GoodFellas

The first time I watched this, I was kind of off-put. This doesn't pull you in in the same way as the Godfather, or even Pulp Fiction, staples of the gangster genre. And while I probably still don't like this as much as those movies, this is still an excellent movie. The reason it's different isn't lack of quality, its the theme. This movie, more effectively than any gangster or Mafia movie I've seen, shows us why this lifestyle is evil, and scary. It shows us why these guys wanna live this way. They get to skip lines, make the money to have 30 suits and buy their wives houses. They're providing needs and everything them and their families could want. But they have to steal and murder and beat people to death. This isn't a glamourous way of life, as opposed to how we see Henry grow up, idolizing this lifestyle. Made men in the Italian-American mafia have like 150 different names. Made Men, Wiseguys, men of honor, friends, one of us, or a Goodfella. What an ironic title. Get it? They're not good, they're very bad! Joe Pesci is amazing in this movie, btw. Oscar absolutely deserved. He's terrifying.