3 Week Movie Catch-Up

I Love You Man (2009)
Paul Rudd, Jason Segel, Rashida Jones

Funny “bromance” movie, lots of good laughs, plus the usual Apatow-esque cast of overly-weird supporting characters.
Silvercity, with Steph, Gary, and Paddy. 3 ½ stars.


Duplicity (2009)
Dir. Tony Gilroy. Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, Tom Wilkinson.

More twists than a bag of pretzels. Roberts and Owen are charming, yet dislikable, but the final twists that [SPOILER] negates almost the entire film feels way too convoluted, even for this film. Not as good as Gilroy’s debut Michael Clayton, but a decent rental-worthy film.
Silvercity, with Paddy. 3 stars.


Alien (1979)
Dir. Ridley Scott. Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto.

In space, no one can hear you scream. Ridley Scott’s second film is still frightening and adrenaline-pumpking 30 years later, even after I’ve seen it more than a dozen times. Still the best of the Alien films, just because it’s more about the characters and the atmosphere, rather than the effects and the monster.
Bytowne, with Paddy. 5 stars.


For a Few Dollars More (1965)
Dir. Sergio Leone. Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef.

Leone’s second film of his Dollars trilogy finds Eastwood’s Man With No Name teaming up with rival bounty hunter Van Cleef in tracking down and apprehending the head of a gang of Mexican bandits who happens to be addicted to marijuana. Surprisingly, it takes them over two hours to apprehend the pothead Mexican.
Mayfair, with Steph and Paddy. 3 ½ stars.


The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
Dir. Sergio Leone. Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef.

The Dollars trilogy concluded with The Man With No Name (who is repeatedly named Blondie throughout the film) alternately teaming up with or competing against Wallach and Van Cleef (this time a bad guy) to find a cache of stolen Confederate gold during the later years of the Civil War. Leone’s masterpiece, with the tensest dual in Western history ending off the film.
Mayfair, with Paddy. 5 stars.


The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Dir. Martin Scorsese. Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, David Bowie, Harry Dean Stanton.

One of my ten favorite films of all time, and just in time for Easter, Scorsese’s adaptation of the novel by Nikos Kazantzakis (from a script by Paul Schrader) explores the conflict between the godliness and humanity of Jesus Christ. The film is infamous (and controversial) for the half-hour plus end sequence where Jesus sees what his life would be like had he decided not to follow his calling. This is a fantastic film that shows Jesus in a way that no one else would dare, which makes it that much more appealing.
Mayfair, all by myself. 5 stars.


The Godfather (1972)
Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. Marlon Brandon, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Richard Castellano, Talia Shire, Abe Vigoda, John Cazale, Sterling Hayden, Diane Keaton.

Routinely called one of the greatest films of all time, and the 1972 Academy Award Best Picture, The Godfather is the sprawling story of the Corleone crime family from the mid 1940s to the mid 1950s. I’ve seen this film more times than I can think of, and I’ve always been impressed by Pacino and Caan, but always felt that Brando was just okay. But last night, watching the film on the big screen, I saw for the first time how great Brando is in a very understated way. He is not the most dynamic, and definitely not the loudest, but he is absolutely the soul of the film.
Bytowne, with Steph and Paddy. 5 stars.