Event Horizon

Event Horizon 1997

• Director: Paul Anderson
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Richard T Jones, Jack Noseworthy, Jason Isaacs, Sean Pertwee, Holly Chant
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Laurence Fishburne – Passengers, Man of Steel, Contagion, Bobby, A as in Akeelah, The Matrix x 3, Mystic River, Othello, What’s Love Got to Do with It, Boyz n the Hood, Class Action, The Color Purple, Rumble Fish
• Sam Neill – A Long Way Down, Skin, Little Fish, Merlin, Jurassic Park, The Piano, Ivanhoe
• Kathleen Quinlan – SGU Stargate Universe, The Doors, Independence Day, American Graffiti
• Joely Richardson – Return to Me
• Richard T Jones – Terminator the Sarah Connor Chronicles, Moonlight Mile, What’s Love Got to Do with It
• Jason Isaacs – Case Studies, Harry Potter, Nine Lives, Sweet November, Armageddon
• Sean Pertwee – UFO, Doomsday, Swing Kids, Prick Up Your Ears
• Why? Evidently, it’s a sci fi classic. Good cast, too
• Seen: 26 July 2020      

       The year is 2047. Fishburne is the captain of a spaceship sent out to rescue the Event Horizon, launched years earlier to explore the far reaches of space but disappeared. Neill is the scientist sent along because he’s the one who built the ship and knows all the technology.

       They find the Event Horizon, and things happen. It’s too exciting to watch and write. Bye for now.

       OK, I’m back. It’s suspenseful, spooky, scary. It’s like a grim Doctor Who with no Tennant, Capaldi or Whittaker to rescue them.

       It starts out as an intelligent sci fi film but sadly it disintegrates into explosions and even a fist fight. A pity. But exciting and entertaining enough.

3* of 5

Stockholm

Stockholm 2018

• Director: Robert Budreau
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Ethan Hawke, Noomi Rapace, Mark Strong, Christopher Heyerdahl, Bea Santos, Mark Rendall, Shanti Roney
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Ethan Hawke – Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Cymbeline, Before Midnight, Before Sunset, Tape, Hamlet, Snow Falling on Cedars, Gattaca, Before Sunrise, Reality Bites, Waterland, The Dead Poet’s Society
• Noomi Rapace – Unlocked, Rupture, Prometheus, Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows, Svinalängorna, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Flickan som lekte med Elden, Män som hatar kvinnor, Tusenbröder
• Mark Strong – Before I Go to Sleep, The Imitation Game, Zero Dark Thirty, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Eagle, Sherlock Holmes, Young Victoria, Stardust, Sunshine, Sunshine (the other one), Fever Pitch
• Shanti Roney – Tusenbröder, Tillsammans
• Why? Well, I live in Stockholm, don’t I? Good cast, too.
• Seen: 25 July 2020      

       ‘Based on an absurd but true story.’ I remember well when this happened. We were preparing to move to Sweden. The term Stockholm syndrome came from this bank robbery in Stockholm in 1973. Robbers and hostages. If you don’t know the story, Google it.

       Hawke is good as the manic robber. Rapace is good as the frightened but cool-headed hostage, almost unrecognizable in her TV screen 70’s eyeglasses. The scenes from Stockholm are fun to see (making me almost homesick – we haven’t been downtown since March because of Co-vid19).

       How true to the real thing is I don’t know but the film is better than expected.

4 * of 5

Alita Battle Angel

Alita – Battle Angel 2019

• Director: Robert Rodriguez
• Also seen by this director: Once Upon a Time in Mexico
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Ed Skrein, Keean Johnson, Idara Victor
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Rosa Salazar – Maze Runner et al
• Christoph Waltz – Spectre, The Zero Theorem, Carnage, Inglourious Basterds
• Jennifer Connelly – Winter’s Tale, Creation, He’s Just Not That Into You, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Blood Diamond, Little Children, The House of Sand and Fog, A Beautiful Mind, Pollock, Requiem for a Dream, Labyrinth
• Mahershala Ali – The Hunger Games Mockingjay 1&2, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
• Why? It sounded fun
• Seen: 24 July 2020      

       Hundreds of years in the future, after the fall, the cyborg robot Alita (Salazar) is found torn apart but alive in the city ruins. She is beautifully and lovingly reconstructed by a doctor with secrets (Waltz). She’s perfectly healthy but has no memory. She sets out to learn about the complex city and society that remains after the fall. She loves it but dangers lurk everywhere.

       I have no pre-conceived notions of the film, I have no idea what it’s about, but I’m enthralled from the start. The story is decent, the special effects are fantastic and Salazar as the semi-animated loveable killing machine Alita is delightful.

       It’s exciting too. Talk about girl power. A bit soapy but it’s a sweet cyborg film. It ends in a cliff hanger though so a sequel must be coming. I hope so.

4 * of 5

Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things 2003

• Director: Stephen Fry
• Based on the book by Evelyn Waugh
• Cast: Stephen Campbell Moore, Emily Mortimer, Michael Sheen, James McAvoy, Fenella Woolgar, Stockard Channing, Julia Mackenzie, David Tennant, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Imelda Staunton, Peter O’Toole, Harriet Walter and many others in small roles
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Stephen Campbell Moore - The Lady in the Van, Johnny English Reborn, Amazing Grace, Hustle
• Emily Mortimer – The Bookshop, Hugo, Shutter Island, Lars and the Real Girl, Paris je t’aime, Dear Frankie, Young Adam, The Kid, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Notting Hill
• Michael Sheen – Underworld 1-3, Passengers, Far from the Madding Crowd, Doctor Who, Frost/Nixon, Blood Diamond, The Queen, Kingdom of Heaven, Wilde, Mary Reilly, Underworld
• James McAvoy – X-Men etc, Victor Frankenstein, Filth, The Last Station, Wanted, Atonement, Becoming Jane, Starter for Ten, The Last King of Scotland, Macbeth Re-Told, Inside I’m Dancing
• Fenella Woolgar – Victoria & Abdul, High-Rise, Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Case Histories, Doctor Who, Wah Wah, Vera Drake
• Stockard Channing – Sparkle, Out of Practice, Practical Magic, First Wives’ Club, Edie and Pen, Smoke Six Degrees of Separation, Grease
• Julia Mackenzie – Cranford, Notes on a Scandal, Shirley Valentine
• David Tennant – Jessica Jones, Broadchurch, What We Did on Our Holiday, Doctor Who, The Escape Artist, The Politician’s Husband, Fright Night, The Decoy Bride, United, Hamlet, Kick-Ass Girl’s St Trinian’s, The Catherine Tate Show, Glorious 39, The Secret Smile, Harry Potter and the Flaming Goblet, Blackpool, Jude, Takin’ over the Asylum
• Jim Broadbent – Lady in the Van, Filth, Cloud Atlas, Harry Potter, Another Year, Young Victoria, Hot Fuzz, Moulin Rouge, Topsy-Turvy, Little Voice, Richard III, Life Is Sweet, and many more
• Simon Callow – Victoria & Abdul, Doctor Who, Shakespeare in Love, David Copperfield, etc
• Imelda Staunton – Pride, Harry Potter, Another Year, Cranford, Taking Woodstock, A Midsummer Night’s Dream Re-Told, Vera Drake, Shakespeare in Love, Twelfth Night, Sense and Sensibility, Much Ado About Nothing, Peter’ Friends
• Peter O’Toole – Stardust, The Man from La Mancha, The Lion in Winter, Lord Jim, Lawrence of Arabia
• Harriet Walter – Star Wars, London Spy, Simon Schama’s Shakespeare, Downton Abbey, From Time to Time, Young Victoria, Sense and Sensibility, Atonement, Keep the Aspidistras Flying
•  Why? Good cast. Good film.
• Seen: Once before. Now 19 July 2020      

       Adam (Campbell Moore) has written a book called Bright Young Things revealing the scandalous life of the young idle rich English nobility of the late 30’s. The manuscript is confiscated by customs as he returns to England from abroad.

       It goes at such a pace that it’s hard to keep up, just like their lives. It’s all quite frivolous and amusing as only British nobility comedies can be. There is a Jeeves-and-Wooster feel about it. Not surprising with Stephen Fry as the screenplay writer and director.

       The cast includes many of the British elite, and others) with many highlights:

       Michael Sheen, last seen as a macho werewolf, as decadently, limp-wristedly, smiling-through-tears gay.

       James McAvoy as a young nobleman desperate to be a journalist who, when he fails to get the scoop he’s after, gets revenge by printing a load of lies for the newspaper, which sells more copies than ever.

       Stockard Channing as a purple clad evangelist preaching about sin at one of the many sin-filled parties.

       David Tennant as a suave aristocrat, unsavoury as only non-Doctor Who Tennant can be.

       Imelda Staunton is almost as indignant as Dolores Umbridge, although not so pink.

       Their glamourous lives go faster and faster. It can’t end well. Can it?

4 1/2 * of 5

Shakespeare connection: This is so filled with Shakespeare connections it’s almost like watching a Shakespeare play. The ones I’ve seen in something Shakespeare are: Emily Mortimer, James McAvoy, David Tenant, Jim Broadbent, Simon Callow, Imelda Staunton, Harriet Walter

PS I see that I have already reviewed this film once. It seems I liked it better this time.

The Sixth Sense

The Sixth Sense 1999

• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Also seen by this director: The Happening, The Village
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osmet, Toni Collette, Olivia Williams
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Bruce Willis – Looper, Moonrise Kingdom, Friends, The Siege, Armageddon, The Fifth Element, The Twelve Monkeys, Pulp Fiction, Billy Bathgate, In Country, Die Hard
• Haley Joel Osmet – Pay It Forward
• Toni Collette – Unlocked, Hereditary, Imperium, A Long Way Down, Mental, Fright Night, The Dead Girl, Night Listener, Little Miss Sunshine, In Her Shoes, The Hours, About a Boy, Hotel Splendide, Velvet Goldmine
• Olivia Williams – Victoria & Abdul, The Ghost Writer, An Education, X-Men etc, Tara Road, To Kill a King, Born Romantic, Rushmore, The Postman
• Why? Collette.
• Seen: Sort of seen while visiting a cousin years ago. Now: 18 July 2020      

       Malcolm (Willis) is a renowned child psychologist. After recovering from an attack by a former patient, he takes on nine-year-old Cole (Osmet). He gets very involved in the lives of this troubled boy and his mother (Collette) to the detriment of his relationship with his wife (Williams).

       Cole confesses to Malcolm that he sees dead people. Malcolm diagnoses this as hallucinations. At first.

       It’s not often that a scary film is also a tear-jerker. This one is both. Willis is very good in this non-tough guy role, Collette always delivers and then some and young Osmet is phenomenal.

4 ½ * of 5

A Star Is Born

A Star Is Born 2018

• Director: Bradley Cooper
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper, Sam Elliot, Andrew Dice Day, Rafi Gavron, Anthony Ramos, Dave Chappelle
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Bradley Cooper – Joy, Silver Linings Playbook, He’s Just Not that Into You
• Sam Elliot – The Big Lebowski, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
• Why? Remake of an old classic. I’m curious about Lady Gaga.
• Seen: 16 July 2020

      

       Unlike many cineastes I’m not allergic to remakes. Some are even better than the originals. I’ve not seen the original of this film, but I have seen the Judy Garland version and it’s very good.

       Jack (Cooper) is a rock star. Desperate for more booze after a concert he happens into a drag bar where Ally (Gaga) is performing Piaf songs. She works in a restaurant and has been told she will never make it in the music business because her nose is too big. Jack sees her enormous talent in singing and song-writing. He asks her to sing with him on stage.

       As she rises, he falls. It’s quite painful to watch. Both Cooper and Gaga are very good. Now I want to hear more Gaga. And I want to see the Garland version again but this one is at least as good.

4 ½ * of 5

Muriel's Wedding

Muriel’s Wedding 1994

• Director: P J Hogan
• Also seen by this director: Mental, My Best Friend’s Wedding
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Toni Collette, Rachel Griffiths, Bill Hunter, Jeanie Drynan, Gabby Millgate, Matt Day, Daniel Lapaine
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Toni Collette – Unlocked, Hereditary, Imperium, A Long Way Down, Mental, Fright Night, The Dead Girl, Night Listener, Little Miss Sunshine, In Her Shoes, The Hours, About a Boy, Hotel Splendide, Velvet Goldmine
• Rachel Griffiths – Six Feet Under, Ned Kelly, Very Annie Mary, Blow, Hilary & Jackie, Amy, My Best Friend’s Wedding, Jude
• Bill Hunter – Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Strictly Ballroom
• Matt Day – Shackleton
• Daniel Lapaine – The Merchant of Venice, Zero Dark Thirty, Last Chance Harvey
• Why? Collette. The film’s a favourite.
• Seen: Twice before. Now: 12 July 2020      

       Muriel (Collette) is an unemployed, plump (she put on 40 pounds for the role) downtrodden loser who is obsessed with ABBA and getting married. Her tyrannical father, a wannabe politician and a racist, constantly tells her and her siblings and his wife that they are useless. Her so-called friends tell her they don’t want her to hang with them anymore because she threatens their image.

       Then she runs into Rhonda (Griffiths), an old classmate who helps her find some self-esteem. It starts her on the road to a new life, but it’s not a simple life.

       For the record, I hate weddings, but I love this film. Collette justifiably gained international renown for this role. Griffiths and the whole cast are also excellent. It’s called a comedy but it’s really a very sad film. And lovely.

5* of 5

Underworld - the rise of the Lycans

Underworld Rise of the Lycans 2009

• Director: Patrick Tatopoulus
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, Rhona Mitra, Steven Mackintosh, Kevin Grevioux
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Michael Sheen – Passengers, Far from the Madding Crowd, Doctor Who, Frost/Nixon, Blood Diamond, The Queen, Kingdom of Heaven, Bright Young Things, Wilde, Mary Reilly, Underworld
• Bill Nighy – The Bookshop, Their Finest, Hotel Marigold 1&2, Pride, About Time, Jack the Giant Slayer, Total Recall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2, Doctor Who, Glorious 39, The Boat that Rocked, Valkyria, Pirates of the Caribbean, Underworld + Evolution, Hot Fuzz, Notes on a Scandal, Gideon’s Daughter, The Constant Gardener, The Girl in the Café, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Love Actually, Kiss Me Kate, Black Books, Longitude, Still Crazy
• Rhona Mitra – SGU Stargate Universe, The Life of David Gale
• Steven Mackintosh – Robot Overlords, The Thirteenth Tale, Our Mutual Friend, Twelfth Night, Karaoke, Prick Up Your Ears, Underworld Evolution
• Kevin Grevioux - Underworld
•  Why? Bill Nighy
• Seen: 11 July 2020      

       Several in my FB film groups have said that this is the best of the five.

       It goes back to tell the story of the beginning of the war between the vampires and the Lycans/werewolves a thousand (or whatever) years ago.

       It’s fun to see Nighy, who is such a sweetie, as the villainous tyrannical head of the vampires and Sheen as the long-haired lovesick - enamoured of Nighy’s daughter Sonja (Mitra) - and leader of the rebellious Lycans.

       That’s about it though. A question: why are there no women Lycans?

       Nighy and Sheen together grant the film

1 * of 5 (I talked Hal into giving it ½ * because it’s not the worst film we’ve seen).

PS Do we need to watch the last two? Bill Nighy isn’t in them.

The Godfather Part Three

The Godfather Part III (1990)

• Director: Francis Ford Coppola
• Also seen by this director: The Godfather 1& 2, Peggy Sue Got Married, Rumble Fish, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, American Graffiti, Paper Moon
• Based on the book by Mario Puzo
• Cast: Al Pacino, Andy Garcia, Sofia Coppola, Diane Keaton, Eli Wallach, Talia Shire, George Hamilton, Bridget Fonda
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Al Pacino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Merchant of Venice, Insomnia, Donnie Brasco, Looking for Richard, Heat, Carlito’s Way, The Scent of a Woman, Glengarry Glen Ross, Frankie and Johnny, Sea of Love, Author Author, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Panic in Needle Park, The Godfather 1&2
• Andy Garcia – Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, Passengers, Modigliani, Hero
• Sofia Coppola – Star Wars Episode 1, Peggy Sue Got Married, Rumble Fish (nepotism much?)
• Diane Keaton – Something’s Gotta Give, Marvin’s Room, First Wives’ Club, Reds, Looking for Mr Goodbar, The Godfather
• Eli Wallach – The Ghost Writer, Holiday, Mystic River and probably some from the 60s
• Talia Shire – The Godfather
• George Hamilton – I must have seen him in something but nothing I can remember
• Bridget Fonda – A Simple Plan, Jackie Brown, Easy Rider
• Why? Bought the box
• Seen: 10 July 2020      

       Third time’s a charm? Part Two was better than Part One so maybe this will be the film that turns me into a Godfather fan.

       Sigh. It starts with another boring family bash. I still really don’t like these people. It’s still a hypocritical gang of boring despicably rich religious macho crooks. The exposure of the Catholic church is interesting, and Pacino does what he can with a feeble script, but the climax drags on for half the film. The ending is endless, tedious and ultimately predictable.

       So, no, I fear I will never be a Godfather fan. I will not watch these films again but at least I’ve seen them.

1½ * of 5

Unlocked

Unlocked 2017

• Director: Michael Apted
• Also seen by this director: Amazing Grace, The World Is Not Enough, Nell, Class Action, Stardust
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Noomi Rapace, Toni Collette, Orlando Bloom, John Malkovich, Michael Douglas, Tosin Cole, Tom Reed
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Noomi Rapace – Rupture, Prometheus, Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows, Svinalängorna, Luftslottet som sprängdes, Flickan som lekte med Elden, Män som hatar kvinnor, Tusenbröder
• Toni Collette – Hereditary, Imperium, A Long Way Down, Mental, Fright Night, The Dead Girl, Night Listener, Little Miss Sunshine, In Her Shoes, The Hours, About a Boy, Hotel Splendide, Velvet Goldmine, Muriel’s Wedding
• Orlando Bloom – Pirates of the Caribbean, The Hobbit, Extras, Kingdom of Heaven, Lord of the Rings, Ned Kelly, Wilde
• John Malkovich – Burn After Reading, Colour Me Kubrick, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, The Libertine, Johnny English, Jeanne D’Arc, Being John Malkovich, Mary Reilly
• Michael Douglas – Traffic, A Perfect Murder, A Chorus Line, The China Syndrome
• Tosin Cole – Doctor Who, Star Wars the Force Awakens
• Why? Collette and Rapace
• Seen: 5 July 2020      

       Alice (Rapace) and Emily (Collette) are friends and spies for the CIA and MI5. They’re recruited to stop an act of biological terrorism in London.

       For being a spy film it’s interesting and exciting. But then Rapace is Lisbeth Salander and Collette is Collette. Here she’s even Annie Lennox! Malkovich and Bloom add spice.

       A twist towards the end of the film adds an unpleasant eeriness that I don’t think the filmmakers intended. Sometimes reality and fiction coincide more than we’d like.

       Nevertheless, it’s one of the better spy films I’ve seen.

4 * of 5

Underworld Evolution

Underworld Evolution 2006

• Director: Len Wiseman
• Other films seen by this director: Underworld
• Based on the book: no
• Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Scott Speedman, Tony Curran, Derek Jacobi, Bill Nighy, Steven Mackintosh
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Kate Beckinsale – Underworld, Absolutely Anything, Total Recall, The Aviator, Serendipity, The Last Days of Disco, Shooting Fish, Cold Comfort Farm, Prince of Jutland, Much Ado about Nothing, Underworld
• Scott Speedman – My Life without Me, Underworld
• Tony Curran – X-Men First Class, The Pillars of the Earth, Doctor Who, Primeval, Gladiator, Great Expectations, Go Now, Shallow Grave
• Derek Jacobi – Last Tango in Halifax, Murder on the Orient Express, Vicious, Cinderella, My Week with Marilyn, The King’s Speech, Doctor Who, Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Gladiator, Hamlet, Dead Again, Henry V, Hamlet, Richard II, I Claudius
• Bill Nighy – The Bookshop, Their Finest, Hotel Marigold 1&2, Pride, About Time, Jack the Giant Slayer, Total Recall, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2, Doctor Who, Glorious 39, The Boat that Rocked, Valkyria, Pirates of the Caribbean, Underworld, Hot Fuzz, Notes on a Scandal, Gideon’s Daughter, The Constant Gardener, The Girl in the Café, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Shaun of the Dead, Love Actually, Kiss Me Kate, Black Books, Longitude, Still Crazy
• Steven Mackintosh – Robot Overlords, The Thirteenth Tale, Our Mutual Friend, Twelfth Night, Karaoke, Prick Up Your Ears
•  Why? Bill Nighy
• Seen: 4 July 2020

        Hundreds of years ago the bloody war between the vampires and the Lycans (werewolves) begins, then the story picks up where the first film left off. Vampire Selena (Beckinsale) and human/vampire/werewolf hybrid Michael (Speedman) are on the run, hunted by both sides.

       Why are they suddenly in some Slavic country where they sometimes speak French? Who is Derek Jacobi and what is he doing in this film? What is this even about?

       A story of sorts and a few answers emerge and the cast is peppered with several from the British acting elite which grants it a touch of class but there’s more violence and gore than is entirely necessary and altogether too many fist fights. When will directors learn – fist fights are BORING!

       Though shorter than the first one it feels longer. It’s less entertaining and more – if I may use such a word in the circumstances – unlikely (even within the framework of vampires and werewolves which some narrow-minded people find unlikely in itself…)

2 * of 5

The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part II (1974)

• Director: Francis Ford Coppola
• Also seen by this director: The Godfather, Peggy Sue Got Married, Rumble Fish, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, American Graffiti, Paper Moon
• Based on the book by Mario Puzo
• Cast: Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Al Pacino – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, The Merchant of Venice, Insomnia, Donnie Brasco, Looking for Richard, Heat, Carlito’s Way, The Scent of a Woman, Glengarry Glen Ross, Frankie and Johnny, Sea of Love, Author Author, Dog Day Afternoon, Serpico, Panic in Needle Park, The Godfather
• Robert DeNiro – Silver Linings Notebook, Stardust, Fifteen Minutes, Flawless, Great Expectations, Jackie Brown, Copland, Marvin’s Room, Heat, Frankenstein, Awakenings, Stanley & Iris, Brazil, The Deer Hunter, 1900, Taxi Driver, Hi Mom
• Robert Duvall – Widows, Sling Blade, The Stars Fell on Henrietta, M*A*S*H, the Godfather and many series
• Diane Keaton – Something’s Gotta Give, Marvin’s Room, First Wives’ Club, Reds, Looking for Mr Goodbar, The Godfather
• Talia Shire – The Godfather 
• Why? Bought the box
• Seen: 3 July 2020

         Oh, the reactions in my FB group to the 2* I gave Part I. One or two agreed with me but mostly they were appalled. ‘Best film ever made!’ ‘5* of 5!’ ‘A perfect film!’ One even suggested I delete the whole blog. An offer I couldn’t refuse?

       Ooooo I’m scared.

       Several indicated that Part Two is even better.

       We’ll see, we’ll see.

The good stuff

• The Ellis Island scene is good.
• Pacino is good with the cold stares.
• Robert DeNiro is so young! And thin!
• It has interesting moments.
• Visually beautiful.
• The cars are pretty (but I don’t like cars).
• Viva la revolution! Viva Fidel!
• Jesus with all the money and all the other religious hypocrisy of the mafia is a good point.

The bad stuff

• It’s still mostly just a lot of men making offers and threats.
• There are more boring family parties.
• I really don’t like these people. The Sopranos were also horrible people but fun to dislike.
• It’s longer than it needs to be, therefore boring sometimes.
• If we’re meant to feel sorry for poor little orphaned Vito and the murdering baby-kissing man he became, I don’t.
• I’m falling asleep.
• The background story of Vito Corleone isn’t very interesting.

OK, yes, it’s better than Part One. I can stretch it almost to

3* of 5 (Hal says 3 ½ even.)