Films of Francis Ford Coppola

It's not as amazing as Part 1, but it sure as hell is amazing, with great performances by Pacino and Cazale. But what really makes the sequel hold up with me is the sequences with De Niro as a young Don Vito. They're brilliantly executed and show a beautiful and gritty 1920's where the mobs ruled in almost all impoverished areas. Fantastic.

This is easily the best Vietnam war movie ever made and it's not even mainly focused on the war. It's more of a journey into the darkness of the human psyche and the soul, done very well I might add. Back in the time when Coppola made really compelling and important movies, this shines as one of his most important works. The whole cast is amazing, and you gotta love the appearance of an out-of-his-mind Dennis Hopper. Then again, does he really play any other type of character? Despite all the troubles of the production of the movie (nearly going bankrupt and an overly-fat Brando, to name a few), Coppola achieved his grand vision, despite how convoluted the Redux seems to be at times.

So...yeah. Coppola basically lost his mind after the 70's. I mean every movie he made then were brilliant and are some of my all time favorites. Who knows what happened to him but long gone are the days of brilliant film making here. Or at least good storytelling. Let me explain. Dracula has a hell of a lot of style and some great acting by the always reliable Anthony Hopkins and Gary Oldman. I mean casting Gary as Dracula, such a great move on Coppola's part. Casting Keanu Reeves and Winona Ryder in this? Not so great. Even Gary couldn't save this movie from falling down from the terrible acting from those two actors (more so from Keanu then anything else). Also, what the hell happened with the story. It had some really great potential and really great points throughout the movie, mostly in the middle act, but the beginning was like being visually raped with quick cuts over and over again. The characters could have been developed then and made to be really captivating. Instead, we are given another example of style over substance. The ending itself is cool but the last third act overall felt rushed and disjointed like Coppola didn't care about what the audience was hearing and more of just what they were seeing. I liked Bram Stoker's Dracula, but just barely. I'm not going to watch it again anytime soon, but I can tell you it was one hell of a ride despite any really good storytelling.

Nowhere near the same quality as the first two movies, but okay nonetheless.

Life Lessons - ***1/2
Life Without Zoe - **1/2
Oedipus Wrecks - ****