Killing Them Softly is an Amazing Adaptation

[@geoffbeidler]

I wouldn't have remembered this movie for more than a few days without the final scene. I've watched it several times and think about it a lot. The things that make movies great are the things that make them stick with you.

[@raymondnewton2388]

Closing dialogue best part.

[@randomguy8181]

Killing them softly and The drop are beautiful movies about a changed, corporate mafia. Such underrated movies.

[@BeetlejuiceX3-87]

Markies drive-by death scene was glorious because the movie wouldn't exist without him simply due to the fact that he staged the first robbery thus creating a chain reaction to these future events

[@greenvelvet]

LOVE this film. Shot like a surreal horrific dream

[@AdrianStoneisdead]

I really liked this adaptation. Probably as much as I enjoyed the other major adaptation of a Higgins work, The Friends of Eddie Coyle. I never dug the new name....especially as this is another film I only realized was an adaptation while watching it( without watching any trailers). The conversation about the dogs farting up the car sans ventilation confirmed it completely despite all the other tells which were poking and biting that part of one's brain which sends electrical zaps Into the "Ah yeah, I fucking got this on the tippa my tongue." Organs we all keep somewhere near the colon. Higgins was an amazing author.... His work proves that The MAN is just as hip as the criminal. Hell....they are more often the same person.

[@Sevatar_VIIIth]

How's the book Cogan's Trade? I was thinking of getting it bc I like Jackie Cogan as a character so much. Also is the book a series or stand alone?

[@rustyshackleford9637]

I don't agree with your take on the political angle. usually i dislike it when movies will try to inject political stuff. But I feel like they were just using it to immerse you back in that 2008-2009 time period. I noticed that all of the landscapes and locations in the movie all seemed bleak, and run down. As if living during a great economic depression. Which is what 2008 through 2010 felt like. I also feel like the very last line might have been written very early on in the production process. They needed a soundbite to cue it up. Obama's speech was perfect. It would have worked for any president. I don't feel like the movie expresses any kind of political bias. Rather it expresses a cynical, dismissive attitude towards the entire system itself. Like it doesn't actually affect them at all or if it does, there's nothing they can do about it, like their votes dont count or they can't vote (felons). But I do like your assessments of the rest of the movie, great flick.

[@PaperStarship]

Rusty Shackleford first off I love that your handle is Rusty Shackleford👍. But I actually liked the political views in the film I just wasn’t thrilled with how they were executed. I plan to re record these earlier episode eventually since I have a proper mic now and I’ll have to change that section because I agree that injecting politics wasn’t a bad idea like I said the execution was the flaw for me. Mainly just the constant tv and radio broadcasts in the background. They made a really immersive realistic world and sadly the most unrealistic part was that ever mobster watches and listens cnn 24/7 lol

[@AdrianStoneisdead]

While i.agree with you re: most films should leave out the political messages unless that's a goal of said films. That said, this film was set during the economic recession and depression post housing bubble popping. Economic blight often strengthens folks' dreams of wealth and tickets aboard The Easy Fuckin' Express instead of allowing that evil cunt Reality to come through, start kicking shins, and telling everyone to get a grip on this whole reality hubbub before they're swallowed whole and digested alive.

[@UK-PeasantD23679E]

Have to say I understood it that Jackie involved Mickey to set him up set up from the start, because he could; and he knew it was time for an aggressive takeover. Which is why I love this film, it goes from ensemble cast to realising there is a MAIN character, which the cast realise one by one, only as as they die by his hand.

[@PaperStarship]

Mickey was supposed to be a quick and cheap way to get rid of the kids, but became such a liability Jackie had to set him up to get arrested with the prost. It’s is an amazing movie though, and had it used it’s real name “Cohan’s Trade” people definitely would’ve known who the MAIN was.

[@UK-PeasantD23679E]

@@PaperStarship thanks for the reply! I don’t knooooow duuuude, does the director’s vision not get to stand on its own?

[@UK-PeasantD23679E]

@@PaperStarship I think it goes hand in hand with the capitalist-recession backdrop basically acting as a character in the story, which I gather wasn’t in Cohan’s Trade… Side note: I loved the realistic element of the presidential campaign playing everywhere; movies often exist in a vacuum

[@onelife7247]

For people who can’t for whatever reason see past their nose then it is “a straight up story about some guys who did some bad shit” but many people other viewers can acknowledge the wider context of how crime spirals out of control during any sort of economic crisis; e.g. 2022 across the world.

[@OgGuak420]

In my mind that drive by scene was how it was to pay homage and finish the job goodfellas was supposed to do. We see him at the end of goodfellas go crazy paranoid that he’s gonna get hit and at the end he lives a happy life.. in this movie he finally gets the glorious death he was always meant for don’t snitch on family!!

[@PaperStarship]

OG Guak 420 yes very true. It doesnt deviate from its path to down some whimsical fantasy fairytale ending. This is the logical conclusion you see for everyone involved in this heist👍

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

this is an entire different film, not goodfellas part 2. open up your narrow paradigm man. jesus

[@TheJellyfish800]

I think the radio chatter about the economy was really cool. Idk I wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying so I didn’t know it was about money per se but I just thought it was a cool stylistic choice

[@jorgenarez9166]

Just saw this movie on Netflix and hopped on KZbin looking for an in-depth review. I really really enjoyed your review and was surprised when I saw your subscriber count. You deserve way more subscribers, your content is polished and finalized really well. It's structured and personal, I thought you had over a million subs!

[@PaperStarship]

Working toward it lol. I really appreciate the support man. I love making these videos and it’s always nice to know that people enjoy them. Im currently working on a ridiculously long videogame retrospective video but will getting back to movies in about a month. Hope you enjoy the other videos in the meantime 👍🤙

[@Josehorror86]

I love this film great dialogue… And get the feeling is great as always

[@Nuya-beeswax]

Chopper: "Even Beethoven had his critics. See if you can name three of them."

[@chrisemerson7743]

Chopper is insane! Literally and figuratively! The first time I saw it I had no idea the dude even existed. I just thought Eric Banna was needing some money so he filmed a low budget dark comedy about some psycho who couldn’t possibly be real! 😂😂

[@goosebumpsemiliano9104]

A very adult movie. I will watch this again fully when I am 18

[@phatnana2379]

They really just needed to dial back the Obama speeches in this movie. The message is clear through the dialogue so the Obama stuff just hammers you over the head with it. I don't even mind the politics, I just think the scenes between The Driver and Jackie were enough to get the point across. Removing the Obama stuff would also make the ending monologue a little more of the "dunk" they were going for

[@michaelk5676]

Brad Pitts character is Obama. That's why he's on TV in the background in the end scene. There's what he's saying to the American people and what he's saying to wall street (the guy he's telling to pay him for bailing them out). The speech represents Obama's public persona and Jackie represents who he (Obama) really is. A for hire president wanting to be paid more. There's a very interesting review that goes into this line of thinking more at the following link kzbin.info/www/bejne/i2WvepKGbqqnq7M&ab_channel=FallopiumFilms

[@joeblack3878]

I rate this an 8 out of 10. Great cast, good cinematography, cool story about being responsible for your actions… but FFS turn down the politics. It really just waters down the movie. I’d have been fine with Pitts rant at the end… I thought it was good; however, at that point the political narrative that was crammed down my throat for 90 minutes made it all the more insufferable.

[@AdrianStoneisdead]

One thing about your over all take....I don't think the filmmakers were intending for the film or its repetitive economic messages to be subtle or abstract. I believe they probably altered the entire pacing and message to be akin to a ball peen hammer or an ice pick thrust directly at the eye.

[@GnartotheBone]

Very underrated piece of cinema

[@collinsmcrae]

Thoroughly enjoyed the review, although I think I quite liked the political commentary overall. I do agree that it was heavy handed, but I didn’t find it as grating as you seemed to, and I was just happy to see someone at least try to do something unique with such a stale genre. In a way, without that element, it’s just a passable Scorsese knockoff. Coupled with a few other choices, like the stunt casting you mentioned, it becomes a wonderfully self aware meta Scorsese ripoff. It may be the best deconstructionist, homage flick not directed by Tarantino, in my opinion.

[@PaperStarship]

Glad you enjoyed the video. Yeah I used to bash on bad movies a while ago and was still trying to find my style with this review and tended to sound more irritated when talking about even the slightly negative. The political message doesn’t bug me as much as I played up , but it is kinda comical that CNN seems to always be on the TVs and radios in the film though. I recently got a proper mic and plan to re-record some of these earlier episodes and want o revisit this one to discuss how even though in 2012 the message was a little later for the recession, it’s become wildly relevant again in the past year or so. Thanks for the support and feedback, always appreciate it 👍

[@collinsmcrae]

@@PaperStarship Oh, I thought it was great. I like when reviewers really dig into their dislikes, especially when I agree lol. In this case, I actually do for the most part. I do agree that stuff was a little heavy handed, I think I just give it a pass for different reasons. I'm a softy, and am biased toward stuff that trys something different, even if it was arguably not successful at it.

[@skibooski6884]

I liked the political commentary it matched the themes of the movie well

[@headtrips1]

Loved this film when I saw it and still do. I agree with all your points, but I do love the 2008 recession theme with the political sound bites.

[@baginamonolog]

Though I thoroughly enjoy this movie you're right about that subtext not being subtle enough. For me if they had only used a different song instead of Money (That's What I Want) at the end that would have been enough. I usually like watching/listening to the credits at the end of films I like, but going that big and obvious took away from the ending and movie into unfortunately cringe territory. Really good film on the verge of greatness.

[@PaperStarship]

Completely agree. I think for me it got to give me a break territory when the two monsters are going to beat up markie and even they had politics on the radio lol. I was like apparently the new requirement to be a made man now is you gotta listen to CNN 24/7😂. Still a great movie, can’t count how many times I’ve watched it

[@MooseheadStudios]

Came from the MGS video. my siblings and I love this movie it never gets credit we talk all the time. Good channel btw keep em coming

[@PaperStarship]

Really glad you enjoyed MGS and that you liked the Killing Them Softly vid. That was actually the first time I ever tried to review or breakdown a movie I like. It’s definitely one of my favorite gangster films ever too

[@SirBearization]

Johnny sack was the best part of this film

[@PaperStarship]

SirBearization he was great in the scene talking about the card game, and definitely played desperate perfectly. I liked the scenes with Jackie and the Lawyer best.

[@richardmorales4971]

He going to need a toothbrush where he's going

[@williamdon3442]

I expected him to talk about the esplanade

[@PaperStarship]

I watched this movie so many times while making the review it makes me want to go back and watch Chopper again and stay on the Andrew Dominik kick

[@EstebanGunn]

I can enjoy political commentary as long as it's not heavily partisan. KTS seemed to have a message of "everyone is a crook and the system is to blame" rather than putting the blame on one political party or another. It was all very cynical, which is why I suppose it gets a pass from me.

[@PaperStarship]

I will agree with that I’m glad it painted both sides as fucked up and not drawing a line in the sand

[@Ahoto_papa_bi]

I hated the politics too…..the country wasn’t as divisive in 2012 when the film was created. If the film created in 2016+, I will guarantee he wouldn’t have added it.

[@Cwinkle]

I remember I watched this movie in theaters when I was 13 and for some reason I didn’t like it but the end of it where brad Pitt says his speech always stuck with me for some reason I’ll need to rewatch this soon. Good video btw

[@Frip36]

This movie is like Prince's guitar playing. So underrated it becomes overrated. It's an excellent film It is not, as thousands of comments proclaim, "AMAZING!". The Wizard of Oz was amazing.

[@PaperStarship]

Opinions vary

[@burtbiggum499]

The political message is fantastic. The bew administration was supposed to change things but it was really just more of the same. Just like every other administration.

[@phdtobe]

I disagree about the amount of time period/economic/political references being overbearing. My impression is that you are very familiar with the events and political messaging of the time, so it can seem overdone. But several decades from now, that content will provide some very useful referencing for viewers who weren’t around when those events occurred.

[@PaperStarship]

ChrisGeez I like your perspective on it and that down the line it’ll resonate a lot harder and I think you’re right. I think my real issue isn’t the fact they added politics it was the execution. Things like mobsters arguing to get a hit man on discount because of recession are perfect and melt into the world created in the film but the amount of radio broadcasts and news broadcasts got to be a bit much, and seemed a lazy way to make the point. A couple of the radio speeches work but you’re telling me every single monster has cnn and npr on at all times? That’s more what I meant with beating you over the head with it. I’m probably going to re record this episode eventually since it was the first time I reviewed something I enjoy and definitely needed to be a bit lore level headed and concise when discussing the politics portion 👍

[@phdtobe]

Fragile Bridges Perhaps it comes down to taste. Because I liked the way he handled it. My guess is that some movie reviewer decades from now who took some film studies courses in college and was introduced to it by a cutting-edge film studies prof as an example of excess-done-right-before-its-time will end up doing a review of this movie lauding the exact thing you find poorly done because of the “bludgeoning”. And a number of filmmakers in that future-decade will copy the flop out of that style to the point of it eventually becoming parody. Because that seems to be how filmmaking element styles can evolve over time. And it’s why some very important films/movies that are now considered groundbreaking or must-watch classics were panned upon original release. Mind you, I’m not saying this movie is anywhere close to eventually reaching Blade Runner-level status as a groundbreaking film, but that particular aspect of this film - because it is so jarring to your expectational sensibilities for a mob crime thriller - could very well be what future critics best appreciate about this film. Because, frankly, the rest of it is just a great story with great acting in a conventional sense, and a LOT of movies have those viewing features... (Ho, hum). Or, I’m just talking out of my amateur movie-loving bunghole! (LOL!) In any event, keep the reviews coming!

[@kurono1999]

Good review man.

[@PaperStarship]

Thanks man I appreciate it. Planning to re-record most of these early episodes and will probably add a bit about even though the commentary was too late for the recession it’s become very relevant once again

[@jarrellmckenna2988]

I enjoyed the political angel...it compares the economy of the country to the mob. Yeah the mob preaches community and family ties but you have to look out for your own.

[@felipemonteirobarbosa6932]

Can you share the article of the director?

[@PaperStarship]

Honestly I’d have to go back and find it. Unfortunately in my first few vids i wasn’t as diligent about source citing as I’ve been in my more recent ones

[@macabreenterprise1823]

Would you have felt so strongly about the politics if the movie took place in a different period? Like regan era or Nixon era? I don’t think you would. Could be wrong. I think it only feels piled on because you’re already aware of and experienced the obama years. Then again, I just watched this movie so it feels like a period piece to me almost

[@PaperStarship]

Honestly had they just taken out a couple of the tv shots of politicians or the radio broadcasts it would’ve worked. But watching this movie gives you the sense that to be a made guy now you have to watch cspan and cnn 24/7. Like I think they could’ve done more stuff within the story to show the similarities rather than just spelling it out. I really liked the parts where they’re haggling over the price of the hit man. Things like that show the paralells in unique ways. It doesn’t come off in the review but I think the political message is good, it just was t executed well onscreen

[@porc1429]

I agree. I think the politics could've worked if it doesn't shove it down out throats for every scene

[@chrisemerson7743]

The collapse the director is referring to is the card games! You have one host who’s been known to rob his own games before and now you have 3 idiots who think they can do the same! These card games are big money for the mob. To them that money is the same as making a salary at some 9 to 5 job. Nobody’s gonna come to a card game worried about if and who is gonna rob it. No more games means a large chunk of their income is gone. In their “economy” starts to form cracks.

[@maxmustermann-zx9yq]

they just put original speech audio over scenes, but thats not how a speech on a small tv with no stereo would sound

[@greenvelvet]

I love this movie BECAUSE of the political subtext. Just an added bonus layer for those who want to dig for it. Without it, it's a way too over simplistic crime narrative

[@JonathanNagel]

Good video! You need more subs.

[@PaperStarship]

Jonathan Nagel appreciat the feedback and support man 👍. Been thinking about doing a brief revisit of the social commentary from this movie as recent events have certainly lent credence to it. Seems like a movie that was 4 years to late and 8 years too early

[@taylorhowser6467]

I completely agree I mean I saw the political thing in a more positive light than you it seems. However I agree it was excessive

[@chadg739]

Killing them softly... Drones anyone?

[@neoism]

nah this was the best ending and what brad said as never been truer..

[@cloudsombrero]

The political angle i thought was the best parts of it. And i agree that with the take that crime are about capitalism. Its our society that encourages selfishness and leads to a nation of sociopaths people who will do anything in pursuit of the almighty dollar. Criminals being the natural extension

[@06dking]

That cgi blood from the headshot looks terrible

[@PaperStarship]

Can’t argue with you on that. Lol

[@zen-Tii]

Good film, worthwhile book, distracting “allegory.”

[@PaperStarship]

Agree on all accounts

[@Elknkam]

Everyone is butt hurt about thr politics because it took a shoot at both sides of the aisle from a political spectrum which is why people are all butt HURT!

[@FreddyMacT]

I'm sorry, but what if any of the political commentary is wrong or "heavy handed?" Has America not shown itself to be pretty irredeemable, especially in that 06-09 period of economic despair? Has America not shown time and time again, that those innocent will not be bailed out or helped? No America will help the game continue, because America is just a business, not built for the people, but built for the game. The sharks, the corporations, the greed. This movie was extremely present yet also prescient.

[@PaperStarship]

Heavy handed means the way they portray it in the film. One or two of those in movie speeches would have sufficed to get the point across. But it’s the amount of that stuff in the film that is heavy handed, it acts like the viewer is not smart enough to make those connections without it being spoonfed. I liked parts like haggling over the price of a hit An due to recession, those are funny creative ways to make the same point. But for a movie that’s very realistic, the most unrealistic part is that every mobster is listening from cnn and watching cspan all the time. The political commentary is spot on, the way it’s executed in the film is heavy handed. Hope that clarified

[@jacobdiejude124]

I think you got the political statement all wrong, it’s more of a period piece than anything. In the future people will hardly remember the depression of 2008, this is one of the few movies I’ve seen that capitalized on it

[@PaperStarship]

I think you missed my point. I didn’t say there was anything inherently wrong with the political message. It was just so heavy handed. That’s why I appreciated things like haggling over how much to pay a hitman and such. Scenes like that let you know everyone is financially struggling. They could’ve done the radio or tv trick once or twice and we would’ve gotten the point. this was my first vid on the channel but trust I know I didn’t give the most eloquent of dissections lol

[@jacobdiejude124]

@@PaperStarship I appreciate the response, I was trying to find a way to convey my thoughts on this movie being a period piece, was not trying to criticize

[@lilxtraxs9046]

Brad was cool as shit

[@rezurection3198]

I love this movie everybody deserved a grammy and oscar!!

[@vicerichter1163]

remember shotguns are your best friend

[@cornschlong4487]

im sure i didnt understand this movie, and i might need to rewatch it but this movie bored me

[@OgGuak420]

And I bet that one dude was tired of playing a fake American accent so they let him use his real Australian accent for jokes and etc

[@dessi-xx3gs]

I enjoyed the political aspect lol

[@PaperStarship]

dessi 1992 like I said I don’t necessarily mind that he put politics in the movie, it’s just how it was executed. It could’ve been done more satirical and subtle, but as long as you enjoyed it that’s what matters 👍

[@kriminal012]

U hate it cos it criticises Democrats and their BS political spin 😂😂

[@sean2914]

I really didn’t like this movie. I thought the cinematographer, Greig Fraser, was what kept me interested and not bored as hell. I agree with your stand on the politics, having Obama beat you over the head with his commentary was absurd. I thought the script was pretty good for the most part, like it’s simple enough to where you could make a good movie off of it. But like the characters are so flat and one note to me. Like Tony Soprano comes into this movie and has 2 scenes where he goes on like 5 minute monologues about nothing and we never see him again. And they talk about “Dillon” all the time, we never see him throughout the whole movie and they just say he dies, as if we care. Same for Johnny Sacc. He’s in like 2 scenes at the beginning and I really don’t remember when we see him until his death. Brad Pitt’s character was very inconsistent to me. In some scenes he’s a nice guy trying to help Tony Soprano but in others he’s a ruthless murderer. I don’t think it’s terrible, the direction and cinematography is pretty good and the actors do their job but it’s so empty to me.

[@PaperStarship]

You know I was on the fence about this movie the first time I saw it because reviewers raves about it. I didn’t truly appreciate it until I read the book. Aside from the politics in the film, it’s about a 90% true to the book adaptation. It’s not a mind blowing story but it’s very well acted and paced. The Dillon character could’ve definitely been nixed. But I think that was more a shout-out to the novel and movie that preceded killing them softly, titled, The Friends of Eddie Coyle where Dillon was the main enforcer. Now that I’m talking about it I would honestly love an Andrew dominik directed remake of Eddie Coyle, but the original is pretty damn good, and another that follows the book letter for letter

[@Victor-Vargas]

You completely over simplified the meaning that Sounds to me like that's why you didn't like it. Oh well to each their own

[@PaperStarship]

victor vargas I’m not sure how I oversimplified the meaning. In fact I said I agree with most of his commentary just not how it was executed. The only reason the commentary is so heavy handed is the way it’s delivered. I did recently get a proper mic and plan to re record these earlier episodes so maybe I’ll try to do a better job of conveying that in the redo

[@Victor-Vargas]

Fragile Bridges yeah I agree with that. If he would've done it in a more subtle way it would've been damn near flawless. It could've done without at least a few of the TV shots, the audio on the radio was good though in my opinion

[@Victor-Vargas]

I found a physical copy of Chopper, but from what I understand it's quite good. It seems there's no real "analysis" of Chopper on KZbin, it'd be neat if you did one although I doubt many people have even seen it

[@PaperStarship]

victor vargas I’m currently working on a more conceptual video about the cyberpunk genre as a whole but, I think Chopper would be a great analaysis video to do afterward. And it’s one I’ve seen quite a few times and would love to dissect especially since it deals so much with reputation and false truths. It’s for sure on the list now 👍. Thanks for the support and feedback, honestly some of my best ideas come from discussions in the comments. Always appreciated

[@Frip36]

"There's nothing likable about these desperate thugs." We are meant to like them in a pitiful way. They are both actually likable and sympathetic. If you want to stay under 10K subs keep saying nonsense things.

[@PaperStarship]

Guess you should get on your horse and make that vid about how those characters are so likeable

[@Frip36]

@@PaperStarship I was just refuting the vacant claim that "there's nothing likable about them." They are on the screen a long time. They better be kinda likable. This is obvious.

[@donuthole2474]

This movie was just way too boring, almost every scene was just Brad Pitt sitting and talking to someone, and they are all so longer than they seem and it’s annoying, The only parts I liked were the killing scenes and the ending scene, that’s my only complaint, it’s boring as shit

[@Stoney-Jacksman]

you havent understood this film at allll. So what is your need to review besides trying to get a name for yourself..

[@PaperStarship]

@@Stoney-Jacksmanprobably the same need you had for commenting on a 4 year old video you don’t like. Sometimes there’s no point, you just do things.