Goodfellas (1990)

An American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, Ray Liotta and Paul Sorvino.
A young man grows up working for the Italian mob. He marries a Jewish woman and they try to have a family while he is involved in gangster stuff.
This is a pretty classic and well known crime film. I hardly think anything that I could say about it would add to what has already been written. What I liked most were the heavy narration and juxtaposition of family normalcy with violent crimes. It makes for good contrasts when scenes switch. Name a film element and it was done well. If you haven't seen it, you must. I rate it awesome.

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995)

A British documentary directed by Martin Scorsese and Michael Henry Wilson.
The famous film director, Martin Scorsese narrates his perspective on the history of American films.
This seemed very professional and cohesive. I just wish he had included the period of his career and his contemporaries in the timeline. Clocking in somewhere between 3 and 4 hours, it's engineered for those with a deep interest in movies and filmmaking.The information density was just about right. He spoke on each topic and showed clips for enough time that the viewer could digest the information without getting tired of it. There was the main interview with Scorsese himself and this was supplemented by possibly second hand footage of interviews with other directors who further illustrate the points that Scorsese is making. The whole "documentaries about movies" genre interests me a great deal. The interviewees on this type of film are talking about their job, but there's a meta level at which they are speaking about what is happening right then and what they are currently a part of, like standing between 2 mirrors or like Russian dolls. The camera-work for the main interview was as dull as it gets. He was always in the center of the frame, looking at the unmoving camera on a tripod. There was some zoom or cropping used, but that was all. Showing clips from the films that he spoke of was the best part. It illustrated his point while adding interest. I thought the audio all sounded right. Even switching between the main interview, secondary interviews and film clips, there were not noticeable volume differences. IMDb has an 8.6/10 rating listed and Rotten Tomatoes lists 100% Tomatometer with 96% Audience Score for an average of 94%. That's one of the best scores I've seen on any consensus average. I thought it was a fine documentary and very professionally made, but a solid A grade seems a little high to me. I rate this adequate. I'll be keeping it with the rest of my "films about films" and would recommend it to anyone who is interested enough in the subject to watch something over 3 hours long.

New York Stories (1989)

An American drama directed by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, starring Mia Farrow and Nick Nolte.
3 stories happen in New York City. In the first, a painter breaks up with his girlfriend. The second concerns a rich and spoiled girl whose parents are away and in the third, a man's overbearing mother appears in the sky.
This was actually enjoyable. The plots followed the infamous UPO, but with 3 of them, it seemed better. The characters were all stereotypical and shallow, but I almost liked that about them. The pacing was just quick enough to keep things moving in all 3 sections. The only negative criticism that I have for this is that it was a little too hokey at times. I'm rating it good though. Watch this!

Cape Fear (1962 & 1991)

An American thriller directed by J. Lee Thompson and then Martin Scorsese, starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum then Robert De Niro and Nick Nolte.
A man gets out of jail and goes to see the lawyer who was supposed to be defending him, but lost the case. He stalks the lawyer and kills his dog, so the lawyer sends his cop friends to torment the ex-con whenever possible. The lawyer hires men to beat up the ex-con and gets into trouble. He fakes leaving for a meeting and has his wife and daughter wait in a boathouse where his friend leads the ex-con because the lawyer knows that the ex-con wants to kill them.
The 1962 version was coherent and flowed smoothly. Everything made sense and fit together perfectly. The 1991 version was bastardized Hollywood bullshit. Nothing fit and the flow was crappy. Adequate and shit seem to be good ratings for differentiating remakes and that's the case here.

The Departed (2006)

A crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon.
An informant for the Irish mafia is placed inside the Boston police force, while the Boston police force plants an informant in the Irish mafia.
This is a newer classic crime film with a pretty good cast. This means I liked the characters and the plot. Obviously, there is a lot of talking in code and lots of shooting. It's overproduced, but I think that actually helps in this case. I'm rating it good because I like it and because I'm tired of giving bad reviews.

The Aviator (2004)

A drama directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
Howard Hughes becomes a successful film director and builds unsuccessful airplanes as his mental illness worsens.
This was way over-produced, but not really bad in the way that most over-produced films are. The main character going crazy was the best part. I won't tell any more about that, as I don't want to spoil it. Besides the main character, the others seemed replaceable and inconsistent. The plot was alright, as was the style. I'm rating this o.k. because that's exactly what it is.

Taxi Driver (1976)

A drama directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro and Jodie Foster.
A New York cab driver gets tired of the scum people of the streets and decides to fight back.
The characters and plot were great and I liked the style. The narration was awesome as well. The production value was pretty good for the date and the pace was quick enough to keep me interested, but not so fast as to throw me off. I'm rating this good because it's just a good movie.

Bringing Out the Dead (1999)

A drama directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Nicolas Cage and John Goodman.
An ambulance driver sees ghosts of the people who have died while he was on the job.
The style was the main attraction here. The characters were decent, as was the plot. I'm rating this good for style reasons. Watch it yourself to find out why.

Casino (1995)

A crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci.
A mafia gangster runs a casino profitably until an old friend shows up to help. The friend gets into trouble against mob rules. The new money skimmer for the casino keeps track of the skims, which gets them all in trouble and the casino owner marries a rebellious woman who gets into trouble with everyone.
Apparently, this film held the record for number of times people said fuck in a full length feature at 422 fucks. That's a lot of fucking fucks! I believe that Joe Pesky was responsible for most of them. The plot is convoluted and a little unclear, but the narration is awesome. Obviously the characters are "real characters" if you know what I mean. I'm rating this adequate.

after hours (1985)

after hours is an urban adventure movie directed by martin scorsese.
this is the story of a man who has the worst, but most entertaining night ever. he gets tangled up in crazy situations with strangers and has to postpone everything he does until he gets back in a few minutes because he is still ensnared in the last drama that happened.
audio and video are both good. it came with subtitles, but I did not need them.
this movie is great. it had me talking to the screen and cheering for the main character all the way through. anyone and everyone should enjoy this film.

by the way, this movie blog idea was awesome. I'm having a blast making it. anyone reading: hope you get some enjoyment here too.