Cats

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Doc

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I am going to strive to not make any cat puns during this review. We’ll see how well that goes.

There was a woman in my theater sitting two seats from me who was waving her hands in her face to keep from crying and she was clearly filled with joy over this movie.

I’m glad that she found joy here, because there was little to no joy to be found by me.

This was a total crap-show.

I’ll get the positives out of the way first. God bless Ian McKellan. He was the one actor, appearing as Gus the Theater Cat, who seemed to know what movie he was in. When he meowed, I nearly fell out of my chair.

Second, the musical performance of Memory by Jennifer Hudson was astounding. Hudson has an amazing voice and she put every last bit of emotion into that version. I also have a special place in my heart for the song, Mr. Mistoffelees so I liked hearing that song.

That was about it.

You may wonder why I have not done the plot synopsis that I normal do. Simple. There is no plot here. The story is severely lacking at best and at worst non-existent. From what I can tell, the story was that each new Jellicle cat arrived and sang a song about who they were, hoping to be selected by Old Deuteronomy (Judi Dench) to be reborn into a new life on the Heaviside Layer. No explanation of what any of that means, mind you, but there it is.

The biggest issue with the movie is the horrific CGI that made these wonderful actors into some kind of nightmarish cat/human hybrid. It may look somewhat better than that terrible trailer they released earlier this year, but it still looked atrocious. Jennifer Hudson was frightening as she performed her brilliant version of Memory.

There were times where I simply stared at the screen in utter shock over what I was seeing.

The tone of the film was scattershot. One minute, it felt like the movie was intended to be a comedy (such as when James Corden and Rebel Wilson were on screen) and in another minute it felt like a serious drama (when Judi Dench and Hudson were on screen). Meanwhile, there were dancing and singing cats all over the place.

The size of the cats was inconsistent. Some times they seemed as if they were supposed to be human sized. Other times they seemed to be cat sized. There was even a time, when they were walking on a rail, that they seemed to be tiny, almost mouse-sized. This is just sloppy editing and direction.

Most of the music could not replace the story and it made much of the movie feel boring. None of these characters that were introduced, outside of Gus, were interesting at all. Macavity (Idris Elba) was the main villain, but there was little point to him. He arrived to spirit away the individual cats so they would not be around for the selection. This whole subplot was forced and irrelevant.

This may be a film that eventually will find its place as a cult movie or a film to be riffed by RaffTrax Live or some type. That would be purr-fect.

Dang it. I didn’t make it.

0.9 stars

“I Am Groot” Voice Acting Award 2019

Posted on December 21, 2019 by Doc

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The “I Am Groot” Voice Acting Award goes to the best voice actor/motion capture performance of the year. This has been becoming more and more important to the film industry and it is not seen as just animation any longer.

In the short time we have been presenting this award, we have given this to the characters Moana, Caesar, Thanos, and Genie.

It was a tough choice this year.

Previous Winners: Auli’i Cravalho, Andy Serkis, Robin Williams (honorary), Josh Brolin

2019

#4. Josh Brolin- Thanos (Avengers: Endgame). Infinity War was Thanos’s movie. Here he was still epic, but in a different way. Brolin is still fantastic.

#3. Tom Hanks- Woody (Toy Story 4). The fourth installment of the Toy Story franchise was Woody’s story, and his ultimate fate. It may not have been as great as the previous Toy Story movies, but that did not detract from Hanks’ top of the line performance.

#2. J.K. Simmons-Klaus (Klaus). Klaus was a surprise at Netflix, but it is one of the best animated films of the year. That is thanks, in part, to a great job from J.K. Simmons in the title role.

And the “I Am Groot” Voice Over Award winner for 2019 is….

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#1. Ryan Reynolds- Pikachu (Detective Pikachu). This film may not have been hugely successful, but a big part of what made this movie awesome was Ryan Reynolds and his witty banter. He made this movie worth seeing.

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Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker

Posted on December 20, 2019 by Doc

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In the immortal words of LOST’s John Locke, “We’re gonna need to watch that again.”

The LOST allusion is not completely out of left field because I saw Charlie on screen tonight as I was watching the final chapter in the Star Wars saga, The Rise of Skywalker. I know Dominic Monaghan has had other roles (including a huge one in Lord of the Rings) but he will always be Charlie Pace from Drive Shaft to me.

After the first viewing of Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, I am torn. I enjoyed the process of watching the movie, yet I have major issues with what I saw. I was enjoying the film, but I am afraid that this could be one that I have a different opinion of as time movies along.

I am avoiding all spoilers for this movie review which means that there may not be much that I can talk about at this moment.

The Rise of Skywalker wraps up the third Star Wars trilogy in a way that tries to make everyone happy, and I think that many of the Star Wars fans will love this. There were some really good moments that I liked too. There was a ton of nostalgia in the film. There were things that were fun to see. There was some good humor here and most of the jokes worked for me.

There are some major issues too. First, it was full of too much exposition. They felt the need to explain most everything. Second, the dialogue was not quite the sharpest we have see in this franchise. Third, the pace of the film was a breakneck speed as the movie flew from point to point in the first part of the film. fourth, I do not think that the trio of Rey (Daisy Ridley), Poe (Oscar Isaac), and Finn (John Boyega) had the connection that the film wanted them to have. We just have not had enough of these three characters together. I absolutely did not buy the relationship with Rey and Poe. It felt false.

However, the biggest problem I had with this movie was there were so many scenes that were basically the exact same scenes from previous Star Wars movies. As I was watching, I kept thinking that, “Oh that was from Empire. Oh, now we are doing Return of the Jedi.” It was not even just homages either. It almost felt as if they took the exact scenes from the previous movies and just flipped around the characters a bit.

That would become very distracting for me as I was thinking about past movies instead of what was happening in the new one. Because of this choice, there felt to be very little changes taken by J.J. Abrams and the creative forces behind the movie. That certainly feels like a choice made because of the backlash that The Last Jedi suffered. No matter what you think of The Last Jedi, you cannot deny that Rian Johnson took some big swings in that movie. The Rise of Skywalker…not so much. And some of The Last Jedi seemed to be wiped away with this movie too. The Rise of Skywalker did not feel to be a follow-up to The Last Jedi, which brings into question the overall planning of the franchise.

And yet even with these problems, I enjoyed myself fairly well. The third act was shaky for me, but the first hour and an half was a decent time at the movies. That may sound like I am trying to stay on the fence, and that would sound that way because that is exactly what I am doing. This is a movie where I need to reflect on what I saw and let my perceptions settle. I do believe I need to see this again to solidify what I think about it.

I really liked the performances of Adam Driver and Daisy Ridley. They were stand outs here. It was heartbreaking to see Carrie Fisher again and watching how they resolved her absence was one of the tougher aspects of The Rise of Skywalker. The film looked like a Star Wars movie, unlike the entire prequels, which looked like nothing more than a video game/computer graphic background. There was some good action. However, the plot is lackluster, if not lazy. While I enjoyed a good part of the first hour and a half, the story being told was not the best ever. It was basically a “we have to find this thing so we can go there and do this” type of a story and those are not the deepest plots imaginable.

I’m still not sure what my mind is on The Rise of Skywalker. The more I type here, the more reflective I am about the film, the more it seems that I am being negative, but there is no denying that I had fun with the movie. I did not feel that it wasted my time. I am glad that I was there opening night and that I saw it with a full house. It was a moment. Perhaps this truly is a film that I need to see a second time before I commit to what I think. I am afraid that Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is going to be that type of film where I initially feel one thing, but over time, it slips down the chart. I don’t know. But for now, despite the drawbacks I have, I am going to give it …

3.25 stars

That still feels too high of a number, but, for now, that is what I am going with. You should see this movie for sure to allow yourself to make up your own mind. Maybe some of the problems I have are not going to bother you. I hope you all enjoy the movie.

Family Tree #2

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Doc

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Family Tree #2

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artist: Phil Hester

Cover Art: Phil Hester

I have not read a ton of Image Comics. So when I picked up Family Tree #1, it was a whim. I was very happy I did because issue #1 was strong, engaging and beautiful.

It made me wonder what issue two would be like. Would it continue the positive direction or would it lose the momentum it started?

I am very pleased to state that I think the second issue is even better than the first one.

The story is told in two time eras, 1996 and 1997. We see some more of Grandpa and what he can do, and the last page is stunning. The story from Jeff Lemire has been enjoyable so far and makes you wonder exactly what is going on. That has not changed in issue two.

Not only is the writing tremendous, the art is beautiful. I love looking at the art as I am reading this issue. Phil Hester’s artwork is haunting and helps create a special storytelling technique. The use of black and white in the background helps the images to stand out and provide more depth. The color of the art helps tell the story as well. It feels unlike most any other comic on the market at the moment.

I am excited to see how this continues.

Awesomeness

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Spider-Man #3 (of 5)

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Doc

SPIDER-MAN #3 (OF 5)

Spider-Man #3 (of 5)

“Bloodline Part III”

Writers: J.J. Abrams & Henry Abrams

Artist: Sara Pichelli

Cover Art: Olivier Coipel & Dave Stewart

I have been enjoying this series, although it has been a while since issue number two came out. Typically, I am not a huge fan of alternate stories, but I have really grown to like the son of Peter Parker, Ben. I like his look. I like his personality.

And the story has been hot so far. There is a page in the early part of the book that seriously was jaw-dropping. So what I have been reading here has been excellent.

The arrival of another former Marvel super hero here was a cool arrival and made the story funny, despite the big time stakes that were going on.

And the ending is mind-blowing.

This is a great example of when you write a good story, have great art, and intriguing characters, a book will be successful. If you write a great story, even out of continuity, you can enjoy a comic.

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SPIDER-MAN #3 (OF 5)

The Anna Devane Kick Ass Female of 2019

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Doc

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Next up on the Year in Review is the Anna Devane Kick Ass Female Award, in honor of one of my favorite characters from General Hospital, WSB super spy Anna Devane. I loved everything about Anna and the fact that she was a kick ass spy was just part of the package.

So this year’s group of females who can kick my butt is a strong one. There are some returning favorites here as well as some brand new entries.

Previous winners: Rey (Star Wars), Mockingbird (Marvel Comics), Wonder Woman (DCEU), The Shirewolves

#10. Valkyrie (Avengers: Endgame). Tessa Thompson plays a small role in the film, but she winds up as King of Asgard. Not bad. Looking forward to more from her.

#9. Aero (Marvel Comics). New hero in Marvel’s Agents of Atlas, Aero is a Chinese hero who can control the winds. She is a fun new character expanding the Marvel Universe.

#8. Sarah Connors (Terminator: Dark Fate). Linda Hamilton returned to the Terminator franchise and, while the film appeared to have flopped, Sarah Connors showed how tough she still was.

#7. Eleven (Stranger Things 3). Millie Bobby Brown continued to make this character one of the best parts of the Netflix series. Her relationship with Mike was pushed a bit this year, but when she needed to crush some Russians, she was ready to fling that car.

#6. Agent Melinda May (Agents of Shield). It was a tough year for May. She lost Coulson. Someone came back who looked just like him and she had to kill him at least once. May continues to be the best agent on that show.

#5. Saraya aka “Paige” (Fighting With My Family). She would become the professional wrestler Paige in the WWE, but watching how she came to arrive in this biopic was extremely entertaining. Florence Pugh had a huge year and this kicked it off.

#4. Rey (Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker). We are on the eve of the movie and this spot is truly ceremonial. I can only assume that Rey is going to kick some ass. It sure looks like she will in the promotional material.

#3. Black Widow (Avengers: Endgame). Natasha sacrificed her life to make sure that the Avengers were able to fix the big mistake they made with Thanos. Black Widow held the team together during the five years during the snap and she brought a ton of emotion. She may be even higher next year as she gets her very own solo movie.

#2. Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House). I try to leave politics off of this web site, but I just cannot ignore how Nancy has brought her power down on Washington this year, holding off on impeachment until she just couldn’t hold off any longer. She shakes off the insults from President Trump like a boss. And she prays for him. Nancy knows how to get under his orange skin.

And the winner of the Anna Devane Kick Ass Female of the Year…

#1. Captain Marvel. I know a lot of fanboys had problems with Brie Larson and with the movie from Marvel Studios, Captain Marvel. Despite the controversy, Captain Marvel broke the billion dollar mark, something very few people would have guessed. She also played a significant role in Avengers: Endgame without overshadowing the characters that we really wanted to see. Captain Marvel deserves this placement for 2019. Sorry to the haters.

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The Kurt Russell EGO De-Aging Award

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Doc

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The technique of de-aging actors in films has started to really become a huge trait in movies these days. This CGI technique has been used more over the last few years and this year there has been some major uses of it. So it is time to start giving out the Kurt Russell EGO De-Aging Award, in honor of Kurt Russell’s amazing de-aging in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

The Kurt Russell EGO De-Aging Award will give out two awards, one for the Best De-Aging and one for Worst De-Aging of the Year.

2019 Best De-Aging

Runner’s Up: Joe Pesci (The Irishman), Samuel L. Jackson (Captain Marvel), John Slattery (Avengers: Endgame), Edward Furlong (Terminator: Dark Fate), Linda Hamilton (Terminator: Dark Fate)

2019 Winner: Robert DeNiro (The Irishman)

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Worst De-Aging of the Year

Runners-Up: Clark Gregg (Captain Marvel), Michael Douglas (Avengers: Endgame)

2019 Worst: The kids from It Chapter Two

EGO

World of WWE 2019

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Doc

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The WWE has had a bit of a down year this year, but also have reached new heights. NXT has continued to be a jewel in the WWE crown. There have been times when I was bored with Monday Night RAW, but I have mostly enjoyed the PPVs. The FOX deal has been a huge money maker for the WWE, but it has not really increased the quality.

Still, there is a feeling that things are getting ready to turn the corner.

Matches of the Year.

#10. Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks, Hell in a Cell.

#9. The NXT Women’s War Games, Team Rhea vs. Team Shayna, NXT Takeover: War Games

#8. Adam Cole vs. Johnny Gargano, NXT Takeover XXV

#7. Daniel Bryan vs. Randy Orton vs. Kofi Kingston vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Jeff Hardy, Elimination Chamber.

#6. Candice LaRue vs. Io Shirai, NXT Takeover: Toronto

#5. Seth Rollins vs. Brock Lesnar, SummerSlam

#4. Ricochet vs. Johnny Gargano, NXT Takeover: Phoenix

#3. NXT Men’s War Games, Undisputed ERA vs. Team Ciampa, NXT Takeover: War Games

#2. Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole, 2 out of 3 falls, NXT Takeover: New York

#1. Kofi Kingston vs. Daniel Bryan, Wrestlemania 35.

There has been few matches this year that had as much of an emotional story as Kofi vs. Bryan at Wrestlemania as Kofi completed his life long dream of winning the WWE Championship. This was an amazing story and one of the best pay offs in the WWE in years.

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WWE Wrestler of the Year: Becky Lynch. “The Man” has had a year unlike any other. From defeating Ronda Rousey at Wrestlemania in the main event to the main event of TLC, Lynch is a star. Runners-Up: Seth Rollins, Adam Cole, Kofi Kingston, Brock Lesnar, The Fiend.

WWE Tag Team of the Year: New Day. One of the greatest teams in the WWE is ending 2019 as tag team champs once again, this time on Smackdown. Get well soon, Xavier! Runners-Up: The Revival, The Viking Raiders, The Kabuki Warriors, Gallows & Anderson.

WWE Feud of the Year: Johnny Gargano vs. Adam Cole. These guys had three matches this year that could have made the top ten. Runners-Up: Kofi vs. Daniel Bryan, Becky Lynch vs. Ronda Rousey, Becky Lynch vs. Sasha Banks

WWE Performer of the Year: Bray Wyatt. Wyatt has re-energized himself with the Firefly Fun House segments and the character of “The Fiend.” He is the hottest thing in the WWE and continues to be one of the most interesting characters around. Runners-Up: Kofi Kingston, Daniel Bryan, Shayna Baszler, Adam Cole, Seth Rollins

WWE Woman of the Year (Not Named Becky): Shayna Baszler. The NXT Women’s Champion had been a force to reckon with in the yellow brand. Shayna has placed her name down as a future superstar. Runners-Up: Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Sasha Banks, The Kabuki Warriors, Io Shirai.

Manager of the Year: Paul Heyman. Yes, I know he is an advocate, but there are few others who could be considered anywhere near his level. Runners-Up: Lana, Sami Zayn.

Face of the Year: Kofi Kingston. Kofi and his partners in the New Day were the best faces of the year. Kofi got the awesome storyline for the WWE title and, even though he had it end in an unhappy manner, he keeps with his job and works hard. Runners-Up: Ricochet, Becky Lynch, Roman Reigns

Heel of the Year: Daniel Bryan. He has since turned face, but Daniel Bryan’s heel run this year was so great. He spoke the truth and people hated him for it. Runners-Up: Adam Cole, Baron Corbin, Brock Lesnar, Sasha Banks, Shayna Baszler.

Best Heel Turn: Dakota Kai. Dakota Kai turned on her best friend in the middle of the NXT Women’s War Games Match. It was a fantastic moment and a great heel turn is a lost art these days. Runners-Up: Seth Rollins, Bayley, Io Shirai, Finn Balor

Best Announcer: Mauro Ranallo. I don’t care what anyone says, Mauro makes the NXT Takeovers better with his match calls. Runners-Up: Cory Graves, Samoa Joe

Biggest Waste of Talent: Cesaro. He has won this “award” before. It is sad that he is not in the main event every night. Runners-Up: Samoa Joe, Shinsuke Nakamura, Sammy Zayn, Drew McIntyre.

Best News of the Year: Roman Reigns returns in remission. Last year, Roman announced that he had to step away because of a battle with Leukemia. This year, Roman returned and announced he was cancer free.

Next Big Thing: Keith Lee. The massive man from NXT had a chance to show off for the WWE Universe around the Survivor Series this year and he was amazing. A man his size with the abilities he has was spectacular. Runners-Up: Shayna Baszler, Rhea Ripley.

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EYG Top 100 Worst Movies of the Decade #80-71

Posted on December 17, 2019 by Doc

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Continuing my own list of the worst movies of the last decade, we will hit on numbers 80 through 71. As always… this is my subjective thoughts and if there is anything that you disagree with, you have every right. This is my list.

#80. Cars 2. Pixar’s Cars franchise was not meant for me. Unlike a lot of the Pixar films, Cars is directed at the children and only the children. It is a perfect example of dumbing down the material instead of raising it up.

#79. Baywatch. I was actually looking forward to this. The TV show was a guilty pleasure of mine. I love the Rock. But unfortunately, Baywatch was just a terrible, immature waste. This could have been so much more entertaining.

#78. X-Men: Apocalypse. Another waste was the first use of one of the greatest X-Men villains ever, Apocalypse. This was such a step down after the greatness of Days of Future Past that you wonder what happened.

#77. Ben-Hur. I mean…why? What was the reason behind the remake of the classic (which was also a remake, by the way). If you are doing this, find something worth doing. They did not. It was bad.

#76. Terminator: Genisys. Another major disappointment. James Cameron had said that this was a great Terminator film. Not sure which film he was watching. The flop of Terminator: Dark Fate is directly connected to how bad this film was.

#75. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword. They have not gotten King Arthur right in a long time and this was a boring mess. This story had so many weak points to it and Charlie Hunnam did not pull anything out.

#74. Tron: Legacy. Some people like this, but I thought it was horrendous. It was dull. It looked like a mess. Even the presence of Jeff Bridges could not save this one.

#73. The Gangster Squad. Remarkably forgettable. How could this film be as bad as it was with a cast like Ryan Gosling, Josh Brolin, Emma Stone, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi and Michael Pena? It was though.

#72. Getaway. It has 2% on Rotten Tomatoes. Even the audience score is low at 35%. Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez are the stars here, but the car chases are considered much more important.

#71. Need for Speed. Another car type movie, this time with Aaron Paul in the lead. Based on a video game franchise and that should be all you need.

WorstMoviesDecade

Best and Worst Villains of 2019

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Doc

Villains are so important. If you want your hero to stand out, you need to have a great antagonist. Here are the best and worst of each for 2019.

BEST Villains

#5. Pennywise.

#4. Carnage

#3. Thanos

#2. Mysterio

#1. Joker

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Joker made over 1 Billion dollars at the box office. He carried his own movie with a great performance from Joaquin Phoenix. Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio from Spider-man: Far From Home was fantastic, but just could not reach the levels of Joker. Thanos was in the largest money making movie of all time, but he was more important last year. Carnage was featured in his own major Marvel crossover. Finally, Pennywise could have been higher had It Chapter Two been better. Pennywise was not an issue with that movie.

WORST Villain

#5. Jean Grey (Dark Phoenix)

#4. Charlie Peck (The Intruder)

#3. Bosley (Charlie’s Angels)

#2. Smith (Dark Phoenix)

#1. Mexican Drug Cartel (Rambo: Last Blood)

The Mexican Drug cartel in was as weak as could be. They were totally one-dimensional and interchangeable. The movie Dark Phoenix brought us two weak villains, not only title character Jean Grey but Jessica Chastain’s character… Smith, I guess (that is what IMDB says). Patrick Stewart phoned in his performance as Bosley in the new Charlie’s Angels movie. The Intruder was one of those movies that spoiled itself in the trailer.

EYG Best Movies of the Decade #80-71

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Doc

Top100

#80-71

Continuing the countdown of the list of EYG’s choices for the Top 100 films of the decade. We are moving into the 70s.

#80. Looper. Time travel with Bruce Willis facing off with a younger version of himself in Joseph Gordon-Levitt. There is a tremendous child performance from Pierce Gagnon as Cid.

#79. Django Unchained. The first Tarantino movie on the list with a fantastic cast. The film tells all about a former slave Django who is freed and turns into a bounty hunter. It has all of Quentin’s typical violence and bloodshed, but is full of brilliant writing and characterization as well.

#78. Chronicle. Josh Trank took the found footage genre and turned it on its ear with the inclusion of a super powered origin story. Chronicle was strengthened with some of the earliest appearances from Dane DeHaan and Michael B. Jordan.

That was three consecutive films from 2012. Good year I guess.

#77. The Big Sick. An amazing comedy that stars Kumail Nanjiani in the story of his relationship with Emily, who gets terribly sick. Kumail has to hang with her parents, played by Ray Romano and Holly Hunter. It is loosely based on their true story and it is hilarious.

#76. Get Out. It is a brilliant horror/thriller from the mind of Jordan Peele. Peele, who has been in the comedy group Key and Peele, debuted as the director of this movie and showed tremendous skill. He was able to blend the racial relations with a scary as hell movie that had its share of laughs. This one came out of nowhere to be a huge hit.

#75. Moonrise Kingdom. Paul Anderson’s film with Bill Murray, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton that shows us the beginning of young love for two oddball kids who have runaway to be together.

#74. The Martian. Hey Golden Globes… this ain’t no comedy! The Martian shows us how Matt Damon survives after he gets stranded on the planet of Mars. Then we hope for his rescue from the earth. Ha Ha Ha

#73. Kingsman: The Secret Service. The first of a series based on a comic book, The Kingsmen is produced by Matthew Vaughn. It is a spy thriller featuring Taron Egerton and Colin Firth as Kingsmen trying to prevent Sam Jackson from taking over the world. You will never think about Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Freebird the same ever again.

#72. Paddington. No way this film makes this list. I expected this to be so bad and yet it was as charming and warm-hearted as any movie you could see. Paddington inspired a great sequel as well.

#71. X-Men: First Class. As this was announced, I had no interest in any more X-Men. X-Men Origins: Wolverine had burned me enough as had X-Men 3. However, with some amazing casting (such as James McAvoy as Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Magneto) and a cool idea of placing this in the 1960s (during the Cuban Missile Crisis to be exact) and having one of the best cameos of all time (from Hugh Jackman), First Class put the mutants back on the right track.

Top100

Next up: 70-61

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Doc

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My memory of this movie was that it was my favorite of the prequels, but that it was not a film that I loved. Looking back on Disney + at the film in preparation for Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker, I pretty much confirmed that opinion.

It was far and away better than the previous two Star Wars movies, but it still had big time problems that kept me from really loving the film. Interestingly enough, The Last Jedi had some big time problems but that did not prevent me from loving it. I wonder how much stench on this film was still being left by Attack of the Clones?

I will say the same thing about this film that I said about the previous prequels. There is too many light saber fights. Everybody is fighting with the light sabers and because of that, those cool possible moments (like Obi-Wan vs. General Grievous ) would have felt so much more special instead of just another CGI fight.

And the CGI continued to be a problem as everything lacked the realistic feel. There was too many scenes taking place in a pristine world that just did not fit with Star Wars worlds.

I sis not buy Anakin’s turn to the Dark Side. It felt as if it were coming out of left field and that he had not been pushed enough. Hayden Christensen was better here, but he still had that whininess about him that took away from the overall character. Then, slaughtering all of the Jedi children was much darker than I thought Anakin was. It felt unearned… something that I just had a hard time believing Anakin would do.

The light saber fight between Obi-Wan and Anakin at the end of the film was well done, but it felt as if it were too long. Much like the fight between Superman and Zod at the end of Man of Steel, I think if they had shortened this up, it would have been more effective.

This was the best Ewan McGregor was as Obi-Wan, and I almost wished this was the way Obi-Wan was for the full prequels. His dialogue was still not great, but the character was much more interesting than before.

And there was the scene that was iconic…but for all the wrong reasons. We see Darth Vader in full outfit for the first time in the prequels and what happened? Noooooooooooooooooo! You were not the only ones yelling that, Anakin.

There are plenty of plot holes and things that do not make sense here when you look at the original Star Wars trilogy, but that will just have to be ignored. Like why does Obi-Wan, in A New Hope, says to Luke that he does not remember ever owning a droid? I mean.. it is C3PO and R2D2. Sure, maybe they wiped the C3PO memory, but did they wipe Obi-Wan’s as well? How about when Yoda says, in response to Obi-Wan stating that Luke was thei rlast hope, “no, there is another.” Should Obi-Wan know that since he was there when Luke and Leia were born?

But despite this lack of continuity, Revenge of the Sith was definitely a step up from the previous two films and, while it may have had its share of problems. it was a much more enjoyable film. Maybe this looked as good as it did because of what it followed, but I do believe that they made some strides.

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Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Doc

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Star Wars Episode IV is under a week away now, and I got stuck after The Phantom Menace. Two reasons: one, I got busy. Two, I really wasn’t looking forward to watching Attack of the Clones again.

Finally, as I was working on the In Memorandum for the 2019 Year in Review section of the web site, I put the movie on in the background.

You could tell that the movie was not my main interest. And with good reason.

Episode II was the worst of the Star Wars movies when I first watched them back in the early 2000s, and time has not improved my opinion of this one. In fact, by now, the CGI is so much better that the CGI in this film looked terrible. I don’t know how many times I looked over to the screen and saw what was clearly a green screen. I had to laugh a couple of times, and then I had to look away a couple of times.

The CGI in the prequels was one of the biggest problems because it made everything look too pristine. Star Wars was always dirtier, grittier. That was gone in these movies and it was desperately missing.

Poor Hayden Christopher… he was terrible in these movies. I feel that he was tossed into the deep end of the pool too soon. I know he is a better actor than what we saw here, but he was simply bad here. The dialogue was just shockingly bad. I think some of my middle school students would write more realistic dialogue than this.

The whole romance between Anakin and Padme was so forced and so unbeleivable that it did damage to the entire idea of the prequels, which was to show the “origin” of Darth Vader. To show how Luke and Leia’s father took the path to the Dark Side of the Force and became the most evil villain in the galaxy.

Even the action at the end is not good because all they have are a bunch of light sabers carving up some droids. I found the whole fight boring. Even the Yoda/Dooku showdown was lacking. I found it hard to believe that Yoda was as active as he was in that fight. Wasn’t he limping around with a cane?

There is just too much of the light sabers in this film (all of the prequels to be honest) and that makes those less special.

It feels as if these Jedi are not the Jedi that Yoda and Obi-Wan spoke about in Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. These Jedi are much more quicker to react violently, which I thought was a quick path to the Dark Side.

The whole Jango Fett and little Boba was a waste of time too. Oh and Jedi Master Mace Windu (Samuel L. Jackson) sure lopped off Jango’s head pretty fast.

This is the definitive low point in this series as Attack of the Clones was just not what anyone wanted. You can tell that the creators wanted this to be the Empire Strikes Back of the prequels, but, unfortunately, it did not reach that goal at all. It did so much damage that even a reasonably okay third film (we’ll see about that) could not save the franchise.

Revenge of the Sith is next up.

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2019 In Memorandum

Image | Posted on December 15, 2019 by Doc

2019InMem

Richard Jewell

Posted on December 14, 2019 by Doc

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In my opinion, Clint Eastwood has not made a really good movie for awhile. He made some okay ones (The Mule, Sully, American Sniper) and some really bad ones (The 15:17 to Paris, Jersey Boys, J. Edgar). This time, with Richard Jewell, Eastwood feels as if he is back on track.

This is the true story of security guard Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) who was the person to discover the backpack that contained the bomb at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. After a few days of calling him a hero, the FBI began looking at him as a suspect and the papers took that tidbit and ran with it. Jewell had to face pressure on himself individually and with his mother Bobi (Kathy Bates) from the media constantly following him, camped outside their home and the perception of Richard as a bomber.

There are several strong performances in this movie that really help carry it. The lead performance of Paul Walter Hauser is truly powerful. He portrayed Richard as a man of principle and honor who had great respect for law enforcement until he could take it no longer. His mother, played brilliantly by Kathy Bates, showed the pain and fear in every scene she was in. Kathy Bates should really receive an Oscar nomination for this role. Sam Rockwell was great as always as Richard’s lawyer, Watson Bryant, the eccentric lawyer who battled to give this man his life back.

There is a definite theme about the dangers of the media with how an untrue story can decimate a family, especially if the authority is not acting on facts. The film also has some stings toward the FBI as well, as FBI agent Tom Shaw (Jon Hamm) tried several sneaky, underhanded tricks to try and get the naive Richard to implicate himself. Shaw had formulated a theory and nothing was going to break him from that path. Both of these can be plugged into today’s society easily.

The news media, in particular one journalist Kathy Scruggs (Olivia Wilde) is portrayed in a very cartoonish light, which makes her very two-dimensional instead of the potentially fully filled out character she could have been. It is interesting that Kathy Scruggs was a real person, but the FBI Agent Shaw is a fictionalized compilation of an agent. Neither character gets much in way of development with Shaw never admitting that Jewell was not guilty.

I think an argument could be made about this film being too political and aspiring to present Eastwood’s side of thought, but, during the film, I did not feel as if it was tilted. It was only after reading some background info on the situation that I thought there may be some fire to go with the smoke.

Either way, I did like this movie much more than Eastwood’s recent work and it does provide three top notch quality performances from three great actors. If you keep it at that, Richard Jewell is an enjoyable watch.