star wars | the m0vie blog

A Long Time Ago: The Star Wars Prequels Did Not Ruin Your Childhood…

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Darren

This weekend, Fox are beginning their process of re-releasing Star Wars into cinema, converted into 3D. I’m fairly agnostic on the idea. I like the idea of eventually being able to see The Empire Strikes Back again in the cinema,but I’m withholding judgment until I see the post-conversion 3D in action. Part of me does think that it’s a mistake to begin with Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, if only because it’s the weakest entry in the franchise. I would have liked to see the re-release following the original release order. Still, the fact that the franchise is once again invading theatres seems to have stirred up a lot of underlying resentment, from the core fans who seem to have been struggling with Lucas’ three prequel films – many claiming that the writer and director’s decision to revisit the franchise has retroactively ruined their childhood viewing experiences. It seems that, to fans, the original trilogy are almost tarred by association.

To be entirely honest, it’s hard to take this argument in any way seriously.

Feel the power of the dark side...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: DVD, Empire Strikes Back, film, Fox, games, george lucas, Jedi, Lucas, Phantom Menace, science fiction, star wars, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back | 19 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace (3D)

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Darren

In 1999, after decades of anticipation, George Lucas unleashed Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The response was… less than enthusiastic. After years of heightened anticipation, during which the original trilogy had been built up to near mythical status, anything less than the second coming was going to disappoint viewers. I think it is reasonable to say that The Phantom Menace fell well short of that particular target. That said, I’ve always felt a bit of sympathy for the first of the prequel trilogy. Not enough to label it as a good film (it really isn’t), but enough to argue that the fairly fundamental and central flaws do mask a number of virtues. Those virtues don’t quite redeem the film, but they do make the end result a lot more fascinating than most would concede it to be.

Schindler’s miffed…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: avatar, Darth Vader, george lucas, Jar Binks, Jar Jar Binks, John Williams, Lucas, Luke Skywalker, martin scorsese, Naboo, non-review review, Oedipus complex, Palpatine, Phantom Menace, Qui-Gon Jinn, review, star wars, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Trade Federation | 29 Comments »

Dirty Dancing at the Grand Canal Theatre (Review)

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Darren

It’s hard to fault Dirty Dancing Live, the latest in a long line of screen-to-stage translations of popular works. It’s not exactly bold, or challenging, or excessively original – but the stage show has a sense of style that fits the material, and an ensemble who can really move. Between that and a handsome leading man in Paul-Michael Jones, it should have everything necessary to satisfy the target audience – even if it won’t really convert to many skeptics.

Try to catch him dancin' dirty...

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: arts, Dirty Dancign Live, dirty dancing, grand canal theatre, Johnny Castle, Lady Gaga, Manchester, Patrick Swayze, Paul-Michael Jones, star wars, United States | Leave a comment »

Critical Revisionism: Retrospective Re-Evaluation…

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Darren

It’s funny. I always figured that long-term critical re-evaluation was sort of a one-way street. I guess it always seemed that people were talking about “classics” that got an unfair rap from critics and audiences on initial release, but have subsequently become amongst the most influential films within their genre. I’m talking about movies like Blade Runner or The Thing, movies that were attacked on initial release, but have undergone a massive transformation and vindication in popular consciousness. I generally figured that good films that got bad reviews would eventually be found and praised for the quality productions that they were, while over-praised mediocre (or worse) films would languish in purgatory, forgotten about, save the occasional television re-run. So I’m surprised at the way the tide seems to have turned against Juno in the five years since the film’s original release.

Well, that's one response...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Academy Award, Academy Award for Best Picture, arts, Blu-ray Disc, David Edelstein, diablo cody, film, george lucas, Golden Globe, Golden Globe Award, Internet Movie Database, juno, Movie, no country for old men, review, rotten tomatoes, star wars, Top Lists | 2 Comments »

Out With the New: What’s Wrong With A Little Reimagining…?

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Darren

I have to admit, I’m looking forward to The Muppets. That makes it all the more unfair that I’ll have to wait until 2012 to see it in a cinema – something that breaks my heart just a little bit. However, I’ve been fascinated by some of the discussions generated by the film, particularly with classic “muppet” staff coming out of the woodwork to comment on what they’ve seen of the rebooted muppets so far. Frank Oz has even offered some pretty harsh commentary:

“I wasn’t happy with the script,” he said about his decision to turn down the film. “I don’t think they respected the characters. But I don’t want to go on about it like a sourpuss and hurt the movie.”

There’s been quite a bit of focus around Fozzie the Bear’s “fart shoes” featured in one trailer:

“We wouldn’t do that; it’s too cheap. It may not seem like much in this world of [Judd] Apatow humor, but the characters don’t go to that place,” said one Muppets veteran. Another laments, “They’re looking at the script on a joke-by-joke basis, rather than as a construction of character and story.” Another is even concerned about stepping outside the established mythology saying that the upcoming film “creates a false history that the characters were forced to act out for the sake of this movie.”

I can certainly understand the feeling. However, part of me wonders if we are too concerned with preserving the “integrity”of classic franchises and stories, and if trying to limit the risks taken with them might ultimately be counterproductive.

Driving the franchise to ruin?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: adaptations, Creative Freedom, Fozzie Bear, Frank Oz, george lucas, jason segel, Muppet, Muppets Take Manhattan, Reboots, Reimagining, star wars, tim burton | 2 Comments »

Sympathy for the Devil, or at Least Understanding for George Lucas…

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Darren

Next week, George Lucas will release his complete six Star Wars movies on blu ray. Truth be told, I’m not sure that I’ll buy them. This isn’t a note of protest against the director’s seemingly incessant tinkering with the movies that helped define a generation, but just one of indifference. The franchise doesn’t feel essential any more, even though I can’t exactly put my finger on why, but I can’t help but feel that – were I to buy the complete set – I wouldn’t be getting the iconic films that marked a collective cultural experience, but George Lucas’ heavily revised notes on those films, which is something quite different. That said, I can’t bring myself to spew the type of vitriol at Lucas that most on-line fans seem to enjoy producing, if only because I can almost respect what Lucas is attempting to do.

Whatever happened to light entertainment...?

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: blu ray, Darth Vader, DVD, george lucas, Hayden Christensen, Movies, sci-fi, star wars, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi | 8 Comments »

Five More Creative Ways to Make Green Lantern 2 A Better Film (Rather Than Just “Darker and Edgier”)…

Posted on August 11, 2011 by Darren

Green Lantern was a disappointment. Along with Marvel’s Daredevil, the Green Lantern series has been perhaps the strongest mainstream superhero title published in the past decade, and Warner Brothers couldn’t manage to produce a decent film. This was supposed to be the company’s first superhero franchise outside of the tried-and-tested Batman and Superman properties, and it fell flat. Nevertheless, Warners have vowed to press on with the sequel, daring to produce a “darker and edgier” follow-up to the film. Ignoring the fact that not all superheroes need to be “darker and edgier”, it still ignores the fact that the problems with Martin Campbell’s would-be franchise launcher had very little to do with being too light or soft. Here are five pieces of advice that the executive would do well to take on board, before deciding to simply “go darker.”

The sequel... Dark Green Lantern...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: Abin Sur, Batman in film, Christopher Nolan, Doctor Polaris, films, green lantern, green lantern 2, hal jordan, Han Solo, liam neeson, Movies, parallax, sequels, star wars, Warner Bros | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s (Sorcerer’s) Stone

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Darren

So, here we are, back at the beginning. The first movie in the eight-movie cycle about the boy wizard with the distinctive glasses. Harry Potter – “the boy who lived”, as he is described – and his eventful six-year stay at Hogwarts, with one final story to wrap it all up. To be honest, the first movie does benefit a lot from the movies that followed, giving the film a lot of retroactive weight as you can see the plot threads thrown out and suggested to be developed later – the countless little set-ups deployed by Rowling to pay off down the line. Which is handy, I suppose, because otherwise the instalment feels just a little bit too slow and convoluted for its own good.

The series has a bit of difficulty getting off the ground...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Albus Dumbledore, Christopher Columbus, Dumbledore, games, harry potter, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Hogwarts, literature, Magical objects in Harry Potter, Places in Harry Potter, Richard Griffiths, star wars, United States | 10 Comments »

Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes to War (Review)

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Darren

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the longest-running science-fiction show in the world, I’ll be taking weekly looks at some of my own personal favourite stories and arcs, from the old and new series, with a view to encapsulating the sublime, the clever and the fiendishly odd of the BBC’s Doctor Who.

A Good Man Goes to War originally aired in 2011.

Demons run when a good man goes to war.

Night will fall and drown the sun, when a good man goes to war.

Friendship dies and true love lies,

Night will fall and the dark will rise,

When a good man goes to war.

Demons run but count the cost.

The battle’s won, but the child is lost.

A Good Man Goes to War is pretty much the epitome of Moffat’s “let’s cram as much as possible into forty-five minutes” approach to Doctor Who. This is the episode directly following Matt Smith’s last proper two-part adventure, and it firmly sets the status quo for the rest of the Eleventh Doctor’s tenure. Moffat doesn’t opt for two-parters after this point, and you can see the roots of the “blockbuster” approach he adopted for the show’s fiftieth season.

A Good Man Goes to War has enough crammed into it to sustain a bombastic Russell T. Davies season finalé. There’s character arcs, betrayal, redemption, heroism, continuity, twists and radical game-changers – all bursting at the seams of this episode. There’s a staggering amount of ambition powering A Good Man Goes to War, and even attempting to do all this in the course of a single episode earns Moffat a significant amount of respect.

What’s even more impressive is that A Good Man Goes to War manages to carry it all off.

The Doctor goes with the flow…

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: a good man goes to war, amy, amy pond, bbc, doctor, doctor who, DoctorWho, dr. who, Eleventh Doctor, Eleventh Hour, Forest of the Dead, Good Man Goes, Good Man Goes to War, matt smith, Moffat, review, River Song, rory, rory williams, russell t. davies, star wars, stephen moffat, steven moffat, tardis, Television | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Toy Story 2

Posted on April 19, 2011 by Darren

For my money, Wall-E is perhaps the strongest Pixar film from an artistic point of view. The Incredibles is perhaps the most consistently entertaining. Finding Nemo is the most emotional. Truth be told, I could probably find a way to rank almost every Pixar film so that it was my favourite in some way or another, because they’re all pretty much that good (although I’ll concede that Ratatouille, A Bug’s Life and Cars were merely “good” or “very good”). So, having completely picked apart any lavish praise I could shower on the film, I have a very special fondness for Pixar’s Toy Story trilogy.