Full Movie Reviews
Rating of
4/4
Gangster flair.
memento_mori - wrote on 08/07/2013
I think Goodfellas is a little better than the Godfather... Don't hate me.
The reason I made that remark above is because they are two very similar movies. They are mobster mafia movies and both have the same structure and character change. There are only a few things that can definitely tell them apart, like the narration and comedic undertones of Goodfellas and the solidity of the main character in the Godfather.
Don't get me wrong, I adore the Godfather and think it is a spectacular mafia movie, but Goodfellas is just a little bit ahead of it, in my opinion.
Goodfellas just has so much more replay value. I could sit down now and watch it, which is something I would have to think about with the Godfather.
Martin Scorsese's fresh direction and way of storytelling add a lot of …
Rating of
4/4
"Goodfellas" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 09/13/2012
Career criminal Henry Hill reminisces upon his life of crime in this true life story based on an actual FBI case. Goodfellas is the perfect film. It has the perfect blend of drama, gritty violence and humour as we see the dark side of the American dream played out over 25 years of a wise guy's life. The people depicted here do not play by society's rules and have their own set of laws and conventions revolving around the pure pursuit of profit in this, the logical conclusion of capitalism. The livelihoods and lives of others are commodities to be used up and tossed away and life is cheap to these mobsters whose stated obsession with loyalty and family is also soon forgotten for the "big score", leading to total anarchy. The combination of DeNiro, Liotta and Pesci makes for a brilliant …
Rating of
4/4
Goodfellas review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 01/25/2012
This is a realistic mob flick filled with various elements of film about the rise and descend of the Lucchese crime family, connections of Henry Hill and his friends. Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) narrates that local mob capo, Paul "Paulie" Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and his associates, Jimmy "The Gent" Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) looks after him. Henry marry a Jewish girl named Karen (Lorraine Bracco). Tommy and Jimmy beat-up beats Billy Batts (Frank Vincent), a mobster with the Gambino crime family for insulting him a few years back.
Astounding screenplay with a few quotes from the film: Henry – “Murder was the only way that everybody stayed in line.” “You know, we always called each other goodfellas. Like you said to, uh, somebody, "You're gonna like …
Rating of
4/4
Scorsese's Masterpiece in at #29.
mdtinney - wrote on 05/26/2009
Another classic gangster movie,Goodfellas has a good ensemble cast,a good storyline to it and great acting and sort of sets the mold for future gangster movies such as Heat,The Departed and American Gangster.Directed brilliantly by Martin Scorsese who should have rightfully won Best Director for this movie,the movie tells the story of Henry Hill(Ray Liotta) who joins the mob at a young age and meets James"Jimmy" Conway(movie legend Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito(Joe Pesci in his Oscar winning role) and is taken under the wing of Paul"Paulie" Cicero(Paul Sorvino) who is a local mob boss.Also nominated for the Best Picture Oscar as well as Best Supporting Actress Oscar-Lorraine Bracco and Best Adapted Screenplay which Goodfellas should have rightfully won all of those Oscars but won Best …
Rating of
4/4
Masterful but brutal gangster tale.
filmfan09 - wrote on 03/10/2009
Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci star in Martin Scorsese's unromanticized classic tale of mob life in New York City in the movie 'Goodfellas'. "Since 1976 when he directed 'Taxi Driver', Martin Scorsese has since stood alone at the top of the art of film directing in the world of today." -- Roger Ebert. I agree abolutely 100% with his quote. I consider his 'Raging Bull' the film odf the decade of the 1980's. With 'Goodfellas' Scorsese scored yet another excellent masterpiece. This is a film that ranks right next to 'The Godfather' for it portrait of organized crime. The movie stars Ray Liotta in the true story of Henry Hill, a Irish-Italian kid who only goal in life was to work for the mob. Henry traveled in style, breaking laws, abusing those he loved being untouched by corrupt …
Rating of
3.5/4
"perfect"
Owtkast - wrote on 08/26/2008
Of all the films I've watched in my lifetime, there are very few that I would consider to be "perfect" films. However, there is no question that I can assert this distinction to the classic GOODFELLAS. There is not a bad shot, bad line of dialogue, bad piece of acting or bad edit to be found in Scorsese's masterpiece. GOODFELLAS uses the mob lifestyle to seduce the viewer(like it did Henry Hill) with its glory, power, and wealth. As the film goes on, Scorsese strips away that veneer with graphic(but not gratuitous) violence and also shows that there is no honor or loyalty to be found among these murderers. Also, the choice of songs that Scorsese selected for the film is flawless and acts as a character throughout the film. This remains my favorite film to come out of the 1990s(which was …
Rating of
2.5/4
A fairly good Mob movie
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/01/2008
Based on the book "Wiseguys" by Nicholas Pileggi, "GoodFellas" is a fair Mob movie about former Mob member Henry Hill (Ray Liotta).
Hill rises from a young man who does odd-jobs for members of his neighborhood Mob Family in the 1950s, to a man who becomes fed up with the life and turns State's witness to put away the Mobsters he admired as a boy.
For a Mob movie, the violence is not much. However, it is sufficient for what is presented. If you want blood in a Mob movie, I suggest the "Godfather" Trilogy.
The acting is pretty good, but nothing spectacular. Despite the great cast, none stand out and steal scenes -- however, Joe Pesci is pretty funny in a good number of scenes he's in.
The story itself is somewhat interesting. However, I was expecting a violent, crime-driven …