#94 - Goodfellas

Joe Pesci and Robert De Niro chew plenty of scenery, but the focus of this gripping Martin Scorsese opus is real-world mobster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta), a gangster who dreamed of making it big but landed in the Witness Protection Program instead. Nominated for six Oscars (including Best Picture), the film's only win was Pesci's Best Supporting Actor statue for his scene-stealing portrayal of ticking time bomb Tommy DeVito.

I've seen this movie no less than 100 times. My husband is of Italian heritage, complete with a last name that ends in a vowel, so he considers these types of films home movies. (Although my husband could not even be considered a gangster, he's ticklish. Once they find that out, you get whacked.) This opinion will be one of the easiest I'll have to write:

This movie is awesome; that's all there is to it. From the beginning to the end, it is amazing. Henry Hill is the textbook example of having it all and pissing it all away. He was exposed to gangsters at an early age and became enmeshed in the life, not only as a career, but as a reason for getting up in the morning. He loved the life, the money, the crime, the women, the respect, eventually the drugs, and then it took a turn for the worse. Poor Henry Hill... I would feel worse for him, except he kind of deserved what he got in the end... which wasn't death, interestingly enough. Not that they weren't going to whack him... he was totally on the hit list. He just did what he had to do to survive... and he became a schnook like everyone else.

Joe Pesci and Robert DeNiro are so good in this movie... they should be provided as examples of how to act like a gangster. From what I hear, DeNiro is not easy to work with on-set, but man does it pay off.

Five out of five popcorn bowls, perfectly salted and buttered. If you haven't seen this one, rent it... no, BUY it immediately.