STATEN ISLAND
By: Jack Hunt, 12.23.2009
The Movie Itself:
Staten Island (pronounced stætənˈaɪlənd) is a borough of New York City, represented in red on the map below. Staten Island is isolated from New York City by the New York Bay, and from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull. Population: 487,407, it is the least populated of the 5 Boroughs. Staten Island has been called ‘the forgotten borough’ by islanders that feel they are neglected by New York City. Fresh Kills Land Fill, former repository for the City of New York was closed in 2001 and plans are in the works for using the site to build a park comparable to Manhattan’s own Central Park. Tanning and nail salons consume local communities, with a culture uniquely their own. One little known fact about Staten Island is that it has the highest per-capita ratio of Mobsters in the country.
The comedy pretending to be a gangster flick ‘Staten Island’ is more likely to have most diehard mob film fans saying "it’s a thing of theirs, not a thing of ours." But if you enjoy comedy cross-breed films such as ‘Analysis This’ or ‘That,' with just a slight taste of ‘Pulp Fiction,' than this small budget mobster mutation is one to add on your to see list. The film starts off more comedic in nature and then infuses mobster elements, with a dash of violent gore to the delight of this reviewer. Warning – if I try to make it sound good, that’s because it is good. Don’t be mistaken by the score, Ethan Hawke fails again. Ethan Hawke. Fails. Again. It deserves to be endlessly drilled into your mind. I don’t even think Hawke cares about all the pictures he’s killed. Honestly, I’m not even sure how he keeps getting roles. He couldn’t act his way through a no-frills brand wet paper towel. Luckily, this time the film is decent enough to carry him through the picture even if it is step by step. Even though he gets top billing, his parts are kept in check and relatively minor.
“Feeling down 'n' dirty, feeling kinda mean.”
We all have dreams. We all can dream. I had a dream, we all lived on Staten Island and everybody looked like an orange. Sully Halverson (Hawke), a septic-tank cleaner, dreams of a better life for his unborn child and wants to invest in an experimental in-vitro procedure that would make his fetus more intelligent. Parmie Tarzo (D’Onofrio) is a dim-witted mob boss who wants to take over Staten Island’s mob syndicate. Jasper Sabiano (Cassel), a degenerate gambler and deaf-mute butcher, wants to escape the mob who have taken away not just his livelihood, but his dignity as well. And queue… Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight Sonata.’ Together, there’ll make sweet music and when the history books come to let it be known; they’ll say of 2009, it was a year of contrasts.
Sully needs cash for the much needed fetal operation and realizes that his shitty job doesn’t pay that much and leaves him so uninspired that he decides to rob $50,000 Robert De Niro’s from the mob boss in training. Sully, it’s your training day. Sully hurt himself today. Parmie has his reputation on the line, something that’s he’s worked feverously for, through any extent and by strange means. He is not about to let anything to get in the way of his line of attack. The way I figure it, things can go only two ways; terribly wonderful or wonderfully terrible. Sully, Parmie and Jasper finally all meet up in Jasper’s Deli, where he works for the mob by wacking up forlorn mobster’s who never quite made it. Should they all just walk away? The horror… the horror...
I actually rented this film first on DVD and it sat for almost a week untouched, with zero motivation to ever getting around to watching it, other than the $5 dollar rental fee. As it turns out, the film left a strong impression on me, from the opening lines all the way to the end credits. It’s just my kind of my film, with an odd mix of dark humor and gore. D'Onofrio's portrayal of the mob boss particularly stands out as curious and unique. He displays a sense of clueless inhibition and pivotal strength. Cassel’s character is clearly the one the viewers want to root for, as he puts all his hopes on a lucky horse race that could very well be his ticket to freedom. Hawke does a decent job, if not stiff performance, as the idiotic conspirator. The film does one thing very well: it keeps you watching and wanting more. I found it near impossible to turn it off once it started. And that my friends, usually translates into a quality flick.
“I've been from one to another extreme.”
‘Staten Island’ director James DeMonaco brings an authentic comedic combination of the ‘Sopranos’ and ‘Pee-wee’s Big Adventure’ to reality, in this Rated ‘R’ (sorry kids) 96 minute movie masterpiece. One thing’s for sure: the film will hold your attention and keep you laughing. I’ve never been a fan of the, let’s call it, the ‘Crash’ syndrome. In Staten Island’s case, it offers more of ‘Pulp Fiction’ type tone, with three seemingly interconnecting stories that are told out of order. Let’s be perfectly clear, doing this does not necessarily make the movie better or the storyline cleverer. Thankfully, it’s not your average take on the connection and is quite violent and gloriously weird throughout. The solid casting and characters play well off each other and are properly integrated into the storyline. The intelligent screenplay reads sharp and engages the picture with the most subtle touches of interesting dialogue and remarkable comic relief.
The year of contrasts… the year I finally liked an Ethan Hawke picture. Incredible.
Rating: 7/10
 “Fill my eyes with that double vision.”
The Presentation:
‘Staten Island’ hits Blu-ray with a 1080i~ MPEG-4 AVC transfer is what the fates allow. We’ll have to muddle through this BD fiasco somehow. One way or another, I’m missing something. Through the soft presentation come blurred noise and exigent interlacing artifacts. 1080i, ‘no disguise for that double vision‘, well it is the best that Broadcast TV currently has to offer, but hey National Entertainment Media, I thought I was supposed to be watching this film on Blu-ray?
Not so much dull in its presentation, the disc is fairly bright with pops of flair, but the contrast sometimes suffers and inconsistency seems apparent through scene transitions. The picture is clean and pristine, but often hazy in detail. Interiors come with delicate blue overtones, with exteriors offering bright simplicity and fine elements. Greens are green and brown’s are brown, dull yes, but not drab. Colors sometimes blend into one another, mainly from the transition of weak blacks. Clarity is inhibited, but skies are blue and Ethan Hawke’s troubles melt away like lemon drops. Night exteriors and interiors scenes seem to suffer the most with a deficiency in lucidity.
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound track does a decent enough job with the depth and range. Rear surrounds are hardly engage, but dialogue is clear and presentable. The film does offer the occasional pump-up of the volume, but nothing really to rave about or criticize in terms of presentation. It is just what it is. In Staten Island’s case, the film itself makes the BD worthwhile; otherwise the disc has little resounding qualities.
Rating: 7/10 (6/10 video, 7/10 audio)
 “My double vision gets the best of me.”The Extras:
The extra features are lacking, with only a few choices to extend this vacation to Staten Island.
Commentary: featuring James DeMonaco , Ethan Hawke and with Vincent D'Onofrio.
Deleted Scenes (3 min, SD)
Interview: with Vincent D'Onofrio (2 min, SD)
Sneak Peeks
Rating: 2/10
Overall:
With a predictable lousy box office run; Ethan Hawke’s hair was pale brown, golden highlights that catch up to his eyes. With a stupid look on his face; subtle, spicy and often exhaled in succession. The picture no one thought Hawke could make, ‘Staten Island’ embodies luminosity in an otherwise dingy career. The Blu-ray transfer is affirmed, taut. The energy contained for a few fleeting instants, suddenly explodes, leaving a decisive impression of extraordinary richness. This sleeper film really shocked the hell out of me, with a rare highly recommended endorsement despite a lackluster Blu-ray presentation.
Rating: 6/10
|
