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.

I am about halfway through Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace and I am not sure I will get through the rest.  This is way worse than I remember.

The goal, of course, is to watch the prequels in preparation for the final Episode of the Star Wars saga, The Rise of Skywalker, which opens on December 20th.

Still, this is tough.

There was more light saber use in the first 20 minutes of this movie than there was in the entire trilogy prior.  That is not a good thing.

Jar Jar Binks.  Ugh.  Just horrendous.

The dialogue?  Cringeworthy.  Actually, cringeworthy may be too kind of a description.

Poor little Jake Lloyd.  It really isn’t his fault.  He was doing his best, but Anakin Skywalker introduced in this manner was a huge mistake.  Of course, Jake was not the worst actor on the screen.  His mother was barely registering any emotion.  Jake did not deserve the amount of hate that he garnered for the role.

There are so many racist characters in this movie.  Completely unnecessary.

Liam Neeson and Ewan McGregor could have done so much more than what they were given.  The villainous Darth Maul was wasted in the movei for, what was basically, one fight.  That fight with the Jedis was pretty decent, but there could have been so much more.

Oh, and these Jedis sure are quick to use violence to solve their problems.  I thought that was the quickest way to the Dark Side.  Maybe I misunderstood.

The inclusion of C3PO and R2D2 really felt awkward.  So C3PO was made by young Vader?  Hm, that sounds odd.

Midi-chlorians?  Quick way to take the power of the universe that surrounds us all and turn it into a weird blood virus.  To be fair, Star Wars realized that this was a huge mistake and kind of let these midi-chlorians fade away into the ether.

Hey, it is Greg Proops!  I knew that voice of the pod race announcer and, when I looked it up, I found the awesome Mr. Proops, one of the rotating regulars of Whose Line is it Anyway.  I have found a positive!

These movies miss that practical effect feel that the original trilogy had.  This is way too “clean” for what it should have been.  Too much green screen.  It makes these movies too artificial.

I had hoped to find something more than I remembered in this film, but, alas, there may be even less.

Bringing George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy to a close is Return of the Jedi, Episode VI.  Return of the Jedi is a, mostly, satisfying conclusion to the original trilogy and kept the Star Wars fans happy for years after its release.

Return of the Jedi begins with one of the best action pieces in the entire series, the attack on Jabba’s compound on Tatooine.  With every new piece the movie sets up a tremendous battle over the Great Pit of Carkoon where the sarlacc lives.  All of our heroes are involved and we get to see both the new and improved Jedi Knight Luke and the recently out of carbonite Han.  Metal bikini clad Leia completed the trio with her mastery of choke chains.

The second part of the movie is less consistent as the opening scene, though it is still very compelling.  The whole Luke-Vader-Emperor angle of the film is just amazing, with Luke’s determination to save his father’s soul being a huge driving force for the film.  The confrontation between Luke and the Emperor is tense and nerve-wracking.  However, the section on Endor with the Ewoks feels too cute and cuddly.  It is believed that the main purpose of the Ewoks was to sell toys.

Of course, there are some good moments with the Ewoks too.  Rumor has it though that the Ewoks were originally intended to be Wookies, which would have been all forms of epic.  It would have made more sense to see the Wookies help take down the Imperial forces than it was to see the Ewoks.  Branches and rocks vs. blasters and AT-AT does not make much strategic logic.

Yet, the death of Nanta the Ewok is a very emotional scene, considering they are just teddy bears.

In the end, Return of the Jedi is am enjoyable end to the Star Wars trilogy.  The good parts are fantastic and the weaker parts are still decent.  Return of the Jedi leads into what seems like a happy ending for our heroes and its fans.

We are now about three weeks away from the conclusion to the Star Wars saga with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Episode IX.  Even though a bit of the polish has come off the series for some because of the divisiveness of The Last Jedi, I am still very much looking forward to the conclusion of this saga.

In order to prepare for the movie, I wanted to watch the films prior to the final episode and it makes it easy with Disney + available.  Since I have already done Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope for Doc’s Classic Movies Reviewed, I decided to start with the second Star wars movie in chronological order, The Empire Strikes Back.

In sense, I believe that the creators of Star Wars have been chasing Empire ever since it came out in 1980 because it is such a brilliant movie.  It is the best of the Star Wars films, period.  I know there are some who may not agree with that statement, but I have it firmly on top of my best Star Wars movies list.

It is such a dark time for our heroes.  The Rebellion is in trouble.  Han is preparing to go face Jabba the Hut.  Luke is struggling to become a Jedi.  The Empire is hot on their trail.  Vader has some kind of jones for Luke.

Yet there is joy in the little things.  Han and Leia are discovering their love, even if it is a rocky trip to get there.  Luke and Han are cementing their bromance as Han saves Luke from freezing to death on the ice planet of Hoth.  We meet Yoda and Lando.  The relationships in the film are note perfect and develop throughout the hardships that surrounded them.

Of course, we have some of the most iconic confrontations, not just in Star Wars canon, but in movie history.  The whole “I love you“… “I know” bit is a perfect encompassing of the Han & Leia relationship (which was an ad-lib by Harrison Ford).  And, of course, the iconic “I am your father” line blew the mind of everybody watching.  I remember when I first saw it as a eleven year old, I did not believe it to be true.  Even after searching my feelings, I could not comprehend that Vader was Luke’s father.

The feeling of defeat is all over this film, setting us up for a rousing return in Episode VI.  I plan on watching The Return of the Jedi next, perhaps tomorrow.  Then, I will go back to the prequels, something I have not done since seeing them for the first time.  Perhaps they will hold more for me this time through.

As for The Empire Strikes Back, it is one of the great movies around and a member of the EYG Hall of Fame.

Holy cow.  It had been a long time since I saw Disney’s Pinocchio and I did not remember just how dark this thing was.

Man, this animated film was scarier than many of the horror movies that came out this year.

Legitimately, the scene where Pinocchio was turning into the donkey, especially the spot where the shadow was being shown was frightening. The entire sequence with the whale Monstro was as intense of a stretch as yo are going to have in an animated film.  The wicked creatures such as Stromboli, Honest John, and the Coachman never get any comeuppance for their foul deeds.

I am 100% certain that there were several nightmares induced from this film.

There is also a good message here about doing the right thing and not lying, but it is all encompassed with the nightmare juice.

I really enjoyed it.

Of course, I would not recommend you show your 8-year old this movie.  Wait until they are a little older.  But Pinocchio is an iconic film with some of the most well-known Disney songs of all time, including “When You Wish Upon a Star.”

Pinocchio was naive as could be, believing just about anything these characters told him.  One of those “born yesterday” things.  But his bravery in face of the raging Monstro helped lead him to becoming a real boy.

The animation for 1940 was beautiful and added to the entire presentation.  Considered one of the greatest animated movies of all time.

My Disney Plus Binge continues and this gave me an opportunity to rewatch something I have only seen once, in the theaters, before the sequel comes out this coming weekend.

I saw Frozen just the one time in the theater and it was not my favorite experience.  I was not a huge fan of the movie, but I disliked the situation much more.  I was in a sold-out theater crammed full of little kids making things remarkably uncomfortable.  There are times when an uncomfortable viewing experience can affect the perception of a movie.  I know I had terrible situation all around me watching The Croods and I disliked that movie.  When I watched Dunkirk, I did not like the film because of how the sound made me feel physically.

So I pulled up Frozen on Disney Plus, since Frozen 2 is out this weekend, and watched it. I have to say, I still did not find it that great.  I did like the parts with Elsa and the conclusion was decent, but much of the dialogue felt immature and there was not a lot of depth to the story.

I especially liked how the trope of true love’s kiss is twisted here, avoiding the typical cliche that goes along with many of these fairy tales.  That ending with Anna saving Elsa was an awesome switch on the trope.

The music is a mixed bag.  While I find “Let it Go” to be a top notch song, much of the remainder of the soundtrack is forgettable.

The third act was pretty solid, but the first couple of acts were considerably weaker.  In retrospect, this felt like a film that would do a pretty good job of building a world and creating characters for the next movie.  Maybe Frozen 2 will really be a knock out.

Back to the Disney Plus Binge with an animated film that came at the outer edge of the Disney renaissance of films during the 1990s.  After Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and Lion King, there were some other animated movies that were not as widely accepted or beloved.  The Hunchback of Notre Dame is one of those, unfairly.

This film is the Disney adaptation of the classic Victor Hugo novel of the same name.  Paris 16th century.  Quasimodo (Tom Hulce) spends his days in the bell towers of Notre Dame, at the whim of his master, the wicked Judge Claude Frollo (Tony Jay), who, unbeknownst to Quasi, killed the hunchbacks mother when Quasi was but a baby and only spared the baby with the hopes of one day using him in his quest to kill all gypsies.

When gypsy girl Esmeralda (Demi Moore) showed up Frollo, he set upon a mission to find her no matter what.  Quasimodo had fallen for Esmeralda and had helped her escape from his master’s clutches a couple of times.  Along with the help of the noble Captain of the Guard, Phoebus (Kevin Kline), the trio hoped to prevent Frollo’s mad scheme to kill Esmeralda and rid Paris of all the gypsies.

This film is way better than people give it credit for as it is criminally underappreciated.  It is certainly the darkest of the Disney “renaissance” of films, and it has one of the worst antagonists (by which I mean cruelest and wickedest.  He is actually quite the awesome villain) around in Judge Frollo.  Tony Jay’s voice talents is perfect for the voice of the monstrous man.

There are a ton of major themes running through The Hunchback of Notre Dame, including the acceptance of those who are different than we, the fanaticism of religion, and the dangers of genocide.

There are also laughs to be had in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.  The three gargoyle friends of Quasimodo (Jason Alexander, Mary Wickes and Charles Kimbrough) provides some typical Disney sidekick humor.

There is a definite vibe of Beauty and the Beast combined with Aladdin in this movie, but that does not make this subpar.  The action is top notch and the animation was as good as any during the time period.

Some may think that it is too violent and adult for little kids, and that may be true, but it is a compelling and dramatic animated movie nonetheless.

The Disney Plus Binge continues this Sunday morning with the classic Disney animated film Fantasia.

Fantasia is a piece of art, seamlessly blending together the skillful animation of the time with classical music from all-time great composers.  Disney is able to show that stories can be told in many different manners, not necessarily by words.

The artistic images in Fantasia are, even by today’s standards, beautiful and speak to the audience on their own.  When combined with the music, Fantasia brings these tales to life.

Of course, the most iconic of the parts of Fantasia is the Sorcerer’s Apprentice section, featuring Mickey Mouse magically recruiting brooms to help him carry water only to see that “magic always has a price.”

The greatest of classical composers were used in the soundtrack, mostly being performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra.  Composers included Beethoven,  Bach, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky.

The “Soundtrack” section of the movie was another one of my favorite parts of the film, again showing how sound can be shown in more than one manner.

Fantasia is a beautifully constructed animated film that brings together music and art in a wonderful way.  It shows how story can be expressed with music and is an inspiration of the future of music videos.

Browsing through the movies available to choose for the Disney Plus Binge, I saw that the lovely Mary Poppins Returns was available, and I thought, what a better film to continue the binge with than the original classic, Mary Poppins.

Julie Andrews stars as Mary Poppins, the greatest of all magical, flying nannies and Dick Van Dyke as Bert, the amazingly nimble, rubbery dancing chimney sweep.

Based upon the book series by P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins is filled with music and dance, animation mixed with live-action and some of the cleverest writing on screen.

Mary Poppins arrived because of a need in the Banks family.  At first glance, it appeared that Mary Poppins was there to help save the children, but in the end, we learn that she was there to bring Mr. Banks (David Tomlinson) back into his family with his children.

The music is splendid and I can remember as a child being thrilled with it.  I can remember having “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious” as a spelling word.  The dance routine of the chimney sweeps in “Chim Chim Cheree” and “Step in Time” is a masterpiece.  Julie Andrews shows off her beautiful voice in what was her feature film debut in which she would win the Academy Award.

Pure magic.  Practically perfect.

My second film in the Disney Plus Binge is an old childhood favorite of mine.  I used to love Don Knotts and Tim Conway and I remember watching the movies starring The Apple Dumpling Gang in the theaters.

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again is the sequel to the original film and it brings us back into the bumbling and chaotic world of Otis and Theodore.

Amos and Theodore left the coziness of their friends home to make their mark on history and to find their own wealth.  Unfortunately for them, they immediately stumbled upon a bank robbery for which they were blamed.  Marshal Woolly Bill Hitchcock (Kenneth Mars), one of the fastest guns in the west, attempted to arrest the Apple Dumpling Gang only to have them accidentally out gun him.  This sent Hitchcock on a insane path to recapture Amos and Theodore.

The pair wound up in the army at a fort with Harry Morgan in charge.  Before too long, the slapstick of Amos and Theodore led to the fort being burned to the ground.

The way Amos and Theodore constantly wind up in trouble, despite their own intentions, carries the joke through the film.  Totally incompetent, the Apple Dumpling Gang still gains a reputation for their overcoming of Hitchcock.

Don Knotts and Tim Conway are experts in physical comedy and some of the stuff here, while not truly possible, is always fun.  The fact that these two idiots are as lovable as they are really endears them to the audience, while driving the other characters out fo their minds.

Most of the story is silly, and that is really the purpose of these films.  They are meant to highlight the skills of Knotts and Conway and they do that extremely well.  Sure the film is not ever going to be an award winner, but as a nice Saturday evening with the family, watching Disney +, well, you could do worse than The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.

Over the next several weeks, I will be diving head first into the next binge here at Doc’s Classic Movie Reviewed with a trip through the new streaming service Disney +.  As I was perusing the list of movies available, I came across one that I did not know fell under the Disney umbrella, but one that I always enjoy… Whoopi Goldberg’s star vehicle named Sister Act.

Lounge singer Dolores (Goldberg) witnesses her mob boyfriend Vince (Harvey Keitel) kill a snitch and she runs to the police.  The detective Eddie (Bill Nunn), knowing that the police had been having issues keeping witnesses alive, decided to hide Dolores away in a convent until it was time for trial.

However, Dolores did not take immediately to the life of a nun as she clashed with Mother Superior (Maggie Smith).  It was not until Dolores found herself sent to sing in the horribly sounding choir that she found her footing, turning the failing choir into a dynamic musical sensation.

Sure the story of Sister Act is ridiculous and illogical, but that is beyond the point.  It is a fun and entertaining film, featuring Goldberg in, what could have been, her greatest comedic role.  And the musical numbers are all great.

Maggie Smith brings her formidable weight to Mother Superior.  Playing the old school nun who struggled with the new progressive ways of “Sister Mary Clarence”, Smith creates a strong balance opposite Whoopi.

The whole Harvey Keitel storyline was clearly the weak point of the story, as every scene of Whoopi Goldberg in the convent was magic and engaging.

Sister Act is certainly a fun time.  I have watched clips of the songs, especially the “Hail Holy Queen” performance and I have enjoyed seeing the full movie once again.

Was there ever a better casting job than whomever hired Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Robert E. Howard classic character, Conan the Barbarian?

The Cimmerian Conan searches for revenge on a cult leader (James Earl Jones) for the death of his parents and much of his village when Conan was but a young and impressionable boy.  On the path to vengeance, Conan encounters battles with men and monsters as well as encounters with the world’s females, including his great love, Valeria (Sandahl Bergman).

There is an epic feel to Conan the Barbarian and it helped to launch the career of Arnold Schwarzenegger.  The shots and images of the lands were beautiful and helped to infuse this with more than just a story of swords and sorcery.

Sure, Schwarzenegger has limited dialogue, but his physical performance is top notch and brings Conan to life.  Truthfully, every other chance to bring Conan to the big screen has not been successful.

The score of the film is remarkable too.   Basil Poledouris was brought on by his friend, director John Milius and the soundtrack makes the lack of dialogue less important.  The music stands out here.

It is also weird to see James Earl Jones appear as the villainous Thulsa Doom, but he brings a certain gravitas to the film, as does Max von Sydow as King Osric.

This film has its moments and may not be the greatest film made, but it owns some of the wildest quotes around.

“Crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the women!”

What else can you need?

The final night of October means Halloween and, for EYG, the final night of the October Horror Binge.  And we end the month with a trend setting film from 1999 called The Blair Witch Project.

One of the eeriest aspects of The Blair Witch Project was the speculation that this was more than just a movie.  The set up of the film made it feel like it could be real, and that made things all just a little bit creepier.

Of course, the film is not real.  It just was one of the films that helped to start the “found footage” craze.  The film looked to have been filmed by the characters themselves on a hand held camera which increased the suspense and the psychological terror as we see and hear what these three student film makers would go through.

The story was that these three young filmmakers went into the woods of Maryland to shoot a documentary about a local legend called the Blair Witch.  As they head into the woods, they begin to have major problems. They get lost.  They get hungry.  And eventually, thy start turning on each other as they appear to be stalked by something in the woods.

We follow the attempts of the trio to find their way home, all the while knowing that they would never be found again.  There were some extremely successful scares in the film considering there was almost no gore or any clear shots of the witch.  The film builds its tension inside the heads of the three filmmakers and slowly drives them into a state of psychological terror.

There may be too many scenes of the characters just yelling for each other, but it certainly lent an uneasy level of realism to the project.  The conclusion of the film is as nerve-wrecking as anything you will see and yet you may have no idea what you are looking at.  It is a well done third act to a film that had many iconic moments.

While the concept may not have supported the length of film that it was, The Blair Witch Project succeeds much more than it does not in creating what feels like a wild fantasy in the woods of Maryland.  It is just real enough to make you wonder.. could this be true?  The marketing of the film is one of the greatest of all time and that is why, twenty years later, people still know The Blair Witch Project.

Thus ends the October (which actually started in September) Horror Binge.

I had no idea what Army of Darkness would be.

I watched it and I am still not sure exactly what Army of Darkness was.

All I know is this is the Ash Williams that I fell in love with during Ash vs. the Evil Dead TV show in all his over-the-top, campiness, weird comedic humor goodness.

The character of Ash has come a long way since the original Evil Dead film.  Along the way, he became a kick ass hero with a chainsaw, a robotic hand and a boomstick.  All the while being played with a cheeky goodness by the one and only Bruce Campbell.  I said it before, but Bruce Campbell is the only actor that could get away with this kind of role.

Ash, at the end of Evil Dead 2: Dead By Dawn, found himself transported to a different time and plopped down in the middle of a war with humans and the Deadites where he must retrieve the Book of the Dead, the Necronomicon, in order to get back home.

Sam Raimi had changed this trilogy from a cabin in the woods horror film to a horror/comedy that appeared to owe a lot of its inspiration to the original Clash of the Titans.  The effects looked very much like the 1981 sword and sandals monster fest which was a personal favorite of mine as a youth.

Ash now is the character that I knew from Ash vs. the Evil Dead TV show from Starz.  This was where I was truly introduced to Ash and it was interesting watching how he developed over these three movies into that character.

Groovy.

While this is more of an action/adventure sci-fi epic than horror, there are still traces of the horror genre in Raimi’s third film of the trilogy.  It is ridiculously funny and silly much of the time, but it is intended to be this way.  I am not sure how I would have felt if I had not seen Ash vs. the Evil Dead first and then went backward to the trilogy, but, after already loving this character, Army of Darkness is a awesome end to the film series.

And the October Horror Binge rolls on…

With October coming to a close quickly, the October Horror Binge will conclude soon as well.  So this morning I watched another of the horror classics from the mid 1970s, The Omen.

Gregory Peck brought his all to the role of Ambassador Robert Thorn, whose wife Kathy (Lee Remick) gave birth to a stillborn child.  A priest named Father Spiletto (Martin Benson) brought Thorn another child whose mother had died in childbirth and gave him to Thorn to raise in place of their lost son.  His wife would never need to know.

It does not take long to find out that the boy, Damien (Harvey Stephens), is more than just another young child.  He is evil incarnate. He is the son of the devil.

The Omen is an iconic horror film that has been an inspiration to many films since.  This is the film that helped create the sub-genre of horror known as evil children.  Think of all the evil children movies over the years and wonder where they would be if not of The Omen.

Gregory Peck is exceptional in this movie and helps bring a credibility to the project.  He plays this completely serious and that helps what could have been a silly storyline elevate into more than that.  And much depended on the performance of Harvey Stephens to pull this off and he is tremendously eerie and creepy as the Anti-Christ child Damien.

The film is excellent at creating the tone and mood that will have audiences on the edge of their seat, despite a relatively slow build to this point. Jerry Goldsmith’s score is very effective in building that tension and of punctuating each moment with emotion and energy.

The ending of the film is every bit as chilling as any horror film you will see.

The Omen is one of the greats in horror genre.