Casino

⭐ 8.5/10

I think if I had seen this when it came out it would have been incredible inappropriate (there are around 500 F words and I was 3), but it also would have been disappointing.  This movie is so similar to Goodfellas, down two of the leads, but with more wall to wall music and debauchery. I mean, its similar to Goodfellas, Raging Bull, Departed, Wolf of Wall Street, even Killers of the Flower Moon - the man loves stories of corrupt people trying to get rich, and so do I.

I did think this movie was awesome.  The first hour is basically a montage with non stop pop music as De Niro and Pesci make it big in Vegas. It is complicated and detailed, and does a good job showing you the excess when you know it is all going to crumble.  I thought Sharon Stone was excellent as the femme fatale, given more to do than many wives in other movies like this. Her complete unraveling is believable, and you also kind of get why De Niro falls for her in the first place. Him and Pesci have a familiar relationship, with Pesci being the unhinged guy who will murder someone if they look at him funny. Its really replaying the hits, and the hits are good so I enjoyed it.

The final hour is like Goodfellas too, where things start to crumble.  The fun music is gone and the situation is dire as this land of plenty goes rotten. I don't know if I followed all the alliances and hierarchy but that confusion adds the the experience a bit. An abrupt and sober ending to a roller coaster ride, with really nothing to show for it. Kind of the feeling I have at the end of all of these movies, but something about them is compelling and keeps me coming back.

Impossible not to go to Vegas and think that a lot of this is actually true.  The movie is based on a true story, and the draw of the city when it was built by people like this is pretty confusing.