#24: Raging Bull (1980)

Emily says:
Robert DeNiro was quite good as Jake LaMotta, a boxer whose anger issues infuse his marriage and affairs.  Even though I found DeNiro's character impossible to like, his acting was impressive and the autobiographical nature of the film was interesting - especially seeing how the man presented in the beginning of the film as a sad and not-very-funny comedian came to this pitiful place in life.

Once again, I found the graphic violence in the film off-putting and spent many of the fight scenes looking away from the screen.  Still, the violence seemed at least less gratuitous than some of Scorcese's later films.


Paul says:

#32: The Godfather Part II (1974)

Stay tuned for our responses to this one... we'll watch it after The Godfather Part 1

#47: Taxi Driver (1976)

Paul says:

Emily says:

We've had a lot of sad movies lately, it seems. I enjoyed Taxi Driver - especially seeing De Niro's performance at such a young age and, of course, the phenomenal acting of the 12-year old Jodi Foster. The point that the movie tried to communicate about De Niro's purposeless existence - and the loneliness of his life was sort of interesting, but I wish his character had developed a bit more, instead of just becoming bitter over the loss of a woman. The sheer gore of the ending scenes was a bit too much to handle - I can understand why they had to make the colors more muted - in full color it would have been even harder to watch. I'm glad I saw it, but wouldn't watch it again.

#79: The Deer Hunter (1978)

Starring: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep
Director: Michael Cimino
IMDB

Emily says:

Many of you know my penchant for films about the Vietnam War (which is weird, since I don't like violent films overall), and this one was no different. I loved seeing Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and most of all Meryl Streep in this movie - they were so young! The characters were interesting, even if they weren't always likable, and the movie explored one of my favorite topics - how war changes people. Ultimately a bond of friendship triumphed in the end, giving the movie a fulfilling ending without erasing the brutality of the characters' experiences. I'd watch this one again.

Paul says:

#94: Goodfellas (1990)

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino, Frank Sivero
Director: Martin Scorsese
IMDB

Emily says:

This movie was great! I thought Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Ray Liotta were all excellent in this film. The characters are easy to relate to, invest in, and carry your interest throughout the film. Liotta's childhood dream of being in the mob starts the film off on a note that makes you love the characters, in spite of the terrible things that they will do later in the film. As they scam, steal, kill, and cheat, you love them in spite of it - mostly, I think, because like Liotta's character, there's a little bit of each of us that thinks organized crime is awesome.



Paul says:
Seriously, how many mob/heist films has Robert De Niro been in? Are there any in the last 20 years that he hasn't? I recently watched Casino too, and I swear this is the same movie, but that's fine. It's an entertaining film. Joe Pesci is suitably over-the-top as the guy with the Napoleon complex, Ray Liotta's scratchy voice for the narration strikes just the right tone, and his character is great. De Niro plays a somewhat smaller role, but does a good job with it. The most underappreciated here is probably Lorraine Bracco as the neurotic leeching wife. (I came to appreciate her as the incomparable Dr. Melfi in The Sopranos, how impressive is it that she's played both sides in mob cinema spectacularly?) The movie is pretty fast-paced, with a satisfying body count. It's really just unfair to American mob films though, since they have to measure up to The Godfather, an impossible task.

Rating: 8.5/10