All About Movies

This is one of the greatest films ever made. Any doubt about that can be dispelled by watching the movie. I missed this when it first came out, and then a curious thing happened. For some reason I thought I had seen the film. One decade and then two went by and I kept hearing what a great film The Godfather was. But I was unimpressed because I thought I had seen it.
I don't know what film I had seen, but it wasn't The Godfather. Seeing this film for the first time over thirty years after the fact of its production is a startling experience. The Godfather is a work of art from first scene to last. There is the most amazing adherence to that fiction which is truer than fact.

I would like to say that I played cards with Mario Puzo who wrote the novel from which the film was adapted and who famously worked with Coppola on the screenplay, but in fact I only played cards with some people who had played cards with Puzo. Ah, such is the effect of celebrity. Puzo became like Coppola something of a legend after this film was produced, and everybody suddenly knew him or played cards with him. Everybody, from the most unsophisticated celluloid fan to the most erudite and jaded critic had walked out of that theater after 171 minutes mesmerized and delighted and emotionally moved by an uncompromising look at not just a Mafia family, but the psychology of families since time immemorial. The truth that we have all lived and experienced was made large on the screen in the form of the Corleones. I can guarantee you that audiences from every culture on the planet would understand the underlying psychology of this movie and take it to some serious extent as their own.

Marlon Brando plays the godfather (the patriarch, of course, or even the warlord if you like) of the past and the present, and then, as must always be the case, comes a new godfather. What is fascinating is who this new godfather is and how he comes to power. The ending of the film is--after so many brilliant scenes and so many psychologically true surprises and so many excursions to Queens and the Bronx and Sicily and Las Vegas (each vignette absolutely integrated into the story of the film)--even more ponderously true and a surprise that sneaks up on us so stealthily that it is not a surprise. And when the credits begin to run after Diana Keaton's tears of realization, we too realize the "message" of the film. It is a message that I think would be understood in the Middle East today (and two thousand years ago as well) as I write this, a message of tribal ways and the rise and fall of warlords and the Machiavellian machinations of the prince who would be king.

But it is Al Pacino's performance as the son of the godfather that in the final analysis steals the show as he goes from the intellectual boy who would be a legitimate American success at the finest colleges, etc. to a man wearing the hat of Al Capone. And Pacino makes us believe every step of the way.

Well, I should not say that it Al Pacino who steals the show. In truth this is Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece. He would not have the film he has without Al Pacino or Marlon Brandon and certainly not without the novel and script from Mario Puzo, of course; but make no mistake about it. Coppola manicured every scene. He attended to every detail, from the color of the wine to the tires on the cars to the dances and the music to the villas abroad to the sleaze of Las Vegas to the perfect casting of the main characters right down to the extras including both cute and not so cute kids, as indeed life would give us. In some very real sense Coppola lived this movie and it was a part of him, and yet I am stuck by the fact that Puzo invented it.
This is an American classic, an uncompromising work of art that engages, informs and moves the audience--just about any audience--to ask the great questions regarding who we are and what we should do and how we should live. From the wedding to the funeral to the christening to the priest in Latin voice-over as the final vengeance is planned to that final vengeance (that we know will NOT be the final vengeance), we are glued to our seats as the life of human beings (who could very well be us) passes before our transfixed eyes.
Oscars went to Brando as best actor, and to Puzo and Coppola for best screen adaptation. In a rare show of almost universal agreement among movie goers, critics, and the Academy, The Godfather won the Oscar as Best Picture in 1972.
Don't miss this as I had for so long, and see it for Coppola who can take his place among the greats of all cinema for this film alone.

Twilight", since its release as a novel in 2005 by Stephanie Meyer, the novel would become a New York Times Best Seller and even Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.


Having released four novels, Summit Entertainment adapted the popular novel to a film and in 2008, was released to critical acclaim, grossing $35.7 million on its opening day and over $376 million worldwide, not including the $83+ million the film has made through DVD and Blu-ray sales.

With that being said, I knew nothing about the novels. In fact, part of my reason for reviewing this blu-ray disc a little late is because I wanted the hype and fanfare to die down, not having to hear it from friends, associates and literally, experience the film for myself and wonder why people are so passionate about "Twilight".

The first positive for me was to find out that Catherine Hardwicke would direct the film. Catherine is one of the new wave of directors that has a stylish and cool way of doing things. From her years as a production designer and art director for many films, what made me appreciate her work is what she did with the film "Lords of Dogtown". When she's passionate for a storyline, she goes all out.
And joining with screenwriter Melissa Rosenberg (known for her TV writing work for "The O.C.", "Dexter", etc.), I feel that both women could really do awesome work adapting Meyer's work to film.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

One thing that came to mind when I started watching "Twilight" is seeing the town of Fork, images of the popular "Twin Peaks" show came to mind. With its green vegetation, small town atmosphere and cloudy but rural type of terrain. But one thing that I enjoyed about "Twilight" is its blue tint.

The high definition 1080p transfer (2:35:1 aspect ratio) is quite beautiful but the slight hint of blue gives us this mysterious feeling. How the characters such as the Cullen family with their white and pale look to the close ups of the characters and being able to catch the hint of blood and grime on the fingertips of the nomadic vampires to the skin wrinkles and pores of the characters. Outdoors, shots are absolutely beautiful and gorgeous mountains that surround the town.
Definitely like the use of blacks and one thing that it's important to point out that with the many low light conditions captured on film, the film doesn't exhibit excessive grain. Overall, the picture quality of "Twilight" is absolute beautiful.

As for the audio, It was great to have this DTS-HD Master Audio track because of the amount of dialogue, music and overall ambiance of special effects to the sounds of nature, you hear it nicely.
Although the film showcases dialogue as its priority, the music is nicely balanced and the special effects and various sounds from Edward preventing the van and hearing the metal squeeze and crunch was quite nice.
Audio is front heavy for dialogue but you can expect to see the low levels of your subwoofer being utilized. So, I was absolutely happy that this Blu-ray had such an awesome, lossless and not overpowering soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Twilight" has a good number of special features, fun commentary and an informative documentary but with a popular film such as "Twilight", I can't help but think that there will be another release (perhaps around the time of the second film) that would be jam packed with bonus features.
This Blu-ray disc comes with the following:

* AUDIO COMMENTARY by Director Catherine Hardwicke, Kristen Stewart and Richard Pattinson - An interesting and fun commentary, as you have Catherine Hardwicke with her laid back style of speaking, Pattinson often joking around and talking about crazy things during the filming and Steward who also have something interesting and fun to say. If anything, less talk about filmmaking (in a technical sense) but moreso on experiences of the talent and behind-the-scenes information of the film and the different scenes.

* MUSIC VIDEOS - The "Twilight" soundtrack is one of the most successful film soundtracks and nearly seven months since the film came out in theaters, the soundtrack continues to dominate the Billboard charts. For this segment, people can watch live concert videos of "Supermassive Black Hole" by Muse, "Decode" by Paramore and "Leave Out all the Rest" by Linkin Park. This segment is featured in 1080i.

* The Adventure Begins: The Journey form Page to Screen - (54:29) If you have a Blu-ray profile 1.1 player, you can rewatch the film and have a picture-in-picture documentary or watch it separately if your Blu-ray player doesn't have PiP capability. In this documentary, "Twilight" creator Stephanie Meyer giving us information on how the novel was adapted to film. How things started out with a dream and then going into pre-production, casting, how CG was utilized, creating the overall atmosphere and world of the Cullen's and much more. Overall, a very entertaining and informative documentary featured in 1080p. Here are the various selections that can be viewed:
- the beginning
- the partnership: a look at pre-production
- the vampires
- capturing the action: a look at production
- vampire baseball
- the final word on the final battle
- putting it all together: the magic of post-production
* The Comic-Con Phenomenon - (7:58) A very fun featurette with the fans going crazy at the San Diego Comic-Con and clips from the press conference. It was fun to see everyone together and discuss what they enjoyed about the novel but also to hear the girls going crazy over Robert Pattinson. The featurette is featured in standard 480p.
* EXTENDED SCENES - (9:36) There are five extended scenes with introduction by Director Katherine Hardwicke. All are featured in 1080p. Included are:
- are people talking about the cullen's again?
- james, let's not play with our food.
- you don't know how it's tortured me.
- a hundred years worth of journals.
- don't read charlie's mind.
* DELETED SCENES - (5:54) There are five deleted scenes featuring an intro by Director Catherine Hardwicke. All are featured in 1080p. Included are:
- edward, she's not one of us
- that's the first time i dreamt of edward cullen.
- bella, your number was up the first day i met you.
- she brought him to life.
- i love it when men chase me.
* THEATRICAL CAMPAIGN - This segment features teaser trailers, trailers and sneak peaks, all in 1080p. Included are:
- sneak peek as seen on `Penelope' dvd
- comic-con new york sneak peek
- teaser trailer #1
- teaster trailer #2
- final trailer
JUDGMENT CALL:
I'm glad that I took the time to wait and watch "Twilight". When it comes to vampire and human relationships, I've always been a stickler for ol' Buffy and Angel. But I have to admit that I really enjoyed the whole theme of the film.
Kristen Stewart has this quirkiness to her character that makes her so believable in her role. Although, having watched her being interviewed several times, I'm guessing that she's just a person that has her brain working overtime or maybe she's uncomfortably shy or something. But she brought a uniqueness to the role of Bella and I look forward to seeing more of her.
As for Robert Pattinson, obviously the girl magnet. The cool guy and like Kristen Stewart, I feel that he was well cast for his role as Edward.
After watching the film, I just enjoyed the overall setting of the film. Beautiful lush and green but with that hint of fog or low clouds in the mountainside adds to the whimsical beauty of the film.
I also enjoyed the characters. Sure, it has an essence of some teenage films but when combined with the vampire storyline and overall cool look of the Cullen family which have a degree of coolness with each character, you can't help but be mesmerized and curious of these characters.
Katherine Hardwicke has a good eye on action but most of all character development and pacing has always been her strong point and overall, screenplay, cinematography and its musical score are just well-done.
Overall, I can help but give this Blu-ray a high recommendation. Sure, it's not all-out-action or a bloody, gory vampire film. Nor is it Scooby Doo-ish, Vampire turns on girlfriend ala "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" either.
It's a good ol' romantic love story with a dark vampire edge to it. Well-written, well-directed, well-acted, well-cast and overall gripping and modernly stylish. The Blu-ray features beautiful visuals and the audio is well done with its DTS-HD MA soundtrack. There's nothing bad I could say about this release.
I highly recommend this film and look forward to the sequel!

Like the USA Network's Monk, Psych combines crime-solving with comedy. Shawn Spencer (writer/actor James Roday, Miss Match) and Burton "Gus" Guster (The West Wing's Dulé Hill) have been friends since the 1980s. Aside from their divergent styles--walking encyclopedia Gus plays straight man to Shawn's hyper-observant goofball--the former passes himself off as a psychic. Together, they work with the Santa Barbara Police Department, represented by Chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson) and detectives Juliet "Jules" O'Hara (Maggie Lawson) and Carl "Lassie" Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), their tightly-wound nemesis. The second season allows the duo to dig deeper into their pop-culture past. As before, every episode begins with a childhood incident that anticipates the case to come, most involving Shawn’s dad, Henry (L.A. Law’s Corbin Bernsen), a hard-nosed ex-cop. "American Duos," for instance, spoofs American Idol with Tim Curry as a snide judge and Gina Gershon as his spaced-out colleague, while "65 Million Years Off" recalls Jurassic Park when a paleontologist turns up dead. Other guests include Kerry Washington as a figure from Gus's past ("There's Something About Mira") and Phylicia Rashad and Ernie Hudson as Gus's parents, from whom he inherited his superior sense of smell ("Gus' Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy").
Though it takes a few episodes to find its footing, Psych's second year surpasses the first, and abundant extras make this four-disc set essential viewing. They include digressive commentary on 13 episodes (with Roday, Hill, and creator Steve Franks, who also performs the catchy theme song), deleted scenes, a gag reel, animated promos (The Big Adventures of Little Shawn and Gus), and a handy guide to the pineapple references in every show. Clearly, the makers of Psych love their work, and their enthusiasm is infectious.