They showed Godfather on TV yesterday, so I got a marvellous Pacino-therapy for my cracking head, and feel great today! This evening is GF2, 3 is tomorrow - but who can suffer watching it? :p

Thanks for that summation of the Takeshi film, Turi. Been wanting to see it for a while. I can just imagine his impassive face as he bets the money away...

It was on about 11pm last night on BBC4. I don't know if you have access to that channel. It was part of some Asian film celebration.

I think you'd really like it. That scene in particular is a masterpiece.

I have BBC 4 on Freeview, but, alas, have no means of recording from it.

Anyway, first time I've watched this film in nearly two years...

The Godfather
Francis Ford Coppola 1972 US (Nth time)
When a powerful Mafia Don is shot and nearly killed, his reluctant son learns the Family business.
Deftly written epic, touching an almost Shakespearean sense of plot, pacing and character development. It never puts a foot wrong.

THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN - (2nd viewing) - ***1/2

Hilarious film that shines due to now-movie star Steve Carell and his script written with the director. There has been serious Oscar-talk for a possible Best Original Screenplay nomination...and Jon Stewart is hosting....poor Virgin. Though really, I guess if a sequel happens, it'll be called THE 41 YEAR OLD STUD.

"You know how I know you're gay? You listen to Coldplay!"

Syriana ***

Nice review Irishman.

Ya, its almost as indepth and thorough as his review for THE FANTASTIC FOUR....

I'm glad, I don't return to school until Tuesday. Time to indulge in some movies, beginning with Le Samourai tonight.

Le Samouraï - (Jean-Pierre Melville;1967;France/Italy)
After killing a club owner, a hitman finds himself pursued by both the police and his employers.
This may be the greatest crime/suspense ever. The film is perfectly paced, directed meticulously by Melville. While the plot is simple, Melville brings the film into deeper levels that most crime films lack today. Alain Delon's performance is haunting, like an anti-social Bogart. The Jazz score is also wonderful, adding a pulsating feeling to some scenes, and a nice calmness to others. Definitely the best Neo-Noir along with Chinatown. Another power the film holds is containing less action and dialogue than most movies have, while maintaining fascination that holds strong from scene-to-scene.

Review: Film Board / GangsterBB

The Ringer **

I had wanted to see this for awhile but have heard nothing but bad things about it. I somewhat enjoyed this movie. It wasn't as bad as Fun With Dick & Jane (which was anything but FUN). This movie was more serious than I thought it would be but with the subject matter that it was dealing with it's understandable.

Ya, I gotta agree with Irishman here. Jim Carrey should be forced to go back living like a poor hobo Canadian like he was as a kid for one year in punishment for this s*it.

* * * 1/2

3.5 Stars

Main Cast: Burt Lancaster, Susan Sarandon, and Kate Reid

Summary: Lou is a small time gangster, who thinks he used to be something big. Nowadays, he spends most of his time taking care of an aging beauty queen who is sometimes his lover. He meets up with a younger girl, Sally, who is learning to be a casino dealer. Sally's husband, who had left Sally and eloped with her sister, turns up with drugs he has stolen from the Mafia. Sally's husband gets Lou to sell the drugs, but is killed before Lou can give him the money. Later, the owners of the drugs turn up and threaten to kill Sally if she doesn't return them. Now, Lou steps in to defend Sally and convince himself he can be a big shot.

Review: I first heard about this film in a book I read titled "The 101 Greatest Films of All Time", and this was #101. I wrote down the title somewhere simply because I saw it was about gangsters in one way or another, and kind of forgot about it. Then recently, I saw it for cheap in a video store, so I just decided to pick it up.

1980's Cinema is an area I'm not very familiar with, having only seen Thief, Raging Bull, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and the Breakfast Club among scattered others. There's a certain feel to 80's movies, that kind of kitschy, tacky, but yet likeable style that attracted me, and Atlantic City definetly has this.

Burt Lancaster as Lou was great in the lead role. The story of a washed up gangster is a fairly common one, but Lancaster really brings a sense of vulnerability to it in his performance. At times, Lou seems to be decieving himself into thinking he's a big shot, or at least once was, but at other times seems resigned to his fate and his past as a low-life nobody.

Kate Reid is also excellent as the aging beauty queen Grace who Lou takes care of. The director, Louis Malle, really nicely sets up and portrays this love-hate relationship, and at times the viewer will find themselves siding with Lou, and yet at other times, sympathy falls with Grace.

The beginning of the film is formatted to cover three emerging storylines at once; Lou and Grace living in relative solitude in a shabby Atlantic City apartment building, Sally (Susan Sarandon) living paycheck to paycheck working in the glossy new casinos, and Dave (Robert Joy) and his young bride Chrissie (Hollis McLaren) hitchiking from Vegas to Philadelphia where they steal a mysterious package from the Mob, and then moving on to Atlantic City.

Malle moves seamlessly through these three storylines, with Atlantic City as the central theme running through all of them. The city itself takes on a nice sense of symbolism throughout the film. To Sally, the new casino industry is going to bring chances for a new beginning and perhaps financial stability. To Lou, the city seems to be falling apart, becoming too "wholesome" and commercialized, and losing its gritty and exciting edge like Lou used to know in the good old days.

Dave's part of the story, although the catalyst for the events in the rest of the movie, is actually fairly boring and predictable at times, and badly acted by Robert Joy. I hadn't noticed until the credits rolled that the characters name was actually Dave Matthews.

Susan Sarandon, looking very young here, also performs well, although at times, the central relationship between her character Sally and Lou felt kind of forced and unexplained. Whether this should be blamed on Sarandon's acting or Malle's direction, I'm not sure, I just wasnt convinced.

The film actually picked up towards the end, although Malle had a little trouble getting there it seemed. The final conflict between Lou and Sally sets up for an interesting conclusion.

***SPOILER***

After Lou kills the drug dealers, the following morning, Burt Lancaster has some of his best scenes in the film, laughing at the news reports on the television, giddy like a little child. He is really able to accurately convey a sense of pride in himself and at the same time show that he has gone slightly senile and delusional, as he has no qualms about pointing whole-heartedly to the front page headline "Drug Related Mafia Slaying Rip Atlantic City" and declaring proudly, "I did that!" I laughed aloud at this part, probably the best scene in the film.

***SPOILERS END***

This film will definetly need a couple rewatches, not because of a complex storyline or anything like that, just because after understanding the story, further examination should be paid to the actors performances individually. Im looking forward to rewatching Burt Lancaster especially, and perhaps Ill look to see other films he has worked in.

Overall, a solid film, dramaticly convincing, yet humorous when it needs to be, good performances by Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, ultimately hampered by some pacing and story development problems in the mid-section of the film and some poor acting by most of the supporting cast.

Although I did especially enjoy the Robert Goulet cameo.

Direction – 17/20
Acting – 18/20
Story – 12/15
Rewatchability – 12/15
Music – 7/10
Depth – 8/10
Cinematography – 4/5
Supporting Cast – 3/5
TOTAL = 81%

81% = 3.5/5 Stars

Best Quote: "Don't touch the suit."

The Brown Bunny
Vincent Gallo 2003 US/Japan/France (1st time)
A motorcycle racer travels across America to meet with his girlfriend; along the way, he tries to fill in her absence.
An oddly beautiful film, which, stripped to its bare bones, is a road movie with an interesting closure; captivating for those who can take the director's heavy self-indulgence.

Capo, glad to see you reverted back to your old avatar. Very nice.

I haven't watched a movie since Aguirre, Wrath of God weeks ago. Damn school.

Narc - (Joe Carnahan;2002;USA/Canada)
After a cop's murder goes unsolved, a Narcotics officer teams up with the dead man's partner to solve it.
William Friedkin said that this film is very retro, somewhat like his film The French Connection, but I disagree with him in thinking it's a masterpiece. It is however, a very good crime film that not only shows an accurate portrayal of police, but is very atmospheric and gritty. The blue palettes used contribute a lot to that feeling. This is of course flawed by certain things, but made up for in others. This is Ray Liotta's best performance since Goodfellas, which holds a strong presence. I'm also glad it's distant from the buddy-cop cliche. Jason Patric's performance is also very good.

I'll revisit this when I can get a Widescreen copy.

Following
Christopher Nolan 1998 UK (1st time)
A wannabe writer, following people for characters in a new work, comes into trouble when he meets a burglar.
An inventive film in which all of the characters are expendably uninteresting; as a comment on privacy invasion and social identity, it outweighs its thriller conventions far more.

Godfather - 3 stars, Following - one star, Brokeback - none
Capo, you are shocking me more and more everyday with your ratings

I rewatched the whole Godfather Trilogy.
It was on TV 3 evenings in a row, and I made it a point to watch them, despite all. I won't describe all the efforts it took to sit through GF3, just pity me.
My impressions are not changed, they are, in fact, strenghtened beyond measure. 1 movie is a masterpiece, then slowly down, then rapidly down, then just rediculous...
But I found that I just love some scenes in GF2 - senza mama, for example...

What's your motivation for not giving it four stars?

Here's a list a films I plan on watching within the next few days/weeks. Bold films will be first viewings.

New York, New York
Jackie Brown
Blazing Saddles
Red Eye
Heat
Ali
Elephant
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith
Open Your Eyes
The Roaring Twenties
Opening Night
Thief
The Game
The Deer Hunter
The Conversation
Fight Club
Following
Le Cercle Rouge
Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas
Serpico
First Blood
Sin City
Cinderella Man
Training Day
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Usual Suspects

Youre in for some good films, especially in these two. I cant believe youve never seen Blazing Saddles, a true comedy classic, one of the funniest movies of all time probably.

MUNICH - ****1/2 out of 5

Wow. I might re-organize my Top 10 list for 2005, for this movie almost...ALMOST...takes the #1 crown away from A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Truely a stunning non-melodramatic tale from Senor Spielberg about an underground operation of vengeance.

Really, I don't get some of the negative reviews against it. Even the political piss-slaps at the movie is a waste of time to contemplate.

I don't have the proper words to express it, but if you love movies, its quite badass...and yes, its Spielberg's best effort as a director since SCHINDLER'S LIST. Bravo Steven, bravo...

Jackie Brown - (Quentin Tarantino;1997;USA)
A female flight attendant becomes a key figure in a plot between the police, an arms dealer, and a shitload of money.
It's been too long since the last time I saw this, but now I feel like I appreciated it even more then my first viewing. Tarantino's direction is great as usual, and this film works on a dramatic level wonderfully. Pam Grier, Robert Forster, and Samuel L. Jackson lead this film with very entertaining presence, as well as the rest of the cast. An underrated film I feel is better then the Kill Bill films. The soundtrack is also great, especially Bobby Womack's "Across 110th Street." I also like the nod to The Graduate in the opening.

Blazing Saddles - (Mel Brooks;1974;USA)
A black sheriff is appointed to bring down a western town.
This is definitely one of the best comedies ever. It maintains it's humor through the whole film. My favorite part of the movie is the ending, which becomes so absurd in it's parody that we can't help but piss ourselves. It would've been better if Richard Pryor was in it as it was originally planned but Cleavon Little is a great substitute. I can't wait to see Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein and The Producers. I really can't find anything to criticize about this.

Bart: Mornin', ma'am. And isn't it a lovely mornin'?
Elderly woman: Up yours n*gger.

The Godfather is a bit like Mann's Heat, in that my memory of it is always a mind-blowing film, but while actually watching it, it's a highly accomplished film which doesn't hit my emotional chords as powerfully as it used to. A thematically profound film, and one of bravura storytelling. I plan on revisiting Part II next week.

The difference between three stars and four stars is the latter is currently, actively influencing or changing my life. Both are awarded to masterpieces as and when I see them.

Lawrence of Arabia
David Lean 1962 UK (1st time)
A British military officer is transferred from Cairo to Arabia, and helps the Arabs to revolt.
Astonishing epic, which, even at four hours, is a delightful, adventurous, and genuinely exciting affair. Powerful, essential stuff.

I missed Gohatto last night, Mick

But it wasn't too bad. I've discovered My Name is Earl. And excellent new comedy.

Tonight's Ping Pong sounds relatively interesting though.

You know, I had a feeling that, since I hadn't reminded you of it, you would forget to watch that film.

Fucking assignments.

MANHUNTER - **1/2

Michael Mann's serial killer thriller from 1986 starts off great, but then once the 2nd half happens, it ends up becoming quite flat and nothing special. Sad since I dug the opening half, where for a good long time, we never meet the perp. In most such movies, we would see him step by step(ironically, like the inferior remake RED DRAGON), but instead we let William Petersen paint the profile and suggested history...and its really our imagination that can make it more disturbing than weird tattoos or a house full of trophies from the remains of his victims, whatever.

In fact, when we finally meet the "Tooth Fairy" in a scene that isn't scored and everything is understated...damn talk about creepy.

However, the movie goes from being interesting to being bland once we explore the killer more, that sense of awe and fear to this psychopath that is out there, somewhere now.

Not to mention that I HATED the 80's music junk. I could stand THIEF and THE KEEP, but not this garbage. Yuck!

P.S. - Interesting and different work from Brian Cox as Dr. Hannibal "Lecktor", years before Anthony Hopkins became "THE" Dr. Lector. Still, I liked the film's idea of Cox's Lecktor being under-stated in his menace, and actually trying and nearly destroying the one person that happened to catch him.