Black Mass

MPAA Rating: R for brutal violence, language throughout, some sexual references and brief drug use
Run Time: 122 Minutes
My Rating: 4.5/5
So today my wife and I saw Warner Brothers' Black Mass starring Johnny Depp (Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise), Joel Edgerton (The Gift), Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game), Kevin Bacon (Apollo 13), Jesse Plemons (NBC's Friday Night Lights), and Adam Scott (NBC's Parks and Recreation). The film tells the true story of crime lord James "Whitey" Bulger, the most infamous and violent criminal in the history of South Boston.  It details his rise in crime and how he eventually became an FBI informant in order to take down the mafia that was invading his turf.  However, with the FBI on his side, his behavior begins to spiral out of control, leading to murders, drug dealing, racketeering, indictments and eventually ending up on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list.
This film was spectacular and probably one of the better movies I have seen all year.  One thing I love about this time of year "Awards Season", is that the theaters are not only crowded with beautifully made films, but fun family-entertainment as well.  This is definitely the first film of the season to deserve awards buzz, not only for the great directing, but for the incredible performances that the cast provides.  The person receiving the biggest buzz right now is Johnny Depp, which he definitely deserves.  For the past couple of years, Johnny Depp has been in kind of a slump (even though I personally loved his turn in The Lone Ranger), but this film proves those doubters wrong.  Johnny Depp is absolutely amazing in this film deserves all the praise he is getting.  This performance is definitely Oscar-worthy and I hope that he is recognized for it.  Though Johnny Depp is absolutely amazing, I personally believe he is not the only one that should be receiving all of the buzz.  The entire cast does a spectacular job and really anyone of them deserve to be in the running for Best Supporting Actor, especially Joel Edgerton.  This is a great year for him and I hope the Academy can recognize his great work this year.  Besides the cast, the film is beautifully made with wonderful directing from Scott Cooper.  He does an incredible job at incorporating Boston's great city as well as create an engaging and riveting gangster/character drama.
With all that being said, the only reason this film did not receive a perfect score is because I went in expecting one type of film, but came out watching a completely different one.  I do have to admit my expectations were quite high for this film (especially because I was told it was the next Godfather), so the fact that it still received 4.5/5 is quite impressive in my book.  Just so you know (especially so that you don't go in with the same expectations as I did) this film is not a true gangster movie, but rather an compelling character-drama into the life of one of the most psychopathic person in American history.  I am not saying that this is an bad thing, it is actually quite good, but I just wasn't expecting it.
Overall, I loved this movie.  I would definitely recommend this film to anyone and everyone.  If you are interested in a fantastic true story of one of America's most violent criminals, this is the film for you.  This film has a great cast, who give incredible performances, and is an all-around great film. This film is incredible and in my opinion, if this is the first film if the so-called "Awards Season", then we are looking at an incredible few months at the movies.

Thanks again for reading!!  If you have any questions, comments, or ideas just let me know!!!