THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness, Peter Cushing, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Denis Lawson.

Directed by: George Lucas.

Story:
Set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away - “A New Hope” depicts a group of freedom fighters known as the Rebel Alliance culminating an attack on the massive space station (known as the Death Star) of an oppressive Galactic Empire. Caught up in the midst of all that’s happening is a young farm boy, Luke Skywalker, whom soon finds himself entangled in the plot when he stumbles across a pair of robots, C-3P0 and R2-D2, who happen to be carrying the schematic plans of the Death Star. The droids lead him to Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, whom he must accompany on a mission to rescue Princess Leia Organa, leader of the rebels and owner of the two robots, and deliver the plans to the rebels’ secret base before they are discovered by the Empire.

The story is like that of a classic World War II tale but is set in space with the Galactic Empire as the Nazis, the Rebel Alliance as the US and their allies, and the entire galaxy as Europe. The tale is very easy to follow and understand with its linear story structure. George Lucas presents a unique universe to us with its own style, design, language, people, and way of life. He gives us three worlds to explore - Tattoine (the desert planet and home of Luke Skywalker), Yavin 4 (the jungle planet and home of the secret Rebel base), and the Death Star (a space station resembling a planet of sorts, home of the evil Galactic Empire). Mr. Lucas opens things with a bang, putting us in the midst of a space pursuit between the Empire and the Rebels, and ends it with a bang, culminating in a spaceship dogfight extravaganza above the surface of the Death Star.

Characters:
“A New Hope” is a true Hero’s journey for Luke Skywalker who goes from a lowly farm boy on a desert planet to a heroic space fighter pilot who saves the day. Accompanying him in his journey is wide range of character archetypes - the bad boy smuggler and his creature bodyguard (Han Solo and Chewbacca), the royal damsel in distress with a trigger finger (Princess Leia), the two comedian droids (C-3P0 and R2-D2), and the wise and knowledgeable Jedi Master (Obi-Wan Kenobi).

The bad guys are given a powerful presence here, outnumbering the Rebels with their endless supply of troops, ships, technology, artillery, and weaponry. They are clearly advanced, proving themselves as a worthy challenge for the Rebel Alliance. The main villain, Darth Vader, is a powerful, looming force to be reckoned with and has a lot of mystery surrounding him. He also happens to be responsible for the death of Luke Skywalker’s father, Anakin, decades earlier in what was known as the Clone Wars, as Obi-Wan Kenobi tells him (who knew his father very well).

Overall:
“Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope” was the best thing to happen to Science Fiction Cinema since “2001: A Space Odyssey” a decade earlier. It propelled the genre to extraordinary heights and was responsible for the explosion of big budget sci-fi films in the late 70s and early 80s such as “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”, “Moonraker”, “Alien”, “Saturn 3″, “The Black Hole”, and among others. The film broke cinematic box office records, doubling 20 Century Fox’s stock, and made Director George Lucas who he is today.

This was the beginnings of realistic special effects, not the animated CGI nonsense that has become a plague to our market today - not all CGI is bad, but it is bad when you overdose on something. This very first ‘Star Wars’ entry did for special effects the same that “Jurassic Park” did for CGI, implementing a successful niche standard to follow. All special effects aside, George Lucas accompanies it with unique story blend of mythological character archetypes, fantasy themes, and “Flash Gordon” elements. Welcome to the era of ‘Star Wars’, when quality special effects and a unique story were best friends in cinema.

Rating: *****

Starring: Jamal Woolard, Christopher Wallace Jr., Angela Bassett, Anthony Mackie, Derek Luke, Naturi Naughton, Antonique Smith, Marc John Jefferies, Edwin Freeman, Sean Ringgold, and Kevin Phillips.

Directed By: George Tillman, Jr.

Stats:
*Based on the book “Unbelievable: The Life, Death, and Afterlife of the Notorious B.I.G.” by Cheo Hedari Coker.

The Catch:
Biopic of the famous Brooklyn-born rapper, Notorious B.I.G. aka Christopher Wallace, from life to death.

Characters:
*Notorious B.I.G./Christopher Wallace (Jamal Woolard): The one and only infamous Biggie Smalls, head star of the picture.
*Voletta Wallace (Angela Bassett): Biggie’s Jamaican mother. You can tell Angela Bassett is going to be typecast in this type of role from now on, how sad.
*Tupac Shakur (Anthony Mackie): Biggie’s friend-turned-foe, the infamous, legendary, and sometimes very crazy Tupac Shakur.
*Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs (Derek Luke): Mr. Shiny Suit Man before he started the shiny suit stuff. He’s Biggie’s producer, boss, and mentor.
*Lil’ Kim (Naturi Naughton): The Marilyn Monroe of Hip Hop, as Biggie calls her, a sexy and conservative Black woman. She’s one of the best parts of the movie (you’ll find out why) and, fortunately, she’s prettier than the real Lil’ Kim.
*Faith Evans (Antonique Smith): Notorious B.I.G.’s wife and true romantic love affair. Here she is portrayed as a good girl, while in real life, that may not have been entirely accurate.
*Lil’ Cease (Marc John Jefferies): Biggie’s cousin - A man, or boy, who looks nothing like the real version of himself with the exception of his round head and face; he also doesn’t seem to age well over the course of 5-7 years.
*Mister Cee (Edwin Freeman): Associate Executive Producer for Notorious B.I.G.
*Suge Knight (Sean Ringgold): The West Coast version of Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs.
*Mark Pitts (Kevin Phillips): One of Biggie’s managers.

Story:
The film begins in 1983 with young Christopher Wallace still in elementary school, living with a Jamaican mother, writing songs, and being made fun of by school girls. After witnessing a fight between his mother and his father who abandoned him when he was much younger, he starts “hustling” in the streets, becoming involved in drugs.

Several years later, in 1990, Biggie is now 17, he and his best buddy D-Roc are hustling with Biggie’s cousin Lil’ Cease. While winning a rap competition on the streets, Biggie meets Lil’ Kim, who at the time was working a department store. After learning of Biggie’s drug involvement, his mother kicks him out in the streets where he sets out to find his own place and continue saving up his drug money. However, this ends him up in prison for 2 years. Once released, he visits his girlfriend Jan and their new daughter; his mother has also forgiven him Upon visiting his friends D-Roc and Lil’ Cease, he learns that they are recording a demo called “Microphone Murder” which they include him on.

The demo tape gets the attention of Motown producer, Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs, whom Biggie gets introduced to. Combs promises to turn Biggie into a millionaire by the time he’s 21, only if he leaves the drug game behind. What follows is chaos and success all mixed into one - The East Coast/West Coast war, a love triangle, and the rise of Bad Boy Records and Notorious B.I.G., leading up to this death.

Review:
“Notorious” satisfies in many ways and proves itself as a successful biopic, but it leaves some things untouched when they shouldn’t have been. It’s a surreal and interesting experience to see some talented actors bring characters like Tupac, Biggie, Puffy, Lil’ Kim, Faith Evans, Suge, and others to life on the big screen. The story itself is very nostalgic, especially for anyone who grew up in the 90s like myself.

Performances in “Notorious” are as good as they come by here. Jamal Woolard is fantastic as Biggie, with an almost striking resemblance to the original; Naturi Naughton brings Lil’ Kim to life here, she’s actually prettier than the real Lil’ Kim; Marc John Jefferies on the other hand doesn’t look much like Lil’ Cease; Antonique Smith is a flawless Faith Evans, looking and sounding exactly like her; Derek Luke does a fantastic portrayal of Sean ‘Puffy’ Combs with his acting, dancing, and personality yet he really looks nothing like the real ‘Puffy’; Angela Bassett as Voletta Wallace delivers her role just fine, but it’s the same overprotective mother we have seen her play in “Akeelah & The Bee”, it’s obvious she’s being typecast here and that hurts the film a slight bit; meanwhile, Anthony Mackie as Tupac Shakur and Sean Ringgold as Suge Knight resemble their characters close enough and deliver accurate performances of them.

While the film is rated R, even including a raw dirty nude scene between Lil’ Kim and Notorious B.I.G. (I’m not joking about this) which I didn’t even expect, I felt the story’s material wasn’t as ‘hard’ as it was supposed to be. For example, Biggie’s character had a much rougher aspect to him in real life than what is shown here. Secondly, the subplot of Lil’ Kim having Biggie’s kid aborted is completely left out, not to mention, there’s hardly any confrontation between Lil’ Kim and Faith Evans, while in real life, there was and these two hated each other. Other characters part of Biggie’s life such as 112, Ma$e, and Total make no appearance whatsoever here - While those people weren’t particularly significant to the story as say Lil’ Kim and Faith Evans, it would have helped to at least ‘acknowledge’ their existence for a brief cameo or two. At least they put in a 3 second cameo of Craig Mack. Out of them, I felt Ma$e definitely deserved to be acknowledged, being that he ended up being replaced as Puffy’s music video sidekick once Biggie went. Last but not least, there’s no mention anywhere of Puffy’s solo career move into the music industry which began two months before Biggie died, a simple congratulations from Biggie to Puffy on March 8th, 1997 would have been just fine and would have only taken a few seconds of screen time.

“Notorious” is a very nostalgic and enthralling biopic that ambitiously sets out to cover almost every angle and aspect of Biggie’s life. While it doesn’t grasp hold of everything that came and went during his rise to fame and the era he was apart of, it still stands as the closest portrayal of the infamous Notorious B.I.G. that entertains and educates on many levels.

Rating: ***1/2

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Lee Strasberg, Michael V. Gazzo, Morgana King, G.D. Spradlin, Richard Bright, Marianna Hill, Troy Donahue, Dominic Chianese, Bruno Kirby, Frank Sivero, James Caan, Abe Vigoda, Gianni Russo, Giuseppe Sillato, Roman Coppola, John Megna, Julian Voloshin, Larry Guardino, Danny Aiello, and John Aprea.

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola.

Stats:
*Award Winners: Academy Awards won for Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Art Direction (Dean Tavoularis, Angelo P. Graham, George R. Nelson), Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola), Best Original Score (Nino Rota, Carmine Coppola), Best Picture (Francis Ford Coppola, Gray Frederickson, Fred Roos), Best Adapted Screenplay (Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo); BAFTA Award won for Best Actor (Al Pacino).
*Selected for Preservation in the United States Film Registry.
*Budget: $13,000,000.
*Domestic Gross: $47,542,841

The Catch:
The rise of Young Vito Corleone in the early 1900s while Don Michael Corleone tightens his grip on his rising regime in the mid-century.

Characters:
*Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino): Don and Carmella’s youngest son who has now grown far from the man who wanted nothing to do with the business that he once was.
*Young Vito Corleone (Robert De Niro): Younger and much more fit version of the original Don. Precursor to “Taxi Driver”.
*Kay Corleone (Diane Keaton): Michael’s long-time sweetheart, wife, and mother (and this time, grim reaper) of his children.
*Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall): Adopted son of Vito and Carmella. He’s also the family’s legal lawyer.
*Fredo Corleone (John Cazale): Vito and Carmella’s ding-dong of a middle son. This time, he gets himself in a lot of hot water.
*Connie Corleone (Talia Shire): Vito and Carmella’s youngest and only daughter. Married to Carlo Rizzi - Can you say precursor to Adrian?
*Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg): Boss of the Jewish mob and also the main baddie here.
*Frankie Pentangeli (Michael V. Gazzo): Attempts to assassinate the Rosato brothers, but ends up getting the tables turned on him instead.
*Mama Carmella Corleone (Morgana King): Wife to Vito, mother to Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Connie, surrogate mother to Tom Hagen. Just call her Mama for short, just about everyone here does.
*Senator Pat Geary (G.D. Spradlin): Corrupt Democratic Senator from Nevada.
*Al Neri (Richard Bright): Michael’s trusted bodyguard.
*Merle Johnson (Troy Donahue): One of Connie’s wild flings before meeting Carlo Rizzi.
*Johnny Ola (Dominic Chianese): A Sicilian mobster, Hyman Roth’s right hand man.
*Young Peter Clemenza (Bruno Kirby): Younger version of a caporegime in the Corleone Family.
*Sonny Corleone (James Caan): Vito and Carmella’s eldest son. Short cameo here.
*Carlo Rizzi (Gianni Russo): Connie’s abusive husband.
*Giuseppe Sillato (Don Francesco Ciccio): The murderer responsible for the death of Vito’s parents.
*Tony Rosato (Danny Aiello): One of the Rosato brothers. Nice appearance by Danny Aiello - don’t expect his famous kind streak here.
*Young Sal Tessio (John Aprea): Young caporegime in the family.

Story:
Two parallel storylines. One involves Mob boss Michael Corleone dealing with various business and family problems in his Lake Tahoe, Nevada compound, including an assassination attempt made on his life. The other depicts a series of flashbacks of Michael’s father, Vito Corleone, and how he rose to power as the original Don of the Corleone family from the first film.

Review:
“The Godfather: Part II” was the first successful sequel ever made. While the running time clocks in much longer than the original “Godfather”, this time at 3 hours and 20 minutes (200 minutes), you almost won’t notice it once you’re emotionally entrenched in what’s going on with the film’s story. Part II tops the first in many ways, cleverly paralleling the stories of Michael and Vito, giving Michael more to do this time around and depicting his transformation into a vicious yet intelligent mob boss, and introducing a new villain.

While Young Vito is born, raised, and becomes accustomed into the Mob world, Michael investigates an assassination attempt on his life in his very own home. Michael plays it smart, not revealing his suspicions too quickly to Hyman Roth, the villain this time around whom was clearly responsible for the attempt on his life. At the same time, Hyman plays Good Cop with Michael, but ultimately meets his demise soon enough.

Old cast members such as Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, among others return for the most part with the exception of a few who are narrowed down to a few cameos (i.e. James Caan) while newcomers Robert De Niro and Lee Strasberg to name a few make their memorable mark here. Also notable are appearances by Danny Aiello and Dominic Chianese (who later went on to play Junior in “The Sopranos”). Francis Ford Coppola thankfully returns to direct this awesome second chapter, topping what he did the first time around. “The Godfather: Part II” remains as one of the finest films of the 20th century, much like the first film.

Rating: *****

Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt, Betty Buckley, Nancy Allen, P.J. Soles, John Travolta, Priscilla Pointer, Sydney Lassick, Stefan Gierasch, Harry Gold, Noelle North, Michael Talbott, Doug Cox, Cindy Daly, Deirdre Berthrong, Anson Downes, Rory Stephens, Edie McClurg.

Directed By: Brian De Palma.

Stats:
*Budget: $1.8 Million.
*Domestic Gross: $33 Million.
*Based on the novel by Stephen King.

The Catch:
A shy High School outcast learns of her telekinetic powers during great moments of emotional stress caused by humiliation from her peers, teachers, and psychotic mother.

Characters:
*Carrie White (Sissy Spacek): The center of it all, the shy girl with telekinetic powers.
*Margaret White (Piper Laurie): Carrie’s psychotic mother, a delusional religious fanatic who likes to lock her daughter in the closet to pray.
*Sue Snell (Amy Irving): One of Carrie’s main villains. Girlfriend to Tommy Ross.
*Tommy Ross (William Katt): Sue’s boyfriend. He’s also part of the plan to humiliate Carrie at the prom. His role is to play the good guy to her and ask her out to the prom.
*Miss Collins (Betty Buckley): The gym teacher who seems to be the only one who cares for Carrie.
*Chris Hargensen (Nancy Allen): One of Carrie’s main villains (and extremely hot I might add), devises the plan to destroy Carrie in front of everybody at the prom.
*Norma Watson (P.J. Soles): Chris’s best friend.
*Billy Nolan (John Travolta): Chris’s boyfriend. Can you say “Saturday Night Fever”?

Story:
Carrie White is a shy outcast who is slowly beginning to discover her telekinetic powers while being victimized in endless humiliating situations plotted by peers, teachers, and the psychological torture she has to endure from her religion-crazed mother.

After having her first period in during showering in gym class, Carrie pleads to her peers for help (unaware that menstruation is a normal process) who make fun of her instead. Miss Collins, the gym teacher, breaks up the commotion. Shortly after, Carrie lets out a burst of her telekinetic power by shattering a light in the shower room.

With Carrie’s enemies now facing athletic detention and being banned from the prom, they decide to settle the score with Carrie by culminating their biggest and most cruel prank yet.

Review:
“Carrie” is the ultimate high school bully treatment for a horror flick, beginning with one of the most surrealistic and embarrassing situations for any young girl who’s usually harassed at school - Carrie is in gym class and starts having her period. Unaware that what she’s experiencing is normal (her mother is a religious nut job, go figure), she begs her classmates for help who humiliate her mercilessly instead - setting the themes and atmosphere for the rest of the film.

“Carrie” marks the first big screen Stephen King adaptation, featuring a handful of recognizable stars from John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, and among others. The suspense and build up is well paced as the bullies culminate their final humiliation for Carrie toward the end of the film - which unfortunately backfires for them, making for a spectacular horrifying sequence in the film’s climatic prom scene.

Running at 98 minutes, the film does feel a lot shorter than that and has quite a fast pace. Nevertheless, “Carrie” deserves to be up there with “The Omen” and “The Exorcist” in the similar genre of classic demonic possession films.

Rating: ****

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith.

Directed by: John G. Avildsen.

Stats:
*Budget: $1.1 million.
*Domestic Gross: $117.2 million.
*Shot within 28 days.
*Award Winners: Academy Awards won for Best Picture (Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler), Best Director (John G. Avildsen), and Film Editing (Richard Halsey and Scott Conrad).
*Nominations: Best Original Screenplay (Sylvester Stallone), Best Actor (Sylvester Stallone), Best Actress (Talia Shire), Best Supporting Actor (Burt Young), Best Supporting Actor (Burgess Meredith), Best Music/Original Song (Bill Conti, Carol Connors and Ayn Robbins for “Gonna Fly Now”), and Best Sound (Harry W. Tetrick, William L. McCaughey, Lyle J. Burbridge and Bud Alper).

The Catch:
An underdog boxing fighter gets a shot at the world heavyweight championship.

Characters:
*Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone): Uneducated yet good-hearted, Rocky is a loan shark enforcer by day and a semi-pro boxer by night.
*Adrian Pennino (Talia Shire): Rocky’s romantic interest, a shy pet store clerk.
*Paulie Pennino (Burt Young): Adrian’s brother and Rocky’s best friend; works in a meat-packing plant where he allows Rocky to train in the freezer.
*Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers): Heavyweight champion as well as Rocky’s opponent, seemingly inspired by Muhammad Ali.
*Mickey Goldmill (Burgess Meredith): Former bantamweight fighter from the 20s, owns a local boxing gym, and becomes Rocky’s manager/trainer.

Story:
Rocky Balboa begins as a nobody working for a loan shark named Gazzo and does some local semi-pro boxing by night. Meanwhile, the undeafted heavyweight Apollo Creed injures his hand and the championship fight is due for New Year’s Day 1976. He conjures up the idea of selecting a local underdog as his opponent, giving whoever that person is a chance to take a shot at the title. Low and behold, Apollo Creed meets The Italian Stallion aka Rocky Balboa.

While preparing for the fight under the training of ex-bantaweight fighter Mickey Goldmill, Rocky also practices his punches in his good friend Paulie’s meat-packing plant as well as dates his shy sister whom both fall for each other. Rocky doesn’t intend to win the championship, but just to go the
distance with Creed, therefore proving he’s not just another bum from around the block.

Review:
“Rocky” is the ultimate American rags-to-riches tale that turned Sylvester Stallone into a major Hollywood star at the age of 29. He wrote the screenplay himself in a lowly small room. The story is very simple and straight-forward, focusing on a small cast of characters, and a protagonist’s desire not to specifically win but to go the distance.
 
The film, to this day, maintains a strong reputation as a classic. Stallone’s and Shire’s characters share a beautiful romance that just blossoms throughout the movie. The climax of “Rocky”, the title fight between he and Apollo Creed, does indeed go the distance with a full 15 rounds (which was pretty average back then), building toward the final moment of punches and blocks between the two fighers.

This blockbuster of a film went on to spawn several video games, five sequels, and an onslaught of pop culture references. Being that Stallone was going through a similar underdog experience in his real life acting career at the time while writing the script, it paves the way for many of us with similar desires to go the distance… just like Rocky did in the championship and Stallone in Hollywood.

Rating: *****

Starring: Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen, Edwin Neal, Allen Danziger, Paul A. Partain, Jim Siedow, Teri McMinn, William Vail, and John Dugan.

Directed by: Tobe Hooper.

Stats:
*Budget: $140,000.
*Domestic Gross: $30.8 Million
*Award Winners: Grand Prize at the 1976 Avoriaz Film Festival.

The Catch:
A family of cannibals, one being a chainsaw wielder, hunts down and eats people in a remote part of Texas.

Characters:
*Sally (Marilyn Burns): The lead heroine, Jerry’s girlfriend and Franklin’s sister.
*Franklin (Paul A. Partain): Sally’s wheelchair-bound brother, seems to be the most interesting of the bunch.
*Jerry (Allen Danziger): Sally’s boyfriend.
*Kirk (William Vail): Pam’s boyfriend. He’s dumb enough to pave the way for the others to go in an abandoned house by oneself, looking for help.
*Pam (Teri McMinn): Kirk’s girlfriend. She seems as gullible as her boyfriend, following in his same footsteps after he dies.
*Leatherface (Gunnar Hansen): The film’s main villain - Deformed, tall, muscular, and freakish. Likes to wield chainsaws and hit people with hammers.
*Hitchhiker (Edwin Neal): Likes to cut himself and others, he seems like he was born with Energy Drink Disorder.
*Cook (Jim Siedow): The leader of the cannibilistic bunch, also owns a gas station.
*Grandpa (John Dugan): The film’s wheelchair-bound villain, somewhat a minor character. He is incapable of killing people due to his advanced age and likes to suck on bloody fingers.

Story:
A group of friends take a road trip to a remote and rural part of Texas to pay visit to the Hardesty Family grave site where there have been reports of some gruesome sightings. After their visit, they stop at a gas station only to find out that the pumps are empty. Nevertheless, they continue driving toward the abandoned Hardesty mansion where, along the way, they encounter a hitchhiker who slashes himself and one of the group members with a razor. The group stop and kick him out.

Upon arriving at the Hardesty mansion, the group begins to separate in packs of three, two, and even one. One by one, they are hunted down by a cannibalistic family, which includes the hitchhiker as well as Leatherface (a deformed chainsaw wielding monster) to name a few.

Review:
  “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” is a landmark slasher film that is responsible for many cliches found in other low-budget horror flicks ever since. The plot is relatively simple and straight forward; although it is a rather short film, running at 84 minutes, it certainly lives up to its potential, mixing an atmosphere of fear, uncertainty, and disgust that will stay with you even after the film is over.

With its rural settings, remote atmosphere, and iconic cannibilistic villains, the film is as disgusting and scary as one can imagine. The bad guys seem so easy to outsmart and overrun, yet our protagonists are practically devoid of any real weapons, pitting them in the face of pending death and doom - There’s nobody out there for miles and miles, then there’s these cannibals chasing you, one of whom which wields a chainsaw.

The cast is picked off one by one until the lead heroine, Sally, is the last one standing. She too is captured by the sick villains and is forced to endure many grotesque moments in the film’s third act. The last five minutes are pure adrenaline rush, depicting a narrow escape that has more potential to fail rather than succeed for our heroine. “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” still stands today as one of the most influential films of its era.

Rating: ****

Starring: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Shih Kien, Robert Wall, Betty Chung, Geoffrey Weeks, Jim Kelly, and Bolo Yeung.

Directed by: Robert Clouse.

The Catch:
A Shaolin martial artist in Hong Kong is assigned to spy on a reclusive drug lord on his private island, using his invitation to a martial arts tournament there as a cover.

Stats:
*Bruce Lee’s final film before his death which was six days before its release.
*The film was deemed “culturally significant” and selected for preservation i the National Film Registry in 2004.
*The first Kung Fu film produced by a major Hollywood studio.
*Budget: $850,000.
*Domestic Gross: $25,000,000.
*Worldwide Gross: $90,000,000.

Characters:
Lee (Bruce Lee): A Shaolin Martial Artist with great philosophical insight and physical prowess. He also likes to make cat/animal-like noises when he fights his opponents.
Braithwaite (Geoffrey Weeks): A behind the scenes guy working for international intelligence. He assigns Lee the mission to infiltrate Han’s island.
Han (Shih Kien): A former Shaolin Student turned Crime King, Prostitution Ring Leader, and Drug Lord. He has many unique weapons to attach to where his left hand is no more and gets very angry when his questions receive no answer.
Mei Ling (Betty Chung): Former female operative for Braithwaite, she was assigned to infiltrate the island several months earlier but died while doing so.
Oharra (Robert Wall): Han’s loyal bodyguard who looks like Yogi Bear.
Roper (John Saxon): The white American guy who loves women and has trouble with the mob.
Williams (Jim Kelly): The black American guy with a huge ego and is a certified fugitive.
Bolo (Bolo Yeung): Han’s head bodyguard.

Story:
In Hong King, a Shaolin Martial Artist (Lee) earns himself an invitation to a martial arts tournament organized by Han, a former Shaolin student who abandoned their moral code and abused his skills to gain wealth and power. While Lee does not wish to attend, he is visited by a Braithwaite, a representative from an international intelligence organization that is conducting a criminal investigation of Han’s island which points toward drugs and prostitution. The problem is they have no proof of any of this, that’s where Lee comes in.

Lee attends the tournament where no fire arms are allowed and Han lives like a grand palace king and makes his own rules. Joining Han in this tournament are two other skilled fighters - A white American playboy in debt with the mob (Roper) and a black American activist in trouble with the law (Williams).

Review:
This is Bruce Lee’s final masterpiece and the plot is very straight forward and simple. Kudos to the writers for not only making this action orientated but throwing in an emotional subplot as well - Lee is also attending the tournament to avenge his sister’s death (she was raped and killed by Han some time ago).

“Enter The Dragon” also introduces us to a cast of stars whose careers went the extra mile - Those of John Saxon (”A Nightmare On Elm Street”) and Bolo Yeung (”Bloodsport”) for instance. The plot also feels a lot like a James Bond flick, in fact, the villain (Han) is a lot like a comic book James Bond villain (the character Mr. Williams even comments “Man, you come right out of a comic book” after Han sends his men to attack him). Han’s underground cavern on the island somewhat resembles Blofeld’s volcano-hidden silo in “You Only Live Twice”. This is not to say that Han doesn’t make for a very entertaining villain though.

Running at a mere 98 minutes, “Enter The Dragon” is somewhat short and leaves you wanting more by the time it’s over with. The film could do with more martial arts and more time spent on the island itself, maybe even a longer ending. Nevertheless, Bruce Lee’s final film still stands today as a martial arts classic.

Rating: ****

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, John Cazale, Talia Shire, Richard S. Castellano, Abe Vigoda, Al Lettieri, Gianni Russo, Sterling Hayden, Lenny Montana, Richard Conte, Al Martino, John Marley, Alex Rocco, Morgana King, John Martino, Victor Rendina, Simonetta Stefanelli, Louis Guss, Tom Rosqui, Joe Spinell, Richard Bright, and Julie Gregg.

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola.

Stats:
*Domestic Gross: $81,500,000
*Worldwide Gross: $245,066,411
*Award Winners: Academy Awards for Best Actor (Marlon Brando), Best Picture (Albert S. Ruddy), Best Adapted Screenplay (Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola); Golden Globes for Best Picture-Drama, Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola), Best Actor-Drama (Marlon Brando), Best Original Score (Nino Rota), Best Screenplay (Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola).
*Selected for Preservation in the US National Film Registry.
*Ranked as the 2nd Greatest Film in American Cinematic History, right behind “Citizen Kane”, on AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies.

The Catch:
A wise and masterful mob boss of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his massive empire to his reluctant son who just wants to live a normal life, but fully commits after his father’s life is threatened by rivals.

Characters:
*Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando): The aging boss of the Corleone family - Wife to Carmella. Father to Sonny, Fredo, Michael, Connie, and surrogate father to Tom Hagen. He’s a native sicilian with the only memorable trademark accent in the entire film.
*Michael Corleone (Al Pacino): Don and Carmella’s youngest son. He just got back from WWII and wants nothing to do with the mob business.
*Santino “Sonny” Corleone (James Caan): Vito and Carmella’s eldest son. He’s the hot-headed underboss of the family who is being groomed to take his father’s place.
*Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall): Adopted son of Vito and Carmella. He’s also the family’s new consigliere and legal lawyer.
*Kay Adams (Diane Keaton): Michael’s long-time sweetheart, wife, and mother of his children. She’s quite nosy too.
*Fredo Corleone (John Cazale): Vito and Carmella’s ding-dong of a middle son.
*Constanzia “Connie” Corleone (Talia Shire): Vito and Carmella’s youngest and only daughter. Married to Carlo Rizzi - Can you say precursor to Adrian?
*Peter “Pete” Clemenza (Richard S. Castellano): A caporegime in the Corleone Family.
*Salvatore “Sal” Tessio (Abe Vigoda): Yet another caporegime for the family.
*Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo (Al Lettieri): A heroin dealer who works with the Tattaglia Family.
*Carlo Rizzi (Gianni Russo): Married to Connie, therefore making him an associate of the Corleone Family. He’s a traitor and a crappy husband.
*Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden): A corrupt police captain working for Sollozzo. He seems to have a fetish for frisking mob guys.
*Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana): Vito’s enforcer.
*Emilio Barzini (Richard Conte): The mob boss of the Barzini family.
*Johnny Fontane (Al Martino): Vito’s godson who happens to be a famous international pop singer.
*Jack Woltz (John Marley): A big shot producer in Hollywood.
*Moe Greene (Alex Rocco): One of the Corleone Family associates who owns a hotel in Las Vegas.
*Carmella Corleone (Carmella Corleone): Wife to Vito, mother to Sonny, Fredo, Michael, and Connie, surrogate mother to Tom Hagen. Just call her Mama for short, just about everyone here does.
*Paulie Gatto (John Martino): Vito’s driver as well as Capo Pete Clemenza’s hit man.
*Philip Tattaglia (Victor Rendina): The mob boss of the Tattaglia Family.
*Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone (Simonetta Stefanelli): A short fling for Michael when he hides away in Sicily. It begins so beautifully and ends so tragically.
*Don Zaluchi (Louis Guss): The mob boss of the Zaluchi family in Detroit.
*Rocco Lampone (Tom Rosqui): One of Clemenza’s soldiers.
*Willi Cicci (Joe Spinell): A soldier in the Corleone Family.
*Al Neri (Richard Bright): Michael’s trusted bodyguard.
*Sandra Corleone (Julie Gregg): Sonny’s wife.

Story:
Don Vito Corleone, The King of the Corleone Mob Family, is celebrating the wedding of his daughter Connie and his associate Carlo Rizzi. Also there is his youngest son Michael, fresh out of WWII, with his girlfriend Kay and wants nothing to do with the mob business.
Events take a turn for the worse when the Don is shot down and hospitalized out of refusal to provide financing to Virgil “The Turk” Sollozzo’s heroin distribution. This places the Corleone family on the brink of war and chaos with the Tattaglia Family.
While the Don rehabilitates, he purposes for Michael to take over the business and set things straight between the rivaling families. The Corleones begin by assassinating Sollozzo and one of his corrupt police captains, avenging the wrong-doing that was done onto the Don. Michael, who headed the assassination, heads into hiding in Sicily while the Corleone Family prepares for all-out warfare with the rest of the Five Families.
Upon his return back to New York City, and with the Don out of the hospital, Michael and his father, along with the rest of the Corleone Family, culminate their final strike against all of the rivaling Mob Families.

Review:
Based on the Novel by Mario Puzo, “The Godfather” lays its footprint in the concrete as the definitive Gangster film that broke immense ground in the genre, paving an example for all future Mobster films to follow. The film is an epic, colossal tale of one Mob Boss’s son who would rather not be involved in his father’s business, but with his life threatened, he is forced to take over his father’s responsibilities and set things right again.
The detailed characterizations of the story’s massive cast is unremarkable and the portrayal of the Corleone Family brings out the best in them as opposed all the evil that would come with the business that they are apart of. While the cast is huge, it is rather impressive how Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola are able to juggle such screen-time between all of them and still pull it off effectively.
The only negative aspect of this film is that it may be too detailed for its own good. It runs a mere 175 minutes, that’s close to three hours. Much of the content can be shortened to a lesser extent in many portions, the one where Michael is forced into hiding in Italy is one of them - it extends to about 20-25 minutes after the film hits the 100 minute mark. Then again, this was the early 70s, many classics came out in huge lengths and were huge hits. However, running time of “The Godfather” is no excuse to stop you from enjoying this mega hit.

Rating: *****

As of January 18th,, beginning with the review of “The Exorcist” (1973), all future reviews will follow a new and improved review structure that will break down the elements and details of the film itself. The new structure will zero in on the following:

*Stats
*Basic Plotline (aka The Catch)
*Further insight into the characters and their roles
*The Story
*The Review
*Rating

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Starring: Ellen Burstyn, Jason Miller, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty Winn, Jack MacGowran, Mercedes McCambridge, and Father William O’Malley.

Directed by: William Friedkin.

Stats:
*Domestic Gross: $66,300,000
*Worldwide Gross: $402,500,000
*2nd Most Popular Film of 1974
*Nominations: Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actress (Ellen Burstyn), Best Supporting Actor (Jason Miller), Best Supporting Actress (Linda Blair), Best Director (William Friedkin), Best Cinematograhpy, Film Editing, Best Art Direction (Bill Malley and Jerry Wunderich).
*Award Winners: Academy Awards for Best Sound and Writing Adapted Screenplay (William Peter Blatty); Golden Globes for Best Motion Picture, Best Director (William Friedkin), Best Supporting Actress (Linda Blair), and Best Screenplay.

The Catch:
When her daughter falls victim to demonic possession, her mother desperately attempts to win her back through an exorcism by two priests.

Characters:
*Chris MacNeil (Ellen Burstyn): Mother of the possessed child, Regan MacNeil, she is working as an actress in Georgetown.
*Father Damien Karras (Jason Miller): A young priest who attends Georgetown University, is unsure of his faith and is trying to deal with his mother’s terminal illness.
*Father Lankester Merrin (Max von Sydow): A highly experienced priest and exorcist who conducts many archaeological digs in search of religious artifacts.
*Regan MacNeil (Linda Blair): The 12 year old daughter of Chris MacNeil and the ideal victim for possession, she also has to deal with her mom’s torturous work schedule and pending divorce.
*Detective William F. Kinderman (Lee J. Cobb): Investigator of a murder linked to Regan’s Possession, he seems get along quite well with priests and has many free passes to the cinema.
*Sharon Spencer (Kitty Winn): Chris MacNeil’s best friend and babysitter.
*Burke Dennings (Jack MacGowran): Director of the movie that Chris MacNeil stars in and the first of Pazuzu’s victims, he also likes to get drunk at parties and make fun of Nazis, more specifically, German waiters.
*Father Joe Dyer (Father William O’Malley): Real life priest who is best friends with Father Damien Karras.
*Pazuzu (Voice Over-Mercedes McCambridge): The main antagonist of the film and the demon who possesses Regan; he seems to be made up with a combination of human and animal body parts.

Story:
Father Lankester Merrin is on an archaelogical dig in Iraq where he discovers a strange statue that resembles a grimacing, animal-like creature - this is the statue of Pazuzu, the film’s main nemesis. At the same time, Father Damien Karras is attending Georgetown University as he struggles to deal with his mother who is very sick and close to death.

In the center of it all is actress Chris MacNeil who begins to notice drastic and dangerous changes in her daughter Regan’s behavior and physicality, ranging from elevated strength, levitation powers, the use of vulgar language, speaking in a demonic male voice, mutilating her pubic region, and even urinating in front of her mother’s dinner guests. At first, Chris is under the impression that Regan is expressing the trauma resulting from the divorce of her parents. Soon, she is putting her daughter through a series of medical tests, the results of which show nothing out of the ordinary; therefore, the doctors conclude that Regan has brain abnormalities and recommends a psychiatrist. After Regan violently attacks the psychiatrist; if that wasn’t enough, the director of the film that Chris is starring in is then brutually murdered while babysitting Regan.

With every medical avenue exhausted, one of the doctors refers Chris to Father Karras for an exorcism, due to the fact that he is both a priest and a therapist. Although doubtful, Karras sees enough to convince him to request approval of the exorcism from the church. In addition, the church sends Father Merrin, who is a very experienced exorcist, to help.

Review:
“The Exorcist” is based on a 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty which, much like the film itself, was inspired by a documented exorcism in 1949 that was performed on a 14 year old boy. The film marks the first in a series of groundbreaking horror films released in the 70s that are unlike anything released today.

Like “2001: A Space Odyssey”, “The Exorcist” goes to extreme lengths to stand out amidst the era it was made in and the bulk of films that came with it. The script is a timeless masterpiece that could have easily been mistaken for a film made in the 80s, 90s, or 00s. Chris MacNeil’s desperation to save her daughter is highly believe while Father Karras’s lack of faith is disturbingly excellent.

The latest DVD version contains a mouthful, most notable of mention is the cut scene of Linda Blair’s “spider-walk”, which was previously deleted by the director before the theatrical release because he felt it wasn’t as effective from a technological standpoint. Thanks to today’s technology, Friedkin was able to up the realism notch in this scene, making it a definitive shocker - much like the horror masterpiece that this film is.

Rating: *****