Mob Cops

To get the most out of this movie, you have to know what the entire premise is and who the actual mobsters were that were involved and which families they were from. It's harder to follow since they changed the names but this is exactly what happened. Gaspipe Casso, Joey Gallo, and they changed the name of both of the NYPD cops and the detective who led the investigation against them. Great mostly factual depiction of a classic mob story that has been discussed for years. In movies like these In less concerned about which actors are in it or what the budget was. I want a factual representation of what happened.

How?

How is it possible to take the events of something true yet so unbelievable, something so fantastical with a brilliant story already laid out before you, something with a host of rich characters with a depth of depravity and mindless violence within the gangster genre AND MAKE ONE OF THE WORST MOVIES IVE EVER SEEN? This is the same as leonardo da Vinci doing the outline of the last supper then asking stevie wonder to colour in the lines. In parts it was like watching a badly constructed stage production and in others it was like watching an amateur dramatics society showcasing their talent though Facebook feeds. Just awful and such a shame this movie could have been brilliant given the money, actors and a director who can actually has direction.

Somehow I just didn't buy almost anything in Mob Cops, from the characters to the plot. And I love me a good mob movie, they're my favs in general. It's not surprising that movies high up in the charts are often not actually great, but still disappointing when it happens. I like David Arquette sometimes, but his choices in movies sometimes leave a lot to be desired, like in this case. A lot of the dialog felt amateur to me, too obvious and "easy", if that makes sense.. A lot of the cuts were fast, which isn't always a bad thing, but in this case contributed to it feeling forced and disconnected since the story and acting weren't at the level. It was mildly entertaining for a late night, I suppose, but I can't really recommend it.

Hard to watch, worse to listen to.

After Scorcese and Chase this is poor fare. The bar is very high, and this failed to even graze the underside. Arquette is not suited to this type of role, too mid west, his moustache was Stalinesque and equally fake.

They should have got Sammy the Bull to do the narration. He has told this story well. At the very least he could have polished the script.

Why didn't they use the real names. The Gaspipe story definitely deserved a better telling, bigger budget and a more washed out video like palette. Lighting was uneven and clunky. The incidental music was woeful and needlessly intrusive.

Waste of time.

The acting in this film is excellent. Joseph Russo, Jeremy Luke, Lorenzo Antonucci, Lynn Adrianna, David Arquette, Danny A... all do a fantastic job. Believable, authentic, dynamic and witty too (i think I can discern textual improvisation there). Seeing such an authentic mob film these days is highly unusual. It isn't a 10. But it's comfortably an 8.

The writing at time falls short, but most of the time it hits the spot. The directing is excellent and the cinematography is superb. No wonder, the DP is Barry Markovitz!

Given the budget, this is an art work that deserves recognition by the heavy hitters of this genre.

Well done, Danny A!