I'm Gonna Make 'Em Some Movies They Can't RefuseAug 26 '01 (Updated Apr 02 '02) Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line If you have any sort of liking for underworld crime, be it mob or whatever, these are the pics you should see.
Organized crime movies aka mob, heist, scams, cons, and thefts have always caught my fancy to a great degree. They uncover the underground that few people see, often times in a very unrealistic manner, but I think what is so intriguing about good mob movies, or what have you, is that they completely take us away from the white picket fence images of the world and show us something a little bit more dirty and gruff. Believe it or not, that was not a run-on sentence. Before I begin, I will give my semi-regular disclaimer that not all movies that deal with organized crime are on this. If movies only just scratched the surface of the mob, they have not been added to any section of this review. JFK was left off the top five simply because I've already written at least two separate reviews of it. GoodFellas is great but I wanted to review both Godfathers while at the same time avoiding another Italian mafia review. A full length review of that movie will be written sometime in the near to not-so-distant future. And at last, the movies. The Sting ***** Starring: Robert Redford, Paul Newman, Ray Walston dir. George Roy Hill This is the greatest con movie of all time. I will be plain in saying that I have never seen or heard of any con movie that is as good as this one. I had originally thought, before watching The Sting, that the master of the con movie (not mob or any other) had not been perfected until the late 80s to early 90s. I was dead wrong. Just look at the pairing, one of the greatest on screen duos ever: Robert Redford and Paul Newman. The Sting basically chronicles the maturation of young gun con artist looking for a mentor to teach him about the big time. Enter Newman who takes the kid under his wing and shows him what the business really is. Numerous little plot twists and an ending that probably satisfied me more than almost any other ending I've ever seen. It's completely unexpected. Look out for Ray Walston in a relatively minor role, but he always fills the screen with his presence. And at last we come to George Roy Hill, whose direction is perfect for this type of movie, good camera angles, some nice movement makes this not only a well-written and well-acted piece, but a very nice visual picture as well. Traffic ***** Starring: Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Don Cheadle, Dennis Quaid, Luis Guzman, Jacob Vargas, James Brolin, Albert Finney, Salma Hayek dir. Steven Soderbergh One of the most groundbreakingly stunning motion pictures I've seen. Never has a film gone so deeply into the drug problem between Mexico and the United States. Traffic really made me want to see Soderbergh's other work (which, for the record isn't that great) Sex, Lies, and Videotape and Erin Brockovich. But the way he directs this film is absolutely terrific, using very slick methods and colors for the upper crust suburban scenes and then a gritty and rustic film stock for the scenes in Mexico. Plotwise, Douglas the new drug czar is trying to find ways to put a stop to the highly dangerous and problematic drug trafficking between the U.S. Mexican border. A Mexican cop wants to try and quell the drug bosses in his own country and work with the U.S. Numerous other subplots are run, which would take a very long time to explain. But the characters realize that to fight the drug problem is nearly futile, yet it is a war they still must attempt to wage. A very complex and interesting film that addresses drugs on every level, including the ghettos in America, the military in Mexico, and affluent areas in the U.S. In my mind, this film should have definitely won Best Picture of Gladiator any day. Also great performances by Cheadle, Guzman, Zeta-Jones, and Del Toro who was well-deserving of his Supporting Actor Oscar. The movie, I will warn is very long, but worth every single minute of it. The Godfather (Parts I and II) ***** Starring: Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Diane Keaton dir. Francis Ford Coppola Written by: Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo Based on The Godfather books by Mario Puzo Both of these movies won Best Picture in their respective years. They embrace the classic story of the Corleones, created by Puzon and brought to life by Coppola. Some people claim that these flicks glorify the mob, they do, blatantly, but that doesn't change the fact that they are two of the best movies made. In the first, the aging Don Corleone (Brando in an Oscar winning performance) must cope with the passage of the family onto his son, Michael (Pacino), and the death of another, Sonny (Caan) while still trying to keep the family in power. In Part II, Pacino now has control of the family and must fight to protect it from enemies and rival mobs. Part of the second installment is also told in flashback that explains how the old Don came to power. These are filmed in complete Italian with De Niro starring as the young Don Corleone (Brando's Corleone). Excellent acting on the parts of Pacino, Brando, and especially De Niro. I can't get enough of this saga, however, I heard Part III was fairly bad and I don't want to see it so as not to ruin the first two great flicks. Both movies take up two VHS tapes each, but you won't get bored watching them. "You broke my heart 'Fredo." Did you really expect an "Organized Crime" movie list with these two? The Usual Suspects ***** Starring: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Bryne, Stephen Baldwin, Kevin Pollack, Benicio Del Toro, Pete Postelthwite My friends for years urged me to see this movie, and I'm thankful they did. This movie just ties your competence of plot into knots. You have no idea what's going on, even though you think you do. Spacey earned himself an Oscar for Supporting Actor, not many films like this get that kind of recognition, which goes to show you how good it really is. Bryne puts forth a great performance as the man whose past catches up with him at every corner. He makes terrific lead actor for film noir like this. But Spacey must receive his due, playing the crippled Quint who seems to know a great deal about the international mob occurrences in the past few days, but then appears too stupid to know much of anything. Other notables include Del Toro and even Baldwin who hasn't shown his acting "prowess" in much besides this. In a business where you don't know who to trust, one man owns the hearts of all criminals: Keyser Soze, the enigmatic Hungarian who strikes terror into everyone's heart. The element of Keyser Soze really adds a great deal, and the unmasking is probably the best executed one I've seen. You'll be surprised, I guarantee it. What really caught me about the movie was the title as well. All the ordinary suspects getting caught up in everything unordinary. A must for noir fans. Casino ***** Starring: Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Sharon Stone, James Woods, Kevin Pollack, Alan King, Frankie Avalon dir. Martin Scorcese A very well-directed movie about the manager of the Tangiers casino played by De Niro who watches his gambling establishment fall to pieces after the mob loses control of Las Vegas. Based partially on true happenings, Casino is a marathon of a film that follows De Niro and Pesci, two boyhood friends, one a mob affiliate and the other, as already mentioned, a casino manager. Pesci is excellent, but he does play almost the exact same character as he did in GoodFellas, but he does it so well. Stone earned an Oscar nomination for her performance which, while I though wasn't worthy of the honor, was still a good showing. De Niro is a bit wooden in a few scenes, but overall a very nice job from him as well. It's important to know that the film is very brutal at times, the ever-ruthless Pesci goes so far as to stick ice picks in a man's genitals, put his head in a vice and torture him to get the man to talk. Then after acquiring the information he slits the man's throat. Pesci also stabs a man in the neck numerous times with a pen, a very gutwrenching but somehow invigorating scene (that's the my interest in violence seeping out there). Scorcese, in his usual style, makes everything very vivid, always moving, always colorful, and always a visual feast. A plain good mob film. Before I list some other worthwile and bad flicks, if anyone can offer an answer as to why Americans have such a love affair with the Italian mafia, please tell me. I know why I love it, but I'm curious as to why you do. Muchos gracias. Honorable Mentions Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid **** - Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross Carlito's Way **** - Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo, Luis Guzman dir. Brian DePalma GoodFellas ***** - Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Samuel L. Jackson dir. Martin Scorcese JFK (Director's Cut) ***** - Kevin Costner, Sissy Spacek, Tommy Lee Jones, Joe Pesci, Gary Oldman, Kevin Bacon, Wayne Knight, John Candy, Jack Lemmon, Ed Asner, Walter Mattheau, Vincent D'Onofrio, Donald Sutherland, Jim Garrison dir. Oliver Stone Reservoir Dogs **** - Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn, Steve Buscemi, Quentin Tarantino dir. Quentin Tarantino The Score **** - Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando, Angela Bassett dir. Frank Oz Snatch **** - Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Vinnie Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Rode Sherbedgia, Dennis Farina dir. Guy Ritchie writ. Guy Ritchie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels **** - Jason Statham, Rode Sherbedgia dir. Guy Ritchie writ. Guy Ritchie The Untouchables ***** - Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro dir. Brian DePalma Decent Crime Flicks Entrapment *** - Sean Connery, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ving Rhames Face/Off *** - Nicolas Cage, John Travolta, Joan Allen, Gina Gershon dir. John Woo Sexy Beast *** - Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane The French Connection *** - Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider Prizzi's Honor *** - Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston Pulp Fiction *** - John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Uma Thurman, Ving Rhames, Tom Roth, Amanda Plummer, Harvey Keitel, Christopher Walken, Quentin Tarantino, Phil LaMarr, Steve Buscemi dir. Quentin Tarantino The Thomas Crown Affair *** - Pierce Brosnan, Rene Russo, Faye Dunaway Bad Crime Movies Gone in Sixty Seconds ** - Nicolas Cage, Angelina Jolie, Delroy Lindo, Robert Duvall, Giovanni Rabisci, Scott Caan Ronin ** - Robert De Niro, Jonathon Pryce, Sean Bean  |
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