Casino (1995)

"Casino" is another modern classic from Martin Scorsese. Drawing parallels with his earlier "Goodfellas" , "Casino" again teams Scorsese up with writer Nicholas Pileggi having De Niro & Joe Pesci in lead traditional favourite of Scorsese. The result is a truly engaging tale of mobsters setting up a new gambling empire in Las Vegas and the subsequent ripple effects that involve the local authorities and the police.

 A joy from beginning to end, "Casino" is an example of a perfect movie. There's nothing you'd want to change about this film. It's full of memorable scenes that are rich with outstanding performances and dialogue and it simply demands a repeat viewing.

Casino spans three decades and chronicles the true story of a faction of the mob who ran Las Vegas casinos. Robert De Niro plays Sam Ace Rothstein, a fantastic bookie who is chosen to run the Tangiers hotel and Casino. Along the way, he marries a drug-addicted con-artist trophy wife (Sharon Stone) and struggles with his friendship with loose-cannon Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci). Rothstein is a complicated figure in that he is not a heavy, yet he wields a lot of power due to the respect he has gained from his mob bosses back home.

Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci are both fantastic in their roles, and Sharon Stone actually turned out a non-irritating performance. As the viewer, you can't stand her, but that is the point. Scorsese seems to have several different directing styles, and Casino follows in the tradition of Goodfellas as a pseudo-documentary. A lot of the exposition is revealed by the characters themselves in the form of voice-overs, and several scenes are filmed in documentarian fashion. The entire production however, is sleek and very quick. The use of music bears mentioning as well: Most Martin Scorsese films have an amazing soundtrack that adds to and enhances the scene. Scorsese doesn't just utilize the soundtrack, he makes it part of the storytelling - by the music, we chronologically know what time period we are witnessing, since one cannot rely on other factors, such as fashion alone. One of my favorite scenes in film which effectively involves music is actually from Casino - the very intense scene when the relationship between DeNiro, Stone and Pesci come to a head in the climax of the film. The pounding music cut throughout this scene is a cover of "Satisfaction" by Devo and the result is absolutely brilliant.

Being a complete movie buff, I generally don't watch films that feature certain stars, I go to films by certain directors and Scorsese is definitely one of them. The man is a complete genius, and a gift to any movie buff - my suggestion is to watch some of his films, then check out his unbelievable series, "A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies" which was done the same year as Casino. The series is essentially a primer on the history of film, sectioned off by film genres. You not only will experience his amazing intellect and massive knowledge of film history, but his incredible humility as well.

Casino has to be one of the most underrated films that Martin Scorsese directed in the nineties. The acting by the leads is good and the script is excellent. Robert De Niro gave an Oscar worthy performance and Joe Pesci is chilling yet funny again. Even Sharon Stone is good in this brilliant film.

My Rating – 9/10

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

This movie review by me is an attempt to improve my image in eyes of all those people who have always complained that I write movie reviews without interacting much with the reader,  So here goes the review of Ferris Bueller's Dy Off  keeping in mind my XI standard days of missing the school 48-times in a year.
  Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller), widely liked by everyone in his community decides to take a day off from a school. He plays hookie with his friends Cameron Frye (Alan Ruck) and Sloane Peterson (Mia Sara) and enjoys a day in Chicago. There's only one person who can stop the fun and that's the principal Ed Rooney (Jeffrey Jones). And Ferris' sister Jeanie (Jennifer Grey). OK, that's two persons. Ferris is a slacker but in his parents' eyes Ferris a perfect angel. So can Ferris get away with his plan or will he get caught?

Seeking the company of his best friend Cameron to loan him his father's car which is a super sports car and the pride and joy of his father. Cameron is rather reluctant about getting his father's car but Ferris overcomes and they also take along Sloane Peterson,  girlfriend of Ferris and they all head to Chicago, Illinios and have a ball going to baseball game at Wrigley Field, an expensive place to eat and visit the Art Museum. The movie is filled with some cool comic scenes involving his Principal and his witty tricks to fool people around him to get the things done in a manner he really wants. Don't miss the Greatest scene of the movie when Ferris gets up and sings TWist & ShOut  by Beatles along with the parade making everyone out there dance.
I admit that storyline is paper thin, and there isn't much substance that it contributes to the movie ,but at the same time we also don't want some complex storyline in a teen comedy. The dialogue for this movie has received such a following that it has even been printed on shirts and recited at parties by true fans of the film. I don't blame them. It's a classic!  Afterall, JOHN HUGHES is best at this......

My Rating - 9/10

Witness (1985)

It is a film about adults, whose lives have dignity and whose choices matter to them. The story focuses on a detective (Harrison Ford) protecting a young Amish boy who becomes the target of a ruthless killer after he witnesses a brutal murder.
Witness is as much about the meeting of cultures as about cops and robbers, this is one of those lucky movies which works out well on all counts and shows that there are still craftsmen lurking in Hollywood. The film is powerful, assured, full of beautiful imagery and devoid of easy moralising, which is good.
Ford is Chicago Detective John Book, assigned to investigate a murder that was committed by crooked cop Danny Glover. The only witness is the son of an Amish widow, played by Kelly McGillis. When Book gets too close to the truth, the crooked cops try to kill him, forcing Book to take it on the lamb and hide out in the Amish country. There, he slowly makes a transition into their society, their way of life, and of course, he starts to fall for Kelly McGillis. (who would later star with pretty boy Cruise in "Top Gun").
Alexander Godunov, who later played the murderous Karl in "Die Hard", makes his debut here as an Amish farmer who is, Ford's romantic rival for Kelly. Also making his debut here is a much younger Viggo Mortensen as another Amish father. Mortensen's barely evident in the role out here,although had his eventual success as Aragorn in "Lord of the Rings" ........
After Star Wars & Indiana Jones,Ford succeeded in a serious role and his multi-layered performance earned him his only Oscar Nomination till date.Well directed Romantic Thriller by Peter Weir (Director of Dead poet's Society and Truman Show) that earned him his first Academy Award Nomination. Do watch this one for great Cinematography and Artwork

My Rating - 8/10

Gattaca (1997)

Director Andrew Niccol's Gattaca, in my humble opinion, is  the peak of the motion picture art form. All aspects of the production serve the story spectacularly.

Vincent (Ethan Hawke) is one of rare naturally born children, who is condemned to die in young age with 99% percent probability. Vincent wants nothing more than to be an astronaut, so he buys himself a different life as Jerome (Jude Law), who has been crippled in an accident. From here begins Vincent's deception game to reach the stars.
Basically the plot deals with the issues of human spirit: what Vincent can achieve despite of his condition. Can he be better than the perfect people? Can he deceive everyone? Also there are lots of issues between the perfect and their humane flaws and how Vincent as flawed contrast with them.

Gattaca represents a rare genre of intellectual sci-fi movies that contains minimal amount of action and none of larger than life stuff (usual weapons and monsters kind)  This kind of  genre is heavily relied on the actors and settings. Settings for Gattaca are originally adapted where the future children are not conceived naturally, but through genetic engineering. This has brought up new kind of racism: perfect versus flawed

Watching Ethan Hawke's role as Vincent evade the relentless pursuit of the authorities while trying to be on the Titan mission, romancing Irene (Uma Thurman), and micro-managing his samples from Jerome (Jude Law in a very impressive supporting turn) made for some the most riveting viewing ever.

The best part for me regarding the movie is the greed and passion Hawke carries to be successful on his mission despite the disabilities on his side......At that point of time it doesn't matter wether he gets caught or not but his passion really stole my heart giving an insight into the hard work he really does although is not very legal though...

Do watch the movie for great screenplay,stunning cars,and great sets and decoration and Uma Thurman delivering a great performance in one of the most glamorous role of  her career accompanied by excellent acting of two leads well played by Eathan Hawke and Jude Law. The retro-style art direction, script, acting, music, and lighting all brought to life, much too chillingly, a cold and soulless world where the content of your genes counted for everything while the content of your character counted for nothing.

My Rating  - 9/10