[7] An unusual sequel of sorts, The Godfather Part II spends equal time in the past and the present, exploring the early life of Vito Corleone (with Robert DeNiro taking over the mantle from Marlon Brando) while also following the continuing story of Vito’s son Michael (Al Pacino reprises his role). Thematically and emotionally, the movie plays like a long and redundant epilogue to the first …
[7] Robert DeNiro stars a mobster who builds a gambling empire in Las Vegas only to see it threatened by relationships with his best friend, played by Joe Pesci, and his loose canon wife, played by Sharon Stone. Martin Scorsese directs and co-wrote the screenplay with novelist Nicholas Pileggi. Casino is the sort of movie that is a little bit interesting to me for it’s …
[8] Robert DeNiro directs from a script by Eric Roth this taught, engaging, mysterious, and surprisingly emotional story about the birth of the CIA. Matt Damon stars, serving as our window into a world full of secrets and deception. Damon’s reserved cool gives costars Angelina Jolie and Eddie Redmayne plenty to act against, playing the wife and son who always get second fiddle to career …
[8] Two con artists (Christian Bale and Amy Adams) get roped by an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) into a scheme to bring down an earnest mayor (Jeremy Renner) and as many congressmen as possible. But when the mafia (headed by Robert DeNiro) get embroiled in the ruse, allegiances get dicey. American Hustle is from one of my favorite writer/directors, David O. Russell (Three Kings, Silver …
[9] I don’t generally like heist/swindle movies, but this Quentin Tarantino flick (his third, because he’s counting) based on a novel by Elmore Leonard got under my skin with its rich characters and dialogue. Pam Grier plays a flight attendant who smuggles gun money from Mexico to the States for a bad motherfucker played by, who else? Samuel L. Jackson. But when ATF agents (Michael …
[10] Al Pacino is Vincent Hanna of the LAPD robbery/homicide division. Robert DeNiro is Neil McCauley, the leader of a successful bank robbing team that includes his protege Chris Shiherlis, played by Val Kilmer. After a fouled-up heist puts Hanna on McCauley’s trail, Heat becomes an elaborate cat and mouse chase between a driven police lieutenant and a seasoned criminal. Even though it’s grounded in …
[9] “As boys, they said they would die for each other. As men, they did.” Once Upon a Time in America is an epic, gorgeous, emotionally moving gangster flick from spaghetti western maestro Sergio Leone (The Good the Bad and the Ugly). Robert DeNiro stars as ‘Noodles’, a former Prohibition-era gangster returning to Lower-East Manhattan after thirty-five years in self-imposed exile over the deaths of …
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