"It's Safer to Teach You English!"

Oddly enough, it took me a good ten minutes looking for a quote even remotely un-serious for this one, and thats all I could find. This should be interesting.

So, I'm currently sitting in the Post-graduate area (oooh get me) in the library at Uni. There is really nothing special about it, aside from perhaps a little more elbow room either side. Shows how much Solent truly appreciate those who have survived the first three years and don't have the common sense to go somewhere better. That and somehow we have to find an extra £3500 for the privilege.

Anyway, it dawned on me the other day that I hadn't spoken to my old cohort of bitterness Greeners in a long while, so I shall hopefully be heading up to Newbury for a pint and such larks at some point. Be nice to catch up.

Anyway, Next!

2. The Godfather

I can never, ever get tired of this movie. I think there are only a few films in existence that can hold my attention and entertain me enough for me to say that.

You all know the story - Ageing crime boss Vito Corleone, through various circumstances both under and not under his control, leaves his empire to his youngest son, Michael.

Where the hell do I begin?

For me, this film has it all. Romance, comedy, action, drama in metric fucktons. It's wonderfully well paced, with the violence coming in short, sharp bursts, with the tension building between each set piece. There is no-one out of place in terms of cast - aside from perhaps the undertaker at the start, even though his opening lines set the scene for an awesome opening sequence.

My opinion of this movie harks back to something I once thought about after watching (or more accurately, enduring) 2001: A Space Odyssey. After sitting through that for god knows how long, I had a thought. '2001' and The Godfather were released only 4 years apart. Now both are hailed as classics (according to the IMDb top 250, The Godfather a darn sight more), yet for the life of me I can watch The Godfather at least twice a day, and I can barely stand the first 20 minutes of '2001'. Says alot about how well or not films age, doesn't it?

I can offer no praise of this film that hasn't been done to death by anyone and everyone since the seventies. All I can really do is something I hate doing to films I thoroughly enjoy, and that's find flaws in them. Firstly, as I've said, the undertaker. I completely understand his role in everything. He's there to dispel every preconception we believe regarding typical mafia behaviour. He asks Vito to kill - he says no. He's then asked for a favour - to clean a body for a funeral. He just irritates me for some reason. Probably because he's meant to, as his request for murder irritates the Don. Just not as comfortable with his presence as I am with the rest of the film.

I think the only other thing I have a problem with is the diner scene, in particular Sollozzo. Again, this is me being exceedingly picky, but I'd have put subtitles over the Italian to give us an idea of what Sollozzo is trying to do by speaking to Michael in public. It's a little confusing and takes a little away from what is still a classic scene, just would have tweaked it a little in post production. Means all those who speak Italian out there have an advantage over us. Damn you Macina!

Anyway, The Godfather. Classic. Next up. Take a Guess.