Limitless (2011)

I didn't really know anything about this picture going in. Nor had I heard of its literary basis, Alan Glynn's The Dark Fields. I just thought it looked different enough from my recent viewings, possibly along the lines of Upgrade. OK, it's set in the present, but still a sci-fi thriller about enhancing oneself.

In New York, broke aspiring writer Eddie (Bradley Cooper) runs into his ex-brother-in-law, dealer Vernon (Johnny Whitworth), who gifts him a tablet of an unregulated drug so new it has no name other than NZT-48. It vastly improves Eddie's mental faculties for a day. He comes for more and discovers that someone has murdered Vernon and ransacked the apartment, evidently in search of the NZT stash. Eddie finds it nonetheless, along with significant cash, and uses them to do phenomenally in the stock market, garnering the attention of finance bigwig Carl (Robert De Niro) and reconnecting with ex-wife Lindy (Abbie Cornish). Of course, he also gains the attention of people who would kill for NZT. What's more, withdrawal means progressively serious symptoms....

Heat (1995)

Another movie I liked before but couldn't remember well. This one stops streaming on Netflix at the end of June. Only after I started rewatching did I realize the appropriate timing: It features a public clash with authorities in L.A.

The story begins with an armored car heist led by Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro). Alas, one of his partners (Kevin Gage) is a loose cannon, so everyone from the armored car is unnecessarily killed. LAPD Lt. Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) heads a hunt for the robbers, who face quite enough enmity from fellow crooks already, not least a treacherous money launderer (William Fichtner).

The Irishman (2019)

I knew I wasn't going to love this. Martin Scorsese fare is rarely even moderately enjoyable to me. But it is one of the most championed contenders for Academy Best Picture this year, and as a Netflix original, it's already available for streaming. I started early in the evening, because at 209 minutes, it's the longest mainstream feature in decades.

Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro), a Philadelphia trucker, gets into '50s organized crime, including "painting houses" with the blood of the homeowners, despite quiet disapproval by his wife and daughter (played in adulthood by Anna Paquin). After helping him escape a charge, his defense attorney (Ray Romano) introduces him to crime lord Russell Buffalino (an oddly placid Joe Pesci), who in turn connects him with Teamsters Union pres Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino). Sheeran and Hoffa stay close for about 20 years, which is not a particularly good thing when the latter is infamous....

Mean Streets (1973)

Martin Scorsese is one of those people whose works I check out almost entirely because he's popular, not because I like his track record. It's a matter of cultural education. This time, I opted to check out his earliest collaboration with Robert De Niro and arguably his first hit feature.

Both IMDb and Netflix summarize the plot as a minor crook, Charlie (Harvey Keitel), working his way up the mob ladder, but that's not what I recall. Netflix adds that he's in Little Italy (no points for guessing which city) and dating a woman with epilepsy, Teresa (Amy Robinson), whom we never see having a seizure, but her condition is important insofar as other mobsters wouldn't approve the relationship. Neither summary mentions De Niro's character of Johnny Boy, who's a cousin to Teresa, a buddy to Charlie, and a debtor to dangerous men.

Ronin (1998)

No, it's not set in Japan. The title features in dialog for exactly one scene, when a minor character summarizes the legend of the 47 ronin, simplified for those who don't know about seppuku. The point is an implicit parallel: Where the ronin were samurai who lost their honor upon losing their lords, the main characters herein are post-Cold War laid-off secret agents, similarly inclined to become mercenaries if not thugs.

A multinational team of such mercs—Sam (Robert De Niro), Vincent (Jean Reno), Gregor (Stellan Skarsgård), Seamus (Jonathan Pryce), Larry (Skipp Sudduth), and Spence (Sean Bean)—assembles in Paris. Deirdre (Natascha McElhone), from an Irish mob, assigns them to grab a heavily guarded suitcase before a Russian mob acquires it. Unfortunately for them, they don't know each other or their employer well, and when dealing with ex-spies...

The King of Comedy (1982)

When a movie title itself speaks of humor, it's usually serious. The only exception I can think of is A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Netflix calls this Martin Scorsese piece a black comedy, but I think it works best if you go in expecting a drama with some thriller elements.

Rupert Pupkin (Robert De Niro) badly wants to do guest stand-up on the late-night show of Jerry Langford (Jerry Lewis in his 50s, basically as himself). His aggressive tactics get Jerry to mildly encourage further communication, but as we'd all suspect, it's just a polite way to send him off. About halfway in, Rupert and his...well, not friend and certainly not girlfriend...comrade-in-obsession Masha (Sandra Bernhardt) abduct Jerry in order to demand a ten-minute opening act. Rupert knows he'll go to prison for it, but to his mind, even fleeting stardom is worth it.