Robert De Niro

Titanic The Rewatchables March 15, 2022

Casting What-Ifs

Johnny Depp; Jared Leto; Claire Danes; Jeremy Sisto; Billy Crudup; Gwyneth Paltrow; Winona Ryder; Matthew McConaughey; Enya; Robert De Niro

In the discussion (8)

Approx. transcript time · 01:11:55Read transcript

Johnny Depp reportedly turned down Jack over the script; Jared Leto was reportedly favored but would not audition, and the actress transcribed as Claire Daines was supposedly wanted for Rose. — Bill Simmons
Jeremy Sisto auditioned multiple times and is lamented as never finding the right part; Billy Crudup was considered but was committed to Without Limits. — Bill Simmons
DiCaprio excelled in testing, and Winslet reportedly lobbied hard, telling Cameron to pick DiCaprio even if not her. — Bill Simmons
Gwyneth Paltrow and Winona Ryder were reportedly in the mix; Paltrow might have been decent but is judged too regal, and Winslet remains the best choice. — Bill Simmons
The Cal role was reportedly offered to Matthew McConaughey, who turned it down. — Bill Simmons
McConaughey as Cal is judged unworkable; a report that he was also offered Jack is doubted. — Bill Simmons
Cameron reportedly wanted Enya for the music before settling on Celine Dion. — Bill Simmons
Robert De Niro was reportedly offered Captain Smith but declined due to a gastrointestinal infection; he would have been fun in the role. — Bill Simmons

Casino The Rewatchables January 25, 2022

Casino

Who Won the Movie?

Sharon Stone

In the discussion (3)

Approx. transcript time · 01:56:38Read transcript

Both responding hosts select Sharon Stone.
Martin Scorsese is the principal alternative for the movie’s scale and control.
Stone is praised for holding her own against De Niro and Pesci and for the scarcity of comparable later roles. — Bill Simmons

Casino The Rewatchables January 25, 2022

Casino

Apex Mountain

De Niro, Pesci, Sharon Stone, golf-course landings, Las Vegas details, and skimming receive distinct apex judgments.

In the discussion (11)

Approx. transcript time · 01:45:07Read transcript

De Niro is judged below his overall apex. — Bill Simmons
Pesci’s apex is assigned to Goodfellas or My Cousin Vinny. — Bill Simmons
The 1981 Cadillac Eldorado is judged at its apex.
Kevin Pollak is judged at an apex shared with The Usual Suspects. — Bill Simmons
Sharon Stone’s angry blackjack-table scenes are judged at an apex. — Bill Simmons
Movie oral-sex references are denied an apex. — Bill Simmons
Emergency golf-course airplane landings are judged below other examples.
Lester is proposed as an apex scumbag ex-boyfriend. — Bill Simmons
Star 80 is invoked as an alternate scumbag story. — Bill Simmons
Skimming from a casino is assessed. — Bill Simmons
Meetings conducted in code language are praised. — Bill Simmons

Casino The Rewatchables January 25, 2022

Casino

Half-Assed Internet Research

Real people, costumes, a murder attempt, profanity, improv, sets, ribs, cigarettes, restaurants, and high rollers

In the discussion (15)

Approx. transcript time · 01:37:15Read transcript

Frank Cullotta served as technical adviser and appeared as a hitman. — Bill Simmons
The costume budget was one million dollars, with 70 De Niro outfits and 40 Stone outfits. — Bill Simmons
Joe Pesci’s then-wife Claudia Haro was later convicted in an attempted-murder scheme against another ex-husband. — Bill Simmons
The film uses the F-word 435 times. — Bill Simmons
James Woods improvised dialogue and the detail that Lester was with a prostitute using cocaine during the wedding call. — Bill Simmons
The count-room set was constructed because productions are not allowed into a real count room. — Bill Simmons
Frank Rosenthal’s television-show guests included Sinatra, Hope, Liberace, O. J. Simpson, and Rickles. — Bill Simmons
Pesci suffered a rib injury during the cornfield sequence.
De Niro maintained cigarette length for continuity. — Bill Simmons
Piero’s restaurant stood in for the Leaning Tower.
Future Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman appears as an attorney.
Nobu Matsuhisa plays Ichikawa. — Bill Simmons
Akio Kashiwagi’s casino debts and murder are discussed. — Bill Simmons
Ace’s house was later bought by Suge Knight. — Bill Simmons
Frank Rosenthal’s later nightclub, online-betting, and family life are summarized. — Bill Simmons

Casino The Rewatchables January 25, 2022

Casino

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

De Niro’s commission hearing and Donnie, played by Joe Bob Briggs

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:33:44Read transcript

De Niro’s gaming-commission scene is nominated. — Bill Simmons
Donnie, played by Joe Bob Briggs, is criticized as conspicuously broad. — Bill Simmons

Casino The Rewatchables January 25, 2022

Casino

What’s Aged the Worst?

The runtime, narrator structure, mannequin explosion, ethnicity, Gimme Shelter, shootings, and childcare draw objections.

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 01:24:13Read transcript

The three-hour runtime is questioned.
Repeated Ace–Ginger fights may be redundant.
The use of three narrators is debated but defended. — Bill Simmons
The mannequin in the car explosion is visible. — Bill Simmons
De Niro playing a Jewish real-life figure is discussed. — Sean Fennessey
The repeated use of Gimme Shelter is noted. — Sean Fennessey
Pesci’s physical dominance is sometimes hard to accept. — Bill Simmons
The staging of repeated shootings is questioned. — Bill Simmons
The treatment of Ginger’s child is criticized.

Casino The Rewatchables January 25, 2022

Casino

What’s Aged the Best?

Sharon Stone, old Las Vegas, casino systems, music, costumes, and supporting performances

In the discussion (23)

Approx. transcript time · 01:00:03Read transcript

Sharon Stone’s performance is praised.
De Niro and Pesci’s improvisation is praised.
Pesci becoming violent in bars is praised. — Bill Simmons
Ginger tipping service workers is praised.
The head-vice sequence and its ratings history are discussed. — Bill Simmons
The old Strip and real locations are praised. — Bill Simmons
James Woods is praised. — Bill Simmons
Ginger’s scenes with her daughter are discussed. — Bill Simmons
Nicky’s recurring oral-sex behavior is treated as a darkly comic character detail. — Bill Simmons
Frank Vincent and Pesci reversing power from Goodfellas is praised. — Bill Simmons
Ginger’s beehive and diamonds are praised. — Bill Simmons
The golf-course airplane landing is praised. — Sean Fennessey
The casting of old-Vegas personalities is praised. — Bill Simmons
Aces High is praised.
The music choices are praised.
The count room is praised. — Bill Simmons
The blueberry-muffin complaint is praised. — Bill Simmons
The explosive opening is praised. — Bill Simmons
The Rain Man dealer is praised. — Bill Simmons
Scorsese’s inventive cocaine imagery is praised. — Bill Simmons
The aged hitmen are praised.
Ace’s house is praised. — Bill Simmons
James Woods’s Lester is ultimately offered as another leading aged-best answer. — Bill Simmons

Limitless The Rewatchables January 4, 2022

Limitless

Recasting Couch

No recasts; Brie Larson in the Abbie Cornish part

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:01:47Read transcript

Improving on De Niro was considered, but having him is still liked, along with Cornish and basically everybody; no part would be recast.
Brie Larson could slide into the Cornish part and bring a better run.

Limitless The Rewatchables January 4, 2022

Limitless

What’s Aged the Worst?

De Niro's autopilot performance; PG-13 rating; Eddie's smart-sounding speeches; Abbie Cornish's running; the TV show

In the discussion (12)

Approx. transcript time · 00:49:27Read transcript

De Niro is the pick: after Jackie Brown and Meet the Parents he made paycheck movies, doesn't seem fully into this one and scales it back like Gene Hackman's autopilot in The Replacements, though it works.
A disagreement: not a top-20 De Niro performance, but he brings gravity to Carl Van Loon, is better than Paul Giamatti would be, and has an affinity with Cooper while letting him chew the scenery. — Chris Ryan
De Niro could have met Cooper's final threat with a stare and a Heat-style reply; De Niro scales back on autopilot while Pacino gets big.
The biggest aged-worst item is the rating: this should have been rated R, with more violence and sex.
PG-13 is liked as is, because kids walking through the room are no problem and adults still get the drug and sex material. — Shea Serrano
PG-13 suits the TNT, USA and Paramount cable universe with few edits; the TV series was canceled after one season.
Eddie's smart-sounding speeches are rough on inspection: the Portugal salt-cod and Brits lines captivate an audience of nine people, and he sounds like he could have run Germany better than Hitler.
The basketball version of Eddie sounding smart would be saying threes are worth more than twos, or the Process's bottom-out logic.
Abbie Cornish runs pumping her fists; a track coach should have been hired for that scene.
There is not much aged-worst; the disappointing TV show is the one item, despite excitement that Cooper pops up in it. — Shea Serrano
An R version is wanted to see Cooper break an arm; older movies like Jaws are cited as more leniently rated, countered that a shark is a naturally occurring phenomenon, unlike Total Recall's violence.
CBS should have made the show with an older lead, a 62-year-old CEO taking the drug.

Limitless The Rewatchables January 4, 2022

Limitless

What’s Aged the Best?

Eddie finding the drugs; writer satire; biohacker relevance; pill color scheme; Carl Van Loon's name; knockoff market; weight of the pill bag; NZT community; the premise and Vern's pitch

In the discussion (11)

Approx. transcript time · 00:42:32Read transcript

Eddie finding the drugs is a classic what-would-you-do dilemma, and most people would try one.
The film stealthily rips on unsuccessful writers; Eddie resembles late-2000s bloggers, and his sci-fi novel as a personal manifesto is bar talk.
The film fits the biohacker era of the last 15 years, now a cottage industry, as the ultimate version of maximizing potential.
When Eddie takes the pill the film turns up the contrast and maybe changes the stock, an effective trick similar to little tricks in Fight Club. — Chris Ryan
Compared with Gordon Willis's Godfather II, it is way too bright.
Carl is short for Carlos, so Van Loon can be imagined as a Mexican businessman, and Mora is a Spanish surname: a win for Latinos. — Shea Serrano
De Niro's one great speech about Eddie's unearned powers is played as a clip; he seems on autopilot, maybe with cue cards, but nails it.
A Limitless knockoff market of fake supplements and YouTube videos, like cure-all CBD pitches at a flea market, could also count as aged the worst.
The weight of the pill bag found in the oven ages well, as do clever small setups like the stove search and Vern's line that the pill works better if you're already smart; taking it would just mean tweeting faster. — Shea Serrano
Discovering the NZT community, with other users dead and the realization that Atwood is on NZT, is effective because the film doesn't belabor it. — Chris Ryan
The premise ages great every year, and Vern's NZT pitch is the best: no notes. — Chris Ryan

Limitless The Rewatchables January 4, 2022

Limitless

Most Rewatchable Scene

Cooper versus De Niro ending; the come-up with the editor's voicemails; the knowledge montage

In the discussion (19)

Approx. transcript time · 00:27:40Read transcript

The opening, with him on a ledge saying that for a guy with a four-digit IQ he must have missed something, is nominated as a hook that works even though telling viewers where the story ends often fails; it is called good but not the most rewatchable scene.
Vern is loved as a great drug dealer who seduces Eddie and then immediately becomes unavailable. — Chris Ryan
Vernon Gant is identified as Johnny Whitworth, the star of Empire Records.
The dealer explains the drug to Eddie in a grimy, perfect way; Eddie takes it, has sex with the woman down the hall, cleans his room for three days and says he was blind but now he sees.
Asked how close someone would have to be to get them to take NZT, the answer is that it would be taken after side-effect questions if a trusted colleague offered it; one late-night Camel Light while writing once felt like a small NZT kick.
A runner-up choice is the tablet-a-day title line and the montage in which he finishes a book in four days, learns piano, plays blackjack, has sex with models, diagnoses tumors, learns languages and kung fu, holds court with business elites, cliff dives and trades stocks, all in about 10 minutes.
The cliff dive did not look CGI'd, and it is a jackknifed, non-professional dive slamming into the water.
The holding-court scenes are loved, though things-are-going-well sequences are always hard to pull off; a joke imagines Chris holding court about the 2022 World Cup with seven experts.
The short subway fight, with five people wanting to fight him at once, shows Cooper could have had his own Jason Bourne version, but he never made a straight-up action movie and got artsy.
The Bourne Legacy may have misfired choosing Renner over Cooper; the Limitless TV show likewise had the same material without Cooper and did not work.
Abbie Cornish's park chase, where she takes a pill to think her way out of a knife attack, is nominated; the film keeps surprising, as when she slices the bad guy's face with a little girl's ice skate or Eddie drinks the bad guy's blood.
Asked whether he lived in New York, he says Brooklyn rather than Manhattan and jokes that cabs drive through Central Park every day like in Die Hard with a Vengeance. — Chris Ryan
Eddie fighting Russian gangsters and drinking NZT blood is nominated; his vocabulary grows through the film, and the suddenly blinded villain who is still a threat is a favorite trope, as in Halloween and Big Trouble in Little China.
The sterile New York arms-dealer apartment is a real fantasy spot.
One pick is the Cooper-versus-De Niro ending, with 'I see everything, Carl,' the predicted car accident and his diagnosis of Van Loon's heart; it is also De Niro's best scene.
Most action movies end badly, as Taken does with its coda; a 'Bill Simmons cut' ending movies when the villain dies is floated, and this film pulls off not needing another scene, with the lunch ordering scene as dessert.
Another favorite is the come-up after he gets the stash, especially the editor leaving three increasingly excited voicemails about his first pages, which is what a professional writer is after.
A joke recalls Chris leaving Shea three messages about his eighth-grade football team diary.
The pick is the montage where he cures Helen's cancer, learns to play piano and starts day trading. — Chris Ryan

Heat The Rewatchables November 2, 2021

Heat

Most Rewatchable Scene

The heists, diner encounters, crew debate and final handclasp

In the discussion (14)

Approx. transcript time · 00:35:20Read transcript

The first armored-car robbery and Big Boy diner confrontation establish a ruthless crew — Michael Mann
Mann says Kevin Gage encouraged actual head contact in the diner scene — Michael Mann
Eady’s expression and Neil moving a seat closer make their first encounter compelling — Michael Mann
Tom Sizemore’s commitment in the heist debate is a standout — Michael Mann
Mann explains that the transmission-station location would interfere with surveillance bugs — Michael Mann
The Pacino/De Niro diner meeting is the central acting showcase — Michael Mann
Mann filmed both leads together using three cameras; he rejects the body-double rumor — Michael Mann
Neutral restaurant colors and tight reverse angles foreground the faces — Michael Mann
Mann avoided emotional rehearsal to preserve discovery during filming — Michael Mann
Chris Ryan singles out Hanna’s vulnerability disarming Neil — Michael Mann
The bank shootout preserves clear spatial geography — Michael Mann
Mann describes precise range mockups and actor training with SAS advisers — Michael Mann
The final handclasp was settled before the rest of the narrative was reverse-engineered — Michael Mann
Moby’s closing cue was selected during editing; Goldenthal and Lisa Gerrard are also discussed — Michael Mann