Suburra

A blockbuster of a film up there with the greats in gangster and organised crime thrillers like the Godfather series. Just watched it for the second time and it's a riveting story brilliantly scripted, acted and directed.

A must see and you won't look away for a second.

Boy, was that a good film. Italian. Neo-noir. Dark. Masterfully shot. Omnipresent debauchery and depravity of all sorts have rarely looked this good on screen. What's not to love?! I have a soft spot for Italian cinema of the good kind, and that leaves me constantly hungry for more, considering the fact that except for Maestro Tornatore's magnificent opus the last few decades have been... Well, disappointing to say the least. Enter Sorrentino (I firmly believe "La grande bellezza" is one of the top 5 Italian films ever made, with "Youth" not so far behind), and now Sollima too. The only reason to give "Suburra" 9 stars instead of 10 is the microscopically imperfect acting in a few instances, but other than that the film is practically perfect. No need for a wordy review, just go see it. It grips you by the innards and doesn't let go. If you happen to be fluent in Italian and especially the Roman dialect, that adds at least 30% more enjoyment. A big, heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who worked on this fantastic film!

Set in 2011 in the port of Ostia (Rome) we meet a plethora on ne'er do wells from politicians, gang types, and just low downs caught up in a bigger plan. That plan is to turn the port into a modern day Las Vegas (I mean really!!). This entails a gangster called Samurai in buying up all the real estate in readiness to cash in.

The problem is the politicos have a taste for young flesh, hard drugs, money and power which equals corruption. Throw into the mix the Vatican connection a whole 'traveller' network of crime types and you have all the ingredients for a roller coaster of a film.

I thought this was superb, the acting and style were all seductive. The violence visceral and brutal – yet seemingly expected. It is one of those films where the time just flies by and almost makes you hold your breath. It has made such an impact that, according to IMDb, Netflix are making a series to follow this up, I am glad a that I subscribe as if it is half as good as the film it will be well worth the fee.

I had this on my list on Netflix because we are headed to Rome in the spring. Thought we would see some on the Roman sights but this is NOT "3 Coins in a Fountain". It is an excellent movie...very good acting, interesting but not likable characters, fascinating story line. I would not normally recommend a movie where almost all the characters are anti- heroes. The pacing and interesting camera shots move the movie along and we really could not stop watching. My wife and I both really liked this film. It involves much of what we think of as the disreputable portions of many great cities; politicians, gangs and their rivals, organized crime and even the church. I was surprised that no major US critics reviewed the movie which is a shame. It is very good, gritty film making.

I never watched a lot of Italian movies but this one I will certainly watch again in the future. If you like crime stories then Subbura is for you. It has everything you can ask for. Corrupt politicians, different mafia families, bloody violent scenes, drugs and sex, religious scumbags, scandals and so on. The actors are all excellent and play their roles with much conviction. If you didn't knew they were actors you would really believe they are all mob related. The darkness drips of this movie. One of the better Italian film noir I've seen in a long time. If Stefano Sollima is planning on making more of those movies I'm going to be a fan. It's a long movie but with all the twists, violent scenes and great discussions you will never get bored.