Monday, November 29, 2010

Netflix Queue: Casino

Three thoughts about "Casino"...



* This seems like a Martin Scorcese movie that he decided to direct in the style of Martin Scorcese. Gangster voiceovers? Check? Montages? Check. "Gimme Shelter?" Check. Joe Pesci throwing a tantrum and dying horribly? Check. It verges on self-parody.

* This movie is so montage- and voiceover-driven, in fact, that it seems that music and exposition really substitute for character development and storytelling. As a result, "Casino" doesn't feel like a movie so much as it feels like pieces of a movie that were pasted together.

* That said, the movie looks great. It's fun to watch De Niro and Pesci play off each other. It's fun to remember that Sharon Stone was once a bona fide movie star. It's fun to see Don Rickles play it straight. And minor Scorcese is generally better-crafted than 95 percent of the crap that's out there. What else was I gonna watch? "Human Centipede?"

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