GoodFellas

So like most folks (not you, but the folks I work with) know of my die-hard devotion for the films of Martin Scorsese. He's my favorite Italian American director (De Palma sucks bollocks, people! "Scarface" my big ass!) He's my favorite director period. And my favorite movie of all time is his masterpiece "GoodFellas." I love that frickin' movie. Love it. When I moved into my new apartment over the weekend I was feeling a bit odd (since the place doesn't feel like home yet to me and has this odd, "old lady" smell to it), so I popped in the "GoodFellas" DVD (the new one) and it perked me right up.

I don't know why seeing folks get whacked make me so happy. I think it's the gritty reality ("The Godfather Trilogy" is great folks, but realistic it is not, it's the fantasy mafia, the one we all want to believe in. But that Coppola for you. He loves a spectacle) But it's also the cinematography, the storytelling, the soundtrack, the contanst shots of food. It's also why I like "Casino" so much, which is basically "GoodFellas" in Las Vegas. (I actually think the cinematography on "Casino" is better, but c'mon, it's Vegas. Of course it looks all good and sparkly with the show girls and neon lights and such.)

Long story short, um ... here's my top five favorite directors

1. Martin Scorsese
2. Francis Ford Coppola
3. Spike Lee (although everything post "Malcolm X" has sucked major bollocks)
4. Yimou Zhang ("Shanghai Triad" and "Raise the Red Lantern" are BRILLIANT, still haven't seen the "House of Flying Daggers" or "Hero" yet. Want to. Will wait till they appear at the dollar show.)
5. Stanley Kubrick (he should be higher, but he's dead. I usually try not to rank the dead with the living, but I love this guy.)

I also like Sergio Leone, Kasi Lemmons, Doug McHenry (although he stopped making good movies and just produces crappy Buppie films now -- the system didn't care for his serious black drama "Jason's Lyric." Damn the system!), Rusty Cundieff, Quentin Tarantino (a poor, violent man's Scorsese), Oliver Stone (that propagandist) and Orson Welles (I know, I know, dead guy.)

And dare I say it, Michael Bay and Joel Schumacher. I mean, I know that if I want to see something sensational, that I can just turn my brain off and enjoy I partake in the latest Michael Bay/Jerry Bruckheimer smash up or something utterly ridiculous by Schumacher.

I mean, it looks good. There's something that SEEMS like a plot. They're like Stephen Spielbergs without souls or mercy for that matter. I mean, did you see "Bad Boys II?" I still don't know what I watched. They invaded Cuba for goodness sake, but it was entertaining. My ears rang after it was over with. Gotta use that Dolby Digital for something. And Schumacher frickin' wrote "Sparkle," which starred Phillip Michael Thomas, Lonette McKee and Irene Cara, with music by Curtis "I'm a genuis" Mayfield. Sure, it was a HORRIBLE movie. It's basically "Dreamgirls" meets "A Star is Born" as a blaxploitation film. But it's got Lonette McKee in it. I forgive all sins for Lonette McKee. Talk about black actresses that never get their due, but that's another rant for another day.

But check her out in Coppola's uneven, beautiful hunk-a-mess "The Cotton Club." Sure, Diane Lane and Richard Gere are the stars, but Lonette McKee is mesmerizing.

OK. Enough rant. More work. Next time I'll rant about the old lady smell in my new place ...