What You Probably Didn't Know About The Godfather

 

Holy shit! I just realize my last What You Probably Didn't Know About was two years ago. So I think it's high time I make a new one. And what better way for a return then telling you things about one of the top classics.

1. The cat that Marlon Brando held in the opening wasn't in the script. It was actually a stray that director Francis Ford Coppola found while on the Paramount Pictures lot. Another fun fact is the cat's purring muffled some of Brando's lines and as a result most of his dialogue had to be looped.

2. The slap that Vito gives Johnny was another moment not in the script. Brando improvised it thus Al Martino's reaction was real. James Caan would later say "Martino didn't know whether to laugh or cry".

3. Francis Ford Coppola insisted on the film being titled "Mario Puzo's The Godfather" instead of just "The Godfather". The reason being his original screenplay draft was so faithful to the novel, he thought Mario Puzo deserved credit as well.

4. The line of "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli" was ab-libbed by Richard S. Castellano.

5. Stanley Kubrick thought the film had the best cast ever and could be the best movie ever made.

6. To add a sense of realism to the wedding scene, Coppola had the cast act out freely and improvise in the background. Another facts are they were only two days to shoot that scene and Coppola shot specific vignettes amongst the action.

7. George Lucas was the one would put together the crime montage aka the "Mattress Sequence" as a favor to Francis Ford Coppola for helping him fund American Graffiti. He would also ask not to be credited.

8. Francis Ford Coppola was reluctant to let his sister Talia Shire audition for the role of Connie. He felt like she was too pretty for the role and didn't want to be accused of nepotism. But the author of The Godfather himself Mario Puzo requested she get a chance to audition.

9. According to Richard S. Castellano, when he once defended Gordon Willis during a disagreement with Francis Ford Coppola, Coppola got revenge on him [Castellano] by having him do twenty takes of the shots of Clemenza walking up four flights of stairs.

10. Sergio Leone, best known for directing The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, was once approached to direct the film. But he turned it down because he felt like a story that glorified the Mafia wasn't interesting enough. He would later regret his decision, but did go on to direct his own critically acclaimed gangster film, Once Upon a Time in America.

11. Paramount Pictures originally wanted to make the movie a low-budget gangster film set in the present rather then a period piece set in the 1940s and 1950s. But Coppola rejected this along with Mario Puzo's original script based on this idea.

12. The scenes of Michael and Kay's wedding at the beginning were actually shot at night. Due to the rushed schedule, Coppola had to direct their scenes in the bag. Also during this time cinematographer Gordon Willis furious at having to set up so many lights.

13. The only comment Robert Duvall made about his performance was the he wished "they would have made a better hairpiece" for his character.

14. The immortal line of "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse", has made its way into each Godfather movie one way or another.

15. Coppola would hold improvisational rehearsal sessions that would have the main cast in character for a family meal. The actors and actresses couldn't break character, Coppola saw this as a way for the cast to organically establish the family roles in the film.

16. Orson Welles lobbied to get the role of Don Vito Corleone, he even offered to lose a good amount of weight in order to get the role. While Francis Ford Coppola is a Welles fan he had to turn him down not only because he already cast Marlon Brando in mind, but also felt like Welles wouldn't have been right for the role.

17. Peter Bart (a Paramount executive) bought the film rights to Mario Puzo's The Godfather before it was even finished. At that point it was still only a 20-page outline. His book would later be published in 1969 with filming commencing in March of 1971.

18. Francis Ford Coppola and Paramount Pictures had a huge amount of tension between them. The reason being is Paramount would frequently try to replace Coppola because they felt like he had an inability to stay on schedule, had unnecessary expenses, along with production and casting errors. In actuality Coppola had completed filming ahead of schedule and did it under budget.

19. One of the reasons why Coppola finally agreed to direct the movie was because he was in debut to Warner Bros. following a $400,000 budget overruns on George Lucas' THX 1138. George Lucas urged him to take the job.

20. Mario Puzo had no prior film experience. So after winning two Oscars for co-writing both The Godfather & The Godfather Part II, he went out and bought a screenwriting book so he could properly learn the craft. He found out that the book's first chapter told readers to "study The Godfather". He would later toss it aside.

I hoped you enjoyed this. Hopefully I can make more later on during this year. But that's all for now. Come back on Saturday, Feb 14th, for my review of the newest animated movie, Goat. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Underrated Films - The Grey

 

New year, new underrated movie to review. Let's get to it.

The Grey is a survival thriller movie based on Ian MacKenize Jeffers' short story Ghost Walker. It was produced by LD Entertainment, Scott Free Productions, and 1984 Private Defense Contractors with Open Road Films distributing. Joe Carnahan directed and wrote the screenplay along Ian MacKenize Jeffers himself.

The story is, after working for a grueling five weeks shift at an Alaskan oil refinery, John Ottway and his co-works take a plane ride home for a much-needed vacation. On their way home a brutal storm causes their plane to crash into a frozen wilderness. Now, John must protect the eight remaining survivors against mortal injuries, the icy elements, and a pack on hungry wolves.

Why It's Underrated

Be honest, have you ever heard of this movie? I won't blame you if you haven't cause neither have I until I started looking into Carnahan's filmography after watching Copshop.

My Thoughts

I'll get into one slight issue I found with the movie before getting into praise. I'm very mixed on the ambiguous ending. I get the movie has a refusal to offer easy comfort, but the thing is they tease a big fight then cut to black and then we're given a post-credit scene. However I felt like a quick montage during the credits could've given us one last intense survival moment without throwing the themes away for the sake of an action moment.

Okay let's get into praise starting with the tone. This is quite an intense movie, I wasn't fully expected to be on edge after the plane crash (which by the way is brilliantly done). But throughout the movie there's always this unnerving dread even with the more quieter moments. And what really gives you that dreadful feeling isn't just the wolves themselves, but the environment they're in. The Alaskan wilderness is punishing both with it's brutal cold and constant sense of isolation.

Then there's the depth. I'll be honest, I was expecting a full blown action flick. But I was pleasantly surprised to watch a movie tackle themes of not just survival, but facing death, illusion of control, faith vs. nihilism, what it means to live despite everything feeling meaningless. So while the action is brutal but fun to watch, this added layer was very welcomed.

The last thing I'll praise is Liam Neeson's performance. This is one of his top best pieces of work. He brilliantly played a grieving, broken man. Bringing both a quiet intensity and an emotional rawness that really carries the film. One of my absolute favorite moments of his is when John is just sitting on the ground, his angry and shouting to the sky or as I should say God and saying "SHOW ME SOMETHING REAL!" It was an incredible moment by Neeson.

Guys, you should definitely give The Grey a watch. I know I had some slight issues with the ending but that was just my perspective, so maybe you'll like far more then me.

My final rating is, Great.

So that's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Feb 12th, for the return of What You Probably Didn't Know About. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Send Help Review

 

Sam Raimi is back to directing horror! So let's find out if he nailed it or failed.

Send Help is a survival thriller that's produced by Raimi Productions with 20th Century Studios distributing. While Sam Raimi directed, it was Mark Swift and Damian Shannon (best known for writing horror hits like Freddy vs. Jason & the 2009 remake of Friday The 13th) that wore the screenplay.

The story is, Linda Liddle is a meek corporate strategist looking forward to long-deserved promotion, but her less then nice boss Bradley Preston has other less desirable plans for her. On their way to a business trip to Bangkok their plane suffers engine failure and they crash nearby an island. At first they must find a way to survive, but the longer they stay on the island they more tension rises between the two, and soon they'll have to finds to survive each other.

Initial Reaction

Now I was excited for this movie through and through. Why? Because Sam Raimi's back in the director's chair. Something he hasn't done since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness all the way back in 2022. Holy shit, can you believe that was four years ago?! Where did the time go?! But regardless, I was excited for Sam Raimi's newest film...even if he did break my heart with his update on Spider-Man 4. 😢

Cons

I've got nothing.

Middle Ground

Alright let's get an easier one out of the way, that being the special effects. Now there's a lot of good practical effects on display those were great. But then you get some CGI that leaves a lot to be desired. One example being a CGI boar. Then there's the story. Now the thing to truly love about the movie was the stories with Linda and Bradley. Mainly because I felt like these is more tragic story then one that ends with a happy ending. Because when ever these two open up you felt like it could be a step forward but then these two take like several steps back. Bradley while clearly loving his fiancée also stayed a jerk one way or another. But then you have Linda. At first I did feel sympathetic towards her. While she has some awkward moments, she's nice and works hard. But the longer she stayed on the island the more and more she becomes something far worse then Bradley. So if by any chance you hear people say this is some sort of triumphant story arc for her, it isn't. Even anything I witnessed somebody [Linda] have a fall from grace. Now with that being said, this was an issue with the survival aspect. While it was a nice addition to the story, it didn't break any new ground for the survival genre. Overall, there is a lot of good to the story but at the same time it does have a pretty standard aspect to it as well.

Pros

The first thing I'll praise is the dark humor. Yeah there were quite a few moments of comedy. That did make some people think the genres kept blending together, but nine times out of ten this is just what Sam Raimi does. But now let's get into the stand out performer in this that being Rachel McAdams. McAdams was amazing. She did a perfect job displaying Linda's transformation from mousy to an unhinged monster. She nailed the film's emotional weight, intensity, chaos, and dark humor. Not to mention but she had great chemistry with her co-star Dylan O'Brien. These two brilliantly displayed their characters having a battle of wills whether it was tense or comedic. The last thing I'll praise is Sam Raimi's directing. If you've been missing Raimi's more rated R, balls to the walls style, well don't worry about that because Send Help delivers. Raimi returns with his masterful mix diabolical mayhem and playful tone, all wrapped up in projectile vomiting and ropes of blood.

While I didn't find Send Help to be perfect, I do admit there's a lot of fun entertainment to be had. So if you were curious about this, I think you should give a try.

My final rating is, Good.

That's all for now. Come back on Monday, Feb 9th, for my Underrated Films review of, The Grey starring Liam Neeson. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Looking Back at the Films of 2025 Part One - Flight Risk

 

Alright, new year but still doing an old tradition. Let's get to it.

Why Didn't I See Flight Risk

The reason I didn't see Flight Risk is because I saw trailers and honestly is just didn't interest me. Not because I thought it was gonna be bad, but because it just looked very standard to me. So despite the big names of Mel Gibson behind the camera, Mark Wahlberg, and Topher Grace, I decided to save this movie for this segment.

What is Flight Risk

Flight Risk is an action thriller that was produced by Icon Productions, Davis Entertainment Company, and Hammerstone Studios with Lionsgate handling distribution. Mel Gibson directed with Jared Rosenberg writing the story.

The story is, U.S. Marshal Madolyn Harris has arrested a accountant Winston who's willing to testify against his former employers the Moretti crime family. She's able to charter a small airplane to get them from Anchorage to New York City. But once upon Madolyn quickly realizes their pilot "Daryl" isn't who he says he is. Now Madolyn must not only make sure Winston survives but also make sure they stay in the air.

My Thoughts

The Good: The pacing is great. This clocks in at an hour and thirty-one minutes but never once did I feel like I sitting on my couch for that exact time. So if watch this expect this to be a breeze to get through. The one thing that truly carries this movie is the performances. Michelle Dockery gives a very solid intensity to her role as Marshal Madolyn. Topher Grace adds a nice bit of vulnerability along with some humor, and Mark Wahlberg is very hammy in this. But he's a good kind of over-the-top.

The Bad: The only truly bad thing I thought of was how this is gonna get lost in the shuffle of other action thrillers. Because of than it's airplane plot point, there's nothing else about that stands out.

The Okay: Now there are a couple of thrills in this, but most one of the time I just found myself saying a couple of "Oh shit". But the movie never really gave me that true intense feeling. Then there's Mel Gibson's directing. Now he directed this nicely. He handles the movie's small-scale competently. But when you compare this to his previous films like Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, Apocalypto, and Hacksaw Ridge, this feels more like a first time directing debut. Because Flight Risk is so low-budget and small when compared Gibson's previous grand scale and thematic depth. So this movie lands in an odd spot for his directorial works. Once again, he handles the directing decently enough, but it feels like a step down in ambition.

Final Verdict: Okay.

So part one's done but soon there'll be many more. But come back on Saturday, Jan 31st, for my review of the newest Sam Raimi film, Send Help. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Differences Between Stand By Me & The Body

 

Man it's been a long time since I did one of these. But before I tell you how different these two are I want to tell you guys a couple of things first.

Why The Delay?

So if you read my review for Fantastic Four #5 aka the first part of my Road to Avengers: Doomsday, then you're well aware this should've been uploaded on Monday, Jan 26th. Well Mother Nature decided people needed to suffer with a huge snowstorm. So I had to shovel about I don't know six to eight inches of snow for Sunday twice. Yeah I really had to stay of track of the snow this time around because it wasn't letting up on Sunday, it just kept pouring and pouring. Then by Monday I thought the today was the day but no. I still had more snow shovel. Only this time it was worst because my arms weren't hurting from Sunday form shoveling pounds upon pounds of snow. So on Monday I did more shoveling and decided it'd best to move it to Tuesday. That way on Monday I take sometime to shovel what would thankfully be the last time and also just give my self so rest. But regardless I still feel sorry I didn't deliver yesterday.

Dedication to Rob Reiner & His Wife Michele Singer Reiner

As many of you probably already know but for those of you that don't, on Dec 14th, 2025, news broke that Rob Reiner (the man who directed Stand By Me among many other classic films) and his wife Michele were killed and I think a day or two later it was reported the man responsible for their deaths was their own son Nick. Now I know I joked about Rob's politics for my reviews of This is Spinal Tap, but regardless how I felt about Rob and his politics, him and his wife didn't deserve to die like that. They should've been allowed to pass away peacefully instead murdered. So I dedicate this post to these two. I hope more than anything they're resting in peace.

Let's start off with the tones of these two stories. The book, or as it's truly called a novella, is much more darker. The body's decomposing state is described in more graphic details, the language is much more harsher, and the novella has deeper explorations of child abuse, class issues, and dread about wasted lives. The movie greatly tones down the more darker and grosser elements. And while it has its own emotional weight, the movie focuses more on humor, friendship, and nostalgia.

Then there's Gordie's reflection at the end. In the novella, Gordie's monologue is very sad. His first-person narration reflects on memory, loss, fate, and how their adventure either shaped his friends or failed them. But for the movie, Gordie's monologue is not only told from a voiceover narration, but it's more bittersweet which makes the story feel warmer.

We also have two different narratives. In Stand By Me, Gordie is the main focus. We see his grief over a dead family member, his invisibility at home, and his talent as a writer. So for the movie it's all about Gordie and his coming-of-age tale. In The Body, the narrative is more about Chris. And he's played as a tragic figure. He was the smart kid who had a lot of promise, but was sadly held back an abusive family and environment. Because of these elements, Chris' story is all about wasted potential.

Both the movie and novella has Gordie telling his friends the story of Lard-Ass. However, in the novella Gordie tells two stories. The Lard-Ass story and an additional darker story called "Stud City". The movie doesn't feature the "Stud City" story as a way to maintain pacing.

Now let's switch off to the villains or I should villain of the story, Ace. More specifically his group. In The Body Ace's gang have their own small roles and mentions. With Stand By Me Ace's gang is cut down a bit with characters such as "Eyeball" playing some sort of part in the story.

Continuing on with Ace and his crew, during the final standoff it was changed to who pulls the knife. In the novella, it was Jackie Mudgett who pulls the knife. But in the movie, it's Ace who pulls it. This changed was more than likely made to make Ace look more like a threat.

Speaking of who weapons and who has them, we also have a change of who pulled out a gun. For The Body it's Chris who pulls the gun on Ace and his gang as a way to protect the body and force Ace and co. to back. But for Stand By Me, It's Gordie who does it. That way we can see his personal growth and empowerment.

I should also mention there was also a small detail that was changed. The weather in the novella was pouring rain which added to the story's darker and grim atmosphere. But in the movie the skies are always clear and sunny.

OKAY FAIR WARING! BUT I'M GONNA GET INTO A MASSIVE SPOILER FOR BOTH THE BOOK AND MOVIE'S ENDINGS. SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, IT'D BE BEST IF YOU QUICKLY SCORLL TO THE END!

Alright, so the fate of little gang of misfits is massively different. In The Body the fates go like this...

-Chris Chambers grows out of his "bad kid" reputation and becomes an outstanding college and law school student. But he's later stabbed to death when trying to break up a fight at a fast-food restaurant.

-Teddy Duchamp was driving under the influence and in doing so crashes his car and not only does he die but so does his fellow passengers.

-Vern Tessio is killed in a house fire after a party.

-Gordie is the sole survivor and while he's a successful writer he struggles with survivor's guilt.

Meanwhile in Stand By Me the fates go like this...

-Chris still sheds his bad reputation but he goes on to be a lawyer, but sadly he's still stabbed to death.

-Teddy attempts to join the military but he's disqualified because of his poor eyesight and his ear injury. He later spends time in jail and works a series of odd jobs around Castle Rock.

-Vern later goes on to marry out of high school, has four children, and gets a job as a forklift operator.

-Gordie later gets over the grief of his dead brother, becomes a successful writer, gets married, and has kids.

That's all for now. Come back on Thursday, Jan 29th, for the first part of Looking Back at the Films of 2025. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

Road to Avengers: Doomsday - Fantastic Four: Prisoners of Doctor Doom

 

Alright folks, we've got another Road to. Now at first I was confused about what to do for this. Then it hit me. Since Avengers: Doomsday will have Doctor Doom as the main big bad, I thought it'd be a great idea to review some of Doctor Doom's best stories. So for the first time ever, this road will consist of nothing but comic book reviews. Now enough of this intro, let's get to it.

Prisoners of Doctor Doom is a 1962 story published in issue five of the 1961 edition of Fantastic Four. It was distributed by Marvel Comics with the late, great Stan "The Man" Lee writing the story and the late, great Jack "The King" Kirby drawing the comic.

The story is, it seems like it was gonna be a boring night in the Baxter Building. But that quickly changes when the Fantastic Four are taken captive by a new nemesis who calls himself, Doctor Doom. With the Invisible Girl being held hostage, Mister Fantastic, The Human Torch, and The Thing have no choice by to listen and follow Doom's demands.

• Negatives

I've got nothing.

• Mix

I'm giving it to the story. It's very corny and over the top in some places. And I know what some of you gonna say "Michael, it was the 60's. Things were expected to be corny and over the top". And you right. Some things were cheesy during that time. But the thing is Stan Lee wasn't ALWAYS cheesy and over the top with his writing. Back in 2024 I review his Spider-Man story of If This Be My Destiny. The tone in that story doesn't line up with this one. And last year I reviewed a Fantastic Four story that came much later after this one, that being The Galactus Trilogy. The tone for that didn't line up exactly like this one. So if anything this is one of those moments where Stan's writing was more entertaining than something far more serious.

Then there's the pacing. It really bounces. One moment things go by very easily and then the next moment things feel slower then they should be. Then there's moments where it's the opposite. One example of this is Ben aka The Thing goes a little bit crazy and it jeopardizes the mission. Now Ben would eventually snap out of it, but Reed (Mr. Fantastic) and Johnny (Human Torch) just quickly forgive him. Yeah that bit of the story went by pretty quickly when it probably should've been given more time.

• Positives

One praise I want to give is the introduction to Doctor Doom. Sure during this era he was a bit more hammy then the more cold and stoic Doctor Doom everybody's more use to. But this verison does have some of the more classic Doom traits. He's got a huge ego, he's an arrogant genius, but at the same time can be a man of his word. So it was fun to read the story of a character who would go on to be one of Marvel's best villains.

Then there's Jack Kirby's art. While I don't think this as one of Kirby's great illustrations he still put a tremendous amount of work in. It shows that even when handling a far more smaller story, even though time travel is involved in this, Kirby still wasn't gonna be lazy and just half ass his work load. All the more reasons why he was dubbed Jack "The King" Kirby.

So while I didn't find this comic to be mind blowing, It was still a good read just for the fact that this was Doctor Doom's first appearance.

My final rating is, Okay.

So that's all for now. Come back on Monday, Jan 26th, for a brand new Differences Between. For that one I'll tell you the differences between the film Stand By Me and the book that inspired it, The Body. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

The Rip Review

 

So there's a new Joe Carnahan film out. Let's hope it's as awesome.

The Rip is an action thriller that's produced by Artists Equity and distributed by Netflix. With Joe Carnahan both writing and directing.

The story is, a group of Miami cops go into a house and as they search the attic they discover $20 million in drug cartel cash. After this discovery everything spirals into a series of events where everybody is questioning who they can trust?

Initial Reaction

The reason why I was excited to see this was because of Joe Carnahan. After watching Copshop and loving it, I wanted to see what else Carnahan was gonna do next. So when I found out this was gonna be directed by him I just had to see it.

Cons

I've got nothing. So move on to the next part.

Middle Ground

First let's bring up some positives. The story does a quite a lot of good twist and turns going. Because of this masterfully done aspect, you provided with a very engaging story. However, this movie isn't gonna reinvent the wheel. Sometimes the story can also hit some very expected beats. So while there's an entertainment factor there will be familiar stuff especially if seen other crime thrillers with the plot of "cops find something dirty and trust erodes".

Pros

Let's start off with the pacing. While some areas were slow, a majority of the time the pacing was really good. There were more moments that went by nicely then moments where I could almost feeling the runtime. Then there's the action. Where most action movies are trying to capture that John Wick feel, this movie wasn't trying to do that. The action in The Rip is more about gunfights. The shootouts feel messy and realistic. The action isn't about who can deliver the best punch, but more of which hero or villain can shoot while remaining calm in very tight closed-quarters. The last thing I'll praise is Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's chemistry. We've seen these two share the screen plenty of times. The most famous of which being Good Will Hunting. Both whether it's that movie, Dogma, or Air, these two have great chemistry and The Rip is no different. Because of their long real-life friendship these brought a genuine friendship feel to their characters Dane Dumars and JD Byrne. So whenever those two characters are busting each other's chops or get into a fight, Affleck and Damon make it feel real.

While I don't believe The Rip is gonna make any top best crime thrillers in the near future, I still found the movie to be very enjoyable and I think you guys should give it look. Just not right away.

My final rating is, Good.

First Primate, then 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, and now this. So far things are starting off well for the 2026 film year. Hopefully it stays that way. That's going to do it for me. Come back on Jan 22nd, where I'll begin the Road to Avengers: Doomsday. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.