The March of Oscar

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Raging Bull (1980 US) Robert DeNiro stars as boxer Jake LaMotta. This Biopic from Martin Scorsese tells the story of a man and his brother (Joe Pesci) who have no idea what to do with their emotions. It works for them for a bit until it doesn't. Scorsese is a smart guy and the film is an in depth study of what we now call toxic masculinity. The film had an awful lot to say about the subject and Scorsese literally pulls no punches. Unfortunately, graduates of the school of "you missed the fucking point" have used the film as a how to manual. Criterion is saying stylistically this film was informed by film noir. To that I say sometimes. It was too uneven to label it a Noir throwback. Black and white does not make film noir. Remember that kids. The film was nominated for best picture and lost to Ordinary People, the film not actual ordinary people. Robert DeNiro won Best Actor. That was pretty spot on as DeNiro really dives into Assholeness and he convinces you to not like him. My grandfather looked so much like DeNiro. I think I have seen all of his movies because of it. This one was harder than Taxi Driver for me. My Grandpa was an upstanding member of the greatest generation and all around outstanding guy. Nothing like LaMotta. Find it on HBO or for rent on most streaming. Please Like Share and Subscribe. 
 

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