"I'd Rather Wake Up Next To A Severed Horse's Head Than Ever Watch 'Gotti': Again: New York Post Pans John Travolta's Mob Movie

Johnny Oleksinski at the New York Post pans the John Travolta John Gotti.

I’d rather wake up next to a severed horse head than ever watch “Gotti” again.

The worst movie of the year so far, the long-awaited biopic about the Gambino crime boss’ rise from made man to top dog took four directors, 44 producers and eight years to make.

It shows. The finished product belongs in a cement bucket at the bottom of the river.

Keeping this mafioso mess alive throughout all the turmoil has been John Travolta, playing John Gotti. Travolta, who’s made a career out of Italian stereotypes, obviously thought the Dapper Don would be his Don Corleone. It’s his Chef Boy­ardee.

In one scene, he yells “whatsamattayou?!” and slaps one of his minions. In another, after John “Junior” Gotti starts a bar fight where a guy winds up dead, Travolta screams, “You c–ksucker! This is gonna ruin your life!” and again slaps him in the face.

His performance is a leather-faced freak show. And the plot is nonsensical.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

https://nypost.com/2018/06/15/gotti-flick-is-the-worst-mob-movie-of-all-time/ 

Note: The HBO film Gotti with Armand Assante as John Gotti was a fairly good film. Armand Assante received an Emmy Award for best lead actor. 

... John Travolta defended "flattering" portrait of the man via the below link:

https://www.insideedition.com/john-travolta-defends-flattering-portrayal-john-gotti-new-biopic-44201 

Oliver Stone's Film 'Savages'

I saw Oliver Stone's film Savages on cable TV last night.

I liked the book better.

Don Winslow's Savages was a good crime thriller, but Stone's film version failed to deliver the novel's irreverent humor and cleverness along with the suspense and action.

I also fault the director's casting of Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the three principal leads. The three young actors were, to me, unremarkable.

The three actors portray California pot growers and dealers who run afoul of a vicious Mexican drug cartel.

Salma Hayek portrays a female Mexican crime boss that wants to take over the California pot operation and Benicio del Toro portrayed her ruthless chief henchman. The two performances were the best part of the film. I also liked John Travolta as a corrupt DEA special agent.

You can read my review of Don Winslow's Savages via the below link:

http://pauldavisoncrime.blogspot.com/2010/08/on-crime-thrillers-don-winslows-savages.html