CD Giveaway - 33Miles, "One Life"
Ends Aug 4, 2010
The country-pop sound established in their eponymous debut is a mainstay for this album as well, and even adds a little more southern flavor.
CD Giveaway - Phil Wickham, "Cannons"
Ends Aug 3, 2010
With an opening shot that hits the sonic pinnacle, this collection of spiritual Brit pop/rock is heavily influenced by Keane, Travis, Coldplay, and U2.
Rating: Country: USA Release Date: May 18, 2007 Distributor: City Lights Pictures Director: · Michael Corrente Cast: · Alec Baldwin · Freddie Prinze Jr. · Scott Caan · Jerry Ferrara · Mena Suvari · Monica Keena · Christian Maelen · Chris Caldovino Related Sites: ·IMDb: Brooklyn Rules
Grade: A-
"Brooklyn Rules" is a sort of "Stand by Me" meets "Goodfellas". Written by three-time Emmy winner Terence Winter (The Sopranos) and directed by Michael Corrente, it's the story of three best friends growing up and growing together against a backdrop of mob violence and the rise of John Gotti.
The narrator of the story is Michael (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), a college student studying pre-law when he isn't faking and conning his professors. Bobby (Jerry Ferrara) is the baby-faced cheapskate of the trio, who maintains his innocence and faith. And fashion plate Carmine (Scott Caan) is the one they both worry about -- because Carmine is falling in with wiseguys working for local mob boss, Caesar (Alec Baldwin), who lives the life that Carmine covets desperately.
Best Friends. Mikey, Bobby, and Carmine, doing
what guys do. (L-R: Prinze, Ferrara, Caan)
Photo: Brian Hamill
As the boys become men, they remain close as brothers even as they pursue other interests. Michael tries to break into the upper-class crowd of his fellow students and forges a fragile romantic relationship with Ellen (Mena Suvari). Virginal Bobby has a girl in his life, Amy (Monica Keena) whom he is planning to marry as soon as he can pass the civil service exam, get a good job at the post office, and afford a nice (but inexpensive) diamond engagement ring. And while Carmine has no dearth of women in his life, he's more often than not hanging around with Caesar's associate, Philly (Chris Caldovino), planning schemes that don't always work out as planned (like hijacking a truck of Cabbage Patch Kid dolls only to get stuck with boxes of Quiz King games.)
The deeper Carmine becomes involved in the mafia, the further he drags his friends into his life. But they also end up needing Carmine's connections, when Mike gets into a fight with a low-level psycho named Gino (played by Christian Maelen) Not one to forget a grudge, it takes a sitdown in neutral territory with Caesar and Gino's boss to ensure the safety of Mike's life.
But with mob boss Neil Dellacroce recently killed, things are unstable in the world of the wiseguys. Soon after the fight, Paul Castellano is gunned down (in a scene involving actual footage of Tom Brokaw's broadcast). There's a war brewing, and John Gotti is targeting anyone he deems disloyal. Soon, anyone who stood between Gino and Mike is gone, and the tragic violence of the underworld explodes again into Mikey's life.
Peppered with seventies and eighties nostalgic references, it's not the genre that drives the story, but the characters and their interactions with each other. There's no attempt at a moral, no "crime doesn't pay" lesson that gets hammered home in the end. But there is a great, memorable story, full of climactic moments that serve to define the relationships between the three principals. When it comes to movies about friendships that survive adversity, "Brooklyn Rules" rules.
