Bobby Green (Joaquin Phoenix) has turned his back on the family business. The popular manager of El Caribe, the legendary Russian-owned nightclub in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach, he has changed his last name and concealed his connection to a long line of distinguished New York cops. For Bobby, every night is a party, as he greets friends and customers or dances with his beautiful Puerto Rican girlfriend, Amada (Eva Mendes), in a haze of cigarette smoke and disco music. But it's 1988, and New York City's drug trade is escalating. Bobby tries to keep a friendly distance from the Russian gangster who is operating out of the nightclub – a gangster who is being targeted by his brother, Joseph (Mark Wahlberg), an up-and-coming NYPD officer, and his father, Burt (Robert Duvall), the legendary deputy chief of police.
I was so psyched to see this movie from the first time I saw the preview for it. It looked so much like last year's The Departed (the best movie of last year, people!). Unfortunately, I think I broke my most important of movie going roles and let my expectations get too high. I wasn't disappointed by this movie. I still really liked it a lot. Unfortunately, I definitely think that I could have seen this as one of the best movies of the year hands down if I didn't go in expecting it to be just that. Regardless of my expectations ramblings, this was a great film. The acting was top notch. Mark Wahlberg continues to get better with every role even though I still hum Good Vibrations a la Marky Mark every time I see him in a movie. Joaquin Phoenix continues to be phenomenal in everything that he does. The sibling rivalry between the two of them in the movie is excellently crafted along with the non-stop tension feeling.
I fully recommend that everyone checks this bad boy out. Even though I expected to see the best picture of the year and was disappointed, this movie was still totally worth the trip to check it out.
