Tagarchief: Frank Vincent

This Thing of Ours (2002)

Posted on by Jeppe Kleijngeld


‘21st Century Criminals, 21st Century Payoff…’

Directed by:
Danny Provenzano

Written by:
Ted A. Bohus
Danny Provenzano

Cast:
Frank Vincent (Danny Santini), Vincent Pastore (Skippy), Danny Provenzano (Nicholas Santini), Edward Lynch (Johnny Irish), Louis Vanaria (Austin Palermo), Christian Maelen (Robert Biaggio), Chuck Zito (Chuck), Michael DelGaizo (Patsy deGrazio), Pat Cooper (John Bruno), James Caan (Jimmy ‘the Con’)

During the height of the phenomenon that was The Sopranos, this low budget independent mob movie was released starring many familiar mob actors, some of whom that were featured in the show, like Vincent Pastore (Big Pussy Ponpensiero), but also Frank Vincent – who would be introduced in The Sopranos two years later, and also James Caan (!), although he is just in one scene, yet featured on the cover in a clever marketing move.

But the film’s most intriguing element isn’t on-screen, it’s the backstory. Writer, director, and star Danny Provenzano was reportedly connected. His script was obviously strong enough to attract these mob-film veterans, yet he barely got to enjoy the release. Weeks before its nationwide theatrical debut, Provenzano pleaded guilty to racketeering and began serving a 10-year prison sentence.

Can wiseguys thrive in the 21st century? That’s the central question of the movie. Provenzano plays Nicky, a mobster with an ambitious plan: using a special microchip to transfer over a billion dollars to a secret Cuban bank account. His uncle Danny (Frank Vincent) must approve and finance the scheme. Success would bring not just massive profits but also a rise through the rigid ranks of their crime family. The problem is that both the FBI and rivals within their own family are making plans as well, leaving the multi-million-dollar heist balanced on a knife’s edge.

The concept is solid, but the execution stumbles. Only one scene truly delivers on the promise of 21st-century mobsters. This happens when Nicky and his crew pitch their digital heist to their greasy old bosses. The rest of the film offers the usual wiseguy dialogue and violence, none of it fresh. It adds nothing new to the overexploited genre, and Provenzano’s intended statement about the Cosa Nostra – whether they can adapt or if the life itself is a curse – never comes into focus.

Rating:

Quote:
ROBERT BIAGGIO: “It’s about time we brought that thing of ours into the 21st century, huh?”

Trivia:
Apart from mob veterans Frank Vincent, James Caan and Vincent Pastore, it also stars other mob regulars Joseph Rigano (Casino, Analyze This), Vinny Vella (Casino, The Sopranos), and Daniel P. Conte (GoodFellas, The Sopranos).

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.