Last Week in Movies (5feb-11feb)

New week in movies. I am really trying to keep a more open mind about watching different genres and older movies. This week I rewatched maybe my all-time favourite movie: The Godfather. Which was fantastic. I also watched some proper rubbish (Pirates 5) and some real classics (Casablanca). It is fun watching a diverse amount of movies and becoming a more conscious movie consumer! I had not seen The Godfather part 2 before, and although not as great as the first one it was still a great watch. Annie Hall and Sing Street were little gems of this week too.

 

The Godfather (1972)

Needs no introduction I’m sure. This movie is sublime. Directed by Francis Coppola, it has become widely regarded as one of the best movies of all time. From great, quotable lines, to fantastic music.

For those who haven’t seen it yet, it is about the American-Italian mafia (the movie never states mafia or mob though). The Godfather, Don Corleone (Marlon Brando), is the head of one of the mob families in New York, post WW2. One of his sons, Michael (Al Pacino), is actually a civilian, but when the family is under threat he needs to decide whether or not to get involved in the family business.

We watched this in one of the nicer cinemas in Amsterdam:

 

If you’re going to watch the Godfather, why not watch it in style.

 

Doctor Strange (2016)

OMG it is Mads Mikkelsen!! Oh and Benedict Cumberbatch. But yay Mads!

Your typical grumpy, egoistical neurosurgeon (think an even less sympathic, less likeable Iron Man) gets in an accident and goes to find a way for his hands to heal. He goes to learn magic in the mystic East (: training montage ensues).

If you thought the scene from Harry Potter movie 6 where they fix the broken house was great, you will love this movie!

And like any Marvel movie worth its salt, it has cheesy but important life rules. For instance: Fear of failure keeps us from greatness.

This movie is… fine. I mean not great, but good entertainment. Marvel never really makes a truly terrible movie (like Justice League or Suicide Squad). This one has some great jokes and a lot of fun visual effects.

 

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

A story by Stephen King. “Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover and is sentenced to a tough prison. However, only Andy knows he didn’t commit the crimes. While there, he forms a friendship with Red (Morgan Freeman), experiences brutality of prison life, adapts, helps the warden, etc., all in 19 years.” (X)

The movie opens with extreme prison brutality and shines a sharp light on everything wrong with the US prison system. It is a great movie about perseverance, hope and friendship. It sheds a light on how scary it can be to leave prison after many years of incarceration. A good movie and a classic!

 

The Godfather part 2

This tells the story of what happens to Michael Corleone and his family after the first movie. Michael has become the Don, head of the family, and is trying to continue the family legacy. At the same time the movie shows the story of his father, Vito Corleone, and how he came from Sicily to New York and created the family business. The skips in time works well, I thought, as I was comparing the father and son in their running of the family and the way they make decisions. Michael and Vito have very different characters, which takes them in different directions while in the same family role.

Although I prefer the first chapter of the Godfather trilogy, it is still a great movie and Al Pacino carries the role of Michael really well.

 

Annie Hall (1977)

I had just seen Diane Keaton in the Godfather movies and decided to follow her, which lead to Annie Hall.

Is it weird to think that I came into this movie extremely naively and believed it would be about a woman named Annie Hall? Obviously I now see the error of my ways.
The movie does the 500 Days of Summer thing (clearly inspired by Annie Hall) where everything we see of Annie is through Alvy. This means that she will always seem other, mystical and maybe both more and less exceptional than she is.

The movie uses psychoanalysis, Freudian style therapy, where both of the characters go to get psychoanalysed. It is used for comic effect and is often clearly ridiculous. As a Psychology student I totally approve of joking a bit about Freud!

Cultural and gender differences are also important parts of the story. Being Jewish is clearly an important part of how Alvy thinks about his relationship to other people. Like imagining Annie’s family seeing him as a very orthodox Jew.

I can’t say I found it particularly funny, but I did enjoy it. I liked the recognisable everyday issues experienced by the cast, and then absurdities of then resolving it by looking directly into the camera and addressing the audience. Or by asking strangers on the street for advice.

There are recurring relationship issues, the same rehashed arguments, which work well when describing a dwindling romance. One of these issues is that Annie (Keaton) repeatedly states she is not smart enough for Alvy (Allen).

 

It is a great movie, well worth a watch!

Vertigo (1958)

“Hitchcock’s romantic story of obsession, manipulation and fear. A detective is forced to retire after his fear of heights causes the death of a fellow officer and the girl he was hired to follow. He sees a double of the girl, causing him to transform her image onto the dead girl’s body. This leads into a cycle of madness and lies.” (X)

It is an interesting movie, with great twists. It was maybe a bit slow but still a thrilling watch! You just need to know what is going on with the young, mysterious lady.

Casablanca (1942)

Ingrid Bergman truly is as amazing as the tales of her. She is beautiful and has such a presence. This is the movie with “As Time Goes By” and Here’s Looking at You, Kid.

 

It is set during WW2 as people try to leave Europe. To flee the continent, people are swarming to the Moroccan city of Casablanca hoping to catch a plane to Lisbon and on to America. Here we meet our main character, an American running a bar. He has this old romance with Ingrid Bergman, and lightening strikes as they meet each other again for the first time in years! But will they escape escape together or will duty go before passion? I thought the movie was simple, but good. I knew very little about it before watching. For a movie this old I was very pleasantly surprised and got very invested in the romance!

 

The Bourne Identity (2002)

I am not sure if this movie escaped me or if I was too young when I watched it to remember. But it is a fun one!

“The story of a man (Matt Damon), salvaged, near death, from the ocean by an Italian fishing boat. When he recuperates, the man suffers from total amnesia, without identity or background… except for a range of extraordinary talents in fighting, linguistic skills and self-defense that speak of a dangerous past. He sets out on a desperate search-assisted by the initially rebellious Marie (Franka Potente) – to discover who he really is, and why he’s being lethally pursued by assassins.” (X).

I love the premise and I thought it was well executed! Well worth a watch!

 

Pirates of the Caribbean 5 (2017)

Oh dear.

I think that is all I will say about the 5th movie in this franchise. But I will suggest you guys go check out the Movie Maintenance podcast episode. I liked their fix!

 

Sing Street (2016)

“In 1985, a Dublin teenager (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) forms a rock ‘n’ roll band to win the heart of an aspiring model (Lucy Boynton).” (X)

Simple premise. Simple movie. Really well done!

It shows what it is like growing up in Dublin in the 80s. 14 year old Conor has to change schools because his family can’t pay his private tuition anymore. As he changes school he has to adapt, but quickly forms a band to impress a girl!

You will love all the teenagers and just recognise the awkwardness of being young. It is about following dreams, and seeing the world from a teenager’s perspective. The movie has a nice balance between real issues (dysfunctional or absent adults in particular) and the hope of youth. Worth a watch!

Heads up, one of the Irish kids has a really strong accent! I almost subtitled just for him 😀