Quick Hits

Better Off Dead – While I was watching this one I kept thinking how cheesy it was. It was pure eighties, but cheesy. But I’m a big Cusack fan and now I keep laughing when I think about it—and who wouldn’t like those Asian brothers who liked to race. I was taken back with how much I liked that Camaro. Apparently I’m not the only one. They have the original trailer on YouTube. And for those that have seen the movie, here’s a funny spoof trailer.

Ratatouille – I really liked this movie. Tanner and I went to see this one Friday night. I didn’t come out of it saying it was a must own, and Tanner kept asking when it would be over, but it had a good story-line and the animation was great.

The Godfather III – Although Jason said I’d hate this one, I actually enjoyed this finale. Again there were tons of plot-lines to keep up with, but the struggle to get legit, and the involvement with the Vatican were done well.

The Royal Tenenbaums – Best movie of the five here. Wes Anderson and his loyal cast did a great job once again. The thing that kept hitting me in the face with this movie was how quickly we want to forgive people if they’re truly contrite. I felt myself rooting for Royal to gain favor with his family. Great story. Can’t wait for the new Wes Anderson coming out soon.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail – Yeah. Completely lost on me. The flesh wound, the killer rabbit, the knights who say nee. Not getting it done for me. I’d honestly rather have a heart to heart with my brother on the merits of Ann Coulter than watch this again. Perhaps this is what Tanner will be saying about Napoleon Dynamite in 20 years. I did enjoy the ending however.

Filed under: 80's, Culture, John Cusack, Monty Python, Pixar, The Godfather, Wes Anderson

Godfather + Ocean’s 13

I’m continuing to work my way through my ever growing list of movies I haven’t seen. This weekend I was able to get through two that were high on my list. Coincidentally, they both featured Al Pacino.

The Godfather (1972) — Doing the math, I’m 35 years behind the ball on watching this one, but thankfully I can now say that it is timeless. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. It was fun seeing some of the actors in their younger days. And it was fun watching the movie develop. I had originally thought about renting all three and watching them over the weekend, but with each being at least 3 hours, I had to pace myself. The only complaint I had was that the transition of Michael Corleone from apathetic to full out support was a tad sudden. I would have liked to have seen some internal struggle there. Regardless, I’ll be watching part two this week, and the box set is going in my Amazon.com Wishlist.

Ocean’s 13 (2007) — Big fan of the Ocean’s here. I even liked Ocean’s 12. The cast is so fun together, and the music is always great. I think the best part about 13 is that you can probably watch it a few times and still not catch all details on all the different scams they had going. It was a touch on the predictable side with Linus’s dad and the diamonds at the end, but still fun. Speaking of Linus, he probably stole the show. The Brody was killing me. (BTW, did you know that was a reference to actor Adrien Brody?) Speaking of trivia, Rusty’s ringtone is “Don’t You Want Me” by The Human League.

Now here is where the fun comes in. Remember, I had just seen The Godfather for the first time the day before. Well, sometime in the middle of Ocean’s 13 when Reuben wakes up and speaks to Danny and Rusty, he says “I hear cars coming and going, I hear Linus crying. I think you should tell me what everyone seems to know.”

That’s straight out of The Godfather! What are the odds?

Filed under: Movies, Ocean's 13, Reviews, The Godfather