New aquisition: Sight and Sound

 

The Godfather: Part III (1990)

 

 

 

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don Michael Corleone seeks to vow for his sins while taking a young protégé under his wing.

 

It's a good movie with all the ingredients of the previous parts, but adds nothing in scope and depth, and the plot is not as stringently scripted.

 

On re-watching: This remains an ambivalent experience, since it falls so way down below the previous two films and has so many flaws and only rare moments of brilliance.

 

Halliwell**: "Overlong, often confusing to those who cannot remember the earlier films, and hampered by at least one wretched performance, it fails to reach the standard of the first two movies in the series. But for all that it retains one's interest most of the time."

 

Maltin***: "Only a filmmaker like Coppola (teamed with writer Mario Puzo) could extend his history-making Mafioso saga and make it work so well. Absorbing story...Longish, but masterfully told, with one almost-fatal flaw: the casting of Coppola's daughter Sofia (an amateur) in the pivotal role of Pacino's daughter."

 

[N.B.: Although many have criticized Sofia Coppola, I disagree: she plays adequate to the role. The problem is that the love story with her cousin is in itself misconceived from the start.] 

Sofia Coppola

(ph: Steven Meisel)

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Lost in Translation (2003)

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

Sofia Coppola

(ph: Steven Meisel)

Bio:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Coppola

The Beguiled (2017)

The unexpected arrival of a wounded Union soldier at a girls school in Virginia during the American Civil War leads to jealousy and betrayal.

A remake of Don Siegel's movie of the same title with all the good parts left out; the intention of transforming the story into an example of feminine solidarity backfires by omitting all racial, erotic and social subtexts.

New acquisition: The Beguiled (2017)

The Bling Ring (2013)

A group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes.

Lively and obviously realistic reconstruction of actual events, but presented without any analysis or satire it seems nearly as hollow as its protagonists.

Maltin*1/2: "Comedic take on rather incredible real-life events make it hard to figure out who is more vapid, the teens or the victims...This  is simply a shallow retelling of the tabloid-driven story. Genuinely pointless."

Lost in Translation (2003)

Lost in Translation (2003)

The Godfather: Part III (1990)

 

 

In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don Michael Corleone seeks to vow for his sins while taking a young protégé under his wing.

 

It's a good movie with all the ingredients of the previous parts, but adds nothing in scope and depth, and the plot is not as stringently scripted.

 

I watch the Godfather trilogy at least once a year; nothing to add to my previous comment.

 

Halliwell**: "Overlong, often confusing to those who cannot remember the earlier films, and hampered by at least one wretched performance, it fails to reach the standard of the first two movies in the series. But for all that it retains one's interest most of the time."

 

Maltin***: "Only a filmmaker like Coppola (teamed with writer Mario Puzo) could extend his history-making Mafioso saga and make it work so well. Absorbing story...Longish, but masterfully told, with one almost-fatal flaw: the casting of Coppola's daughter Sofia (an amateur) in the pivotal role of Pacino's daughter."

 

[N.B.: Although have criticized Sofia Coppola, I disagree: she plays adequate to the role. The problem is that the love story with her cousin is in itself misconceived from the start.] 

 

 

The Bling Ring (2013)

It's about time I get to see Sofia Coppala's latest work.

Lost in Translation (2003)