There Are A Few Things I Want You To Know About Me. Part One.

There Are A Few Things I Want You To Know About Me: The Autobiography Of Zach Brehany.


A NOTE OF EXPLANATION
If you are here reading this, then you must obviously want to know more about me. Personally, from what some of my friends have said, that really is no surprise when you put into context the mere thought of me that is associated with someone who is dark (in terms of tone), mysterious, and looks like he will kill someone at any given second. Ever sense I moved here from Memphis, Tennessee, I have had people question my motives, try to figure me out, and above all else, be coming someone who is, apparently, the most feared in terms of my attitude and due to people thinking that I am creepy as hell. Well, I am here to shed some light into the darkness that is me and hopefully you will all understand things like why I drink so much coffee, my obsession with wearing all black, and above all else my low tolerance for stupidity. Enjoy my pseudo autobiography. Welcome to my nightmare...

I’M BORN: 1995 - 2002
I suppose that the best way to go about this would for me to be like David Copperfield: I’m born, I live. But in this case, I am only going to a certain part of my life. What that part is? Well, you just have to find out for yourself. I was born on February 8th, 1995 in Memphis Tennessee to Teresa and Shaun Brehany. By this point in their lives, they were happily married, already had one son (Evan Brehany), and did not really have a care in the world. From when I was born to the year 2002, it was a glorious time for all of us. My father, Shaun Earl Brehany, was an engineer at an Airplane construction company called P.S.I. Basically, for those that do not know, PSI is/was (I do not know if they are even still around) a place that built landing/ take-off strips for Airplanes that were in possession at the Memphis Airport. He made enough money to support his family and with his income, we were all able to live very comfortable lives. For my mother, Teresa Anne Brehany, she assumed the position of the stereotypical stay-at-home mother to help raise me and Evan.  I can say that she did do a good job with the raising of me and Evan while helping us with our education. For the first seven years of my life, it was all good.

I LIVE (PART ONE): 2002 - 2006
I do not remember around what time the following events took place, but what I do remember is that it happened around the year 2002. Some time during the spring, a very unfortunate event happened to my father.  Sometime during the spring, he ended up getting into an accident that caused his back to me out of place. What this resulted was my father having to quit his job due to the medication he was on. The second thing was something that was, in my opinion, the main contributor towards the becoming of me. To help handle the pain he was feeling, he turned towards alcohol for support.

Okay, here is a little back story on my father. Shaun Earl Brehany was born on February 21st, 1958 in Port Elizabeth, South Africa to Rena and Ron Brehany. When he and his younger brother Rodney lived their, they lived rather comfortably until they decided to take one of the most important risks they took: Moving to America. Getting rid of almost everything they had except the clothes they owned, they took their own gamble into coming to America. Once here, Shaun went and done what most collage kids done: get involved with drugs. My father’s main likings were cigarettes and alcohol. But it was the latter that impact his life along with causing him one of his own personal great tragedies: his right leg being messed up. Now, it was not due to him being intoxicated when a semi crashed into his motorcycle, his leg being destroyed, that caused it. But after the recreation of his leg, he felt a tremendous amount of pain and that lead to him turning towards the bottle.

Flash forward a few years and one wife later, he meets my mother while she was working at a restaurant in Florida. The best way to put it was that the fell in love right on the spot. After learning about my mother and falling for her, Shaun decided to forsake his addiction to alcohol so that he could be there for her. For the longest of time (sense 1991) he was sober until his back got messed up and for comfort he turned towards the bottle.

This entire era of time for my family was, allow me to be blunt, pure hell. We signed up for well care due to my parents being unable to work due to medical conditions and the money we got, we were able to make it to the next payday, but barley. Due to my dad having access to all accounts (we tried to change it, but he always got away or his family in Indiana would send him money) he was able to satisfy his addiction. This entire tragedy shook my family up and divided both of my parent’s sides in half. And the school I went to did not help much either.

Okay, let me tell you a bit about the school I went to. Other then being a strict Christian school, the one thing that caused paranoia throughout my family was the situation of what would happen if the school learned about my father. Around the area, there were reports of Social Services taking kids away from families if even one parent was a problem. We had a problem parent. We were scared. So, talking to me and Evan, we decided that due to both him and I being young it would be in our best interest to not have any friends at the time, never speak to anybody, and keep to ourselves for the fear that we could say something and, if so, then it would jeopardize our entire life.

That is the reason why I am very quiet and have a very low tolerance for stupidity and idiots that want to torment others. During the time in which I had to be quiet, I start to notice a lot of people around me. I started to see that they were not thinking. They did not care. Yeah, it is great to have fun and all of that. But they were acting like they did not care that their parents worked hard for them. They did not care that their parents were cashing out money to send them to school. They did not care about the world and their own little problems. They had problems with things like asking people out, a show not being on television, or their outfits did not matter. At that point in time, they did not understand the true feeling of having a problem that could destroy you from the inside out. Due to me seeing that, I started to form this attitude of being annoyed when I see or hear people be disrespectful, intolerant, and just complaining about problems that, in reality, did not matter.

On the part of me not talking, I had no reason TO talk to anyone anyway, They all acted like idiots, they all just did not care, and if that is the case, why should I waste my time trying to talk to them when all they do is not think.

This entire period of my life lasted for what seemed to be forever. Then you have the first time I took fifth grade. It was a beyond chaotic year. I was still under the fear of the government if they knew about my family. I was still quiet. I was still worried about back home. When my mom drove me and Evan to school in the mornings, I worried about how things would be for my father. I wondered if he was going to be drunk again that day, or if by a slim chance, he would not be. But, everyday, he was passed out dead. He just sat there with burnt holes on his clothes, parts of his hair was missing due to them being burnt off, and he was a complete wreck beyond any and all comparison. What got to me even more was when he had to start going to court due to him missing previous court dates, getting into car accidents, speeding on the roads when he was drunk, etc.

I still remember some nights when me and my brother would be watching television, being our true, real selves at home and we would hear the thundering bashing on the front door by the police wanting my father due to him missing court. It was terrible for two kids to see that. Even more when he had to go to court so often and we had to stay out of school because we had to be their with him. I do not know why exactly, but things like that stuck with me for a long while and, when I think back to it, believe that it was due to me being exposed to this dark world that made me start seeing the rather terrible side of things. I mean, when you are young, having to cut off all communication with people your own age, and have to grow up fast and learn to take care of yourself, you start to see the world through a rather different set of eyes.

Let me go back to the part of taking care of yourself. Okay, long story short, money was getting tight for us and due to my mother having some medical problems with her shoulders and back, she was on some medication to help relieve the pain, there were some times when she went through mini withdraws from her medicine and was very sick. My father, without his alcohol, went through the same thing. With money being short, me and Evan had to learn how to feed, dress, take care of our selves so that we could stay afloat.

Me looking back on those episodes, I think that is where the independence aspect of me came in. You see, we had no choice but to learn how to take care of ourselves because both parents were sick and there was no one we trusted. No one in how cul-de-sac we lived in, no one around town, just no one. So, me and Evan formed this rather thick layer of protection around us to block people out. We figured that if we can take care of ourselves and our family, then the world can burn for all we care.

Flash forward to May of 2006. During this time, my mother had enough. She had had it with my father being how he was. She was fed up with the school system. She just had it. So, getting together some money and my father agreeing to this idea, my mother wanted to get me and my brother away from this world of darkness and start over with a fresh, clean slate. At the same time, my father wanted me and Evan to leave. It was not because he did not love us, but because he loved us enough not to see his downfall.

On my father, I will always have mixed reactions about him. I mean, he did start a series of mental and emotional abuse due to his alcoholic ways and for exposing me and Evan to so much. But at the same time, he performed one of the ultimate sacrifices a parent can make by sending his spouse and children away so they will not see him fall deeper into his down whirled spiral. So, in all honesty, I do not know exactly how I feel about my father, but what I do know was that he has my respect for agreeing to send me, Evan, and mom away from him.

Searching Warner Robins for a new place to live, we started packing. It was sad that we could only carey a fraction of all that we had, but it was all we could bring. We were wanting to start over our lives, and while we wanted to carry everything, know looking back on it, not bringing down the rest was a monumental decision in how it would effect some things later on.

Packing up everything, we headed down south.

I LIVE (PART TWO) August 1st, 2006 - May 16th, 2008
Let me take a few moments out from the story to give some background on my mother. Teresa Anne Brehany was born on October 24, 1962 to Elaine and James McCarty. Due to the privacy of my mother’s past and this autobiography will be able to be accessed by people who are related, I am just going to go out and say that my mother did not have the best of childhoods. Mostly she was used as a pawn against her parents when they decided to get divorced when she was young. She went to live with both her father’s new family only to be despised and hated upon. Back at her home in Georgia, it was not much better. She did feel alone for a long while and started to feel like she was loosing some connections with her family. But, when she had to decided which will be the best place for her to finish High School in the seventies, she decided that it would be best to stay in Warner Robins due to her having friends here and some positive connections.

When mom had to find a place to take me and Evan when we moved, she decided on the one place where her happiest memories were at. I still remember that first day that we moved here in great detail. Everything from the apartment we moved into to the way this town looked. If I had to say, I would say that it looked brighter and, at the time, that is what I needed.

My dad lived with us for a few days while we tried to get everything into order. It was rather odd and it did make me sad that, for the next year or so, I was not going to see my father again. Remember that I was a little boy at the time and, even though I did not care for my father, I did have a connection to him and I was sad when he rode with me and Evan to school he turned and hugged both of us as we were dropped off (Evan in middle school, me still in elementary), but I was at the same time a little happy due to the most negative force in my life was finally gone. Strange how emotions have that sort of effect on people.

Now, the school I went to was Lake Joy Elementary. For the first few weeks, I was in love. Not with anyone, but with the school and how different it was from my previous school. I will put it like this: In Memphis, the schools were terrible. They had uneven academic goals, terrible teachers, and it was an overall bad environment. For the first few weeks of LJE, I thought I found myself a perfect place. That was until I took one of the most dangerous risks ever and one that would decide my fate for the next few years.

With my father not living within us, I allowed myself to be open again. In a few ways, this did cause something of a distress towards me because I was not prepared to allow myself to have friends again, and it was all just overwhelming. Well, that was before I decided to sit back and evaluate everyone. For the most part, these kids were complete idiots! I am sorry, but they were and knowing me, I can not handle stupidity. Even more when it is coming from people I have to spend a good majority of my time with. But I tried to play along with their own game and follow into the pattern of things

School soon became something of a complete expect way of events. I knew who to avoid, what people were reliable (no one at that time), and tried to get a hang out of my life in Georgia. At home, we got along with us three well enough. Due to me and Evan having something of a good brain on our heads, we decided that it would be best to have no rules in the house hold and just let me and him do what we wished. Basically, this allowed us the free time to watch whatever we wanted on television, eat whenever we want, go to be whenever we want, we were all free. But, there was one law that we had to abide by: absolutely no one is allowed into our home.

Back to some history of mom. When we lived in Memphis, my mother had a paranoia of people due to how bad the area was, how my father was, and just the state of life. With all of this, plus some other events in my mother’s life, she had grown afraid of people and wanted to protect me and Evan. This meant that we could not go outside to visit other kids in the apartment community, we could not have anyone over, we just stayed indoors the entire time. This paranoia has, over time, loosen, but it is still there and present.

With us being locked away at home, all of us found something to keep ourselves occupied with. Evan is a devoted fan towards Japanese cinema and he spent his time studying the history and the future of the Japanese film industry. For me, I had found my love in video games. During my first year, I found myself playing games like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy over and over again. I do not know why it is that I found myself playing games, but I did. Maybe, while I loved the new area, I was banned from leaving the house and as such, played games to escape it all. From what I remember, it worked.

With my father, I had seen him on and off that first year. The only main time was during Christmas Break when he came down here to spend some time with us. At first, it was a pleasure to see him again. But at the same time, it was painful due to how sick he really looked. I will paint this into your mind: he was six foot, nothing but skin and bones with his clothes literally hanging off of him, his hair was beyond thin and missing in some places, and he just looked like he was sixty years old. During that time he came down, he was only forty nine.

While he stayed down here, he was able to find a way to get drinks due to the neighbors and when he did, it basically recreated Memphis all over again. I left that God forsaken town to escape the drugs, escape the pain, and while my life was getting better, he showed up and recreated the horror. Thankfully, he was only down here for about a week. Once he left, all three of us acted like he was not even there. Sad and a bit of a bastard to act like that, I know. But, it was just how things are and went.

Back at school, I was still not the most well known or well liked guy, but I did not stick out like a sore thumb (other then some teachers that bragged about me to other classes. Kind of annoying, but oh well). I will be honest and say that I do not really have that much of a memory of LJE and what had happened, but when I look back on it, maybe it was because nothing that changed my world had happened during that time. Well, except one thing, and this has something of a strong impact because it allowed me to have my first real friend. In a way…

Okay, one of the few things in Memphis that allowed me and Evan to be kept sane was our love for cats. I had a calico (Kallie), he (being Evan) had a tabby (Toby). When we left Memphis, we had to leave behind the cats due to their age and because we did not know if we could afford to feed two extra mouths. So, the only cat we took with us was Stormy (mom’s cat) and mine and Evan’s were left with my father. So, me and Evan having no friends, we decided to get me and my brother cats so that we would not feel so lonely. Evan got a baby female tabby that we ended up naming Jinxie. Me, I ended up getting the now wanted (as in, people offering me money for her (to those people that want money for her, FORGET IT!)) and much loved Fluffy.

The cats did help with me and Evan trying to settle into our new areas, but I personally still felt the want of human companionship. When I decided to allow myself to be opened up and start to try to take in people, I gained a small sample of what it was like to be around other people, and like a strong drug, I wanted so much more. But I would have to wait for when I went into FMMS and began my sixth grade year.

When sixth grade started, I will admit that I was a little light headed in terms of being overwhelmed. Even more when I was exposed to so many people to now see, and I would start to go into a rather deeper, darker world that would lead me to this due to a few very untimely events taking place. But more on that later.

With the way of how people were, I soon grew use to them all. It took a while, but after you realize that there is nothing you can do for these so called ‘Beautiful People’, then there is no point. Even more when you started to form a love for a type of music that was, for the most part, black listed in sixth grade due to, quoting one teacher, it being considered as ‘devil music’ and that it was not popular. But maybe that is why I feel in love with Heavy Metal music and started to wear darker clothes. I saw the way of how the media was corrupting the minds of so many people. I witnessed how people started to follow whatever idiotic thing was said on television. I could not stand it. Everyone was becoming one another, there was no way to tell who was who, and I just hated it.

So, what did I decide to do? Grow out my hair to a rather long length, start wearing all black (the origins started here, but in reality I would have to wait till next year to officially start wearing all black), and keep quiet again. From what I saw, no one was worth my time or energy and if that is the case, then why should I ever waste my time with people like that?

With things at home, tension was building between mom and dad. He would still never come down to Georgia, but from what we heard from hospitals, it was not sounding good. He would have collapses of memory loss, he started to form ulcers in his stomach which resulted in him coughing up quite a bit of blood. Then you have him starting to form cancer in his lungs, stomach, liver, and some spots on his face. He looked horrible, and his health was much worse. When he was in Memphis, I remember hearing about him trying to kill himself to end his suffering and pain. Please understand that there was no hope for him to get help. He refused help when we tried to help him, and the damage was already done.

I remember some nights hearing my mom on the phone, trying to talk to my father. Trying to help him. But, I still remember the pain in her voice when he started to forget a lot of details about things like where we were, what year it is, and even mine and Evan’s names. When I was told of this, I was heartbroken. Just imagine if your parents started loosing their memory and can not remember things like your name, your birth-date, or even for that matter that you are their son. Believe me: it is a pain that is beyond worse then any physical pain that a human can perform on you.

As you can tell, back to what I said earlier, I did have mixed feelings of love and hate for my father due to what he allowed himself to do. But, I will say that I was attached to my father due to, between me and my brother, I was HIS son in the sense that I was more favored to him. I still remember how much he tried to care for me, try to help me when in the ended he needed help and while he tried to help me, he was hurting me. I wish he could of seen exactly how his way of showing me love was, in reality, hurting me and driving me to be by myself and crawl into my mind because it was the only place that I knew was certain.

Now, during this time, you are wondering where mom was at. Well, while my father made me his special child in the sense that he praised and tried to teach me his ways, my mother took Evan under her wings for a while and tried to give him the attention he needed while growing up. But once my father started to become the alcoholic that he did become, my mother’s wing on me grew a tremendous amount as she tried to protect me and Evan from my father and the evil, corrupt world that was around us. When looking at the entire perspective, she did a great job of raising both me and Evan, but did she over do it by the protection? Well, for that I will get to later.

Now go into May of 2008. School was coming to a closer and I was excited because I had to deal with idiotic kids that got on my last nerves and I was excited for the summer (who is never excited?). Well, we ended up getting in the mail some letters saying that I was to receive an award for services towards the school due to me being one of those kids that would help some kids out with what they had problems with, me being friends with some of the teachers, and basically being a dream student. For my family, this award was a pretty big deal because no one ever got any type of awards in my family. So, in a surge of being excited, my mother contacted my father to tell him the news. He was in one of his better mindsets that day and I remember him being so happy on the phone from hearing that his son was doing great in school, making good grades and getting awards and being favored by teachers. My father was always the type of person who took schooling beyond seriously and wanted me and Evan to be beyond the best. That news that I was getting an award made him proud. But while I was happy that week, little did I know that that was the final time I would speak to my father.

A week later my mom went by the school to pick us up early. It was during a pep ralley and I was in rather good moods. I got all of my worries out, I was trying to not allow myself to cuss out whoever planned the music, and I was having a rather decent day. Half way through, one of the assisstent principals (the one that was a woman. I sadly forgot her name) went up to me and said that I was needed in the consoler’s office. Now, I have been known for seeing them a bit due to some problems that occurred here and there but they were always minor.

When I went to my classroom to get my things, I remember her asking me about my day and how I was feeling along with if I got all of my belongings from my locker. She had a very tired and frightened tone to her voice, though at the time I did not know why. Once I went to the front office, I saw one of the consolers standing in the office with a grim look on her face. She told me to go into the back room where I saw Mr. Langly (male assistant principal), Dr. Davis (the main principal), mom and Evan there. Evan had a look of pure shock and horror on his face while my mother had tears running down her face. When I went near her, she grabbed me and embraced me while shaking violently. When I sat down, she said some of the most shattering news I had ever heard in my life: she told me that my father died that day on May 16, 2008.

I was devastated. I only remember me being stunned, then screaming, then crying due to heartache, pain, and fear. The fear came from the fear that all children have of their father/ father figure dying and for a young boy, that is terrifying news and I was crushed. Mom told me that she was ordering some plane tickets due to her having to go to Memphis to see her doctor when she had a sick feeling in her stomach. Wondering what was up with that, she went and called some of the hospitals to make sure my dad was not in one due to his ‘problems’. When she was confirmed with a no from all of the near by hospitals, she called the motel he was staying at. They went up into his room to find the toilet bowl filled with blood, some blood on the floor, a few drops on his mouth, and him covered up in bed dead.

What happened was this: on that day, he was feeling a tad bit sick and had to go to the bathroom. While in there, due to the cancer and alcohol, his liver finally exploded and he vomited all of the blood out of himself and into the toilet. He knew he was about to die for he went on a nightstand next to him were he kept this sort of journal and wrote two words on that day: Good Bye. A moment later, he had enough energy left to get into bed and cover up while falling asleep. Then, he was officially dead.

After talking to us about what would happen now, mom said that we were excused for the next two weeks of school to mourn his death and to go to Memphis to finalize some last minute things in concern with his death. While we stayed in Memphis, it was something out of a dark drama to see that city again. But now to add the gloom and despair of my father’s death and you get the overall feeling I had.

During that week, each day, we had to do something in concern with my father. The first day we had to see his lawyer to hear what was to be done of his life insurance policy. Due to his death, we would have to wait a few years before we could get that (we are STILL waiting as I write this autobiography). But he did leave behind around $33,000 dollars that were to be used to get us out of our apartment and into a real home. My father was not at all happy about us living in an apartment and felt that it would benefit us to live in an actual house. With the money, it was also to be spent on new furnisher and for me and Evan to get vehicles to use.

Later on while we were cleaning out his motel room, we found all of the receipts that he had which showed him putting his money he got from the government into a fund that was to be used once we were able to get our insurance from him plus another account that hosted the $33,000. When I realized this, I felt like a bastard for hating my father. I mean, there is still no real excuse for him becoming an alcohol and setting this entire string of events into motion, but I believe that the money he saved and, in return, sacrificed for us is the ultimate apology one could give. As I conclude on my thoughts of my father, I will say this: I might of not like my father, but I do have respect for him due to how he tried to redeem himself.

Once all the business was done in Memphis, we returned to Warner Robins to leave behind our apartment and move again for the second time. I will admit that it was hell moving again so soon after we first settled, but I was glad that we were going to live in a larger place with more room to be around.

Film Review Collection: Mario Puzo's The Godfather

THE GODFATHER (1972) Five out of Five
In cinema, there are few films that can, at all, be considered either great, and fewer that can be considered perfect. Mario Puzo's The Godfather is one of those films that is perfect. Being based of off the best seller by Mario Puzo, director Francis Ford Coppola creates one of the most accurate portrayals of an Italian crime family. When most people think about films that deal with the Mafia, Italian gangsters, what they think about is people that ship drugs, deal with prostitution, and above all else, just fight others for the hell of it. But, what makes The Godfather so different is that, contrary to the rather dark, violent nature of the film, this movie destroys all stereo types as it becomes a film that is not, at all, about running a crime family. This film is REALLY about a father trying to pass his legacy and empire to one of his sons and that one son having to come to terms with his own legacy and the choices he makes. When Mario Puzo decided to originally write the novel that this film is based on, he did it only for the money and nothing else. But what he did not expect was to have his entire creation take a complete life of it's own in a way that only few people can imagine. Even more so was the shock of how well this film did. Want a little taste of how well this film did? Before the film was even released, The Godfather Part II was already in development. But, more on that later. Now, my complete reaction to watching this film. To say that this is one of my personal favorite films of all time would be something of a drastic understatement. With me, there are some films that you like and some that change your life. This is one of those films that changes your life with each and every viewing. When I first sat down and watched this film, I remember feeling complete once the credits started to role. I know that sounds cheap, but it is true. Everything from the story to they way Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) is in this film, it just spoke to me in a way that very few films can ever do. And I am not the only one that felt this way. There is a magic in this movie that can never be paralleled and the closes that we get (and one that is pretty damn close at that) is the sequel that is said to be equal to better then this film. But more on that later. Let's get down to the details. With direction, Coppola does wonders. He keeps the story moving, never dragging behind, and keeps making you interested with the look of the film. While some have complained about the lighting used as being too dark of a film or too gold, I say that the use of that is, quite fantastic. The reason why is because it always sets the mood for the scene and the tone that you will end up feeling. Plus, little added in items like the use of oranges in some scenes give this film a little kick by letting the audience know that something is about to go down. For the direction, Coppola, you do wonders. And the Academy Award for Best Direction was well won and deserved. Now the acting. Oh, my God. What can I say? Well, letâ(TM)s think. Marlon Brando won the Academy Award for Best Actor and Al Pacino won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Need I say more? Okay, I will talk about the supporting cast. With huge names like Richard Dreyfus, James Caan, Abe Vigoda, and Diane Keaton, this film is filled with some of the greatest talent that money can buy. But what shocks me the most is that they treat this film with such a tone of seriousness that they literally stop becoming themselves and become these incredible people. Next the score. Like so many classic films, this film's score is something of a staple in film history. Mostly due to the famous 'The Godfather Waltz', Nina Rota became a household name in the music world due to the simplicity of that piece. It was simple, yet set the tone perfectly. The only crime that has ever been done on this film was the score not being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score. Oh well. Later on, this film saga will get it's award. Finally the script. Being adapted from the novel by Mario Puzo, and being written by him and Coppola, this film mirrors the novel so closely that you would only have to read the novel to know more about the extra characters that are not THAT huge. The dialogue is authentic, honest, and bold as this well written script is presented. The Academy Award for Best adapted Screen play was also well deserved. Overall, this entire film is worthy of the magnitude that it has gotten, the awards it has won (including Best Film), and the hearts and souls it has touched. Easily one of the greatest films ever made.

THE GODFATHER, PART II (1974) Four and a half out of Five
As I have said in all of the 100 reviews I have written up to this point, if there is one thing I despise it would have to be sequels. Now, for those that are new, the reason why is simple: sequels next to never live up to their potential and end up destroying the story that the original had created. Well, this film does not destroy nor surpasses The Godfather. Instead, it is more like a continuation of an already great tale, giving us the back story on Vito (played by a then unknown Robert De Niro) and the destruction of Michael (played by already Academy Award winner Al Pacino) in a rather original way to tell both stories: show through out the film both sides as they happen at once. Now, as most people know, I love the beloved original film and I was a little worried about my taste with this film. I already knew that it won a slew of Academy Awards (including the award for best film; a first for a sequel) and people have had the audacity to say that this is the better film in Francis Ford Coppola's epic Crime saga. My opinion after watching this film is that, if I had to guess where it would rank among the three films, I would have to say that it would be almost tied to the original. The main reason is this: The original had a feel of being welcomed into this world. Through the opening shots of Vito Corleone talking to his friend on the day of his daughter's wedding, we are welcomed with cold arms into their world. With this film however, you are just thrown in without any mercy. You are shown the blunt world where everyone is guilty of something and no one is innocent (except the children Marianna Hill as Deanna Corleone) and you are left cold and isolated as you look into the past and present of the Corleone crime family. But what really makes this film stand out would have to be how much all of the characters have changed from the previous film. For Michael, he goes from being a bright young man to a ruthless, heartless, cold bastard that destroys everything in his way to his sister Connie who has become something of a complete tramp and a neglectful mother. Due to how these characters change, you get the feeling that this film would be better due to their development. But, as I have said, it is mostly due to the feel of this film that makes the original a tad bit better. But, ignoring that aspect, this film is a perfect follow up to the original classic. Now for the details. With directing, Coppola shows us that he is no where near tired yet as he directs this entire masterpiece. Now, the thing that caught me off guard with this film would have to be the slew of emotions I felt while watching this film. If there is one thing that Coppola can do is make his audience feel for the characters. He allows them to build up, grow,  and when two particular scenes near the end begin, you can not help but feel like you are about to burst into tears due to how desperate one character is, and the actions and heartache another one shows us. Coppola is a master behind a camera, and this film might be his directorial masterpiece (next to The Godfather and Apocalypse Now). With acting, oh wow. Where do I begin with this one. Might as well start with the men of this film. Okay, first person to mention is Al Pacino in his award winning role as Michael Corelone. After already winning an Academy Award for that role when he was in the original, I am still impressed at how he was able to move the character through out this story. He made the character barbaric, evil, and just plain unlikable, but his acting made him likable as well. Just, Pacino breathed life into this character and allowed him to take control in so many ways it was unreal. After this film was made, he won another Academy Award for this film and I must say: it was well earned. Next is Robert De Niro portraying Vito Corleone. As most people know about this film, it goes back and forth between Michael's life and Vito's life and for Vito, we have a then unknown actor filling in the shoes of Marlon Brando. Now, that alone is difficult as hell to do, considering how great Brando was and how iconic he made the character. Now, my reaction to this performance was that I am impressed with the bravery alone that De Niro had for this performance. He portrayed the younger Vito with such power and authority that he would of made Brando proud. He was just that good. Now, De Niro would go on the receive the Academy Award for Best Supporting actor, and for this film he deserves it. If you are a fan of De Niro's work, then this is a good place to start for learning about his career. Now you have Robert Duvall as the ever loyal Tom Hagen. Personally, I like how he was able to keep cool during some rather intense scenes that deal with Michael's decent into pure hell. Duvall gives it his all in this film and he was wonderful. Now we must get down to the three women who took over this film. The first would have to be Diane Keaton as Amy Corleone. When we last saw her, we saw the look of shame and disgust that was on her face when she realized how much Michael has lied to her. In this film, she wants out. How badly does she want to get out? So bad that she does the unthinkable in one scene and makes it out to be something different that is all part of her plan. Now, Keaton had to play a complete different character in this film and seeing her new way of handling this character, I will admit that it was shocking and reveling in terms of her pure talent to act. She is an incredible actress and she is wonderful. Next would have to be Marianna Hill as Deanna Corleone. In the first film, Marianna had very little screen time as she was not that important to the story. Here, she plays a much larger role and has one of the most somber scenes in this film. She makes the character out to be more then a sweet old lady, she makes the character out to be an intelligent, thoughtful, and wise person who helps Michael when he is left with a terrible thought that nearly destroys him. Lastly Talia Shire as Connie. Like most females in the first film, here she shines as a totally different character. What makes her worthy is how she makes herself out to be this tramp that just does not care about her family, hates her brother, and abandons her children. Connie transformed in one of the worst ways possible, but we love Shire for making the character so damn wonderful to watch. Next up is the script. One thing that needs to be stressed is that this film's script was only half written from the original novel by Mario Puzo. The other half was written by him and Coppola, but it was mostly original. Personally, I did not think that the story needed to be continued, but having the original creator there to do the work, the script became a clever, emotionally charged epic that is bound to catch a few people off guard. Fantastic work here. Lastly the score. Getting Nina Rota back again, the score is longer, has more music cues, and is just fun to listen to. The best tracks appear during the flashback scenes in the film while the most dramatic happen in the present day parts. But, what I like about it is just how creative it gets with the music and how it moves from the beginning to the end. The entire time, we are eclipsed with the wonders of it's notes that the music becomes a comfort in so many scenes. Then again, the score did win the award for best original score, so that should say something. Overall, this is an emotional film that is worthy of it's original and works well as a stand alone in some respects.

THE GODFATHER, PART III (1990) Four out of Five
This is it: The end of the greatest film trilogy of all time and one that has yet to be beaten. Every moment of the previous films led up to this film and, for the most part, it does not disappoint. Now, this film has something of a reputation of being underrated and being a terrible ending to the saga of the Corleone crime family. After me watching it, I do not find this as a terrible ending. Yes, it does not grab you like how the first two did, but if you allow yourself to re-fall into the world of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), you are in for a bittersweet ride as he tries to redeem himself in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of his children and, mostly, the eyes of the woman he loves: Kay Adams (Diane Keaton). When I first saw this film, the one thing that got to me was the first twenty minutes. I am not ruining anything by saying this, but the complete twenty minutes is complied by stock footage of the first two films and they all have to deal with Michael and Kay as we see where they are when part III starts. It does set the tone for what is to come and when we see it, it will surprise you by one person who passes. My reaction to the film was completion. The first film left me exhilarated. The second film left me with sadness with how Michael destroyed the empire his father built. This film left me with completion as we watch what is the true end to Don Vito Coleone's family. Is it sad? Yes. Will you shed some tears? Yes. And will you be left wanting more? No. This film fills you up and you realize that there can never nor should their be any other film in this saga. It is about Michael and it ends with Michael. One of the greatest crimes, as I said, about this film would be that it is underrated. That is true. This is a good to great film that, while it is not up their with the likes of its prequels, is worthy of the title of The Godfather and is just exhilarating. Now, let's get down to the details. Okay, for direction, we have Francis Ford Coppola returning for the final time to compose this film. When he takes this film, he does not completely take the film seriously, and my guess is this: He knows he had raised the bar beyond too high with Part II and as such, tries to make this film like any other sequel, but does so with honor. Some of the scenes in this film are beautifully shot and filmed. Mostly those that deal with The Vatican and Sicily that this film takes place in. For those areas, you can tell that Coppola as respect for those lands and he makes damn sure that they are filmed with respect and not sloppily. Visually, this film is gorgeous. Now, with him conducting the actors, he does mostly a good job with them, but a certain few just are not that good and could have been beyond better job, but looking back at how the story is, it might have been for the best. But, it would have been better if  certain things were better. The only other thing that I can say about this film's direction is the ending. Just, how tragic it is with two shocking deaths and how it is filmed transcends through the screen and effects us, the audience. Coppola has made us part of this crime family and we have started to love and care about each and every member. When these deaths happen, Coppola makes sure that we shed tears during so. Now for acting. Pacino and the rest of the cast from the previous film (including some people we have not seen sense the first film) all have a part in this film even if it is just something like an arm or the presence of someone. This film was meant to go off with a bang, and the actors all do a beyond perfect job in the help of ending this film. But one particular character and actress has been talked about nonstop in talks of this film and is the one that most people blame for the downfall of this film. The actress in question is the real life daughter of the director: Sophia Coppola. Now, she plays the very bubbly and happy daughter of Michael and she is basically oblivious as to the extent of her family. She is aware of what happens, but she plays the character has someone who just does not care. This saddens me because I would of liked it if she were more serious about the evils that her family has done, but at the same time I can understand why it is that she played the character this way. Mary Corleone was raised by her mother to not be in this world. While Mary was in some early attacks during the previous film, she is mostly unaware of the rest of everything except for some bits she was told. She was raised away from the evil and wicked of this world and as such, she is not at all fully aware of how serious this world is. This is one of her flaws and this flaw was made by Sophia Coppola. While I am acceptable towards this one particular incident, I do wish that the character was more understanding of the situation and more intelligent in some areas and subplots she is associated with. Another person I want to mention is the actress of Connie Coppola: Talia Shire. Sense the first film, Connie has been my third favorite character in the entire trilogy. Why, you might ask? Simple: she is one of the most developed characters in the entire trilogy. In the first film, she was not interested with the family business and when Michael took over, she hated him due to how corrupt he became. In the second film, she was a total tramp through out, constantly with different men, forgetting about her own children, and not caring about her family. Until the end of the second film when she realizes the true horror of her own crimes and begs for forgiveness for her doubt and hatred of her brother. In this film, she is a totally different person. She now is taking control over parts of the family, ordering some executions, and above all else, being the one person that never left Michael as he continued down this spiral. Talia Shire gave this performance her entire power and strength and what resulted was one of the greatest characters I have ever seen in film. It is a pity that she was not nominated for this performance at all. She deserved recognition. Now, I told myself that I was not going to bring him up, but when talking about The Godfather, it is hard not to bring him up. Time for me to talk about Al Pacino. As a character and as an actor, he has grown tremendously from the first film. His character was tragic, evil, and at times a great antihero and it was all because of Al Pacino that we have loved and hated Michael so much. With this film, he makes the performance hopefully yet tiresome which is exactly how the script calls for him. I will admit that, like in the previous film, one particular scene in this film had me in tears that he was in, and if you have fallen in love with the story of The Godfather, then you will have that same reaction when you see this film. Pacino also makes this character tragic as Michael starts to regret all of the evil in his life and tries to make everything good. Pacino gives a strong performance and I find it a crime that he was not nominated for best actor. Pity. With the acting in general, it does disappoint me that the only two awards that were won were for Sophia Coppola and those were Razzies she won. I do not know what people were expecting with this film, but they had too high of expectations. Next the script. Being written again by the author of the original novel that spawned this film (The Godfather), this film's script just works with the tale and I am glad that Mario Puzo written it. He understood that his creation has created it's own life and he ended it before things got too stupid or out of control. Now, while the dialogue was no where near as good as the previous films, it was well written enough with plenty of those meetings talks that were in the previous film and the scenes that were spoken in Italian. Puzo had a gift for writing and, while this film did not show his true potential, this film does show very strong signs of that. Finally the score. Returning again is the composer for the previous two The Godfather films Nina Rota. The score is still breathtaking as it usually is, but this film it ends on a sad, but wonderful note as the saga comes to a close. My only true complaint (which is minor) is that I would wish that more was done to the score. Mostly to return it to how it was in the first film: One piano piece, numerous variations. But, overall, the score was beautiful and in numerous scenes, it worked. I like it. Overall, this is the true ending to the Holy Trilogy of cinema, and one that you should never miss. This is required viewing in cinema, regardless of what anyone else says.