WasAnnon Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Ezmae Chang This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

seeingbystarlight There's a terrific song by the Moonglows called The Ten Commandments Of Love which is part of this movie's soundtrack, and which, for me, really captures what this story is about.It's a story about the friendship which develops between a young boy named Calogero Anello (Lilo Brancato), and local mob boss Sonny LoSpecchio (Chaz Palminteri) who owns the bar right next door to Calogero's tenement building.Set in the Bronx in the turbulent 1960's, it is also the story of the boy's father Lorenzo (Robert DeNiro), an honest, and hardworking man who's a bus driver for the city, and does not like his son getting mixed up with criminal elements.Thrown into the mix, and adding to the drama, is Calogero's attraction to a classy black girl named Jane Williams (Taral Hicks), at a time when racial tensions between blacks and whites was building to an explosion.The romance is like the cherry on the cake for me, it being so well done, so heartening, and inspiring (featuring a scene with another terrific song: I Only Have Eyes For You by The Flamingoes).Robert DeNiro does an incredible job directing this movie. It's a sparkling diamond of American film making.A great portrayal of love, loyalty, friendship, ties between father and son, and the seemingly trivial decisions that can alter our entire lives.Chaz Palminteri's script is perfect (in fact, I can't think of a single thing that could've been added or changed, it's really impressive).Joe Pesci also makes an appearance as Sonny's friend Carmine, and his presence (along with Lorenzo finally respecting Sonny), really makes the ending great.It should've won some Academy Awards. I can't believe it didn't. Rarely has there been such an excellent movie. Originally, Review #106Posted On: December 17, 2010

anshafs You gotta do what your heart tells you to do. Let me tell you somethin' right now. You're only allowed three great women in your lifetime. They come along like the great fighters, every ten years. Rocky Marciano. Sugar Ray Robinson. Joe Louis. Sometimes you get 'em all at once. Me? I had my three when I was 16. That happens. What are you gonna do? That's the way it goes, you know? Tell you right now. See this girl? Maybe this girl, she put wind in your sails. Maybe she's your first great one.

estelastudent 3 things that the film did really well was 1. showed how overprotective parents can be 2. showed the maturity of a young boy grow up into a young man and how people in his life influence him. Ways this movie showed accurately shows teenage life in NYC is how friends can be bad influences and how parents want to protect their children from the dangers that some parts of NYC can have. People should pay attention to my review because it gives a youth perspective of the movie and I live in NYC, so I can tell people if it is an accurate portrayal of NYC.

SnoopyStyle It's 1960 Bronx. Lorenzo Anello (Robert De Niro) is an earnest bus driver. He and his wife Rosina are raising their nine year old son Calogero who is fascinated with local mobsters led by Sonny LoSpecchio (Chazz Palminteri). One day, Calogero witnesses Sonny shoot another man on the streets but he refuses to rat him out to the cops. Sonny tries to take Calogero under his wings which Lorenzo rejects immediately. Eight years later, Calogero has become Sonny's protégé. Sonny has climbed higher in the mob. Despite racial hatred of the time, Calogero is taken with a black girl named Jane Williams.This is a great gangster movie directed by first timer Robert De Niro. It covers so much that I almost want it to be a two-parter. The first 45 minutes is amazing. The tug-a-war between the two father figures is amazing. Robert De Niro as a straight earnest guy is amazing. The confrontation scene between De Niro and Palminteri is amazing. The second half isn't too shabby either. The addition of the racial aspect brings something more to the gangster film genre. So much of this is amazing.