The Empire Strikes Back

After I had seen the first film in theaters, fully remastered and everything, I had to see the next one. Of course, I didn't fully understand that I didn't need to wait to see Empire Strikes Back, and I was pleasantly surprised when my mom brought home an old, dusty VHS from the video store.

I was introduced to the next film on a small (large at the time I'm sure) analog TV. And you know what? The film kicked so much ass!

So right off the bat, I'm going to just say that this film is the best film out of the entire series, in my opinion. It has everything you'd want in a movie, even though it is a transition to the final act. But the second part of a trilogy is usually the most compelling since everything goes wrong and the hero gets his ass kicked.

On that note, I'll start out with the story, since I think this is the part that really makes the film. The introductions of all the major characters are mostly out of the way this time, so now there's more room for character development. Luke is struggling to find guidance and find himself in this large universe. Obi Wan is no longer there to help Luke in person, and he must find guidance elsewhere. Of course, while Luke is off receiving his training and such, the Empire for the majority of the film is relentlessly pursuing his friends. This is all in an effort to find Luke, thanks to Darth Vader. Vader, of course, is killing henchmen left and right. Leia and Han are developing a romance, which is basically an explosion of them being douche-bags to each other and making out.

All of this dark mysterious stuff is going on amidst small bits of humor all around. You've got the C-3PO and R2-D2 bickering, the Han and Leia relationship, and of course you have Yoda. This is one HELL of a character. It's something synonymous with Star Wars. Luke crashes on this muddy Degobah planet and he runs into what appears to be a crazed midget with huge ears. When Yoda first appears, he acts like a child, pulling apart and picking through Luke's stuff (if that's not a Jedi test of patience, I don't know what is.) and making things even more frustrating for him. THEN, just when Luke has had enough and flips out, the little green fucker says, "I cannot teach him..." etc etc.. What the fuck? Oh shit! That's Yoda?!? Yup, without a doubt, one of the best Star Wars characters ever made. Frank Oz did a wonderful job with the voice and the physical acting, which wasn't easy I'd imagine.

Now, without giving away too much of the details, let's just say that Luke is compelled to help his friends when he can sense their suffering. He rushes away from his training to face Darth Vader in cloud city. An epic duel I must say:

You can see here that things are not going well for poor Luke. I mean come on, a few minutes into the duel and Luke is already on his ass multiple times! Now, there is a stunning revelation at the end of this video and I apologize for spoiling it for the 2 people in the world who don't know: Vader is Luke's daddy.

Anyways, yes, everything goes horribly wrong for Luke and his friends, but it's set up nicely for the sequel.

On to the other things like special effects, photography, music, and all that jazz. The special effects of this film are astounding as ever, and like my previous review, they hold up against even some of the things that are done today. You can see that Lucas's team has improved its methods with animated models. You've got the speeders battling the AT-ATs on Hoth on a snowy background, which isn't easy to composite today, much less in 1980, mind you. You've got the space sequences which primarily consist of the Millennium Falcon running from the Empire, but sequences of which involve the ships swerving and flying through and asteroid field and such. Great stuff. The effects on the lightsaber duel were great, along with the editing, sound, and composition. You see Vader as this dark silhouette for most of the fight, which was creepy as shit when I was a kid. This film contains a lot of eye candy and great sound for the audience. I will say that I don't really think the film needed the special edition stuff...I mean I saw the original on VHS, on a TV and was still blown away. I don't think these things take away from the film, per se, but it can stand on it's own without them.

Music is awesome for the same reason as before: John Williams. This introduced the Imperial March theme and has since been an iconic sound everywhere. The rest of the music fit the scenes, so I have no major criticisms there at all. Just watch it and enjoy it, really.

So I don't have much more to say about this one. It's a fantastic film in the saga, and I wholeheartedly think it deserves a perfect A+. This is not just in comparison to the other films, but also as a movie itself.

Now, if you haven't seen Empire Strikes Back, then get on that immediately! Or Luke will be very upset:

~ JC

Star Wars: A New Hope

It was 1997 when a 9 year old boy sat in a crowded movie theater with his mom. That little boy was me, and the first thing I saw on that screen after the titles was this:

OMG LOOK AT THAT!! That is the biggest mother fucking space cruiser I had ever seen in my life!

So as you may or may not have guessed, my first Star Wars experience came in the way of the Special Edition Trilogy that Lucas had brought back to theaters for the 20th anniversary of his first Star Wars film. Needless to say, I was awestruck. But that was then, this is now, and let's get cracking on this review!

Seeing how I decided to show the opening shot of the film right here, I might as well start out with talking about the special effects. Now of course, it is hard to judge special effects based on what happened over 20 years ago in the film industry. That said, the special effects are astounding. I strongly believe that they hold up quite well, even today. Now of course, I started seeing the "enhanced" versions of Lucas's films, so the effects were polished even more. I now proudly own the DVD set that contains the original films as they were displayed in theaters. And you know what? Those effects DO hold up in the 2000's. Why? It's simple, because the ships were actually built by hardcore model makers who probably needed to get girlfriends (what chick wouldn't date a badass like that though?!? Yes. I'm serious.). Ah yes, we can do everything on computers today, but at what cost? I have learned through seeing it myself and through the rantings of a professor of mine that practical effects (when done well) can always outdo what a computer does.

In comparison to the time the film was made, the effects were groundbreaking. Ships had never been composited so well and on such scale. It's what led to the use of computers today. WHEW! Enough about that!

The story and characters were something quite unique for me then, and I am confident that they would be so for a first time viewer today. It is a colorful universe, and the film itself has no trouble showing that. From the opening, you are thrown into the rebellion's fight against the empire, and you tend to pick up characters along the way. Lucas follows the archetype of the hero from mythology, and I think that his is some of his better writing in the series. Although, Lucas does have the unfair advantage in this film because he gets to spend a good deal of time introducing characters. Overall, the film does well in giving the viewer a sense that something huge is going on in the universe.

I won't touch on the acting for too long, since I don't feel like academy award winning acting is necessary for a good science fantasy type film. That said, all the actors nailed their characters very nicely. You have the innocence of Luke, the sarcasm of Han, the fortitude of Leia, the badassery of Vader etc... For me, if you can make me care about your character, that is good enough. Of course, with acting, it's easier said than done.

Sound is next. Sound effects were unique then, and were unique for me when I saw this film. There is nothing like hearing Star Wars on a surround system. Nothing. I don't need to say more than that I think.

Musical score? More like musical mastery. Why? Two words: John Williams. That man is an excellent composer, end of story. He has the know how to make every moment of a movie compelling. It takes a lot to bring a movie together as a total package, and I think Star Wars would not be a house hold name without John William's score. Nuff' said!

The editing and photography are good. Lucas films, specifically Star Wars films, have a tendency for fast cuts. I don't ever feel lost in the cuts, per se, but I can see how some might miss something if they go to the bathroom or even lose their attention for a few minutes. This story really moves along, but it works.

The photography goes right hand in hand with the effects. It's all good, especially considering how a lot of these shots were done with elaborate rigs and huge blue screens with model ships. Again, a challenging, practical type of work, but it's one that pays off if you see the film.

I think I've gone on enough about this film. It's the first Star Wars ever made, it's a classic, there are hardly any people in the world who haven't seen the film, so if you're one of them I highly recommend you purchase the DVDs or borrow a friend's VHS :).

I give this film a solid A, and I will leave you with the first lightsaber duel ever.

Yes, I maintain that this duel is better than Palpatine vs Windu, but that's for a different review.

~JC

Introduction

This is my first blog post, so I don't know how long or short this will be. My apologies if this isn't just the right amount :P

I have kept a journal online before, mostly to whine about the events of my life and talk about the drama of life and boring shit like that blah blah blah.... That is NOT what this blog will be about. Ever.

I love movies, and I think that they are an extremely important part of our culture. (Not to say that literature is not.) I have realized that I talk about certain movies all the time, and I will usually find myself raving about a great movie or complaining about a flop endlessly. I see this as a way to get my thoughts out more permanently.

Soooo....I will make it a case to review any and all movies that I happen to see, new and old alike. I shall touch on the topics of some of my favorite movies and most hated that I've had to sit through. Now, I'm kind of doing this on the spot, but I have an idea of how I'd like these reviews to go as far as format goes. I'll begin with a short summary of the plot, hopefully not giving too much away (if I do, I apologize) and then break it up into different aspects of the film like story, acting, effects, editing (sometimes), photography, music and etc...I'll touch on all of these at some point, possibly combining some as I review. Finally, I'll tie everything up in an overall statement like, "This movie was horrible, I want my $11.00 back," or, "This movie was wonderful, go see it twice!"

I'm on the fence of using a star rating system, but I do want some kind of marker tagged on each movie. I think a letter grade will work. So I'll think of this as school, and I'll be reviewing my film students on their work :P

Anyways, I shall ramble on no longer. The next post will begin a series covering the Star Wars films. This is one of my favorite series of films, but I have some serious problems with how things are tied together, so I feel it's important to get the one thing I'll ramble about the most out of the way first.

~JC