Although "The Sopranos" ended its run on television in 2007, it has a lasting place in our pop culture. Not only is there now a movie prequel, "The Many Saints of Newark," but its cast includes the late James Gandolfini's son, Michael, as the young Tony Soprano. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that the plot ironically does not devote enough screen time to Tony as a teen, but instead spends more time with a character who was peripheral ...
Although "The Sopranos" ended its run on television in 2007, it has a lasting place in our pop culture. Not only is there now a movie prequel, "The Many Saints of Newark," but its cast includes the late James Gandolfini's son, Michael, as the young Tony Soprano. In this podcast episode, HCC film professors Marie Westhaver and Mike Giuliano agree that the plot ironically does not devote enough screen time to Tony as a teen, but instead spends more time with a character who was peripheral within the TV series. Although our critics see "The Many Saints of Newark" as a missed opportunity, there are individual scenes and performances that are very effective. So, see this movie if you are a fan of "The Sopranos," but realize that it might not be everything you could hope for. The second movie discussed in this episode, "Prisoners of the Ghostland," is a bizarre samurai western starring Nicolas Cage. This actor is something of an expert where weird movies are concerned, but this particular weird movie is a dud. Cage walks through his role as a warrior named Hero and the story set within a nuclear wasteland verges on being incomprehensible.
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