Tagarchief: Casino

Bulletproof Gangster (2011)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘Based on the true story of Danny Greene the man the mob couldn’t kill’

Directed by:
Jonathan Hensleigh

Written by:
Jonathan Hensleigh
Jeremy Walters
Rick Porrello (book ‘To Kill the Irishman’)

Cast:
Ray Stevenson (Danny Greene), Vincent D’Onofrio (John Nardi), Val Kilmer (Joe Manditski), Christopher Walken (Shondor Birns), Linda Cardellini (Joan Madigan), Tony Darrow (Mikey Mendarolo), Robert Davi (Ray Ferritto), Fionnula Flanagan (Grace O’Keefe), Vinnie Jones (Keith Ritson), Steve Schirripa (Mike Frato)

Bulletproof Gangster (also known as Kill the Irishman, after the book it’s based on) is a biopic about former union man turned Irish mob boss Danny Greene, set during the Cleveland Mafia war of the 1970s, in which his enemies failed time and again to kill him. Hence the title although Kill the Irishman might be more fitting, since they mostly tried to kill him with bombs rather than bullets.

It’s a classic rags-to-riches story. Greene starts as a dockworker, albeit a well-read one. He didn’t finish school but was famously self-educated. With the backing of mobster John Nardi, he rises to become a popular union president.

Meanwhile, his old neighborhood friend Joe (Val Kilmer) joins the Cleveland PD, following his former friend’s career and narrating the story. After Greene’s arrest, he’s barred from union work for life, so he enters the garbage business with mobster Jack Licavoli’s blessing.

But when mob boss John Scalish – who ran the Cleveland mob since the 1940s – dies, a brutal gang war erupts between Greene and Nardi on one side and Licavoli on the other. That summer, bomb after bomb rocks Cleveland, killing many gangsters. How long can the seemingly blessed Irishman survive?

This gangland tale covers one of the few untold chapters of American Mafia history. Director Jonathan Hensleigh, screenwriter of Die Hard With a Vengeance, clearly has a penchant for explosives, and it shows in this appropriately explosive film. The cast features many familiar faces from gangster movies, including Paul Sorvino as Tony Salerno.

Of the cast members, especially Vincent D’Onofrio and Christopher Walken stand out as the historical mob figures John Nardi and Jewish gang boss Shondor Birns.

Bulletproof Gangster might not be a biopic as captivating as GoodFellas, Casino or Donnie Brasco, but offers what you might expect: an entertaining mob film with one retaliation after the other.

Rating:

Quote:
DANNY GREENE: “I’m an Irish catholic with the grace of God on my shoulder. I’m not going anywhere until he says so.”

Trivia:
The plot to kill the Irishman (Danny Greene) involved an unprecedented breach of FBI security when a clerk was bribed by the mob and actually stole a list of confidential informants from a top secret room. Cleveland agents acted quickly, plugging the leak and arresting their clerk.

The Departed (2006)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


Cops or Criminals. When you’re facing a loaded gun what’s the difference?

Directed by:
Martin Scorsese

Written by:
William Monahan (screenplay)
Alan Mak (screenplay Mou gaan dou)
Felix Chong (screenplay Mou gaan dou)

Cast:
Leonardo DiCaprio (Billy Costigan), Matt Damon (Colin Sullivan), Jack Nicholson (Frank Costello), Mark Wahlberg (Dignam), Martin Sheen (Queenan), Ray Winstone (Mr. French), Vera Farmiga (Madolyn), Anthony Anderson (Brown), Alec Baldwin (Ellerby), Kevin Corrigan (Cousin Sean)

A remake of the 2002 Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs by one of the greatest American directors of all time. That can’t go wrong, right? The Academy certainly didn’t seem to think so, awarding the film Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Scorsese’s first!), Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Film Editing. While some might see this as recognition long overdue, the film earns its accolades.

The Departed is a fantastic crime thriller, even if it may not be Scorsese’s very best. The main point of discussion for some is that it’s not a completely original film. The movie opens with The Rolling Stones’ ‘Gimme Shelter’, a great track that sets the tone perfectly, though it was also used to memorable effect in Goodfellas.

Scorsese has dealt with the underworld before in Mean Streets, Casino, and GoodFellas. While those masterpieces were based on real-life stories and experiences, The Departed shows he can deliver a tightly plotted, suspenseful narrative with equal skill.

The plot does lend itself to many exciting twists and turns. Irish crime boss Frank Costello (a maniacal turn by Jack Nicholson) has a young spy, Colin Sullivan (Matt Damon), work his way up in the Boston police force. In return, the police assign young recruit Billy Costigan (Leonardo DiCaprio) to secretly infiltrate Costello’s hardened gang. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game begins that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

The Departed is a high-energy thriller with an amazing cast. Damon and DiCaprio are excellent in the lead roles, but the real fireworks come from Nicholson and his fellow villain Ray Winstone. Scorsese wisely cast the then-unknown Vera Farmiga as the female lead, and she’s excellent in her subtlety. The plot keeps you engaged for the full 151 minutes of its runtime, and while the characters might not have the same depth as in some of Scorsese’s other works, they serve the story well. The surprising climax, rather than feeling cold, delivers a satisfying and impactful ending.

If the film hadn’t been directed by Scorsese, the bar might not have been raised so high, but as it stands, The Departed is a highly entertaining and expertly crafted movie that not only meets but often exceeds its very high expectations.

Rating:

Quote:
FRANK COSTELLO: “I don’t want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me.”

Trivia:
Originally Brad Pitt was cast as Colin Sullivan, but later dropped out to work with Alejandro González Iñárritu in Babel. He continued to produce the film under his production company Plan B.

Casino (1995)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘No one stays at the top forever’

Directed by:
Martin Scorsese

Written by:
Nicholas Pileggi (book and screenplay)
Martin Scorsese (screenplay)

Cast:
Robert De Niro (Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein), Sharon Stone (Ginger McKenna), Joe Pesci (Nicky Santoro), James Woods (Lester Diamond), Frank Vincent (Frank Marino), Pasquale Cajano (Remo Gaggi), Kevin Pollak (Phillip Green), Don Rickles (Billy Sherbert), Vinny Vella (Artie Piscano), Alan King (Andy Stone)

With Casino, director Martin Scorsese has made another powerful statement about the gangster lifestyle, but like its setting Las Vegas, it is way flashier than its New York based predecessor GoodFellas. Scorsese regular Robert De Niro portrays Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein, an overly serious professional gambler, who is sent to Las Vegas by the Midwest Mafia to run the Tangiers Casino. This task is handled superbly by control freak Rothstein (“an equal amount of blueberries in each muffin”), but as Rothstein’s protector, gangster Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) explains in voice-over: “In the end, we fucked it all up”.

It is easy to see why Scorsese wanted to tell this real-life story, written by Nicholas Pileggi (who also wrote the book Wiseguy on which GoodFellas is based). There is some real poetry in this tale of greed and power. Rothstein, who plays every bet as safe as possible, takes a real chance by marrying the unstable hustler Ginger (Sharon Stone). He also miraculously survives an attempt on his life by an amazing coincidence. Two very interesting occurrences for a man who doesn’t believe in luck.

Visually, Scorsese takes Casino further than any of his previous movies. There are loads of terrific shots and camera moves. The fifty million dollar budget is well spent on beautiful seventies Vegas settings and to portray Rothstein’s and Ginger’s flamboyant lifestyle. The greed of this desert city is also visualised in what must be the largest amount of dollar shots in cinema history.

Pesci delivers a chilling performance as a psychopathic mobster. His Nicky Santoro is less of a loose cannon than his Tommy De Vito from GoodFellas, but he’s possibly even scarier and more violent. No surprise then, that Santoro is the biggest contributor to the extremely harsh violence Casino portrays. The infamous vice and baseball bat scenes are very unpleasant to look at, but many of the other killings are repellent and nasty as well.

Stone’s Ginger brings some balance to the business oriented and almost documentary-style story of the Mafia’s Las Vegas. Although some scenes of her drug problems and failing marriage with Rothstein feel repetitious, they are never dull. Stone, like De Niro, delivers a flawless performance. Some minor flaws don’t detract from Casino’s status as an absolute gangster classic.

Rating:

Quote:
NICKY SANTORO: “You called my friends a faggot? You told him to go fuck himself? Is that what you did? You told him to go fuck himself? You fuckin’ hick! You fuckin’ hick you! Come here!”

Trivia:
Among other Las Vegas regulars, veteran comedy headliners Alan King, Don Rickles, and Dick Smothers appear in major, non-comedic roles.