Woohoo! Last movie of Star Wars week and what a way to end, to review the only good prequel movie! Now all I have to do is wait until December to review The Force Awakens.
Alright, there is a hell of a lot to cover in this movie so I will relay all the important details. The Clone Wars are finally coming to an end. The separatists have kidnapped the Chancellor and are holding him captive on their star ship, so Anakin and Obi-Wan who have become greater friends over the time between the last movie are sent to rescue him. They face off with Count Dooku for the last time and Anakin kills him by the order of the Chancellor. They return the Chancellor back to Coruscant and Anakin learns some very important news, Padme is pregnant. But soon Anakin is having terrible dreams about the death of his wife and promises her to save her by any means necessary. Afterwards Palpatine entrusts Anakin to be his representative on the Jedi Council, and the Council asks Anakin to spy on Palpatine, later Anakin attends an opera with Palpatine where he tells him of an old Sith legend about a Sith Lord who actually had the power to save people from death, Anakin asks if it is possible to learn this power, but the Chancellor tells him it cannot be learned from a Jedi. Meanwhile Obi-Wan has tracked down the general of the droid army to the planet of Utapau, where when he destroys the general the war will finally be over. Palpatine finally reveals to Anakin that he himself is a Sith Lord and can teach him how to save his wife, but Anakin warns the Council of Palpatine's deception and they send four Jedi masters to confront and arrest the Sith Lord. Anakin intervenes at the last second before Mace Windu kills Darth Sidious, slicing Windu's hand off and watching as Sidious kills him. He then pledges himself to Darth Sidious and gains his new title, Darth Vader and his first orders are to destroy the Jedi Temple and kill all the Jedi within it. Darth Sidious then deploys Order 66 which turns all of the clone troopers on their Jedi generals killing all of them. Master Yoda and Obi-Wan go to the temple and see the damage that has been done, and find Anakin to be the cause of all this destruction and death. Lord Vader then travels to the fiery lava world of Mustafar where he murders all of the separatist leaders, now with no opposition to his power Darth Sidious forms the first Galactic Empire, and deeming himself The Emperor of the galaxy. Obi-Wan confronts Padme of her husband's horrible deeds and tells her that he must kill him. Padme soon travels to Mustafar with Obi-Wan hiding on the ship. Padme confronts Anakin and sees how far he has truly fallen, he then chokes her almost to death but Obi-Wan soon stops him and they have a final duel on the planet. Meanwhile Master Yoda fights with Darth Sidious in the senate, Yoda failing to defeat The Emperor he forces himself into exile on the planet Dagobah. The powerful duel between Obi-Wan and Anakin continues on and on until Obi-Wan gains the upper hand and cuts Anakin's left arm and both legs off and sees him being burned alive on the gravel and ash filled land, taking Anakin's lightsaber before leaving with Padme. Padme gives birth to twins, Luke and Leia, and Anakin Skywalker completes his transformation into Darth Vader when his mutilated body is given cybernetic limbs and his body is encased in a black suit of armor complete with life support. Darth Sidious removes the last bits of Vader's humanity by telling him that he killed his wife. The Jedi decide it to be best for the twins to be separated to keep them safe from the Empire. And the Empire begins construction of the first Death Star. This is without a doubt the best film of the prequel trilogy, mainly because it just gets back to the original trilogy at the end. The acting is fantastic, everyone does a great job bringing the darkest of the Star Wars movies to new heights. The action is the best of the entire prequel trilogy, the final fight between Anakin and Obi-Wan is a sight to behold with so much raw power and emotion going into the fight. The fall of the Jedi and the rise of the Sith is everything I wanted it to be and it does not disappoint in the slightest. Anakin's transformation in to the dark lord of the Sith, Darth Vader is the only reason the entire prequel trilogy was made, which makes you wonder why we even have the first and second movies other than to establish how the Republic fell and how the Empire began. If there is one single movie you should watch from the prequel trilogy it is hands down, Revenge Of The Sith. I cannot recommend it enough, don't watch the first two movies, watch episodes three through six and then join us all around Christmas to witness the continuation of the Star Wars saga.
Friday, May 8, 2015
Attack Of The Clones
Well this movie is slightly better than The Phantom Menace. But not by much.
So this installment of the Star Wars saga takes place ten years after The Phantom Menace, and surprisingly....not much has happened. Anakin has gotten older, he's still a Padawan. Obi-Wan is now almost a Jedi master. Padme is no longer a queen and yet everyone still calls her milady for some reason, and she hasn't aged at all she looks the same as she did from the last movie. The Republic has encountered a bit of a problem, a separatist organization has been created and now the Republic is almost on the verge of war. And the separatists have tried to assassinate Padme, so she has to be guarded by Obi-Wan and Anakin, whose relationship has certainly changed in the past ten years. They are good friends but they still have the master-apprentice relationship, which cause friction as Anakin is acting very self absorbed and feels like his master is holding him back. So they figure out a bounty hunter was sent to kill Padme so they have to split up, Obi-Wan starts his search for the mysterious bounty hunter, and Anakin has to protect Padme and return her to her home planet of Naboo. Soon Obi-Wan discovers who the bounty hunter is and travels to the world of Kamino where he also discovers that a clone army has been produced for the Republic from the DNA of the bounty hunter Jango Fett the father of Boba Fett. Meanwhile on Naboo a romance starts to blossom between Anakin and Padme and really I could care less. I know it's important to the characters and the story but really it's just tedious and boring. It reminds me of Bella and Edward's romance in Twilight, and that makes me sick to my stomach, but we will get to the Twilight movies in good time! So anyway, Obi-Wan tracks Jango to the planet of Geonosis and gets captured and has a brief chat with Count Dooku played masterfully by Christopher Lee who is the saving grace of this movie! Seriously, what is with these prequel movies and the only thing I truly love about them is the secondary Sith Lord? Speaking of Sith Lords, Count Dooku reveals to Obi-Wan that the senate of the Republic is under control of a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Sidious. Yes, yes, politicians are evil. Ha ha! Moving on...Anakin has horrible visions of his mother dying so he goes to Tatooine to try and find her, but finds it's too late and she dies in his arms. They soon receive a pre-recorded message form Obi-Wan telling them of the planet Geonosis, so they travel there to save him only to be captured themselves. Meanwhile in the senate, emergency powers are given to Chancellor Palpatine to use the clone army to fight the separatists. So they quickly rush over to Geonosis to capture their leaders and save our heroes. The battle is successful but Dooku gets away so our Jedi knights track him down and fight him. The fights in this movie are really good! Even though the duel with Dooku is short, it's still very good primarily for one reason, we get to see Yoda pull out his lightsaber and fight! Are you kidding me? And he's like lightning quick, he's doing all these flips and tricks, it's unbelievable! I'd say watch the movie just for that! But the fight doesn't go good for our heroes, Anakin gets his right arm cut off, him and Obi-Wan are nearly crushed by a pillar which Yoda stops but gives enough time for Dooku to escape the planet. So Anakin gets a robot arm and even secretly marries Padme even though they've known each other for a couple of days, maybe a week at best. Seriously, they meet up after ten years, travel to Naboo, hang out and build their horribly written romance for a few days, go to Tatooine and bury Anakin's mother and then go to Geonosis to help Obi-Wan and then they are sooo deeply in love they get married. Blah, blah blah, yadda, yadda, yadda. Just wake me up when we see Yoda fight.
Alright! We get to look at Revenge Of The Sith tomorrow! I love that movie. Can't wait!
So this installment of the Star Wars saga takes place ten years after The Phantom Menace, and surprisingly....not much has happened. Anakin has gotten older, he's still a Padawan. Obi-Wan is now almost a Jedi master. Padme is no longer a queen and yet everyone still calls her milady for some reason, and she hasn't aged at all she looks the same as she did from the last movie. The Republic has encountered a bit of a problem, a separatist organization has been created and now the Republic is almost on the verge of war. And the separatists have tried to assassinate Padme, so she has to be guarded by Obi-Wan and Anakin, whose relationship has certainly changed in the past ten years. They are good friends but they still have the master-apprentice relationship, which cause friction as Anakin is acting very self absorbed and feels like his master is holding him back. So they figure out a bounty hunter was sent to kill Padme so they have to split up, Obi-Wan starts his search for the mysterious bounty hunter, and Anakin has to protect Padme and return her to her home planet of Naboo. Soon Obi-Wan discovers who the bounty hunter is and travels to the world of Kamino where he also discovers that a clone army has been produced for the Republic from the DNA of the bounty hunter Jango Fett the father of Boba Fett. Meanwhile on Naboo a romance starts to blossom between Anakin and Padme and really I could care less. I know it's important to the characters and the story but really it's just tedious and boring. It reminds me of Bella and Edward's romance in Twilight, and that makes me sick to my stomach, but we will get to the Twilight movies in good time! So anyway, Obi-Wan tracks Jango to the planet of Geonosis and gets captured and has a brief chat with Count Dooku played masterfully by Christopher Lee who is the saving grace of this movie! Seriously, what is with these prequel movies and the only thing I truly love about them is the secondary Sith Lord? Speaking of Sith Lords, Count Dooku reveals to Obi-Wan that the senate of the Republic is under control of a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Sidious. Yes, yes, politicians are evil. Ha ha! Moving on...Anakin has horrible visions of his mother dying so he goes to Tatooine to try and find her, but finds it's too late and she dies in his arms. They soon receive a pre-recorded message form Obi-Wan telling them of the planet Geonosis, so they travel there to save him only to be captured themselves. Meanwhile in the senate, emergency powers are given to Chancellor Palpatine to use the clone army to fight the separatists. So they quickly rush over to Geonosis to capture their leaders and save our heroes. The battle is successful but Dooku gets away so our Jedi knights track him down and fight him. The fights in this movie are really good! Even though the duel with Dooku is short, it's still very good primarily for one reason, we get to see Yoda pull out his lightsaber and fight! Are you kidding me? And he's like lightning quick, he's doing all these flips and tricks, it's unbelievable! I'd say watch the movie just for that! But the fight doesn't go good for our heroes, Anakin gets his right arm cut off, him and Obi-Wan are nearly crushed by a pillar which Yoda stops but gives enough time for Dooku to escape the planet. So Anakin gets a robot arm and even secretly marries Padme even though they've known each other for a couple of days, maybe a week at best. Seriously, they meet up after ten years, travel to Naboo, hang out and build their horribly written romance for a few days, go to Tatooine and bury Anakin's mother and then go to Geonosis to help Obi-Wan and then they are sooo deeply in love they get married. Blah, blah blah, yadda, yadda, yadda. Just wake me up when we see Yoda fight.
Alright! We get to look at Revenge Of The Sith tomorrow! I love that movie. Can't wait!
Thursday, May 7, 2015
The Phantom Menace
You know...I used to like this movie as a kid. I thought it was a good Star Wars movie. Now...well let's talk about it, shall we?
I dreaded watching this movie. I haven't seen this movie in 10 years, I remember this movie well. I honestly don't know what to think about it, it's just okay. There's bad stuff in it, but there's also good stuff. Very few good stuff but good stuff nevertheless. So what's the story? Here we go....okay, so a Trade Federation has set up a blockade around the planet of Naboo and the senate of the Galactic Republic has sent two Jedi knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi played by Ewan McGregor , and Qui-Gon Jinn played by Liam Neeson, and they are sent to investigate. They soon uncover a plan that will take over the entire planet all because of, I have no idea. I don't think they give a reason that actually makes sense in this movie, I think because it has something to do with the Trade Federation and taxation, you know the stuff you REALLY want to hear in a Star Wars movie! But moving on. Okay so they meet up with Queen Amidala played by Natalie Portman and they get off the planet, but their ship gets damaged so they have to land on Tatooine to find new parts. They meet a slave by the name of Anakin Skywalker played by Jake Lloyd, who helps them get the parts they need and helps them fix the ship. The Jedi knights are astonished by how strong he is in the Force and believes he is part of a prophecy that tells of a Chosen One that will bring balance to the Force and destroy the Sith. So they take him to the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant to begin his Jedi training, and then we briefly touch on the political side of Star Wars...yay. Honestly it's not that bad it's only one or two scenes, but you don't care. And I know the reason why they put it in the movie, to establish how the Republic turned into the Empire, but they delve more into that in the sequels. So the Queen says, Naboo's my planet and we are taking it back, so they head back over to Naboo to capture the leader of the Trade Federation and liberate the planet. This is really just the cliff notes version of the film, I'm sorry I just don't want to talk about it that much, I don't like it and I really don't want to rant that much either. So for the sake of this review, let's talk about the good things which aren't that many. This is really just kind of a forgettable Star Wars movie and that breaks my heart, but it's true. So here are the good points, the cast for the most part was chosen very wisely. Liam Neeson is a wise mentor to young Obi-Wan, Ewan McGregor is a very, very good Obi-Wan. Ian McDiarmid is still great as always, but they don't give him much to work with sadly, Natalie Portman does a fairly good job as the Queen. Ray Park is a total bad ass as Darth Maul, and oh yeah I love Darth Maul in this movie! He's the saving grace in this dreary wreck, the final lightsaber duel is nothing like you have ever seen before in Star Wars and it is amazing! The fight choreography is superb, Ray Park gives a very impressive show of his stunt work talents, and it's just a great fight! The music by John Williams is still great, the special effects although over 15 years old look pretty damn good and still hold up surprisingly, but it's not all perfect. It's a mixed bag, I can only recommend it if you really are interested in the story taking place almost twenty years before the first Star Wars movie, and you just have more of an open mind than most other people. But if you don't, you're not missing much so you can skip it.
Tune in tomorrow when we talk about Attack Of The Clones, which I'm also not all too excited for.
I dreaded watching this movie. I haven't seen this movie in 10 years, I remember this movie well. I honestly don't know what to think about it, it's just okay. There's bad stuff in it, but there's also good stuff. Very few good stuff but good stuff nevertheless. So what's the story? Here we go....okay, so a Trade Federation has set up a blockade around the planet of Naboo and the senate of the Galactic Republic has sent two Jedi knights, Obi-Wan Kenobi played by Ewan McGregor , and Qui-Gon Jinn played by Liam Neeson, and they are sent to investigate. They soon uncover a plan that will take over the entire planet all because of, I have no idea. I don't think they give a reason that actually makes sense in this movie, I think because it has something to do with the Trade Federation and taxation, you know the stuff you REALLY want to hear in a Star Wars movie! But moving on. Okay so they meet up with Queen Amidala played by Natalie Portman and they get off the planet, but their ship gets damaged so they have to land on Tatooine to find new parts. They meet a slave by the name of Anakin Skywalker played by Jake Lloyd, who helps them get the parts they need and helps them fix the ship. The Jedi knights are astonished by how strong he is in the Force and believes he is part of a prophecy that tells of a Chosen One that will bring balance to the Force and destroy the Sith. So they take him to the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant to begin his Jedi training, and then we briefly touch on the political side of Star Wars...yay. Honestly it's not that bad it's only one or two scenes, but you don't care. And I know the reason why they put it in the movie, to establish how the Republic turned into the Empire, but they delve more into that in the sequels. So the Queen says, Naboo's my planet and we are taking it back, so they head back over to Naboo to capture the leader of the Trade Federation and liberate the planet. This is really just the cliff notes version of the film, I'm sorry I just don't want to talk about it that much, I don't like it and I really don't want to rant that much either. So for the sake of this review, let's talk about the good things which aren't that many. This is really just kind of a forgettable Star Wars movie and that breaks my heart, but it's true. So here are the good points, the cast for the most part was chosen very wisely. Liam Neeson is a wise mentor to young Obi-Wan, Ewan McGregor is a very, very good Obi-Wan. Ian McDiarmid is still great as always, but they don't give him much to work with sadly, Natalie Portman does a fairly good job as the Queen. Ray Park is a total bad ass as Darth Maul, and oh yeah I love Darth Maul in this movie! He's the saving grace in this dreary wreck, the final lightsaber duel is nothing like you have ever seen before in Star Wars and it is amazing! The fight choreography is superb, Ray Park gives a very impressive show of his stunt work talents, and it's just a great fight! The music by John Williams is still great, the special effects although over 15 years old look pretty damn good and still hold up surprisingly, but it's not all perfect. It's a mixed bag, I can only recommend it if you really are interested in the story taking place almost twenty years before the first Star Wars movie, and you just have more of an open mind than most other people. But if you don't, you're not missing much so you can skip it.
Tune in tomorrow when we talk about Attack Of The Clones, which I'm also not all too excited for.
Wednesday, May 6, 2015
Return Of The Jedi
Well, here it is. The last of the original Star Wars trilogy. After this we get to look at the prequels...yeah, not really looking forward to that for the most part, but anyway Return Of The Jedi!
So Return Of The Jedi is set a few months after the events of the last movie. The Empire has constructed a new Death Star much more powerful than the first, Luke has finished his Jedi training, and Han Solo is still trapped in carbonite. So first things first, Luke has to go rescue his friend from the clutches of the grotesque Jabba The Hutt on his home planet Tatooine. Now a few things to cover before we carry on with the story, now in past movies we keep hearing about this Jabba The Hutt and that he's bad news, but they don't really tell you what he looks like so you're mind is thinking of all kinds of things of how he looks and he's pretty gross basically a giant slug. Just, eck! Second, Luke Skywalker is a Jedi now. He is so different from when we saw him in The Empire Strikes Back, he's no longer whining about his training, he has complete faith in himself and his abilities, and he has mastered the Force because before he like really had to concentrate to use the Force, now it's instantaneous! Oh, and he's got a brand new cool lightsaber! So back to the story, they save Han and Luke debarks back to the Dagobah system one last time to finish his training. And sadly, master Yoda is dying of old age and reveals to Luke several things, he has to confront Vader to truly become a Jedi, after Yoda dies Luke is the only Jedi left in the galaxy, and there is another member of the Skywalker family. And yes, I do get misty-eyed when Yoda dies, it's depressing. Meanwhile on the second Death Star, The Emperor himself, Darth Vader's master arrives to corrupt young Skywalker to the dark side. And The Emperor is just magnificent played to sinister perfection by Ian McDiarmid. If Darth Vader made me love villains, The Emperor makes me want to be them more than anything. Soon the Rebels learn of the new Death Star and have to of course, take it out. But there's a hitch, it has a shield surrounding it and the only way to deactivate the shield is to destroy the shield generator before their fleet arrives to begin their assault on the Death Star. And this is where our Rebel friends meet the Ewoks, and this is either the second most hated life form in Star Wars history next to Jar Jar Binks, or is the most cute and adorable thing ever introduced into Star Wars. I am shocked at how divided people are to these little teddy bear looking things, I thought they were cute and harmless even though they make a mockery of my beloved Empire. So anyway, Luke confronts Vader on Endor and Vader takes him to The Emperor. So now we have a three way battle in this film, the fight to take out the shield generator, the fight to take out the Death Star, and the fight to defeat Darth Vader and The Emperor. And all the fights are really well done, but of course the final duel between Luke and Vader is the showstopper, there is so much emotion in this fight, more so than I think in any Star Wars movie. True, the duel between Luke and Vader in Cloud City is the best of the original trilogy, but this has serious emotions charging this fight, I mean there is a point where Luke just snaps. He is coming at Vader with all of his resolve and all of his anger, and this is not one of those carefully choreographed fight scenes you see in the prequels, Luke is swinging his lightsaber like a bat just hitting everything and really catching Vader off guard to the point where he cuts Vader's right hand off to reveal he has a robot hand just like Luke. So he defeats Darth Vader and The Emperor is just taunting Luke to kill him and Luke just won't do that. So he throws his lightsaber down, saying he will never turn to the dark side and he is a Jedi like his father before him. So The Emperor decides if he will not join us he will die, and then he proceeds to shoot lightning out of his fingers!! The Jedi can go screw themselves for all I care, this was the final moment that made me fully embrace the Empire and the dark side! I'd love to see the Jedi try that. So The Emperor is just torturing Luke, surging his body with electricity as he is begging Darth Vader to save him, and this is a great moment. You see the camera zoom in on Darth Vader's face and you can tell he's really conflicted and he still has the mask on and everything. So he looks to Luke and back to his master, picks The Emperor up over his head and throws him over a railing into the reactor where he disintegrates. Meanwhile the Rebels destroy the shield generator and they send in the fighters to destroy the Death Star, so Luke has to get out of there and he takes Darth Vader with him, and he asks Luke to take his mask off because he is dying and he wants to see his son with his own eyes. I'm sorry! I spoiled the surprise, but it's very difficult to talk about this movie without giving that away! So Luke obeys his father and slowly takes his mask off to reveal the scarred face of Anakin Skywalker, who tells Luke he saved him and to leave him, but Luke refuses and watches his father die and escapes the Death Star before it is blown up. At the celebration on Endor, Luke creates a funeral pyre for his father and burns his body. Later he sees the spirits of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda watching over him.
This concludes the original Star Wars trilogy. Thank you so much for joining me for this and tomorrow we will review the movie that disappointed and enraged millions of Star Wars fans.
So Return Of The Jedi is set a few months after the events of the last movie. The Empire has constructed a new Death Star much more powerful than the first, Luke has finished his Jedi training, and Han Solo is still trapped in carbonite. So first things first, Luke has to go rescue his friend from the clutches of the grotesque Jabba The Hutt on his home planet Tatooine. Now a few things to cover before we carry on with the story, now in past movies we keep hearing about this Jabba The Hutt and that he's bad news, but they don't really tell you what he looks like so you're mind is thinking of all kinds of things of how he looks and he's pretty gross basically a giant slug. Just, eck! Second, Luke Skywalker is a Jedi now. He is so different from when we saw him in The Empire Strikes Back, he's no longer whining about his training, he has complete faith in himself and his abilities, and he has mastered the Force because before he like really had to concentrate to use the Force, now it's instantaneous! Oh, and he's got a brand new cool lightsaber! So back to the story, they save Han and Luke debarks back to the Dagobah system one last time to finish his training. And sadly, master Yoda is dying of old age and reveals to Luke several things, he has to confront Vader to truly become a Jedi, after Yoda dies Luke is the only Jedi left in the galaxy, and there is another member of the Skywalker family. And yes, I do get misty-eyed when Yoda dies, it's depressing. Meanwhile on the second Death Star, The Emperor himself, Darth Vader's master arrives to corrupt young Skywalker to the dark side. And The Emperor is just magnificent played to sinister perfection by Ian McDiarmid. If Darth Vader made me love villains, The Emperor makes me want to be them more than anything. Soon the Rebels learn of the new Death Star and have to of course, take it out. But there's a hitch, it has a shield surrounding it and the only way to deactivate the shield is to destroy the shield generator before their fleet arrives to begin their assault on the Death Star. And this is where our Rebel friends meet the Ewoks, and this is either the second most hated life form in Star Wars history next to Jar Jar Binks, or is the most cute and adorable thing ever introduced into Star Wars. I am shocked at how divided people are to these little teddy bear looking things, I thought they were cute and harmless even though they make a mockery of my beloved Empire. So anyway, Luke confronts Vader on Endor and Vader takes him to The Emperor. So now we have a three way battle in this film, the fight to take out the shield generator, the fight to take out the Death Star, and the fight to defeat Darth Vader and The Emperor. And all the fights are really well done, but of course the final duel between Luke and Vader is the showstopper, there is so much emotion in this fight, more so than I think in any Star Wars movie. True, the duel between Luke and Vader in Cloud City is the best of the original trilogy, but this has serious emotions charging this fight, I mean there is a point where Luke just snaps. He is coming at Vader with all of his resolve and all of his anger, and this is not one of those carefully choreographed fight scenes you see in the prequels, Luke is swinging his lightsaber like a bat just hitting everything and really catching Vader off guard to the point where he cuts Vader's right hand off to reveal he has a robot hand just like Luke. So he defeats Darth Vader and The Emperor is just taunting Luke to kill him and Luke just won't do that. So he throws his lightsaber down, saying he will never turn to the dark side and he is a Jedi like his father before him. So The Emperor decides if he will not join us he will die, and then he proceeds to shoot lightning out of his fingers!! The Jedi can go screw themselves for all I care, this was the final moment that made me fully embrace the Empire and the dark side! I'd love to see the Jedi try that. So The Emperor is just torturing Luke, surging his body with electricity as he is begging Darth Vader to save him, and this is a great moment. You see the camera zoom in on Darth Vader's face and you can tell he's really conflicted and he still has the mask on and everything. So he looks to Luke and back to his master, picks The Emperor up over his head and throws him over a railing into the reactor where he disintegrates. Meanwhile the Rebels destroy the shield generator and they send in the fighters to destroy the Death Star, so Luke has to get out of there and he takes Darth Vader with him, and he asks Luke to take his mask off because he is dying and he wants to see his son with his own eyes. I'm sorry! I spoiled the surprise, but it's very difficult to talk about this movie without giving that away! So Luke obeys his father and slowly takes his mask off to reveal the scarred face of Anakin Skywalker, who tells Luke he saved him and to leave him, but Luke refuses and watches his father die and escapes the Death Star before it is blown up. At the celebration on Endor, Luke creates a funeral pyre for his father and burns his body. Later he sees the spirits of Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Yoda watching over him.
This concludes the original Star Wars trilogy. Thank you so much for joining me for this and tomorrow we will review the movie that disappointed and enraged millions of Star Wars fans.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
The Empire Strikes Back
You know, now that I have watched this movie again, I do have to agree with people when they say it's better than the original Star Wars.
I've even heard people call this movie a coming to age film, and I have never thought about it that way. But yes, The Empire Strikes Back is a superior film to the original Star Wars with no doubt about it. The stakes are raised higher than before, our heroes go through the darkest chapter of their story, and we get a revelation that shocked everyone in 1980 and still shocks people to this very day. So our story takes place six months after the end of Star Wars and the Empire is relentlessly hunting down the Rebels, because no one destroys the Death Star without turning a few heads and pissing off some people. The Rebels are hiding on a snow planet called Hoth, and the Empire is sending out probes throughout the galaxy and soon finds our heroes. They commence an attack which gives us the iconic battle of Hoth where the Imperial walkers are being fought by Snowspeeders, and it is a fantastic battle that gives us more vehicles that we haven't seen before and is quite intense at moments. So the Rebels are defeated and they have to retreat from the planet, but our main hero Luke has a vision of his old mentor Obi-Wan telling him he must travel to the Dagobah system to learn from the Jedi master Yoda. So Luke travels to Dagobah and starts learning more about the Force from his new master. Meanwhile Han Solo and his crew are being hunted down by the Empire and they eventually have to hide out on the planet of Bespin where they meet Lando Calrissian an old friend of Han Solo's played suavely by Billy Dee Williams. But the Empire soon finds them even there and captures them. Luke senses that his friends are in grave danger and leaves his training to save them, but before he even gets there Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and taken by a bounty hunter. When Luke finally arrives he has an incredible lightsaber duel with Darth Vader which results in Luke losing his right hand and learning some world shattering news. In my opinion this lightsaber duel is the greatest, probably of all the Star Wars movies, it makes the first lightsaber duel in the original Star Wars look like the most boring lightsaber duel in Star Wars history. One of my favorite parts of this fight is in the beginning, Vader treats Luke like he is no threat and single handedly fights Luke but near the end of the fight, Vader's breathing hard and he's really swinging at him and he's not one handing his lighsaber anymore because he knows Luke is a formidable opponent. There are tons of great moments in this movie, some even considered to be some of the greatest moments in cinema. The battle of Hoth is great, and the Imperial walkers are just such a huge threat and they move like machines because they were made with stop-motion. But another scene before that is also just awesome, so Luke is trapped in this cave and the only way he can get out is with his lighsaber, problem is it's just barely out of reach, so he closes his eyes and reaches out his hand and you just barely see that lightsaber just inch it's way towards his hands very slowly, which is awesome because in the first movie Luke really doesn't use the force until almost at the end. There's an unforgettable line of dialogue by Han Solo right before he gets frozen, because this is a big moment for the characters because they think this is the last time they will ever see him, so Chewbacca is freaking out throwing Stormtroopers left and right and Leia finally breaks and she says, "I love you.", to which Han Solo replies, "I know.". That is a badass, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not even going to touch the big secret in Empire Strikes Back for those of you who have not yet seen The Empire Strikes Back, but I will say this, when I first saw this movie when I was either 2 or 3 years old, I freaked a little bit. I've heard stories of people who saw this in the theater in 1980, so the third movie didn't even come out for another three years and people flipped and I can understand why!
So that is my review of The Empire Strikes Back, tune in tomorrow where we will finish the original trilogy, and then we can understand why for the most part the prequels were unnecessary and kinda pissed people off a bit.
I've even heard people call this movie a coming to age film, and I have never thought about it that way. But yes, The Empire Strikes Back is a superior film to the original Star Wars with no doubt about it. The stakes are raised higher than before, our heroes go through the darkest chapter of their story, and we get a revelation that shocked everyone in 1980 and still shocks people to this very day. So our story takes place six months after the end of Star Wars and the Empire is relentlessly hunting down the Rebels, because no one destroys the Death Star without turning a few heads and pissing off some people. The Rebels are hiding on a snow planet called Hoth, and the Empire is sending out probes throughout the galaxy and soon finds our heroes. They commence an attack which gives us the iconic battle of Hoth where the Imperial walkers are being fought by Snowspeeders, and it is a fantastic battle that gives us more vehicles that we haven't seen before and is quite intense at moments. So the Rebels are defeated and they have to retreat from the planet, but our main hero Luke has a vision of his old mentor Obi-Wan telling him he must travel to the Dagobah system to learn from the Jedi master Yoda. So Luke travels to Dagobah and starts learning more about the Force from his new master. Meanwhile Han Solo and his crew are being hunted down by the Empire and they eventually have to hide out on the planet of Bespin where they meet Lando Calrissian an old friend of Han Solo's played suavely by Billy Dee Williams. But the Empire soon finds them even there and captures them. Luke senses that his friends are in grave danger and leaves his training to save them, but before he even gets there Han Solo is frozen in carbonite and taken by a bounty hunter. When Luke finally arrives he has an incredible lightsaber duel with Darth Vader which results in Luke losing his right hand and learning some world shattering news. In my opinion this lightsaber duel is the greatest, probably of all the Star Wars movies, it makes the first lightsaber duel in the original Star Wars look like the most boring lightsaber duel in Star Wars history. One of my favorite parts of this fight is in the beginning, Vader treats Luke like he is no threat and single handedly fights Luke but near the end of the fight, Vader's breathing hard and he's really swinging at him and he's not one handing his lighsaber anymore because he knows Luke is a formidable opponent. There are tons of great moments in this movie, some even considered to be some of the greatest moments in cinema. The battle of Hoth is great, and the Imperial walkers are just such a huge threat and they move like machines because they were made with stop-motion. But another scene before that is also just awesome, so Luke is trapped in this cave and the only way he can get out is with his lighsaber, problem is it's just barely out of reach, so he closes his eyes and reaches out his hand and you just barely see that lightsaber just inch it's way towards his hands very slowly, which is awesome because in the first movie Luke really doesn't use the force until almost at the end. There's an unforgettable line of dialogue by Han Solo right before he gets frozen, because this is a big moment for the characters because they think this is the last time they will ever see him, so Chewbacca is freaking out throwing Stormtroopers left and right and Leia finally breaks and she says, "I love you.", to which Han Solo replies, "I know.". That is a badass, ladies and gentlemen. I'm not even going to touch the big secret in Empire Strikes Back for those of you who have not yet seen The Empire Strikes Back, but I will say this, when I first saw this movie when I was either 2 or 3 years old, I freaked a little bit. I've heard stories of people who saw this in the theater in 1980, so the third movie didn't even come out for another three years and people flipped and I can understand why!
So that is my review of The Empire Strikes Back, tune in tomorrow where we will finish the original trilogy, and then we can understand why for the most part the prequels were unnecessary and kinda pissed people off a bit.
Monday, May 4, 2015
Star Wars
It's Star Wars day! But that's not good enough for me, so we will be having a Star Wars week here, where everyday starting from today and ending Saturday I will be reviewing all the Star Wars movies!
So here it is, the one that started it all and my favorite movie of all time! What is there to say about Star Wars? It's one of the greatest movies ever made, it ushered in a new cultural phenomenon that has lasted to this very day, and it's groundbreaking special effects have paved the way for modern technology to flourish. There is too much to say about Star Wars, but we will focus today on the original 1977 version, no special edition version because Han does not shoot first, among other things. So Star Wars, if you've been living under a rock for almost 40 years is an epic sci-fi saga set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away centering around the journey of Luke Skywalker becoming a Jedi. We'll get to the story of the prequel movies soon. So why is this movie above all others my favorite movie of all time? Well it being the first movie I ever saw makes a huge impact, and it making me the happy geek I am today makes a huge difference. I shudder to think who the hell I would be if I never saw Star Wars at the age of 2 or 3. I am the biggest Star Wars fan you will ever meet. No seriously I can quote this whole movie from beginning to end...with sound effects and music included! I have seen it that many times! I love it so much, I have such a huge passion for it even after all these years, it's unbelievable. I love the story, it's concepts, it's ideas, it's technology, it's planets, everything! The characters are unforgettable, we have Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker who has this very simple life but is thrust into action led by a wise mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi played masterfully by Sir Alec Guiness,on their travels they meet a smuggler Han Solo played by Harrison Ford and his copilot Chewbacca played by Peter Mayhew, and are accompanied by two robots C-3PO played by Anthony Daniels and R2-D2 played by Kenny Baker who have to go save Princess Leia played by Carrie Fisher from the evil Galactic Empire headed by Darth Vader played epically by both David Prowse and James Earl Jones and the sinister Grand Moff Tarkin played beyond perfection by the incredible Peter Cushing. Seriously it is because of Darth Vader that I always wanted the villain to win in every movie when I was a kid, because the villains were way more interesting than the heroes, and made me the evil Sith Lord I am today. I could write a 300 page essay on Star Wars, but I will try and keep this short. The dialogue is so quotable, I think almost 100% of what I said when I was a little kid was a quote from Star Wars. The music is perfect, this is John Williams best score ever and it still gives me goosebumps and almost brings tears to my eyes. It's very difficult to describe the appeal of Star Wars for me,it's really just something you will have to experience for yourself if you haven't seen it already. And if you have seen it before, what are you doing reading this? Go watch Star Wars! It may not be a perfect movie, but I love it more than any other movie ever.
So check back tomorrow for my review of the sequel that surpasses the original, and is considered by many to be the absolute best Star Wars movie.
May the Force be with you.
So here it is, the one that started it all and my favorite movie of all time! What is there to say about Star Wars? It's one of the greatest movies ever made, it ushered in a new cultural phenomenon that has lasted to this very day, and it's groundbreaking special effects have paved the way for modern technology to flourish. There is too much to say about Star Wars, but we will focus today on the original 1977 version, no special edition version because Han does not shoot first, among other things. So Star Wars, if you've been living under a rock for almost 40 years is an epic sci-fi saga set a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away centering around the journey of Luke Skywalker becoming a Jedi. We'll get to the story of the prequel movies soon. So why is this movie above all others my favorite movie of all time? Well it being the first movie I ever saw makes a huge impact, and it making me the happy geek I am today makes a huge difference. I shudder to think who the hell I would be if I never saw Star Wars at the age of 2 or 3. I am the biggest Star Wars fan you will ever meet. No seriously I can quote this whole movie from beginning to end...with sound effects and music included! I have seen it that many times! I love it so much, I have such a huge passion for it even after all these years, it's unbelievable. I love the story, it's concepts, it's ideas, it's technology, it's planets, everything! The characters are unforgettable, we have Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker who has this very simple life but is thrust into action led by a wise mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi played masterfully by Sir Alec Guiness,on their travels they meet a smuggler Han Solo played by Harrison Ford and his copilot Chewbacca played by Peter Mayhew, and are accompanied by two robots C-3PO played by Anthony Daniels and R2-D2 played by Kenny Baker who have to go save Princess Leia played by Carrie Fisher from the evil Galactic Empire headed by Darth Vader played epically by both David Prowse and James Earl Jones and the sinister Grand Moff Tarkin played beyond perfection by the incredible Peter Cushing. Seriously it is because of Darth Vader that I always wanted the villain to win in every movie when I was a kid, because the villains were way more interesting than the heroes, and made me the evil Sith Lord I am today. I could write a 300 page essay on Star Wars, but I will try and keep this short. The dialogue is so quotable, I think almost 100% of what I said when I was a little kid was a quote from Star Wars. The music is perfect, this is John Williams best score ever and it still gives me goosebumps and almost brings tears to my eyes. It's very difficult to describe the appeal of Star Wars for me,it's really just something you will have to experience for yourself if you haven't seen it already. And if you have seen it before, what are you doing reading this? Go watch Star Wars! It may not be a perfect movie, but I love it more than any other movie ever.
So check back tomorrow for my review of the sequel that surpasses the original, and is considered by many to be the absolute best Star Wars movie.
May the Force be with you.
Friday, May 1, 2015
Ed Wood
One of my favorite movies of all time is also one of the best movies, not only of all time but also about making movies.
Ed Wood is one of those movies that really sticks with you for the rest of your life. It's the story of the so-called "Worst Director Of All Time", chronicling the making of three of his most famous or infamous movies. This film was directed by Tim Burton, it's shot gorgeously in black and white with a few odes to German Expressionism and a bit of Film Noir, and it has an ensemble cast leaded by Johnny Depp. This is easily one of Johnny Depp's greatest performances, playing a humble film director who has an enormous passion for movies and storytelling and his enthusiasm bleeds through the screen so much so that you get excited and happy for him when things go good for him. This film has so many stars in it. We have Martin Landau playing Bela Lugosi so perfectly that you actually forget that he's not really Bela Lugosi and he totally deserved the Academy award for "Best Supporting Actor", and if you're a big horror movie fan and Bela Lugosi fan you will not be disappointed. We have Sarah Jessica Parker as Ed Wood's girlfriend who is a bitch in this movie, she's horrible to poor Ed! But then he meets Patricia Arquette's character who is this absolute sweetheart, that Ed gets married to. Bill Murray plays Ed's best friend and he is absolutely hilarious because that's what Bill Murray does! We have a menagerie of actors who play the faithful crew of Ed Wood who are fantastic. So the entire cast is brilliantly chosen, and the entire production of this film is quite well done and is very accurate to the films Ed Wood made and how they were made behind the scenes. The music by Howard Shore is very unique and the inclusion of the "Finale" from Swan Lake almost brings tears to my eyes every time it plays. The film is very funny, but has serious emotional moments that could really get to you, and even might have a few scenes that can make you cry. It even has a scene where possibly the worst director of all time has a conversation with possibly the greatest director of all time, Orson Welles played by Vincent D'Onofrio and yet is voiced by Maurice LaMarche who also does a Orson Welles impression in Pinky and The Brain, but that's getting off topic. And the conversation they have really has a great message and words of wisdom to filmmakers for generations to come.
Ed Wood is actually my favorite movie about making movies. Yes there are very few movies that are better than Ed Wood about telling a story about how a movie is made, for example American Movie which by some is considered the greatest movie about making movies ever made but Ed Wood is my favorite. If you are a fan of movies and really like movies like American Movie, check out Ed Wood. It is a fantastic movie and just a great story about a director who was considered to be the worst but really was one of the most passionate filmmakers in history.
Ed Wood is one of those movies that really sticks with you for the rest of your life. It's the story of the so-called "Worst Director Of All Time", chronicling the making of three of his most famous or infamous movies. This film was directed by Tim Burton, it's shot gorgeously in black and white with a few odes to German Expressionism and a bit of Film Noir, and it has an ensemble cast leaded by Johnny Depp. This is easily one of Johnny Depp's greatest performances, playing a humble film director who has an enormous passion for movies and storytelling and his enthusiasm bleeds through the screen so much so that you get excited and happy for him when things go good for him. This film has so many stars in it. We have Martin Landau playing Bela Lugosi so perfectly that you actually forget that he's not really Bela Lugosi and he totally deserved the Academy award for "Best Supporting Actor", and if you're a big horror movie fan and Bela Lugosi fan you will not be disappointed. We have Sarah Jessica Parker as Ed Wood's girlfriend who is a bitch in this movie, she's horrible to poor Ed! But then he meets Patricia Arquette's character who is this absolute sweetheart, that Ed gets married to. Bill Murray plays Ed's best friend and he is absolutely hilarious because that's what Bill Murray does! We have a menagerie of actors who play the faithful crew of Ed Wood who are fantastic. So the entire cast is brilliantly chosen, and the entire production of this film is quite well done and is very accurate to the films Ed Wood made and how they were made behind the scenes. The music by Howard Shore is very unique and the inclusion of the "Finale" from Swan Lake almost brings tears to my eyes every time it plays. The film is very funny, but has serious emotional moments that could really get to you, and even might have a few scenes that can make you cry. It even has a scene where possibly the worst director of all time has a conversation with possibly the greatest director of all time, Orson Welles played by Vincent D'Onofrio and yet is voiced by Maurice LaMarche who also does a Orson Welles impression in Pinky and The Brain, but that's getting off topic. And the conversation they have really has a great message and words of wisdom to filmmakers for generations to come.
Ed Wood is actually my favorite movie about making movies. Yes there are very few movies that are better than Ed Wood about telling a story about how a movie is made, for example American Movie which by some is considered the greatest movie about making movies ever made but Ed Wood is my favorite. If you are a fan of movies and really like movies like American Movie, check out Ed Wood. It is a fantastic movie and just a great story about a director who was considered to be the worst but really was one of the most passionate filmmakers in history.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)