Movie #32 - The Bourne Supremacy

"They should have left him alone."

In my opinion, a great tagline. This movie is by far the best one of the trilogy, however, the movie does get more confusing as this film progresses. What makes things worse, I watched this trilogy out of order, so I am lost in terms of actual plot.

Despite this, I enjoyed almost every aspect of this movie. I like the fact that every scene is shot on location and not an imitation location like Hollywood North (sorry Toronto... when you see a TTC streetcar in the background of "New York" for example - it sucks). Combined this with good old fashioned choreographed fist fights and martial arts sequences... mixed in with some high octane car chase scenes... you have a great movie.

I am not a big fan of Matt Damon as an actor, but he has really found a niche with Bourne. He's the American James Bond... with a concussion of course. Probably a hybrid between Bond and Indiana Jones... not as smart though and definitely not good with the ladies.

I enjoyed many scenes of this film, especially those shot in Europe. It really gives you the old spy feel, something that was developed for many years since the 60's with Mission Impossible and the Avengers... although less cheesy.

I am looking forward to see what they do next with this storyline... hopefully, the producers do not get to greedy and make 5 or 6 of these films... there's only so many titles that they can use with Bourne. Pretty soon, you are going to get into Death Wish or Friday the 13th territory, and by then, you'll get titles like the "Who's Your Bourne?" or "Bourne VI - The Final Countdown."

Movie #31 - The Godfather

"The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son."

What a way to come back... its been almost 3 months since my previous post and I decide to review one of the greatest movies of all time. I apologize to some of my loyal readers, I have gotten fairly busy recently with a recent visit by my father, a move to a new house, and the start of an online business... however, excuses aside, I'm back.

As for The Godfather, many have claimed this to be one of the top 5 films of all time. Although I do not hold it in the top 3, it does make my personal top 10 list. In actuality, The Godfather II ranks higher in my books than this film, only because it combines the stellar work of Al Pacino and Robert De Niro on the same screen.

If you break this movie down, its a wonderful story of loyalty, betrayal, family, and business. If you look past the violence, the drugs and murder, and the mob storyline, you are treated to a movie that is both well written and well made. The casting of this film from top to bottom is spectacular with such greats as Marlon Brando (Vito Corleone), James Caan (Santino Corleone), and Al Pacino (Michael Corleone).

However, its the side characters - the casting of Robert Duvall (Tom Hagan), John Cazale (Fredo Corleone), and Diane Keaton (Kay Adams); that really make this movie a classic. Without these pivotal characters, you cannot create a film with depth, plot development, and of course, two more sequels.

What's funny about the Godfather is that it has gone through popularity cycles in recent years. During the late 80's and early 90's, mob movies were being shunned for the Vietnam war themed films. With the recent dominance of HBO's The Sopranos, films of this genre have experienced a resurgence. A perfect example of this is in relation to marketing... on your television schedule, any channel that shows syndicated episodes of The Sopranos utilizes the Godfather trilogy to promote the show.

Which comes to the fun part of this review. I made a pact with my wife that whenever I saw one of the three Godfather films on television, I would save $5. This was stated back in April 2008, and quite frankly, I am surprised that I haven't saved any money as of yet. However, back when I said this, the films were being shown almost every weekend on A&E, TLN, Spike TV, CBC, History Channel, and AMC. There was potential for a nice little sum there.

Back to the movie. There isn't much to tell... anyone that I meet who hasn't seen this film or the remaining trilogy has been subjected to constant reminders of a marathon. We are hoping to host a Godfather marathon this summer and hopefully, no one will have to "sleep with the fishes."

By the way... I am no longer publishing articles for Helium.com, so you do not have to worry about the disclaimer at the bottom.