#one compound member to another 'see I told you. he’s too committed to the widow of wounds 😔'

[phantomrose96]

Sorry for making this everyone else's problem but "Do They Fuck?" Silt Verses edition

Carpenter: CAN fuck, could get it from pretty much anyone who isn't afraid of her. But ultimately she finds it tedious and she's offput by pregnancy/sti risk and the risk of the other person catching feelings for her. Hasn't fucked in 10+ years at this point and does not care.

Faulkner: Does not fuck. That would require vulnerability and WHY would he willingly engage in that? So you can usurp him? Undermine him? Judge him in some way? Hates the topic the same way he hates admitting he can't swim.

Paige: Can and does occasionally fuck. Usually in the context of "giving that dating app another go" and heading back to her/their place after a nice dinner. Has had a few months-long relationships but they end up feeling like a part of the "comfort" that doesn't belong to her and can be taken away. They don't last.

Hayward: Only one with a canon answer but elaborating on that - Hayward fucked like 6 or 7 times between the ages of 22-25 and has referred to everything since then as "a dry spell" despite it being ~10 years at this point. Is still convinced he's capable considering he's done it before, but that's mostly for his ego. Actually COULD bag a one-night-stand since he's decent-looking and the cop-thing is a turn on to some, but s1 Hayward has too much wrong with him that he would never actually commit to following through. S3 Hayward is genuinely desirable but he hasn’t figured that out yet. Keeps missing hints.

[introvertguide]

The Godfather Part 2; AFI #32

SPOILER ALERT!!! OF COURSE. FOR THOSE WHO JUST LOOK AT REVIEWS WITHOUT WATCHING THE MOVIE...

The next movie on our list was the one and only sequel on the AFI 100 (perhaps the best sequel of all time), it is The Godfather Part 2 (1974). Many argue that this movie is better than its predecessor since this film won 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. This film was also ranked in the Sights and Sounds Top 50 in 1992 and 2002, it was TV Guide’s #1 movie of TV and Video of all time, and it was #7 on Entertainment Weekly’s top 100 movies of all time. An interesting note is that Don Corleone (played by Al Pacino) is ranked as the #11 villain of American film of all time. That is interesting in the comparison between the first and second film and should be discussed, but let us review the plot first:

The movie starts in 1901 with a very young Vito Andolini who is mourning the death of his father who was killed by the local Don in Corleone, Sicily. His brother was killed in an attempt of revenge and the mother went to the Don to ask that he not kill her last son because the boy will not look for vengeance. The Don insists the boy should die and the mother sacrifices herself so that little Vito can run away. He escapes on a boat to New York and arrives with small pox so he is put in quarantine. The intake officer at Ellis Island makes a mistake on the entry form and Vito Andolini becomes Vito Corleone. 

Jump forward to 1958 in Lake Tahoe to Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) at his son’s first communion. There is discussion of him protecting the turf of one of his captains, Frank Pentangeli (Michael Gazzo), but Michael says no since the people harassing Frank are associated with Michael’s business partner. That night, there is an assassination attempt on Michael and his wife. 

Jump back to 1917 in New York in which Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) lives with his wife and oldest son Sonny. Vito loses his job to the local Don’s nephew and is tempted into small crimes to try and make money for his family. He commits a burglary with a neighbor named Peter Clemenza (Bruno Kirby).

Forward to 1958, Michael believes that his business partner Hyman Roth (Lee Strasberg) organized the assassination attempt. He goes to Miami and Roth pretends not to know, however, Roth then has his goons attempt to kill Pentangeli. It fails because a cop walks into the scene, but Pentangeli thinks it was Michael. Michael goes to Havana on business with Roth and his brother Fredo (John Cazale) and learns that it was Roth who tried to have him killed and that Fredo gave information about Michael’s location for the assassination attempt. Michael gives Fredo the famous “kiss of death” at a New Years Eve party and has his personal body guard attempt to kill Roth, but this also fails as there is a sudden civil war that makes everyone flee the country separately. Michael returns home and is informed that his wife Kay (Diane Keaton) has had a miscarriage. 

Back in 1920, Don Fanucci tries to extort money from Vito and his small crime group. Vito gives him the first “offer he won’t refuse” and then follows the Don to his apartment and shoots him dead. 

Forward to 1959, a senate hearing commences in an attempt to charge Michael as the head of an organized crime ring. Pentangeli is the lead witness since he thinks that Michael tried to have him killed. 

Back to 1920, Vito Corleone is a respected member of his community and people come to ask him favors since he protects them without trying to extort money from them. His wife asks that he help a local widow who is being kicked out of her apartment by going and talking with the landlord. The landlord does not respect his wishes initially, but comes back and apologizes when he hears of Vito’s reputation as a killer. 

Forward to 1959, Fredo reveals to Michael that he told Roth where Michael was but denies knowing about the hit. Fredo is angry that he was passed over to be the head of the family for Michael when he was the older. Michael disowns his brother but says he will watch over him as long as their mother is alive because he will not let his mother see one son harm another. Kay and Michael fight and she says she is taking the children. Michael believes she is upset about the miscarriage, but Kay reveals it was an abortion because she will not bring another son into the world to carry on the crime family. Michael takes the kids and banishes her from the family.

Back to 1923, Vito goes back to Sicily and finally takes vengeance on the old man that had his family killed. He goes to the man’s house to supposedly ask for his blessing for an olive oil business and Vito gets close enough to stab the guy in the chest.

Forward to the 1960s, and Michael’s mother has died. Fredo is at the funeral and he finally goes to talk to Michael and there seems to be forgiveness. Michael sends a guy over who finally kills Roth in public. Pentangeli kills himself in prison knowing that his family will be safe if he does. Fredo is killed out on a boat while fishing on the orders of Michael. 

Back to 1941, when all of VIto’s children are waiting for him to come in for his birthday. Michael announces that he is dropping out of college to join the Marines after the bombing of Pearl Harbor to his brothers. 

The movie ends with Michael sitting alone at his compound in Lake Tahoe, looking out over the water.

As I try to write out the plot, I realize why I don’t like this movie as much as the first one. It is far too convoluted with the jumping back and forth between the stories. It is also hard to keep track of the characters because some of them show up in both timelines. However, just because it is hard to follow, it doesn’t mean that the story isn’t good. There are a lot of good plot twists throughout the film and well as some tension about the fate of all characters (anyone can die in these films).

This film is interesting because the lead character of the film (Michael Corleone) is also the villain, which is juxtaposed with his father being a Robin Hood like hero. Comparing the first and second Godfather films, I think that Robert DeNiro is a much better Vito Corleone than Marlon Brando was, but Michael is so much less interesting. Michael is a vengeful Machiavellian leader who does whatever it takes to stay in power. Vito is a nice guy who suffered horribly and started a business in crime as a last resort to support his family and to help his neighbors who had helped him growing up. I think that some of the brilliance of the second film is that it reverses the roles from the first film. 

The second film was more successful than the first, but I think people were surprised by the original and there was an expectation of greatness that was delivered in the second movie. I do feel bad for Al Pacino because he did not receive any awards for his portrayal of Michael in either film. The films won best picture two years apart and really cemented the reputation of Coppola as a great filmmaker. 

So the final question is if the movie is deserving and recommended. The film is most certainly deserving of being on the AFI as it is America’s most critically acclaimed sequel of all time. Never before or since has a Best Picture winner had a sequel that also took home the prize. The story of Vito alone is worth seeing and it more than earns a high place on the AFI list.

Would I recommend it? Yes, with some caveats. The movie is very long and can be hard to follow if you don’t already know the characters from the first film. I would not recommend seeing this movie if you have not seen the original Godfather movie. Also, as much as I love the flashbacks to Vito’s life and how he established himself as New York crime boss, I was bored by Michael. I said it before and I will say it again, remove the part Michael goes to Sicily from the first movie and replace it with the Vito story from Godfather 2 and you might have the perfect movie. So yes I would recommend, just make sure to know the characters first and have a cup of coffee first because there are some parts that get kind of slow.