Had a bit of Star Wars binge since saturday.
STAR WARS EPISODE I THE PHANTOM MENACE: Lucas' first director outing since 1977 is uneven and a bit silly but ultimately enjoyable, the Yoda puppet however looks very cheap compared to the puppet used in the original films. Great score by John Williams but a confusing political plot and some seriously bad dialogue and wooden acting.
STAR WARS EPISODE II ATTACK OF THE CLONES: The worst film in the Star Wars Saga. Bad acting, bad dialogue, tooooooo much CGI and quite bad for 2002 considering ILM are supposedly at the forefront of visual FX. The film also has the start of one of the most unbelievable romances in movie history with zero chemistry between Natalie Portman and Hayden Christensen. The lack of sets and practical VFX really hurts the film making it very synthetic. Not a good Movie.
STAR WARS EPISODE III REVENGE OF THE SITH: A marked improvement over the second and the darkest of the three newer prequels. The film returns to more more practical FX and sets instead of green screening everything. Still suffers from Lucas' wooden dialogue, bad acting and ridiculous ending. Still much better than numero 2.
STAR WARS EPISODE IV: A NEW HOPE: This is where it all started, a fantastic adventure that skips on all the politics of the new trilogy, introduces us to Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Chewbacca (well he was in Ep3) and the most bad ass space smuggler this side of the galaxy, Han 'Indiana Jones' Solo. Great special FX using models, miniature sets, matte paintings and some truly awesome space battle photography. Classic.
STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: The best film in the series, a tightly scripted action adventure with a great final duel, the introduction of Yoda and the opening 40 minute battle for hoth. What more can I say?
STAR WARS EPISODE VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI: the final film in the Star Wars saga, Luke's a fully fledged Jedi, Han is a general, Lando is a General, It's A Trap and ewok, those furry little bastards that helped destroy the galactic empire. It's a great action film but does suffer from some silly moments. The final confrontation between Luke and Vader is one of best the sword fights committed to screen. Great fun. The biggest problem i have is the new version with Hayden Christensen inserted into the end shot and Sebastian Shaw Removed.
A break from Star Wars with a little Post Apocalypse action with...
THE DAY: set 10 years into an open war with america, a group of survivors hole up in a seemingly abandoned house only to find it a trap for a group of cannibals. Pretty good action horror flick although it's shot with such a washed out look it looks almost black and white with the occasional saturated colour reminding you this isn't black and white. Not bad, comes across like a post apocalyptic Assault On Precinct 13 and The Road.
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