Links to the mob

For some time now, I have been fascinated by all things mafia related. I can, and quite often do, quote large chunks of dialogue from films like The Godfather, Casino and the TV series The Sopranos. Much to the annoyance of friends and family, I try to strike up conversations about people like John Gotti, AKA the Teflon Don. Or Vincent 'The Chin' Gigante, the New York boss sometimes called the Oddfather, due to the fact that he would often walk around Greenwich Village in his pyjamas and slippers talking to himself in order to appear insane, thus evading prosecution.

There I go again. So, I became overcome with excitment when I read about the arrests of 13 suspected members of the Gambino family recently. The article is available here:

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/US-Prosecutors-Arrest-13-Alleged-Mafia-Members-Of-The-Gambino-Clan/Article/201004315611731?lpos=World_News_First_Home_Article_Teaser_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15611731_US_Prosecutors_Arrest_13_Alleged_Mafia_Members_Of_The_Gambino_Clan

A couple of days later, this video of Italian mobsters setting fire to a bowling lane appeared on YouTube. The music is a poor choice, but apart from that it is pretty exciting stuff.



I know these are some pretty bad guys, but the characters and the fact that such groups still exist fascinates me. What can I say? I guess I'm still just a big kid.

Collateral Murder

The shocking video below was obtained and made available to the public by Wikileaks. It was shot from the gun sight an apache helicopter in Iraq. It shows the American military shooting around a dozen people, among whom were two Reuters journalists. Their cameras were mistakenly identified by the American troops as RPGS. Both men died along with other locals, and two young children were severely injured. This is an edited version of the original 38 minute tape.

None of the locals involved seemed to be posing a threat or causing trouble before the shooting begins. The US Military has stated that the American soldiers did nothing wrong and were simply following the rules of engagement.

NOTE: This is not intended in any way to be a criticism of the US military or their involvement in Iraq on my part. Rather, it is meant to serve as a window in to the absurd world of war. Troops all over the world are driven to believe that they must kill or be killed.

Shutter Island - Living up to the hype?

Another week, another Martin Scorsese post. In my last offering about the director, I exposed the shocking revelation that he made about his intentions to make another mobcentric movie. I know, I know. I'm barely over the excitement myself.

In my state of delirium though, I forgot to mention the main reason he was at the Berlin Film Festival. Mea Culpa. Scorsese was busy promoting the soon to be released "Shutter Island", a psychological potboiler based on the the book of the same title by Dennis Lehane. Here's the trailer.



Two federal agents travel to an island which houses an insane asylum to try and recover a missing patient. I have to say, it looks great. My only concern would be the casting of Di Caprio in the main role. Who knows, maybe he'll surprise me.

Shutter Island is released in the UK on March 2010

Chris Morris film 'Four Lions'

Chris Morris has been quiet of late, so it is great to hear that his debut film is showing at the Sundance film festival next week. 'Four Lions' is described as a "jihadist comedy", and from the looks of the clip below, it is a return to form for the satirist who brought us Brass Eye, The Day Today and others. Can't wait to see this.

Exclusive clip available at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/video/2010/jan/21/chris-morris-four-lions-sundance

Blair Witch Project, Part 2(3)?

No, this isn't a post about a sequel to the 1999 film. To my dismay, I found that there actually was a sequel made in 2000, hence the bracketed three in the title. Paranormal Activity seems to be enjoying similar word of mouth success to the Blair Witch 'documentary'. It also had a shoe string budget, and to date has grossed around $100 million in America.

So, what's the big deal? The film was made for $15k in 2006. The plot goes like this. A guy buys a camera and hooks it up in his bedroom to monitor strange activity his girlfriend has been reporting. Sounds pretty boring, huh? Talk of the film is all over the internet and the press. Hyperbolic claims are being made about Paranormal Activity being the scariest movie ever. The scariest movie ever? It's about ghosts, people.

Still, I may be wrong. Some people are even claiming that they haven't been able to sleep for a week after seeing the movie. There would have to be some pretty wild stuff happening in that room to keep me from sleeping. To add to all this, director Steven Spielberg was scared by it. And then he found a door in his house locked from the inside. Spooky. Anyway, it's unclear when or if Paranormal Activity will ever be released in cinemas here. Below is the trailer.

Interesting fact stolen from this week's (Guardian) Guide : director Orenn Peli encouraged the male and female leads to act like Basil and Sybil Fawlty from Fawlty Towers