THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (2014)

The second movie in this trilogy ends with the dwarfs waking the dragon, Smaug, from his long slumber. (See my previous posts on the other two deliveries of the Hobbit-trilogy.) Angered by their apparent arrogance, he then bursts from the mountain in a fit of rage. This second sequel picks up where the previous one left off. Smaug all but destroys Lake-town before he is brought down by one brave warrior. What is left of the survivors scamper to dry land near the foot of the dwarfs newly conquered mountain kingdom. Word of the treasure the dwarfs liberated from the dragon soon spreads throughout the land and every Tom, Dick and Harry want to lay their hands on it.

What follows (which basically takes up the major part of the movie) must be one of the longest ongoing battle scenes ever filmed...ever! 

Although everything is done in most spectacular fashion, in the end you feel a bit cheated as there is not much of a story to it all. It is more like individual score settling between different old enemies. After a while it becomes a bit confusing as you are no longer sure who is fighting whom and why. Sure, the PC game generation may find it exciting but for us movie buffs used to at least some sort of plot development, it is a real disappointment. Therefor I cannot give it more that 2 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6W7RutRghXY

             Martin Freeman, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Peter Jackson, Ian McKellen and Richard Armitage

THE GODFATHER PART III (1979)

I am afraid Part 3 is a bit of a let down. Make no mistake it is still very good. Only after the tour d' force of Part 2 it is as if the story is running out of steam. I think the final scene sums it all up...

The year is 1979. After 30 years in the crime business Don Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) finally sees his chance of going fully legitimate, something he promised his wife, Kay (Diane Keaton) many years ago. But just as it seems possible to grab the opportunity, things around him falls apart drastically and he is drawn back into the world of crime he so desperately wants to escape.

In this episode we also meet Michael's nephew, Vincent, who is the illegitimate son of his late (murdered) brother, Sonny. Unfortunately his character (as portrayed by Andy Garcia) is never fully developed or explored. And I think that is part of the let down.

However, like I mentioned in the beginning, as a second sequel to what is essentially a great trilogy, it is still better than most. So, like for Part 1 this one receives 3 out of 5 stars as well from yours truly.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8h3LVb8cl8

 

Andy Garcia and Al Pacino     

THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)

In this episode of the saga we learn more about the history of the Corleone family and more particularly that of Vito and what happened to make him what he ultimately became.

After the murder of his family in native Sicily, remaining child Vito Andollini is spirited away on a ship bound for New York City, America. Once he arrives there an immigration official mistakenly records his surname as Corleone which is actually the name of the town in Sicily where he came from. We then see him as a young man (brilliantly portrayed by Robert De Niro) struggling to survive on the streets of New York during the early 1900's. Eventually he sort of stumbles into a life of crime and soon becomes the Don everybody fears and respect. This is told through flashbacks while, in the meantime, we watch Michael Corleone, who reluctantly took over the reigns of the family 'business' in Part I, growing from strength to strength until he becomes the most significant Don of all the (crime) families in all of America during the 1950's.

Whereas the first film already received two Academy Awards, this first sequel was nominated for no less than eleven Oscars of which it received six; among others, one for Best Supporting Actor by Robert De Niro and one for the coveted Best Picture Award. Again, everything about this movie is outstandingly good and what has been said about Part I equally applies to Part II and more! Therefor I gave it 4 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJr92K_hKl0

 Robert De Niro as Don Vito Corleone striking the same pose as Marlon Brando in Part1

 

And now for something completely different...

THE GODFATHER (1972)

Mobster movies used to follow a simple recipe: thugs hanging for dear life from fast moving jalopies while mowing down rival gang members with their Tommy guns, followed by the obligatory counter attacks in retaliation. But in 1972 Francis Ford Coppola came along and set a whole new standard for this genre. Just think of movies made since, like Scarface (1983), Goodfellas (1990), Carlito's Way (1993), Casino (1995) and more recently Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006) to name but a few.

Based on the series of books by Mario Puzo, this legendary masterpiece follows the trials and tribulations of the Corleone crime family of New York stretching over several generations. The character build and development is excellent while the acting is absolutely superb. It then also earned the late great Marlon Brando the second of two Oscars he received as Best Actor. The first one was for the 1953 film On The Waterfront. Curiously enough he refused to accept this second one.

Although the movie contains some violence it is almost negligible measured against the epic scale of the film. This trilogy (I hope to write about the other two in the coming weeks) is again a definite must have for any serious movie collector. For this first one in the series, I gave 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY1S34973zA

Al Pacino and Marlon Brando