SCORCESE AT HIS FINEST HOUR!

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2003)

I have never been a Martin Scorcese fan. I did not like TAXI DRIVER. Even as much as I love mob films, I didn't care all that much for GOODFELLAS. Back in 1995, I wrote movie reviews for my college paper. One of the movies I had to see was CASINO. My first thought was, "oh damn, I have to sit through a 3-hour Scorcese movie." It is strange because I didn't like GOODFELLAS, but I love DeNiro and Pesci. In CASINO, DeNiro and Pesci made the movie as great as it was.
Robert DeNiro is Ace Rothstein, who is an expert gambler. He is asked by the Midwest Mob to take control of the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas. He immediately cleans up the casino of crooks (in one scene, a man who is caught cheating has his hand beat with a hammer) and brings in a lot of money for the bosses. During this time, Ace meets Ginger (Sharon Stone), who is one of the most notorious hustlers in Vegas. He falls in love with her and they marry, even though she is still faithful to her ex-pimp Lester Diamond (James Woods.) Nicky Santoro (Pesci) is called in by the Mob to protect Ace and make sure no one messes with the casino. All is well for a while until Nicky begins causing trouble and that's when all hell breaks loose.
This movie is almost three hours long, but the time flies right by. The supporting cast is top notch. If you are a fan of mob films, you can't miss CASINO.
Rating: 9 out of 10