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ColinHarvey
Reviews
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
What a send off into the Dark Side!
This is the one I was waiting for. My sister took me to see the original "Star Wars" (before it was "Episode IV") in 1977 when I was 11 and I've been hooked ever since. My wife and I saw "ROTS" at a thunderously loud floor-to-ceiling sound system multiplex in Canada which made this film an experience to say the least. Some may be critical of the acting, but Hayden Christensen does well on his dark slide downward, the luminously beautiful Natalie Portman is excellent as the heartbroken wife watching the man she loves slip away from her, and Ewan McGregor's pain at watching his best friend turn against him is very evident. But the "Best Actor" kudos should go to Ian McDiarmid, hands down. His alternating portrayal as the seemingly-concerned Chancellor Palpatine and the seductively evil Darth Sidious corrupting Anakin into Darth Vader through Anakin's love for his wife is compelling. It is not a children's movie (and I was unsettled to see so many young children there), but it is a fine piece of work.
The metamorphosis of the human, well-intentioned Anakin into the barely-human machine Lord Vader is nicely done.
By the way: one post said "no Jar Jar". There is just a brief shot of Jar Jar at Padme's funeral.
Starcrash (1978)
Cheap, cheesy and fun!
I saw this in the summer of 1979, when I was 13. I had a fixation with "Star Wars", and "Alien" was soon to come in the future. I saw "Starcrash" listed in the newspaper and thought "wow, gotta see this!" Of course, it ripped off "Star Wars" mightily (check out Marjoe Gortner's cheap lightsabre imitation), but what sci-fi flick of the period didn't? Probably the best part for me at that time was the scantily-clad Caroline Munro as Stella Starr! Of course, I was 13 at the time! I remember how all the "stars" were so colourful, compared to the stark black-and-white star fields of previous sci-fi movies.
I saw this many years later as an adult and thought how cheesy it was. I also scratch my head at how such a respected actor as Christopher Plummer got roped into this! Mostly, though, I remember how much fun it was. See it, don't take it seriously, and laugh if you like!
Over the Edge (1979)
Still one of my favourite movies - where's the DVD?
I was 14 when I first saw this movie on HBO in 1980. It was so much like my life at that time, it's uncanny. Of course, I grew up in an industrial area in northern Indiana, not a "planned community", and my dad wasn't a Cadillac salesman (in fact my dad was a lot more sympathetic than Carl's dad), but a lot of the rest was very similar. Getting beaten up, having stoned/drunk people all around you, basically nothing to do except hang out and listen to music...kids today who feel alienated should see this. I also think social workers, etc, who work with troubled kids should see this.
The music is one thing that really, really makes this movie what it is. I had the soundtrack on vinyl LP and I wish it would be released on CD! Van Halen, Hendrix, The Cars...it's all good. To be more accurate (for me), though, there would have been heavy doses of Kiss, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent, Rush, Black Sabbath, etc.
Please bring on the DVD! For anyone around my age who was this frustrated, this is one of several indispensable movies that will bring back memories; the others being "The Outsiders" and, on a lighter note, "Detroit Rock City".