Goodfellas lite.....

Rating: 9/10 (9 April 2001)

Nice drug drama genre movie with better than average cinematography and adequate direction.Depps performance was as expected of him but shows nothing much more regarding whether his actng skils are improving.He does have more "manly" look now which looks good for future roles he will be doing later on.Better than average supporting cast adds quality to the movie as well.The screenplay was also better than average BUT the genre demands a greater screenplay so as to elevate this movie into the next level occupied by movies such as "Scarface" or "Goodfellas".The justification of it's makers is that this movie was intentionally made to have less action, but still the fact remains that the quality of the screenplay is still not as good as it should have been.I also do not like that porly executed scene where in which Depp confronts his best friend/drug confidant who has betrayed him.The sequences on those scenes were just poorly executed,with the cheesy gun pointing and over acting and the very poorly executed sequences that followed after that where Depp was being beaten up. The whole beating looked so fake and amateurish.They should have re-shot those particular segments.I put the blame on the director for that one. Worth your viewing if you enjoy reality movies,drug-drama movies,or happen to be a Depp or Liotta fan.I also recommend this movie to teens and young adults to learn the movie's moral lesson regarding taking the short cut or devil's way to success.