Transformers Prime

 

I am not going to deny it, I have Transformers fever once again. The last time I felt this way was when Transformers Revenge of the Fallen was due to be released in 2009. I remember purchasing tickets in advance to watch it at the Birch, Caroll and Coyle at Chermside's Westfield Shoppingtown in Brisbane. Right now I am feeling the same electricity after watching the incredible Transformers Rise of the Beast! Therefore I feel that it's the right time to share my thoughts about the next best series to be released after the iconic generation one cartoon of the 80. Introducing Orci and Kurtzman's Transformers Prime.

This series works on so many levels. Marrying the best of the Bayverse designs, to the memorable movie worthy soundtrack by Brian Tyler, the vocal performance by GOAT's Peter Cullen and Frank Welker and the Gen 1 lore, there's something for everyone! Granted that the cast of characters main characters was much smaller in comparison to G1 massive crew sheets, we got more fleshed out players. We have , on Team Prime, Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Smokescreen, Arcee, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead. In the Decepticon corner we have the usual suspects, Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Shockwave, Dreadwing, Airachnid, Skyquake as well as the generic foot soldiers and a reimagined Insecticon army. We also get a very compelling cast of human characters, Jack, Miko, Raphael, nurse Darby, Jack's mom and Agent Fowler. They all have great story arcs, with the kids having their Autobot partners. Jack bonds with Arcee, Miko with Bulkhead, and Raphael with Bee. There is even a fantastic episode that spotlights Jack's growth from irresponsible teenager to leader when Prime chooses Jack to safeguard a key, which later plays a pivotal role in restoring Prime from Orion Pax!

I really enjoyed the design aesthetics of the main characters. Even though I am all for the blocky robots of the 80's, surprisingly I didn't hate the sleeker silhouettes of the Autobots. The Decepticons were on the whole great, with two exceptions. Optimus bears a striking similarity to his Bayverse counterpart, as did Bumblebee, and I really liked their updated looks from the 2007  movie. Bulkhead was basically a much improved version of movie Hound, with more character. Arcee is closer to her G1 design, as is Ratchet, Wheeljack, Ultra Magnus and Cliffjumper. The Decepticons were a little too sleek and streamlined for my liking, with the exception of  G1'esque Megatron and Shockwave. Starscream and Soundwave were way too spindly and lacking in the bulk department. 

And then there is the brilliant story lines by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. Their choice of drawing from G1 lore from comics, and the cult classic 1986 movie is the way to go. Unicron is featured in the plot and is an underlying threat throughout the entirety of the three seasons, as well as the Beast Hunters hour long movie after the series concludes. Unicron is depicted as a slumbering giant at the heart of Earth, something Bay tried to implement in his fifth and final flick. Unicron's blood serves as a plot device, with Megatron and the Decepticons using this dark energon to give themselves unnatural power. This comes to a head in the final episodes for season 1 when Optimus almost kills a delusional Megatron, who thinks it's his destiny to rule the universe. He later joins forces with Optimus when he realizes Unicron's true intentions and has to face an onslaught of Unicron manifestations. To stop Unicron from reawakening fully and destroying the Earth, Megatron leads Optimus and the others to the heart of Earth, where Unicron's essence slumbers. Optimus uses the creation matrix to once again imprison the chaos bringer. 

Season two explores the hunt for ancient Cybertronian relics hidden on Earth by Alpha Trion. We get to see Optimus as Orion Pax, and the relationship he had with Megatronus before the war. Optimus reverts back to his original form after unleashing the power of the matrix and losing the wisdom of the Primes. He plays a crucial role in decoding the coordinates of some of the relics. He is only restored to Optimus after Jack goes on a perilous mission to fill the key Optimus entrusted to him in case of a an event such as this. Some of the more important relics being pursued by both factions include a hammer called the Forge of Solus Prime, the legendary weapon, the Starsaber, and the keys to the Omega Lock. The former two can only be wielded by a Prime. Megatron actually slices off his right arm and grafts the arm of a deceased Prime so he can fashion a weapon from dark energon, the Darksabre. In the epic conclusion, Optimus destroys the Omega Lock on Cybertron to prevent the Decepticons from terraforming Earth, but not before Megatron's Darkmount is created. The final episode sees the Autobots ground bridging to random locations around Earth as Megatron brings the mountain down on Optimus.

Season three introduces us to Shockwave and his hunt for CNA and fossilized remains of a extinct species known as the Predacons. He has successfully cloned and bred a Predacon, later shown to be a sentient being known as Predaking in his lab on Cybertron. Megatron thinks that an army of Predacons could help his cause. Meanwhile on the Autobot front, we see Team Prime scattered to the wind, with Optimus himself barely alive. Smokescreen bravely stayed behind and pulled Optimus to safety. Reasoning that Optimus could rebuild himself, he sneaks aboard the Decepticon warship and steals the Forge. To his dismay Optimus passes over and says that there will be a new leader. Desperate, he places the Forge in Optimus's hand.

Megatron sends threats to world leaders , now that he has the Darkmount, and a super weapon, the fusion cannon. The newly reassembled team, now under Ultra Magnus, who managed to track down the remaining Autobots launches a desperate assault on the Darkmount. Magnus successfully manages to get rid of the Predacon threat by tricking the Beast and groundbridging him to the north pole. He confronts Megatron but is eventually overpowered and captured by the Decepticons. Just as Magnus is about to get executed, in flies a newly resurrected and reformatted Optimus Prime. He takes out Megatron, Starscream and destroys the fusion cannon and Darkmount, with Agent Fowler and the US Air Force help. Megatron and the Decepticons retreat to fight another day.

In the aftermath of his failures, Megatron focuses his energy on uncovering Predacon fossils and rebuilding the Omega Lock. He, however requires energon to power his Omega Lock. Discovering that Autobot Ratchet has developed an unstable formulation of synthetic energon, he sends his goons to kidnap our resident scientist. Reluctantly, Ratchet works with Shockwave and together they figure out the formula. Ratchet then manages to slip away and deactivate the ships cloaking and manages to inform  team Prime. He is also able to reason with the Predaking after Megatron sends the Beast after him. Predaking realizes that it was Megatron himself who ordered the extermination of his kind on Cybertron. Although he best Megatron in combat, Starscream's diversion gives Megatron enough time to launch Predaking into space. 

Megatron is now poised to terraform Earth into new Cybertron.. Only team Prime stand in his way. With the coordinates of Megatron's ship now known, Prime flies in himself to confront Megatron, while Magnus flies the rest of the team in and storms the Decepticon ship. Prime beats Megatron, but in a moment of hesitation gives Megatron the upper hand. Bumblebee bravely enters the fray but gets blasted repeated in the chest and falls into the activated Omega Lock. When all seems lost, Bumblebee reappears, fully restored and plunges the sabre into Megatron's chest, finally ending his reign of terror. With the Omega Lock ready, the Autobots pilot the Decepticon warship to Cybertron and restore their home. And so ends team Prime's time on Earth. We get an hour long Beast Wars movie set on Cybertron, which I will cover in a future post.

Transformers Rise of the Beast REVIEW -Spoilers-

 

What a fun and wild ride. Yes I have finally seen Transformers Rise of the Beast! It's everything I wanted in a movie and more. Coming from a G1 fan perspective, this cinematic experience ticked all the right boxes. Just like Travis Knight's Bumblebee, still the best live action Transformers movie in my book, this story inherits the best parts of the Bumblebee movie. You get the impression that just like Travis Knight before, Steven Caple Jr is a true fan of the franchise. We get G1 designs for our main Autobots, maybe not as much as some OG fans might like, but he does do a great job of marrying the best of the Bayverse designs and G1. As mentioned in my previous preamble blog to this review, he borrows a lot from the G1 cartoons, from the brilliant 1986 animated movie, and even sneaks in musical inferences from Vince De Cola's Unicron's theme, as well as the brilliant 'Arrival to Earth' theme from Steve Jablonsky. This production has a good amalgamation of old and new, and it's sure to please the 80's kids with the live adaptation of Unicron and the Autobots and Maximals, as well as newer fans who grew up with the Bayverse. Steven does away with excessive anal and sexiest humor and imagery and instead focuses on the two human leads, played by Anthony Ramos and Dominique Fishback, leading to more fleshed out characters, as well as allowing much more time for our Transformers to shine. I really enjoyed the pacing of the scenes and didn't once feel like there were redundant exposition to drag out the runtime. Sure there is a MacGuffin that everyone is chasing after, but that is pretty much present in the OG  cartoons. To say that the movie played out like a big budget Saturday morning cartoon would be an understatement.

This movie picks up where Bumblebee left off, with only a handful of Autobots forming team Prime, Bumblebee, Arcee, Mirage, Wheeljack and Stratosphere. The Autobots have been stranded on Earth for seven years with no way to get back to Cybertron. Enter the MacGuffin, the Trans Warp key. The keepers of this piece of technology are the Maximals. The opening sequence, much like Bumblebee's fall of Cybertron scene sets up the story. We see Unicron enter the frame, sending his herald Scourge to the surface of the Maximals planet, with some Scorponok's to strike a bargain with the leader of the Maximals, Apelinq for the Trans Warp key. We are introduced to the main Maximals, Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Rhinox and Airazor. Apelinq stays behind to confront Scourge and buys time for his brethren,but is killed by his nemesis. The Maximals escape to Earth while their home planet is consumed by Unicron.

Cut to present day Earth and we are introduced to Noah Diaz, a ex military electronics expert and his counterpart Elena Wallace a intern archeologists working in the museum. Noah is struggling to make ends meet to look after his sick little brother Chris, who has sickle cell anemia. Out of options, he takes up a grand theft auto job with his buddy Reek. This is where fate intervenes. He steals a car that turns out to be an alien robot, Mirage. As this is happening, Elena's innate curiosity entangles her as she unexpectedly uncovers part of the Trans Warp key that sends a signal into the sky, alerting the Autobots, as well as Unicron. Noah is accidentally embroiled in the Autobots plan to obtain the key.

Both factions make a beeline for the museum and a battle ensures. The Autobots try to protect Noah and Elena, but are totally outclassed by the dark energon enhanced henchmen of Unicron. Even Optimus Prime is over powered by Scourge and almost loses his life. Bumblebee bravely stops Scourge but loses his life. Airazor swoops in and stops the slaughter, but not before Nightbird secures the key. Optimus takes his rage out on some pieces of scrapes, and even blames Noah for their failure. Airazor tells them of the other Maximals and how they split the key into pieces for safe keeping. This is where Elena's research comes into play. All signs point towards Peru. Unfortunately Unicron realizes this as well.

The human Autobots alliance continues, to the consternation of Prime, who still seeks the key for selfish reasons, to return his crew to Cybertron. Little does he know that Noah is in it for his own reasons, to destroy the key and prevent Earth from destruction. Two sides of a coin but barreling down the same road. The Autobots realize that in order to locate the second half of the key, Noah and Elena are their best bet. Scourge and his minions track the Autobots and tail them, leading to another confrontation at the mountain side. An enraged Prime manages to to gain the upper hand in his fight with Scourge. Airazor has to break up the fight by bringing down the bridge, separating both combatants. Elena and Noah are still underground seeking out the key. Scourge sneaks in a corruption bug as he shoots Airazor.

Noah and Elena exits the caves after finding an empty crypt and are confronted by Optimus Primal and the Maximals. Airazor is reunited with her comrades and informs them of how the heralds of Unicron now have one half of the key. The Autobots are introduced to the Maximals and learn the location of the second half of the key. Primal educates Prime about the history between the humans and how he has grown to trust them and why all life is sacred. He doesn't agree with giving up the keys to put Earth in harms way as he presents his human tribe to Prime. The villagers show Prime a sacred resting place, which so happens to be rich in inert energon for Bee. Unfortunately Airazor is corrupted and gives their position away to Scourge. Noah has a chance to destroy the key but Prime begs him not to. In a moment of hesitation, Airazor flies off with Elena and the key. Primal gives chase but it's too late, Scourge gets the second half of the key. Primal is forced to put a possessed Airazor down to save Elena.

With the completed Trans Warp key, Scourge, Battletrap and Nightbird set up a transdimentional portal to welcome their master Unicron. When they open the portal, a wave of energy envelopes Earth, and activates the energon and restoring Bee. Prime and Primal lead the offensive as Unicron sends in his Terrorcons to overwhelm our heroes. A newly restored Bee is flown in by Stratosphere. He arrives in the nick of time and takes out Nightbird in midair while Prime and Primal take down Battletrap. Using the frontal assault as a diversion, Noah, Elena and Mirage attempt to get to the control panel with the hope that they can shut down the portal with a code Elena had deciphered from the markings on the totem and the crypt holding the keys. Primal believes that they can avoid destroying the keys, while stopping Unicron. 

Mirage bravely confronts Scourge in a kamikaze move reminiscent of Jazz in the  2007 movie with the hope that Noah and Elena can make their way to the controls via the underground tubes. Scourge realizes this and grabs Noah after incapacitating Mirage, and sends a Freezer after Elena. As Scourge is about to kill Noah, Mirage sacrifices himself to save his best bud, and to keep his promise to Noah's little brother. Mirage doesn't die. Due to extensive damage, he gives Noah full control by becoming Noah's exosuit. Prime joins the fight and takes Scourge out, but not before he destroys the control panel. Despite Elena succeeding in evading the Freezer and getting the code in, there is now no way to close the portal. Prime decides that life on Earth is too precious and volunteers to destroy the device and sacrifice himself. He smashes the panel and is sucked towards the portal opening. Primal and Noah saves Prime to the strain of Steve Jablonsky's Arrival to Earth!

Is this the start of the Transformers Renaissance? Rise of the Beast

 

I am not going to lie. I am really looking forward to getting back into the cinematic movieverse of the Transformers. In fact I am hopping around like the Energizer Bunny! The trailers, the TV spots and the general direction the story seems to be taking all reeks of G1 goodness. My hope is that they will build on what worked for Travis Knight's Bumblebee. The images from the opening scene is forever seared into my memory. We can already see that they have kept most of the designs from the mentioned movie. Indeed we seem to be veering away from the messy Bayverse of excess everything. For one we have freaking Unicron, and he appears to be the Unicron from our favorite Transformers 1986 movie. He is not the 'core of Earth' Unicron from Bay's time line. I also appreciate how the Maximals and the Terrorcons are the main bot cast as opposed to bringing the Decepticons back. And we get a new antagonist, Scourge, Unicron's herald. It will  also be refreshing to see Optimus Prime in a different light as he learns from the Maximals about the value of human life. It will be a mark departure from the worldly wise Optimus we have grown so accustomed to. Just how good this movie will be, only time will tell. I just felt like getting my thoughts out there before the flick hits the silver screen. Not long more to wait. Movie opens June the 6th. I believe that this is what Hollywood needs to shake off the superhero fatigue. Here's hoping for a Renaissance of the Transformers franchise and a return to a fun filled and woke free summer blockbuster!

So just how good is Andor?

 

I know that I am late to the party and that I reviewed The Mandalorian season 3 ahead of this series. Andor, the prequel to Gareth Edwards Rogue One, easily the best motion picture to come out of Disney owned Lucasfilm follows the exploits of protagonist Cassian Andor as he develops from a scavenger and slowly leans towards becoming a rebellion sympathizer. I figure I might as well share my thoughts about Rogue One, seeing how intertwined the movie and the series are. Andor just completed season 1 and season 2 will debut in  August of 2024.

Rogue One : A Star Wars Story 

I remember watching this movie after watching the main line Skywalker saga movies and really enjoying the freshness and the character development of the main players. They felt more three dimensional and fleshed out in comparison to the other movies. Edwards for one didn't use nostalgia or lighsabre wielding/ force powered jedi or sith, save Darth Vader, as this scene was required to link the movie to episode  IV. We are introduced to every day ' nobody's' playing their roles for the rebellion or empire. For the first time the main characters are not linked to the Skywalker bloodline! Contrary to popular belief , Skywalker's are not required to guarantee success. All we fans need are a well written script!

The story revolves around Jyn Erso, daughter of the architect of the first Death Star, Galen Erso. Jyn is played to perfection by Felicity Jones, while Galen is played by Mads Mikkelsen. Galen is a retired former Imperial engineer who is forced to work on the Death Star by Orson Krennic. Jyn is hidden away from her father to save her. Galen reluctantly builds the deadly battle station, but secretly includes a fatal flaw that would eventually allow Luke Skywalker and the rebels to triumph over the empire and destroy the super weapon. This story is the tale of how a brave squadron of rebels, led by the the titular Andor, portrayed by Diego Luna, the producer and star of Andor meets Jyn and learns about the Death Star. They are aided by his dedicated partner and copilot droid K2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, a jedi temple guardian of the Whills Chirrut Imwe, played by martial arts extraordinaire Donnie Yen and his enforcer Baze Malbus, and a rag-tag band of  rebels. Their ultimate goal is to secure the schematics to the Death Star. The story focuses on Jyn Erso and her arc from innocent farm girl, to battle hardened thief, and finally rebel. Andor's backstory is explored in the series. The events in this movie lead directly into the intro sequence in episode IV.

Andor

This 13 episode series follows the exploits of Cassian Andor. We see Andor as a child and how he is separated from his tribe after a botched raid on a crashed Imperial ship, and is saved and adopted by Marva. He lives a life of obscurity. That is until Andor's run in with two officers at a local bar, and his subsequent termination of the two. This puts his home planet in the crosshairs, and marks him as a wanted man. He also has in his possession some Imperial technology from the time he raided an Imperial ship in his youth. He gets recruited by the mysterious Luthen, played by Stellen Skaarsgard. They escape from the local authorities and Luthen drops him off for a mission with a band of rebels. We also see how Luthen and Mon Mothma work behind the scenes to orchestrate the genesis of the rebellion. While the first three episodes are a slow burn, Tony Gilroy's great writing, the use of actual locations, as opposed to the excessive use of The Volume, and the focus on character arcs gave this series a different view of the 'background' players in the war between the two factions. We get to see how morally grey a lot of these characters are. This is one of the strengths of this story. Those that work for the empire are not necessarily evil. They are just doing their job, to the best of their abilities. From their point of view, they are the good guys, bringing peace and order to the galaxy. As for the so called ' good' guys. They resort to some really despicable acts to achieve their objectives. If you were to look at this from another point of view, they could even be mistaken as the bad guys. Such is the brilliance of Tony Gilroy's writing. It is such a pity that this series is not more well received. It's obvious that their views have been tainted by more mediocre series such as The Book of Boba Fett, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. There are some really outstanding episodes, such as the prison arc of the story involving the highly talented Andy Serkis as Kino Loy, in what seems to George Lucas's THX mini movie. I highly recommend slogging through the first three episodes. You will definitely not be disappointed!

Star Wars : A May the 4th Retrospective Review

 

I thought it would be fitting of me to finish reviewing the original three movies by maestro George Lucas since Star Wars day 2023 is fast approaching. This is the flick that started it all, launched a franchise and would forever change the way we would view VFX productions. It was this movie that prompted the visual effects revolution, as George and his production crew would have to develop a lot of the technologies required to bring his fantastical visions to life. This would lead to the formation of George's Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), the premier VFX house that every movie production today uses. George's tale was a simple story of good versus evil that captured the imagination of kids all around the world back in the late 70. This was also the start of a massive merchandising opportunity, that would become the staple for current popular movies of today. To think that at that time period in history, no toy company was willing to work with George. Thanks to a small unassuming Illinois based company, Kenner, the 3.75 inch figures have now become an industry standard.

No one could have envisioned how big the movie would become, or what an influence it would have on the zeitgeist, not even George or Kenner. That Christmas after the premiere, Kenner had to issue a cardboard certificate to appease the thousands of disappointed kids who wanted action figures of their favorite Star Wars heroes. Kenner would only start shipping the first four figures of Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, R2D2 and Chewbacca the following year. These early bird figures are highly sought after these days and fetch a princely sum of money. In fact any of the action figures from the original three movies can net you a small fortune, especially if they are mint on card (MOC) and unpunched. The same kids who grew up with the Star Wars are now parents and sharing this experience with their children. This passing of the torch only further cements George Lucas's legacy in pop culture.

Ironically though this was not my favorite entry into the trilogy. As stated in my last post, that would be Return of the Jedi. The movie did leave a lasting impression on me and this would continue to influence my choices well into adulthood. To say that the effects are ahead of its time is a gross understatement. The VFX still hold up to scrutiny, even when compared with the movies of today. George's idea of a used and lived in universe definitely helped. The story itself is pretty straight forward. We get the evil empire chasing and capturing Princess Leia , but not before she manages to hide the schematics of a battle station called the Death Star in the astromech Droid R2D2. The opening sequence to the movie fully immerses the audience in the most indescribable way. From the memorable Star Wars theme by the immortal John Williams, to the scrawl, and finally the thunderous Star Destroyer soaring over the viewers on the silver screen in pursuit of the rebel Blockade Runner, George cast his spell on the audience. If that wasn't enough, we are introduced to the most recognizable villain in cinematic history, Darth Vader. He was made all the more terrifying by his booming voice, courtesy of James Earl Jones, and the mystery surrounding the character, and his mastery over a equally mystical power known as the force!.

The scene switches to the sand planet of Tatooine where the droids R2D2 and C3PO  are picked up by Jawas and sold Luke Skywalker and his uncle, Owen Lars. Luke accidentally activates the message from Leia while cleaning R2D2. This leads to R2 rolling away in the dead of the night in search of his former owner, and Luke having to go after him. This leads to Luke being ambushed by Tusken Raiders and Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi saving him. Ben brings Luke and the droids back to his home and reviews Leia's message. He reveals to Luke that his father was a great Jedi warrior and ask Luke to join him in his quest. He also gives Luke his father's lighsabre. Luke is hesitant as he is worried about his uncle and aunt.

Later that day, they find a ruined Sandcrawler and dead Jawas. When Luke discovers that his uncle and aunt have been murdered by stormtroopers, Luke takes up Ben's offer to learn the ways of the force, and save Princess Leia. We are introduced to the concept of the mystical force, and to a weapon called the lighsabre, another drawcard for impressionable youngsters like myself. Ben travels to the Mos Eisley Cantina where they enlist the help of smuggler Han Solo and his partner Chewbacca, for a small fee. Ben starts training Luke in the ways of the force using Luke's father's lighsabre and a training remote aboard the Millennium Falcon. They travel to Princess Leia's home world of Alderaan, only to discover that the planet has been destroyed. Moff Tarkin has used the Death Star against Leia's home as a demonstration of its power, and to coax Leia to reveal the location of the rebel base. Han and company encounter tie fighters and give chase, only to be caught in a tractor beam and are brought aboard the Death Star. They hide in the Falcons smuggling compartments and evade capture. Han and Luke disguises themselves as stormtroopers and set off to save Princess Leia while Ben attempts to shut down the tractor beam. He is successful, and Han and Luke find the princess , but they are forced to jump into a trash compactor.

Ben encounters Vader while making his way back to the Falcon. They engage in a lightsaber duel. Luke manages to contact C3PO  and R2D2 disables the trash compactor in the nick of time. Our heroes make their way back to the Falcon. Ben buys them time to board the Falcon and sacrifices himself. Luke witnesses this and is saddened. This however further solidifies his resolve to help defeat Vader and the empire. Using the schematics obtained by Leia, they find a weakness in the Death Star, an exhaust port on the surface of the powerful weapon. The rebels launch their assault with a squadron of X Wings and Y Wing bombers. Darth Vader personally leads a squadron of tie fighters as they systematically take out the rebels. It is is now up to Luke to take out the Death Star. Han unexpectedly drops in on Vader just as he is about to take Luke out. Using the force, Luke let's his proton torpedoes fly and the Death Star is finally destroyed. The rebels have won and Han Solo, Luke Skywalker and Chewbacca are rebellion heroes!

40th Anniversary Lookback at The Return of the Jedi

 

This used to be my favorite Star Wars movie. Yes you heard me correctly, but as a kid though. The reason for this was very simple. When I was young, I didn't like Empire Strikes Back as much as I do now. Luke lost his hand, and we lost Han to the bounty hunter Boba Fett. Empire was a dark entry into the original trilogy that left us fans hanging and wanting more. It's only with age have I been able to fully appreciate how magnificent Empire was. It had so much depth and layers to the story.

Enter Return of the Jedi  the penultimate episode in the George Lucas's Star Wars saga. This story was more straight forward. The good guys triumph over the evil empire, and Darth Vader is redeemed by the protagonist, and his son Luke Skywalker. In my opinion, this was the perfect end to the Skywalker saga. No need for sequels to this completed story arc. And since 2023 is the 40th anniversary of this flick, what better time than now for me to discuss this movie? Well let's jump right into it. I will first cover some facts and discuss my thoughts about the original theatrical release versus the special edition, and the Blu-ray release. Yes there are several versions of the movie.

For hard-core Star Wars fan's, you would probably remember that the movie was originally supposed to be called Revenge of the Jedi. There were posters and even toys with backing cards using the Revenge moniker. George Lucas changed Revenge to Return at the last minute as he felt like jedis do not take Revenge. This change in title would also have the added benefit for George's prequel movies, seeing how episode III would be titled Revenge of the Sith.

As for the final cut of the movie we got in 1983, several scenes were also cut from the movie. The more memorable ones that I wish had made it into the final cut include the scene in a cave on Tatooine where Luke puts together his green bladed lighsabre and hides it in R2, and the sandstorm scene that sees our heroes make their way to the Falcon.

Then there is the debacle that drove a wedge between George Lucas and the OG Star Wars fan's. George made numerous changes to 'improve' on the original release of the movie. I could write a multi page essay extolling why the original release should be left alone and not altered in any way. George felt that he couldn't achieve the vision he had for the movies with the technology at that time. When VFX tools finally caught up, George went back to the three original movies, reworked, added some scenes, and re-released them in theaters as the special editions. Star Wars received the most extensive additions, while Empire received the least, a testament to how perfect the final product was. I personally didn't mind the modifications to both of the mentioned as the scenes did add to the enjoyment of the films. The same cannot be said for Return.

I took particular offense to the Jabba throne room sing and dance number featuring close ups of some aliens I didn't care for, or the new song. Give me Lapti Nek anyday. I had the issue with George getting rid of the ewok celebration song Yub Nub right at the end of the movie as well. Did not like the ' elevator music' we got as replacement. And what's with replacing Sebastian Shaw with Hayden Christensen? We so didn't appreciate that swap. And George didn't help the situation by refusing to release the original theatrical version of the movie. Fans have resorted to scanning and restoring these from old film reels. In fact that is the only way to see these three classics in their full unaltered glory. Kudos to these dedicated fan. The last release of these versions were a low resolution copy of the Laser Disc release!

And with all that griping, here is my unadulterated recap of the original 1983 theatrical release of Return of the Jedi. The movie brings back our crew of heroes. In Empire Luke struck out on his own after the events on Hoth to train with Jedi Master Yoda. Han, Leia, Chewbacca and C3PO escape from the Imperial fleet, but are later ambushed at Bespin, and Han is frozen in Carbonite and given to vile gangster Jabba the Hutt.

The movie opens with the revelation that the empire has started construction on a new Death Star. Darth Vader personally travels to the Death Star to oversee it's completion. Meanwhile on Tatooine, R2D2 and C3PO make their way across a desolate landscape towards a foreboding metal gate. They have been sent by Luke Skywalker as a token of goodwill to Jabba the Hutt. The plan is to infiltrate Jabba's palace to rescue Han Solo. Leia, disguised as bounty hunter Boussh brings in Chewbacca in an attempt to gain access to Han. She successfully releases Han from his carbon freezing prison, but is captured in the process and made a slave to Jabba. Luke has to make an appearance to try and bargain for Han's life. Jabba tries to kill Luke instead by dropping Luke into the rancor pit. Luke makes quick work of the rancor, enraging Jabba even further. Jabba decrees that our heroes are to be brought to the Dune Sea and cast into the Pit of Carkoon, the resting place of the Sarlacc. With the force as an ally, and with the help of a semi blind Han, Lando disguised as a skiff guard, and Chewbacca, Luke dispatches the guards on the skiffs and on the main deck of Jabba's sail barge. As for Jabba himself, he is choked to death by the very chain he used to enslave Princess Leia. Our heroes escape after blowing Jabba's Khettana to smithereens.

The second act sees Luke travel back to the swamp planet Dagobah to complete his Jedi training. He is saddened to discover that Yoda has fallen ill and is on his death bed. Yoda reveals to Luke that his training was complete save one fact, he was not ready for the burden of learning that Darth Vader was in fact Anakin Skywalker his father. Yoda also mentions to Luke that there is another Skywalker before  becoming one with the force. Luke struggles with his feelings as Obi-Wan appears to comfort him. He reveals to Luke that he had a twin sister. Luke senses that Leia is his sister and Obi-Wan confirms his feelings. Luke then regroups with the others as they plan their assault on the Death Star. In order to gain access to the Death Star, they will have to deactivate the force field beamed from the forest moon of Endor. The rebels assemble a strike force to take down the shield, led by General Solo. Lando leads the strike on the Death Star. The heroes then depart for Endor in a stolen Imperial shuttle.

The Endor strike team land in a forest clearing and spot some Imperials. Han's clumsy approach accidentally alert the Imperial scout Troopers. Luke and Leia give chase and although successful, they are separated. Luke is able to reunite with Han and the rest. Leia is rescued by Wicket, a teddy bear like creature called ewoks. The rebels later fall into a trap set by the ewok tribe. When they spy 3PO among the group, they fall to their knees in reverence. They are convinced C3PO is a god, and Luke uses this to free them. They are reunited with Leia. The ewoks join the rebels in their fight to take down the deflector shield after listening to 3PO's tale about their escapades with the empire. Luke reveals to Leia the truth that she is his twin sister, and that Vader is their father before surrendering to Vader. He believes there is still good in him, and that he can save him. After Luke's departure, Han and company begin planning their assault.

With the help of the ewoks, Han manages to gain access to the base. However it is revealed that Emperor Palpatine had anticipated this and set a trap for them. We then see Han and the rebels captured, as the rebel fleet, led by General Calrissian and Admiral Ackbar come out of hyperspace. The rebel fleet is stunned when the Death Star fires upon them. To buy Han and company more time, Lando moves the rebel fleet closer to the Star Destroyers. Han and the rebels are freed by the ewoks and successfully blow up the shield generator. Lando then leads a squadron of rebel star fighters to the core of the Death Star. Meanwhile on the Death Star itself, Vader brings Luke before his master, Emperor Palpatine. The Emperor is successful in goading Luke to embrace his anger and fight his father. Luke, with the dark side as his ally overpowers Vader and chops off his hand. Luke then realizes what he has done and stops. An enraged Emperor Palpatine unleashes his full fury on Luke, bathing him in sith lightning. Just when he is about to strike the final blow, Luke's faith in his father is repaid. Vader absorbs the killing blows and hurtles Palpatine to his doom! Luke has to then half drags carries his redeemed father to a shuttle. In a final touching moment father and son come face to face for the last time. Luke takes off just as Lando fires the shot that takes out the Death Star.

The Wacky World of Cosplay

 

A staple of comic and anime conventions, Cosplay, or costume play has seen an explosion in the past few years. From casual fans like mua and my daughter, who buy our costumes to some of the professional Cosplayers who make a living from their art, Cosplay has become an integral part of the geek culture. Indeed it's increased prominence and popularity has propelled some of the more popular Cosplayers into the celebrity stratosphere. I'm sure all you Cosplay fan's would have seen the TV show, Heroes of Cosplay. Below are a discussion of the two main stars of this show, as well other Cosplayers of whom I have personally met and befriended through the many cons I have attended throughout the years..

Probably the most popular and well known cosplayer to grace local as well as international cons, Yaya Han was featured prominently in Heroes of Cosplay, and is regarded by many as the queen of Cosplay. Yaya developed her own textile and product line, in collaboration with her partner Brian Boling to support the cosplay community. This super talented Cosplayer makes her own props and costumes and is largely regarded as one of the pioneers of Cosplay. She is busy these days jetting around the globe as a competition judge and sharing her experience in the creation of her different personas in convention panels. She is also extremely approachable and enthusiastic about Cosplay. We shared some highly informative discussions on Cosplay and geekdom at cons in SoCal.

Another big name in the world of Cosplay is American Kiwi Jessica Nigri. She was featured along side Yaya Han in the TV series Heroes of Cosplay. She was discovered by scouts at a San Diego Comic Con where she did her own take on Pikachu. Jessica has a knack for putting her own sexy spin on cute and gender bent Cosplays. She is best known for her quirky personality and sexy costumes, makes all her props and costumes from scratch and is highly sought after by gaming companies to promote their wares. Jessica gives back to the community by uploading extensively detailed how to behind the scenes YouTube videos detailing how she brings her creations to life. She even details the intricacies of working with worbla, a heat malleable thermoplastic, as well as other materials used in crafting weapons and body armor. Her video series are a great resource for DIY Cosplayers. She also has an insane number of dedicated followers on Instagram.

And talking about representation, there are so many excellent Asian American Cosplayers . Close to home, as is San Jose, we have Cosplayer Linda Le, better known as Vampy Bit Me . Vampy has a sizable Instagram following and uses her platform to review games, as well as Gundam kits and such. She is most well known for her X-MEN Psylocke Cosplay, as well as for her One Piece Nico Robin. She is also in demand as a judge and as a brand ambassador. Another well known Cosplay judge and comic book reviewer is Animia. She also has an impressive Instagram and YouTube channel and crafts her own costumes and was very generous with her time with me and my daughter, who dressed up as Jedi Rey. We spent a good part of the afternoon picking her brain! She is Asian and hails from Atlanta, Georgia.

That said I would like to shine the spotlight on some of my close friends who happened to be amazing Cosplayers, Reel Guise David Schowman and his husband Paul Baum. I first met David and Paul at Stan Lee's Comikaze, where they were Cosplaying Rick Grimes and a zombiefied Shane Walsh. We would later meet up again at Walker Stalker Con in San Francisco. David also does one mean Dragpool Cosplay and happens to be a swell human being. Through Reel Guise, I met Macy Thompson, another NorCal resident and versatile Cosplayer. I would become close friends with Macy and her family. The Reel Guise folks are fantastic people.

Some other familiar faces at cons that I would befriend include Hugh Jackman look alike Lonstermash, who does a mean Wolverine and Rocky Cosplay, and Jacqueline Groehner who embodies the very essence of Sara Pezzini's Witchblade. They are some of the more outstanding Cosplayers to look out for if you attend cons in the California. Overall I am really enjoying the popularity that Cosplay is currently encountering. It adds a new dimension to cons and gives it that more immersive feel. It gives more creative fans an outlet to express their love for pop culture regardless of creed or religion. And the best of all is that anyone can participate without any prejudice.

What the hell is happening to The Mandalorian? They have lost the way. SPOILERS FOR SEASON 3 FINALE

 

This is NOT the way! Yeah you heard that right. This is NOT the way. How did the Mandalorian fall this far from grace. I felt compelled to write this piece after ' suffering' through the turd of the episode that was episode 8. What was Favreau and filoni thinking when penning this story? While I am fine with the overall arc of Katie Sackhoff's Bo Katan Kryze  regaining her faith and stepping up to lead both factions of Mandalorian's, I can't help but feel Din Djarin and Grogu have been sidelined. And with only two episodes left of a short eight episode season, and with three squandered episodes which do little to advance the main story (the silly first episode with the IG11 resurrection, the third episodes emphasis on Dr Pershing, or the latest episode with some totally unstarwarsy celebrity cameos) I am not sure how this season is going to pull itself out of the muck. There are some great episodes scattered throughout, but on the whole, season three has been severely lacking in the writing department. Have they dropped the ball? Only time will tell. Check back again in two weeks for my final thoughts on this season.

Conclusions And takeaways 

So episode 8 of season 3 just aired. The last two episodes managed to salvage some decent arcs from what was a mostly empty and lackluster season, where Din and Grogu got sidelined for a good part of the time. The main protagonist, it seemed was Bo Katan Kryze and how she regains her faith after taking Din Djarin to the living waters beneath Mandalore, and seeing a living Mythosaur while saving Din. We follow her story arc as she is accepted into Din's tribe, and is recognized as the mandalorian to unite all the tribes by the Armorer. She gets to show the tribe that she is fully capable by leading them to save a foundling from a raptor, and later an assault on the Pirates, who attacks Nevarro. The final two episodes see a reunited Mandalorian tribe go up against Moff Gideon's beskar armor equipped Troopers as they act to reclaim Mandalore. In between the main arcs, we see Din get captured by Moff Gideon. He is saved by Grogu, and Bo Katan. They ultimately discover that Gideon has been cloning himself, and attempting to imbue his clones with the force using Grogu's blood. The season ends with Gideon defeated, Mandalore reclaimed, and Din Djarin adopting Grogu as his own so he can start training his ' apprentice'.

So have my feelings changed after watching the last two episodes? Not in the least bit. This season was all over the place, and reminded me a lot of the Book of Boba Fett, with too many side stories that derailed the forward momentum achieved every time we had something important happen. The side stories with Dr Pershing, and Jack Black's Bombardier were given way too much time, time that could be used to focus more on the shadow council, Grand Admiral Thawn's impending return, or even on Moff Gideon's secret base near the great forge on Mandalore. Some have theorized that Jon Favreau was forced to rewrite a good chunk of the script following the firing of Gina Carano. Cara Dune was supposed to play a huge role in the Mandoverse, and was to get her own series Rangers of the New Republic. I am inclined to believe this theory. Now that this story arc has been resolved, maybe, just maybe we can recapture the original 'Lone wolf and cub' spirit that worked so well in season 1 and 2. Only time will tell!

NOTE: all images used herein belong to Lucasfilm 

Chinese cinema classics : Tai Chi Master

 

Tripping down memory lane with Jet Li's finest movies is a very rewarding experience. There are so many excellent ones to choose from. I must confess that I became a huge fan after watching Jet in Shaolin Temple. He would go on to star in a myriad of movies, playing folk heroes Wong Fei Hong, Fong Sai Yuk, Chan Zhan and Fok Yun Kup. The ones I've highlight so far have been my favorites from the 'the golden era' of Jet Li's career. He will always be numero uno in my book, no small feat considering how he has to contend with my childhood hero Jackie Chan.

The reason I chose this movie was for the sheer exhilaration in seeing Jet flex his comedic chops after he loses his mind midway through the flick. Seeing him play off Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh is another highlight. It's also such a joy to see Jet take on a new martial art style, this time taking on the fluid style of Tai Chi. It's funny how Michelle would later star in MCU's Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, playing the aunt of Liu Simu's Shang Chi who so happens to be a Tai Chi Master. This movie, much like it's predecessors Fong Sai Yuk and Once Upon a time in China features great martial art choreography. In terms of comedy, this one straddles the middle ground between over the top Fong Sai Yuk and more serious Once.

The story centers around two good friends who are disciples in the Shaolin Temple. The elder of the two, the more ambitious Tian Bo goads the younger one, Jet Li's Jun bao to secretly learn martial arts. We see the two progress with their training while washing (and wrecking) laundry and fending off bullies. One day Tian Bo sees a master practice an unorthodox move and practices it. As a result they are both expelled from the temple when he employs the move while sparring. Both of them try to seek alms but are rejected by the towns folks. They resort to performing roadside shows to make a living, and attract the attention of the eunuch and his Imperial troops. He attempt to recruit both of them for their prowess in martial arts. Tian Bo sees the opportunity and enlist, while Jun bao declines and end up meeting the rebels.

Time passes and we see Tian Bo rise through the ranks, thanks to his ruthlessness and thirst for power. He soon finds himself in conflict with the rebels, and with his old friend Jun bao. In an encounter he is unable to see his friends point of view and literally destroys Jun bao's martial arts and renders him comatose. It's here where Jun bao loses his mind after recovering from his injuries. With help he rediscovers martial arts and creates an entirely new art form based on studying the mechanics of water, the push and pull. This is Tai Chi. He is even given a a new name  Zhang San Feng for his crazy mannerisms. He is ultimately forced to face a power hungry Tian Bo who even kills the eunuch, and some of his troops. He doesn't just want to be a general, he wants to take over! San Feng has no choice but to kill his friend. Seeing how merciless Tian Bo was, the troops allow  San Feng and the surviving rebels to kill Tian Bo and to leave. A highly enjoyable flick and one of Jet Li's better ones. Go watch it now!

Chinese cinema classics : Once Upon a time in China

 

Today I want to cover another classic movie from the early 90's, from the height of Jet Li's popularity. It was this very series of movies that launched Li's career into the stratosphere! Li was in virtually every movie going forward and everyone was humming George Lam's tune about becoming a hero. I remember going to the cinema in Chinatown with a group of friends to watch the first movie on the silver screen. Everything from the cinematography to the fight choreography was new and fresh. This felt like the start of a new era in martial art cinema. The highly stylized action sequences were to become the standard of which modern Hong Kong gong fu flicks would have to adhere to. I actually prefer this style of fight choreography over the fancier wire fu used in movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, where pugilists would fly through the air while clashing! The more grounded style of fighting would be used for other productions such as Fong Sai Yuk, Tai Chi Master, and the Donnie Yen vehicles Ip Man, adding to the realism.

The story follows the exploits of pugilist and physician, Wong Fei Hong of Foshan who runs a medicinal hall, Po Chi Lam. The story opens with Wong attending a lion dance event aboard a ship. As the firecrackers go off, the French navy fires on them, thinking they have been attacked. Wong has to save the day. This event sets the tone for the rest of the movie with the exploitation of the Chinese people by the gwai lou (foreign devils). This trope has been done to death by Hong Kong cinema, and by Hollywood. The American company, working in tandem with a local militia group recruit locals with the promise of 'jing shan'(gold mountain). These workers are instead sold as slaves to build infrastructure in America. They also abduct women folk to serve as comfort women. Racial stereotypes abound. The only saving grace of this movie is the the Catholic priest who sacrifices himself to save Wong for his beliefs. I cringe every time I see these being used to further the narratives. My hope is that one day we can move away from using this as a plot device!

Anyway back to the story at hand. Enter Iron Vest Yim, a struggling pugilist trying to eke out a living. A chance encounter allows Yuen Biao's Leung Fu to meet him as they challenge Wong to a sparring match. They travel to Po Chi Lam, and Leung Fu is ashamed to show his face as he tried to become a pupil earlier. He is defeated, and falls into bad company with the militia group. He is recruited as muscle for the group. They attack the governor's ball and Wong once again thwarts their plan. The foreign dignitaries present are disgusted by the barbaric display and blame the francas on Wong and his followers. The militia also decide to hit Wong where it hurts and burn Po Chi Lam to the ground. Wong and his followers are arrested and imprisoned. Things come to a head when they capture  the 13th  aunt and Wong finds out about their nefarious plans. He is released by a sympathetic official who sees the light. He goes up against Master Yim one last time and defeats him again. He saves 13th  aunt and tries to rescue Yim. He is however shot by the Americans and dies in Wong's arms. The troops arrives and saves all the locals who are about to be sent over.

I highly recommend watching this movie for its significance in the reinvigoration and it's stylistic influence on the martial arts genre. It really helps that the first movie also had a star studded cast with Rosamund Kwan as the 13th  aunt, Jacky Cheung as Bucktooth, and Yuen Biao as Leung Fu, something that was severely lacking in the next few.

Doc I'm back, back from the future. Part 2

The second act of the trilogy remains my favorite to this day. Like both the Star Wars and Terminator franchises,  the sequel improved on the first movie, while building on the previous story arc. My favorite part of the movie involves the futuristic Hill Valley city, Jaws in 3D, self lacing NIKE shoes, and hover boards. 

The story starts off right where we left with Marty arriving home and meeting his childhood sweetheart Jennifer, and discovering that everything is good with his family. Just as he is about to head out, the DeLorean comes screeching into the driveway. Doc falls out hurriedly and starts blabbering about the future and how Marty has to time travel once again to save his kid. Turns out that Marty Jr agrees to help Griff, Biff's grandchild with a heist and goes to jail. Marty has no choice but to agree and they take Jennifer with them. We end up in the the same diner and town square and Marty dresses up as his son, tells Griff no, and the same scene replays where Marty evades Griff and his goons on a hover board (instead of Biff and the skate board as in the previous movie). Griff tries to take Marty down on his powered hover board, but Marty ducks in the nick of time and Griff smashes into town hall and is apprehended. Things go pear shaped when the cops pick passed out Jennifer up and send her home, her future home that is. She gets to see future Marty get fired, and meets her future self. Just when you think things couldn't get any worse, Marty makes a blunder and buys an old sports almanac, which falls into grandpa Biff's hands. Whilst Marty and doc are busy saving Jennifer , Biff steals the DeLorean, travels back to the past, and gives the almanac to himself.

When Marty and doc travel back to the present day, they are horrified to learn that Hill Valley has changed and is now under the the thumb of multi millionaire Biff Tannen. Biff now owns the town and the police force. To make matters worse, Marty's mom Lorraine is now married to Biff, and his dad George was murdered by Biff. Marty discovers that it was the sports almanac he purchased in the future that caused this alternate time line. He has to travel back to the past to steal the almanac from young Biff to undo all the damage caused by the almanac. He gets to relive all the events he had to go through in the previous movie. Just when he is about to travel back to the present after successfully completing what he set out to do, lightning strikes and doc disappears! It's up to Marty once again to save the day.

Back to the old west

I found the final installment to be the weakest of the trilogy. With that said, all three movies were of the highest standards compared to what we get today. In this concluding story , Marty gets a very old letter delivered to him from the time of the old west. As it turns out, doc didn't die the night lightning struck the DeLorean. Doc was flung back into the past, to the old west. Marty has to time travel once again in an attempt to save his friend. He fires up the DeLorean engine and drives towards a billboard. Before he knows it, he is hurtling towards a tribe of native Americans. He quickly puts the car in reverse and into a cave. He then sets off on foot for Hill Valley.

Marty arrives in town, goes to a tavern and encounters Beaufort 'Maddog' Tannen, the great grandfather of Biff. He inadvertently pisses (literally as he moonwalks and kicks a spitoon full of piss) on Beaufort. The latter challenges him to a showdown. This changes the fate of a certain blacksmith who is supposed to die at the hands of this bandit. This is none other than his good friend Dr Emmett Brown. Doc meets a teacher, Clara and they fall in love. 

The day of reckoning is fast approaching and doc and Marty device a plan to get the DeLorean up to the required speed using a mix of chemicals and a locomotive to push the vehicle. Marty, who now goes by the name of of Clint Eastwood confronts and defeats Beaufort using a trick he learned from his name sake. He dons a poncho over a metal breastplate. He has to immediately head to the railroad track to carry out their plan. A complication arises when Clara shows up, boards the train and professes her love for doc. Doc has to save Clara as the critical temperature is reached and the train stack blow. Marty slips doc the hover board in a last ditch effort. Doc and Clara get clear just as the train goes into overdrive and propelles Marty back to the future.

Marty arrives in the present and before he can move the DeLorean from the track, an oncoming train smashes into the car. Marty is crushed. How is he going to save doc now? Just when he thinks all is lost, a time traveling locomotive appears with a few bangs. It's Dr Emmett Brown and his family. He now has two kids Jules and Verne!
 

Great Scott it's Back to the Future time! Part 1

No self respecting child of the 80's would not have experienced the brilliance of Robert Zemekiss time traveling duo of Michael J Fox's Marty McFly, or Christopher Lloyd's Dr Emmett Brown in the Back to the Future! Between flux capacitors and garbage guzzling Mr Fusions, this trilogy remains as the best time traveling tales by far, and this includes MCU's Infinity War saga. In fact that said saga references this very trilogy! The main charm of the movies is the chemistry between the two main characters, the incredible VFX, the visual imagery of the past and future and the rocking soundtrack, featuring the likes of Chuck Berry and Huey Lewis and the News. Michael J Fox brings a down to earth earnestness to his role as Marty. This is juxtaposed with the wildly eccentric and other worldliness of Dr Brown, who always has some hairbrain scheme up his unconventional sleeve. Heck he creates a time machine out of a DMC DeLorean! Thrown into all this madness is his childhood sweetheart, his mom and pops, and even the high school bully. Through the time travel lens, we get to see the evolution and devolution of Hill Valley as we shuttle back and forth between the old West, to the 50s, 80's and 2000s. The story always seems to center around a certain clock tower, the site of the first successful manned time travel.

The first entry sees Marty McFly visit his old friend, cantankerous scientist Dr Emmett Brown and his trusty side kick Einstein. Doc enlist Marty's help in documenting his latest hairbrain scheme, to test out his time machine, made out of a gull wing DeLorean. He successfully sends Einstein to the future and back. He is, however gunned down by thugs,who want payment for the illegal plutonium they obtained for him to power the flux capacitor required for time travel. Marty pilots the DeLorean and saves doc.  He inadvertently travels back in time and has to seek out a much younger doc who hasn't built the time machine yet. He also encounters his parents, who are still in high school. Marty soon realizes that his dad, George is a loser that has no luck with the girls. To make matters worse, he is constantly getting pushed around by school bully Biff Tannen. A chance encounter with Biff and his goons see him stand up to Biff, causing Biff to crash his car into the back of a truck carrying manure, another running theme in their encounters through the ages. He inadvertently impressed his future mum Lorraine, who is so smitten with Marty, she wants him to be her date to the Enchantment under the Sea event. It's now up to Marty to convince George to stand up to Biff and win Lorraine over. If he fails, he will cease to exist. We see Marty on stage, standing in for the singer, while George finally stands up to Biff and knocks him out cold when he tries to get fresh with Lorraine. With disaster averted, he rushes back to the town square where doc has jerry rigged the DeLorean to be super charged by lightning from a once in a lifetime storm. This works with some hiccups and the clock tower is rendered inoperable. Marty successfully makes it back to 1985!

Stay tuned for part 2. 

Flashback Friday : E.T. The Extra Terrestrial

 

Another Friday, another classic gem to uncover. This time I want to highlight yet another Steven Spielberg production and I swear I am not lining up my reviews by actors or directors, it's just the way my mind works. This sci-fi flick is very much a family movie, perfect for a Sunday afternoon! There are so many heart felt moments that make it such a memorable watch. I remember watching this as a kid with my family. The movie also has references to Spielberg's good friend and collaborator George Lucas's films. In one of the scenes we see the main protagonist Elliott introduce ET to his Kenner Star Wars action figures, and in yet another scene, we see a kid dressed as Yoda from Lucas's The Empire Strikes Back.

The story follows a very simple arc. ET arrives in a space craft and sets off to explore the forest. He gets so engrossed that he doesn't get back to his craft and is left behind. He seeks out shelter in a shed that so happens to be at Elliott's home. On hearing some sounds from the shed, Elliott checks out the source ,and encounters ET for the first time. He bonds with ET  and he tries to keep him hidden in his bedroom. Soon he is forced to disclose ET to his elder brother and little sister. They instantly take to him and his sister even disguises ET by dressing him up. They also discover that ET has the power to heal wilted plants and levitate bicycles.

Elliott assist ET in his quest to obtain items to create a communication device so he can phone home. The authorities that have been investigating the forest incident soon track ET to Elliott's home. ET falls mysteriously ill and Elliott somehow falls ill too. Just as the authorities start studying ET, he starts to fade away. Just when everything seems lost, the wilted potted flowers is restored. Elliott and his brother bust ET out and ET helps them evade the cops by levitating the bike convoy over the road block. Elliott gets ET back to the site in the forest where he successfully contacts his brethren. After an emotional farewell, ET departs for his home! Although not one of Spielberg's VFX laden productions, I highly recommend watching this movie for its emotional core!

VFX Spotlight : Jurassic Park

 

When it comes to groundbreaking cinematic releases you can always count on the Lucas's and the Spielberg's to deliver. And deliver Spielberg did, in spades I might add with Jurassic Park! The visual imagery achieved with this release is nothing short of remarkable. Through the marriage of stop motion animation by master model maker Phil Tippett, life sized animatronics and CGI, Spielberg and crew achieved the impossible, resurrecting dinosaurs from fossils. This movie still remains as one of the standards which all other VFX productions are judged against. How many of you watched this on the big screen and was blown away by our first look at the brachiosaurus, towering over our main cast? This scene is forever seared into my brain. There are no words to describe seeing a live dinosaur on the screen. As Dr Ian Malcolm, Jeff Goldblum character exclaims to Sam Neill's Dr Alan Grant and Laura Dern's Dr Ellie Sattler 'the son of a bitch did it, referring to Richard Attenborough's John Hammond.

Based on the novel by Michael Crichton, who penned a second tome, The Lost World, which was also adapted into a major motion picture, this is a cautionary tale of what can go wrong when man decides to play god. John Hammond has a vision, to bring back extinct creatures using advances in cloning and genetic engineering. The science behind it is surprisingly believable, although obtaining genetic material from mosquitoes trapped in amber is far fetched. But the premise of obtaining genetic material from fossils does have its merits. Scientists have found evidence of the preservation of such material in the marrow and soft tissues in well preserved specimens. We are still a while away from cloning dinosaurs.

Anyways John successfully brings dinosaurs back to life with the help of BD Wong's Dr Henry Wu. Dr Wu splices amphibian DNA to fill in the gaps in the DNA, and engineers them to be all female, and leucine deficient so they won't be able to survive without the supplement. John invites Dr Alan Grant, a paleontologist, Dr Ellie Sattler, a paleobotanist, Dr Ian Malcolm, a chaos theory mathematician and a lawyer to review the park. Among the guests are John's grandchildren. While touring the park things go very wrong when IT support Dennis Nedry, played by Seinfeld's Wayne Knight brings the whole grid down during a typhoon. Dennis turns out to be working for another entity who wants viable embryos of the cloned dinosaurs. He tries to escape with his bounty,but takes a wrong turn and is ambushed by a pack of dilophosaurus.

The electrified fences go down and the dinosaurs escape from their enclosures to wreck havoc on the visitors, who happened to be in the tyrannosaurus paddock. The Rex attacks the two vehicles. The survivors make their way back to the compound only to find the deadly velociraptor pack hunting them. So begins the race to restore the power to the grid. Along the way, Alan and the kids have some close scrapes with the Rex. When they get back at the compound, the kids have a run in with the raptors, while Alan and the rest attempt to restore power manually. Alan saves the kids and they reboot the system. Just as they are fleeing, they are cornered by the raptors. The Rex appears and makes short work of the raptors. They leave the island as it is. The next two sequels will take place on Site B, Isla Sorna. We won't see Isla Nublar again until Jurassic World.

If there was any criticism of this movie, it would be the lack of more species of dinosaurs, and the absence of feathers on some of the smaller critters. Being a huge dinosaur buff since young, I was hoping for more, but I guess the ones that made it into the movie where amazing. The full sized animatronic T Rex, for all the issues with the material soaking up the rain water and sagging and quivering added to the realism of the paddock break out and attack scene. A solid 10/10 for me. We do get to see many other species in the next two sequels, but this is by far the best!

VFX Spotlight : The Matrix

 

There are movies that just exist to be, and then there are those that push the envelope of what is  possible within their respective genres. Most of the movies I have reviewed here fall under this cutting edge of VFX category. One such movie is the Wachowski sister's The Matrix. And it so happens that this flick also stars Keanu Reeves as hacker Thomas Anderson, or Neo. We are also introduced to Carrie Anne Moss as Trinity, Lawrence Fishburn as Morpheus and finally Australian Hugo Weaving as Agent Smith. While the success of the first movie would go on to spawn three more movies, Matrix Reloaded, Matrix Revolutions, and the 2021 Matrix Resurrections, I personally feel that the first was still the best in terms of originality, storytelling, visual effects, and wire fu, the perfect blend of East meets West action and stunt choreography. While the other movies did expand on the story, everything else felt like a retread of the first installment.

This movie introduced the world to slow motion bullet time technology, where scenes involving agents of the matrix  would defy the rules of gravity by dodging bullets. We also get the ripples in the wake of the bullets. We get another first, the extensive use of wire fu in a Hollywood production thanks to the Wachowskis enlisting the help of legendary stunt and gong fu choreographer Yuen Wo Ping. Wire fu has been a staple of Hong Kong cinema for many years. The trick here was to make it look grounded , but fantastical at the same time, which Yuen accomplished easily. The movie was also stylistically very slick and perfectly juxtaposed the grim muted palette of the real world with the impeccable stylistics of the leather clad and trenchcoat matrix world. Even the premise of the whole story was intriguing, one that is still pertinent till today. It questions the very fundamentals of life. What if our entire existence was in reality a simulation? Could you tell the difference between dreams and reality? These are deep philosophical questions that the story brings up, elevating the movie over others.

The story follows Thomas Anderson, who faces the same question, is there more to life than this. He is always questioning the fine line between dreams and reality. Then one day he is contacted by another hacker, known only by her handle, Trinity. He is intrigued when she offers to show him that there is more to his mundane existence. Once he starts to believe, he is targeted by the agents who serve as gatekeepers for the system. They zero in on rouge elements. Morpheus leads a team to extract Thomas or Neo's actual body from a human battery farm the machines have built to enslave the human race after Neo chooses to learn the truth from Morpheus. He discovers that his whole life is a lie. He also learns something else about himself. Morpheus believes that Neo is the chosen one who can destroy the matrix. He trains Neo and imparts what he knows about the agents and how Neo can overcome them. Neo is skeptical and seeks out the oracle. She tells him otherwise.

On a mission in the matrix, they are betrayed by Cipher, who rats them out and gets out of the matrix and kills his crew on the Nebuccanazzer, Morpheus's ship. This causes Morpheus to be captured by the leader of the agents, Smith. He is tortured, forcing Neo's hand. Neo starts believing in himself and is able to move as fast as the agents and dodge bullets. He and Trinity storm the building and rescue Morpheus. Both Trinity and Morpheus escape. Neo, who has been buying time for Trinity and Morpheus is pursued by Agent Smith. He fights valiantly and even gains the upper hand. Just as he is about to be extracted, Agent Smith shoots him. Thinking he has finally killed Mr Anderson, he starts to walk away. Neo seemingly rising from the dead sees everything in code. He truly is the one. All he needed was self believe. With this knowledge he is now able to manipulate the code from within. He destroys the agents easily and gets back to his crew.