Actor Joe Pesci (1943)

The film The Irishman (2019) is a Martin Scorsese-directed and produced epic gangster movie, based on Steven Zaillian’s screenplay adapted from the book I Heard You Paint Houses by Charles Brandt. It follows the story of Frank Sheeran, an elderly Irish-American WWII veteran living in a nursing home, who reflects on his past as a hitman for the Italian-American Mafia. Sheeran starts off as a delivery truck driver in 1950s Philadelphia and begins selling meat shipments to local gangster ‘Skinny ...

The American spy film, The Good Shepherd (2006), was both produced and directed by Robert De Niro. Following the disastrous end of the Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, suspicions arise about a potential ‘mole’ within the CIA. Senior officer Edward Wilson returns home to find a photograph and audio tapes that have been tampered with, leaving some details unclear. Flashing back to his time at Yale University in 1939, Wilson is invited to join the Skull and Bones fraternity where he reveals that he discovered but never read his father’s suicide note. His father, an admiral who had been considered for ...

The American buddy cop action film, Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), was directed and produced by Richard Donner. Pregnant LAPD Sergeant Martin Riggs and his partner Lorna Cole were not married, but the idea had crossed their minds. Meanwhile, the daughter of Riggs’ fellow sergeant Roger Murtaugh, Rianne, was also expecting a child. Due to issues with their department’s insurance carrier regarding their behavior as sergeants, Police Chief Murphy promotes them to captains. Along with Leo Getz, they stumble upon a Chinese immigrant smuggling ring after accidentally grounding an oceangoing vessel. Unfortunately, the ...

Casino (1995) is an epic crime film directed by Martin Scorsese, based on Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Casino: Love and Honor in Las Vegas. In the movie, sports handicapper and Mafia associate Sam ‘Ace’ Rothstein is enlisted by the Chicago Outfit to run the Tangiers Casino in Las Vegas alongside frontman Philip Green. With Sam at the helm, the casino sees a significant increase in profit, thanks in part to some unaccounted-for cash skimmed from the count room and delivered to the Midwest Mafia bosses. To ensure protection for Sam, the ...

Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), an action flick directed by Richard Donner and written by Jeffrey Boam and Robert Mark Kamen, follows the last days of Sergeant Roger Murtaugh’s career at the L.A.P.D. Alongside his partner Martin Riggs, they are reassigned to street patrol after a failed attempt to defuse a bomb in an office building. While on duty, they witness the theft of an armored car and with the help of driver Delores, manage to stop the crime. Although one of the thieves escapes, the other is apprehended. It is later ...

The American epic political thriller film, JFK (1991), written and directed by Oliver Stone, delves into the investigation of the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The New Orleans district attorney, Jim Garrison, becomes convinced that there was a conspiracy to kill Kennedy and that Lee Harvey Oswald was used as a scapegoat. Outgoing President Dwight D. Eisenhower had warned about the dangers of the military-industrial complex in his 1961 farewell address. However, Kennedy takes over as president and is faced with challenges such as the Bay of Pigs Invasion and the Cuban Missile Crisis before his tragic assassination in ...

Goodfellas (1990) is a biographical crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. Set in Brooklyn during the mid-1950s, the film follows Henry Hill as he becomes infatuated with the Mafia lifestyle in his Italian-American neighborhood. Working under caporegime Paulie Cicero and alongside his fellow delinquents Jimmy ‘the Gent’ Conway and Tommy DeVito, Henry starts off as a fence for Jimmy and gradually progresses to more serious crimes. The trio spends their evenings at the Copacabana nightclub, indulging in their glamorous lifestyle surrounded by women. Despite initial concerns about Henry’s criminal ...

Richard Donner directed the American buddy cop action comedy film, Lethal Weapon 2 (1989). Two years after the first film, LAPD sergeants Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh chase unknown drug suspects and discover they were actually transporting a shipment of illegal gold Krugerrand coins from the South African government under apartheid. Following this, consul-general Arjen Rudd and security agent Pieter Vorstedt eliminate Hans, who had lost the Krugerrands, and consider ways to divert police attention from their activities. Pieter suggests deterring Murtaugh from pursuing the case and proceeds to invade his home. As a ...

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) is an epic crime film co-written and directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone. In 1933, three thugs scour the city for a man known as ‘Noodles’ to extract information from him through violent means. They eventually end up at a wayang theater, where the owners lead them to a secret opium den within the establishment and warn Noodles of their presence. However, Noodles is not bothered by their threats as he is under the influence of drugs and reading a newspaper detailing the deaths of bootleggers Patrick Goldberg, Philip Stein and Maximilian Bercovicz. He remembers ...

Directed by Jack Hofsiss, the biographical film I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982) stars Jill Clayburgh. Holding a successful career in a male-dominated industry and in a solid relationship with her live-in lover, attorney Derek Bauer, Barbara Gordon appears to have it all. However, beneath her façade lies a high-strung personality that heavily relies on sedatives to reduce tension and anxiety. This helps her maintain a composed exterior for her friends and associates. Her current project centers on cancer patient Jean Scott Martin and her husband Ben, highlighting ...

Raging Bull (1980), a biographical sports drama directed by Martin Scorsese, is based on the 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story by former middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta. As a young and promising boxer in 1941, Jake experiences his first defeat against Jimmy Reeves, prompting his brother Joey to discuss a potential shot at the middleweight title through their Mafia connection Salvy Batts. Despite repeated offers, Jake refuses the Mafia’s assistance and remains determined to win the championship on his own terms. Later on, he meets Vickie, a ...