Star Wars - Episode 6 - Return of the Jedi

The final chapter in the Star Wars saga. Full of revelations and redemption. We get a lot of understanding of what Star Wars is all about in Return of the Jedi. We see what we want to see, but we also get a hell of a lot more. It is a story of love, but also of hatred...of a desire to conquer through any means necessary, and I truly enjoyed it.

Return of the Jedi is on or near the bottom in a lot of people's favourite Star Wars movie lists. I would have to say it is close to mine as well. Although we do see the redemption of Darth Vader/Anakin and the downfall of the Empire, this episode seems to be missing something for me. Maybe since the new trilogy has come out, it has taken a back seat for me. It is actually kind of difficult to explain.

Now even though I said it is near the bottom of my list, I am not saying I didn't enjoy it. It is Star Wars. The special effects are awesome, the story is well done, the final battle over the forest moon of Endor is incredible. There was nothing like that at the time and there are still very few battle scenes that come close. The final battle in the Phantom Menace doesn't even come close to this one, which was quite a disappointment. Whenever I watch ROTJ, I can't wait to get to this part of the movie. It is awesome.

Of course we can't forget about the awesomeness of Carrie Fisher in her little bikini when she is at Jabba's Palace. Very sexy, some very naughty thoughts crossed my mind when I first saw ROTJ as a ten year old boy. Yum!

We also have the Ewoks. Now I never did mind the Ewoks. Are thought they were pretty cool and still do. The are cute and cuddly and it still hard to believe that they could beat the shit out of Stormtroopers, but who cares. They were important in the story and I liked them.

The final lightsaber duel between Luke and Vader was very good as well. It is no Obi Wan vs Maul battle, but in it we see the redemption of Anakin. We see him waver and finally fall under the power of his love for his son. We now know through the prequels that Anakin fell to the dark side for love and he now returns to the light for the same reason. The fact that he could destroy his master when all is said and done, shows that Anakin, despite being half machine, did have a heart, did have a soul.

Overall, not my favourite Star Wars flick, but I still love it and will watch it again.

That all for now..

The Flick Guru

Star Wars - Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith

This is the end of it all. The last of the one great story..in my mind anyways. The icing on the cake, the kick in the ass, the end of all ends. Revenge of the Sith answered all of the questions that us Star Wars geeks have had for over 25 yrs. How did Anakin become Darth Vader. And what an end it was.

The Star Wars saga couldn't have ended in a more perfect way. Well maybe not perfect, but a pretty damn good way. Revenge of the Sith was an excellent movie from start to finish. From the awesome battle over Coruscant to the incredible fight between Obi Wan and Anakin. This movie was full of action from start to finish and you felt breathless when you walked out of the theatre.

The best parts of this movie was the battles. All of them. The opening scene where Obi Wan and Anakin fly into the Battle of Coruscant and fight there way through to General Grievous's ship was breath taking. There was so much action and so much going on you just didn't quite know where to look. But it seemed like you could soak in everything.

Then there was the fight with Dooku, where we see the first major turn of Anakin and how easily he has been manipulated by Palpatine (Emperor). Which then takes us to the battle between Obi Wan and Grievous and the turn of the Clone Troopers on Obi Wan. Then we see the turn of Anakin when he destroys Mace Windu and becomes a Sith to then seeing the battle of the Jedi vs the Sith. Yoda vs Darth Sidious (Palpatine) and Obi Wan vs Darth Vader (Anakin). All amazing fights with incredible effects that just makes you want more.

The battles weren't the only things good in Revenge of the Sith. It was cool to see how Palpatine manipulated Anakin into becoming a Sith. Good vs evil, dark vs light. How he used Anakin's love for Padme into turning him the way he wanted him to turn. And really how easy it was. Anakin did not look to his friend, mentor, brother...Obi Wan for help. He turned to the dark side and Palpatine to save his love. Maybe Obi Wan didn't want to hear what Anakin needed but it still would have changed the events that were to happen. And if that happened we never would have had Star Wars.

I guess we can look at life and see how easy it can be to turn, to run away and look for the easy path. Sometimes we can make the choices that will not hurt others or we fuck up and effect everyone around us.

Again the strongest actor in this movie, and probably the entire sequel trilogy was Ewen McGregor. You feel his pain, his heart breaking as he learns what his best friend has done. You feel it as he is about to walk away from his brother as he is dying, burning on the Mustafar ground. You hear it in his voice as he tells him he loved him and that they were brothers. McGregor was amazing and truly saved this trilogy for me at its weakest points.

There were two things again that I had a problem with. The first one, again, was the whole Anakin-Padme love stuff. Still no chemistry. Still no real sense of emotion. Bugged me a lot.

The second one, was the end of the "Creation" of Vader scene. it was awesome to watch Anakin, with all of his burnt skin peeling off and his screams of pain and to see Vader being built. it gave me chills. It was so cool to see him "explode" and let his emotions overtake him after Sidious tells him that Padme was dead. What I didn't like was the almost comical end to that scene when he yells "No" after he has released his anger. There were laughs, loud guffaws in the theatre when he did that. Couldn't Lucas have come up with something much more powerful for Vader to say at this moment in his agony? It just kinda took away something for me from the awesomeness that was Vader. Vader has always been this kick ass mean mother fucker of a bad guy for me and then that happened. i guess it shows his human side. I don't know. To me Vader will always be the Vader of the Original trilogy, mean and nasty.

Overall I loved Revenge of the Sith. It was a great way to end the saga on the big screen, although as sad as it may be. Now we can just look forward to the novels, the TV series that is supposed to be coming out and whatever else Lucas has in store for the Star Wars saga in the years to come. Can't wait!!!!!!!

*****

Take care everyone and enjoy the movies!!!

The Flick Guru

Star Wars - Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones

As I mentioned in my review for The Empire Strikes Back, It took me a long time to really appreciate it as part of the Original Trilogy. I didn't, at the time a long time ago, overly like it. It was the middle one, like the middle child...under appreciated and unnoticed. It wasn't until I was older that I really got it. A very close second to A New Hope and actually A New Hope was only #1 on my Top Ten List because it was the Star Wars movie that made me fall it love with the series. The Empire Strikes Back is an excellent movie full of intrigue, darkness, questions and answers.

I wonder if I will ever feel this way about Attack of the Clones. I probably will think higher of it as time goes by, and actually I already have. But when it first came out I was..eh. Nothing great, a good middle chapter, but again nothing special. The more I have watched it though, the more I like it. We get to see the beginnings of Darth Vader. We get to see why Anakin becomes what he becomes. The emotional young man who becomes Darth Vader.

Although not the greatest of actors, Hayden Christenson does a fine job as the teenager Anakin. The first time I saw AOTC, I thought he came off very whiny. But in truth he was only showing the turmoil that Anakin was going through with the loss of his mother. How would we feel if we could no longer see our rock, our one person who keeps us innocent and life real. And ultimately she dies. How would we react. I don't know if I would take my lightsaber and slaughter an entire tribe of Sandpeople, but I always said I wouldn't truly know what I would do if someone hurt the ones I love. I guess we see what Anakin would do.

Again, Ewan McGregor is great as Obi Wan. The wisdom that he gives Anakin throughout, the knowledge and respect that is shown to his Padawan is very true to how Sir Alec Guinness did it with Luke.

There were a couple of things I didn't like about AOTC though. The first one is C-3PO. Not C-3Po, but his dialogue. George Lucas has never been known to be the greatest writer of dialogue, but 3PO's dialogue was terrible. He is supposed to be annoying, but he came off very cheesy, very annoying.

The second thing I didn't quite get was the chemistry between Anakin and Padme. The problem is there was none. Christenson and Natalie Portman who plays Padme just did not have true chemistry. Their acting was very unreal, very tight. The love that they were supposed to have for each other did not show through and quite disappointing. Unfortunately it does not change in Ep 3.

The one big plus side is we get to see the Jedi in full battle mode. The Battle of Geonosis is a great one and we get to see the Jedi as they are supposed to be. Although in favour of peace they can still kick some ass. And leading the Jedi is Yoda. I remember when I was in the theatre and Yoda took his lightsaber out. The entire theatre cheered. It was an awesome sight. The CG for Yoda was also much better in this one then in The Phantom Menace. No puppets in this one and much more realistic.

I am sure that the next time I see this movie I will appreciate this one even more. It is a very strong chapter in the series. Check it out and look past the minor flaws and see what it does to the story. You won't be disappointed.

****1/2

Take care everyone and enjoy the movies!!

The Flick Guru

Star Wars - Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace

The Phantom Menace...where it all begins. I would have to say, besides my wedding day and the birth of my son, I hadn't been this excited. This was a huge event and one that I will never forget.

The Phantom Menace was exciting, illuminating and wondrous. By no means perfect, it was probably what every Star Wars geek out there was hoping for and expecting. It brought back all of the memories and emotions from when the original trilogy came out and more. We were going to see where Anakin Skywalker came from. Holy Shit! Who would have thought this day would come. It did and besides annoying little Jake Lloyd, who played a young Anakin, and Jar Jar Binks, this movie kicked ass.

No, I did not like Jake Lloyd. I don't know how many people did. I know he was young and was only in a few movies before this, he still came off as annoying as hell. Poor acting and that cheesy little "Yippee" when he was in his owner Watto's shop. Annoyed the hell out of me. Same with Jar Jar Binks, annoying but kid friendly. Not sure what George was thinking but I guess he made things right when there was little to no Jar Jar in Ep. 1 and 2.

What really got me, in a good way, with The Phantom Menace, was the evil of it all. We get to see the Emperor at his beginnings. Palpatine (Darth Sidious) creating his Empire one little step at a time. We get to see Darth Sidious's apprentice, Darth Maul, who has pure hatred for the Jedi. It is the beginning of the end for the Jedi and it is awesome.

Ewan McGregor did a great job as a young Obi Wan Kenobi. We see all the nuances, voice intonations, body movements of a young Sir Alec Guinness. He does an excellent job, even as a young brash Jedi, of bringing out the wisdom of the older Obi Wan and brings this out even more in Ep1 and 2.

What is also great about this movie is we get to see a real Jedi fight while watching Obi Wan and Qui Gon Jin (Liam Neeson) fight Darth Maul on Naboo. Amazing, especially after Qui Gon is strike down and Obi Wan gets pissed. The fight scene between Kenobi and Maul was unbelievably fast and intense. Awesome, I still love watching that scene.

The Phantom Menace may not be as good as the Original Trilogy, but it is right up there with them. Not only because it is a great movie, but because it is the start of it all. The start of why everything Star Wars became what it was. Awesome!!

Check out if you haven't seen it, which I am sure not many of you haven't.

Take care everyone and enjoy the movies!!

The Flick Guru

#1 - Star Wars - Episode 4 - A New Hope

A Long Time Ago in a Galaxy Far, Far Away....these were the first words I saw in the first movie that I ever went to. I was only almost 4 years old when it came out, so I probably couldn't read them, but never the less these 10 words have been a part of my life ever since that day in 1977.

From the opening scrawl to the Star Destroyer chasing down Princess Leia's ship over Tatooine, this movie, this story, has been one of awe and inspiration around the world. And in my little world, it has given me years of enjoyment and wonderment. I remember playing Star Wars on the playground at Spruce Home School with my cousin Keith and friends Travis and Bobby. I always wanted to be Luke. I actually got into a little scrap with Keith because he wanted to be Luke. We ended up getting hauled down to the office because of it. The next recess though we back at it playing Star Wars. This was what we did and all we did for the longest time...pretend to be in the galaxy that George Lucas created.

I still remember getting excited at Xmas time when my brother Carey and I got tons of Star Wars toys as gifts. I also remember being pissed off that Carey got the Millennium Falcon and I got the X-Wing. The funny thing is, I now still have that Millennium Falcon. I have all of the figurines that we were given. Now I am not a true collector of Star Wars stuff. As soon as my sons were old enough to play with these toys, I let them. They were beat up and broken before and they keep getting beaten up today. They loved and still do love playing Star Wars. Now my 5 year old is playing Star Wars on the playground with his friend Ashton. How fucking cool is that!!

I also remember how after Return of the Jedi came out there really wasn't anything Star Wars for a long time. There was the Ewok movies and the droids cartoons, but that is about it. Then in June 1991 I just happened to walk into Cole's Book Store to look for anything Star Wars ish and Holy Fuck!!! There it was....one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. A Star Wars novel. Heir to the Empire. I nearly shit my pants and cried for joy. I now have over 100 Star Wars novels. I love being able to read on about these characters, planets and storylines. (I even shed a tear when Chewbacca died)

Then there was the day that George Lucas announced that he was going to do the prequals. This was heaven to all of us Star Wars fans. We couldn't wait and he didn't dissappoint. Although the prequal movies weren't as good as the original three, they still finished up what we all wanted to know. How did Anakin become Darth Vader?

My family and I went to the midnight showing of Revenge of the Sith and I still remember the moment of pure joy that I had that night. It wasn't a moment from the movie. You know, my little guy wanted to dress up as Darth Vader for the movie. So we dressed him up, put on his Darth Vader PJs and cape and his Darth Vader helmet and lightsaber. We got in the theatre and after we sat down I went to the canteen to get some popcorn. As I am standing in line I hear everyone in the theatre cheering. I wondered what that was all about so went to have a look. There was my little Darth Vader kicking the shit out of some Star Wars geek with his red lightsaber. It was awesome, and to be honest with you, I cried. I stood there and I cried. When he was finished whacking him with his blade, I walked up to him and hugged him. It was awesome. He thought it was pretty damn cool too.

So what does this all have to do with Star Wars - A New Hope being my favourite movie of all time. Not only is it an incredible movie with an incredible story, it has created incredible memories for me. All of these things that I have mentioned are things that I will never forget. They are ingrained in me and I will never let them go. I will continue to watch these movies, read the books and watch my son play Star Wars. I will be old and grey and still loving these moments. These are the moments we live for. For each of us, they are different and come from various things. Mine just happen to come from Star Wars.

Thanks George....I appreciate it.

#6 - Star Wars - Episode 5 - The Empire Strikes Back

The Empire Strikes Back was actually the one of the original Star Wars movies that I thought was the bottom of the three for me. It took a while, after more and more viewings, but I think it is a very close second to A New Hope. This episode has everything in it. Great special effects, a great story and it does not have a typical happy ending, which leads into the final chapter of the Star Wars series. Its dark and not a happy movie overall.

It actually wasn't until my youngest son started getting into the Star Wars movies at age 2, without Daddies encouragement to be honest with you, that I really sat down and watched this movie. This is his favourite of the three and let me tell you, we watched it over and over and over again. As I watched it, I really began to love it. As my son stood in front of the T.V. with his lightsaber and Darth Vader helmet and recited the lines, "I am your father", it really started to bring me more and more into loving the movie. I think through this and the love my son has for The Empire Strikes Back, it really allowed it to be a special part of my love for Star Wars. And as any members of my family or my friends will tell you, I love Star Wars.

I could get into a whole, long entry on my feelings for Star Wars, but I think I will wait for some other time to do this. I can't tell you in a few short lines what the Star Wars Universe has meant to my life. I just couldn't do it justice. I may be 33 years old, but I can tell you this, besides the love for my family, Star Wars is a true love of mine and a huge part of who I am today. I know, big fucking GEEK. But I don't care. Its who I am.

Anyways, I love this movie and could have been higher on my list, but there are some other great ones that I love to watch.

As I was told that my list up to this point was full of gayness, the remainder of my list, including this one, is definitely not gay. Well maybe one of them, but the rest of them are full of manliness!!!!

Take care everyone and May the Force be with You!!!

(That's just fucking brutal!!)