Popular reviews

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  Review by ghostdinosaur ½ 11

  Early on in the film a bunch of gangsters are hanging out in a car and one of them starts to tell a story about how he heard porn stars in Los Angeles eat a bunch of celery right before they perform. He gets interrupted and never explains why they do this. I was more interested in hearing the end of that story than anything that happened over the next 100 minutes of movie.

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  Review by matt lynch ★★½ 4

  Scott Cooper is evidently very good at letting famous actors do whatever they want in classy but largely generic films. Here Johnny Depp gives yet another idiosyncratic, physical performance as a charismatic psycho, and who the fuck cares?

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★½ 8

  45/100

  Black Mass, even in spite of its flourishing mediocrity and uneventful storyline, is worth seeing just to witness Johnny Depp transform himself into a dizzying vampire of vicious brutality and horrifying EEEEEVILLLNESSSSSS. His cackling persona of devious stares and violent outbursts can only be described as Joe Pesci with all the humor sucked out of his detailed mannerisms. It works in a strangely unique way, and Depp's demonic presence is the glue holding this entire kindergarten Gangster project together.

  Montages, slow-motion, assorted pop tunes, and operatic showcases of violence all are within Black Mass, as well as the sly Boston-Accent bickering and "FUCK YOU!" "NO, FUCK YOUUUU!" arguments of typical Gangster ventures. Usually, tropes like this weave perfectly into…

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  Review by Gonzo ★★★★ 5

  ▶ 2015 Movie Rankings

  "Strictly criminal."

  Welcome back, Mr. Depp.

  We missed ya. We fucking missed ya.

  Johnny Depp comes out of retirement and shoots straight to the front of the Oscar race with one of his most impressive performances yet.

  That Whitey Bulger is one interesting individual. A complex criminal that's both charismatic ("Oh, look, he likes helping the elderly." "Aw, he loves his kid and his family.") and downright terrifying. ("Oh no, he's giving that dude the talk. Bang. Dead." "Fuck, he's doing it again. Headshot. Dead." "Oh shit, he... Yup, he just strangled that girl. Dead.") A no-good, scheming, distrustful, trigger-happy, psychopathic son of a bitch.

  Ensemble cast is pretty strong across the board. Out of the…

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  Review by Michael James ★★½

  The biographical crime drama gets let down by its generic approach and bland narrative. Though it lines up one true event after the other, it seems to miss the much needed gripping factor. Even if the flow was deliberate, it needed more excitement hold given the two hour runtime. Johnny Depp is about the only saving grace, who manages to single handedly hold it in the watchable territory with his outstanding performance. An ok watch.

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  Review by Evan ★★★½ 7

  Johnny Depp might still be covered in make-up for this role, but at least he's not running around like a babbling idiot. Instead he plays a very dark, heartless, and brutal man and he knocks it out of the park. Black Mass is filled with fantastic performances, Johnny Depp and Joel Edgerton being the standouts.

  My biggest issue with this film is that it's a bit hollow and slow moving. While, I was always interested in what was going on, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't bored some of the time.

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  Review by Matt Singer ★★½ 1

  Jawny Depp’s pretty good, but the othuh actors could have done a bettuh jawb with the Bahston accents.

  HEY LETTUHBAWXED READ TIFF '15 REVIEW #10: screencrush.com/black-mass-review/

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  Review by evilstyless ★★★½

  Black Mass is still a great crime drama that's tense, thrilling and chilling. Johnny Depp gives an incredible lead performance and one of the best performances of his career. Joel Edgerton, Benedict Cumberbatch, Kevin Bacon and Corey Stoll all give great supporting performances.

  This movie lacks the thrilling suspense of The Departed and the deranged "cheerfulness" of Goodfellas and it certainly is not a heartwarming tale.

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  Review by CinemaCl🎃wn ★★★ 4

  Bolstered by a truly magnificent performance from the actor who has a penchant for playing larger-than-life characters, Black Mass is another entry into last year's long list of biopics and although it paints a gripping portrait of a notorious crime boss, it's also marred by its generic plot & uneventful storytelling.

  Based on a true story, Black Mass chronicles the criminal life of infamous Irish-American mobster Whitey "Jimmy" Bulger and focuses on the years when he became an informant for FBI for his own self-interests and assisted them in eliminating the rival gang while carrying out his crime business under federal protection at the same time.

  Directed by Scott Cooper, there isn't really anything worth mentioning about his latest movie other…

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  Review by Dan Abel ★★★★ 3

  James "Whitey Bulger" was an Irish tough guy who ran his own brand of organized crime in the Southie section of Boston. His gang was known as The Winter Hill Gang. After reaching an agreement with an FBI agent to help take down the Italian mafia, Whitey goes from small time hood to criminal kingpin with friends in high places. This is the story of his path of destruction on the streets of Southie.

  Whitey Bulger may not be Italian but his name is every bit as notorious as some of the mafia's most infamous, and he did it while serving as a federal informant to take them down in Boston. Whitey's brand of corruption knew no bounds, he had…

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  Review by Adam Kempenaar ★½ 9

  A movie exactly as generically ominous and boring as its title. Cooper and Depp have all the moves down cold but no soul.

  Rory Cochrane though.

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  Review by Rob Hill ★★★ 9

  Johnny Depp is just a really talented dude. Like, I didn't love this movie, but I never regretted watching him. Plus I'm a closet Joel Edgerton stan, so the cast really works for me.

  I don't think this is a great movie, but it is an interesting look at a notorious American gangster.