...Winter's coming-of-age-in-the-1980s saga is content to rewalk the same mean streets, never ducking into one alley or back room we haven't visited.

Singularly unoriginal, full of clichés and tough-neighborhood set pieces tied together with GoodFellas-style voice-over narration.

Brooklyn Rules is a watchable flick but it's also tired and derivative, which is a shame given the talent involved.

Ah, the nostalgic mob drama. No matter the brutality, the blood, or the sheer fear that shape the memory, movies and TV tend to make life in the mob a growth experience.

Years after Federal Hill (1994), director Michael Corrente is still doing low-budget Mean Streets knockoffs.

Although yet another set-in-the-80's coming of age film, it's a familiar but affecting story.

It all remains as charming and likable as the mutt that Bobby adopts, and the genuine New York locations sure beat Toronto.

Brooklyn Rules has enough heart and personality to freshen what could easily be construed as stale cannoli.

Director Michael Corrente and screenwriter Terence Winter don't miss a cliché, but they spin them smartly.

Though there's little original about Brooklyn Rules, it's an engaging tale of lifelong friends navigating the 'hood, dodging crime, and finding their places in the real world.