacre in motion before Moran actually arrived.
John May, an occasional car mechanic for the Moran gang, though not a gang member himself. May had two earlier arrests for safeblowing (no convictions) but was attempting to work legally. However, his desperate need of cash, with a wife and seven children, caused him to accept jobs with the Moran gang as a mechanic.
Eventually, Capone served time in Alcatraz for tax evasion. The IRS got him while he constantly evaded the FBI. Capone was never charged with the massacre. Bugs Moran survived too, but was marginalized over time.
This movie has it all, a fantastic cast with a great story. Tom Hanks play Mike Sullivan, a respected and ruthless Hitman for the Irish mob in Chicago during the depression. The head of the gang is Paul Newman who treats Hanks like a son. Daniel Craig plays Newman’s son who is jealous of Hanks and sets him up. Craig double-crosses Hanks and kills his family. One of Sullivan’s Sons survives. The story is about how Sullivan avenges his family as well as protects his only son.
The scene above is the double-cross scene. Craig sends Hanks on an errand where the errand is actually a hit on Hanks. Hanks shows his ruthlessness and reaction speed to evade the hit.
Filmed in Chicago, with a great story and fantastic acting, Road to Perdition is one of my favorite Chicago movies.
Filmed in 1988, Seagal plays Nico, a Chicago Detective who was a former Special Forces Operative in Vietnam. During his time in Vietnam, he encountered a CIA interrogator named Zagon, played by Henry Silva. Zagon is a very bad guy who prefers to torture his subjects with chemical substances.
Not only is Nico a Chicago Cop, but he also has a brother in the Mob.
Nico gets caught in a mob war where some of the players have the backing of the Federal Gov’t. Nico takes it upon mislef to dismantle the organization piece by piece.
Filmed in Chicago with great fight scenes, shootouts and car chases. Above the Law is one of our features for Chicago Movie Month.
