Tag Archives: 5*

Five star rating.

Movie Reviews

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Review – The start of the franchise

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I know what you’re thinking – hey, this isn’t start of the franchise, this is the second movie, you dummy! And yes, technically you’d be right, except as I mentioned in my previous review for Episode IV, only because of the massive success the original Star Wars was, the studios established this would be a trilogy.

When I talk about “the start of the franchise”, this doesn’t touch on just these movies, by the way. As I was talking about in my previous review, where things weren’t planned, this is the total opposite to that and to some degree influenced our pop-culture even more, as in here we are seeing world building (several different planets, not just space ships), we see characters who are established here for the final movie (fan favourite Boba Fett, which I have never understood why as he doesn’t really do much in either movie) and obviously the ending that only “ends” this movie but not the plot per say, if that makes sense. There is no finality to this episode, as it ends on the (in)famous plot twist, on a darker note where our heroes are down. This doesn’t end with celebration and medals.

In my mind, this is what makes this movie the fan favourite in all the “Skywalker Saga” and that includes me. I am so fortunate to have seen this movie when I was around 11/12 years old, without it being spoiled for me (I know right!) so you can imagine how my young mind, who’s seen the original Star Wars movie a week prior, was enjoying this movie and then the twist came and I was mind blown. I remember thinking this was so mad, how could this be!

When I was re-watching this movie 2 weeks ago, nothing has changed. Yes, I wasn’t as flabbergasted as I was before, I was there for the ride and what a sweet ride it still is, even though it’s now been 40 years. I still admire that somebody had the balls. after the almost lighthearted original where good guys win and everything is great, to come up with a sequel that ends on a (especially in 1980) darker note, kudos to Irvin Kershner.

What I’ve also noticed about this while re-watching it, is how in here we establish more who these characters are – Han doesn’t look like he’s changed as he wants to leave (again), but upon hearing Luke hasn’t returned, he risks his life to find him and get him to safety. Leia embraced the leading role, where she has the wits to back it up and struggles with her feelings towards Han. And Luke struggles with fulfilling his destiny and becoming a Jedi, as he’s worried about his friends getting killed, but at the same time realising what’s at stake if he doesn’t finish.

Empire Strikes Back is my favourite Star Wars movie, but it’s not by a mile by any means, as all three films from the original trilogy in my eyes are almost equal, and choosing the “best” ones from them is like choosing between Ferrari or Porsche. Either way, you’re going to ride a pretty great car. It’s splitting hears, looking for tiny details where it’s up to you which movie you gravitate towards more. I couldn’t fault you for choosing any of the other two movies for being your favourite Star Wars film.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

That’s all for this one? Which one is your favourite Star Wars movie? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) Review – A Long Time Ago…

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Is there anything new I can say about Star Wars? THE Star Wars? The movie that influenced everything from the way movies are made, to pop-culture, merchandising… I’m still not quite sure if I can grasp how influential this movie was, not just for its time, but for most of our culture now.

And to think this was supposed to be just a one movie, where you have a beginning, the middle and the end… to think how it was originally just named simply Star Wars, no episode number, no New Hope, nothing, as nobody expected this movie to do anything box-office wise. BTW, it’s still the 2. movie of all time box-office wise (adjusted for inflation, see it for yourself here).

I don’t think I can really add anything new here, to be perfectly honest with you. But I’ve recently re-watched all 9 “Skywalker Saga” movies (because that’s how we are calling them now, apparently) and just realized how much I love Star Wars, mainly the original trilogy, so I will write a review for all of them.

If I could just say one thing – where big studios are trying to re-create this magic, they always seem to forget about one thing – this wasn’t supposed to happen, therefore you can’t recreate this. What I mean by that is George Lucas (before all the special additions and truly unnecessary and frankly annoying touches he’s added to the film over the years) delivered something that was just a singular piece of film making, where there was just one story, with a beginning, a middle and the end. No sequel in mind, no setting up this character for later on, because that’s what we deserve, as movie going public. To see a movie, not a something that’s trying to setup another movie/trilogy. Plenty of people seem to miss this nowadays in a hope (heh, see what I did there?) that they might just come close to replicating this.

This movie (and the entire original trilogy) will always be like a warm blanket, like a cozy corner on rainy Sunday afternoon, where I just feel at home while watching it. Sure, I could probably find some flaws (pacing, mainly in the beginning) but I couldn’t for a life of me lower my rating of this movie. For the Star Wars movie reviews that will follow, with some I might have 2 rating scales, the “objective” rating, and my rating. You will understand once we stumble upon the prequels. 😉

But this one doesn’t need 2 rating scales, just one.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

That’s it for the very first (or fourth) Star Wars movie? Do you love it as much as I do? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

300 (2006) Review – THIS IS SPARTA!

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I remember like it was yesterday – one day in 2006, my (back then) best mate and I went to see this film in our local cinema. We’d never shut up, we’d always have plenty of things to talk about, but when the movie started, we wouldn’t talk to each other for the entirety of its length. Not even single “Wow” or “That’s so cool.” And that continued some time after coming out of the theater, we’d just walk towards his bus stop, silently, with occasional “fucking hell, what a movie”. We were literally out of words and mind blown by that movie as we haven’t seen anything like that before (we were both just 14/15, but still).

Ever since that experience, I’ve seen this movie 2 more times, one of them being tonight to refresh my memory and see how I feel about it, and also to introduce it to my girlfriend. She loved it, as she was mainly mesmerized by all the abs… and yeah, there’s plenty of good looking, built men. Some might say you get to question your sexuality in some scenes, you know those are really nice looking men, with oily abs and… what was I talking about again? Oh yeah, how do I feel about the movie?

I still love it. Sure, it does have its issues, some slow-mo shots were slightly over the top and other might’ve been unnecessary, some might say it’s over-stylized, it’s over the top in general, BUT… this is a movie you need to meet on ITS own terms.

What I still love about this movie is it announces itself really early on, and tells you straightaway – hey, this is how this movie’s going to look like, feel like and if you accept it and just give in, you will enjoy this Greek/Scottish (oh Gerard I know you’ve tried to tone down your Scottish accent, but it slips out in some scenes) ride to the fullest and at the end you might not be sick.

What might help in your enjoyment of this movie is this fact I’ve stumbled upon while browsing Reddit the other day, that stuck with me and I truth to be told, have never realized until I’ve read it:

This is why 300 contains so many fantastical elements.

I don’t know if this is what Zack Snyder was trying to say, maybe he just thought it’d be cool to have elephants, and giant monsters and sorcerers, but it does make it more “believable” as propaganda is a strong tool, even in our times.

Before ending this review, I do want to give a “shout-out” to Lena Headey and Dominic West where both actors are given fairly limited space, but mainly Lena does well with what she’s given and she makes a memorable Queen. And Dominic’s sleazy senator is also memorable, for entirely different reason.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

That’s it for 300! What did you think, did you like it, or was it too much for you? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

TV Show Reviews

South Park Review – Seasons 1 – 10

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This review is based on the first 10 seasons of South Park, minor spoilers might be involved.

South Park has always been one of those TV shows I’ve heard about, later when YouTube was a thing saw a clip or two from it, but never fully watched it from the very start.

I’ve decide to fix it (long before COVID-19, but sure is great having more time than even on your hands… god, I miss outside world) and started to watch it from the very first episode.

Let me tell you, except the graphics, and some references, you wouldn’t have known the first episodes are over 20 years old now. The show is as topical now as ever, it’s clever, but most importantly, it’s genuinely funny!

Unlike Family Guy this show doesn’t rely on pop-culture references as much and when they do use them, it’s usually something as big as Lords of the Rings mania, Nintendo Wii, World of Warcraft etc. which even if you haven’t played/watched it, you still kind of know what it is.

Another, and the most major difference between those two shows (and let’s face it, it wouldn’t be fair to compare South Park to The Simpsons as they are not allowed, or wanting to be as edgy/dark/pushing the limits of what can/can’t be shown on TV, so I will leave everyone’s favorite yellow family out of this) their episodes/story lines might seem random/bizarre at first glance, but usually there is always something behind them, especially in later episodes.

South Park has established themselves as the “fair” TV show. They will mock you no matter what, and that’s something I admire – no matter if the creators/writers believe in something or not, they are more than willing to make fun of it and even if sometimes they do have the need to “explain” the lesson little too on the nose (mainly in first couple of seasons), it never goes overboard into preachy territory.

What fascinates me about this show is how fresh it feels, even after 10 seasons I’ve seen so far – I could probably count the number of “boring” episodes on fingers of one hand of very unlucky woodworker. And some topics they decided to cover over those 10 seasons are (unfortunately) as relevant today as they were back then (race, politicians, abortion issues, women’s issues, religion, the list goes on and on) and that’s why this is the perfect TV show, which won’t age as badly as others.

I also need to take my hat off before the creators, as I am not sure how they got away with some episodes being aired at all (and I’m not talking about the prophet Muhammad episodes) like Satan having his birthday party on Earth, bringing back three notorious serial killers to get him a cake, and of course, they kill PLENTY of people in the most graphic way possible. Just an example.

My favorite episodes so far: Starvin’ Marvin, Cartman’s Mom Is a Dirty Slut, Conjoined Fetus Lady, Spookyfish, Sexual Harassment Panda, Starvin’ Marvin in Space, Timmy 2000, Cartman Joins NAMBLA, Scott Tenorman Must Die, Red Hot Catholic Love, Free Hat, A Ladder to Heaven, The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers, Casa Bonita, All About Mormons, The Passion of the Jew, Douche and Turd, Woodland Critter Christmas, The Death of Eric Cartman, Trapped in the Closet, Make Love, Not Warcraft, Miss Teacher Bangs a Boy

Rating: 5 out of 5.

That’s all for this one, I might do a part two once I’m finished with the entirety of South Park. Do you like South Park or do you think it’s overrated? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

Movie Reviews

On Body and Soul (2017) Review – The best movie you’ll (probably) never see

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I usually don’t include the plot, as I don’t really see the point in reviews to give you a plot of movie you either have seen or are considering seeing (therefore reading this, hopefully) but given the fact this will be an under-seen movie not matter what, I’ll make an exception:

When slaughterhouse workers Endre and Mária discover they share the same dreams – where they meet in a forest as deer and fall in love – they decide to make their dreams come true but it’s difficult in real life.

This Hungarian movie (nominated for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year at 2018 Oscars) is really worth it, even if you consider subtitles to be just really annoying part of a weird, usually different movie you’re not used to. See for yourself, the trailer below:

I know. I’ve done it. I’ve just hit a jackpot where all the keywords like “Endre”, “Maria”, “Hungarian” and “subtitles” will make sure most of you reading this until now click away, washing their eyes in terror and hoping that somebody better invent the goddamn time machine quick, so you can travel back in time a minute before reading this review and stop your past self from reading this.

But that’d be dumb not that wise. This movie is different, and yes, it might be bit on the “artsy” side (yet another keyword, yey! This is going well…) but it’s not self-indulgent. This is just a simple story told slightly differently with killer performances, that are nuanced and feel honest.

On Body and Soul is unique look at relationships, and how easy or difficult they can be, especially if you are not sure how to communicate your feelings, if you’re socially awkward, or if you don’t have anyone else to go to for an advice. It is relatable on a very basic level where (almost) everybody just wants to find somebody to share their happiness, pain, life, you know, the entire package with.

It’s also visually stunning movie, combining some harsh images (people who struggle with blood should maybe consider skipping this one) with poetic images of pure, untainted nature.

I’m not going to lie, I’ve only seen this movie once, over 2 years ago, but it stayed with me until today. Because to me, this is the perfect blend of a movie being “artsy” without having to bore you to death, or where you’d have to ask yourself every 10 minutes “what the fuck am I watching?” The story isn’t complicated at all, it’s told beautifully and only asks you to suspend your disbelief for a tiny bit, after all, why couldn’t 2 people meet within one dream?

I’m going to leave you with this – if you going to watch just ONE Hungarian movie in your entire life, this might a choice you (hopefully) shouldn’t regret.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

And I’ll leave you with this song from the movie that perfectly encapsulates the feel of it (the video with it will make more sense once you’ve seen the movie, trust me on that :-))

Hope you’ve enjoyed this review, let me know what you think!

Until next time,

Luke