12 Films of Christmas (Part 3)

Time for the third part in my 12 Films of Christmas series. So let’s get into it.

What if you’ve been raised as something/someone you’re not your entire life? This is pretty much the central theme of christmas comedy “Elf”. Buddy (Will Ferrell) is a human who has been raised on the North Pole as an elf his entire life. But when he finds out that he’s actually a human whose father lives in New York City, he decides to travel to the big apple to find his true father and learn about what he truly is. And this is a fun movie. Light, fluffy, and not particularly deep, but it’s still a good amount of fun. And I do have to admit that there were some laugh out loud jokes here. But most jokes were pretty much just chuckle-worthy. It’s one of those movies that I don’t think I’ll watch every year, but I did have fun with it. Will Ferrell was enjoyable as Buddy. He’s a childlike, energetic, and very naive man, and Ferrell delivers it all flawlessly. James Caan as Buddy’s biological dad was good. Ed Asner was a great Santa Claus. Jon Favreau’s direction is energized and whimsical and makes it an easy watch. I have no nostalgia for this movie, so I don’t really have the same warm and fuzzy feelings for it that some others do. But I enjoyed my time with it and I do recommend it if you just want something fun and warm-hearted to watch this holiday season.

What do you think about “Elf”? And what’s your favorite Will Ferrell role that isn’t this? Leave any and all thoughts in the comments.
Have a good one.

Movie Review: The Godfather (1972)

Oh god, now I am gonna get it… big time. Not having seen one of the most popular and best reviewed movies of all time until now. So far I have gotten through it all without getting my ass bitten, but this is sure to piss people off. For the people who might be able to accept the fact, I am sorry. But for you who are dead set on murdering me, be gentle.

My friends… “The Godfather”.

This movie follows aging mob boss Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando, R.I.P) as he wants to try to hand over the empire to his reluctant son Michael (Al Pacino). We also get to see them try to take care of business and survive from the other “families” in the city. Now that is really all I can say about the plot for the few out there who haven’t seen the movie yet. But I can say that the long time that the story spans (circa 10 years) is one of the most intriguing and perfectly constructed plots I have ever laid my eyes upon. This movie is almost three hours long and I was never bored with any of it, that is evidence of a terrific and interesting story. It also features a few pretty neat twists and turns at times.

The characters are all very nuanced, unique and interesting. All of them had great writing behind them and I can safely say that there was not a single weak performance in this movie at all. Marlon Brando was fantastic as this deep, caring and humble mob boss. His performance was one of the best I have ever seen. Al Pacino was also great as his son Michael, a guy reluctant to take on the role of Godfather (Or Don as it is also called). But he also played the character with a lot of humanity and showed that the character put family above all else. It was also great seeing a bunch of other great actors such as Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton and James Caan in this movie playing all these great characters. Like I said before, there were on weak performances in this movie and the writing for all of them was excellent.

The score by Nino Rota was perfect. It managed to help build a lot of suspense, even in a lot of scenes where there was a regular conversation between two characters. The music also helped bring a lot of emotion to scenes that wouldn’t have been as powerful without it even though they would still have been great. And while I did love the original score for the movie, please listen to this cover of the song “Speak Softly, Love” by David Davidson, it is beautiful.

There is a reason Francis Ford Coppola is called one of the greatest directors ever and that is hwo this movie is shot. Sure, there is nothing special at first glance when it comes to the shot composition, but that is the greatness of it all. It is simple yet so magnificent. The shots look terrific, especially on the restoration DVD that I watched. Sure, the blu-ray is probably even better, but I don’t care. The movie looks fantastic.

Like I said in the beginning, this is one of the best reviewed movies of all time. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 99% (Holy shit) positive rating with a “Fresh” certification. On Metacritic it has a score of 100/100, one of the few movies with such a score. Roger Ebert gave this movie 4/4 stars and put it in his “Great Movies” list. And on imdb.com it has a score of 9,2/10 and is ranked #2 on the “Top 250” list (Sidenote: At #1 is “The Shawshank Redemption”). This movie also won 3 Oscars in the categories of Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best screenplay based on previously published material. It was also nominated for an additional 8 Oscars (Holy shit) in the categories of Best Supporting Actors (James Caan), Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall), Best Supporting Actor (Al Pacino), Best Director, Best costume design, Best sound, Best film editing and best original score. 

I can’t deny it, “The Godfather” is one of the greatest movies ever made. The story is fantastic, the performances are fantastic, the score is amazing, the direction is great and the writing is terrific. The only problem I could see it having is that it would be a tad too slow for most modern audiences… but not for me! Time for my final score. Jeff, get me the envelope! No? Well how about this, I’ll make you an offer you can’t refuse. Yeah? Thank you! My final score for “The Godfather” is a 9,89/10. There is nothing else to say other than it gets the “SEAL OF APPROVAL!”

I have finally reviewed “The Godfather”.

This movie made me an offer I couldn’t refuse. And I am at least not sleeping with the fishes.

Movie Review: Henry’s Crime (2011)

Heist movies! they come, they go, they rock, they suck! That is the circle of life my friends. Heist movies are some of the most entertaining movies existing, mainly from seeing both the plan and execution of said heist. We have had some really awesome ones such as “Heat”. Then we have also had some less-than-stellar ones like “30 minutes or less”. But it is always interesting to see what different heist movie brings to the table. Today we are taking a look at a heist movie that not too many people know about… maybe for the better? But is it really complete shit? Or is it actually a masterpiece? Let’s find out!

Henrys and Henriettas… “Henry’s Crime”.

The movie follows Henry Torne (Keanu Reeves) who works nights in a toll booth. But one day everything changes when he gets charged with first degree armed robbery (even though he didn’t commit the crime). Three years later he gets out of prison to see that everything have changed. His wife Debbie (Judy Greer) being together with another dude and such. But after going to the bathroom at a local diner he gets a plan. What kind of plan you ask? Well the dumb son of a bitch gets a plan to go and rob the fucking bank he was arrested for allegedly robbing. And he does it with the help of his former cellmate Max (James Caan) and his new (and kind of bitchy) friend Julie (Vera Farmiga). The plot is silly but I feel like it works in the sense that it isn’t completely brainless. The only problems I had with the plot are minor pacing issues here and there. Overall it was pretty good.

The characters are for the most part good. Keanu was good in the role even though maybe a bit stilted (like usual). But I enjoyed watching him because I felt that he had a bit of chemistry with the other actors. Particularly James Caan who I thought was pretty awesome in the movie. He was by far the most interesting and entertaining character in the movie. Vera Farmiga was also really good in the role as this kind of bitchy yet likeable woman. I enjoyed the characters and acting for the most part.

The music in the movie was pretty cool. It was a mix of jazz, blues and gospel. I thought the music was good and fit. For the most part there were only licensed tracks in those styles, but since they were used well enough in the movie I didn’t mind. I am sure there was an original score in there somewhere but I didn’t feel like looking it up to see who composed it. But I did like what I heard!

The camera work (while nothing mindblowing) was pretty good. It looked good enough and never bothered me in any way. I also did laugh at a fair amount of the jokes in this movie. Not all of them hit me but I did enjoy a fair amount of them.

This movie has gotten some pretty mixed reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes it has a 40% positive rating. On Metacritic it has a score of 49/100. Roger Ebert didn’t like it too much giving it only 2/4 stars. And on imdb.com it has a score of 6,0/10.

“Henry’s Crime” is an enjoyable and pretty funny heist movie with a few decent performances and some pretty good music. The camera work was pretty good as well. But like I said, nothing in this movie was particularly mindblowing or Oscar worthy. Time for my final score. Thank you Henry, coudln’t have been easy to steal the envelope, huh? My final score for “Henry’s Crime” is a 7,45/10. It’s a pretty good time and I think it is worth renting.

Review of “Henry’s Crime” is done.

What? No “woaw”, Keanu? Shame on you.