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Carlito's Way

Carlito's Way

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One of the best gangster movies ever!
Review: After seeing this movie I was surprised by the superb acting and drama scenes that took place. I love Luis Guzman in this movie and Al Pacino of course. I also thought that Penelope Ann Miller did a pretty good job with her part. This movie is up with Scarface and A Bronx Tale in my opinion b/c it focuses on more than one point throughout the movie. I was never bored during the whole movie and the climax was tremendous. The whole scene at the Grand Central Station was exhilirating and even though you already knew what was going to happen you couldn't wait to see how it happened. At the same time I didn't want to see what would happen. I love Al Pacino and gangster films 4-life, go rent it!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Introducing INGRID ROGERS from TORONTO as "Steffie"
Review:
CARLITO'S WAY
Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, Ingrid Rogers 1993

Synopsis
Ex-druglord Carlito Bergante (Pacino) after being released from prison, vows that he has changed his ways and that he is a new man. But unfortunately for him, he cannot escape his past despite being re-united with his onetime love (Miller), and having a lawyer (Penn) on his side. He battles against the relentlesss forces and people that he is trying to escape.

My Review
Pacino is the man! Very well done. Excellent acting by Miller and Penn also. This movie shows that even though Carlito desperately wants to break free from the way he was, he can't. Simply, because once your in the "game", that "code of honor" never leaves you. . . .and there is only one predictable ending.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a gangster movie at its best
Review: This movie is my favorite gangster movie of all time. Pacino puts forth his best acting of his career. Sean Penn is amazing. I love the casting as far as Benny Blanco and Tony T.It's a must own, so you can watch it over and over again.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Amazingly fresh and original...
Review: One of my top ten favorite films. Certainly not without its flaws, but most are minor (except that accent problem... Pacino has the acting talent to have refined it). I love movies that examine characters trying to escape difficult situations ("Menace 2 Society" being another example). Just about everything else has already been said by other reviewers, but I wanted to add how moving the final scene is in the movie when the "Paradise" poster comes alive and deepens to purple (signifying something I won't spoil for those who haven't yet seen the movie). I was lucky enough to see the film on the big screen, and started weeping just at that point. Also, "Carlito's Way" is one of those movies that are really a collection of incredible scenes that collaborate with each other and finally come together to form the "big picture." Again, I love this kind of movie, because that's the only type of film that can be watched again and again without ever getting boring. 9/10, or 5/5 stars.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: YOU THINK YOU'RE BIG TIME!
Review: AL PACINO AND SEAN PENN JUST ASTONISH ANY VIEWER WHO'S LUCKY ENOUGH TO WITNESS GRAND ACIEVMENT IN FILMMAKING WHEN SEEING THIS EXPOLSIVE CRIME DRAMA ABOUT A REFORMED GANGSTER CARLITO BRIGANTE(PACINO)WHO FINDS IT HARD TO BREAK THE TIES THAT BIND HIM TO HIS OLD CRIMINAL WAYS WHEN TRYING TO START A NEW LIFE. EXCELLENT ACTION SEQUENCES WITH PACINO HAVING A VILOENT SHOOTOUT WHEN HIS NEPHEW IS KILLED IN A BLOODY DRUG DEAL GONE WRONG, THIS SCENE ALONE HAS PACINO IN SOME OF HIS BEST ACTING IN HIS ENTIRE CAREER. THE ENDING IS ESPECALLY MEMORABLE WHEN CARLITO FINALLY SEES HIS CHANCE TO ESCAPE FROM HIS PURSUERS HE RECIEVES A BULLET FROM A YOUNG, OBNOXIOUS GANGSTER ON THE RISE(LEGUIZAMO)WHO SEES HIS CHANCE TO KILL OFF A LEGEND AND GETS AWAY WITH IT. ADMIST ALL THE FAMILIAR CLICHES THAT GOES ALONG WITH FILMS OF THIS NATURE IT'S STILL A THRILLING RIDE FROM START TO FINNISH AND IS QUITE THE OPPISTE OF IT'S PREDESSCOR "SCARFACE"(1983)IN THAT ONE PACINO'S "TONY MONTANNA" WAS DESTROYED FOR HIS ENDLESS PURSUIT OF POWER AND IN "CARLITO'S WAY" HE WAS KILLED BECAUSE HE COULD NOT GET AWAY FROM THE POWER HE ONCE HAD. GREAT STORY WELL TOLD WITH DE PALMA AT THE HEIGHT OF HIS DIRECTORIAL MAGNIFICENCE. SEAN PENN AS PACINO'S TRECHARUS LAWYER IS AN ADDED BONUS TO THE MIX IN I HAVE TO SAY ONE OF HIS BEST PERFORMANCES OF HIS CARRER. CARLITO'S WAY WILL LONG BE REMEBERD AS ONE OF DIRECTOR BRIAN DE PALMA'S MOST PRIZED ACHIEVMENTS.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 'Here come da pain!'
Review: In 1983,Brian DePalma and Al Pacino collaborated to make the greatest movie of all time,Scarface.Ten years later they re-united to make "Carlito's Way",it doesn't quite scale the heights of their previous masterpiece but it is still a terrific movie. Carlito Brigante is an ex-con just out of prison determined to go straight.But his past keeps coming back to haunt him. Carlito is like an older,wiser version of Tony Montana.Al is excellent as usual.He looks the essence of cool with his slick Puerto Rican accent and beard(reminiscent of "Serpico",perhaps?) Sean Penn is brilliant as Al's coked up lawyer David Kleinfeld, who has hair like Art Garfunkel and glasses like John Lennon. I hope DePalma and Pacino will make another film together again in 2003.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Superb
Review: This is definitely DePalma's finest film to-date. Although I love Tony Montana's tough, single-minded (and loony) character, Scarface has a dated feel to it - I think this has a lot to do with the soundtrack; Scarface was set and made during the 80's, whilst Carlito's Way was set in the 70's but made in the 90's. I think it's a lot easier to choose the best music from a decade with the benefit of hindsight (and certain clothing fashions can be conveniently omitted at the same time).

DePalma did a great job with a fine plot and shot the film in his usual highly charged style. He managed to re-create a very atmospheric time and place - glamorous, seedy and dangerous at the same time. Whether this is realistic or not I can't answer, but I liked it. Performance wise, Pacino and Penn were on sizzling form and the supports were great too - in particular, John Leguizamo (Benny Blanco) and Luis Guzman (Pachanga).

I can watch this film again and again - those heavyweight performances, storyline and attention to detail make it entertaining on many different levels. Unusually, even though the viewer is aware from the outset that the main character will ultimately not make it and that his quest for escape from his past life is fruitless, this isn't off-putting as one would expect. The film is so compelling that it draws you in - outstanding.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: al pacino IS the man !
Review: I just loved this movie, (but Scarface is my all-time favorite). Al Pacino is just a great actor. My favorite scenes were the "cheesecake" scene and the "train station" scene, (very, very sexy and very, very exciting). Up until the end of the movie I found myself cheering him on, until Bennie Blanco shows his face, and then, oh well just see the movie okay!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Performance of a lifetime for Pacino
Review: Yeah, I agree. Sean Penn definitely should have gotten his much deserved Oscar for the Kleinfeld role.....but this is Pacino's movie, no two ways about it. 'Somebody's pulling me close to the ground.... I can sense but I can't see. I ain't panicked, I been here before.....'. After being gut-shot in the movie's opening sequence, Carlito Brigante sinks to the ground and, with the world and familiar faces spinning around him, he ponders the happenings of the last couple of months....... The drama begins! This movie DEMANDS your uttermost attention from the start, and the story unfolds with one surprising twist after another......A fine crime drama, a beautiful love story and a once-in-a-lifetime experience as a whole. The fast-paced, adrenalised, unbearable tension-filled final twenty minutes will haunt you for the rest of your life, guaranteed.... You just don't get better than this!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: De Palma has his way...
Review: Typically excellent direction, committed acting and a well-proven storyline make Carlito's Way a film that you won't be disappointed with. The all to familiar "bad guy wants to go straight - but one fling" plot has become almost a genre in itself over recent years, but Brian De Palma's vision helps to create a moody, stylish and tense thriller out of an already worn theme. De Palma's direction and camerawork are as superior as ever, and the fiercely conceived chase scene that ends in Grand Central Station is reminiscent of De Palma's earlier The Untouchables.

Performances are of high quality too, but what else would you expect from Al Pacino? Sean Penn is great as the corrupt lawyer, but almost unrecognisable in "70's" styles. As a complete package, a very solid and satisfying film, though I recommend it is watched wide screen - De Palma's love for the camera means he utilises the full frame constantly - and it's conversion to full screen is quite shocking, distorting the presence of many camera shots.


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