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Certificate: 
Directors: George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Richard Marquand
Release Date: 1977, 1980, 1983
Main Cast:
Mark Hamill … Luke Skywalker
Harrison Ford … Han Solo
Carrie Fisher … Princess Leia Organa
David Prowse and James Earl Jones (voice) … Darth Vader
There’s no point in reviewing these separately. Star Wars is my religion, and George Lucas is my God! If you haven’t already seen these (and if not – why not?) then there’s something wrong with you.
I will say, though, that please, please watch the original versions and not the special editions. George Lucas may think that he made changes for the better, but he didn’t. If only he realised that you can’t improve on perfection.
Star Wars changed cinema. It also changed lives.
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P.S. Han shoots first.
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Directors: Neill Blomkamp and Simon Hansen
Release Date: 4 September 2009
Tagline: You are not welcome here.
Main Cast:
Sharlto Copley … Wikus Van De Merwe
Jason Cope … Grey Bradnam – UKNR Chief Correspondent
I heard good things about this film, but wondered why at the start. It all seemed a bit silly and ridiculous, but when it gets going it’s really, really good. Easily one of the best sci-fi films in recent years.
There’s really only one thing I can say.
I saw the Prawns, and the Prawns were good.
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Director: James Cameron
Release Date: 17 October 2009
Tagline: Enter the world.
Main Cast:
Sam Worthington … Jake Sully
Zoe Saldana … Neytiri
Sigourney Weaver … Dr. Grace Augustine
Stephen Lang … Colonel Miles Quaritch
3D cinema – fancy gimmick or pleasurable enhancement? Both, actually. In the fantasy sections of the film it works very well, but in the run-of-the-mill scenes it’s pointless and somewhat distracting. So, all in all, 3D is something that, with the right film, could be fantastic.
So, on to the film itself. Cheesy, clichéd and over long, Avatar would not have been the massive success that it was if it was merely a 2D film. The plot and the dialogue are dreadful, and it’s obvious that Cameron was not in the least bit concerned about making a good film, which is a shame as it is certainly visually stunning. I believe that special effects should help tell the story and not be the only attraction and, sadly, Avatar is a film without a soul. Take Titanic – love it or hate it, Cameron had the sets built to perfection. To see that wonderful ship come to life was an absolute joy, and you were completely immersed (no pun intended) in the experience. With Avatar, I found myself constantly aware of the 3D visuals and just couldn’t engage fully with the film.
Having said all that, I appreciate that Avatar is the first genuine 3D film (as opposed to the ones that have 3D versions with a few things that poke out of the screen at you) and, as such, I applaud it. Was it worth paying good money to see? Yes, it was. Do I think 3D is the future? No, I don’t.
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(film only)
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Director: Duncan Jones
Release Date: 17 July 2009
Tagline: The last place you’d ever expect to find yourself.
Main Cast:
Sam Rockwell … Sam Bell
Kevin Spacey … GERTY (voice)
Borrowing heavily from 2001: A Space Odyssey both visually and in style, Moon is a slow paced sci-fi film that unfolds gently, but never leaves you bored. It centres around a mining station on Earth’s Moon which is run by one man and an intelligent computer (think HAL from the above). Sam’s three year contract has come to an end, and he prepares to leave for home. Unfortunately, he has an accident that prevents him from doing so.
Very simple, and very entertaining. If, however, you like your sci-fi fast paced and filled with action, then this is probably not for you.
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Director: Steven Spielberg
Release Date: 21 September 2001
Tagline: David is 11 years old. He weighs 60 pounds. He is 4 feet, 6 inches tall. He has brown hair. His love is real. But he is not.
Main Cast:
David … Haley Joel Osment
Monica Swinton … Frances O’Connor
Jude Law … Gigolo Joe
William Hurt … Prof. Hobby
I first saw this on its release, and I was left feeling rather ambivalent. The first half of the film is superb but then it sort of collapses somewhat suddenly into a sort of Blade Runner scenario. And then it gets even odder than that with the introductions of aliens.
One thing I was not left ambivalent about was Haley Joel Osment. He’s absolutely stunning as David and gives one of the best performances in cinematic history.
And then I watched it again and now I have an altogether different opinion of it. I found myself liking the stark contrast. I still think that it could have been less ‘neon futuristic’, but I was expecting it, and it made a difference. I also found myself liking the ending much more. David may not have got what he desperately wanted, but in the end he still finds peace and happiness, and it’s very touching.
Perhaps this film is one of those that ‘improve’ with a second viewing.
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Director: Stanley Kubrick
Release Date: 6 April 1968
Tagline: Let the awe and mystery of a journey unlike any other begin.
Main Cast:
Keir Dullea … Dr. Dave Bowman
Gary Lockwood … Dr. Frank Poole
William Sylvester … Dr. Heywood R. Floyd
If ever there was a film to divide people, then this is surely it! For some it’s confusing and dull, but for others it’s a beautiful masterpiece that depicts the journey of the human race coming full circle. I’ve seen it about three times now during various phases of my life. As a child I was firmly in the ‘confusing and dull’ camp. In my twenties I had one foot in each camp. But now I’m in my thirties and have come to rest in the ‘masterpiece’ camp.
In a nutshell, it’s a film about the dawn of man and his evolution.
You can take from it what you will. Some believe that the journey is the work of aliens, and for others it’s the work of God. Either way is fine. It’s not about who is responsible.
Visually stunning with an absolutely perfect soundtrack, 2001 is a seminal film that deserves watching until the end (many people get frustrated at their lack of initial comprehension and give up).
I would advise watching it twice. After the first viewing, read up on what others believe the film symbolises and then watch it again. An excellent website can be found at The High Weirdness Project: 2001 and Beyond the Infinite.
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Director: J.J. Abrams
Release Date: 8 May 2009
Tagline: The future begins.
Main Cast:
Chris Pine … James T. Kirk
Zachary Quinto … Spock
Karl Urban … Leonard “Bones” McCoy
Leonard Nimoy … Spock Prime
Eric Bana … Nero
I’m not a Trekker. I think that people who have learned to speak Klingon need to get out more. I don’t like the numerous spin-offs and the feature films (bar one or two) have been rather tedious. I do, however, like the original series, and was excited at the prospect of Star Trek re-imagined with all of the original characters.
It has a wonderful feel to it. The actors have really researched their parts well and the casting (especially Pine, Quinto and Bones) is excellent. I remain undecided about Simon Pegg (Scotty) though. His Scottish accent was, at times, somewhat dodgy to say the least.
So, they get a 10/10 for the look and feel of the film, but it has its faults.
This is very much a prequel to the original series. It deals with character introduction not only to us, but to each other as well. It therefore has to spend considerable time in scene setting (as did Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace). I really enjoyed this section of the film as I think that introduction to the characters is an extremely important part. If you don’t care for the characters (be it in film, book or TV series) then it won’t work.
With regards to the plot, I liked that they didn’t leap to the obvious enemy and went with the slightly lesser known Romulans (the Klingons will require more screen time and it was a wise decision to leave them until, at least, the next instalment). I did find myself a bit confused in one or two places, and I found that I lost concentration at one point in trying to work out what the Hell was going on, which was a bit of a shame. I would have preferred something other than the inevitably messy time travelling story. There are always so many loopholes when time travel is involved, and I’m really not a big fan of it. When you throw in a parallel universe too, it gets even messier.
So, despite its faults, now that the crew of the Enterprise has been established I expect the next one to have a much better story with more heart and depth to it.
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Director: Paul Verhoeven
Release Date: 2 January 1998
Tagline: Genocide doesn’t compare to this.
Main Cast:
Casper Van Dien … Johnny Rico
Dina Meyer … Dizzy Flores
Denise Richards … Carmen Ibanez
Starship Troopers is, in many ways, a strange film. Indeed, the title makes it look like it’s going to be a kitsch sci-fi film, which shows that you can never judge a book by its cover, so to speak. There is a lot of tongue in cheek satire, but underneath all that is a very serious war film. It is set in a future where militarism is primary, signing up is seen as very patriotic and noble and is as common as going to college.
The film follows a group of friends who join the military and find themselves thrown into fighting a bloody and violent war against a race of giant insect like aliens.
Starship Troopers has its fair share of gore and action and at no point does the film disappoint or get tireseome. I was pleasantly surprised to find a very good film behind the ‘popcorn’ title.
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Director: Andrew Stanton
Release Date: 18 July 2008
Tagline: An adventure beyond the ordinar-E.
Main Cast: (voice)
Ben Burtt … WALL·E / M-O
Elissa Knight … EVE
Jeff Garlin … Captain
Sigourney Weaver … Ship’s Computer
Guess what? Pixar have come up with yet another masterpiece! WALL·E is utterly charming and totally brilliant from start to finish. The first part of the film has practically no dialogue, and the animators at Pixar have managed to create such a wonderful character that we need no words to follow the story.
WALL·E is the last of his kind – a clean-up robot on a barren and completely deserted Earth of the future. Whilst doing his job, he collects items that take his fancy, and he furnishes his home with them. In amongst his collection are a tv & VCR on which he plays a video of Hello Dolly! and is entranced by the love songs and the companionship he sees on screen. His loneliness is plain for all to see, and within a matter of minutes you get a real feeling of sympathy for this little robot.
Whilst going about his daily business, he has an encounter with a space ship which deposits a robot who has a rather destructive streak and clearly has a mission, although we don’t find out what the mission is until later on. WALL·E befriends EVE and the adventure begins.
Everything about WALL·E is exceptional. Watch it – and make it soon!
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Director: Dave Filoni
Release Date: 15 August 2008
Tagline: Star Wars like you’ve never seen it before.
Main Cast: (voice)
Matt Lanter … Anakin Skywalker
James Arnold Taylor … Obi-Wan Kenobi / 4-A7 / Medical Droid
Ashley Eckstein … Ahsoka Tano
Christopher Lee … Count Dooku
Ian Abercrombie … Senator Palpatine / Darth Sidious
Tom Kane … Yoda / Narrator / Admiral Yularen
I am so sick of the Star Wars prequels whiners, and even more sick of those who hated them so much that they are seemingly willing to trash all present and future ventures. Why can’t these people get it into their heads that they have grown up (at least physically) and therefore must accept that there are going to be elements that seem pretty childish.
This is aimed at children but there is also plenty for us older fans to like. The battle scenes are pretty exciting, and the lightsaber duels are very good.
I really liked this and can’t understand the terrible reviews it had. One critic panned the animation, but I thought it was superb. The Clone Wars has a look and feel all its own and works well not only as a lead up to the new series, but also as a companion to the original Clone Wars animation shorts. I also can’t understand the same critic’s view that the actors were poor. I thought that James Arnold Taylor, Ian Abercrombie and Tom Kane were very convincing as Obi-Wan, Palpatine and Yoda respectively. Matt Lanter also made a credible Anakin.
I did find the character of Ahsoka quite annoying. I can understand that they needed to give Anakin someone to converse with, but they could have come up with a better character. I hated the nickname “Sky Guy” and I also didn’t like Jabba the Hutt calling his son “Punky Muffin”. That’s just plainly unacceptable and cheapens Jabba (whose voice actor was also very convincing).
Overall, it’s not perfect but if you can get over the “Sky Guy” and “Punky Muffin” atrocities then you’ll have a good time.
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