Well, you maybe won't believe that this movie really IS brilliant if you are only 30 minutes or so in. At least I didn't.

I actually got bored by the multiple - but at first not very promising - story lines going on. But I like Andy Garcia, I like Emily Mortimer and after all it had a very high rating here.

It got better though, and in the last 30 minutes or so, when everything started coming together, I watched almost with my mouth open and sometimes I had to laugh really hard.

And while Andy Garcia is a pretty good actor in general ... BOY is he good in this one !! I predict an Oscar nomination for him this year, no I am SURE he will get nominated for this role!

So, all I am saying is: Just give it a chance and sit through it. You won't regret it and you will end up LOVING it !!!

This movie "City Island" will take any city by storm! Writer-Director Raymond De Fellita's engaging & entertainment gem has been transported to my fantastical island of quality film-fare. Cuban-American thespian icon Andy Garcia stars as Vince Rizzo, a New York prison guard (I mean correctional officer) who resides in a New York suburban island called… see movie title. Vince has always aspired to be an actor but he has never told his family of his "wanna-be" thespian affairs. Julianna Margulies plays Vincent's "good wife" (just had to do it, it was too good) Joyce; in reality Joyce is not too good and has smoking passions of her own, but nevertheless she is the fervent mother of the Rizzo clan. Ezra Miller plays Vince Jr., the Rizzo teenage kid that has some hefty passions of his own that are unknown to his family. Dominik Garcia-Lorido, Andy's real-life daughter, plays daughter Vivian; a college student whose financial tuition difficulties have stripped her of all her money so she decides to be a stripper, of course not providing that naked truth to her family. And then we get a strait man enter the picture, that would be in the form of Steven Strait who portrays Tony Nardella, a convict prisoner who Vince takes under his wing to the Rizzo residence because of a deep secret; to be strait with you he just might be Vince's lovechild. Emily Mortimer plays Molly, a lonely acting student who Vince befriends. And we even get another Alan Arkin sighting in a dysfunctional family film, which is always a welcome. Arkin plays Vince & Molly's acting teacher. All this Rizzo secret madness is wrapped up into a convoluted, but yet, engaging narrative that you will most certainly adore. All the performances are first-rate! But the acting-god father of the group is definitely highlighted by Andy Garcia's charismatic & whimsical starring performance as Vince Rizzo. He belongs in Oscar Island at next year's Academy Awards with a Best Actor nomination. Marguiles was marvelous as Joyce, and Strait was straight as an arrow with his thespian work as Tony. And of course, much felicidades goes out to Writer-Director Raymond De Fellita for his comedic-delicious functional script on a dysfunctional New York family and his functional direction of the side-splitting narrative. So my friends, grab on to your cinematic passport and get on that pleasurable movie cruise to "City Island". ***** Excellent

Greetings again from the darkness. I am always amazed, amused and somewhat satisfied when a writer gathers up multiple stereotypes, massages the conflict and dialogue, and emerges with a script that captures interest and holds attention. Writer/director Raymond De Felitta has done just that with working class Italian New Yorkers.

All story lines revolve around the secrets each of the family members keep from the others. Sure, we all understand that two-way communication and trust create a much stronger and healthier family, but sometimes, it's just not that simple.

Andy Garcia plays the head of this secretive bunch and he sets the stage with two whoppers. The first is his slinking off to acting classes while chasing his lifelong dream of becoming an actor - like his inspiration, Marlon Brando. To cover this one up, he tells his wife (Julianna Margulies) that he is off to another poker game, unaware that she interprets this as code for his having an affair.

They have a daughter (Dominik Garcia-Lorido) who has lost her college scholarship and is saving money to re-enroll by working (secretly) as a stripper. Their odd ball son (Ezra Miller),who believes he is too smart to attend classes, develops an online fetish habit that ends up VERY close to home.

In most films, this would be plenty of ammunition to create havoc among the players. Not here. Garcia's second, and much larger secret, throws this dysfunctional family into a tailspin - and he somehow is the last to realize. Emily Mortimer, Steven Strait and Alan Arkin all provide strong support to the story and this "family".

Mr. De Felitta explored some of these family topics in "The Thing About My Folks", but here he is working with his own script. The balance between comedy, conflict and insight is actually very good; though, the New Yorker habit of loud mealtime conversation is somewhat discomforting for this southern boy. Still, I have nothing but positive things to say about how the stereotypes end up providing self-realization to each of the characters, and even more importantly, an understanding of what their family really is. Good stuff here.