Sequels - Second Best

Only second editions count - so the third of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Godfather, Rocky, Spiderman, etc. don't count in this post. I am always amazed when sequels get made out of movies that were not that great the first time around. And there are SO many of them. No doubt research would show that they make tons of money anyway. It would be hard to choose a worst sequel (or series) but a bunch come to mind. In many cases the original wasn't bad - just all the rest. Rocky, Rambo, Planet of the Apes, Jaws, Oceans 12/13, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Staying Alive and Godfather, Part III.

Now, on to the best of the seconds. Without comment (except on one). Here is where the audience participation comes in. I will name my top 10 in a week. Time for you to each weigh in and let the rest of the gang know what you think ar eht ebest sequels of all time. In the meantime here are the list of nominees:

Meet the Fockers

Ace Venture: Pet Detective

Sister Act II

After the Thin Man

Godfather - Part II

Indiana Jones and the Lost Crusade

Rush Hour II

The Empire Strikes Back

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Home Alone 2: Lost in New York

For A Few Dollars More - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly was actually the third of the trilogy called The Man with No Name. (A Fistful of Dollars being made first but - see below -released last). All three were made in three years. Sergio Leone directed. The prototype of the so-called spaghetti western, filmed in Italy, pretending to be the old west. Turns out the the idea for this character was "stolen" from a famous Japanese movie called Yojimbo. directed by Akira Kurosawa (Seven Samuri)and starring Toshiro Mifune. There was a successful lawsuit agianst filed by Yojimbo and 15% of the gross had to be paid to them.

The Road Warrior

The Bride of Frankenstein

Terminator Two: Judgment Day

AliensToy Story 2

Rocky II

Back to the Future, Part II

Superman II

X-Men United

Kill Bill: Volume 2

Jaws 2

Caddyshack 2000

Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn

The Matrix Reloaded

Die Hard 2

Austin Powers: The Spy who Shagged Me

Lethal Weapon 2

Batman & Robin

Beverly Hills Cop 2

Speed 2: Cruise Control

The Bourne Supremacy

Sister Act II

Christmas Vacation

Men in Black 2

I'll post my top ten next weekend. Have a great week!

The Drug Culture

Most of you know that I have returned to working for a living. It has its good points. But, alas, no time to concentrate on the really important stuff - like this blog. Still, I would like to keep this alive and am publishing this issue with limited editing. In future posts I will be counting more on you to fill in the blanks. I have many lists of favorite movies in various categories but have not written the commentary yet. That's where you will come in. So, stay tuned to this station for more movie lists.


This post centers on movies where the plot is focused on or around drugs. As usual, my arbitrary standards apply. There is a particularly complete list on Wikipedia that even lists the drug of choice for each movie. One could literally divide this category into half a dozen or more subs (cocaine, pot, heroin, speed, etc.). Without passing any judgments - one thing that is very interesting in the US' on-going War on Drugs: currently, between the state and Federal governments, we spend just over $1,600 PER SECOND fighting this war. And, it is pretty clear we are not winning. Of the 1.7MM people in prison/jail in the US, approximately 500,000 are in for drug-related offenses. Each inmate costs $20,000 per year. So add that to the total for the "War." And, according to the FBI we arrested 873,000 people in '07 for marijuana offenses - and 775,000 of those were for possession only. Also interesting to note that; in 2001, more than half a million people were injured in crashes where police reported that alcohol was present — an average of one person injured almost every minute. Marijuana use is not listed among the top 10 causes of fatalities on the road. There apparently are no statistics supporting any specific fatalities from driving under the influence of pot. At CU this year a student convicted for possession of marijuana lost his financial aid while one convicted of causing injury while driving drunk suffered no consequence. Also interesting to note that the largest corporate sponsors of the war on drugs are the alcohol and cigarette industries. Interesting to note that the new Drug Czar has indicated that we lost the war on drugs and that he will not be carrying it forward.

One of the more interesting things I came across while researching this topic was Patty and I recently saw a film called Fuel, about the oil industry and our dependence on it. It claims that prohibition was actually the device of the Rockerfeller's who wanted to drive the need for gasoline. At the time the Diesel engine predominated and used mainly ethyl alcohol (i.e. bio diesel). In order to get rid of this threat the family stirred the morality pot that ended in outlawing ALL forms of booze, including the type you put into cars. Ironic, no?

So, on to the movies. This is a tough category because there are so many movies that "feature" drug use. Examples - Apocalypse Now (several), Batman Begins (hallucinogenic powder), The Doors (lots of stuff), almost every gangster movie, and even the classic propaganda film Reefer Madness. Here's what Wiki has to say about this cult-classic: Reefer Madness is a 1936 exploitation film revolving around the tragic events that ensue when high school students are lured by pushers to try "marihuana": a hit and run accident, manslaughter, suicide, rape, and descent into madness all ensue.







Since category confusion never stopped me before - and no doubt these choices will offend some - the top three are as follows:

Traffic (2000) - Intense, serious movie about the complexities of the US drug culture. Four intertwining stories. Stars Benicio Del Toro and Michael Douglas. A Stephen Soderbergh film (Ocean's 11, 12 and 13, Erin Brockovich and Sex, Lies and Videotape). Nominated for five and won four Oscars. (Gladiator beat it out for Best Picture). The use of English and Spanish scenes added to the intensity. Del Toro was phenomenal (Best Supporting Actor hardware for him).

Easy Rider (1969) - an absolute classic. Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, great music, hilarious scenes of hippies going south, wonderful scenes from New Orleans, never-before-scenes of an LSD trip and again, a wonderful soundtrack. Made a star out of Jack Nicholson (he was nominated for Best Supporting for the role).

Up In Smoke (1978) - The best of the Cheech & Chong movies. This film so pissed-off the US government that they launched a multi-year investigation of Tommy Chong and finally got him for selling a bong to a Federal agent and shipping it from California to Pennsylvania. He served 15 months for it and they made a good documentary on the subject (aka Tommy Chong). Up in Smoke was so vilified that even the official trailer was R rated. And, the film is hilarious. There are so many funny scenes in this film it is hard to even list them. Overall the plot is weak but there are many, many side splitting lines. Stacy Keach is terrific as the bumbling G-man. Not a great movies but a great example of this category.

And the rest of the Top Ten are - in approximate order:

The Salton Sea - Boy is this a violent and grim movie. But an excellent watch if you can take it. Val Kilmer stars along with one of the great villains of all time - Vincent D'Onofrio as Pooh Bear. Great final scenes. Peter Sarsgaard was also well cast as Kilmer's sidekick.

Requiem for a Dream - Very intense film about drug addiction. All of these are hard to watch on some level and this one is no exception.

Blow - Great performance by Johnny Depp as a serious dealer - George Jung - who was the leader of the south Florida (and US) cocaine trade in the 70's. Supposedly controlled 85% of the market at one time. Also with Ray Liotta and Penelope Cruz.

The Boost - James Woods made this movie. About a real estate hustler who gets involved in cocaine in LA.

Trainspotting - Ewan McGregor and life as a heroin addict in Edinburgh.

Basketball Diaries - One of Leo's best performances.

Drugstore Cowboy - Matt Dillon in one of the few roles where I actually liked his acting. Also, Heather Graham and Kelly Lynch.

Next Post - for Pickle - Sequels

Gangsta's

One of my favorite categories is gangster films. And, according to several film publications it is the favorite category of the majority of American viewers. Clearly, one movie (series) is responsible for this focus - The Godfather. In an earlier post we talked about movies that were as good as the book and The Godfather almost certainly qualifies. The book was good but the movie was great. There have been several other classics in this segment and several are highlighted below.

As with many of my "categories" definitions are arbitrary. So, while Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs are somewhere on my top 100 overall list, they do not qualify for this one. Nor do the Yakuza films (Japanese gangsters).

And, ordinarily a movie like Leon (also called The Professional) would not qualify either. It is more of a "hit man" film than a true "gangster" movie. But it still fits into the slightly broader category of Film Noir. Either way, its my blog so... I am highlighting this movie before going on the Top 10. This is a Luc Beeson film. It is ranked among the top hundred films on numerous film lists and the top 500 for almost every list I have seen. And, the best part of this film is the first 10 minutes. The star is one Frank Senger. In addition to being a seasoned actor Frank is my brother-in-law. This film plays often on cable and is another one of those that I stop at frequently to watch at least a few minutes. Well worth the rental.

Now, on to my Top Ten Gangster Films - in order...

The Godfather (1972) - One of the great movies of all-time. So much has been written and all of it justified. Even after a third or fourth viewing this movie still really holds together. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. One little known fact - five Coppola's had bit parts, Carmine, Gian-Carlo, Italia, Roman and Sofia. [Remember the guy who played Johnny Fontane (Frank Sinatra)? His name was Al Martino and other than GF Part II and Godfather for TV, he never acted in any other movie until 2006 when he starred in a bomb call Cutout.] The Godfather cost $7MM to make and it has grossed about $300MM - just at the box office. Add in all the merchandising, video game sales etc. and the gross is upwards of $1Billion. Leela is the only person I know who has not seen this movie. We will have to tie her down at some point and make that happen.

Goodfellas (1990) - I liked this movie almost as much at The Godfather. Not a dull moment. Ray Liotta was fantastic as the main character - Henry Hill - as were DeNiro, Pesci, Jackson, Bracco, Imperioli and Sorvino. A Martin Scorsese film, and a couple of his relatives had bit parts. Martin directed about 50 films and had bit parts in 23 of them. The movie was also known as Made Men and Wiseguy. Liotta has been in tons of films but none of his other performances come close to this one. Pesci and Bracco won and were nominated for Best Supportings.

The Godfather, part II (1974) - Won six Oscars. The Best Sequel ever, by far. (A later post will tackle the subject of best sequels, and this movie will be far and away in first place.)

Once Upon a Time in America (1984) - Commented on in an earlier post - this movie is often called the Jewish Godfather. Another DeNiro film, also with Pesci and James Woods, Tuesday Weld and Treat Williams. The film is long but a great saga - 3:47 run time. After a while you just want it to keep on going.

A Bronx Tale (1993) - Robert DeNiro's directorial debut. Chaz Palminteri and DeNiro star, only this time, DeNiro is the straight laced neighborhood bus driver trying to protect his kid from the neighborhood hood. Good vs. evil on lots of different levels.

Miller's Crossing - Great prohibition-era gangsta flick with some excellent but slightly lesser knows - like Albert Finney, John Turturo, Gabriel Byrne and Steve Buscemi (of the Sopranos). If you like this genre you'll really like this film. Very noirish feel to it and an excellent storyline. A Coen brothers written and directed film.

Bonnie & Clyde (1967) - One of the original modern gangster films with Faye Dunnaway, Warren Beatty, Gene Hackman, Estelle Parsons (Best Supporting Oscar) and Warren Oats. Also a part for Gene Wilder, in his first movie role after a couple of TV bits. Shot in B&W, very effective moody movie about the two famous gangsters, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker - who were actually just a couple of lawless kids on the run. Then they went a little crazy. The final scene is pretty intense, especially when you consider the 1967 release date. Quite a scandal over the violence at the end.

The Departed - (2006) Maybe this was really a good cop / bad cop movie but underlying it all was a mobster and his connections into the Boston PD. This time it is the Irish mafia. So, it makes my list. Leo Dicaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin - what a great cast. The dynamic between Damon and Wahlberg was outstanding. And Nicholson was made for this kind of part. Another Martin Scorcese picture.

The Untouchables (1987) - Other than The Fugitive I cannot think of a better movie made from a TV show. Kevin Costner was himself and did a great job. I always love Sean Connery and no different in this one. Andy Garcia was good too as his brooding self. Really enjoyed Charles Martin Smith in his role. He's been in a ton of movies always in these kind of background parts.

Scarface (1983) - Pacino, Pacino and more Pacino. One of the most violent movies around, this film has generated an amazing following. A so-called Scarface Nation (the name of a book given to me by the Pickle's). All kinds of amazing facts/trivia available from that source.

Honorable Mention:

Donnie Brasco - Pacino, Depp, Madsen. The best scene is the exchange of Xmas presents.

Mean Streets -Scorcese, DeNiro and Harvey Keitel. Almost made the list.

James Cagney - Many of his films qualify. Try: White Heat, The Roaring 20's or Public Enemy - all excellent early gansta pics.

The Road to Perdition -A different kind of role for Tom Hanks. Slow in places. Paul Newman nominated for Best Supporting.



Special Mention:

Casino -DeNiro, Sharon Stone, Pesci and James Woods. Great movie. Also almost made the list, but the category isn't quite right.

Not on this list - The Godfather, Part III - there are very few movies where even the sequel is any good, much less the third, fourth or fifth in the series (see, e.g. Star Wars, Rocky, Halloween, Superman, Harry Potter, Fast and Furious, Alien). This is another one of those continuations that should never have been made.



Next Post: The Drug Culture