These top 5 articles are so fun :D Now, as you might or might not have guessed from the title, these movies are all rooted in Crime. Gangsters, mafias, things of that sort; none of these movies are lighthearted, they all could be considered " Dramas ". I also promise you won't see Scarface or the Godfather on this list, not that they're bad movies, they just get enough love already, you know? Enough of this, on to the list!
#5. Eastern Promises
Don't be fooled by the cheesy catchphrase on the poster; Eastern Promises is a spot-on portrayal of organized crime in London. The plot goes something like this, though I can't say too much without giving a lot of it away. The lead role(Viggo Mortensen), Nikolai, is a driver for the Russian Mafia in London. After a midwife(Naomi Watts) finds a diary on the body of a prostitute whom she helped deliver her baby before death, she takes it to her uncle to be translated as she doesn't speak russian; this leads her to some men tied to the Russian Mafia, and she begins trying to uncover what happened to the woman whom she found the diary on. It feels like a thriller but it's sure to satisfy those of you that enjoy movies about the mafia in general; plenty of action, but still good dialog and Viggo does a great job in his role. Check this one out sometime.
#4. Blood In Blood Out
As far as I know, this movie isn't terribly well known, but that's because I only personally found out about it when I was 17; it came out much earlier. This is a crime drama set in Los Angeles; the film starts with 3 men, 2 half-brothers named Paco and Cruz, and their cousin Miklo. They're part of an Eastern LA gang known as " Vatos Locos ", a primarily hispanic gang, though Miklo is half caucasian. The beginning of the story is just your basic gangster stuff; they tear shit up, get into cocaine, general hood-gangster-movie stuff. However, Miklo is caught and sent to jail; Cruz becomes an artist, but can never shake the white stuff, and Paco becomes a policeman, which leads to Miklo denouncing him as family. This one is more than just a hood movie where guys shoot each other and drink 40's; if you thought that and looked away, go back and try again.
#3. Casino
Robert Deniro(Sam), a member of the Italian Mafia, heads out west to Vegas when territory and funds run dry back home in the east. Sam looks to make this as much of a business endeavor as possible without becoming unnecessarily violent and alerting the local law enforcement to what he's doing. Week after week the money is collected and sent back home through one man and a private jet who delivers it to a smaller member of the mob; everything is logged in books and done very professionally. Joe Pesci(Nicky), and old friend of Sam, decides he wants to head out west as well and join Sam in his pursuits, only Nicky is a cowboy; He thinks it's still the Wild West and acts accordingly, getting deep into cocaine and beating/shooting his opposition to death with no hesitation. The activities start to threaten the livelihood of the casino, which leads to a jag in the friendship between Sam and Nicky; not only that, Nicky has his eye on Sam's girl, and she's losing interest in Sam rapidly. A story full of loyalty turned to greed, friendship turned to backstabbing and deceit, and a classic mafia-movie ending, this one is sure to please fans of the genre. Watch it, now.
#2. Carlito's Way
Carlito's Way is the story of legendary puerto-rican gangster Carlito Brigante, fresh out of jail thanks to his lawyer, David Kleinfeld(who was in the inspiration for GTA:Vice City's lawyer character). He decides he's never going back to jail and that his life as a gangster is over, and to commit to a relationship with the woman he loves. While at first his plans go just fine, eventually he slides back into old situations, where old habits are proven to die hard; near the end he realizes it has to end, but there's one more thing he has to do first... His Lawyer needs a favor, and Carlito knows he can't refuse this to the man that got him out of prison. This movie is one of Pacino's finest roles in my opinion, and I reccomend it to absolutely anyone, fans of crime dramas or not.
#1. GoodFellas
Cliche? Maybe. Definitely not the first in the genre, that's for sure, but you can't deny it's one of the best. Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci are always great together; their chemistry on-set really shines through in their roles together, and Ray Liotta..this is the movie that solidified his status as a GREAT actor, for myself. The movie starts with Henry(Liotta), Jimmy(DeNiro), and Tommy(Pesci) riding in a car down a dark highway. It's obvious they're all stressed, then all of a sudden a thumping noise comes from the trunk, where it becomes apparent they're transporting someone but didn't finish killing them yet. They pull over and finish the job, and the narration begins; we're taken back to Henry's childhood, and the movie from here on out is how he becomes entangled with the mob, growing up in a family that was only half-Italian. After a segment of his childhood, we're taken "back to the future", where he, Jimmy, and Tommy are all grown, professional mobsters. Plenty of great action and general badassery in this one, and the soundtrack doesn't consist of a single bad song(that's not opinion, either, damnit!). The events lead up to where we came in on the movie at the beginning, with the three taking the man in the car, and then everything begins spiraling downwards. To put it simply without spoliing too much, GoodFellas is in every way the perfect portrayal of the rise and fall of an organized crime syndicate. I'm sure most of you have already seen it, but if for some reason you haven't, don't wait any longer; this is the definitive mafia movie.
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