An engrossing film from start to finish...

Rating: 10/10 (5 October 2001)

Synopsis: A film chronicling the rise and fall of a gambling empire in Las Vegas during it's heyday. Sam "Ace" Rothstein has been personally appointed by the mob to head a casino which he proves himself, but at the same time a relentless obsessive whose meticulousness reaches so far as to the number of blueberries in muffins that the casino sells. His childhood friend Nicky Santoro has moved to Las Vegas with his crew to start up a business. In the midst of it all, Sam meets Ginger, a woman he eventually marries, but in a downward spiral of power and greed, they all find themselves in the middle of it all.
Review: Absolutely one of the best films of 1995, "Casino" is a truly good film with top notch performances from DeNiro and Pesci as usual, but the real surprise is Sharon Stone, completely eschewing her sex symbol from "Basic Instinct" to playing a woman who lives in her dark side. The cinematography of the film matches the tone and look of the story with it's best performances from the entire cast. Unfortunately, Don Rickles and James Woods are wasted in fairly small roles but still provide depth to the film nonetheless. Leonard Maltin didn't know what he was talking about when he reviewed this film, because it's an engrossing story that needed to be told in a three hour length. It's not something you'd pay to see in a theater, but it is something you should see on VHS or DVD. Grade: A-