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Dean (6921 KP) rated Obi-Wan Kenobi in TV
Jun 29, 2022
Great cast (2 more)
Big battles
James Earl Jones
May the force be with you
So just finished this shortly after seeing the two series of The Mandalorian. Thankfully this is more in keeping with the feel of the 2nd series of The Mandalorian.
It's on a big scale, big battles and sets and most importantly key characters are back. The overall cast is very good but it's a big difference to have the actors from the films showing again. Very glad James Earl Jones is the voice of Vader again.
Set 10 years after The Revenge of the Sith it sits nicely between that and A New Hope. If you are a Star Wars fan I can't see how you cannot like this.
It's on a big scale, big battles and sets and most importantly key characters are back. The overall cast is very good but it's a big difference to have the actors from the films showing again. Very glad James Earl Jones is the voice of Vader again.
Set 10 years after The Revenge of the Sith it sits nicely between that and A New Hope. If you are a Star Wars fan I can't see how you cannot like this.
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated The Lion King (1994) in Movies
Mar 17, 2020
Hakuna Matata
The Lion King- such a classic. Its perfect, amazing, fantasic and phenomenal and than thier just had to remake last year, live action style because of $$$ and have beyonce voice one of the charcters and have a second soundtrack with rap stars??? Anyways, the songs are so excellent, you have... "Circle of Life", "I Just Cant Wait to be King", "Be Perpared", "Hakuna Matata" and "Can't You Feel The Love Tonight".
The plot: This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), the heir of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones). Simba's wicked uncle, Scar (Jeremy Irons), plots to usurp Mufasa's throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. But Simba escapes, and only Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult (Matthew Broderick) to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella).
A classic film.
The plot: This Disney animated feature follows the adventures of the young lion Simba (Jonathan Taylor Thomas), the heir of his father, Mufasa (James Earl Jones). Simba's wicked uncle, Scar (Jeremy Irons), plots to usurp Mufasa's throne by luring father and son into a stampede of wildebeests. But Simba escapes, and only Mufasa is killed. Simba returns as an adult (Matthew Broderick) to take back his homeland from Scar with the help of his friends Timon (Nathan Lane) and Pumbaa (Ernie Sabella).
A classic film.
Craig Brewer recommended Matewan: A Luta Final (1987) in Movies (curated)
Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated Clear and Present Danger (1994) in Movies
May 15, 2020
The Cover-Up
Clear and Present Danger- is a thriller pacted movie. It has action, suspense and drama. Its downfall its long and somewhat boring and waits a while to get to the action. The action is also decent, not as good as patriot games.
The plot: Agent Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) becomes acting deputy director of the CIA when Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones) is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is murdered on a yacht, Ryan starts discovering links between the man and drug dealers. As CIA agent John Clark (Willem Dafoe) is sent to Colombia to kill drug kingpins in retaliation, Ryan must fight through multiple cover-ups to figure out what happened and who's responsible.
Harrison Ford is excellent as Jack Ryan. He is the best Jack Ryan in my opinon. He nails Jack Ryan perfectly.
Clear and Present Danger- is a decent thriller with the only downfall is it being a little long and boring.
The plot: Agent Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) becomes acting deputy director of the CIA when Admiral Greer (James Earl Jones) is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is murdered on a yacht, Ryan starts discovering links between the man and drug dealers. As CIA agent John Clark (Willem Dafoe) is sent to Colombia to kill drug kingpins in retaliation, Ryan must fight through multiple cover-ups to figure out what happened and who's responsible.
Harrison Ford is excellent as Jack Ryan. He is the best Jack Ryan in my opinon. He nails Jack Ryan perfectly.
Clear and Present Danger- is a decent thriller with the only downfall is it being a little long and boring.
Dean (6921 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies
Jul 19, 2019 (Updated Jul 19, 2019)
Same story with different visuals
Yet another re-imaging update of a Disney classic. People will always have quite varied reactions to these films depending in how high regard they hold the original. So far they have been a bit hit and miss, with Dumbo the worst for me. This is more in line with the Jungle book, with the same director. The story is pretty much exactly the same as the original. The difference is the amazing life like animation of the animals. So good it will feel like a nature documentary at times, waiting for David Attenborough to narrate over.
The voice cast is OK with only James Earl Jones voice standing out as he has such a commanding tone. The songs were just ok for me and I think this is where most people might be disappointed with this version. Overall it's a good story still given a technically excellent make-over. Just maybe lacking a little charm here and there.
The voice cast is OK with only James Earl Jones voice standing out as he has such a commanding tone. The songs were just ok for me and I think this is where most people might be disappointed with this version. Overall it's a good story still given a technically excellent make-over. Just maybe lacking a little charm here and there.
Harrison Boyer (6 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) in Movies
May 17, 2019
A Film to Define a Generation
Contains spoilers, click to show
Back in 1977, a little movie came out. One that would define a generation and change the industry forever. That movie is Star Wars. Growing up in the 90s and 2000s, I had the Star Wars exposure to watch when I pleased. I've seen this movie countless times. Everytime I watch it, I get really happy. I feel like a kid again. This movie has grabbed the attentions of millions and has touched many. From its opening crawl and opening shot. To the cantinas scene that puts you in unfamiliar waters. To a beautiful score by John Williams. Special effects that hold well today. And a group of freedom fighters that many identify with. It's no surprise this movie is nothing short of great. The only complaint that really comes to mind without taking alterations into account, is the acting at times, especially from the newcomers can be a little bad in comparison to greats like James Earl Jones, Peter Cushing and of course, Sir Alec Guinness. If you haven't checked out this film, it's one that is highly recommended for anyone wishing to study film.
Charlie Cobra Reviews (1840 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies
Jul 7, 2020
Return of The King
The Lion King is a 2019 computer-animated musical movie directed and produced by Jon Favreau. It was written by Jeff Nathanson, and produced by Fairview Entertainment and Walt Disney Pictures and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film stars Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Beyonce and James Earl Jones.
King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Queen Sarabi rule over the animal kingdom with their pride of lions from Pride Rock, in the African Pride Lands. Things change with the birth of their son, Simba, the new Prince. Mufasa's younger brother, and former heir to the throne, Scar, covets the throne and plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba, so he may become king. The battle for Pride Rock is filled with betrayal, tragedy and drama and circumstances are forever changed after the events of the stampede.
This movie was really good, but of course it was. The original Lion King was one of Disney's best animated films to date. There was a lot of build up to the release of this movie, with fans every anticipating when they could finally see this story on the big screen again. Jon Favreau did not disappoint, but there was a lot of negativity and bad review scores when it first released. I think the big problem was that in all the previews/trailers leading up to the movie coming out showed how realistic the animals looked and how they were able to recreate iconic scenes in stunning state of the art CGI, but they never showed the animals talking or singing. This for me made it difficult to get fully immersed in the film when the very realistic animals began talking and singing, but eventually it went away or I got used to it a couple minutes into the movie. Also they changed very little in this remake and it was almost literally a shot for shot or scene for scene recreation of the original Lion King, which I think bothered the critics. I personally liked little changes they made that I felt made the movie just a little bit better, like the dialogue between Mufasa's and Scar implying Mufasa's gave him the scar, Zimbabwe catching up with Nala for the journey back to Pride Rock, and Nala leading the female lions in the fight against the hyenas. I also thought it was cool how they made it more clear that one of the hyenas was the leader and it was the female and the scene where Scar makes the deal with them. Overall though I feel like they could have shown more emotion in the animals if they had chosen a style that was so detailed to look so realistic. I give this movie a 7/10. It is worth watching for nostalgia and to see it in theaters is a treat, especially when getting children or younger family members to see it for the first time, but the original is still the better film.
King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Queen Sarabi rule over the animal kingdom with their pride of lions from Pride Rock, in the African Pride Lands. Things change with the birth of their son, Simba, the new Prince. Mufasa's younger brother, and former heir to the throne, Scar, covets the throne and plots to eliminate Mufasa and Simba, so he may become king. The battle for Pride Rock is filled with betrayal, tragedy and drama and circumstances are forever changed after the events of the stampede.
This movie was really good, but of course it was. The original Lion King was one of Disney's best animated films to date. There was a lot of build up to the release of this movie, with fans every anticipating when they could finally see this story on the big screen again. Jon Favreau did not disappoint, but there was a lot of negativity and bad review scores when it first released. I think the big problem was that in all the previews/trailers leading up to the movie coming out showed how realistic the animals looked and how they were able to recreate iconic scenes in stunning state of the art CGI, but they never showed the animals talking or singing. This for me made it difficult to get fully immersed in the film when the very realistic animals began talking and singing, but eventually it went away or I got used to it a couple minutes into the movie. Also they changed very little in this remake and it was almost literally a shot for shot or scene for scene recreation of the original Lion King, which I think bothered the critics. I personally liked little changes they made that I felt made the movie just a little bit better, like the dialogue between Mufasa's and Scar implying Mufasa's gave him the scar, Zimbabwe catching up with Nala for the journey back to Pride Rock, and Nala leading the female lions in the fight against the hyenas. I also thought it was cool how they made it more clear that one of the hyenas was the leader and it was the female and the scene where Scar makes the deal with them. Overall though I feel like they could have shown more emotion in the animals if they had chosen a style that was so detailed to look so realistic. I give this movie a 7/10. It is worth watching for nostalgia and to see it in theaters is a treat, especially when getting children or younger family members to see it for the first time, but the original is still the better film.
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated The Sting (1973) in Movies
Mar 29, 2020
On my list of All Time Favorite Films
I'll come right out and say it - the 1973 Academy Award winning film for Best Picture, THE STING, is one of the greatest films of all time. It's well written, well acted, well directed with a memorable musical score and characters, situations, costumes and set design that become richer over time and through repeated viewings.
Set in Chicago in the gangster-ridden, depression era mid-1930's, THE STING tells the tale of two con man who join forces for the ultimate con of a vile N.Y. Gangster who is responsible for killing a friend of theirs.
From everything I have read about it, the script by David S. Ward (who won an Oscar for his work) arrived pretty much finished. He shaped the story of the con men - and the myriad pieces of misdirection - fully before shopping it around to the studios. Universal jumped all over it and tabbed veteran Director George Roy Hill (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) to helm the picture. Hill - being no dummy - saw this as a vehicle to re-team Newman and Redford (stars of Butch Cassidy) and the rest...as they say...is history.
Newman and Redford are perfectly cast as veteran grifter Henry Gondorff (Newman) and up and coming grifter Johnny Hooker (Redford). They have an ease of playing off of each other - each one complimenting the other one - both giving in their scenes with the other one which makes the scenes more rich and alive. They are joined by a veritable "who's who" of late '60's/early '70's character actors - Harold Gould, Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Ray Walston and Dana Elcar - all of them bring their "A" game and they are fun to watch. Special notice should be made to Robert Earl Jones (father of James Earl Jones) as Luther, the character who's fate propels the plot forward.
But...none of this would work if you didn't have a "bad guy" that was interesting to watch - and to root against - and bad guys don't get much better...and badder...than Robert Shaw's Doyle Lonnegan. Shaw plays Lonnegan as a physically tough boss who doesn't suffer failure, but is smart enough to avoid obvious traps. He is a worthy adversary of Gondorff and Hooker's and it is fun to watch Newman, Redford and Shaw play off each other. One other note - it was with this performance that Universal recommended Shaw to young Director Stephen Spielberg for his "shark flick" JAWS.
Edith Head won her 8th (and last) Oscar for the magnificent period costumes in this film and Marvin Hamlisch won for the Music - a surprising hit on the pop charts of re-channeled Scott Joplin tunes. The set design won an Oscar - as did the Director, George Roy Hill. All in all, the film won 7 out of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for (Redford was nominated for Best Actor, but did not win).
THE STING is a well crafted film. One that tells a timeless story and that stands the test of time as a testament of how great of an achievement in film this is. It is one of my All Time favorites.
Letter Grade: the rare A+
5 stars (out of 5) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Set in Chicago in the gangster-ridden, depression era mid-1930's, THE STING tells the tale of two con man who join forces for the ultimate con of a vile N.Y. Gangster who is responsible for killing a friend of theirs.
From everything I have read about it, the script by David S. Ward (who won an Oscar for his work) arrived pretty much finished. He shaped the story of the con men - and the myriad pieces of misdirection - fully before shopping it around to the studios. Universal jumped all over it and tabbed veteran Director George Roy Hill (BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID) to helm the picture. Hill - being no dummy - saw this as a vehicle to re-team Newman and Redford (stars of Butch Cassidy) and the rest...as they say...is history.
Newman and Redford are perfectly cast as veteran grifter Henry Gondorff (Newman) and up and coming grifter Johnny Hooker (Redford). They have an ease of playing off of each other - each one complimenting the other one - both giving in their scenes with the other one which makes the scenes more rich and alive. They are joined by a veritable "who's who" of late '60's/early '70's character actors - Harold Gould, Eileen Brennan, Charles Durning, Ray Walston and Dana Elcar - all of them bring their "A" game and they are fun to watch. Special notice should be made to Robert Earl Jones (father of James Earl Jones) as Luther, the character who's fate propels the plot forward.
But...none of this would work if you didn't have a "bad guy" that was interesting to watch - and to root against - and bad guys don't get much better...and badder...than Robert Shaw's Doyle Lonnegan. Shaw plays Lonnegan as a physically tough boss who doesn't suffer failure, but is smart enough to avoid obvious traps. He is a worthy adversary of Gondorff and Hooker's and it is fun to watch Newman, Redford and Shaw play off each other. One other note - it was with this performance that Universal recommended Shaw to young Director Stephen Spielberg for his "shark flick" JAWS.
Edith Head won her 8th (and last) Oscar for the magnificent period costumes in this film and Marvin Hamlisch won for the Music - a surprising hit on the pop charts of re-channeled Scott Joplin tunes. The set design won an Oscar - as did the Director, George Roy Hill. All in all, the film won 7 out of the 11 Oscars it was nominated for (Redford was nominated for Best Actor, but did not win).
THE STING is a well crafted film. One that tells a timeless story and that stands the test of time as a testament of how great of an achievement in film this is. It is one of my All Time favorites.
Letter Grade: the rare A+
5 stars (out of 5) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Lion King (2019) in Movies
Jul 31, 2019
Lacking in heart
The Lion King is one of my all time favourite Disney films, so I approached this 'live action' remake with a lot of trepidation, and I'm afraid to say I was right to be worried.
Visually it looks stunning, which shouldn't really be a surprise as it has been brought to us by the same guys that did The Jungle Book. However I'm afraid the visuals are pretty much all this film has going for it. This film is virtually a carbon copy of the original animation but with all of the heart, soul and humour taken out of it. The problem with these Disney live action remakes is they're unnecessary and stuck in a difficult position - differ too much from the original and people hate it, but sticking too close to the original and it begs the question as to why not just watch the original? It's more difficult for The Lion King as it's gone from being cartoon animation to CGI animation and apart from looking more natural, that's the only real difference.
They've lost virtually all of the magic that made the original great in the first place. The humour either falls flat due to the poor execution, or has been removed and replaced with something much less witty and funny. I mean, where was dress in drag & do the hula?! I dont think the voice cast helps. Other than Chiwetel Ejiofor and of course James Earl Jones, the rest of the voice cast just seemed ridiculously out of place and ill fitting with the film. I cringed every time I heard Zazu as Jon Oliver is definitely no Rowan Atkinson! And dont even get me started on Beyonce. We really didnt need her horrific versions of songs thrown in too. Although the rest of the songs did at least make the rest of the film more bearable.
Altogether despite the stunning CGI, this is a very poor copy of the original and definitely one I wont be watching again - just stick to the original.
Visually it looks stunning, which shouldn't really be a surprise as it has been brought to us by the same guys that did The Jungle Book. However I'm afraid the visuals are pretty much all this film has going for it. This film is virtually a carbon copy of the original animation but with all of the heart, soul and humour taken out of it. The problem with these Disney live action remakes is they're unnecessary and stuck in a difficult position - differ too much from the original and people hate it, but sticking too close to the original and it begs the question as to why not just watch the original? It's more difficult for The Lion King as it's gone from being cartoon animation to CGI animation and apart from looking more natural, that's the only real difference.
They've lost virtually all of the magic that made the original great in the first place. The humour either falls flat due to the poor execution, or has been removed and replaced with something much less witty and funny. I mean, where was dress in drag & do the hula?! I dont think the voice cast helps. Other than Chiwetel Ejiofor and of course James Earl Jones, the rest of the voice cast just seemed ridiculously out of place and ill fitting with the film. I cringed every time I heard Zazu as Jon Oliver is definitely no Rowan Atkinson! And dont even get me started on Beyonce. We really didnt need her horrific versions of songs thrown in too. Although the rest of the songs did at least make the rest of the film more bearable.
Altogether despite the stunning CGI, this is a very poor copy of the original and definitely one I wont be watching again - just stick to the original.
Ronyell (38 KP) rated Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987) in Movies
Jul 24, 2020
That Creepy Version of Pinocchio
This movie is basically a sequel to the original “Pinocchio” and the movie starts off with Gepetto giving Pinocchio a jewel box to take to the Mayor. As Pinocchio goes to town to deliver the jewel box, he meets up with Igor and Scalawag, two con artists who eventually convince Pinocchio to give them the jewel box, which ends up getting Pinocchio into trouble with Gepetto. Pinocchio was so upset about disappointing his father that he decided to run away and get the jewel box back. It was then that Pinocchio ended up getting into all kinds of strange and frightening situations such as meeting the frightening Puppetino at the circus and eventually meeting up with the Emperor of the Night!
Now, when I heard that Filmation was making a sequel to the famous Italian classic "Pinocchio," I was quite surprised and satisfied with the results! I loved the fact that there was a sequel to "Pinocchio" to begin with since I did wonder what Pinocchio's adventures would be like after he was transformed into a real boy and we managed to get one in this movie! I honestly like the dark and edgy feel of this film as it really grabbed my interest and some scenes (like the infamous puppet transformation scene) had really stayed with me ever since I was little! The voice acting was fantastic in this film as all the voice actors really gave everything they got for this film. Probably my favorite voice acting was from James Earl Jones as the Emperor of the Night as he made the character extremely scary and mysterious and I was really interested in the character! The animation is surprisingly better than what we usually get with Filmation as the characters move much fluidly and the action sequences were quite well done!
The only problem with this film was that it seemed like the plot was a rehash of the original Pinocchio story as we still get a storyline about Pinocchio trying to figure out what is right and wrong, having a conscience who would guide him and having two con artists scam him and get him into more trouble. The only thing that was actually different in this story was the Emperor of the Night as he proved to be scarier than the previous villains in "Pinocchio."
Overall, "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night" is a great film for anyone who is a huge fan of Filmation's works and who wants to see how the story of "Pinocchio" would continue.
Originally posted on: http://surrealmoviesandtvblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/movie-review-pinocchio-and-emperor-of.html
Now, when I heard that Filmation was making a sequel to the famous Italian classic "Pinocchio," I was quite surprised and satisfied with the results! I loved the fact that there was a sequel to "Pinocchio" to begin with since I did wonder what Pinocchio's adventures would be like after he was transformed into a real boy and we managed to get one in this movie! I honestly like the dark and edgy feel of this film as it really grabbed my interest and some scenes (like the infamous puppet transformation scene) had really stayed with me ever since I was little! The voice acting was fantastic in this film as all the voice actors really gave everything they got for this film. Probably my favorite voice acting was from James Earl Jones as the Emperor of the Night as he made the character extremely scary and mysterious and I was really interested in the character! The animation is surprisingly better than what we usually get with Filmation as the characters move much fluidly and the action sequences were quite well done!
The only problem with this film was that it seemed like the plot was a rehash of the original Pinocchio story as we still get a storyline about Pinocchio trying to figure out what is right and wrong, having a conscience who would guide him and having two con artists scam him and get him into more trouble. The only thing that was actually different in this story was the Emperor of the Night as he proved to be scarier than the previous villains in "Pinocchio."
Overall, "Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night" is a great film for anyone who is a huge fan of Filmation's works and who wants to see how the story of "Pinocchio" would continue.
Originally posted on: http://surrealmoviesandtvblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/movie-review-pinocchio-and-emperor-of.html