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GoodFellas (1990)
GoodFellas (1990)
1990 | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Perhaps the jewel in the crown of Scorsese’s gangster movies, from a fine crop. Adopting the voice of Henry Hill (a career defining role for Ray Liotta) as narrator is the first point of difference, and it works with tremendous effect. The suggestion is we are watching one man’s version of events that may or may not be entirely true. It is a relentless piece of cinema, that drives with complete bravado through each scene of shocking violence, machismo and greed. Too many memorable moments to mention… De Niro’s fountain pen; Pesci’s “Funny How?”, etc. A high level of rewatchabilty sets it above a lot of its rivals. It never judges or preaches to us, but lets us feel bad for enjoying the often repellent acts as so much fun! A product of 90s extremism, but never gratuitous. Simply a joy to watch and a nailed on classic.
  
War Dogs (2016)
War Dogs (2016)
2016 | Comedy, Drama
Good direction (3 more)
Scorsese influence
Soundtrack
Bradley Cooper
Fresher Than A Hangover
The craziest thing about this story is that it is based on two real life young men that made a fortune online becoming international arms dealers. Going in I expected a film similar to The Hangover, since it too was directed by Todd Phillips and both movies feature Bradley Cooper, however what I got was more of a Scorsese homage and in the best possible way. The story is narrated by Miles Teller’s character David Packouz, who acts as the audience surrogate, (the Henry Hill of this movie,) we are taken on this ride from his perspective and he narrates the whole thing. This alone is a trait borrowed from the great Martin Scorsese, but when the film also features freeze framing and quotes being used to begin chapters it is clear what this film is trying to be, but I admire its blatancy and if there is someone that you should take from when crafting a film, it is Martin Scorsese. Efraim Diveroli is played by Jonah Hill and he is the character that takes us on this rollercoaster journey. His performance here is fantastically intolerable, he is harsh, rude and borderline insane, but much like Joe Pesci’s performance as Tommy DeVito in Goodfellas, he is endearing and impossible to take your eyes off of whenever he is onscreen. Bradley Cooper also steals the few scenes that he appears in and overall this movie is proof that Phillips can handle telling a more serious, realistic story and doesn’t have to rely on Zach Galifinakis pretending to have learning difficulties to gain a few laughs.