Marty Review

 

        It’s February once more and time to look at some romantic films. For those that having been keeping up with how I do my look into romance films, typically I pick two to reflect a common theme. Previously I watched tragic romantic films and romance during disaster. This year I’m watching the movies that have the sad sack getting a girl. With this film, it won the coveted Best Picture Award in 1955.

1. Marty

        Before I get started, I wanted to point out that this wasn’t the first time I was exposed to actor Ernest Borgnine. It just blew my mind that when I was little watching SpongeBob that in the episodes involving the heroes Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy that Borgnine voiced Mermaid Man. Little did I know that I would watch this movie and hearing him speak, I could catch the instances of Mermaid Man when he was speaking. Perhaps it was providence that made the whole thing complete.

        Anyways, we follow Marty as he works as a meat butcher. It’s established that he feels that he hasn’t accomplished anything despite having a good education. Constantly, he’s been bombarded from customers, friends and even his own mom that he ought to get married. You get to feel for the guy since he’s an upstanding person, but it’s the baggage that he receives from other people and himself that puts him in a corner. 

        One scene really nailed that, and it’s when Marty calls up a girl that he and his friend met. While we don’t hear what the girl is saying over the phone, just the camera slowly zooms in on Marty to really sell that the conversation isn’t going well. Just the performance of Borgnine sell that as hard as he tries, nothing goes his way when trying to find someone. It's that level of hidden frustration and sadness that makes it work. We want him to feel happy, and most importantly to find someone. 

        While it’s not all doom and gloom as the first couple of minutes is led to be believed. The remaining minutes we see that Marty finds someone and from there is when we see the sweetest moments. It’s such a refreshing thing where we actually see some positivity with the main character by just expressing himself and having someone to really get him. 

        That’s where we see Carla near the halfway point in the film. Both her and Marty are the same people where they haven’t had any shot of finding love. As I mentioned before, the scenes involving them are the sweetest aspect since we see just how they haven’t gotten a chance and that they are great for each other. It’s one thing where Carla supports Marty’s endeavors and Marty being reciprocal for her own struggles. 

        The movie as a whole works when there’s no big-name actor in the film. While yes, everyone here is talented but just having someone who’s naturally beautiful doesn’t exactly work in a movie like this. Marty in context works due to having the guy be a little scrappy that struggles and ultimately comes and fights his insecurities. It’s the believability in the performance that sells the picture. 

2. Relationships

        If there’s one aspect of the film that I notice is the overall use of relationships. While the film’s main theme is Marty finding someone, everyone around him are either bachelors, widows or married relatives. Like it’s one thing where we see a contrast between Marty finally being a relationship and his own cousin just not handling being in a marriage. The big picture I believe that the movie is going for is finding happiness.

        With Marty’s friends in the local bar, they keep hooking up with girls to the point where they’re not looking for anything serious beyond gratification. I find it nuance in a sense where it’s established that Marty isn’t in a good place mentally and just finding someone helps him be at ease with his life. In the context of the story, any sense of happiness is sort of run afoul when his own mom wants him to stop seeing his own lover for fear of being alone by herself.  It’s the sort of thing where people in the movie want to be continuously young without being committed to an actual relationship. Which is where they sort of take out on Marty throughout the film. 

3. Overall

        Marty is a classic romantic film of the 50s. A classic feel good story with a strong underdog element. 

The Silence of the Lambs Review

        Much like the 50s, the 90s was a dark time for horror. As I explained years back, most of the horror icons that were popular in the last decade were already becoming irrelevant. Wes Craven would twice reinvent the genre by making it meta or self-aware. Meanwhile, serial killers were the rage at that time, specifically the psychological aspect to them. The Silence of the Lambs was the first to have that nailed down, so much so that it won Best Picture. 

1. Clarice Starling

        Before I talk about Clarice, I think people weren’t aware that there already was a Hannibal Lecter film before this one. Manhunter came out in 1986 which was directed by Michael Mann. While it was met with a mixed reaction, it gave birth to numerous procedural dramas that came out during the next decade. One last thing, the entire film franchise is based on the works by Thomas Harris. 

        Anyways, we follow a young cadet Clarice. She gets assigned to investigate and find the serial killer named Buffalo Bill. Doing so, she goes into a mental hospital for help from an imprisoned killer Dr. Lecter. This is one of those instances where see everything through Starling’s perspective. Just as the film starts we see her struggling in the training course of the FBI. More so from her perspective that she’s in a male dominated position. 

        And man is she constantly reminded just how much she doesn’t fit within her department. That’s one of the main themes in the film and it’s sexuality. She tries to figure out and find the serial killer but is constantly probed by Dr. Lecter. Jodie Foster plays her so well. As much as I want to talk about the moments between her and Lecter, he gets his own tab. But we do get an understanding as to why she's in the FBI and what's in it for her to find the missing woman. 

        This is one of those instances where we actively worry about Clarice since she takes it upon herself to investigate the whereabouts of the killer. In the context of the film, she’s just a first timer who isn’t yet an active agent within the FBI. To give us a break between her investigation, we see her in the training field, but she struggles. It reinforces that underdog feeling that the movie’s going for.

        Lastly, the investigation work is never half-baked. All of it played completely straight when Clarice and her superior Crawford investigate the victim’s body. What I love is that after that, Starling goes to a close contact to identify the cocoon that was lodged inside the victim. That offers the explanation as to what type of bug it is in the film and in the poster. 

2. Hannibal

        Anthony Hopkins deserved to win the Academy Award for his performance as Lecter. He wasn’t the first one to portray the killer. With Manhunter, actor Brian Cox was tapped to play Hannibal. When this movie was in production, Cox wasn’t available to reprise his role. Just the introduction when we see that point of view shot to Lecter’s cell is just unsettling. Among the other inmates in the mental hospital, he just stands there.

        While his overall look and demeanor are just off putting. The way he speaks and conducts himself is mostly high class. But of course, he has that serial killer within him. The way he operates when he sees Clarice is that he wants to know more about her. The scenes when we see them in the cell and in the courthouse is sort of like a game of chess. Clarice is told what to get but tries her own method. And of course, we see just how clever Hannibal is when he plots his own methods to escape. It’s one thing that he’s a killer but he’s very smart and efficient with plotting his course. 

        Just them talking about her past and trying to move through the Dr.’s misdirect of anagrams is something to see. Some people believe that it should’ve been the whole movie of just them. Of course, there’s another killer that has a hostage. The moments when we see Bill are just psychotic. I’m glad, I know it sounds wrong, that we have a scene as to how he catches his victims. Bill is unassuming and then flips the switch of putting his victim in the bottom of the well. 

        And you’re probably asking yourself just how does the film correlate with horror. At it’s core it’s a thriller movie where Clarice is finding the killer and going to Lecter. The meat and potatoes of horror lie in the moments when Clarice is by herself and when we see Bill in his lair. Just seeing the hostages manic state of wanting to be let out is heartbreaking. Making matters worse is when she sees the bloodied claw marks of past victims. It’s the “what we don’t see” aspect that makes horror so much more effective, without needing to be explicit.

3. Legacy

        The film was massively successful box office wise. People were so enthralled with the performances of both Foster and Hopkins that they were Academy nominated and winning their respective categories. So much so that the movie is the first horror film to win the coveted Best Picture award. It says something where we didn’t see an onscreen kill that is practically the genre’s identity was probably the deal breaker to win the award. 

        Of course, when you have something successful, other studios try to capitulate and do something that is on par or just missing the point. Probably the best example that is slightly in the same league as this one is David Fincher’s Se7en. Having it follow the same footprints and one intimidating killer makes it a worthy contemporary. 

        Lastly, there were sequels to this one, but of course they weren’t as good as Silence. I think it was because people loved Lecter so much that he was the basis of his own movie that came out in 2001. I haven’t seen it, but it’s the highest grossing among the franchise, but it received mixed reviews. A prequel came out which remade Manhunter with Red Dragon which starred Ed Norton. It got to a point where people got tired, especially an origin story on Lector being completely unnecesarry. 

4. Overall

        The Silence of the Lambs is one of the best films of the 90s. While it’s horror is more subdued, the performances help set the uneasiness of the film. 

The Godfather Part 2 Review

        It’s usually tough for a sequel to ever match or be better than the original film. There’s an expectation that a sequel is usually bad because it does the same thing. Or do something completely different but at the detriment of being a different film than what most people expected. The Godfather Part 2 is one of those sequels that breaks that perception of lower standard that it’s honestly tough whether to consider it either a superior film or an equal. 

1. Two Stories, 1 Film

        One would think that the this film would be the same thing story wise, but this time with Michael now in charge of the Corleone family. Well, no that’s not the film’s prerogative whatsoever. The movie literally feels like a continuation into what’s going on with Michael now gaining control and having no competition. Specifically, he and his family survive an assassination attempt and Michael is trying to figure out who set it up. 

        Now, that’s what we call story A, we can then transition to story B. Or in this case the flashback. One thing where I must commend the film is the overall use of its flashback. In any film of any measure, a flashback is used either sparingly or be what we see in the entire viewing. Sparingly when used to set up a plot device or to get another angle of the main story. Used in full like seeing an action at the very start then seeing what led up to it. I recommend watching Sunset Boulevard as an example.

        Anyways, the flashback moments to this film mostly focus on the rise of the Corleone’s. To begin with, everything that we see is through Vito’s point of view. As we see him being smuggled out of Italy and slowly being morphed into a don when he arrives in New York City. Robert De Niro does a great job of portraying the young version of Vito. There are moments when he doesn’t talk, and when he does talk, he almost pulls of the Brando accent. Not saying it’s perfect, but he manages to have that charm that Marlon had in the first film. 

        More so that when we see Vito already of age, we see him as just a simple man. Not until a neighbor and future ally tosses him a bag of weapons to hide is where he slowly moves to a life of crime. To me, the whole story feels like a revenge story. One where his family gets murdered in Corleone, Italy and he remembers the name of the Don when he visits him. Additionally, as he grows up in New York he creates a circle of trust and confronts the Don who’s dealing with racketeering. 

        So, one would ask, why have these two stories intersected each other? The one thing that may seem head scratching is the idea of having it be too conflicting. Since one would expect the flashback story ultimately set up what will happen in the present. Like a payoff or something to happen after watching the flashback. In an odd way that doesn’t happen here. For one thing, having the flashback creates the overall differences between Vito and Michael. Which I’ll talk about next. 

2. Differences Between Michael and Vito

        The family dynamics make the whole movie worth watching. Even though the movie clocks in at three hours, it never feels like it’s meandering or feel slow at all. Like seeing Michael just plan out among his closest allies on who exactly is trying to get him killed is the most interesting thing to see. When he conversates with the men around him, it’s like watching a chess match used with words. Fascinating to say the least, since he ultimately pull the strings to have anyone executed. 

        I think the best scene involving him is when he talks to his only surviving brother Fredo. While he’s older than Michael, he acts more like a goofball than a man with dignity and pride. Which makes the whole moment when Michael confronts him so captivating. I won’t give anything away, but the whole scene with the two of them in the Lake Tahoe compound makes it a must watch. And it shows just how Michael can think ahead and create a level of comfortability where he can see who’s on his side. 

        Conversely with Vito, I honestly see him as the literal exact opposite of the Don in New York. To me, it feels like Vito goes above the level of intimidation and tries to make amends to the people of the section of town who’ve been wronged. Particularly, the moment when he tries to help an evicted woman. Vito confronts the landlord and gives him the money in advance, and then his friends intimidate the person in question. Vito is more hands off as I see it. 

        With all that out of the way, I feel that the actual reason to have these two depictions of the family is to show just how Michael is a flawed Don than his father. The new leader of the family has his right-hand man assume control with what’s happening at home while Michael tries to find a mole. He sees everything as transactional at the expense of his own marriage slowly coming off the seams. Especially in those rare moments where he yells in frustration, where it shows that he’s just belligerent and not an understanding Don like his dad. 

        With everything that we see seen in the last film and in this one, it shows just much influence that Vito had and what made him a better leader. We see how much respect he wanted and cared about the mutual connection he had with the people going to him. For as much as he had people commit horrible acts, he was an understanding villain where he was likeable. 

        The one scene where it compounds it for Michael is near the end. After practically shelving his wife aside, Michael sits and remembers one moment from his past. He doesn’t want to pursue the family business and go do his own thing. It angers his family as they see it as a betrayal, but one where Michael wants to forge his own path. That whole moment sets up Michael as being a tragic figure and one where we’re a movie away from everything falling apart. 

3. Changed Reception

        One last thing to talk about, it’s always confounds me to see the reception change throughout time after the film is released. Don’t get me wrong, when a film is just bad, it’s bad forever. For this one, I can see where it can seemingly be inferior. Maybe the critics saw that the moments where Vito spoke Italian more than English, or that the lack of Marlon Brando didn’t make the film worth praising is another. 

        To me, it’s the inflection point of when exactly does the movie that has been received mixed critically, pivot to becoming an all time classic. The same happened with Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, it had a mixed reception, but slowly became the best Star Wars movie. I feel that it’s the new batch of movie critics or open minded movie goers gave the film a shot and felt moved that the film is superior to the first.

4. Overall

        While I didn’t delve more into the film, it’s an absolute must watch. I strongly recommend watching it after you watch the first Godfather. 

The Godfather Review

        It’s a whole new year now and I’m going to do something differently this time. If you’ve been following me for about two years now, every January I talk about failed franchises. From the DCEU movies of the past to The Matrix series. This time, I’ll be talking about The Godfather series. And it’ll come as a shocker that I haven’t seen either of them. So think of this as a gateway to why this franchise has been a classic. With all that out of the way, here’s The Godfather. 

1. The Corleone Family

        Take it from me that this is my first Frances Ford Coppola film that I’ve seen so far. He’s part of the illustrious group of directors that came out during the late 60s to the 70s. All of them have changed cinema and filmmaking. Additionally, the era suited with newfound level of violence that can be shown on a silver screen. Trust me, this film doesn’t shy away from that at all. 

        Anyways, you would think this film would be about the rise or fall of the mob family. It’s far from that assumption. Instead, the story is mostly about the family as it transitions from one Don to another. The main highlight of the story is seeing the camaraderie between the family and how it operates. Obviously, the best representation of this is in the beginning as the Corleone’s are celebrating a wedding. 

        We see the behind-the-scenes dealings that Don Vito is in the veil of darkness. All the while, everyone is celebrating the wedding of Vito’s daughter. It’s such a great contrast between what’s being shown and what’s going on. Making it more malevolent is that a select few go to the Don and ask for a favor to help with their problems. This leads to one of the film’s best, horrifying or offensive scene. Depending on who you ask.

        To begin with, the singer at the wedding Johnny Fontane asks Vito for help in making it in Hollywood. Vito then sends his second in command to have the producer get Fontane into more movies. This is when we get to see that infamously famous shot. I love the overall setup within the shot. The music overall is gentle when it starts, and it gets more menacing with the producer realizes what’s under his blanket. 

        I think the scene perfectly represents just how far the mob families go as far as getting what they want. For once, it never shies away with getting their hands dirty or being deceptive for their own gains. And that’s what makes this movie such a classic as far as storytelling. We see just when Vito gets injured, everyone within the family thinks the next step for retribution. This is where Michael fits in. 

        Just before I talk about Michael, I really want to talk about the representation that the movie has going for it. To put it into context, people usually think of mobsters as one dimensionally malevolent. The film broke ground by making a crime family appear to be empathetic, when to be clear aren't. Even showing just how Italian they were, by showcasing the family dynamics. That's what makes the Corleone's so interesting since Vito basically controlled everything. And setting up how Michael will run the family. 

2. Michael’s Story

        There’s probably no actor who had an early successful run than Al Pacino. I mean there probably hasn’t been or will be another actor/actress that will have a critically acclaimed career opener than Pacino. I can sing praises all I want about him, but his role as Michael steals the entire show whenever Vito isn’t on the screen. 

        What makes him so fascinating is that he starts as the odd one out. It’s established that he wants to have a normal life that has no association with his family. With circumstances happening, he’s thrusted into a role where his father thought he’ll be in other powerful positions. All that goes to the wayside when he’s slowly being morphed to be the new Don. It’s honestly an interesting thing to see as his character change and do the acts that’s beyond him. From him committing a murder and marrying an Italian woman in Sicily. 

        That whole scene of him being in Italy is practically the best moment in the entire film. With Michael seemingly making a new life in Italy to let off the heat from the rival families. He has his humanity when he marries the woman Apollonia, and I believe sets him up to be untrustworthy when he doesn't reveal that detail to his actual wife. As a side note, some of the deaths are effective. Especially with the way that the film goes about it. None more when that moment when Apollonia gets killed. That's the turning point when Michael now becomes the Don. 

        I think the best scene that perfectly captures his whole evolution is in the baptism scene. Seeing the baptism of his godchild intersperse with his family’s hitmen is a perfect side by side of what kind of life Michael is now going to be living. It’s ironic and simply cathartic seeing the other Don’s being eliminated while Michael is already getting accustomed. 

3. Legacy

        Without a doubt this movie had an influential impact as soon as it came out. Just before the film, the book was already successful by being in the best sellers list for weeks when it was published. In fact, the author Mario Puzo co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. One of the few instances where the author had a hand in the adaptation.

        When it came out, it was the highest grossing movie. So much so that it became successful Awards wise when it won a slew of awards including Best Picture. No one would’ve imagined just how much the people wanted to see more of the Corleone family. The sequels came out in later years and have been successful. Don’t worry, I’ll talk about them later this month. 

4. Overall

        The Godfather is considered one of the best films ever to be made. Need I say more?

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest Review

 

        I’m back and it’s July. Doing something as looking through one type of film’s evolution through the years is really something. I guess when you marathon a lot of good films, there’s an appreciation of how a genre changes through time and see how much filmmaking has change. With that, this whole month will be dedicated to the book adaptions. It’s surprising to know that a lot of good films are based on books. I’ve tackled some throughout this initiative, and there’ll be more. Anyways, let’s talk about the Best Picture winner One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. 

1. Randal McMurphy

        My first exposure to the film was with this YouTuber in the early 2010s named James Rolfe. He made a video of his favorite movies, and coincidentally this one made it to his list. Adapted from the book of the same name by Ken Kesey, the story involves McMurphy getting transferred from jail to the mental institute. He believes that getting instituted would grant a quick freedom, not knowing that the asylum is ran by a dictator-esque nurse. 

        Nicholson deservedly won Best Actor with his performance as McMurphy. He’s a criminal first and foremost, but he has that charm where it can bring levity to a room that’s mostly dead. What makes him so likeable is that he’s in a new environment where he’s the normal one. Randal makes quick witted jokes and has that ability to make people open up from being mentally lethargic. 

        The best moments involving him and the motley crew of the asylum is when he helps them play either basketball or how to fish. He’s like the only person that helps them get any sort of stimulation with seeing the world outside the institute’s walls. It’s endearing to see it play out and watch him grow as just a stubborn criminal to someone who cares about them. 

        Obviously, the highlight of the film is when he buts heads with Nurse Ratched. To briefly talk about her for a moment, she is such an antagonist. One would think she’s just a one-dimensional sniveling villain. No, what she does in the movie is much, much worse. She manages to maintain order, but the way she goes about it is just cruel. It’s one thing where Randal puts a vote to watch a baseball game, only to have her dismiss it when she points out that other members didn’t have a say.

        Her character really elicits a very strong emotional thing because, she gets away with her abusive power. Mostly because it’s implied that her superiors notice that she keeps order. It’s also one thing where she isn’t screaming or getting in someone’s face, it’s her calm and mind games that really put down the other inmates in their place. One scene specifically is my favorite of her and it’s when the stutterer Billy tries to stand up to himself. Only to cower down when the nurse threatens to tell his Mom about an incident he did. 

2. Authority and Freedom 

        The big idea of the film and why it really works aside from the characters is this concept of authority and freedom. This movie does convey this idea best. Like I mentioned earlier when talking about McMurphy that he thinks that getting into an asylum would be easy. He realizes that he’s in there when nurses think he’s ready. 

        We see all the inmates go in and get their medicine like Pavlov’s dogs and really have no say in just about anything. Most of their privileges get immediately taken when McMurphy takes them away from the asylum or gambling on cigarettes. It adds to another layer of Nurse Ratched’s character when she removes any chance of their freedom. 

        Before I forget to bring them up, the inmates are great fodder when McMurphy talks to them and exposes them to some semblance of freedom. They’re all interesting and it makes me think just how exactly they got in. We get some moments how and why they’re there. Most of them do have depth, and there’s easily moments where you feel bad for them and they’re dragged to get electro therapy.

3. Legacy

        The film was a hit at the time and it’s a classic. I was surprised by how many actors that were in this film managed to have a decent career. Such as seeing Christopher Lloyd before making it big with the Back to the Future trilogy. And of course, seeing Danny DeVito before seeing him in other films and the show It’s Always Sunny. Doing some research for the film, I was surprised to learn that there’s a series about Nurse Ratched on Netflix. I haven’t seen it, nor would I want to since I feel that any reason to explain why she is the way she is would ruin her character. 

4. Overall 

        One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest is classic of the 70s. As far as book adaptations go, it’s a must watch.