Little New York

First of all, I love D'Onofrio and of late Ethan Hawke. I did not see anyone here as a bad actor or actress, quite the contrary. I was shocked that actors of this quality would have accepted such a sorry script. The lead-in was great, I love stories about the mob, New York and places like Staten Island. Hawke was in a great movie, What Doesn't Kill You along with Mark Ruffalo and Amanda Peet. That one is a great movie and casting job well done. This movies was a real yawner because of the repeated scenes throughout and the weird unreal scenes like D'Ononfrio sitting in a tree, come on. I almost asked for my dollar back at the video store!I can really understand why the name of the movie has been changed. May appeal to some people, but I would really recommend gene enhancement for their offspring.

I bought this movie in a three movie deal package. I owned the DVD for several months before I even considered 'losing' some time watching what this movie really was. Oh what a surprise it was. I had no expectations at all... This movie surprised me very much. All along, I was looking at this movie without apprehensions... I was very surprised by this movie. I was not expecting the things I saw in this movie... I still remember that night I watched this movie, I had a lot of fun that night...and I found myself surprised. I give this film an eight, because it was great. -WPE (worst poet ever)

This film is one of the only movies that could be considered an action movie that I like - Its funny in parts, often ironic, contains exiting action and shooting scenes while has such a deep message that comes out in the ending that it is one of the only films that almost made me cry! I think this is because partly because it sticks to reality - there's nothing in it that could never happen or is to much of a 'happy ending' to be unrealistic - while the ending certainly isn't a let down either. The film has some important messages about life that all of us should see, and in my opinion should be much more well known than it is, watch it!

It's phenomenal -- especially Ethan Hawke whose acting is absolutely brilliant. If you're an Ethan Hawke fan then you'll love this movie simply for him; although all of the acting is excellent -- in some scenes facial expressions alone speak volumes. There's some gruesome stuff too, as you might expect, but no gratuitous gunfire. The entire movie is damn good right down to the end. It reminds me a tiny bit of the TV series "Damages" the way Past, Present and Future all seem to be in random order. You need to pay attention. It's not all spelled out for you which is another reason I like it so much. You can definitely watch this one more than once and catch new things you might have missed.

All three lead characters do excellent jobs, as well as Miss Nicholson, but they cannot rescue this film. The beginning narration is odd and appears to suggest we're going to get a sympathetic and/or humorous take on Staten Islanders and their inferiority complexes. But other than the mobsters being small time, there's nothing in STATEN ISLAND that really distinguishes the people or setting; i.e., they might as well be from any other suburban area. We understand that the ecology vehicle is not to be taken seriously but then it just disappears. We've not enough background on any three of the leads to truly become interested in any of them, though you can see the clumsy attempts to try and "teach" us about them. And the ending is ridiculous as well as unsatisfying. In short its just a mess, despite some quirky funny spots. I'm guessing the makers envisioned something like BLOOD SIMPLE. Definitely STATEN ISLAND is an attempt at Cohen Brothers-like suspense with blood and comedy. But this movie falls short in every category.

The movie might try to be a little bit too clever for it's own good, but it still kinda works. The tone might be a bit shifted at places, but for a low budget thriller, this is pretty good. The acting is decent, the story rolls along nicely. But something is still missing to make it great. While all the stories told are quite appealing (for one reason or the other), it is just too much coincidence and too much confidence in a few things. Although the end might be a little bit more rewarding for some than others, you could and should give it a try, especially if you like those sort of movies in general.

Written and directed by an arts school student who has watched and re-watched every second of every Lynch/Tarantino movie and scrawled spidery and precise notes in an exercise book... late at night. Blue Velvet meets Pulp Fiction. Vincent D'Onofrio does an excellent job but must be aware of the cinematic crime that's being perpetrated in every frame. I'd rather watch him in MIB. Ultimately goes nowhere and makes no sense but is always utterly convinced of it's own art-house cool and doesn't care where all it's ideas originally came from. Beneath the gloss and slick there is sadly no substance.

I hadn't heard much about this film before viewing it, but I do remember seeing a clip somewhere or other. It follows the lives of three people living on the island and shows what happens when their lives intersect. It is made in a very interesting style, almost what I would expect to see from a French studio, but when I saw that one of the producers was none other than Luc Besson, I was less than surprised. But more of my thoughts later, here's a brief summary first (summary haters please protect this small forest while I write the next paragraph). Sully Halverson cleans septic tanks for a living. He's not the sharpest blade in the box, but when he and his wife, Mary, decide to have a baby, he begins to get ideas. He sees a treatment program they are running at the hospital that genetically changes an embryo so the resultant child will be smarter. Now, if only he could get some money to pay for it… Parmie Tarzo is an ambitious mob boss. He lives alone with his mother and wants, more than anything, to be famous. His mother was recently shot during a robbery at his house and Tarzo and his gang are after the perpetrators. After he decides to take over the entire Staten Island operation and an attempted hit by a rival gang fails, he kind of loses the plot a little. He is found on a platform up a tree, trying to protect an area of forest due for demolition… Jasper Sabiano is a deaf mute who works in a deli and does 'disposal' jobs on the side for Tarzo. He has a liking for gambling on the horses and when he wins big he feels he might be able to help his friend Sully… These three characters are about to collide and things will never be that same for any of them. As I said at the beginning, this film has very much the feel of a French art house film, but its set in New York. It's kind of strange to watch if you're not used to that sort of thing, but if you stick with it, it will pay off in the end. Great performances from all of the main cast; Ethan Hawke plays the dumb Sully Halverson with great aplomb, Vincent D'Onofrio is perfect as Parmie Tarzo and Seymour Cassel is superb as Jasper Sabiano. Oh, and an honourable mention must go to Julianne Nicholson as Mary Halverson. Over all, I really enjoyed this film. It has quite a gentle pace that I found quite fitted the style adopted by the director. I loved the way the characters at some point all look wistfully across towards Manhattan, as if wishing they could be over there. It's not perfect by any means, but enjoyable none the less… Recommended. My score: 6.9/10

I watched this the first time and didn't quite work it out, so watched it again and loved it. It is a COMEDY no mistake and don't be put off by the gore. it is a clever compelling comedy with some very good dialogue and excellent linking between the three main characters, mainly I feel on Tarzo the gangster/mobster and Jasper the deaf and mute butcher who is a real star in this movie, a sort of low level vigilante. I like the -save the tree' speech by Tarzo and his protest speech to the journalist. It does take a while for the whole story to gell a bit and for the three main characters to come together. Guess it shows Staaten island in a good light and all islanders will like the public attention the film brings. I have visited Manhattan island but not staaten and doubt I will ever visit there. do they make horror movies there also? this is not a serious movie and its with the trend of bad lieutenant (nck cage) of teasing the audience with a serious topic in a drama and making it humorous.

The introduction was very well done, and the acting across the board was quite good. Other than that you have a draggy film with lots of repeat footage that devolves into the Godfather as tree hugger as hippies take over a small woods. What? Drama into farce. How many times did we have to see Scully (?) come in to pick up his bologna? Each time with an extra second which reveals another detail in the plot, I suppose. The problem is that none of this is really important and after the fifth or sixth time you begin wondering if something is wrong with the CD. I really wanted to like this movie because my Dad grew up in Great Kills. And the background material was interesting. But despite the best efforts of the actors and actresses the movie never really went anywhere. A few poignant vignettes does not a movie make; at least not a good one.