STAR WARS - EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH (2005)

Featuring: Ewan McGregor; Hayden Christensen; Natalie Portman

Director: George Lucas

One of the main reasons George Lucas gives for creating the Star Wars prequel trilogy was to explain where Luke Skywalker, Princess Lea and especially Darth Vader come from. This, in turn, was inspired by the famous "Luke, I'm your father" scene from the original Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi (1983).

Anikin (Hayden Christensen) is delighted when Padmé (Natalie Portman) tells him she is pregnant with their baby. But then he starts having foreboding dreams of her dying whilst giving birth. And of course he would do anything in order to prevent that from happening. So when he learns the dark side of the Force can give him the power to restore life from death, nothing can stand in his way from acquiring just that.

Episode 3 therefore neatly sets the scene for the start of Episode 4 (the original Star Wars: A New Hope). In essence what we see in this movie is the birth of both Luke and Lea as well as that of Darth Vader.

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UnjrG_N8hU

 

The very fiery end to Episode 3...

STAR WARS - EPISODE II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES (2002)

Featuring: Ewan McGregor; Natalie Portman; Hayden Christensen

Director: George Lucas

Did I mention last time that if you have never seen any of the Star War movies before, you should start watching by 'Episode' and not according to year of release? As much as every film in the series can be view independently (each with its own individual plot and intrigues) this way, everything just makes that much more sense.

Ten years after being discovered on the far-flung planet Tatooine, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen who replaces Jake Lloyd) has grown into a real headstrong young lad. Apprenticed by Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), he starts showing promising signs of becoming a great Jedi warrior. But he also begins to exhibit his 'darker' side. The question now bares which of these two sides of him will ultimately prevail.

In George Lucas' own words, this is as much a love story as it is the preamble to the inevitable interplanetary war that is brewing. On the one hand there is the budding love affair between the two young protagonists, Anakin and Padmé (Natalie Portman) while on the other hand there are all these political shenanigans taking place. In the end one cannot but wonder what will happen next...

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYbW1F_c9eM

 The Jedi warriors in a very precarious position: surrounded and outnumbered!

STAR WARS - EPISODE 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE (1999)

Featuring: Liam Neeson; Ewan McGregor; Jake Lloyd

Director: George Lucas

Best wishes for 2018 to you all - hope you had a happy festive season. During the holiday break I went to see Star Wars - The Last Jedi and that prompted me to start this year off with a look at this classic sci-fi series. As you no doubt know, the Star Wars franchise followed a somewhat unusual course of action. Usually a prospective franchise will start off with a movie or two and then, when it proves to be successful, build onto that. But after the original Star Wars trilogy ended in 1983, creator George Lucas felt he was left with so many unanswered questions that it justified another whole series, predating the original. And the rest, as they say, is history...

In the Phantom Menace we meet Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson) and his protégé Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor), two Jedi Warriors who were sent to negotiate a peace settlement between two seemingly warring factions on the planet Naboo. In the process they get stranded on a remote planet in the outer rim of the galaxy where they discover a young boy called Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd). However, it doesn't take long for them to realize that this is no ordinary boy. The 'force' is him so strongly that he just might be the 'chosen one' as for-told long ago by ancient Jedi masters.

By the time George Lucas came around doing this series of films, it is clear that he had learned a thing or two about special effects. It is a lot more sophisticated than it was in the originals. Still, it is not so overwhelming that it distracts one from the actual story which, unfortunately, is the case in so many films of this genre. And his use of comic relief is also impeccable. In my humble opinion and in all aspects, this movie is a worthy continuation of the phenomenon that is Star Wars.

Trailer link:  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD7bpG-zDJQ

    

 A highlight of this movie is of course the famous pod-race

THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016)

Featuring: Bill Murry; Ben Kingsley; Neel Sethi

Director: Jon Favreau

One of my favorite childhood movies was the 1967 Disney version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book. However when I first learned the company plans a possible remake, naturally I was more than a bit apprehensive. So often when remakes are done from one of the old all time classics, the results are, so say the least, disappointing. Fortunately that was not the case this time round.

In stead, this turned out to be an absolutely amazing movie. Not only did they keep the iconic original songs ("The Bear Necessities", "I Wanna Be Like You" and "Trust In Me") in Neel Sethi they also manage to find a boy that actually looks like the original animated Mowgli (see image below). And then there are the voices of Ben Kingsley as Bageera, Bill Murry as Baloo and Edris Elba as Shere Khan which are as authentic and convincing as the life-like animation of the film itself. In short: this is a true masterpiece!

I therefore have no hesitation in giving this movie one of my very rare 5 out of 5 star ratings.

Trailer link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mkm22yO-bs

Mowgli meets...Mowgli

And on this high note I wish to bid you all a very merry Christmas and prosperous New Year. Hope to see you all again in 2018!

     

GOING IN STYLE (2017)

Featuring: Morgan Freeman; Michael Caine; Alan Arkin

Director: Zach Braff

Zach Braff is of course best known for his role as JD in the TV sitcom Scrubs. And although this is not his first stint as director, this movie might be his behind-the-camera breakthrough as the critics generally had only good things to say about it.

Willie (Morgan Freeman), Joe (Michael Caine) and Al (Alan Arkin) are three retirees who find out the company they worked all their lives for is going bust and their pension fund will be used to pay off its debts. But even worse is the fact that the bank handling the whole affair is the same one that is about to foreclose on Joe's house. So, they decide to get even and rob it.

The plot is rather thin and predictable but to see three such iconic actors in action, makes it all worth while. Not recommended for adrenaline junkies but if you just want to have fun with a big fat smile on your face throughout, this one is for you.

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Trailer link:   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcdTN5soeQw

 The 'Rat-Pack' robbers