WHICH GODFATHER NEEDS A NEW AGENT? - In a review of the recent movie Simone, a local movie critic quite incorrectly stated that Al Pacino "has had a string of forgettable roles over the last 10 years." Everybody knows the 80s were a tough decade for Pacino -- Author! Author!, Sea of Love, Revolution -- but the past 10 years? Something about this comment seemed dubious, so I went to IMDb to check it out. Sure enough, take a look at Pacino's body of work over the past decade: Insomnia (2002), Any Given Sunday (1999), Insider, The (1999), Devil's Advocate, The (1997), Donnie Brasco (1997), Looking for Richard (1996), City Hall (1996), Heat (1995), Carlito's Way (1993), Scent of a Woman (1992), and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992). Of these 11 movies, only 2 could be described as "forgettable" (i.e. bad): The Devil's Advocate and City Hall. More importantly, there are at least five movies on this list that are decidedly unforgettable -- Glengarry, Scent of a Woman, Heat, Donnie Brasco, and The Insider. Simone is a step back, but Pacino's next three movies, all set for 2003 releases, look promising -- The Recruit with Colin Farrell, Gigli, and the movie version of Tony Kushner's acclaimed Broadway play Angels In America. The 70s icon who really needs to reevaluate his choices is Robert De Niro, who stars as a (shock!) New York City homicide detective in City by the Sea (opens tomorrow). De Niro's been much busier than Pacino over the past 10 years -- so much so that I'll simply provide the link rather than list all of the titles -- but to what end? Showtime, Men of Honor, Flawless, 15 Minutes, The Fan -- now those are some truly forgettable movies. Based on the real-life story of Vincent LaMarca, a distinguished cop whose father famously murdered a baby in 1956 and was put to death in the electric chair, City by the Sea at least should be watchable. The story centers around LaMarca's attempts to protect his estranged son (Spider-Man's James Franco), who is on the run after being pegged for murder. It's the kind of role De Niro can sleepwalk through -- haunted, distant, cop, New York -- and, unfortunately, he just might. I'm somewhat optimistic, however, because Franco is a talented, charismatic young actor; let's just hope the movie gives him something to do other than run fast, hide in shadows, and talk on pay phones. If the movie is even half as good as Mike McAlary's riveting 1997 Esquire article that inspired it -- somewhat loosely, from what I gather -- it will be worthwhile. Frances McDormand, George Dzunda, and Eliza Dushku co-star. Michael Caton-Jones (The Jackal, Rob Roy) directs. Click here for the official site.

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