Ask Mick LaSalle:
Was ‘Godfather III’ really unwatchable?
Dear Mick: I recently bingewatched all three “Godfathers.” One and two are, obviously, masterpieces. With three, I recalled how the critics hated it, and I found it largely unwatchable. But was it really a failure? Or could my perception of it have been colored by the negative reviews?
Steve Heimoff, Oakland
Dear Steve: The reviews were mostly positive, and I loved it at the time. I’ve seen it since and have liked it less, but there’s no way “Godfather III” isn’t a good movie. It just has two problems, one obvious and one less so. The obvious one is that it suffers in comparison to the first two films. The less obvious problem I couldn’t put my finger on, until I read an interview with Francis Ford Coppola, who said it: The guy in the third movie isn’t Michael Corleone. He’s Coppola, maybe he’s Mario Puzo and Pacino, but he’s not really the guy from the end of “Godfather II” all those years later. But still, as a standalone movie ... I’ve seen it four or five times. There are even lines from it I’ve often repeated, not just the perennial, “Every time I think I’m out, they pull me back in,” but some of those ridiculous things Joe Mantegna says, like, “I have been treated this day with no respect.” That one comes in handy. Dear Mick: I saw “Chungking Express” on a small TV while waiting for a bus in Belize. Loved it. Describe accidental surprises you’ve had.
Andy Boysen, Pacifica
Dear Andy: Most things I’ve become obsessed with I discovered by accident. When I was 19, I became interested in silent movies and Greta Garbo because I was in a motel, turned on the TV and there was a Garbo silent (“A Woman of Affairs”) playing on Channel 13 in New York (PBS). In the moment, I didn’t know who the actress was, but I wanted to see more, and I found out later. When I was 22, I became very interested in Fred Astaire because I happened to see part of his and Ginger Rogers’ “Let’s Face the Music and Dance” number in the Steve Martin movie “Pennies From Heaven.” Around 1993, I saw an actress, in a documentary, handing someone an Oscar in an old newsreel, and I thought, “I want to see all her movies.” Her name escapes me, but she was in “A Free Soul,” “The Divorcee” and a few other films. These moments can’t be cultivated, because they’re like love at first sight — and I’ve had more of those moments since. Dear Mick: I’m always curious which “big” movies that people haven’t seen, and in most cases there is a reason that they’ve avoided watching said movie. For me, it’s “Raging Bull.” Growing up, my parents argued quite a bit, and the trailers I’ve seen just kind of put me off — however unfairly. I wouldn’t think that there are any top movies that you haven’t seen — but if so, what is the movie and why have you avoided it?
John Wiederhoeft, San Francisco
Dear John: The reason people don’t see certain movies is because they have a pretty good idea that they’re not going to like them — that is, even if they’re great. For example, I avoided “Blade Runner” for a long time. I finally saw it 10 years ago, and it’s a great movie — but I didn’t enjoy it. It’s not something I’d watch for pleasure. I have a Criterion Bluray on my desk of the 1968 “Night of the Living Dead.” By the time you read this, I’ll have seen it, but I’ve avoided this movie for more than 30 years. It can be the “Citizen Kane” of zombie movies, but if you don’t want to see a zombie movie, some zombie saying “Rosebud” and dropping a zombie paperweight is not going to help. However, you do need to see “Raging Bull.” Bad enough that your parents disturbed the peace of your childhood. Don’t let them wreck Scorsese for you.
Have a question? Ask Mick LaSalle at mlasalle@sfchronicle.com. Include your name and city for publication, and a phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for clarity and length.