(#17) Watch 25 Classic Movies
Done!
1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
2. A Streetcar Named Desire
3. It's a Wonderful Life
4. Some Like it Hot
5. The Terminator
6. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
7. The Princess Bride
8. Ben-Hur
9. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
10. Sixteen Candles
11. Blade Runner
12. The Natural
13. Chariots of Fire
14. The Graduate
15. Cool Hand Luke
16. Casablanca
17. Enter the Dragon
18. Citizen Kane
2. A Streetcar Named Desire
3. It's a Wonderful Life
4. Some Like it Hot
5. The Terminator
6. Terminator 2: Judgement Day
7. The Princess Bride
8. Ben-Hur
9. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
10. Sixteen Candles
11. Blade Runner
12. The Natural
13. Chariots of Fire
14. The Graduate
15. Cool Hand Luke
16. Casablanca
17. Enter the Dragon
18. Citizen Kane
20. Charade
22. Mary Poppins
23. Murder on the Orient Express
24. The Godfather
25. The Godfather Part II
I thought these two would be a fitting way to end my classic movie education.
I have now realized that Leave the gun, take the cannoli is literally a philosophy that I want to live by. And then I realized that in another life I must have been a member of a “family.” Not just because of the cannoli. The cannoli is a metaphor.
The Godfather
24. The Godfather
25. The Godfather Part II
I thought these two would be a fitting way to end my classic movie education.
I have now realized that Leave the gun, take the cannoli is literally a philosophy that I want to live by. And then I realized that in another life I must have been a member of a “family.” Not just because of the cannoli. The cannoli is a metaphor.
The Godfather
First of all, I literally cannot believe this is the same Marlon Brando who was in A Streetcar Named Desire. And then Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan…impressive.
Other than the cast it is hard to pinpoint exactly what makes this movie so great. It just feels like a great movie from almost the first minute. The characters are complex and compelling. The story is intricate but not too confusing. Everything falls neatly into place without any of those lingering questions…”Wait, how did he know that they were going to be at that restaurant at that time?” etc.
Okay I guess it’s not that hard to pinpoint.
I loved the whole feel of the Italian families. The big wedding. The sacredness of the role of godfather. And no matter what was going on- not limited to murders, drug deals, and betrayal- the family was always sitting down to dinner together. That’s what I like to see. Which brings us back to my new life philosophy. The murders, the “gun,” that was something they could do without. But the sweet delicious cannoli- that is what life is really about. That and I guess family. But mostly cannoli.
I also loved Vito Corleone. What a name. And what a guy. Even though he is kind of a supervillian, he also really believes in fairness. You do him a favor, he does you a favor. You refuse to do him a favor, he makes you an offer you can no longer refuse.
Really the only thing I didn't like about this movie was Michael Corleone's stupid girlfriend Kay. She was way too judgy. I mean she knew what she was getting herself into. Ronnie and I both agree- we miss Apollonia.
The Godfather Part II
Everyone said that Part II was just as worthy of being on the classics list (though Part III definitely was not). At this point Michael Corleone is the Godfather. Obviously nobody can beat the original Don but Michael is interesting for all the ways he is different. A little more emotional, a little less predictable. A little bolder as well.
What I really enjoyed about this movie though was Vito Corleone's origin story. Just as you would suspect of him, Vito saw something that was unfair in the way the town was being run and decided to change it. He became Don to protect the weak and knock down those that became too powerful for his own good.
The rest of the movie though was exactly what I was afraid Part I was going to be like. It was a lot of wheeling and dealing and trickery. I had a hard time keeping track of the players. And add to the confusion the fact that even when Michael Corleone tells you exactly what he is planning to do you can't be sure whether he is lying or not, and the plot becomes a bit hard to follow.
Also, what was that ending about?
I still enjoyed watching the movie and continuing my quest to become Italian. I made a lasagna, for example. Also by the end I was pretty sure I could understand everything they were saying in Italian. Although that could be because I have been practicing my Spanish.
I loved the whole feel of the Italian families. The big wedding. The sacredness of the role of godfather. And no matter what was going on- not limited to murders, drug deals, and betrayal- the family was always sitting down to dinner together. That’s what I like to see. Which brings us back to my new life philosophy. The murders, the “gun,” that was something they could do without. But the sweet delicious cannoli- that is what life is really about. That and I guess family. But mostly cannoli.
I also loved Vito Corleone. What a name. And what a guy. Even though he is kind of a supervillian, he also really believes in fairness. You do him a favor, he does you a favor. You refuse to do him a favor, he makes you an offer you can no longer refuse.
Really the only thing I didn't like about this movie was Michael Corleone's stupid girlfriend Kay. She was way too judgy. I mean she knew what she was getting herself into. Ronnie and I both agree- we miss Apollonia.
The Godfather Part II
Everyone said that Part II was just as worthy of being on the classics list (though Part III definitely was not). At this point Michael Corleone is the Godfather. Obviously nobody can beat the original Don but Michael is interesting for all the ways he is different. A little more emotional, a little less predictable. A little bolder as well.
What I really enjoyed about this movie though was Vito Corleone's origin story. Just as you would suspect of him, Vito saw something that was unfair in the way the town was being run and decided to change it. He became Don to protect the weak and knock down those that became too powerful for his own good.
The rest of the movie though was exactly what I was afraid Part I was going to be like. It was a lot of wheeling and dealing and trickery. I had a hard time keeping track of the players. And add to the confusion the fact that even when Michael Corleone tells you exactly what he is planning to do you can't be sure whether he is lying or not, and the plot becomes a bit hard to follow.
Also, what was that ending about?
I still enjoyed watching the movie and continuing my quest to become Italian. I made a lasagna, for example. Also by the end I was pretty sure I could understand everything they were saying in Italian. Although that could be because I have been practicing my Spanish.
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