Films of Shame: The Godfather Part II

Films of Shame chronicles my impressions of movies I should have seen before now, but haven't. I've already taken Citizen Kane and The Shining off my list. Next will be Annie Hall, and I'll round off the series with Taxi Driver.

The Godfather Part II is one of only two movie sequels to have won the Best Picture oscar. (Bonus points if you can name the other). Although it could equally described as a prequel, since a good part of the movie is spent in the company of the early life of Vito Corleone, played by Robert di Niro. The rest of the movie is spent with his youngest son Michael Corleone as he attempts to follow is his father's footsteps as the new Godfather.

It's been about six/seven years, since I saw The Godfather, and I chose not to watch it before seeing what is considered to be one of the greatest sequels, if not movies, of all time. As an eighteen year-old, I remember thinking the original was good but felt a little bulky in places, such as when Michael goes off to hide in Sicily. Perhaps my views would best be summed up by this clip:



It's fair to say my movie tastes have changed a lot since then, since there was nothing bulky about the sequel, and if I had the chance I would probably give my eighteen year old self a slap across the head and tell him to watch what's really happening.

Perhaps my favourite scene in the movie was when Di Niro in is early days as Don Carleone is asked by an old widow if he would speak to her landlord about her recent eviction. De Niro then asks, in the nicest way possible if the landlord would reconsider. He refuses initially, but after speaking to some of the locals, he returns the next day, clearly shaking with fear about the mistake he almost made.

The scene perfectly sums up the world The Godfather inhabits, and the disconnect between his persona, and the myths and legends that surround him.

It also perhaps sums up the difference between Vito and his successor, Michael, who while feared and respected, perhaps lacks the glint in his eye his father had.

The great thing about The Godfather is that there's so many scenes that will probably be favourites for lots of other people. Scenes that say so much with so little. Since, it's the smiles, raising of an eyebrow, or significant look that all speak way more than the dialogue ever attempts to.

Like all my favourite stories, I think it succeeds because of its ability to force the viewer to lean in and investigate the world further. We become a member of the Corleone family, as we're forced to learn the language they speak and the what words, phrases and gestures really mean. If like me you haven't seen all 390 minutes of the first two Godfathers, then surely that's an offer you can no longer refuse...

What I've Been Watching: Television

Sarah Connor Chronicles: Season 2
The Mother of All Destiny

The Terminator franchise has had a somewhat turmultious history. Terminator and Terminator 2 are considered to be among the best sci-fi movies of all time, containing the performances Arnold Schwarzenegger will be remembered for. Terminator 3 was considered to be a fairly insignificant sequel, just about staying on the right side of average. Finally, Terminator: Salvation was generally considered the biggest disappointment of last year's blockbusters. Having few new ideas or stories to convince us the story Post-Judgment Day is worth telling.

Sarah Connor Chronicles sees the title character's battle to bring up and protect her teenage son, John. He has the unenviable task of leading the humans rebellion against their machine overlords in the future. They have the help of Cameron, a machine FutureJohn has reprogrammed to protect TeenageJohn. Confused? Try not to think about it too much...

Where as season one saw our happy family try to hide and destroy anything that could bring about the rise of the machines, season two sees them more accepting of humanity's fate.

The season is patchy in parts. At its worst, episodes are remakes of the original movies: with our heroes trying to escape a robot sent from the future. Also references to religion were completely misjudged and patronising. With one character being chosen to teach a machine morals purely because of his faith. The subsequent 'theological' conversations failing miserably to hit the depth I feel the writers should have been going for. Evidently, they hadn't seen The Two Cathedrals.

At its best, it compared the struggle to that of seasoned war veterans, who find it difficult to keep going with all the pain and suffering they've endured. Sarah's ongoing struggle to both protect her son, but allow him to become the man he needs to be providing an excellent undercurrent to all the series' events. The two extra protagonists they added, Riley and Jesse, proved to have the most interesting this season. Perhaps the reason they worked so well is that unlike the other characters, they don't have the baggage of the film's canon looming over them.

So a fairly uneven season, that did have some interesting things to say, although I feel the franchise it was based on actually proved to be a hindrance as oppose to a help. Sometimes I wasn't sure the type of show it wanted to be, and too often it would default back to slow motion shots of Terminators unceremoniously taking out an innocent bystander. This lack of forward momentum meant I found it difficult to engage with the storylines at points, and meant I wasn't as engrossed as I could have been.


Sarah Connor Chronicles: Seasons 1 & 2 are both available on DVD right now.

Mad Men: Season 3
Selling Your Soul

Mad Men has just finished its run on BBC4 and remains just as strong as ever. Set in the sixties it tells the story of an advertising agency in Manhattan.

In a story-telling form similar to The Wire, events take a while to get going, with little appearing to happen from episode to episode. However, since the show is based around on its characterisation, small events or comments can have huge significance later on.

Where the show succeeded most this season was in its amalgamation of its characters and real events from the sixties. In particular the way it handles (SPOILER for real life coming up) the assassination of JFK was a complete triumph. Masterfully combining both a realistic portrayal of how the news came out with possibly the most engaging character moments of the season.

In common with shows like Friday Night Lights and The West Wing (At least Seasons 1 to 4) it's difficult to separate this season's events from previous seasons. This isn't a show you can just pick up at some random point, but rather have to watch from the beginning. It has the philosophy that stories shouldn't explain everything to their audience, but should instead force them to lean in and engage beyond what is merely happening from scene to scene. As such fans of The Wire can rejoice, here's a show that at least comes close to matching its quality, patience and vision.

Mad Men Season 3 is released on DVD this Monday, 26th April in the UK/Ireland

Being Human: Season 2
Wanna Watch The Real Hustle?

Being Human has solidified its place among Great British Sci-Fi with its second season. Taking a leaf out of Buffy's book, it does a great job of allowing characters to grow and develop in response to the evil they're fighting.

Having survived a first season, it felt as though the writers had a very clear idea of where they wanted the characters to go this time around.

In particular, the way each episode opened with a flashblack to a character's past really did a great job of extending the world and mythology of the show beyond that of present day Bristol.

The villains for this season were religious fundamentalists. Being Human has dealt with religious themes before. In particular a quote from 1 Corinithians helping convince George to make a significant decision at the end of season one. However, despite some efforts to give a fair representation of religion, they failed: in the world of Being Human, religion is merely used to brainwash characters into unquestionably doing things they wouldn't do otherwise. Instead the villains of the piece were used to support a clear theme of Being Human: that the people we associate ourselves will end up defining us.

There was a great irony to this season, as the more our heroes were told they were less than human, the more they were pushed and attacked, the more monstrous they became. Violence and hatred breeding nothing but the same in return.

This led to a sense of brokenness and despair at the end of the season that had a uniquely British feel to it. Like Torchwood, the world created by the writers is one in which saving the day often comes at a price beyond that which the characters were willing to pay. I'll certainly be watching when the third season returns next year, this time with our characters relocated to Cardiff. Torchwood/Being Human crossover anyone?

Being Human seasons 1 and 2 are both available on DVD right now. (Region 2 only)

Joss Whedon's Avengers - 5 Reasons To Get Excited

This week came the news that Joss Whedon is in final negotiations to direct The Avengers movie. For those of you who don't know, The Avengers is the name given to Marvel's flagship team. Originally this was Hulk, Iron Man, Captain America, Ant-Man, Wasp and Thor. Although part of the success of the series has been its ever-changing roster, so characters like Spiderman and Wolverine have also been Avengers at various points in time.

For those of you who don't know who Joss Whedon is, he's the creator of the TV series Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse as well as the internet musical Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog.

Excited yet?

Here's Five Reasons I think you should be:

1) Dialogue.

Possibly what fans will most closely associate him with. Whedon is the master at one liners and pop culture references. Expect both of these, as the superheroes make fun of one another abilities and try to balance the importance of what they're doing (inevitably, saving the world) with the ludicrously of having characters called "Captain America" and "Ant-Man".

2) It's an ensemble piece

What do Firefly, Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse all have in common? People with various skills joining up to keep evil at bay. Well, that's a coincidence, because that's exactly who the Avengers are. The joy of his shows for me has always been spending time with characters that get on so well and feel like a family. Hopefully he'll be able to create that sense of community in the two hours he'll have for this movie.

3) It'll be camp one minute then break your heart the next.

If we know anything about Joss Whedon's stories, it's that:

a) They can be quite camp: For example, characters breaking into song, characters with names like Buffy, and characters with incredibly tight pants.

b) They'll break your heart: Whedon shows never end well. I won't list the characters that have died, but those of us who've seen the finales to his shows know that the relationships and characters we treasure most are inevitably the ones he chooses to take away.

For an example of something that does both, look no further than Dr Horrible, although be warned: You may laugh and cry uncontrollably as a result.

So don't be at all surprised if one of the more minor characters in the Marvel world is dead by the end of the Avengers movie.

4) Joss Whedon knows his comics.

He did a run on Astonishing X-Men which is considered among fans to be one of the best written stories in its forty year history. He's also a self-confessed comic geek, who has been linked to movies like X-Men and Wonder Woman in the past. This is the chance he's been waiting his whole career for.

5) It'll be epic.

This is the first time a movie like this has ever happened on this scale. We're going to get up to five movies which introduce us to all these characters, then one big one where they join forces to kick ass together. What's not to love?

What I've Been Watching: DVD

Vera Drake
Anyone fancy a cup of tea?

Probably the most well known of Mike Leigh's films, Vera Drake is about a woman who carries out back street abortions without the knowledge of her family. Set in the 1950s, it explores attitudes to sex, families and gender roles/identities.

As I mentioned when I reviewed another of his films, Meantime, Mike Leigh has a very individual way of writing and directing his movies. He starts out with character descriptions which he gives to each character, and dialogue is improvised based on how conversations proceed.

Vera Drake however, is probably the most clearly constructed of his films. There are the same dramatic rise and falls we associate with most mainstream films, as well as character arcs with clear beginnings and endings. The dialogue, however, remains just as realistic and insightful as one has come to expect from Leigh. With short sentences, and characters revealing so much with so little. For example, Vera Drake, speaking of her secret life tells another character:

"I help out young girls"

From this we see both Vera's attitude and motivation for what she does. As well as the fact she is unwilling to explicitly spell out she is terminating an embryo, whether for fear of judgement, or because she is unwilling to confront it herself.

Lines like this are littered through out Vera Drake, as characters attempt to say things without upsetting social norms, to give an appearance contrary to the reality of the situation.

The issue of abortion itself is handled in an interesting way. The women Vera meets have both understandable and more selfish reasons for approaching her. However, it is clear Vera wants to give them all the same opportunity, and does not see it as her place to deny someone this choice. If the movie does have a message about abortion, it is perhaps that women should have the right to choose it according to their own circumstances and conscience.

Regardless of whether you agree with that opinion, the movie is still worth watching, as the performances and dialogue are all brilliantly executed. If you took just a random ten minute sample of this movie, I reckon there'd be more insight and depth in that segment than most films manage in their entire runtime.

To Sleep With Anger
The Trouble With Harry

After watching Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing for my film course, my lecturer recommended this movie as an alternative piece of black cinema. Where as most in this category concentrate on race relations or gangster culture, this movie is a much more sedate look at everyday family life.

The premise is a black middle-class family gets a knock on the door from Harry (Danny Glover), an old friend they haven't seen in years. He gets invited to stay, but soon his differing morals and attitudes cause tensions within the house.

The movie does a great job of slowly introducing us to Harry's true nature, from a friendly, charming stranger, to a much more vindictive and seductive force. It also subtly interweaves plenty of interesting themes: religion, civil rights, and family values.

The narrative should also be given credit for not wasting any scenes or lines. Each one having significance later on, as characters become engulfed in events without quite realising how they got there.

Overall then, this is a movie with a lot of depth, and a great performance from Danny Glover. A simple, but refreshing look at family life and values.

Skeleton Man
If it hadn't been for Cotton-Mouth Joe....

An old tradition in cinema is that of a 'short' being shown before the main feature. I have fond memories of watching a short Mickey Mouse story before re-released Disney classics like The Jungle Book and Cinderella. I assume this was done back in the day because those classics are only eighty as oppose to ninety minutes long.

In an effort to bring back said fond memories, some friends introduced me to B.O.I.D., a ten minute short they had made in their teens. The movie had a surprising amount in common with our main feature of the night, Skeleton Man. Both had barely comprehensible plots, antagonists with skulls that were obviously just masks, and killers with no clear motivation.

The difference of course was that Skeleton Man cost millions of dollars to make, and B.O.I.D. merely the price of the petrol used in one of the best chase scenes ever to be put to screen (where the serial killer, B.O.I.D., brakes to get over a speed ramp safely).

The other difference is that Skeleton Man has explosions. Lots of them. Possibly more than all of Michael Bay's back catalogue put together. In the opening scene, a scientist is collecting artefacts from an Ancient Indian Burial Ground (never a good idea). Skeleton Man (aka Cotton Mouth Joe) comes in and kills our scientist and takes one of the skulls for his collection. He then decides to blow up the joint, including large parts of his ancestor's heritage you think he might be interested in protecting.

Likewise: lorries, cars, helicopters, power plants and chemical plants all meet similar fates. If it can be put on fire, the movies gonna blow it up.

Of course the irony of seeing such a train wreck is that you get much more enjoyment from predicting deaths, methods and plot twists than you could from an altogether more serious affair. Like the early rounds of Britain's Got Talent , there's something incredibly compelling about watching a perfect storm of dreadfulness.

Such are the obscurity of both To Sleep With Anger and Skeleton Man, I had to add in a plot synopsis to wikipedia for both of them. If you're interested you can read them here, although bear in mind there will be spoilers (although in the case of Skeleton Man, I'm not sure knowing the plot would impact the viewing experience in the slightest):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skeleton_Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_sleep_with_anger

"The Gift" - Is this the next District 9?

Those of you who have seen District 9 will know what an awesome, original sci-fi movie it is. What you may not know is that it was based on a short-film called Alive in Joburg. Which Peter Jackson was so impressed with, he agreed to fund a feature length film based on its ideas.

Coming in a similar vein is The Gift, a short film which cost $150,000 to make, and its rumoured has since been picked up to made into a full-length movie entitled Small.

Probably one of the most breath-taking short films I've ever seen. I'm really hoping the movie lives up to this promise: