Hmm...where have we seen this before?

Rating: Null/10 (9 June 1999)

Entertaining movie, and the enthusiasm and masterful touch Scorsese spreads throughout is undeniable. I even liked Don Rickles' surprisingly wonderful performance, and it's always cool to see L.Q. Jones, no matter how brief. But REALLY...I liked this movie better the first time, when it was called "Goodfellas." The voice-overs, freeze-shots, the overweight mobsters, the gaudy garb, the psycho Joe Pesci character, the standards-cum-classic rock soundtrack, the "rise and fall of an empire" plot...c'mon. Even Scorsese's mom (God bless--I know this was her last appearance) seems to be atypically hamming it up in this one, with the "Ay"s and "'atsa matta you"s. A movie that ventures dangerously close to self-parody. And Scorsese's worth more than that.