‘The Godfather Part II’ Review 1974 – AMC Mob Week – Movie Day

Story: There actually wasn’t a novel this movie was based on. Author Mario Puzo and director of the first Godfather movie just went on with the story. Puzo did write another Mafia-type novel called “The Sicillian”, which did mention the events in The Godfather Part II a bit, but not much since it was about different people. Fun fact, The Sicillian was also made into it’s own film, directed by Michael Cimino. Anyways, this is almost just as good as it’s predecessor, The Godfather, except it just isn’t quite as perfect. Mainly because Vito and Sonny Corleone is dead and Michael turns into the badguy in this film. One of the major positives of this film is the story of Young Vito Corleone. I absolutely loved EVERY moment of Young Vito. His beginning story was amazing, part of the reason being the performance by Robert De Niro, but I’ll get into that when I get to the characters.

Visuals: As the first one was, this one has beautiful cinematography. The Salt Lake City setting in Utah is nice too. I loved it.

Music: Nino Rota does it again. I think I’d actually say that this has a better soundtrack than the first. The other used most of the same song layed over and over and over again. This film, with the variety of locations such as New York, Utah, Sicily, etc. , the music is specially composed for each setting.

Characters: Don’t even get me started on how much I loved Robert De Niro’s performance. Oh wait, you just did. De Niro was so amazing at portraying Young Vito Corleone in this movie, with his look to his voice, I loved everything he did. His performance in this movie is in my top three favorite actor performances in any movie ever along with Heath Ledger as the Joker in 2008’s ‘The Dark Knight. De Niro even learned Sicilian dialect and lived in Sicily for 6 months prior to filming so he could be the best Young Vito he could possible be, and he accomplished it. Al Pacino, John Cazale, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and Talia Shire also had amazing performances I loved.

Rewatch Value: Like The Godfather, I also watch this quite frequently. Every time I see this on TV, no matter what I’m doing, I HAVE to watch this.

‘The Godfather’ Review 1972 – AMC Mob Week – Movie Monday

Story: How can you even review The Godfather or it’s sequels this day in age? No matter if somebody says they hate the movie or like it, EVERBODY and I mean EVERYBODY knows this is a great movie. It’s been regarded as one of the greatest films of all-time for so long, I mean, I can’t even explain how much I love this film. It is my number one favorite movie tied with The Dark Knight and Star Wars Episode III (Yes, that’s right, one of the prequels). Based on the novel written by genius, Mario Puzo, The Godfather is like Italian Star Wars. It has the perfect amount of love, violence, hatred, symbolism, and everything a film could possibly have. Not to mention, the film is like 2 hours and 55 minutes. That’s freaking long and almost 3 hours. Usually films that are long like this you get uncomfortable in your seat and just want it to end, like James Cameron’s 2009 flick, Avatar. But this, this is just great, you are on the edge of your seat the whole movie just watching the beginning Michael Corleone’s downfall. This movie proves the quote “Even the greatest of men can be corrupted” (Except Don Corleone, of course 😉 ).

Visuals: For a 1972 film, this has amazing cinematography. The Director Of Photography was Gordon Willis. He didn’t do much or any really memorable work after his camera work on The Godfather trilogy, but let me tell you, his cinematography in these movies are some of the best I’ve seen in all movies, period. From the first scene when we first see Don Corleone, in that dark lit room where he just see the shadows and creases of his face is amazing. You can’t get better than that.

Music: Composed by Nino Rota, I actually listen to this soundtrack every other day. That’s how amazing this soundtrack is. From the theme to some faint background music, everything is beautiful about this.

Characters: This has some of the greatest cast any movie has ever had. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as the starring roles? Two men among the greatest actors of all-time. Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, and James Caan. Almost all of those actors became some of the biggest stars in Hollywood after The Godfather came out.

Rewatch Value: I actually watch this quite often to be honest. I only first saw this in March when AMC had their “The Godfather 40th Anniversary Week”. I absolutely love this film, and you should too.

Jurassic Park 4 Finally Moving Forward With 2014 Release

Here I am again with some more Spielberg related news! But this time it’s good news! (Assuming you thought the Indiana Jones news earlier was bad news, like me).

Producer Frank Marshall spoke on Jurassic Park 4 after saying the Indiana Jones fifth film idea is indeed dead.

“It’s got new life. It’s in development,” he said. “I can tell you that that is moving forward.” Lets hope he’s right about that, or he will be mobbed by fans.

There were many rumors that the government would weaponsize the dinosaurs. Marshall also disproved those rumors, “No, no, that’s another rumor,” he said. “That’s not it.”

Some people may not like the idea of another Jurassic Park 4. Some people even think it’s gonna be like the Star Wars prequels. Come to think of it, this situation is similiar to when everyone wanted a Star Wars prequel trilogy. George Lucas claimed technology had advanced enough for the things he wanted to do, so he put forth his prequel trilogy that almost no one likes, but me. Hey, I like Indiana Jones 4 and the Star Wars prequel trilogy! What do you know! 😀

“That’s what’s gonna be great about it, technology’s taken a leap now that we can really do some great things,” he said but added that practical dinosaurs help both the audience and the actors.

‘Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver have been tasked to write the fourth installmen to the hit franchise. Steven Spielberg has confirmed that he will not direct this film, like he didn’t do the third one either. He only directed the first two.

Marshal said they’re expecting the film to premiere in Summer 2014, so that means we should get news of a director in no time. Stay tuned, people. The best is yet to come.

Will There Be Indiana Jones 5?

Whenever a movie drops into the box office and everyone hates it, I usually just happen to love it. That’s what happened with “Indiana Jones: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull”. Everyone hated that thing to death. Anybody else like it besides myself? No? No? Dang it…

Well, Indiana Jones 5 rumors have been circling around the internet for a long time now. Creators George Lucas and Steven Spielberg along with members of the cast and crew have been interviewed about the idea and gave us the impression that it a fifth film would be made some day.

IGN said after an interview with Steven Spielberg,  “Spielberg indicated that LaBeouf has to make multiple Transformers movies before he can move over and take on the fedora and bullwhip of Indiana Jones.”

“Am I into it? Who wouldn’t be? I don’t think that’s reality. It’s a fun rumor.” Shia LaBeouf said. He seems to be all for a fifth film. Ford then said he would return for a fifth film if it doesn’t take another twenty years to develop.

Steven Spielberg then commented yet again saying “only if you [the audience] wants more”.

Time magazine then interviewed Harrsion Ford on if he would let Shia take over the fedora to which he responded, “What are you talking about? It’s mine. I would love to do another Indiana Jones movie. George Lucas is working on an idea now. Shia can get his own hat. I earned that hat.”

George Lucas then said that he was thinking “to make Shia LaBeouf the lead character next time and have Harrison Ford come back like Sean Connery did in The Last Crusade.” At the time Last Crusade was filmed, Connery was 58 while Ford was “65 and did everything in this movie [Crystal Skull]. The old chemistry is there, and it’s not like he’s an old man. He’s incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me.”

Lucas also joked about a spin-off of the series, “Indiana Jones is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. If it was Mutt Williams it would be Mutt Williams and the Search for Elvis or something.”

“I’d hate to see it reduced in any way from the movies that we have done and the way we have done them.”  Ford said after being asked if he would return if Indiana Jones was turned into a animated film like “The Clone Wars”. He also called Lucas’ concept for the fifth film “crazy but great”.

So up until now we’ve been panting like dogs (some of the us… the cool people) on if there will be another Indiana Jones film. The latest development on a fifth film came by a couple days ago:

Producer Frank Marshall said in an interview with Crave Online, “As far as I know he’s not writing a fifth Indy,” said Marshall. Interesting considering Spielberg as well as actor Harrison Ford have told the press he is. But he continued.

“I think he’s thinking about ideas but he’s certainly not writing one. We’d love to keep the series going but again it’s got to be a really good story. They’re hard to do. I say, for me, [Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is] the last hurrah. I know that yes, we talk about it, but there’s no idea, there’s no MacGuffin… [Lucas] isn’t [hungry to do another Indiana Jones].”

Maybe Marshall just doesn’t have the connections to Lucas, Spielberg, or Ford? I hope that is the case, or these statements of his could be true and we may never get the long rumored fifth Indiana Jones film.

So was 2008’s “The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” the last we’ll ever see of Indiana Jones? Was that ending good enough for such a hero? Are you still hoping for a fifth film or are you glad it is supposedly dead? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter!

Lady Gaga On New ‘Machete Kills’ Poster As “La Chameleon”

Robert Rodriguez & Co. recently released a new poster to ‘Machete Kills’ which features Lady Gaga.

Click For Full Size

Obviously, as the poster says she’ll be playing a character named “La Chameleon”. I’ve never seen any of the Machete movies. The only Robert Rodriguez movies I’ve ever really seen were Sky Kids and I hated all of those. She’s also holding a smoking silencer while wearing… a wolf overcoat? Looks kind of cool to be honest. But if you think about it, it would be pretty weird to wear a dead dog or wolf on your back.

“I just finished working with @ladygaga on @MacheteKills , she kicked SO MUCH ASS! Holy Smokes. Blown away! yfrog.com/kezw3dn ”

–Robert Rodriguez On Twitter

At first glance I actually thought she was holding a cigarrete or cigar. Well, the poster looks pretty boss. I’ll have to watch the first Machete sometime even though I do not like Robert Rodriguez movies.

“SKYFALL” Olympics TV Spot Opening Ceremony & Bond Escorts Queen

This was probably the perfect time to debut a TV Spot. Olympics in London, the Opening Ceremony where almost EVERYONE in the United States is watching, and freaking JAMES BOND.

It looks like this is gonna be a good one here and will probably top the first two of the recent James Bond reboot. Action, guns, women, this is what 007 is all about.

And if you didn’t see it at the opening ceremony, James Bond (Daniel Craig) himself escorted and parachuted out of a helicopter with the Queen to the Opening Ceremony which was boss, making the Queen a Bond girl.

This entrance was really legendary. When the Bond theme song comes on when they jump out I was like “YEAHHH”.

AMC Mob Week At Retrospect Realm

For AMC’s Annual ‘Mob Week’, we’ll review all of the gangster films shown on AMC this week along with some gangster video game talk.

AMC TV Airing Schedule:

Monday, July 30:

• The Godfather @ 8:00pm | 7:00C

Tuesday, July 31:

• The Godfather @ 12:00am | 11:00C
• The Godfather Part II @ 8:00pm | 7:00C

Wednesday, August 1:

• The Godfather Part II @ 12:30am | 11:30C
• The Godfather Part III @ 4:00pm | 3:00C
• Scarface @ 8:00pm | 7:00C

Thursday, August 2:

• Scarface @ 12:00am | 11:00C
• Donnie Brasco @ 8:00pm | 7:00C
• Donnie Brasco @ 11:00pm | 10:00C

Friday, August 3:

• The Untouchables @ 8:00pm | 7:00C
• Copland @ 10:45pm | 9:45C

Saturday, August 4:

• Scarface @ 6:00pm | 5:00C
• Scarface @ 10:00pm | 9:00C

Sunday, August 5:

• Goodfellas @ 6:45pm | 5:45C

Retrospect Realm Frontpage  Posting Schedule:

Monday, July 30:

• The Godfather Review

Tuesday, July 31:

• The Godfather Part II Review

Wednesday, August 1:

• The Godfather Part III Review

Thursday, August 2:

• Scarface Review

Friday, August 3:

• Donnie Brasco Review

Saturday, August 4:

• The Untouchables Review

Sunday, August 5:

• Copland Review

Monday, August 6:

• Goodfellas Review

ENTENSION

Tuesday, August 7:

•  Once Upon A Time In America Review

Wednesday, August 8:

• Wise Guys Review

Thursday, August 9:

• Married To The Mob Review

Friday, August 10:

• Get Shorty Review

Saturday, August 11:

• St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Review

Sunday, August 12:

• The Don Is Dead Review

Monday, August 13:

• Public Enemy Review

Tuesday, August 14:

•  Capone Review

Wednesday, August 15:

• Bugsy Review

Thursday, August 16:

• Miller’s Crossing Review

‘The Bourne Legacy’ Clips Released

 

‘Total Recall’ Clips Released

‘Gangster Squad’ To Be Re-Shot And Premiere Delayed

The following does not represent the views of Retrospect Realm as a whole, but only the author of this post. We mean no disrespect to anyone but to put out our own opinions on most recent movie news. Thank You.

After the horrific Colorado shooting at The Dark Knight Rises premiere in Aurora, Warner Bros. refrained from showing Gangster Squad trailers before movies across the nation in honor of the victims of the shooting. Why? In the trailer a scene is shown at Grauman’s Theater where Mobsters come from behind the screen and shoot wildly into the crowd presumably killing people. Warner Bros. has decided to go even further as to re-cut the film, re-shoot parts of the film, and delay the release date.

A shocking blow to fans of Gangster movies, since the scene does look pretty awesome. I mean no disrespect to anyone, but Warner Bros should not be going this far. The scene looks great and looked awesome in the trailer to ‘Oh My God’ by Jay-Z. Sure, it may disturb some people, but come on. If you think it’ll disturb you then don’t see it. That’s what MPAA ratings are for.

Switching up the scenes in this movie won’t change the fact that one psychotic man when on a killing spree in a theater. Warner Bros. even went as far as to block the trailer online in the United States. Why are you doing this to us? PLEASE. Not only does the re-cuts and re-shoots delay the film by more than four months, but the film also will no longer be in the running for Oscar nominations.

Warner Bros. has chosen to delay the release date from September 7, 2012 to January 11, 2013.

Do you think Warner Bros. should be changing Gangster Squad? Tell us in the comments or by email!

Miss the footage since Warner Bros. blocked it all on the internet for the United States? Here you go. Watch it before it’s taken down.

-ATM 23