Movie: The Godfather Series

Well then.  What is there to say about a series that has been hailed as legendary since before I was born.  There really isn't anything more I can add to the heaps of critical analysis and praise this series has received over the years, but I am going to talk about it anyway.  I had never seen The Godfather movies until just recently.  I have always admired De Nero and Pacino's work, so it is a little ironic I haven't seen these movies until now.  I finally got the urge to sit down and watch them.  Man, are they long.  They certainly evoke an epic aura of classic from start to finish.

Unless you have purposefully avoided classic crime movies, or the length of them has daunted you, you probably have seen these movies already.  If you haven't, I recommend you give them a try.  In The Godfather, the story follows the Sicilian Corleone family.  Don Corleone is the tired old Godfather who, like the other members of the great five families, is essentially is large and in charge.  He has a host of sons, one of which is Al Pacino.  Through a series of events, Italian opera music is played and dramatic scenes of disrespect and vengeance are rolled out.

The Godfather Part II is more of the same, only better.  It focuses on Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) once more, as well as a flashback younger version of Don Vito Corleone (Robert De Nero), which serves as background story on how the Don climbed his way to the top.  This movie was around 4 hours long and extremely well done.
The Godfather Part III has been held as the weakest of the films in the series. Without spoiling much, it revolves around a more tired, depressed, but wiser Michael Corleone.  In it, the older Michael wishes to expunge himself from all ties to crime and go a more legitimate route, while his other business partners want to maintain the way things have been.  While I agree that it is the weakest of the films, being that a lot of the key players from the earlier films are no longer involved, it is still a very well done film and worthy of The Godfather name.



Overall this is a great series from the past.  There is a reason why they are considered classics.  In an age before fancy special effects were largely incorporated, a special tale of blunt realism and well crafted dialogue was put forth. If you ever find yourself yearning for the best mafia flicks, or haven't seen them in a while, give this series a viewing.  You may like it now that you've grown a little more.  Now shut up, kiss the hand and pay the Don a little respect.

Movie: Cars 2

Before this goes any further, I think we should all take a step back and realize what goes into one's perception of how enjoyable a movie is.  Unfortunately, as unbiased and focused as one may try to be, there will always be external distractions that can create noise and subconsciously chip away at one's enjoyment.  When I go to a movie I try to quell all outside issues and solely focus on what I'm watching.  That is the best way to immerse yourself in the story being told.  No one can consistently and unwaveringly accomplish this.  Even Roger Ebert has admitted that his opinion on a movie from time to time has been skewed to one side or the other depending on what type of mood he was in that day.  On top of that, other variables exist to alter one's perception.  If someone is told a movie absolutely sucks, they will go into watching that movie with very low expectations and may find they like it a lot more than they would have, had the bar been set high.  This works vice-verca as well. 

With that said, I liked Pixar's newest film.  I watched it during a sweet spot of time where I felt no rush of an outside obligation, or worry.  This of course could also be attributed to Pixar's ability to captivate the viewer.  The friends I went with also liked it, but during analysis after the film, revealed that they liked the first one better.  This seems to be the common trend right now, as the majority of reviews are unfavorable concerning Cars 2.  I do understand a lot of their qualms with the movie.  At times it felt a little convoluted, being that there seemed to be 3-4 separate stories going on at the same time.  It felt like the main character of the first one took a metaphorical back seat to a side character.  It also had a drastically different type of flow too.  Cars 2 could be cataloged as a spy flick.  Unknowingly the tow truck is suspected as being an adept spy by other secret agent cars, which gets him into trouble.
 I heard a mother a few days prior to seeing the film talk about how it was a little violent to be bringing her kids to.  While it is true, that some cars do blow up and since the cars are alive, this insinuates murder, I don't adopt that same mentality.  I typically think parents should make their children aware of the differences in the world, but explain right from wrong while doing so.  Why deprive a child of a movie they are sure to enjoy, because it has some themes that we want to shelter said children from.  If we do that, the child will encounter those themes someday on their own when we might not be able to give them the guidance they need to conquer them.  Or worse, it may inject a sense of curiosity and defiance as to why these issues were kept from them or forbidden rather than explained.  Why weren't they trusted.  Didn't the parent believe in them?  That should be a separate post all together though.
I liked the first Cars film, but something felt off about it to me.  Like a lot of people, it really is hard for me to get past the fact that these cars have eyes and are driving around talking.  The same could be said about Toy Story, A Bug's Life and many more movies which don't bother me, but Cars stands out as a sore thumb because of the use of other vehicles as their transport.  What kind of communist society are these Cars living in where they dictate that the boat will be created for the cars travel, or the plane's sole focus in life will be to get Flashy Race Car from point A to point B?  What a great role that cog plays in the wheel.  The proletariat shouldn't stand for it!

Anyway, it was a pretty enjoyable film.  After a string of epic thought provoking films like Up and Wall-E(my favorite Pixar film), it is easy to see why people were underwhelmed by this Pixar entry.  It doesn't try to be anything other than a fast paced high octane film that conveys that the director has a true love for Cars.  If you enjoy Pixar films and don't go into this one looking for a life changing moral or more emotion than a laughable rusty tow truck can provide, I'm sure you'll enjoy it.

Movie: Mrs. Doubtfire

Another classic comedy I had never taken the time to watch while I was younger. I recently by impulse watched Robin Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire. I found this movie hilarious. Maybe I was just in a really good mood, but I haven't seen a comedy this funny in quite a while.

Mrs. Doubtfire is a film about a man who winds up divorced because his serious wife does not want to put up with his crazy antics anymore. She has lost her love for him. It becomes heartbreaking for the man when it is determined that he will only be able to see his three kids on Saturday's. Out of desperation, he comes up with the idea to apply as their nanny by changing his voice and putting on old lady's clothing. The whole movie really is a ploy, set up to see Robin Williams switch in and out of voices and impressions. At times the characters such as the children, as well as the archetypal genuine father seem a little hard to believe, its enjoyability doesn't directly stem from one's ability to believe what they're seeing, but rather the comedy that ensues from these fake situations.

If you haven't seen Mrs. Doubtfire, give it a go on Netflix. You are sure to get several big laughs out of it, as well as a genuine respect for Robin Williams talent.

Video Game: Battlefield: Bad Company 2

A while back, like the majority of the games I've played lately, I happened to find Battlefield Bad Company 2 on a Steam deal. Although I've never been fanatic about the modern day war first person shooters, I had heard good things from some friends about this particular game. In essence it it probably Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's biggest competitor. While I had done a good deal of multiplayer a while back, it wasn't until just recently that I beat the single player campaign.

I assume this is a similar case with the Call of Duty games, but the campaign played a lot like a war movie. The story, although somewhat forgettable, tells the tale of a squad that doesn't take crap from any Russians. You start off playing briefly during World War II, but the majority of the game takes place in present day, as the bad company squad attempts to figure out what the Russians are up to. There's also a side element to the story where the teamwork that this war requires brings a liberal pacifist helicopter pilot and a grizly conservative squadmate closer together. It had a pretty cool ending that set it up for the sequel that is sure to come some day. Make no mistake that this is a pretty big budget game. The levels, although linear, give the feeling of being expansive due to large outdoor open looking areas. The graphics are pretty stellar as well. I can remember looking at Goldeneye for the N64 and thinking it looked realistic, so it has always amazed me the progress throughout the years in realism in games, making the last entry look blocky and fake. The game makes use of a number of vehicles such as tanks, 4 wheelers and helicopters.

While the single player campaign allows you to use any weapon in the arsenal over time, when playing multiplayer, you choose a class to level your rank up while killing, as well as unlocking weapon alternatives and scopes. The classes are assault, engineer, medic and recon, each coming with a few unique perks that you can unlock over time to help your teammates turn the tide of battle. While the maps are cool and the amount of buildings and walls you can destroy seem limitless in them, after a while I felt like I was replaying the same levels too frequently. This didn't really detract too much from the overall game though. I think this was attempted to be addressed in some downloadable content that was released, called "Vietnam," which apparently has Vietnam era weapons and a few maps that respect the environment of the Vietnam war.

Overall, I feel I got my money's worth out of this game. I'm actually interested in what changes the sequel could hold. The game Counter Strike is one of my favorite team based realistic multiplayer FPS's. The multiplayer of Battlefield seems right down CS:Source's alley and the leveling up and unlockables really keep you hooked on playing, at least until you reach the end of everything you can unlock. If you enjoy realistic FPS games and are already a fan of the majorly successful Call of Duty franchise, give this alternative a try. I don't think it will dissapoint you.

Television: Arrested Development

Now the story of a wealthy family, who lost everything and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together.  It's Arrested Development.

For a while now, I've heard good things about this show.  I had never watched it while it was on the air like the majority of TV shows nowadays, but after having a deficit of comedy shows in my life, I finally decided to give it a shot.  The first episode or two I wasn't sure if I would keep watching, mainly because since there are so many characters, the first few episodes have a tremendous amount of work to establish who they are and keep you interested.  I am really glad I kept watching though.  This show is brilliant.  The casting is superb.  The stories and dialog are cleverly written.  It seemed like no time before I finished all three seasons and was left wanting more.

The show is a very good example of a straight man, Michael Bluth, dealing with all of the insanity around him.  All of the characters personality's clash and make for some very entertaining situations over the course of the series.  The good news is that there has been an Arrested Development movie in the works for sometime now and potentially will be here as soon as next year, so there is no other better time to watch this show than now.  Give it a viewing and stick with it for the first few episodes.  Driven by story and humor, Arrested Development is sure to entertain. 

Movie: Hobo With A Shotgun

Hobo with a Shotgun, currently available on Netflix instant streaming, is a gruesome movie.  It spews with gratuitous unnecessary violence from start to finish.  Unless you are a grade-A psychopath, you will be wincing with disgust throughout.  This movie's goal is to entertain through these means, along with purposefully cheesy dialogue and supporting scenes between action segments.  In this light, it does not disappoint.

If you have seen or heard of the film Machete, you would probably be familiar with what to expect regarding Hobo With A Shotgun.  Both films were never originally intended to be made, but were instead fake trailers to accompany Quentin Tarantino's Grindhouse combo movie.  Due to fan requests, these films actually ended up being made.

Hobo With A Shotgun follows the story of a lone Hobo who enters a city by hopping a free ride on a train, to start life anew.  Unfortunately for our protagonist Hobo, he has entered the most diabolical crime ridden city ever known in the existence of mankind.  As he observes the city, he watches as people are being beaten up, taken advantage of, and being abducted left and right.  Awful displays of gore litter most scenes.  In some parts it really reminded me of the dark humor and setting of the Robocop films.
As one would guess, eventually that there Hobo just couldn't take it no more.  He throws away his dreams of starting over, to instead try to rid the city of these criminals.

This film isn't for the feint of heart.  More than likely if you've got a good moral compass and allow the movie to absorb you in  all its cheesy splendor, you will sit there puckered up with disgust, trying to fathom how a city could get so rotten and hypothesize the best way to correct the predicament said city is in, at which point you will realize you're way over-thinking it and instead subside into a more comatose state that takes in all the blood, guts, alcohol, and brain dead dialogue.  Check it out!

Movie: Kung Fu Panda 2

Some friends and I recently during the summer, saw Kung Fu Panda 2.  For anyone that saw the first one and enjoyed it, this sequel more than serves its purpose, expanding upon the original and beyond.
Kung Fu Panda was about Po, a Panda with Jack Black's voice wishing he could be a kung fu master, but a combination of his own gluttony and social economic status held him back.  His confidence did not waver though and through a series of training montages and battles, by the end of the first movie he achieved his goal.
While the original may have had a more inspired enemy, the sequel generally exceeds the first movie in most aspects.  From the beginning, a lot of very cool fighting scenes take place with Po and his partners in a team like fashion.  Since it has already become established that Po knows how to fight, there wasn't any slow to start regarding his talent.  Strangely throughout the movie he exhibits spikes and drops in his fighting ability, which I think is an inconsistency that is supposed to convey his lack of concentration and 'inner peace,' as well as just to be a joke.
Like the first one, Kung Fu Panda 2 has a really star studded cast.  So much so that many of the stars seem to only have a few sentences of dialogue each.  Often times the characters seem to speak solely to get one of the supporting actors lines out, rather than actual progression of the story.  Jackie Chan is Po's monkey friend, yet no one would really notice that without looking at the credits beforehand.  Some characters like Angelina Jolie's Tiger and Seth Rogan's Praying Mantis have a little more limelight.  Regardless of the unecessarily full to the brim list of names in the movie, it doesn't have a negative affect.

Overall, if you want to see something comedic, fun, and enjoyable to look at, with a semi engaging story and beautiful art direction, give Kung Fu Panda 2 a viewing when it comes to dvd.  As most open minded people are aware these days, you don't have to be a kid in all cases, to enjoy something animated.