Now we’re getting into the really good stuff. The 1972 winner for the Best Picture Oscar was “The Godfather.” I have seen this film many times before so there weren’t really any surprises for me here. It is one of the most influential film of the past 50 years. Not only does it begin the telling of a great story that is finished with “The Godfather II” (I won’t mention the third film), but it also brought to prominence a slew of great actors which includes Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and James Caan.
“The Godfather” follows the story of Michael Corleone, the youngest brother of a family of Italian-Americans. The first part of the movie sets up the world of underground crime that the family is involved in. Things take a turn for the worse when the head of the family, Vito, played by Marlon Brando, refuses to begin trafficking drugs. When he is shot, Michael gets drawn into the world of crime and eventually must flee the country and live in Italy. While there he marries a local girl who is then murdered in an assassination attempt on Michael. Eventually Michael returns to America after his older brother is killed and takes over the family, marries the girlfriend that he left in the states and then must deal with the fallout of the death of his father. The movie ends with him becoming a Godfather to his nephew and at the same time settling all family business by taking revenge on his enemies.
What more is there to say about this movie that hasn’t already been said, the first thing I think of when I think about “The Godfather” is the theme music. If you’ve seen the movie you are probably already hearing it in your head. The second would be the acting; my favorite scene is at the end when Michael is confronting someone that betrayed him. You can see that he has completely given into the world of crime at this point and is an evil man. Pacino puts in the performance of a lifetime here, and he isn’t the only one to give a solid performance, there isn’t a weak spot to be found in the acting. The only point that people have really ever found contention with is the complicated plot. It may take several viewing to fully understand what is going on. And it did take me more than one watch to be able to fully describe the plot to someone. It’s a movie that makes you work. But it is so good that you won’t mind.
“The Godfather” will remain on Top 10 lists for a long time. And it should. The film holds up to any of the gangster and crime films of today. If you haven’t seen it rent or just go buy the film. You won’t regret it. 5 out of 5 stars.
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Mad Men - S5E13 - The Phantom
With two huge episodes before this one it is not surprising that “The Phantom” lacked a lot of big moments that we expect from the season finale of “Mad Men.” Instead we get a nice character piece. A large portion of this episode focused on Pete and his continued adventures with his mistress. It turns out that she is going to get shock therapy to help with her depression. She believes that she has found a kindred spirit in Pete as someone else that cannot be happy. But she’s wrong as he believes that he can be happy if he is with her. After the shock therapy, she no longer remembers Pete though. It is revealed later that her husband makes her do this every time she cheats on him. The ensuing fight on the train leads Trudy to let Pete get what he has wanted, an apartment in the city. Finally Pete gets what he wants just to have something that he actually cared about ripped away.
We also get a nice little check in with Peggy. It’s quite a different experience with her boss who wants her to do anything to land a client instead of Don who would look at the merit of the creativity as a means of landing a client. She is of course put on what will be named Virginia Slims and their future tagline, “You’ve come a long way baby.” Something that Peggy can relate too. The closing shot at the end shows that even though she has moved forward she still has a long way to go before she’s truly arrived and sees an Eiffel Tower out her window instead of two dogs having sex.
Roger had a minor story as well as he was able to bed Megan’s mother and tried to convince her to take LSD with him. She refused, but he was insistent on regaining the clarity and optimism that he had lost since last taking the drug. The ending shot clearly indicates that he has again tried the drug. Meanwhile Megan was being exceptionally pouty about not landing any acting gigs. She wines and complains until she finally gets Don to help her, sacrificing her marriage to help her career.
As for Don, he continued to struggle with Lane’s suicide since it so closely mirrored what happened to his half-brother during the first season. In fact it affected him so much that he began to see his brother everywhere. After trying to make things right with Lane’s wife and refusing to help Megan, with a perfectly reasonable explanation, all while suffering with a tooth ache he finally visits the dentist and while he is under sees his brother again who promises to help him remove the pain, but also promises that he will still be ‘hanging’ around. The whole experience and a quick meeting with Peggy that helps him clear out the cobwebs, inspires him to help Megan. But as Peggy told him, when you help someone they move on, and once Don helps Megan with her career, she will move on. As he walks away, you can see that their relationship is now over. She may still be around, but it won’t be the same any more. And if him walking away from Megan isn’t enough, the smile he gives when the young ladies hit on him should be more than enough to signal that Don is back on the market looking for someone new.
This season on “Mad Men” has been different. I’m used to a nice slow burn from a television series that doesn’t feel like TV. This year more than any other felt like regular television. Maybe it’s just that they’ve been away for a while and the bar has been raised, but I don’t feel like this was the same as previous seasons. That doesn’t mean we didn’t get great character development or great stories. It was just easier. I’m used to working to enjoy “Mad Men” and I liked that. We have a year to wait to see if this is a pattern or something that Weiner had planned to bring into focus how the final two season will need to play out.
We also get a nice little check in with Peggy. It’s quite a different experience with her boss who wants her to do anything to land a client instead of Don who would look at the merit of the creativity as a means of landing a client. She is of course put on what will be named Virginia Slims and their future tagline, “You’ve come a long way baby.” Something that Peggy can relate too. The closing shot at the end shows that even though she has moved forward she still has a long way to go before she’s truly arrived and sees an Eiffel Tower out her window instead of two dogs having sex.
Roger had a minor story as well as he was able to bed Megan’s mother and tried to convince her to take LSD with him. She refused, but he was insistent on regaining the clarity and optimism that he had lost since last taking the drug. The ending shot clearly indicates that he has again tried the drug. Meanwhile Megan was being exceptionally pouty about not landing any acting gigs. She wines and complains until she finally gets Don to help her, sacrificing her marriage to help her career.
As for Don, he continued to struggle with Lane’s suicide since it so closely mirrored what happened to his half-brother during the first season. In fact it affected him so much that he began to see his brother everywhere. After trying to make things right with Lane’s wife and refusing to help Megan, with a perfectly reasonable explanation, all while suffering with a tooth ache he finally visits the dentist and while he is under sees his brother again who promises to help him remove the pain, but also promises that he will still be ‘hanging’ around. The whole experience and a quick meeting with Peggy that helps him clear out the cobwebs, inspires him to help Megan. But as Peggy told him, when you help someone they move on, and once Don helps Megan with her career, she will move on. As he walks away, you can see that their relationship is now over. She may still be around, but it won’t be the same any more. And if him walking away from Megan isn’t enough, the smile he gives when the young ladies hit on him should be more than enough to signal that Don is back on the market looking for someone new.
This season on “Mad Men” has been different. I’m used to a nice slow burn from a television series that doesn’t feel like TV. This year more than any other felt like regular television. Maybe it’s just that they’ve been away for a while and the bar has been raised, but I don’t feel like this was the same as previous seasons. That doesn’t mean we didn’t get great character development or great stories. It was just easier. I’m used to working to enjoy “Mad Men” and I liked that. We have a year to wait to see if this is a pattern or something that Weiner had planned to bring into focus how the final two season will need to play out.
Friday, June 8, 2012
E3 2012 Recap
The first full week of June every year is always highly anticipated as it indicates that it is time for E3. For those that don’t know E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo and is held every year in California. It is essentially the biggest event for video games held every year. The show starts with a press conference from the larger companies, Microsoft, Nintendo, Sony, EA and Ubisoft. Then the actual floor opens for the press to try out the games that will be released in the future. The event isn’t open to the public, but they do air the press conferences on television and internet along with reports from the show floor.
Every year I look forward to this week so that I know what I can expect to play over the next year. Unfortunately with the conference getting larger many of the companies are releasing information ahead of time, which ruins some of the surprises that happened at past E3’s. Here is what went down this year.
It started with Microsoft. Their big game was Halo 4, which does look pretty cool and it will be nice to not fight the covenant or the reach for once. They were also able to show off Splinter Cell and Call of Duty, but to be honest I’m over the first person shooter genre. It just doesn’t offer enough interesting game play for me to keep coming back. A good chunk of their show was dedicated to the introduction of SmartGlass. This new piece of software will allow your smart phone and tablet devices to add additional functionality to the video games you are playing on the Xbox. While this seems interesting and is an obvious shot at Nintendo, it will be interesting to see if they can get it to work right with all of the different tablets and smart phones available. They also had Usher.
Then came EA who I barely watched. I thought they showed some generic stuff and nothing that really interested me except for SimCity 5. I loved the old SimCity games and this one looks to recapture some of the magic of old. If my computer can run it I might want to check it out. Then came Ubisoft which showed some great WiiU demos in Rayman and ZombiU, but I was much more interested in Assassin’s Creed III, which will switch things up and focus on the American Revolution. I also am very interested in their new IP, Watchdogs. It was a breath of fresh air to see something new up there.
The first day ended with Sony. I don’t own a Playstation but this conference brought me closer to wanting to buy one. They were able to show off three big exclusives, all of which looked like great and fun games with Beyond: Two Souls, Playstation All Stars: Battle Royale and The Last of Us. They all looked great but I have no idea how I am going to convince my wife that we need a Playstation. Suggestions are welcome.
The second day started with Nintendo, who had a lot of pressure on them as they are trying to launch a new system, the WiiU, this year. They needed to come out with something big and I just don’t think they were able to do it. Pikmin 3 looks great, but it’s not enough. I’ve played Batman, I don’t need to play it again even if the controls are different and NintendoLand is at best a tech demo and looks to be nothing more than a collection of mini games. They needed something big and they didn’t bring it. In fact the only really new game they showed was NintendoLand. That just isn’t enough. In fact the most interesting game, Project P-100, wasn’t even part of the conference. Swing and a miss.
I typically use E3 to make my Christmas list and right now Assassin’s Creed III is looking pretty lonely. Maybe Tomb Raider will get added, but I’m not really excited this year. I want to play guys, bring it.
Every year I look forward to this week so that I know what I can expect to play over the next year. Unfortunately with the conference getting larger many of the companies are releasing information ahead of time, which ruins some of the surprises that happened at past E3’s. Here is what went down this year.
It started with Microsoft. Their big game was Halo 4, which does look pretty cool and it will be nice to not fight the covenant or the reach for once. They were also able to show off Splinter Cell and Call of Duty, but to be honest I’m over the first person shooter genre. It just doesn’t offer enough interesting game play for me to keep coming back. A good chunk of their show was dedicated to the introduction of SmartGlass. This new piece of software will allow your smart phone and tablet devices to add additional functionality to the video games you are playing on the Xbox. While this seems interesting and is an obvious shot at Nintendo, it will be interesting to see if they can get it to work right with all of the different tablets and smart phones available. They also had Usher.
Then came EA who I barely watched. I thought they showed some generic stuff and nothing that really interested me except for SimCity 5. I loved the old SimCity games and this one looks to recapture some of the magic of old. If my computer can run it I might want to check it out. Then came Ubisoft which showed some great WiiU demos in Rayman and ZombiU, but I was much more interested in Assassin’s Creed III, which will switch things up and focus on the American Revolution. I also am very interested in their new IP, Watchdogs. It was a breath of fresh air to see something new up there.
The first day ended with Sony. I don’t own a Playstation but this conference brought me closer to wanting to buy one. They were able to show off three big exclusives, all of which looked like great and fun games with Beyond: Two Souls, Playstation All Stars: Battle Royale and The Last of Us. They all looked great but I have no idea how I am going to convince my wife that we need a Playstation. Suggestions are welcome.
The second day started with Nintendo, who had a lot of pressure on them as they are trying to launch a new system, the WiiU, this year. They needed to come out with something big and I just don’t think they were able to do it. Pikmin 3 looks great, but it’s not enough. I’ve played Batman, I don’t need to play it again even if the controls are different and NintendoLand is at best a tech demo and looks to be nothing more than a collection of mini games. They needed something big and they didn’t bring it. In fact the only really new game they showed was NintendoLand. That just isn’t enough. In fact the most interesting game, Project P-100, wasn’t even part of the conference. Swing and a miss.
I typically use E3 to make my Christmas list and right now Assassin’s Creed III is looking pretty lonely. Maybe Tomb Raider will get added, but I’m not really excited this year. I want to play guys, bring it.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Mad Men - S5E12 - Commisions and Fees
“Mad Men” is quite the ride this season. Normally we have a slow build up, but this season every episode is thrilling. I thought after the events of last weeks’ episode we would slow down a little before the season finale, but apparently not. This week let’s start with the adventures of Sally Draper. We see that the relationship between Sally and Betty has not improved as Sally refuses to go on a ski vacation and demands to stay with her Dad and Megan (rich people problems). While in the city Sally tries her best to act like a young woman and not a little girl; the signs clearly point to her not yet being a woman. She pours a ton of sugar into her coffee and when she calls her boyfriend, Glen, over she plays dress up while the two of them decide to go to the museum and pretend they are adults. But then suddenly and forcefully she does become a young woman by having her period; which makes her act like a scarred little girl by running to her mother for comfort. It is in this moment that Betty finally shows compassion to her daughter and the two of them bond in a way they haven’t before, because Sally is no longer just her little girl.
Over in the Don corner of the universe, we see that he is still upset about what happened with Joan and Jaguar. However, it is brought to his attention that he issued a check to Lane for $7,500. Knowing that he didn’t sign the check, he confronts Lane and asks him to resign. Witnessing Lane’s breakdown and how Don wasn’t able to help him drives him to build the business bigger. He confronts Roger and tells him he wants Dow. The company that told him he would never be hired because of his letter. They get the meeting and Don is ferocious, he is hungry. You could very well view his scene of Don talking Dow as Don talking to himself. It will be interesting to see how long this continues after this episode.
Before finishing Don’s story it is time to visit with Lane Pryce. After being honored with a position with 4A’s (and advertising association) he is confronted by Don. The breakdown leads him to fall even further with lies to his wife and inappropriate comments to Joan. However his wife has a surprise, she bought him a Jaguar. There is nothing more that could symbolize his failure more right now. It drives him to decide to commit suicide and the car won’t start. A fitting result given that he couldn’t start Jaguar at the company either. He decides instead to commit the deed at work. Seeing as he has already given everything to the company that is where he should end it all. When Don finds out what he did, he instantly knows why Lane did it. And he can’t leave him there. And so the three men who lifted him up from PPL are forced to bring him back down. Lifting him up from where he was is what ultimately led to his doom; it’s poetic that those three are the ones to bring him down.
Only one more episode left. I don’t expect anything as altering as the past two episodes to occur but it should help to wrap up the season nicely.
Over in the Don corner of the universe, we see that he is still upset about what happened with Joan and Jaguar. However, it is brought to his attention that he issued a check to Lane for $7,500. Knowing that he didn’t sign the check, he confronts Lane and asks him to resign. Witnessing Lane’s breakdown and how Don wasn’t able to help him drives him to build the business bigger. He confronts Roger and tells him he wants Dow. The company that told him he would never be hired because of his letter. They get the meeting and Don is ferocious, he is hungry. You could very well view his scene of Don talking Dow as Don talking to himself. It will be interesting to see how long this continues after this episode.
Before finishing Don’s story it is time to visit with Lane Pryce. After being honored with a position with 4A’s (and advertising association) he is confronted by Don. The breakdown leads him to fall even further with lies to his wife and inappropriate comments to Joan. However his wife has a surprise, she bought him a Jaguar. There is nothing more that could symbolize his failure more right now. It drives him to decide to commit suicide and the car won’t start. A fitting result given that he couldn’t start Jaguar at the company either. He decides instead to commit the deed at work. Seeing as he has already given everything to the company that is where he should end it all. When Don finds out what he did, he instantly knows why Lane did it. And he can’t leave him there. And so the three men who lifted him up from PPL are forced to bring him back down. Lifting him up from where he was is what ultimately led to his doom; it’s poetic that those three are the ones to bring him down.
Only one more episode left. I don’t expect anything as altering as the past two episodes to occur but it should help to wrap up the season nicely.
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