Scarface (1983)

Originally written October 29, 2010 at 3:05 am

Scarface, one of the most iconic gangster movies of all time. You can't swing a dead cat in Fresno without hitting either a wannabe thug with Tony Montana on a T-shirt, or on a poster in their room. The line "Say hello to my little friend." is quoted by gamers almost daily. Having not seen the movie before I've listened to dozens of people tell me that I HAVE TO SEE IT! Tonight I did.

Boy was I disappointed. The hype really built this movie up to be on par with the Godfather. In reality it didn't even measure up to Godfather 2. Everything in the movie was set up so predictably. It was as if the director felt the audience was so dumb that he had to advertise every nuance of the plot and every plot twist so that they could keep up. You could tell Tony was going to be at the door to stab the guy. When Tony was going over the plan with Manny for the deal with the Columbians you knew it was going to go bad and Manny was going to be flirting with a woman. You could tell that either Tony, Omar, or both were about to be attacked as soon as they showed the guy with the phone. The second Omar walked off, you knew he was about to be whacked. As soon as they showed the clock with the camera in it you knew they were going to bust Tony. As soon as they couldn't find Manny, they conveniently noted that they couldn't find Tony's sister either. You immediately know they are together and probably eloped and Tony was going to kill Manny. As soon as Tony shot Manny you knew that Gina was going to say that they had just gotten married. Etc. Etc. Etc.

The movie was so transparent that it makes a porno look like a psychological thriller. The acting performances ranged from acceptable to strong depending on the character. The cinematography was acceptable for the period the movie was filmed in.

If you can watch a movie and not start looking forward then the movie is probably fairly good. If you are like me and your mind moves faster than the movie, then you are going to be frustrated. Especially since the movie is nearly three hours long. I give it 7 / 10.

The Godfather (1972)

Originally written October 15, 2010 at 4:38 am

Shockingly I have never seen any of the Godfather movies, Scarface etc. My first jaunt into the classic 70's Mafia films is the iconic "The Godfather directed by Francis Ford Coppola and staring Marlon Brando and a very young Al Pacino. I now totally understand why this movie has held such a respected place in the history of American movies.


There was not a single aspect of the movie I can really find fault with. The acting was superb by all the main characters and even by most of the support characters. Brando did a great job playing an aging man in the waning days of his life. Pacino's character grew and changed as the movie progressed. The progression was told not only with the plot and dialog but with Pacino's emotions and expressions as well. After the attempted assassination of his father, he progresses from being the war hero son who wants nothing to do with the family business, to being the head, the Don. The transition is evident in his political vision of a retaliation strike. It becomes even more so when he negotiates with a man to court his daughter. At the end of the movie when the transition is complete you see that deep down he still wants to be seen, at least by his wife, as the innocent war hero he was. It seems that his wife, naively and despite all evidence to the contrary, wishes to believe it too.


The cinematography is well done, for the time, and the lighting worked beautifully to set the mood for each scene. The movie is a whopping three hours long and moves as a moderate pace. However everything works together to make it feel right. The pace and length just work for this movie.
If you haven't seen The Godfather before, I highly recommend you do. It is one of the few movies I have seen that truly lives up to its hype. I give it a 9.5 / 10.