Jesus of Nazareth

 Jesus of Nazareth (1977)

Starring Robert Powell, Olivia Hussey, Yorgo Voyagis, Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Claudia Cardinale, Valentina Cortese, James Farentino, James Earl Jones, Stacy Keach, Tony Lo Bianco, James Mason, Ian McShane, Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasance, Christopher Plummer, Anthony Quinn, Fernando Rey, Ralph Richardson, Rod Steiger, Peter Ustinov, and Michael York

Directed by Franco Zeffirelli

Written by Anthony Burgess, Suso Cecchi d'Amico, and Franco Zeffirelli

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: B-

The Lion King

The Lion King (2019)

Featuring the vocal talents of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Florence Kasumba, Keegan-Michael Key, Eric Andre, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and James Earl Jones

Directed by Jon Favreau

Written by Jeff Nathanson

Click here for my Letterboxd review

The RyMickey Rating: C

Movie (Sort of) Review - Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)

Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, David Prowse, Sebastian Shaw, Ian McDiarmid, Frank Oz, James Earl Jones, and Alec Guinness

Directed by Richard Marquand

And onto the final film of the original trilogy.  One that I've heard is the worst of the three?  We'll see about that...

2:15pm - A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

2:18 - It dawned on me that people stand on these docking bays with no oxygen masks or whatnot.  Is the atmosphere different in Star Wars' rendition of space?

2:21 - The Star Wars equivalent of the Wizard of Oz quartet arriving at the gates of Oz with R2D2 and C3PO arriving at Jabba the Hutt's.

2:27 - Dance party at Jabba's!  (With obvious precursors to Lucas's Captain EO's monsters.)

2:30 - Muppet Jabba reminds me of the trash monster from Fraggle Rock for some reason...But Muppet Jabba is so much better than computer animated Jabba that was in one of the scenes from Star Wars (which I assume was an add-on in the new addition).

2:35 - Okay, I'm seriously loving the wide array of Muppets and crazy costumed denizens of Jabba's court on display in this movie so far.

2:37 - Could that really be the first transitional wipe 22 minutes in or did I miss one?  #LovetheWipe

2:37 - "Sexy Leia" makes her appearance.

2:45 - An unfortunate pause in my viewing...

3:30 - And we resume...

3:33 - I'm not quite sure how Leia is exactly choking Jabba- his neck seems way too big for that to have been successful.

3:35 - And we bid adieu to Tatooine.

3:44 - Muppet Yoda is dead?  

3:46 - Thank God Luke and Leia only kissed passionately and nothing else.

3:52 - First light speed in Jedi!  (I think.)

4:02 - First Ewok!

4:03 - I'm sure much to the bane of every Star Wars fan, I'm finding this little repartee between Leia and the Ewok rather enjoyable.

4:05 - Kaleidoscope outward wipe -- there are not nearly enough wipes in this movie!

4:17 - Big dramatic moment for Mark Hamill with Carrie Fisher - finally some story/plot.

4:22 - And another dramatic moment for Mark Hamill and Vader - who knew Hamill had it in him?

4:42 - The problem with a lot of the action scenes in these Star Wars movies is that I find myself checking out because they seemingly go on too long with a very repetitive nature to them.  I mean, they're attacking the new Death Star again and it seems just like the first film.

4:43 - But at least they pepper in scenes with Palpatine ragging on Luke which I'm enjoying.

4:52 - Yet another amputation!  Lucas fetishizes amputations for some reason...

4:54 - After what feels like an hour, Luke and Leia finally take down the shield.  Finally!

4:56 - Luke and Darth Vader hug after Dad throws Palpatine over the edge, right?  For a touching Hallmark movie moment between father and son?  Oh, they don't?

4:58 - It just dawned on me that the Empire builds their massive Death Stars at incredibly rapid rates.

5:01 - So Luke's father is Uncle Fester from The Addams Family?

5:05 - A windshield wiper wipe?  That's a totally new one!  And I say once again that I missed the wipes in this one.  #WhereAreTheWipes?

5:08 - Seriously?  They added Hayden Christensen?

While it's not much better than A New Hope, I'm going to be totally sacrilege here and say that I enjoyed Return of the Jedi the most.  This film finally had some dramatic chops in the mix with the Luke/Leia and Luke/Vader/Palpatine scenes.  Costumed characters added some visual appeal and the conclusion -- though once again seemingly stretched ad infinitum -- proved satisfying.  Still, it has issues, one of which is that Empire and Jedi feel like they simply take some of the better aspects of A New Hope and just rehash them.  But, overall, Jedi ekes out a win over A New Hope.

All this being said, I don't understand at all why or how Star Wars carried on in its popularity over decades.  I understand people from the 1970s being in awe and I guess they pushed that fascination on to their kids and the never-ending cycle begins, but I'd much rather watch the Indiana Jones series than pop the Star Wars series in again.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie (Sort Of) Review - Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, James Earl Jones, Frank Oz, and Alec Guinness

Directed by Irvin Kershner

And the saga continues with what I've heard is the best film in the series.  We shall see...

1:30am - A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

1:31 - Ooh...a remote ice world of Hoth is being promised in the opening scroll!

1:34 - Yetis!

1:36 - Yay!  Our first transitional wipe!

1:40 - And we have our first light saber amputation in this film...

1:42 - Diagonal wipe?  So many different kinds of transitions!

1:43 - It didn't even dawn on me that I hadn't seen Yoda yet, but ghost Obi Wan reminded me of his existence.

1:55 - What a difference three years (and presumably a lot more money) can make in terms of special effects and production design.  This film looks so much crisper and richly detailed.

1:59 - And the giant walking enemy weapon thing falls because of getting tangled in wire...I knew they should've just used regular tanks...

2:02 - C3PO's nervous hands-up shaking thing makes me chuckle...

2:10 - This asteroid chase scene is a tad bit too visually reminiscent of the Death Star action scene that ended A New Hope.

2:18 - Yoda and his broken English finally make an appearance.  And after a minute, I find myself pleasantly approving of the Muppet-like creature.

2:19 - Although, it's tough not to hear Fozzie Bear sometimes when Frank Oz speaks as the little green guy...

2:22- Han to Leia - "There aren't enough scoundrels in your life..."  I kinda dig that line...

2:31 - Hamill trying to do his best Tarzan impression as he swings on vines...

2:39 - "You must unlearn what you have unlearned."  That's some deep sh*t from Yoda.

2:41 - I understand that the film is trying to show us the trials of Luke learning how to control the Force within him, but I feel like the past thirty minutes of the film have been rather lethargic in terms of trying to move any type of story along.  I mean, what is exactly happening?  Vader is searching for Han and Leia, but he's not really doing anything except killing members of his fleet who fail him.  Han and Leia are feeling each other up, but beyond that they're not really doing much.  We're sort of at a dramatic impasse here.

2:50 - Black people do exist in space!!!

2:52 - Lando - single-handedly bringing back the Cape as a fashion statement! (I mean, Vader has one too, but it's not nearly as stylish.)

2:57 - The guys tossing around C3PO in the junk pile kind of remind me of the ogreish bankers from Harry Potter.

2:58 - Billy Dee with the sabotage!

3:06 - "I love you."  "I know." - Is it wrong that I wanted this exploration of Han and Leia's romance and their coy repartee explored a little more before they baked Han in carbonite?

3:18 - So far this conclusion is less entertaining than the original's.  Leia, Chewbacca, and Lando running around and shooting lasers and not doing much else.  Vader and Luke just swinging their light sabers around...blah...

3:20 - This series loves its amputations!  Luke is obviously using the Force to stop his arm from bleeding.

3:21 - And the pivotal "Luke, I am your father" moment.  I imagine the impact was quite strong in 1980 upon release.  For me, admittedly, the reveal was a foregone conclusion -- I just wasn't sure what film it was in.

3:22 - How did Luke survive that fall?  And where's the blood from his arm?  The heat from the lightsaber obviously cauterized the wound.

3:29 - It just dawned on me that there hasn't been a transitional wipe in over 90 minutes.  Bummer.

Isn't The Empire Strikes Back regarded as a better film than Star Wars?  Maybe I'm not thinking correctly, but despite a much more impressive look to the film, some significantly better written dialog, and actors who honed their craft a little better than in the original, the film itself doesn't really go anywhere and feels repetitive in parts.  I'm aware I'm hindered greatly by the fact that I knew the line "Luke, I am your father," and it's dramatic impact was certainly negatively affected, but Empire lacks a really engaging story.  Part of that, I assume is due to the fact that it's the "middle" piece of a trilogy, but after they left Hoth my interest gradually lessened only perking up in certain spots -- Yoda, Lando's sabotage.  Whereas I would watch Star Wars again, I wouldn't necessarily be rushing to watch The Empire Strikes Back.

The RyMickey Rating:  C

Movie (Sort of) Review - Star Wars - A New Hope

Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, and Alec Guinness

Directed by George Lucas

I have gone 35 years without watching any of the Star Wars films.  It was "my thing."  As a college student who graduated with a concentration in film, I made in known when asked that I'd never watched Star Wars. Whenever I said that, people were always blown away.

And now that Disney owns the franchise (and for another reason which I'm unable to currently reveal - edit: which is now "revealed" in the comments below), I had to give in and watch.  It is what it is.  There was no inherent opposition to the series...it's just that I'd waited so long, the "not watching" was more comedic than anything else.  

And now "my thing" is over.  Rather than write actual reviews of the series (and I'm only watching episodes IV-VI at the moment), here are my random stream of consciousness thoughts (not necessarily "reviews") that occurred while watching the film.  

10:00pm - A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

10:04 - I've always heard that Stormtroopers can't hit anyone...They're shooting people down in this opening scene, though!

10:05 - It's tough not to see Darth Vader and not want Rick Moranis to be under the suit.  (Go Spaceballs!)

10:09 - There was not much of a budget spent on casting these minor actors...Yikes!

10:15 - One of those robots in the robot dump looked like Wall-E!

10:16 - Oooh...a clock wipe to change scenes...

10:19 - Luke Skywalker's a whiny little runt here initially.

10:27 - Teen Idol Luke with the wind whipping through his hair as he stares at the two moons as the music swells...the gals all swoon...

10:29 - The hovercraft special effect was kinda cool.

10:35 - First lightsaber...and first mention of "The Force" - and, also, finally getting into some actual story after thirty minutes of what felt like nothing much...

10:41- I can't say that I'm too sad that Aunt Beru is dead as her acting skills left a little to be desired...

10:44 - The new CGI is so noticeable in this scene as they hovercraft into some town...it stood out to me right away...

10:46 - Chewbacca!  And droid racism abounds at the cantina!  And chopping off of legs!

10:49 - And Harrison Ford!  Showing more charisma onscreen in mere minutes than most everyone else other than the stoic Alec Guinness!

10:51 - Even I know about this infamous "Han Shot First" scene...

10:58 - First light speed!

11:00 - There's something to be said for villains who are able to implode an entire planet...

11:08 - "I sense something.  A presence I have not felt since...(trails off)..."  Some of Lucas's dialog...sheesh...

11:13 - We haven't had a wipe to change scenes in a long time!  I missed them!

11:14 - Chewy reminds me of a very hairy Rebecca Romijn as Mystique...

11:21 - Sure, it was kinda cool that something grabbed Luke in the garbage chute, but it just disappears?  "It just let me go?"  And all is good?  Why even add that?  Why not just have the chute start compacting right away which is tense enough...

11:30 - The Stormtroopers really are ineffective.

11:33 - I feel like I should be more affected by Obi Wan dying...but the scene feels so sillily thrown away.

11:37 - Honing beacon!  I should've seen that coming!  Intrigue!

11:48 - His name is Porkins!  Porkins?!?!

11:51 - This end action scene is actually surprisingly effective.

11:56 - At least Vader's a good shot to make up for the inadequacies of the Storm Troopers.

11:58 - "Remember...the force will be with you always."  (As a Catholic, every time I heard "The force is with you," I wanted to add, "And with your spirit.")

11:59 - One final wipe to change scenes!

12:01 - And a kaleidoscopic transitional wipe inward to end!

Listen, Star Wars isn't bad.  Were I an eight year-old kid watching this for the first time, I'd think it awesome.  As a thirty-five year-old adult, it's decidedly less exciting.  Yes, I can place myself into the time it was made and I'm able to recognize it's quality of special effects for the time, but Lucas does have some story problems.  Let's be honest with each other -- the first thirty minutes really goes nowhere as it rather lullingly starts off.

I'm gonna admit that I'm not quite sure I understand the huge fandom yet.  Maybe it will become clearer with subsequent films.

The RyMickey Rating:  B-

Movie Review - The Lion King

The Lion King (1994)

Featuring the voices of Matthew Broderick, Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Nathan Lane, Ernie Sabella, Robert Guillaume, Rowan Atkinson, Cheech Marin, and Whoopi Goldberg 

Directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff

Having not seen The Lion King in probably more than a decade, I was looking forward to revisiting it upon its two-week limited engagement back in theaters in order to promote its upcoming 3D Blu-Ray release.  The flick was never a huge favorite of mine and, as I discovered, my thoughts really haven't changed on that matter.

Don't get me wrong.  The Lion King is a solid member of Disney's animation canon, but something just doesn't connect with me here and although I admittedly have a difficult time figuring out what my issue is with it, I think it stems from the fact that nothing in this movie is a stand-out.  Everything skates by being better than average, but nothing screams "EXCELLENT" which, ultimately is a detriment that likely keeps this film outside of my Top Ten Disney Movies of All Time.  [A list, by the way, which I need to get to one of these days on this blog.]

Let's look at the story, for starters.  Despite a few amazing moments -- the stampede, the "Circle of Life" number, Scar as an overall villain -- the film feels too bogged down in metaphysical gobbledy-gook.  Despite the fact that Rafiki is an amusing character, his swami-style New Age-y vibe gets under my craw at times.  Additionally, I can' help but feel that Simba much too quickly agrees to return home upon his reunion with Nala.  I just feel like there's no conflict there for him to overcome in order to want to return home.  In general, Simba as an adult feels greatly underdeveloped and, with Simba as your main character, that's a bit of a problem.  [The less said about the slow motion finale battle sequence the better...I'll just say it comes off as a horrible choice by the animators and it's almost laughable nearly two decades later.]

Music-wise, "Circle of Life" is stellar and "Be Prepared" is deliciously evil, but "I Just Can't Wait to Be King is a colorful disappointment, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" furthers the lack of development in the adult Simba as I mentioned above, and "Hakuna Matata," while funny, will always be the song in which Disney crafted a tune around bodily odors.  Still, I remember thinking when this first came out that there was a lack of songs in this flick (and considering this came out in the era of Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin this definitely has the least amount of songs in a Disney animated flick at that time).  This time around, though, I feel like the songs are appropriately spaced and never seem out of place.  The addition of more songs (like "The Morning Report" which was tacked on for the dvd release and thankfully doesn't show up in this theatrical rerelease) would have felt like overkill.

But enough about the criticisms...let's focus on some positives.  Firstly, the humor here is better than I remembered.  I worried that Timon and Pumbaa would come across as annoying sidekicks, but their one-liners were still quite successful.  Similarly, the hyenas -- Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed -- were also just as funny as I remembered them and were quite effective.

The voice talent is also certainly a positive here.  Jonathan Taylor Thomas as the young Simba probably has the most difficult part acting-wise, having to range from childhood innocence to sheer despair, and he's quite successful.  Ratcheting up the humor, Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella are the perfect duo in Timon and Pumbaa.  Whoopi Goldberg and Cheech Marin are also stand-outs as the aforementioned hyenas.  And, despite the fact that I'm not a big fan of the character, Robert Guillaume brings a unique spin to the baboon Rafiki.

But perhaps the best part of the film and the reason it works as well as it does lies in Jeremy Irons's Scar.  A perfect meld of voice acting, character design, animation, and story, Scar is one fantastic villain -- a stand-out amongst Disney films.  Over-the-top at times, Scar is quite the campy theatrical villain...but I mean that in the most positive way (and considering the flick is loosely based on Shakespeare's Hamlet, perhaps the screenwriters drew some inspiration from the Bard's evildoers).

The Lion King is certainly a successful animated film, but (and I realize I'm probably alone in this assessment) it's simply not a standout to me in the Disney pantheon.  A good premise filled with some amazing moments, but it doesn't quite add up to a great film.

[As far as the 3D goes...the less said, the better, I guess.  It's not the the film looks bad (and if 3D is what it takes to see this up on the big screen again then so be it), but I think I'm over the 3D fad.  There has yet to be a 3D film that matches the genius of the experiences you have when you see the short 3D movies at theme parks.  Granted, those flicks go for gimmickry, but in the end, isn't 3D a gimmick in and of itself?  I want the gimmicks when I watch something in 3D and 99% of the time, they aren't present in theatrically released 3D.]

[It also should be noted that, in the grand scheme of things, I feel like I've maybe been spoiled by seeing Broadway's version of The Lion King twice since I last watched the film.  Considering that the Broadway musical is perhaps the best thing I've seen on stage makes the film a bit more of a letdown for me.  The play manages to significantly improve the role of Simba which is a big step up from the film.]

The RyMickey Rating:  B