rushmore beauty
06-25-2003, 02:42 AM
GOODFELLAS.
Starring: Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci.
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
*spoilers*
First off, I'd like to say that I haven't seen many Scorsese flicks. Bringing Out the Dead (7/10), The Last Temptation of Christ (8/10), Gangs of New York (9/10) and Taxi Driver (9/10) have all been solid flicks. The Last Temptation challenged some of my own thoughts and beliefs and I walked away from it saying "Whoa, now THAT was a thinking man's epic". Seriously, all of his movies (that I've seen...not too many yet) have had a lot to say about a lot of things and I have really come to appreciate Scorsese as a filmaker. So, having said all of that (and hearing how amazing this one was from almost every person that had seen it), my expectations were sky high. I had even read that Roger Ebert said it was THE BEST mob movie ever made. Well, I was pleased when the film ended, but not in the same way I thought I'd be.
The story follows a man's entrance and exit from the mafia lifestyle. He starts out as just an errand boy for some of the wiseguys in his neighbourhood but soon finds himself with more money that he knows what to do with. Yadda yadda yadda, we all know the story; man gets rich, falls, gets rich, falls again, etc. The films spans (at least) 30 years if I'm not mistaken, so it's really quite the epic story to tell and Scorsese did a good job.
Okay, acting. Ray Liotta gave the performance of his career. He really gave us a performance that I will never forget and I'm totally blown away that the Academy didn't give him the Oscar, yet they gave a Supporting one to Pesci for a roll we've now seen him play more than once. Liotta made the movie for me. Bobby DeNiro was as good as usual, but not as good as I'd originally anticipated. I mean, yes, he was a bastard that didn't give a shit, was ruthless and violent, but he was so much better in Taxi Driver and I just couldn't help drawing comparisions (even though the two films have nothing in common). Actually, I was really impressed with the entire cast....everyone gave a realistic performance and I was surprised by it.
Okay, now the nitty-gritty. The film's running time is really only about 135 minutes, which (when read off of the box), doesn't seem likt a lot for a film of this size, but it fit it just right. Some movies totally dig waaay too much into the success of these scumbags and rush through their downfall, but this film was actually really good in equalling everything out. I had also just recently seen Boogie Nights (7/10) for the first time and it also was great in showcasing the downfall of these men's lives. Blow (7/10) was pretty good, but sort of rushed the second half justa bit. Anways, I really thought Goodfellas did a great job is acturately showing us how these men breathe, think and live. They are violent, liars and cheat on their wives and this movie didn't shy away from any of that like some do.
So I've said some pretty positive things about this film, yesy, but i was indeed a bit disappointed with the final product. Despite the great acting and storytelling by Scorsese, the film failed to hold my attention all the way through and I even found myself wondering when it was going to finish about 100 minutes into it. I think that this was indeed a well-made film and i cannot deny that it was indeed brilliant in spots. But I still feel that (like Blow and Boogie Nights), the second half of the film just does not live up to the amazing first. This film started off so, so well and I was positive that I was ging to love it all of the way through, but as soon as Henry and them got out of jail, the movie just sort of seemed to go limp a bit.
All in all, I'd say that Scorsese gave us an intimate view into the lives of the mob, but I still wouldn't sy this was the best mob movie ever (The Godfather Parts 1 and 2 still hold that position). But don't get me wrong...this is an above average film with tremendous acting and I highly recommend it to anyone that's a fan of gangster cimena or hasn't seen it yet. It's not quite as good as the legendary Taxi Driver (Scorsese's best that I've seen), but still a worthy film of the Scorsese seal of approval.
Starring: Ray Liotta, Robert DeNiro, Joe Pesci.
Directed by Martin Scorsese.
*spoilers*
First off, I'd like to say that I haven't seen many Scorsese flicks. Bringing Out the Dead (7/10), The Last Temptation of Christ (8/10), Gangs of New York (9/10) and Taxi Driver (9/10) have all been solid flicks. The Last Temptation challenged some of my own thoughts and beliefs and I walked away from it saying "Whoa, now THAT was a thinking man's epic". Seriously, all of his movies (that I've seen...not too many yet) have had a lot to say about a lot of things and I have really come to appreciate Scorsese as a filmaker. So, having said all of that (and hearing how amazing this one was from almost every person that had seen it), my expectations were sky high. I had even read that Roger Ebert said it was THE BEST mob movie ever made. Well, I was pleased when the film ended, but not in the same way I thought I'd be.
The story follows a man's entrance and exit from the mafia lifestyle. He starts out as just an errand boy for some of the wiseguys in his neighbourhood but soon finds himself with more money that he knows what to do with. Yadda yadda yadda, we all know the story; man gets rich, falls, gets rich, falls again, etc. The films spans (at least) 30 years if I'm not mistaken, so it's really quite the epic story to tell and Scorsese did a good job.
Okay, acting. Ray Liotta gave the performance of his career. He really gave us a performance that I will never forget and I'm totally blown away that the Academy didn't give him the Oscar, yet they gave a Supporting one to Pesci for a roll we've now seen him play more than once. Liotta made the movie for me. Bobby DeNiro was as good as usual, but not as good as I'd originally anticipated. I mean, yes, he was a bastard that didn't give a shit, was ruthless and violent, but he was so much better in Taxi Driver and I just couldn't help drawing comparisions (even though the two films have nothing in common). Actually, I was really impressed with the entire cast....everyone gave a realistic performance and I was surprised by it.
Okay, now the nitty-gritty. The film's running time is really only about 135 minutes, which (when read off of the box), doesn't seem likt a lot for a film of this size, but it fit it just right. Some movies totally dig waaay too much into the success of these scumbags and rush through their downfall, but this film was actually really good in equalling everything out. I had also just recently seen Boogie Nights (7/10) for the first time and it also was great in showcasing the downfall of these men's lives. Blow (7/10) was pretty good, but sort of rushed the second half justa bit. Anways, I really thought Goodfellas did a great job is acturately showing us how these men breathe, think and live. They are violent, liars and cheat on their wives and this movie didn't shy away from any of that like some do.
So I've said some pretty positive things about this film, yesy, but i was indeed a bit disappointed with the final product. Despite the great acting and storytelling by Scorsese, the film failed to hold my attention all the way through and I even found myself wondering when it was going to finish about 100 minutes into it. I think that this was indeed a well-made film and i cannot deny that it was indeed brilliant in spots. But I still feel that (like Blow and Boogie Nights), the second half of the film just does not live up to the amazing first. This film started off so, so well and I was positive that I was ging to love it all of the way through, but as soon as Henry and them got out of jail, the movie just sort of seemed to go limp a bit.
All in all, I'd say that Scorsese gave us an intimate view into the lives of the mob, but I still wouldn't sy this was the best mob movie ever (The Godfather Parts 1 and 2 still hold that position). But don't get me wrong...this is an above average film with tremendous acting and I highly recommend it to anyone that's a fan of gangster cimena or hasn't seen it yet. It's not quite as good as the legendary Taxi Driver (Scorsese's best that I've seen), but still a worthy film of the Scorsese seal of approval.