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Bostonian916 (449 KP) rated Gotti (2018) in Movies

Aug 6, 2020  
Gotti (2018)
Gotti (2018)
2018 | Biography, Crime, Drama
4
5.8 (6 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
I've learned that I must come to accept that we may never again see the quality of gangster films that Hollywood churned out during the 70's-90's. Gotti is another example of a poorly executed attempt to retell a story that deserves to be told, but misses the mark by about a million miles.

John Travolta can only be partially blamed for this failure. He was exactly what you would expect him to be if you have ever seen his acting ability. The story he was attempting to convey was the true criminal. Convoluted and disoriented from the start, it was never able to get on its feet, let alone take a step in a forward direction. I'm not sure there is any actor alive who could have made up for the deficiencies everywhere you look in this movie.

I've definitely seen much worse, even in this genre. But I had high hopes and they were abruptly shattered.
  
    Rififi (1955)

    Rififi (1955)

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Movie

    After five years in prison, Tony le Stéphanois meets his dearest friends Jo and the Italian Mario...

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Andy K (10821 KP) rated Scarface (1983) in Movies

Feb 7, 2019  
Scarface (1983)
Scarface (1983)
1983 | Action, Drama, Mystery
10
8.6 (23 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Say hello to a modern classic!
Brian DePalma has had an interesting career making some truly classic films and a lot of real crap. Obviously, this film is the former and is probably his best work.

A role written for Al Pacino by Oliver Stone, the story is a basic one I suppose, the rise of a Cuban drug lord. The old replaced by the new. Gruesome violence (a lot of which isn't actually seen, but heard and implied).

The film still holds up as a tour de force performance by Pacino and an epic drug gangster film that has not been equaled.

The cinematography and beautiful look of the film is also interesting in that it seems to capture the locale well even though they only filmed in south Florida for a few weeks (the locals heard about the making of the film and decided they didn't like the idea of it before even seeing).

One of my all time favorites!
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Raid 2 (2014) in Movies

Feb 19, 2019 (Updated Jul 29, 2019)  
The Raid 2 (2014)
The Raid 2 (2014)
2014 | Action, Adventure
9
8.2 (35 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Astoundingly violent sequel to The Raid (hope that doesn't constitute a spoiler). Hapless but extremely handy cop Rama is obliged to go undercover in the Malaysian underworld and infiltrate one of the major crime families. The plot is complex and coherent, surprisingly so for a martial arts action movie, but it's all really just a pretext for jaw-droppingly lavish, inventive and brutal fight sequences. Film doesn't shy away from the consequences of violence - at one point the first time I watched this, someone pulled a claw hammer out of their bag and I found myself instinctively cringing down in my seat in anticipation of the crunching gore to come.

Nevertheless, the film is lifted not just by the director's grasp of pacing and camerawork, but by some surprisingly strong performances. I imagine many people will not be able to take the intensity and violence of this film, but that doesn't lessen its achievement. Not the greatest gangster movie ever, nor the greatest martial arts film, but almost certainly the most accomplished fusion of the two genres.
  
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Andy K (10821 KP) Jul 29, 2019

One of the best action films ever made!