The Godfather Review

"The Godfather" is one of my all time favorite movies. It is one of the best movies ever made in my opinion. It was the first movie to influence me to like Mafia movies, such as "Scarface", "Goodfellas", "The Godfather 2 and 3" also, etc... This movie has a great story line to it that keeps my attention no matter how many times I watch it; except if I'm in Film Study and I just cannot keep my attention to any movie. The story line to this movie starts off with the traditional Italian wedding and the introduction to the Corleone family. In the beginning, the main character named Michael Corleone (played by the amazing Al Pacino), has just gotten back from being a war hero and has returned home to Brooklyn, New York. He is unlike his family and he tells his girlfriend Kay that he does not want to be a part of the family business. Don Vito Corleone even says that he does not want Michael to be involved with what him and his son Sonny do for a living. Throughout the story however, the audience sees a drastic change in Michael's personality as he becomes one of the most powerful mafia figures in New York. There are so many memorable scenes and lines in this movie that I have even quoted before to my friends. "I'll make him an offer he can't refuse", "Fredo, I love you, but don't ever take sides against the family again", "Alright, this one time I'll let you ask me about my business Kay." When the horse's head is cut off and placed in the famous Hollywood guy's bed, the baptism scene (one of the greatest scenes in movie history), and especially the ending scene. When Michael shuts the door on Kay and the scene fades away, it sends chills down my spine when Michael surrounded by the other mafia members and the true power he now holds is revealed to Kay. The last thing I loved about "The Godfather" was the music played throughout the story. The classical waltz and the theme song, there's something about the sound of these two songs that I really like. The Italian sound with the strings and the horns, it dictates the mafia personality extremely well and I really love the sound of it. This movie will always be a classic no matter how many times I watch it and it's one of the greatest movies of all time.

The Departed Review

After watching "The Departed", I was pretty impressed by it. I had no idea that the cast of this movie was so stacked: Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Anthony Anderson, etc... with a cast like this, and a picture directed by Martin Scorsese, this equals instant magic created. As for the storyline in this movie, it was a little confusing to follow at first, between Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio's characters. Also, Jack Nicholson's character is a little hard to follow; being an FBI informant and one of the most powerful mobsters in Boston. But once I figured everything out about the storyline, the movie was pretty good. Mark Wahlberg's character is also the coolest man ever. The way he acts throughout the movie, he is not really a main character but he is involved in the storyline just enough to be remembered. When he came back at the ending and murdered Matt Damon in the very last scene, it was amazing. One thing about this movie that was weird was the ending. The movie ended very abruptly and it seemed like in a second it was over. The story was making complete sense until Leonardo DiCaprio's character is shot when he walks out of the elevator with Matt Damon. Then, in a matter of minutes, everyone starts dying. I was left sitting in class just wanting to know what the heck had just happened. One thing I would really like to know is who was Mark Wahlberg's character? I want to know what happened after he kills Matt Damon also. Overall, compared to other mobster/crime movies, "The Departed" is a great movie. "The Godfather" is better in my eyes, but that's only because that was the first mobster movie I ever saw and I instantly fell in love with it. One thing I really liked about this movie was the setting. Since it was set in Boston, MA., I love the city of Boston and this just made my attention grow towards the movie right as it began. Also, with the addition of purposely getting Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, (Both born in Boston) made for the acting to be natural. The Massachusetts accents, the setting, the Dropkick Murphy's (ROCK), made me like the movie from the beginning.

Cool Hand Luke Review

Cool Hand Luke, directed by Stuart Rosenburg in 1967, was a story about a criminal named Luke Jackson who is a very memorable guy. He gets sent to a prison camp for breaking heads off of parking meters, and that's when the real story begins. There were a couple parts I liked when he was in the prison camp. When he bets that he can eat fifty eggs in one hour...that was a pretty interesting thing to watch. When he gets challenged to a boxing match against Dragline, I found that scene to be very monumental on Luke's behalf. The way Luke keeps taking punch after punch and keeps on getting up after being knocked down, it was like watching something out of a Rocky movie. It was the first glimpse of the respect gained by the inmates to Luke and it began a little friendship between Luke and Dragline. After their fight, Luke was treated as more of an idol, and after the fifty eggs ate after that, he became more of a role model, cool guy to the others. One thing I noticed in the movie was that the prison owner guy had a very funny voice. Who is supposed to take a guy like that seriously with such a high voice. Also, the scene when the inmates are digging up the trench and the very attractive woman walks outside to wash her car. I found that scene to be very sketchy and humorous. The way Dragline acted, like an extremely perverted guy, just made the scene really wierd to watch. But, overall, this movie was okay...not horrible but I would not watch this movie again. Cool Hand Luke was such a cool guy in my eyes. He didn't care about the rules, he was such a rebel. The prison guards kept trying to break him down and Luke would pretend to beg and act nice to them, but when time came for a great escape, Luke was gone. Somehow, he escaped the camp twice, but I don't know how he kept getting caught. This is the only thing I did not understand about the storyline. One part he would be away from the camp, the next part he is being thrown into the inmate room and being threatened at by the guards and such. There was no real explanation on how he kept getting caught. Especially the second time when he plans out how to fool the dogs and not allow them to pick up a scent, how did he manage to be found again? It didn't make any sense to me. One thing I really liked for some reason about the movie (and no it's not the shower scene with all the guys Paul)was the line, "What we have here is a failure to communicate." I quote it all the time now and it annoys people very much. Thank you Cool Hand Luke. I'm going to have to say that my favorite scene of the movie is when Luke plays the banjo after finding out his mother has passed away. It was a very emotional scene and I enjoyed the singing that went along with the song. I also did not expect to see Luke die at the end. It was a very sad moment in my life. But overall, I thought the movie was good.

Psycho Review

This movie, in my opinion, was a hundred times better than Casablanca. I never really lost interest in the storyline and I could easily follow what was going on throughout the entire movie without looking at any summaries or synopses on the Internet. The movie tells the tale of a woman named Marian Crane who works at a bank and selfishly steals forty thousand dollars when given to take care of. On her road trip to meet with her lover, she stops at the Bates Motel one night to escape from the downpouring rain. Norman Bates is the owner of the motel and at first seems like a nice guy. Little do we know, he is a madman and ends up murduring Marian by the end of the movie. Norman has a double sided personality and acts like his deceased mother...who is psycho to say the least. This movie, all time, is one of the most definitive horror movies ever made. Since it was made in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock felt that the movie would have been more appropriate for the audience if it was filmed in black and white. This would make the infamous shower scene less gory and more tolerable for people. However, when looking at the movie now, horror movies have come a LONG way since then. The shower scene (and the movie to be fair) was not really that scary at all. Hitchcock used chocolate syrup instead fake red blood to make it less gory...but the knife never really gets shown penetrating the woman. I'll just say the scene's special effects were not of high quality back then. One thing I really liked about the movie is the complex storyline. The storyline is straight out of a Scooby-Doo show and it keeps you guessing and confused throughout the plot of the film. The thought that Norman kept his mother's corpse and wore a wig to act like his mother and be his mother at times was really sketchy, but it surprised me a lot after seeing him revealed at the end. Another thing I really liked about Psycho was the ending when it showed Norman talking to himself in his empty locked up room. The creepiness and the craziness of Norman is truly shown at this time. The audience can hear mother's voice in Norman's head as she/he tries to form a plan to get free. When mother's skull is super imposed over Norman's face, I found that effect really interesting and it showed the unity of the two personalities becoming one to the audience. The way it was used at the end made it a great ending in my eyes. I also noticed during that end scene how Norman says to himself how he wouldn't even harm a fly. I have heard that line a million times before and I never knew it was used at the end of Psycho. When I heard it during the class, I recognized the line immediately and I just found it interesting that it was in the end of the movie. When we first started watching Psycho, I found it extremely sketchy, but humorous at the same time. The scenes that involved the cop stalking Marian were very funny to watch. Espescially when the music cuts in when Marian starts to drive away from him, it's very amusing to hear. The music is supposed to be suspenseful, but it just doesn't fit that role for me. As for when the murders take place, there is a huge difference if there is sound or no sound involved. You can definately anticipate and sense a more horrific feeling for what is about to happen. Without sound, the movie being scary is a non-factor for the audience. But, all in all, I liked Psycho. It was a very interesting movie to watch, it kept my attention the entire time, and it was way more exciting than Casablanca! Why couldn't we answer questions about this movie instead of Casablanca?? I actually paid attention to this one and enjoyed watching it. The lack of confusion in the storyline made it a lot easier to watch also.

Sound vs. No Sound

First of all, the whole shower scene in psycho was kind of weird. Honestly, who enjoys a shower that much...I mean they are pretty enjoying but she just exaggerated a little too much. Anyways, there is a huge difference sound wise with this scene. When watched with sound, the scene becomes more suspenseful; the audience can tell something is about to happen and it's probably not going to be good. However, when watched without sound, there are no emotions felt from the scene. When Norman walks into the bathroom with the knife raised, without the tense music, the scene becomes less scary. Especially when Norman starts to stab Marian, without sound, you cannot tell what's going on. Since special effects weren't to fullest potential back then, the directors couldn't show the murder occurring, so the audience could only hear the sound of the knife being used, but without sound, the scene just looks all scrambled. Sound makes a huge difference in this scene. It allows the audience to anticipate and brace themselves for what is about to happen. Without sound, there is no emotion, it's like...having a balloon that's not blown up. You can get the basic idea of what it is, but you can't get the full enjoyment out of it. Now that is a great metaphor!

Casablanca Review

Casablanca, in my opinion, was not that good of a movie. I know almost every person you ask will say it is an instant classic, but it just was not my taste. This movie had a romantic storyline to it; some may say it was very emotional. I could not get any emotion out of the movie. I have felt more emotion out of Brokeback Mountain than Casablanca, I’m sorry. I could not get into the movie. To be completely honest, after reading a synopsis of the movie on the internet, everything started making more and more sense. During class, my interest was never really on the movie. I could not pay attention to the movie; I found it incredibly boring. On IMDB.com, every review of Casablanca gives the movie ten out of ten stars and says it’s one of the greatest movies of all time…I don’t get it. Maybe because since it was made in 1942, people at that time thought it was a great advancement for movies or it was one of the first great romantic love stories. Whatever the reasons are, these are the reasons why I am not a huge fan of Casablanca.
One, it is a romantic love story. I enjoy funny movies or action movies…movies that can keep my attention. The acting in Casablanca was mediocre. Whenever there were supposed to be sympathetic parts, I just felt like blah I don’t really care. The ending of the newer King Kong movie was more emotional than the whole Casablanca movie in my eyes. Also, the way they use the Gaussian Blur technique when closing up on Ilsa to show romance or beauty is also not that good of a technique. At first, I did not even notice any changes between frames. It wasn’t until Ms. Pepe slowed down the movie and pointed it out that I actually saw the blur and the fuzziness. Reason number two: I could not follow the storyline of the movie at all. This is half the reason why my interest level was so low during the movie. Without the summary given to us and looking at other summaries on the internet, I would have no clue right now on what the movie was about. The only thing I got out of Casablanca is that it is extremely hard to watch a movie that is confusing to follow. Third: The movie was in black and white, as if it couldn’t be worse enough.
The thing I did like in Casablanca is how much of a boss Rick Blaine was. Right from the start with the impressive entrance, you can tell this guy is no joke. But, as we watched the movie, one finds out that Rick was turned into a cynical person at the cost of heartbreak. In all fairness, Ilsa was put in a very difficult situation, choose to go to Paris with Rick…or go back to her husband who she had thought was dead. I feel Rick did get played out on this one and I can understand his sorrowness and pain inside. After all these years, Ilsa just randomly shows up at his nightclub, “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” He has a right to be upset when she walks into his club. She pretended to agree with going to Paris with Rick and when the morning finally came (a depressing, raining morning), she was nowhere to be scene and just a letter was given to him saying she could not go with him for reasons that were not stated. Of course Rick should be angry with Ilsa when she shows up at his place. I really liked how Rick changed though by the end of the movie. He gives the letters of transit to Ilsa and Laszlo and in an instant, she is back out of Rick’s life once again. Originally, Rick said he sticks his neck out for nobody, but his true feelings finally appear as he orders Ilsa to get on the plane with her husband for it is the safest choice to make. The movie was extremely boring, uninteresting, but Rick is still the man.

King Kong- The better movie...review

What can I say about this movie...Peter Jackson was amazing. Besides the first hour or so where the storyline is just beginning, this was kind of boring. When the crew finally makes it to skull island though, the movie and the special effects is just incredible. Compared to the 1933 version of King Kong, this one just totally knocks it out of the park you could say. There were some noticeable differences between the two movies though. The 1933 version portrays Kong as more of a jerk so that when he dies at the end, the audience does not really feel sorry for him. Unlike the newer movie, I'm not ashamed to admit it, I....basically....cried a little bit when Kong dies in front of Anne. There is just so much more emotion put into the newer Kong movie. The audience can immediately tell the connection between Kong and Ann, whereas with the older one, there is little emotion that is produced by the time Kong dies. For examples: When King Kong and Ann are playing and sliding on the ice near the end of the movie, you can hear Kong laugh a little and it just choked me up knowing that he was going to get killed very soon. Also, when Kong and Ann are sitting on top of the mountain and staring out at the sunset, or when Kong is being tortured before his capture by the crew members and Ann is on the boat screaming at them to stop. Whenever it showed Kong's eyes looking into Ann's and you could see the pain and loneliness in his, and it is so easy to feel sorry for Kong and to immediately call the crew members jerks. The ending of the movie just brought so much emotion to me and made me feel so sorry for King Kong. Before they have the ice rink scene, it shows Kong holding Ann as they walk through the dark streets on the outside of New York City. As the sad, depressing piano music is being played, you can easily feel bad for Kong and see the pain in Kong. Another huge difference in the newer King Kong (pretty easy to see) is the special effects. There is no skipping between frames, no clay models of Ann, and everything just runs smoothly. There is also a more powerful vibe given off when establishing shots are shown in the newer King Kong. When Kong is in the foreground and you see the first image of the Empire State building in the background, you can tell that something very very important is about to happen. There is so much more detail put into the shots of this movie compared to the older one. One major question I did ask during the new King Kong movie was how in the world did the crew get Kong to New York after they knocked him out on the island? They just skipped from the part where Kong is put to sleep to when he is on display in New York. I'm just curious how this happened. One more scene that really makes me a little bit sad (that I feel was very important to the movie) is when King Kong is captured on the island and Ann is screaming at the crew to stop. When Kong's eyes are closed-up on and the sadness is shown as he outstretches his hand towards Ann in hope to get her back, it just kills me to watch that. I cannot get over how much more feeling and thought was put into the newer King Kong movie than the older, 1933 version.
All in all, the newer King Kong movie is just so much better in all aspects of production than the older movie. The storyline, special effects, and music is amazing. Besides the first hour of the movie where I found it really boring, the action starts to take place and my interest was automatically into the movie. You know when a class feels like it lasted twenty minutes that the movie was pretty good. When we watched the older version, it literally felt like Film Study took three hours to get by that day (i'm just saying). This movie was amazing in my book.

The Old King Kong Movie Review

I really did not care for the movie. The parts that King Kong was not involved in had no interest for me to be completely honest. I found it humorous when Kong appeared in the movie because of the difference of special effects between 1933 and today's movies. When they closed up on Kong's face after he picked up Anne, it looked like he was moving his eyebrows in a...sexy manner. I don't know, I found it funny. But, in all fairness to the directors of the old Kong movie, when I found out that they took 24 frames/pictures per second, I was really surprised. The patience involved in showing the transition between frames when Kong picks up the clay Anne model or when he fights the dinosaurs is amazing. There must have been a LOT of effort put into that movie (or movies back then in general). Anyways, besides the actual look of the movie, the acting was also humorous to me in certain parts. For instance, when Jack, Ann, the movie director, and all the people helping out sneak onto the island and find the tribe doing their little ritual activity, they get spotted. The director of the movie in the movie then proceeds to say "welp guys, they've spotted us" or something along those lines. The way he said it (in the most careless, relaxed way) just made me laugh. The acting was just terrible in some spots but without it, I would not have enjoyed the movie half as much. Another thing that caught my attention when watching this very old movie was, well there were two spots. One where Jack and Anne jump off the cliff to escape the natives and also when King Kong falls off the top of the Empire State building. The way they made the falls look in the movie (the use of clay or it looked like they were rag dolls) just reminded me of how far special effects have gotten in movies. The thought of people back then thinking that this movie was a breakthrough in entertainment is just amazing to me. When we watch the more recent King Kong, it will be like someone punching you in the face when the difference in special effects is shown. Yes, that is a metaphor, do not worry. What was actually good about this movie is the way the camera angles were used throughout the picture. For example, when Jack had the conversation with Jane on the boat and anyone could see a little love was in the air. Or, when Anne got captured by the natives and was then tied up and offered to King Kong. The movie angles perfectly shown the size of the setting, the fear in everybody (especially Anne), and it also showed the size and power of Kong when the audience catches their first glimpse of him. Between the usage of long shots, close-ups, low-angle shots, etc...the director can get the appropriate emotions out of the audience like fear, anticipation, etc... After stating all these things about the older version of King Kong, this just makes me look forward to watching the newer King Kong. The difference in special effects and such will be incredible. Although, as for the storyline, both Kong movies are basically the same. The only difference is that the newer movie is a lot longer in duration and the acting is a lot better! Jack Black is a great actor in my opinion...just throwing it out there. Oh, another thing about the older version of King Kong: i felt they emphasized on the beauty and the beast thing a little more than I remembered compared to the newer one. I think the idea of the usage of beauty killing the beast was a great idea for King Kong though because it represents the movie perfectly. King Kong meets Anne (or kidnaps Anne, same thing), and slowly becomes less mean and begins to protect Anne from other things on the island. Therefore, the beast in Kong disintegrates within him. It's a great theme to the movie and can summarize it perfectly. That is how I feel about the movie. I can't wait to compare it to the newer one though.

Top Ten Movies

1. The Ringer - Great movie. I quote lines from it all the time. Many people, including a certain someone named paul lindstrom, think that the movie makes fun of mentally challenged people. Well...technically it does, BUT, by the end of the movie, it shows johnny knoxville (hilarious guy) becoming friends with all the mentally challenged people by the end. The movie even has a commercial on the DVD describing the special olympics and asking people to support it. This movie is hilarious and in my opinion is one of the best movies ever because...i like stupid humor.

2. Scarface - Great Storyline. It is basically a depiction of the american dream. An immagrant from Cuba that comes to America in order to gain money, power, respect...and girls. It gets you so interested into the movie that by the end when it shows the downfall of Tony Montana, it is like WOAH...that was a sick movie. It's an instant classic.

3. Godfather - This movie originally opened my eyes to mafia movies (Goodfellas, Scarface, basically Al Pacino and Robert De Niro movies). But, just like Scarface, this movie has an amazing storyline. Even the second and third godfather movies are amazing in my opinion. Not too many movies can make sequels and such that are amazing also.

4. Stepbrothers - Hilarious movie, I wanna be just like Will Ferrell when i finally grow up. I don't think there is a time during this movie where you can't laugh.

5. Radio - Amazing movie. That's all i can say about this. I like sport movies, this and Remember the Titans are the greatest ones in my book.

6. Big Daddy - First Adam Sandler movie I ever saw....ADAM SANDLER'S THE MAN. Every Adam Sandler movie is hilarious, except Click (that was kind of sad also). But Big Daddy is a all around a great movie. Funny, sad at times when the kid gets taken from the "father," it's just a great story.

7. Finding Nemo - Heartwarming.

8. The Green Mile - I cry every time at the end.

9. Role Models - Funny, Awkward to watch with friend's parents in the movie theatre though.

10. Remember the Titans - CLASSIC. SAD, Funny, It's a great movie. I especially like the music with it. It just gets me into the movie even more. This is actually the only movie that i have the soundtrack for...besides 8 mile...there's a little variety to my music.

FILM STUDY

OMG IM SITTING IN FILM STUDY LOOKIN FLY AND LIKE I CANT FIND THE CUSTOMIZE BUTTON :'(