Saturday, September 11, 2010

178. Casino

Casino (1995)

Director : Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro
Joe Pesci
Sharon Stone

IMDb Rating: 8
My Rating: 7.5

"I think in all fairness, I should explain to you exactly what it is that I do. For instance tomorrow morning I'll get up nice and early, take a walk down over to the bank and... walk in and see and, uh... if you don't have my money for me, I'll crack your [bleep] head wide-open in front of everyone in the bank. And just about the time that I'm comin' out of jail, hopefully, you'll be coming out of your coma. And guess what? I'll split your [bleep] head open again. Cause I'm [bleep] stupid. I don't give a [bleep] about jail. That's my business. That's what i do."

Synopsis

Sam "Ace" Rothstein (Robert De Niro) is one of the best gambling handicappers around. So good in fact that he is called upon to oversee operations at Tangiers in Las Vegas. Sam attempts to run the casino legitimately as possible and live a normal life with his wife and daughter, although his ties to the Mob are deep. When Sam's childhood friend Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) comes to Vegas to assist him at the casino, Sam starts to see his life crumbling around him.

What's so great about Casino?

Casino is a great example of a director and his actors working in their element. Director Martin Scorsese excels with the "organized crime" genre, especially when you have gangster film professionals like Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci in front of the camera. Also, the look of "Old Vegas" feels truly authentic. Gone are the family friendly areas on the strip. This is the true adult playground in the twilight of it's existence.

Anything not so great?

The thing that separates Casino from other films of it's kind, it the lack of a genuine feeling of love between De Niro and Sharon Stone. I never really feel sympathy for Sharon Stone's character, as I feel she is just along for the ride. She was a hustler, got pregnant, and their marriage was a result of that. So when she goes all batty, it's more laughable than emotionally affecting. Her turn in the film would have been stronger had there been something real between the two.

Best Scene

Without giving anything away, a cornfield and baseball bats.

Does Casino belong in the 250?

There are films that were left off the 250 that I do feel were better than Casino. While it is good, it's inclusion in the 250 seems to be riding on the coat tails of Scorsese and De Niro.

Final Words

While Casino is a good film, it's not on par with Scorsese's other gangster films like Goodfellas or The Departed. Don't get me wrong, I like this film. I would probably watch it again, but even I give it a little more credit than it probably deserves. Overall, Casino is a good film, but there are other films of it's kind I would seek out before this one.

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