20th Anniversary of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

 

                

            Well, everyone the time has come, we've talked about the greatness behind Episode I, talked about the underappreciative aspects towards Episode II. Now we can finally dive into the Twentieth Anniversary of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. 2005, for me was a excellent time for movies some I will mention in futures to come, but if you want to talk about the one movie that was the most anticipated movie to see twenty years ago Revenge of the Sith was defiantly that one film on every Star Wars fans minds even better anticipation than the JJ Abrams Star Trek movies. And really when you look at the gap between 1999 to 2005 being a Star Wars fan was so much fun, especially back then when all the action figures came out in a full lot for the video games as well as the release of the DVDs. Man, I wish I can go back to when movies were fresh and new at least.

           Three years after the events of Attack of the Clones, the Clone Wars are coming to an end. As the Jedi plan to put an end to General Grievous. Anakin (Hayden Christiansen) becomes tempted by the Dark Side from Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) who slowly reveals himself as the Sith Lord, Darth Sidious who's been pulling the strings of the Republic. 

            What I remember most about the anticipation as well as preparing to see the greatest conclusion to any Star Wars trilogy can ever have been the sad realization that it's all coming to a complete end. Meaning it's all over no more Jedi no more lightsaber fights as well as the characters that you've come to know and loved especially characters like Natalie Portman playing Anakin's wife and even Mace Windu played by the ever great and legendary Samuel L. Jackson and this was my first time ever seeing Sam Jackson dying and seeing him being executed by Darth Sidious, just kicks you in the massive gut and even he in Attack of the Clones had some of the best fights especially his great entrance when confronting Count Dooku it was just amazing, and don't get me wrong he goes out with a bang especially when fighting Ian McDiarmid but it was just hard to watching him die off camera and it's not like Django Unchained when you can tell the Jackson gets what's coming to him, but this was just sad and the same with all of these other Jedi as well including Padme who you know is not going to make it in the end but you really don't want to see that because again you loved these characters through the course of Episodes I and II furthermore you just can't bear their ending. But then again that's the beauty behind George Lucas's writing is that you grow and love these characters and when the end comes you feel for them towards the very end, even if as Harrison Ford said it best "George, you can type this sh*t, but you can't say it". If there was one actor that doesn't get a lot of credit, especially in all six films of the Star Wars Saga and that's Ian McDiarmid playing the ever evil Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine, for MANY reasons is that he is the Syfy/Fantasy's version of Lucifer aka the Devil, because the way he's able to manipulate Anakin by telling him the Jedi are lying to you and I can save the one's you love is almost reminisce to the Devil tempting Eve into eating the forbidden fruit. More importantly even watching McDiarmid evolving on screen through the Prequel trilogy is just pure brilliance even when he's playing his disguised good guy role of Palpatine to even his shady role of Darth Sidious is like if Julies Caesar was disguised as the Devil to the point of even acknowledging his own apprentices and then throws them under the bus, and a great example of that is when Anakin defeats Dooku, and Palpatine just instructs him to kill him like he's now no use to me is just so great especially when Christopher Lee looks at him like "oh you sack of sh*t" just shows how cold and unremorseful Palpatine/Sidious is and it’s just great and I truly believe being able to witness Ian McDiarmid finally getting his time to shine as the real antagonist has always been for me a great thing to see as well as truly a treat to watch, because out of all of the characters in Star Wars he deserves a lot of the credit of playing a legendary evil, puppet master. And hell, I almost picture Lucas through the making of Episodes I and II telling Ian "look Ian you're most certainly the bad guy but we need to tone it down just a smidge" and then when the begin production of Revenge of the Sith, George gives Ian a phone call and told him "Ian it's time", then when McDiarmid came on set he was caring a paintball gun and came up to Jackson and said "Samuel how you been", then shots him with paintball, then replies "Great, I'm back and your fired". Back when this Star Wars was still a thing, I always question in my teenage mind as to why Anakin claims that the Jedi we're evil furthermore just didn't make sense to me, but then I slowly began to see that yes the Jedi weren't trusting Anakin moreover not believing he was the chosen one for which explained why they were doing a lot of talking behind his back but more importantly we're doing things that where outside of the Jedi code, but more importantly Palpatine was clouding the Jedi's mind as well as being a puppet master in all of the Clone Wars though what I'm trying to explain is while watching Tales of the Jedi through Dooku's eyes as well as Anakin's eyes I begin to see that the Jedi's sense of code and honor where a bit of shady as well as their ways were not comprehensible when it comes to defeating their enemies and that's the more interesting aspect I learned while watching Episode III. The Prequel Trilogy of Star Wars will always be the best movie trilogy of my era and always will be with the fact that the Original Trilogy of Star Wars is still the greatest, but the Prequel Trilogy will always be that go to movie series that I can sit down and enjoy from start to finish moreover Revenge of the Sith is the greatest conclusion to what the Star Wars saga can dream of and yes I'm not counting the Sequel trilogy because those don't exist. I now look back on all the trolls who were trashing on how awful the Prequels Trilogy and realized how full of sh*t they all were and if it were me, I would round them all up, strap them to a chair and force them to watch the Holiday Special every hour and the hour Clockwork Orange style. So, be warned trolls because I'm coming for you and it won't be pretty. 

 

May Recommendation: A Fistful of Dollars

 

              For the month of May I decided to dive into the Western genre since the summer movie season, releases at times a lot of Cowboy films long before Superhero films at times were great but sometimes get annoying, though not that I'm complaining because if I was born in the fifties and lived through a lot of Western's, I'll admit I would be annoyed so, I guess generations speak for themselves I guess. Before I chose A Fistful of Dollars, I originally picked Tombstone since it was another film from Late Val Kilmer that everyone remembers. Unfortunately, I had a bit of mixed emotions not because of Val Kilmer in fact Val Kilmer was the best part of the whole movie, it was everything else. But don't you all worry, I'll be getting to Tombstone soon. For now, let’s get to a great Western that was always a good back up almost like watching the original Vacation hatting it so much and then using Caddyshack as a backup for me getting to sleep.

              A wandering Gunfighter (Clint Eastwood) arrives in the Mexican village of San Miguel during a power struggle among Sheriff John Baxter and the tree Rojo Brothers. When a regiment of Mexican soldiers bearing gold is waylaid by the Rojo brothers, the mysterious gunfighter is hired by Esteban to join the gang, but he plays one side against the another.

              Two years ago I had this dilemma of watching a movie for the first time and then having a mixed emotions, that was watching the original Vacation with Harold Ramis and Chevy Chase in the starring role and I slowly realized how much I F**KING hated the movie with such fire and passion that I couldn't sleep as for which I decided to watch another Harold Ramis movie Caddyshack. Two years now, I didn't expect to reach this same dilemma and although Tombstone wasn't all bad mainly because Val Kilmer was the best part there was the rest of the movie where I had a mixed of emotions but, granted will get to Tombstone later I promise you. For now, let’s talk about the first installment that made Clint Eastwood a household name. In all honesty I never quite remembered the last time or first time I sat down and watched a Fistful of Dollars other than I heard that this was the first installment in the Man with No Name trilogy and so, back when cable TV was a thing, I would record movies that I haven't seen and A Fistful of Dollars was one of those movies that was on my radar and so, the rest became history. The interesting thing when you look at A Fistful of Dollars, is that yes this film was the first of many to start off the Spaghetti/Western genre moreover was the launching stardom to Clint Eastwood's success as well as the first leading role, but in strange but yet understandable reasons was that this movie was originally a American/Italian remake to a 1961 Samurai classic, Yojimbo directed by legendary Japanese director, Akira Kurosawa and if you look at both films, they do in fact share the same plot furthermore Kurosawa did in fact respectfully complimented Sergio Leone on his film but still told him that it was his film so, the two men settled out of court and Kurosawa and his production company got 15 percent of the movies revenue, and if you haven't seen Yojimbo I would highly recommend watching the film it's a great watch if your big on Japanese animation or films. Granted, even though A Fistful of Dollars it is, in a sense a remake to Yojimbo, moreover shares the same story premise, but the film is still incredible to watch from start to finish. But most importantly it started off a new kind of Western genre that at time we've never seen before mainly when you look at some of the western's from the forties and fifties they were always the hero's getting the girl or being an example to the American youth some of which came from the Television shows and sure John Wayne in some of his films he wasn't an all perfect hero especially when you watch The Searchers. But A Fistful of Dollars was one of those films where they introduced the Antihero but more importantly grounded down the Western genre in a sense of the Old West not being a grand place to live and you really had to protect yourself to survive. A surprising factor was that Clint Eastwood at first wasn't' the first choice to play the lead, it took actor Richard Harrison to convince Leone to cast Eastwood, upon which would be his first big break. At the time though Clint was still working on the TV show Rawhide and his contract with the show prohibited him from doing any movies in the United States. Though Eastwood had to go Europe to film the movie and surprisingly they didn't have any trailers or portable bathrooms for which they had to go out beyond the bushes, Clint even states that he was kind of tired, of playing the conventional white hat hero, who kisses the girl moreover said it was refreshing to play the antihero in a movie for once. Now, don't get me wrong I can go on and on about how great the movie is from Clint Eastwood, to Sergio Leone's direction to even Ennio Morricone's grand music score the film itself became a pioneer for the Spaghetti Western genre moreover had every up and coming filmmaker from either US or Europe, to say that you can go to parts of Spain or Italy or even Mexico and make a movie with whatever budget you have and literally make it work even if the movie was good or bad. So, for the beginning of the summer movie season I would highly recommend watching A Fistful of Dollars even if you’re getting tired of one-to-many Superhero movies or Disney just making one too many crappy movies. 

 

A Star Wars Celebration: Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones

 

           With the Twentieth Anniversary release of Star Wars Episode III, I figured since I since I didn't get the good chance to go back and review the second and most underappreciative sequel in the Star Wars Prequel trilogy. Attack of the Clones when it first came out I always remember how corny the whole love story between Anakin and Padme was and me who was more wanting to see Anakin become Darth Vader well, we had to get the best of what we can with this movie but granted when you think about it when you’re a teenager as well as a Star Wars fan, Natalie Portman gave you a real reason to love girls when you think about it because revisiting her with some of her outfits, there's no doubt I began to realize she would be my teenage crush. But more importantly revisiting Attack of the Clones gave me a whole realization that this was a great sequel to the Prequal trilogy and needs to be seen in a better light.

           Set Ten years after the events of "The Phantom Menace" the Republic continues to be mired in strife and chaos. A separatist movement encompassing hundreds of planets and powerful corporate alliances poses new threats to the galaxy that even the Jedi cannot stem. Though with the beginning of the Clone Wars, love evolves between Senator Padme Amidala (Natalie Portman) and Jedi Padawan Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christianson).

            I'll admit I was a bit weary into diving into Attack of the Clones mainly because it's been quite a long time since I watched the movie constantly and the last time, I watched the movie was back in 2011 when they finally released the movie on Blu-Ray. And for sure, I could of just dive into Revenge of the Sith but, it would be wrong and unfair. Sure the acting at times gets a bit corny and awkward especially when this was Hayden Christianson's first big role but through the course of the movie I began to realize that he was perfect for the role of older Anakin Skywalker, and sure you all are going to look at me crazy but he actually does a fantastic job playing Anakin as a young promising Jedi, who also begins to have anger issues but more importantly is torn between his feelings for Padme and reliving this movie I began to see that Hayden in this movie is every teenager whose torn between purpose and love. And what I like about Hayden's performance is that he does a fantastic job at playing a teenage Anakin, who wishes to be taken seriously but Obi-Wan is this dispended Jedi who of course lives by the Jedi code keeps telling him to not let his personal feelings get in the way, and I slowly see (and granted this is me watching this at 38 years of age) why Qui-Gon's death was the twist of fate, moreover you begin to realize that Qui-Gon should of taught Anakin to be a Jedi not Obi-Wan because Qui-Gon would of taught Anakin a better approach of being a better Jedi. While doing some research of the movie I began to see some actors that auditioned for the role of Anakin and with further hop will make you all realize that Hayden Christianson was the perfect choice for Anakin, one actor I would image to be an equal candidate was Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and then they're were actors that I wouldn't cast and that's Chris Klein and James Van Der Beek, but the one that shocked me the most was Mac from It's Always Sunny for which made me cringe at the even thought of that moreover I bet when George Lucas peaked through his TV and watched It's Always Sunny he realized that Hayden was always the first choice from the beginning, and there other actors I could mention but I'm going to let you all have fun in looking at the cut list, on who auditioned for Anakin Skywalker. And even seeing this with fresh eyes as well as watching the movie between the lines or scenes you slowly begin to see that the Jedi's way, was slowly beginning to be outdated, moreover in a sense corrupt because of their emotions as well as how they approached politics in general and this was coming from watching Tales of the Jedi moreover following through the perspective of Count Dooku and even rewatching the scene between Dooku and Obi-Wan, where he tells Obi-Wan about the Sith controlling the Republic and Obi-Wan just throws that belief a side, not even hesitating to ponder this thought furthermore that scene alone just explains the Jedi through the Prequels as being blinded by Palpatine throughout the movies. Speaking of Count Dooku, played by the late and legendary actor Christopher Lee, Tales of the Jedi and Attack of the Clones, gave me a clear and great respect for the character that for me at a young age wasn't all fascinating like Darth Maul or Darth Vader or even Darth Sidious. But more importantly with both films like Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, each antagonist is representation of Anakin Skywalker falling to the Dark Side of the Force, of course Darth Maul represents Anakin's anger, but it's Count Dooku who represents Anakin distrust with the Jedi but also represents their breaking point or what I like to say, one bad day. Dooku after the events of Phantom Menace as well as  the loss of his apprentice Qui-Gon Jinn it was his breaking point in betraying everything he stood for and although he was questioning everything in what the Jedi were supposed to be it was his greatest student, who was like a son to him that brought him to the edge of selling his soul to Sidious, and like Anakin witnessing the death of his mother as well as fearing the loss of his mother through nightmares as well as his visions were his beginning of his breaking point as we slowly see in Episode III and I think watching Tales of the Jedi and then watching Attack of the Clones I begin to understand what Count Dooku represents through the course of the Prequels trilogy. Furthermore, these were a lot of things that I began to slowly see after twenty-three years of seeing the movie and re-watching this movie all together I really misunderstood Count Dooku as a character. Going back to Hayden Christianson's performance in the movie sure it was at times hard to watch (which explains why he never got any work after the Prequels) as I remember, but the way he's able to have a hard time expressing emotions as well as not being sure on why the Jedi Council ideals are I truly believe is perfect especially after bringing his mother back from the Sand People and he breaks down with so much emotions as well as confessing to killing the sand people it's both great to watch and I don't think of any other way to direct that scene mainly because it's Hayden expressing anger but knowing it's not the Jedi way, and yet Natalie gives the greatest line through the whole movie "To be angry is to be human" because that line represents being angry at something isn't all bad as the Jedi would think or teach, and to be truthfully honest Hayden to me has always been the perfect actor to play Anakin Skywalker as well as Darth Vader no matter what the trolls say. I do remember before the film came out, about Yoda being digital and not a puppet anymore for which at the time I never understood why they would do that all because I was use to puppet Yoda, but until I heard that he was going to bring out his own lightsaber and duel Dooku, I'll admit was excited about this concept and when I first watched this epic fight scene I remember laughing through the screening almost like a crazy person laughing at anything and yet reliving this great fight scene always brings a smile, all because it's just great on so many levels. Attack of the Clones was great to relive from the young adult love story to Sam Jackson's great action sequence to even a short lived but great Jango Fett aka Boba's father, and I truly hope every Star Wars fan goes back to this movie and appreciate it as a great sequel in the Prequels trilogy because let’s face it the Prequels Trilogy is a billion times better than the Disney Trilogy. 

            

Mother's Day Recommendation: The Trouble with Angels

 

         

              Well, everyone, it's that time of day to celebrate our own mothers who bore us into this mad, mad world. And their times where my own mother drives me bonkers at times, but then again I drive her bonkers so in a fair sense it's always typical driving one another to the point of madness. But all jokes a side my mom has always been a kind and caring mom who has always had a mind on faith and God. So, what better way to pick out a movie worthy for this Mother's Day Recommendation. The Trouble with Angles has been on my radar long before I look in my mom’s collection of favorite films. Furthermore, it occurred to me that this was another one of those films from my childhood but more importantly a movie I haven't seen in a long, long time.

              Mary (Haley Mills), and her friend Rachel (June Harding), are new students at St. Francis Academy, a boarding school run by an iron fist of Mother Superior (Rosaland Russell). The immature teens grow bored and begin playing pranks on both the unsuspecting nuns and their unpleasant classmates, becoming a constant thorn in Mother Superior's side. However, as the years pass, Mary and Rachel slowly mature and begin to see the nuns in a different light.

              The surprising factor I found about the movie is that the film itself is based on the novel by Jane Trahey, who actually based her novel on her own high school years at a Catholic school near Chicago and many of the incidents that you see in the movie were actually based on Jane's best friend who later in life became a nun herself so, when you think about it's amazing how God works in mysterious ways. After Trahey's successful book launch in 1962, Hollywood took notice in the book and under the producers of both Ken Donnellon and Jacqueline Babbin who knew Jane Trahey begin talks about wanting to make the film. Sadly, Trahey's story didn't become full force until two years after the books release by Columbia Pictures that the story would finally reach a green light signal, though before I go any further, you'd be amazed on the list of actresses you'd never expect would play any of the nuns from Barbara Stanwyck to even Loretta Young. The surprising thing I found about the movie is a lot of talents behind the film that I didn't realize I've seen their work, Ida Lupino who directs the Trouble with Angles was widely known for directing a lot of movies through the years but what I found surprising most was that she was the first female director to ever direct a film noir film aka The Hitch-Hiker, for which I remember watching on YouTube and thought it was a great movie from start to finish but then again I had no idea Lupino actually directed the movie. Even though she had a successful career as a director through he forties and early fifties she later was on was basically stuck in doing a lot of television episodes or shows like Alfred Hitchcock Presents and The Fugitive until she was hired by Columbia to direct what was her final movie, in a fair comparison she's the Patty Jenkins before Patty Jenkins launched her career with Monster and Wonder Woman. To be honest, it's kind of a strange mystery as to how I was hooked onto this movie mainly because this film was in a sense marketed to young girls with barely any boys involved. Though I may assume that my mom went to a Catholic school growing up as well as her own sisters so, I would imagine that when this film came out this was up their alley in terms of movies they can relate to. Moreover all I remember about this movie is the two girls getting into constant trouble with some of the pranks being funny to watch especially with the bubbles in the tea, and watching the movie now it does have great comedic value to it as well as seeing a lighter side to all nuns in general, because we've all seen movies about nuns in the horror section there always portrayed as either demons or abusive monsters to kids, then of course we all remember seeing Dana Carvey's Church Chat on SNL were he brings his real life experiences into one Church lady even though his character wasn't a nun but almost the same thing, right? But 'more importantly what I like about the movie is that it brings out both characters of Mother Superior and Mary played by Haley Mills where each of them are so, different but through the course of the movie you begin to see a mutual respect with one another, especially when Mother Superior is almost close to expelling the girls and begins to see Mary's bad influence of her uncle and his many secretaries she begins to have a change of heart and wants to be a positive role model for her. Watching the movie through I have to admit that with the right story idea you can probably remake this movie for a new generation even though this is very sixties, you can for sure have some comedic moments like the girls listening to Arianna Grande or Meagan thee Stallion hell even Sabrina Carpenter furthermore have a contest of the girls doing a raunchy dance for a completion contest because once I saw the outfits for the marching band I had a huge laugh that they would allow it but in a warm heart you begin to see character development. For certain this was a movie worth seeing moreover re-watching a beloved classic that I haven't touched since childhood and now doubt I would recommend watching this movie with your mother's on this Mother's Day weekend, for many reasons the film has everything from great comedic writing, great acting moreover great directing but more importantly a great story about one rebellious teen needing a positive role model to guide her into the light, just like Johnathan Roumie being a positive role model for his apostles. And thank the good Lord that we have a cheap streaming service like Tubi to guide us into finding some of these great as well as underappreciative treasures because without Tubi I don't think we would survive in a crazy world without some great hidden gems that Tubi has in their collection.  

     

A Star Wars Celebration: Tales of the Jedi

 

                I've been trying for years to do my own little celebration of the greatest movie franchise of all time and there were multiple times I wanted to celebrate Star Wars on my own terms by doing a review on May 4th. Unfortunately, time and life have been a pain in my own a**, so A Star Wars Celebration of my own design will just have to do. And to be fair I haven't been getting a whole lot into the newest Star Wars so I'm picking classic and recent Star Wars movies and shows that intrigue me personally. And Tales of the Jedi was one of those shows on Disney + that defiantly intrigued me especially when we explore a backstory behind an underappreciative character.

               Basically, a collection of shorts featuring parables built around Jedi from the Prequel era; the lives of two distinctively different Jedi: Ahsoka Tano and Count Dooku; each will be put to the test as they make choices that will define their destinies.

                Of course the one character that intrigued me into watching this show and of course it was Count Dooku, for many reasons ever since his appearance, portrayed by the late great Christopher Lee, he's always been a character that interesting but not as interesting Darth Maul or Darth Vader and really what makes him great now especially after binging on Tales of the Jedi, was that Dooku when you first see him going on his first mission with his young padawan Qui-Gon and slowly learns how badly corrupt politicians are throughout the Galaxy furthermore when he is partnering up with Mace Windu and you see Mace in a different light that you blindly see from the movie or the cartoon shows and you begin to side more with Dooku until he makes a decision that would change everything, mainly selling his soul to Satan if you catch my meaning. And I always been interesting with Ahsoka Tano ever since her first appearance in Star Wars, the Clone Wars movie and you can all say what you want about Anakin as a Jedi or you know what, I'm going to say Master so, SUCK IT! But even Anakin shows how great of a teacher he is especially when realizing the flaws behind the typical Jedi training and takes the training to the next level for which really is the more interesting part about this small show because even stuff like this was the main reason why Ahsoka survived when another Jedi didn't. Now I can go on and on about how great this show is but in all honesty I to spoil the entire show and closing if you’re a Star Wars fan and don't know which good Star Wars show or movie to watch this is most certainly a show worth watching. 

Heavy Metal

 

         Through the years we've all had our versions of what adult animation is. From The Simpsons to Family Guy to even Archer and so far as Rick and Morty. Well, this one film I truly believe is the granddaddy of all adult animation, and I mean ADULT animation. To fully explain Heavy Metal, if you haven't watched South Park there's an episode where the boys discover cat urine can get you high then they Kenny is obsessed with a woman with huge knockers. Well Heavy Metal is basically that inspiration behind that episode, and to be truthfully honest I never heard much about the magazine it was based on, nor saw this movie until now moreover for good reasons because this was beyond anything I can expect.

          Short stories set in deep space or in futuristic New York. All of them have in common a strange object that has psychedelic powers that can destroy or rule the World.

           Again, if you haven't seen the episode of South Park from season twelve, where the boys discover how to get high off cat urine and Kenny becomes addicted to it, both creators used that. Moreover, I believe in an interview from Zach Snyder talking about his mom purchasing Heavy Metal comics from his youth, which makes total sense as to why he made Sucker Punch. Anyway getting back to topic, usually I would find some interesting facts or story developments behind the thought of wanting to make this movie happen and in all honesty, I really couldn't find anything to explain as to why this movie became a movie and why this would even be great idea to even make this movie happen other than Ivan Reitman himself gained a deal with Columbia Pictures to create an animated film and asked Gerard Potterton to oversee it, furthermore interesting fact I learned while looking up Potterton bio, he helped create the infamous Beatles movie Yellow Submarine, though I believe he was one of the animators but I'm just assuming that he was asked by Reitman to do this and he accepted because he made probably one weird animation so why not make another one. Unlike Archer where there's a mix of partial nudity and some nudeness, there is full frontal nudity with a lot of big busty chicks and full on animated whoopee and I can honestly there were no female animators involved with this and the guys who animated this film along with Potterton they were obviously have perverted minds and not that I'm complaining because let’s be honest we're all perverted when we look at women, dudes or even dudes disguised as women and you slowly recognized their voices. I mean it brings back a Dead or Alive fighting game where all the creators in Japan decide to make a beach party video game where you dress these female fighters to the skimpiest outfits to barely anything at all and yet the laws of physics don't matter, almost a secret sick world where you can be Harvey Weinstein in your personal room, and that's almost close to what Heavy Metal is really. I'd say watch this movie to discover how weird this movie is but you also need to come up with a good reasonable lie just in case your mom or your wife, hell even your girlfriend in case you forget to lock your door.

     

Dazed and Confused

 

 

            After finishing Apocalypse Now, I decided to take a long soft break from any deep films for a while and just dive into some brain-off or mainstream films to watch especially when school ends for the summer. Speaking of "schools out, for, summer" I figured why not check out a movie that's the long-lost stepson to That 70's Show. Dazed and Confused is a coming-of-age story set in the late 70's about teenagers spending their last days of school in the summer, going to parties, smuggling beer and weed but most importantly, knowing what to do with the rest of their life. It's like George Lucas's American Graffiti hooked up with a hippie chick and made a baby and was called Dazed and Confused.

            This coming-of-age story follows the mayhem of a group of rowdy teenagers in Austin, Texas, celebrating the last day of school in 1976. The graduating class heads for a popular pool hall and joins an impromptu keg party, however star football player Randall Pink Floyd (Jason London) has promised to focus on the championship game and abstain from partying. Meanwhile, the incoming freshman tries to avoid being hazed by the seniors, most notably the sadistic bully Fred O'Bannion (Ben Affleck).

             No doubt, this was my first time seeing the film moreover I've heard about this movie through the times I either see entertainment network or anything from VH1 or MTV (anyone remember VH1?) and through the course of thirty minutes, into the movie I slowly began to realize that this was a complete knockoff of American Graffiti, in which when I slowly put the pieces together myself I was a little bit disappointed but then through the course of finishing the movie I began to give the film some go ahead respect. There's no question that both movies American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused both share a ton of similarities, both films main characters want to hang on to their youth's for which let’s be honest is a relatable thing to relate to in whatever time period you’re in as well as trying to escape from the small town life and really who doesn't want to relate to that when you think about it though if I moved to New York City or Los Angeles I would question that aspect but couldn't afford it either way, and really the character that Jason London plays is okay as well as a cool guy who takes one of the main freshman under his wing moreover give him the time of his life I actually like more of the freshman character than I did with London's character and granted I like his character development though the main freshman I like how his story progresses also I had a sister who was finishing high school who was being a good protector so, that's what I relate most . Both films share a ton of similarities with the number one hangout as well as music and driving around in a 24-hour span. The music portion does have its differences though that's a now brainier, one's sixties music and the other is seventies music, in fact one sixth of the movie’s budget was primarily spent on rights to a ton of the 70s pop songs that you hear in the film. The biggest similarity involves all the kids in the movie getting involved with a ton of checky and fun shenanigans and one difference through the both films is that there was no drugs involved in American Graffiti, though I would imagine they didn't have drugs around in Lucas's time or he wanted to focus more on his films being marketed for the teens as well as setting a good example. Now for sure I can go on and on about how similar both American Graffiti and Dazed and Confused are, but through the course of the movie I began to not mind it so much, mainly because Dazed and Confused have its moments with the central characters that you can obviously relate to but also launches a ton of actors careers, like Matthew McConaughey who plays the weird dude and loves to hang around the teens confirmed creeper, but more importantly has the iconic catchphrase "alright, alright, alright" so, without this movie we wouldn't witness McConaughey's great Oscar speech. For a standalone movie that holds a lot of similarities with George Lucas underappreciative coming of age story, I would for sure recommend watching Dazed and Confused for it's good quality brain turn off sense because in times when you watch a film like Apocalypse Now, you do need a movie that gives you a good refresher as well as rejuvenating your ability to watch movies so, last time I checked it was on Amazon Prime so unless it's still there go check it out and don't be afraid of the Deliverance reference. 

        

Apocalypse Now

 

             Getting back to the quest of indulging myself in any classic film to become the ultimate cinema fan. Well, this film I'm not sure if this gave me a nervous breakdown or was just shook up in terms of psychological/sanity or the more reasonable sense was that I was having a tiny heart attack just like Martin Sheen did, while filming Francis Ford Coppola's greatest Vietnam war movie Apocalypse Now. When you look at Francis Ford Coppola's filmography you obviously say the first two Godfather movies and of course Apocalypse Now. And true those movies were without a doubt the greatest movies of all time but then their times when one movie comes around that breaks you mentally that you'll never be the same ever again well, this mesmerizing great film was the one movie that broke Coppola, upon which was never the same again.

             In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinating journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat, Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.

             In all the greatest films of all time in the seventies, the first-two Godfather films, American Graffiti, Jaws, and Star Wars. Well Apocalypse Now is for certain one of the greatest films of that era and for sure in my list of the top ten or fifteen greatest films of all time. If your curious about what makes a great film being among the greatest of all time well, it's obvious a great director but most importantly that person's drive and determination, in order to make his vision as well as his passion into the movie and the final ingredient is also that director fighting within a inch of his life, by doing it his or her way and not letting anyone tell that person what to do. For which in all honesty, Francis Ford Coppola in that era of the seventies is without a doubt the greatest American artist of the seventies, because of his vison as well as his fight to do the movies his way and especially paving the way for the most important directors in George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, and really without Coppola, we wouldn't have George Lucas in bringing out his vison with life in the early-sixties America, driving around listening to music as well as knowing what you want to do with the rest of your life. And then in 1977 we would most certainly not get one of the greatest films of all time, Star Wars, if not for Coppola being a true mentor to George Lucas in lighting the way for Hollywood to change the way we look at movies. So, really Coppola was in deed a great Artist of that era and I say artist because like Norman Rockwell or Jackson Pollock they all made their visions, their own way, there way or the highway and not letting anyone telling anyone how to make their vision work and Coppola did that through the course of his career fighting for each of his movies from the Godfather, the Conversation and Godfather Part II and even to the final production of Apocalypse Now. When George Lucas was filming Star Wars, he was experiencing a ton of anxiety attacks as well as having to deal with a lot of stress as well as having to put up with 20th Century Fox. Well, when you hear the many stories involving Apocalypse Now, you soon realize that George got off easily because after Star Wars he was smart enough to step aside from the Star Wars franchise and focused on producing the Indiana Jones films as well as building Lucasfilm. Now I'm not going into so much detail about the making of the film because there is the documentary behind the making of the movie, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, and so, Coppola new from a certain stand point that this was going to be a difficult shoot so in order to get this film off and running he invited his wife and his three kids to the Philippines, because it was the closest part of Vietnam. And through the course of filming, he gave his wife a camera and film footage basically for "making of" documentary kind of like in all bonuses features you'd seen in all special features like Star Wars or Indiana Jones and even the Dark Knight Trilogy. Though through the course of film he had to deal with a lot of struggles including dealing with the Philippine Government as well as Tsunami's, and yet the biggest struggle was Coppola had to deal with, was putting up with Marlon Brando for only three weeks and yet he got a million dollar advance but then he wasn't planning on coming but comes to maybe Cambodia I'm not sure because the biggest problem that Coppola and the production team had to deal with was Marlon Brando being overly large, like 400 pounds. And here's the interesting thing about this aspect is that Brando was filming the first Superman in 77, for which his presence I would assume was 250 to maybe 285 pounds maybe? And so, when Brando made it on set he ballooned up to like what I'm told was 400 pounds of fat, for which Coppola and the writers and production team had to change the final act of the film, and even Brando had said to just give him some slim clothes and Coppola replied "Well, Marlon there's no such clothes that's xxxxL". Moreover there were also the drama in that he was supposed to read the book but didn't as well as not wanting to be on set with Dennis Hopper for a million reasons only a drama queen can have, and so, when you see that seen when Hopper is talking to Martin Sheen and Brando out of nowhere throws something at him, that wasn't scripted that literally happened. So, I'm closing the production facts because I would highly recommend watching the documentary, Hearts of Darkness because it's most certainly a must watch up there with Empire of Dreams when you want to watch Documentaries in your spare time. I watched this film once and didn't make it through because I don't know maybe I couldn't stomach the discovery of a puppy scene. Furthermore, I had to watch this film all the way through because I just had to if I wanted to experience other greatest films of all time. And so, the second time watching the movie through, and I begin to have the unsettling feeling through the second act and into the third act even in the first act but it just felt like you were going into the very heart of madness, like I almost though I was experiencing panic attacks, hell I was almost close to having a heart attack just like Martin Sheen did, while filming like even when you see Sheen being taken hostage and the character of Lance at first using LSD, then later is just embracing the Cambodian tribe in water buffalo sacrifices almost as if he lost all sense of reality and I myself after finishing the film I felt so unsettled that I was experiencing chest pains and just couldn't get the Doors "The End" out of my head, and especially the music Coppola used through the film was also unsettling as well. Though here's the interesting thing when you look at it, Full Metal Jacket has the same unsettling themes just like Apocalypse Now, and yet you have R. Lee Ermey just being R. Lee Ermey and if you have that dark sense of humor, you can just smile and laugh whenever he's on screen. But, I watch Apocalypse Now and thought that was the most scariest Vietnam movie I've ever seen because your following Sheen's character in the hopes that he doesn't go insane and I feel like we all have that same fear of not knowing when we can break for many reasons even I bottle up so much emotions that there were times where I feel like I'm going to snap at a certain person for no apparent reason, hell even Coppola was under so much pressure even when making this film as well as dealing with actors and movie executives as well as putting up with Brando that it was close to killing the guy, and that's what I mostly experienced while watching Apocalypse Now was that whole psyche of being on the unsettling mental edge whether you're a Vet or trying to work hard on life. Francis Ford Coppola no doubt does a great job in making this film great, but there's also another person that needs to deserve a ton of credit especially when he won an Oscar for his work, for which I'm referring to cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and he does a fantastic job in using a lot of darkness as well as using a ton of smoke to create this whole scary and madness feel that you can't stop watching it especially when Sheen sets in motion of killing Brando, and when he has that face paint on and comes into frame with his eyes bulging out of his sockets, which was almost was terrifying as Brando was in the movie Storaro does a fantastic job in blending a lot of colors through the course of the movie, in which makes this film a hundred times better. Without a doubt that the seventies era was Coppola's greatest in terms of film and really, if I had made a short list of Coppola's greatest films it would certainly be The Godfather at number one, Apocalypse Now at second and then Godfather Part II at three. So, in closing I totally respect Apocalypse Now as one of those great War films of the ages as well as the passing of the torch because again Coppola wasn't the same after the seventies came to an end. I wouldn't have your kids watching this film though if you’re a cinema fan like I am, then I would highly recommend watching Apocalypse Now even which version of the film you want to indulge in whether or how far you want to go into the rabbit hole. Though I would say if you’re in the substance of weed or LSD then I would not be recommending you watching this film until the drugs are out of you. Though most importantly would watch this film because you'll never see a movie like this ever again and even watch Hearts of Darkness after watching Apocalypse Now.