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lylewins
Reviews
Clockers (1995)
Trades in Objectivity for a Teacherish understanding of the Subject
Let me say that I just finished the novel, and have only just watched the film.
I try not to be one of those people who reads a book, watches the movie, and then tears the latter apart, but there are some significant issues that come to mind when considering this adaptation.
1: There is just too much music and scoring.
Thus the whole thing feels artificial, or like an after-school special come to life with ghetto undertones. I'm not quite sure why Spike Lee would have chosen this presentation, though perhaps it was to create an expected emotional bond with his audience that he felt was lacking due to the large ensemble cast, or maybe he didn't trust the performances of his actors. Regardless, the overall effect cheapens the drama and removes all the real life consequence the story and characters naturally possess (as written).
2: The acting comes across as preachy.
Consequently, the whole film seems like it trying to prove a point (and nothing else). On the one hand, it's saying to the kids growing up in the projects that, "This is no way to live. Let me show you how." And on the other, it's reaching out to the dominantly white congress, senate, electorate & bureaucracy, and trying to show these people the human cost of their ignorance, bad public policy making & flawed humanitarian ideals and voting.
So the thing is, Richard Price's writing is excruciatingly realistic, and his novel, though not without its genre tropes, is equally exacting, and poignant.
This film, however, feels like a very well-hearted effort to render the former, but that gets lost in way too much ideology.
The Godfather Part III (1990)
Feels largely like a made-for-TV sequel
This film is without any of the magic of the first two installments in the series. Where the first two Godfather films are absolutely brilliant in their understatement, this film is exaggeratedly bold, over the top, and often just plain ridiculous.
My reasoning:
1. The film exhibits far too much reliance on melodrama.
Clear examples include much of Pacino's representation of regret, the entire episode where Kay and Michael travel together through Sicily, Vincent and Mary's whole relationship, Michael's diabetic attack and hospitalization, etc. The first films are dramatic, but they were never melodramatic. Even the most over the top emotional scene of the first films (Kay confronting Michael with her intention to leave him) never feels as cheesy or unnecessary as all of the romance does in this film. The texture and tone of the first films was created in their subtle communication of a deep love for family, an ubiquitous and totally seamless presentation of a world that revolves around respect, and both Michael and Vito's hidden mastery in every moment, and extreme astuteness for observation, reason and judgement. All of this is lost here, and traded in for bad, often very forced-feeling, dramatics.
2. There is a lack of the same brilliant cinematography.
The entire palette here is too brightly coloured, there are no equivalent remarkable or truly memorable compositions of frame, and overall the look of the film (not the sets, or the costumes, but the film itself) feels quite low (like it was shot for TV or something).
3. There are very uneven performances.
Examples include parts of Andy Garcia's and Pacino's, almost all of Sophia Coppola's, Talia Shire's, etc. The first two films, on the other, portray some of the most memorable ensemble casting of any film ever made.
4. Several scenes feel weak and altogether unnecessary.
Take as an example any of the melodrama mentioned earlier.
5. Many aspects of the plot are exceptionally far-fetched.
I could have used a little more exposition on how these gangsters got their hands on a military issue helicopter, not to mention how in the hell they managed to fly it around US airspace unimpeded. The whole centralization of the plot around a Papal-Vatican Bank conspiracy is a little much too. As political as the previous Godfather's were, they nonetheless felt grounded in realism. This story- line ends up feeling less historical, and more just crack pot (which I would consider to be true even if this telling of the premature death of John Paul 1 turned out to be more historically accurate than the official version.)
6. The score is redundant and far less powerful.
Thinking of it now, all I can remember of the score is the repetition of the same themes from the previous two movies. (And to none of the same powerful effect.)
In summation:
This movie does have some good qualities, though I haven't bothered to list them. Mainly that's because all of the top reviews I've read seem to try way too hard to justify how this isn't a terrible film.
Everything that made the original installments in the series so remarkable is left out here. Mostly this is due to the inclusion of far too much melo-drama, and generally what feels to me like fairly uninspired film making.
The Walking Dead (2010)
Skip the Show; and Read the Comic
This show is terrible. I could hardly watch it. The first episode has some good moments, like Rick walking out of the hospital and the performance given by the man who plays Morgan, but it all pretty much ends there in the first episode.
What made this comic so good was it's plot. The plot of the original is so intricately woven, unpredictable, and fast-paced that it consistently rewards anyone who sticks with it. It is aware of the zombie-genre and its tropes (not to mention basic story structure), and it time and time again challenges and defeats the expectations that knowledge has laid into us. In the end, you come to strongly identify with the characters, but not until they've earned it, which makes the bond you do form that much stronger.
This TV production does that work an enormous disservice as it trades in all of the comic's best qualities for really bad TV melodrama, depicting extended scenes of people being very dramatic in very uninteresting, unearned and predictable ways. While I get that there was likely concern that the comic directly translated may not pay off well enough in its dramatic punch, stuffing so much of this stuff in has led to a final product that feels like 90% filler, and only 10% killer.
If you like smart TV, stay away from this show. Save your time. If you want a quality new show from 2010, check out Boardwalk Empire instead.