Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola: the guy who made The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Captain Eo, a dozen S.E. Hinton novels, and Jack. He's a kooky duck.

Dementia 13 (1963) -- A Roger Corman horror movie that's pretty good, and lots creepy, even though it's kind of confusing. B

The Godfather (1972) -- The best series of mafia movies, and Francis Ford Coppola's best work (the trilogy). The pacing, the acting, the music, but especially the narrative of the rise (or fall) of Michael Corleone. (See below for the sequel, The Godfather Part II.) A

The Godfather Part II (1974) -- Better than the original, which of course is odd for any sequel. The weaving of the two stories together was a great idea. (See above for the predecessor, The Godfather. See below for the sequel, The Godfather Part III.) A

Apocalypse Now (1979) -- Coppola's messy Vietnam film that I still like in spite of (or because of) its craziness. What I like even better is Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, the documentary on the making of the picture, directed by George Hickenlooper and Fax Bahr (you know, the guy who wrote the screenplays for Pauly Shore vehicles Son-In-Law, In the Army Now, and Jury Duty). B

The Godfather Part III (1990) -- Not as spectacular as the first two, but that's only the fault of outrageously spectacular movies, since Part III is quite good. Somehow redemption isn't as interesting as corruption, though the almost impossibility of redemption shown here is interesting. All of the style of filmmaking that made the first two good is here. (See above for the predecessor, The Godfather Part II.) A

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) -- The effects utilized in this movie are some of the best special effects and tricks I've seen in terms of fitting effect to purpose and mood. They're not just there to look cool (though they're that too), but they assist in telling the story. The actors in this movie all more or less give an appropriate over-the-top performance as well, especially Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, and Tom Waits. Unfortunately, the movie loses its initial focus and eventually dissolves into a stupid romantic plot that only makes sense in a cliché way on Dracula's side, but doesn't make any sense at all on Mina Harker's side. The dumber elements of the screenplay get in the way of what might be an otherwise interesting (and so close to being one of the best) Dracula movie. B