Scorsese Makes us Reminisce

Remember the mid 90s? I know it’s a difficult task. We’re only 15 years removed now. Back when Coolio dropped Gangsta’s Paradise and Tom Petty was urging us to roll another joint, most of us never envisioned things like online casinos. Instead, we watched Martin Scorsese’s masterwork, Casino, for our fix. Oh, those were the days. When an Italian could pass for a Jew without the PC Police shutting down the movie set, or when we could all laugh at a 70-year-old Don Rickles getting beat senseless over the head with a telephone - it was the best of times. Heck, we were especially thrilled to see Joe Pesci put someone’s head in a vice! Talk about suspense; that was as good as it got. Scorsese was considered to be king of the motion picture for quite a stretch. For most fans, however, his efforts to top flicks like Goodfellas and Casino were futile. But still he pushed on, releasing Gangs of New York, The Aviator and The Departed. Noted for using the same actors in his film, Martin Scorsese has managed to turn the forever young Leonardo DiCaprio into the new Robert De Niro. And while this combination has met at least half of its hype in some of the aforementioned films, their newest venture, Shutter Island, is already reported to Scorsese’s best work since Casino. Shutter Island won’t be dealing with the mob’s reign over Las Vegas, or even high-dollar prostitutes turned housewife by Jewish bookmakers. But the plot, while not involving jugular trauma via #2 pencils, is still quite gripping. Two U.S. Marshals investigate an insane asylum in 1954, looking for a missing patient. After a hurricane traps the Marshals on the island, strange things begin to happen - including an inmate riot. Is it all due to the crazies, or is some paranormal force at work? Scorsese’s thriller is a homerun. Sure, it’s not Casino. No other movie is. But for the nostalgic types among us, there’s always the DVD. Or if you really want to stay loyal to the great flicks of the 90s, try dusting off that VCR and going with the VHS.