What movies have you seen recently?

**Master Live 013** · 06-08-2020, 01:26 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I was thinking about this same topic when re-watching The Matrix. How the concept of "the matrix" and what it stands for is pretty much embedded in the popular consciousness; and how kids growing up will be acquainted with the "matrix" concept probably without even knowing that it came from a movie called The Matrix. They will probably even think that the movie is based on the concept and not the other way around (I'm talking as how the concept was developed in the movie, I know the concept of the mind-body problem precedes The Matrix).

**JayBee74** · 06-08-2020, 07:55 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Not sure how watching Godfather 1 or 2 would spoil The Sopranos (or visa versa) or how that TV show is a simple compilation of past mob movies rather than a brilliantly written series of "mini-movies" that stands on its own. The similarity between The Sopranos

Spoiler

is a repetitiveness or just a vague homage to an all-time great flick?

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Surprised there are very few OS fans of either the TV show or the movie-I guess it's a younger crowd here with different tastes-I can respect that.

**Master Live 013** · 06-08-2020, 10:50 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Not sure there are few fans of The Sopranos or the GF trilogy but what can be said that hasn't been said?

The Sopranos is widely acknowledged as the beginning of what has come to be known as Peak TV. Sure, it pays "homage" (I don't like the concept, 95% of the time a "homage" consists of simply ripping off the original, but I don't consider that to be the case in The Sopranos) to the Godfather, Goodfellas and other movies. That adds to the realism since I'm sure whatever it is left of the mafia in today's day and age, they are keenly aware of these films (how could they not?) and they are flattered by its depiction. Even stuff like Goodfellas or Casino which is supposed to "de-glamorized" the mafia by showing the ugly side, the murdering, the psychopathy of it all it ends up glamorizing it anyway.

Anyone who ends up even a little bit interested in TV series and does the faintest amount of research will end reading and hearing the name "The Sopranos" so many times that they will eventually get around to it. Can't even to begin to call yourself a serious TV fan without watching The Sopranos, you would get laughed at. It is easily accessible (HBO), widely available (online, Blu-ray, DVD), it is both critically acclaimed and a crowd pleaser (who doesn’t like **** about the mafia?

) and it is historically significant. And more importantly above all it is excellent.

The series wasn't perfect but it stills holds up very well, for my money still the best drama series. Yes, over Breaking Bad, over The Wire, over Game of Thrones, over Mad Men, over all of them.

The Godfather is an even bigger deal, it is a cultural touchstone. The same thing applies to the Godfather, all list includes it, from the populist ones to the artsy fancy ones. Plus it is more accessible since it just 3 hours or about 6 hours for 1 and 2 instead of 86 episodes.
Now, I got I problem with GF II.

And when I say "problem" I mean problem as in the equivalent of "first world problems". So just to be clear, I rate all GF I, II, Goodfellas and Casino 10/10.

My "problem" is with the Vito scenes, I don't care for them. I don't mean that they are bad or that they are poorly done. I mean that every time Part II cuts to a Vito stretch I sigh, I don't find it particularly interesting. I get why it is done, it is contrast of styles between Vito and Michael. It is the ascension and the descent into darkness. Vito is personable, affable, he is “honorable” but he gets his hands dirty when he has to, Michael is a cold hearted bastard, a ruthless man who says that it isn't personal only business but doesn't really distinguishes between the two. I used to reserve that take for me since I was intimidated to even dare to bear false witness. But I’m not a kid anymore so that’s that.

For my money Michael's scene in the GFII is the best acting, bar none, that I have seen in my life. It is the best and it is my favorite it. Now, I wish the movie was 3 hours of Michael, and Pentangeli and Roth and Hagen and Fredo and Kay etc. but could they had sustained it? Are the Michael's scene only that exquisite because they are interspersed by the Vito scenes? Don’t know, not sure.

Now, I know that there is a version where they edit all the Vito scenes together (plus some deleted scenes) and show it at the beginning, then GF I (with deleted scenes) and then all the Michael story in II together so it all goes chronologically. Considering I live in this universe and not one in which they made GF II all about Michael then I think that's a fair compromise. The problem is that version isn't available to buy (HD please, no VHS), I even haven't seen it myself. I don't know if it ends up being a better version or a choppier one. I have thought about simply editing it myself and get it over it (the hubris).

So, while I consider Michael's scene to be the best acting of all time, I can't consider GFII to be the best movie ever for the reasons already stated. In that way, Part I ends up being a better film than II.

Regarding III, what can be said? There were 2 big mistakes made but not of equal magnitude. The 1st one was not waiting for Winona Rider to get healthy enough to play Mary so we ended up with Sofia. No need to go over that.

The biggest mistake is the whole Duvall fiasco. Why disrespect him like that? And why couldn't Pacino be the bigger man and intervene? Just incredible, we were robbed.

So young people will eventually get around to it, especially the Godfather since you don't want to be the kid at the party who hasn't seen The Godfather.
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**DieHardYankee26** · 06-09-2020, 09:19 AM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

I don’t think watching Godfather 1 or 2 would spoil the Sopranos, too much happens. I also don’t think the Sopranos is “simply” anything, let alone a copy of mafia movies. I don’t know what in the plot is supposed to be a surprise in Godfather, or maybe none of it is, but the only thing I didn’t think was telegraphed was Sonny heading to Carlo after he beat Connie up. I also liked 2 a decent amount more than 1, and preferred young Vito to old Vito for sure. The acting is obviously great, and there are shots that look like a painting, but it just didn’t hold me the way other movies have. That said, I’m also not a “fan of film”, I’m not going to go out of my way to watch Citizen Kane or A Streetcar names Desire or whatever, it’s not that serious for me.

Watched Mean Streets last night, it was pretty good and not long as hell. The things that stood out were De Niro and the way the whole thing was shot, like the way the camera followed the bar room fight. I was trying to figure out where I’d seen Tony from, went to wiki and boom, it’s a young Richie Aprile. That and Junior Soprano as Ola in GFII were cool to see.

**Hammerhunker** · 06-09-2020, 09:27 AM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

The ending of Casino was so unsettling that I have only been able to watch the once. And I call myself a mafia movie fan...

**Fresh Tendrils** · 06-09-2020, 10:21 AM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Originally posted by DieHardYankee26

I don’t think watching Godfather 1 or 2 would spoil the Sopranos, too much happens. I also don’t think the Sopranos is “simply” anything, let alone a copy of mafia movies. I don’t know what in the plot is supposed to be a surprise in Godfather, or maybe none of it is, but the only thing I didn’t think was telegraphed was Sonny heading to Carlo after he beat Connie up. I also liked 2 a decent amount more than 1, and preferred young Vito to old Vito for sure. The acting is obviously great, and there are shots that look like a painting, but it just didn’t hold me the way other movies have. That said, I’m also not a “fan of film”, I’m not going to go out of my way to watch Citizen Kane or A Streetcar names Desire or whatever, it’s not that serious for me.

The Godfather has to be one of the few book-to-movie adaptations that outshines the novel. Psycho would be another one. After that I have to start thinking.

Its been awhile since I watched Godfather 2, but I've always leaned toward Marlon Brando and Al Pacino in 1 as opposed to DeNiro and Pacino in 2. You can't really go wrong with both, but honestly Godfather 2 is tighter production and direction wise. Godfather 3. Its a fog apart from pop culture scenes. Obviously the big takeaway is the difference between Michael and Don at the end of their lives.

For me - the real question is (at least concerning Coppola) is if I would put Apocalypse Now above Godfather. Definitely put Dracula above G3. But Jack? Man - Coppola's resume is a wide valley.

**PhilliesFan13** · 06-09-2020, 11:13 AM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Originally posted by Hammerhunker

The ending of Casino was so unsettling that I have only been able to watch the once. And I call myself a mafia movie fan...

Man, I feel the same way about Casino. Have only seen that ending once and don't want to witness it again. Unsettling is spot on.

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**JayBee74** · 06-09-2020, 11:23 AM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Originally posted by Hammerhunker

The ending of Casino was so unsettling that I have only been able to watch the once. And I call myself a mafia movie fan...

That was a brutal "battering". Hard to believe they had to edit the overall violence down to get to an R rating yet were able to keep that scene in.

**Majingir** · 06-09-2020, 10:33 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Finally saw Spiderman Far from home. Felt weird to watch it so close after Endgame so I waited probably longer than I expected so it had a bigger feel.

I liked this movie better than the first. Michael Keaton was a way scarier villain, but the twists in this one was so cool.

Mid credit scene might be my fave one of all Marvel movies.

And I'm liking Zendayas version of MJ.

Avengers Infinity War
Avengers Endgame
Captain America Winter Solider
Avengers 1
Captain America Civil War
Guardians 2
Black Panther
Ironman 1
Guardians 1
Captain America First Avenger
Spiderman Far From Home
Thor Ragnarok
Captain Marvel
Spiderman
Thor 1
Avengers Age of Ultron
Ironman 2
Antman
Antman 2
Thor Dark World
Ironman 3
Doctor Strange
Hulk

**J_Posse** · 06-10-2020, 02:30 AM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Finally saw Fighting With My Family, the film about former WWE pro wrestler Paige.

It definitely took a lot of liberties with her story, but overall was a good movie. I wish it would have done a better job depicting the other WWE talent (that didn't even try to dress Zelina Vega up as AJ Lee) and other minor things of 2014 - '15 WWE.

Still, a good movie that respected the art form of pro wrestling.

Official HQ of Bills Backer/Spurs Nation

**Hammerhunker** · 06-10-2020, 08:29 AM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Originally posted by J_Posse

Finally saw Fighting With My Family, the film about former WWE pro wrestler Paige.

It definitely took a lot of liberties with her story, but overall was a good movie. I wish it would have done a better job depicting the other WWE talent (that didn't even try to dress Zelina Vega up as AJ Lee) and other minor things of 2014 - '15 WWE.

Still, a good movie that respected the art form of pro wrestling.

Official HQ of Bills Backer/Spurs Nation

Have you gone down the rabbit hole to discover the other filmed roles she starred in that, uh, showed off her, uh, other talents?

**J_Posse** · 06-11-2020, 02:56 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Originally posted by Hammerhunker

Have you gone down the rabbit hole to discover the other filmed roles she starred in that, uh, showed off her, uh, other talents?

No, I haven't. LOL

I assume you're speaking of Paige. I think I can imagine what a lot of that stuff was like.

Also, unless he was hacked Brad Maddox (whatever his real name) is the biggest douche ever. Especially, to do that to a woman who was really young and just experimenting

I won't say more than that.

Official HQ of Bills Backer/Spurs Nation

**Majingir** · 06-11-2020, 04:06 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Not just to Paige, but to Woods too.

But her life as a whole has been so up and down (no pun intended).

She was THE star of NXT (little did we know what was going on backstage at the time..., goes to main roster and ends up being one of the women who helped usher in the womens evolution.

**Majingir** · 06-11-2020, 08:15 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Now I'm onto Jumanji The Next Level.

1st movie was better than the 2nd, but 2nd had some funny moments from an acting standpoint.

A different kind of movie despite the same main cast. Rock as Danny Devito and Kevin Hart as Danny Glover were so funny. Kevin Hart had the old guy mannerisms down perfectly. And Rock nailed Devitos voice.

Jack Black playing Fridge had his moments throughout too, and going back to Bethany, he did great in that role. And Martha still as Ruby Roundhouse was fine, but way funnier when Fridge was Ruby.

**daflyboys** · 06-13-2020, 10:31 PM

Re: What movies have you seen recently?

Originally posted by J_Posse

Finally saw Fighting With My Family, the film about former WWE pro wrestler Paige.

That actress who played Paige I believe is playing the Black Widow's sister in the upcoming movie. Really liked her in Fighting....

What movies have you seen recently?

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