Because DeNiro uses the same mannerisms, facial expressions, vocal inflections and body movements when playing this character as he does playing every other character. Look at him in The King of Comedy vs The Godfather, Part II. Again, completely different roles, but crucially, it seemed like two different actors.…

I thought he sleepwalked through Heat. Even Pacino's shouty mugging in that movie was better than DeNiro's non-performance

That's a good point. But I think while the role itself was a new thing, DeNiro just played DeNiro again

So he was the WORST in Casino (great movie, tho). At least Pesci ATTEMPTED a Chicago accent. DeNiro couldn't be bothered to even do that (a metaphor for his post-Cape Fear career). It was same old DeNiro. Wearing pastel suits does not equal good acting. In Heat, still same old glum-faced, quiet DeNiro. 70s to 80s,…

At the time, most reviews mentioned Tarantino (I'm old enough to remember) and I never understood why. And I truly think it's less "Scorsese" than one particular Scorsese…

L.A. Confidential was not just the best movie of 1997 but one of the best 5 movies of the 1990s. Truly not a SINGLE WORD wasted in the entire script. Uniformly excellent performances (aside from the big 3 and Kim, I thought James Cromwell was menacingly magnetic).