Movie of the Week

This Week,

THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986)

Starring- Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio

The sequel to the 1961 film The Hustler, this movie gave Paul Newman a long awaited Oscar for Best Actor. Newman probably had better performances, but this one is very good. He plays Fast Eddie Felson, who after his fall from pool playing stardom, has settled in as a liquor salesman to local bars and restaurants. In one such bar he sees a young pool junkie named Vincent (Tom Cruise) and thinks he might be able to recapture his lost glory. After some wheedling, Eddie convinces Vincent to come on with him as his protege.

Vincent proves to have the "balls" but not the "brains" that Eddie feels he needs to become a successful pool hustler. The two clash over how best to make money and achieve glory, and in the end they part ways- Eddie now deciding to return to the fold as a player.

Martin Scorsese's direction heightens the drama between the two stars, and makes Newman appear confident and fragile at the same time. Even though he is older, Newman still manages to out cool his younger co-star, as he deftly teaches Vince about the nuances of being a hustler. One almost wishes that Fast Eddie would take us under his wing instead of the compulsive Vincent, and tell us about how to score and make big money. A wild card in the mix is Vince's girlfriend, Carmen who has her own angles and ideas on the business of hustling. She is a nice foil for the two men, and really helps ratchet up the tension.

The Color of Money is by no means Scorsese, Newman or Cruise's best work, but together they make an entertaining movie. I could watch Paul Newman read the phonebook, so that may have something to do with why I like this film, but it provides a good lesson about luck, life and how to navigate them.

Things to Watch for-

Forrest Whitaker as a young pool hustler

A bit of a cliffhanger ending

The Balabushka

Scorsese's cameos

VINCE's T-shirt

"Money won is twice as sweet as money earned."

Movie of the Week

This week,

GOODFELLAS (1990)

Starring- Robert DeNiro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco

Goodfellas is in my top five films of all time. This film should have won the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director in 1990, saving us from The Departed in 2008 and the smugness of Kevin Costner after he won both awards for Dances with Wolves. I think this is Scorcese's finest film, and yes, I have seen The King of Comedy. He uses narration and montage to great effect, and this film did it before it became a Scorcese cliche. It is a unique look at the life of real-life mobster Henry Hill (Liotta) and his cadre of "wiseguy" friends. Unlike other mafia movies, this one really takes you inside and makes you understand the inner-workings of the wiseguy lifestyle.

It begins with a young Henry Hill aspiring to work with the wiseguys in his neighborhood, and then meeting the men who will become the major players in his life. Among those men are Jimmy Conway (DeNiro) and Tommy DeVito (Pesci). These three embark on a very flamboyant, active life of crime that involves stealing, drug dealing and murder. The thing about it is, most of the time it looks like so much fun that you want to join. Unfortunately, the fun is stuck between stays in jail, drug paranoia and threats of snitches ratting you out. Hill eventually has to rat out his friends in order to save his own life- thus ending his dream life as a gangster.

Every scene in Goodfellas sparkles with realism and wit, and paints a very engaging picture of the lives of his characters. Liotta's work in anchoring the film is very good, and he does a nice job of walking the somewhat narrow tightrope of family man and wiseguy. DeNiro is also great, but the real kudos go to Oscar winner, Joe Pesci. Pesci's portrayal of Tommy is funny, tough and terrifying all at once. It is hard to know whether he will make you laugh, or make you dead. Sometimes he does both with terrific results. Goodfellas will take you on a first class trip to mobtown- a nice place to visit, but you wouldn't want to live there.

Things to Watch for-

The amazing soundtrack

Billy Batts and the shinebox

The longest steadycam shot ever

Morrie's Wigs

Martin Scorcese's Mom as Tommy's Mom

A Cutty and Water

"The paw?" "The hoof."