Goodfellas II This Ain't

Rating: 10/10 (2 July 2012)

When I first saw this movie I found it to be better than Goodfellas. Imagine my surprise upon reading reviews for this film that many critics proclaimed this to basically just be Scorsese going over old ground and being too much like Goodfellas. Why they presumed this I can see, but when looked at closer it is actually not that much alike.
The cast contains a number of similar faces in each movie such as De Niro, Pesci, Vincent Etc. But on the whole I found Casino to be more gripping than Goodfellas and just as well made. A scene near the end of this movie has the consequences of the characters actions throughout the movie shown to music by the animals in the form of the house of the rising sun. In Goodfellas the same similar consequences are shown to music from Derek And The Dominos' Layla (another captivating scene).
Going over old ground or not you can't deny that Casino is another winner for Scorsese, and if you think Joe Pesci was nuts in Goodfellas. you ain't seen nothing yet. From the soundtrack to the camera-work to the editing this film is almost perfect. Another reason I prefer this to Goodfellas is De Niro. He has a lot more to do in this than what he did in Goodfellas and the film benefits from him being lead again. James Woods also shines in almost a cameo role the way he struts in and out of the film several times then showing up for comedy effect later in the film. Sharon Stone got best Actress at Oscar for her performance (though good, I'm not her biggest fan) and she probably deserved it.
The opening credits should also get a mention for being quite possible the best I've ever seen and any film that opens with the 'death' of Robert De Niro would have anyone hooked.
In Conclusion this is a total masterpiece in my eyes and was way the best film of 95 and the fact it was beaten to best picture by Braveheart sickens me.