The Alto Knights

"This mob crime movie, based on true events, got horrible reviews and not much press during its theatrical release. I don't know why. Is it the best mafia movie ever? Not even close. But it is an interesting and worthy watch. Robert De Niro pulls double duty playing both Frank Costello and Vito Genovese in this movie set in the 1950s. De Niro has long been a favorite actor of mine and shines in his role as Vito Genovese a bit more than Costello, IMO. Debra Messing and Katherine Narducci also give notable performances in their supporting roles. Since it is based on real life criminals they couldn't take many liberties with the story, but Barry Levinson has crafted a mob movie that should gain appreciation over time, one that fits neatly in the middle of a list of great mafia films. For example, I liked it better than the Irishman. Alto Knights has a comfortable pace to it and its over 2 hour runtime is hardly noticeable. All the set designs are period correct and I didn't notice any modern terms used in the dialogue. Overall, fans of mob movies and of mafia history should enjoy this as much as I did. 7.5/10"

"For some reason this movie didn’t get very good reviews. I found it to be interesting if you’re into mob history. Also liked the 1950s setting! I didn’t think it was nearly as bad as people were claiming. "