Movie Reviews
Titles starting with G
The Godfather and The Godfather Part II
DIRECTED by Francis Ford Coppola
PRODUCED by Albert S Ruddy (I) Francis Ford Coppola & Gray Frederickson (II)
SCREENPLAY by Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola
BASED ON A NOVEL by Mario Puzo
ORIGINAL MUSIC by Carmine Coppola & Nino Rota
CINEMATOGRAPHY by Gordon Willis
PRODUCTION DESIGN by Dean Tavoularis
When I was making this list ... Read more »
The Godfather Epic
In the beginning, 1972, there was The Godfather. It woneth the Academy Award for Best Picture. And Francis Ford Coppola and the critics and audiences saw that it was good. Then in 1974 Coppola created The Godfather, Part II, and behold, it also won the Oscar and was applauded by one and all. And then created he The ... Read more »
Godsend
One of the dumbest movies of the year. Nothing makes sense. The DVD includes no less than four alternate endings, none of which make any more sense than the idiotic one they went with. When a DVD offers alternate endings, beware. It means they didn’t have a clue as to what they were doing in the first place.
Godzilla
Well, we’ve come a long way from a guy in a rubber suit stomping through the streets of a mini-Tokyo, I think we can all agree on that. I was never much of a fan of the original Gojira (and I always wondered why they changed it to Godzilla) from 1954, where they spliced footage of Raymond Burr into the original Japanese film, which was almost as horrifying as the big lizard. Then there was ... Read more »
Going Bye-Bye!
Laurel and Hardy Two-reeler. The boys have testified against a violent, angry hoodlum and he is going to jail, but vows to get them, tear off their legs, and twist them around their heads. They decide to leave town, but somehow end up with the escaped hood packed in a trunk. They try to get him out, not knowing who he is, and almost manage to kill him. Naturally they end up sitting on a ... Read more »
Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
FULL DISCLOSURE: For several years in the 1980s I was one of the judges for the “L. Ron Hubbard Writers of the Future Awards.” I was never completely comfortable in that role, but let’s face it, those fuckers were rich, and they knew how to throw a party. They flew you to L.A. every year for a week of celebrations, all expenses paid. Then in 1989 (I think) they ... Read more »
Going Hollywood
Marion Davies gets top billing. Poor Marion Davies. She was good at comedy, but her asshole boyfriend, William Randolph Hearst, insisted she do dramatic roles, so her career tanked. Pretty much exactly as shown in Citizen Kane. Of course, it’s a little hard to be too sorry for a woman who got to preside at the parties at San Simeon, and who, thanks to her good ... Read more »
Gold Diggers of 1933
Like many musicals from this early in the sound era, this one could have used more fabulous Busby Berkeley choreography and less plot. But those numbers were expensive and the other stuff wasn’t, and besides, you do need a plot. Still, this one is so standard it’s not really worth repeating much of it. It’s the Depression, and shows are closing before they open. Four chorus girls—Joan ... Read more »
Gold Diggers of 1935
As usual, this is worthwhile only for Busby Berkeley’s insane musical numbers, but it is well worth it just for that. Unfortunately, you have to wait until the very end to see them. The only real saving grace before that is the hard-working, ubiquitous, versatile Adolph Menjou (and I just recently realized all those things about him; the man was good!). Here he is a manic impresario. There ... Read more »
Gold Diggers of 1937
The plot here is even sillier than usual, and actually quite dull. I almost FFed through it. It’s only at the 90 minute point that we get what we came for, the lavish Busby Berkeley musical number, which is “Love is Just Like War,” and involves a lot of blondes (what else) marching and counter-marching with drums, bugles, and flags, and for some reason a lot of really huge rocking chairs.