Casino

Rating:
Summary: falls flat
Review: the more you watch this one the worse off, you get,ITS like CARTOONoversimplyfied MANNERISMS grow WISH full filling EMTY FACADE, WHATS IT ABOUT ANYWAYS, director going for it ALL THE BIG EPIC GRANDEUR WITHOUT A STORY OR SCREENPLAY TO HOLD all these CLICHES up; it becomes like a parody of ITSELF,MOST HOLLYWOOD,SLUMMING OVERRATED,icon muck,done ever and ever simply morality plays hit me over the head again and again HAMMER,violence allways on edge,SMOKING DINEROS,ALWAYS PISSOFFED, stone is always beautiful and haggard, and that little short fat guy is always mean and a psycho.WHATS THE POINT WHERES THE ENJOYMENT IN being a voyeour to all these screenBLINd ALLEYS ,CHEAP AND EMPTY ,no hummor,MIRRORS TO STUPENDOUS echo future,WHERES THE PAYoff?

Rating:
Summary: Casino - Another Scorsese classic!
Review: As stated above, "Casino" is another in a long list of director Martin Scorsese's classic films that can be described as a "must see" for fans of the mob movie genre. As is usual with a Martin Scorsese mob film, it is "loosely" based on the true story of Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal. Although the film is not quite as fast paced as "Goodfellas" or some of Scorsese's other works, it is definitely a very worthwhile endeavor to watch this movie.

The star of this film is of course, Robert DeNiro in the lead role of "Ace" Rosenthal and his performance is as spectacular as usual, lending heavily to his "mob" persona. Joe Pesci does another outstanding job in the role of Nicky Santoro. The truly outstanding performance of this movie and probably her best performance ever came from Sharon Stone in the role of Ginger Mckenna/Rosenthal. In no uncertain terms, she truly out did herself with her performance in the role of a woman who went from one end of the extreme to the other. I find it truly surprising that she didn't win an Oscar for this performance.

The score for the film fit perfectly with every scene, adding beautifully to every moment of the film.

The Premise:

"Casino" tells the tale of how the mafia came to power within the Las Vegas casinos and the town itself and then, given its "nature," ultimately brought about its own end by resorting to their usual practices, leaving big corporations to take over and turning it into an "adult Disneyland."

"Ace" Rosenthal a Jewish man who has very close ties to the mafia because he grew up with Nicky Santoro, is given the opportunity to go to Las Vegas and run the Tangiers Casino, based on his past performance as a great earner for the family. The "family" is quite pleased due to the amount of money they start bringing in and in an effort to continue making that kind of money; they send Nicky Santoro to Vegas to help protect "Ace."

Here is where the problems begin due to Nicky Santoro's sadistic nature and his less than subtle style and he soon starts receiving a lot of "Federal" attention. At the same time, "Ace" is trying to hold together his marriage with Ginger, who is an alcoholic and she cannot truly shake her childhood friend Lester Diamond who is a degenerate gambler and cocaine addict.

Taking these pressures and the continued pressure from the bosses for their skim, the movie culminates into a classic and memorable mob movie ending.

Although I wouldn't rate "Casino" as highly as "Goodfellas," I highly recommend this film to any and all fans of the genre. {ssintrepid}

Special Features:

This is the one true disappointment of the DVD as it is woefully lacking in special features; which ultimately is fine considering that's it's all about the movie in the end.

- Production notes
- Actor bios
- 1 Theatrical trailer

Rating:
Summary: DeNiro Never Lets Us Down!!!
Review: Casino is an excellent film about the rise and fall of an empire in the gambling haven, Las Vegas.

Robert DeNiro plays Sam "Ace" Rothstein, a cunning and smart business man who gets into the casino business. He is given a casino to run, mostly because of his reputation for always winning, by the mob who get their cuts of the money one way or the other (i.e. lying, stealing, murdering, etc.). Joe Pesci stars as Ace's best friend Nicky Santoro who is sent to Las Vegas to protect him. Nicky has a tendency to be a ruthless and merciless person, so he eventually gets into a lot of trouble, making it harder and harder for Ace to stand by him. Sharon Stone stars as Ginger, a hustler, call-girl, and junkie who Ace falls in love with and persuades to marry and have a child with him. She agrees, not because she loves him but because she sees the money, jewels, cars, and houses all awaiting her.

Soon things start to go wrong. Ginger comes inbetween Ace and Nicky and the Tangiers casino is investigated by the FBI. All the while Ace tries to keep everything as legitimate as possible because he's a smart business man who's made a lot of money in Vegas. He doesn't want his success (and his reputation) to be ruined.

Even though this film lasts three hours, it did not seem that long. This film held my interest the entire time and had me wondering what was going to happen next. There are some rather brutal and violent scenes in the film - I actually had to cover my eyes a few times because the scenes became too graphic - but that is expected in this type of mobster film.

I would definitely suggest this film to anyone whether you like mob films or not. This is one to see. Mr. Robert DeNiro always come through and gives a stellar performance!!!

Rating:
Summary: Running A casino, A gambler's Dream
Review: This movie was excellent, it catches the depth that people from the street, get chances at the big time. Unlike in this movie, De Niro does get the chance, but being a guy from the street, with a very crazy loyal friend(Pesci) he screws everthing up. Bringing no more chances to street guys like them. Martin Scorsese one of my favorite directors, captures a simple good guy, bad guy plot, with a certain twist, being that De Niro, can be a bad and good guy when he wants to. Another thing I love about this movie is Joe Pesci's loyalty to a friend. You talk bad about De Niro, you get screwed by Pesci, simple as that. As the title refers to, running a casino would be a gambler's dream, i mean how fun do you think it would be to catch a cheater, and break his hand with a hammer. This movie is great, Sharon Stone also plays an excellent role, as Ginger, who also leads to De Niro(Ace) to fall from the top..... Brilliant

Rating:
Summary: Goodfellas meets Las Vegas, another great Deniro role
Review: Another great Scorcese Picture. Deniro is back as Sam Rothstein, the man who runs the Tangiers Hotel and Casino, and the mobs operation of skimming the money. His backup is Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro nuch like Tommy( his role from Goddefellas), he is a ruthless s.o.b. who will take anybody out. In this film he stabs a man with a pen, shoots a woman in her own kitchen and puts a guy's head in a vice grip. Also in the film is Sharon Stone as Ginger, Sam's wife who betrays him. This movie is about a different Las Vegas, the one the mob ran. But in the end, what goes up must come down. The glitz, glamour, and great cast which also includes James Woods, Frank Vincent, Alan King,and more add up to one thing..... a great film. One of my favorites

Rating:
Summary: Robert De Niro is the man
Review: This is one of the best movies I have ever seen! Robert Di Niro, Joe Pesci, and Sharon Stone are all awesome. Its the story of how 'Sam' De Niro's character gets everything he has always wanted and the loses it. Stone plays 'Ginger' the woman 'Sam' loves but screws him over. Pesci plays his best friend who screws him over as well! This has it all great action, the mob, and crime, and scaming people out of their money! I loved Goodfellas but this is 10 times the movie, trust me if you love mob movies you'll love this and if you love De Niro you will love Casino as well. Great movie I give it 10 out of 5 stars!

Rating:
Summary: Fantastic crime story and amazing performances.
Review: This movie doesn't get the respect it deserves. Many people insist on insulting it just because of it's likeness to "Good Fellas". While "Casino" shares many characteristics with "Good Fellas" (as almost anyone who's seen both movies will tell you), it's really not as similar as it might seem. True, it does have some of the same actors (De Niro and Pesci), it's based on a book by the same author, and it has the same kind of story (the rise and fall of a mafioso), but the movies are different in several respects. Where as "Good Fellas" was more related to the business life of the main characters, "Casino" seems to be a bit more related to the personal lives of it's characters. When "Good Fellas" was over, I didn't really feel as though I knew Henry Hill all that well, but in "Casino", I felt as though I understood the Ace Rothstein to some extent. The point of both movies was to explore the organized crime world, but "Good Fellas" was an introduction to to the professional lives and "Casino" continued in the same tradition, but by delving deeper into the personal lives. In the end, I suppose that it is a companion piece, but not in a bad way. It's not the kind of film that just recycles the same material and doesn't bring in anything new.

Putting aside the comparisons to other movies, "Casino" is really an excellent film in and of itself. It chronicles the rise and fall of 3 individuals, Ace Rothstein, his very violent best friend Nicky Santoro, and his wife and only real weakness, ex prostitute Ginger. In the process, the film reveals the inner workings of a corrupt, mafia run, Las Vegas casino, and shows just what it takes to actually run one. It's great to be shown just how casinos and the gambling business work. This movie gives a more technical look at the industry than other movies do, and it's definitly not the kind of info you get every day.

The performances here are all top notch. De Niro is superb as Ace Rothstein (based on actual gambling expert Lefty Rosenthal) and Pesci is stellar as Nick Santoro. Sharon Stone got an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Ginger, which was well deserved. I thought that she did a pretty good job, all though she seemed a little over the top at some times throughout the movie. Despite this minor flaw, this is easily her best work. James Woods is also excellent as Ginger's ex boyfriend and low rent pimp Lester and despite having minimal screen time, he leaves a lasting impression on the audience. Kevin Pollack is also great in the small role of official Casino boss, Phillip Green.

The set and costume designs are all great. The glamorous Las Vegas scenery is spectacular and looks absolutely incredible. The clothing is great too. De Niro's multi-thousand dollar suits look fantastic and Sharon Stone's gowns and fur coats all look excellent as well, as does the clothing of all the minor characters, right down to the cowboy outfit that the Nevada State Gambling Comission guy wears.

The direction here is nothing short of spectacular. Even more proof that Scorsese is one of, if not the, best director ever. I can't understand how such an incredible talent has been robbed of the Best Director Oscar so many times. He should've gotten at least a nomination for this movie (he probably should've won too, all though "Brave Heart" was a good movie as well), but instead they gave one to some guy who directed a movie about a talking pig or something. How ridiculous is that? But anyway, pay no attention to what the fools who run Academy say, the direction here is absolutely incredible. The cinematography is some of the best I've ever seen. The way the camera moves around the casino floor is breath taking and the stretch following the guy into the count room is almost as good as the Copa Cabana stretch in "Good Fellas". This movie is absolutely stunning visually.

As for the accusations that this movie is gratuitously violent and features excessive blood and gore, it's really not as bad as some would have you beleive. I think that it's just become a tendency of critics (an others for that matter) to always label Scorsese's movies as being violent just because he started out with that kind of reputation. Not that there isn't blood and violence here, but it's not half as bad some other movies that aren't chastised nearly as much as this one. It amazes me how some people who watch this movie are shocked by the violence, because it is a movie about criminal life and criminal life is violent. To show it in any other way would be dishonest and I think that this film should be commended for being responsible enough to sacrifice a little bit of marketability for being honest and giving a truthful portrayal of the lifestyle it depicts.

All in all, this is a movie that's not to be missed. Even though it may be often misunderstood in many ways, it's still a great movie. It shows the great skill of all involved from the cast and the crew. It's tremendously entertaining and is definitly worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: Low-rent Scorcese, but still excellent
Review: Although the ending of "Casino" is not as satisfying as those earlier Scorcese films, the entire film is a wonderful exercise in film editing and directing.

Of course, great attention has been paid to the soundtrack, which is occasionally jarring, but mostly fits in well with the action/dialogue. This particular re-teaming of De Niro and Pesci is less effective than "Goodfellas", but that stems in part because we've already been there before, and that ride was a lot more fun. De Niro seems to be walking through his part, and Pesci's aping the same part he played 6 years previously in "Goodfellas".

Much had been made of Sharon Stone's performance, which is the most effective of the three leads, but this is due in part to it being the most unpredictable.

"Casino" runs a bit longer than it should, but it still rewards through repeat viewings. James Woods in particular steals the movie every time he appears on screen.

Rating:
Summary: Not as good as previous works, but it still shines.
Review: Another classic Scorsese production. Round up the usual suspects on this one. Sharon Stone was the best thing in this movie and she definitely deserves her Oscar nomination on this performance. The only problem I have with the movie was I thought Joe Pesci was still playing the character in "Goodfellas". It still shines, though.

Rating:
Summary: Phenominal Filmmaking
Review: Casino is one of the most unforgettable films that I have ever seen. It would be hard to forget the performances, hard to forget the dialogue, and hard to forget the end. I think that Sharon Stone's academy award nomination for this was fully deserved, but it seemed that Joe Pesci went too overlooked for this. He was incredible in this film. He should have definitely at least earned himself a nomination for this one. Casino is 100% NOT a kid movie. Its R rating is extremely well-deserved, and due to strong brutal violence, pervasive strong language, some graphic drug use, and brief sexuality. Parts of this film will definitely leave the viewer with a sick stomach, especially with the fact that it was based on a true story. (I don't know how LOOSELY based it was though. Supposedly Scorcese's "The Last Temptation of Christ" was based on a true story, and it was a completely false depiction of Jesus' life.) If you don't mind the sinful lifestyles of each character (involving extreme greediness, substance abuse, violence and profanity), you are in for a genuine motion-picture experience. I recommend Casino to the strong-stomached.