4 Razors

Return of the Jedi

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Return of the Jedi
  • IMDB: link

Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt.

Little does Luke know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction of a new armored space sation even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star.

When completed, this ultimate weapons will spell certain doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy….

George Lucas‘s last Star Wars film can be broken down into three acts.

In the first act C-3P0 (Anthony Daniels) and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker), and later Leia (Carrie Fisher) and Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), are captured trying to free Han Solo (Harrison Ford) from Jabba the Hutt.  Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) shows up to kill Jabba’s pet beast and then use the pieces he has put in place to defeat Jabba at the Pit of Sarlaac.

The second act to the movie, after a brief interlude of Luke confronting Yoda (Frank Oz) and Obi-Wan (Alec Guinness) about the truth and learning another vital piece of information about his family, is the staging and infiltration of the Moon of Endor which houses the shield generator for the new Death Star.  On the planet the strike team meets a group of cute teddy bear warriors known as Ewoks (who believe C-3P0 is a god), takes part in a high speed speeder bike chase, and, along with the fleet above led by Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), fall into the well laid trap by the Emperor (Ian McDiarmid).

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The Force is Strong With This One

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
  • IMDb: link

star-wars-revenge-of-the-sith-poster1

George Lucas’ much-loved franchise has taken some hard criticism over the past few years with his “improvements” to Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, and Return of the Jedi. Add to that a less-than-rousing support for the first two movies in the prequel trilogy, The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones, and you honestly had to wonder whether Lucas could deliver on this, the final Star Wars prequel.

We needn’t have worried. Aside from a couple of painful scenes between Padme (Natalie Portman) and Anakin (Hayden Christensen) awkwardly expressing their love in rather stilted dialogue (which are both mercifully short), the movie is a largely successful addition to the “Skywalker Saga.” It’s notable that many of the elements used in the film were originally intended for Episode VI (the volcano planet, the Wookiee battle, and of course obviously, the title Revenge).

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A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Flags of Our Fathers
  • IMDB: link

flags-of-our-fathers-posterOne picture can define everything.  Flags of Our Fathers, the latest from director Clint Eastwood and writer Paul Haggis, looks at how a single photograph changed the war in the Pacific during WWII.  Though it does include some huge battle scenes, it’s more focused on the later years, how the photograph, and the U.S. Government’s use of it, changed the lives of three soldiers forever.

Clint Eastwood is the man, and he has earned the right to make whatever film he wants.  Here the director takes a look at the flag raising at Iwo Jima, and how that one photograph changed the lives of three men and the course of the war in the Pacific.

The film follows the heroes of the Battle of Iwo Gima, John “Doc” Bradley (Ryan Phillippe), Rene Gagon (Jesse Bradford), and Ira Hayes (Adam Beach) from their landing on Iwo Jima to the years after their heroic tour.

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Capote, Take Two

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Infamous
  • IMDB: link

“Infamous is when you’re more than famous…he’s not just famous, he’s in-famous.”
—Three Amigos

InfamousMuch like Capote, the film begins in New York showcasing Truman Capote (Toby Jones) in his natural habitat.  Here however we are shown a man with a large group of friends, dreams and desires, and a great sense of humor.  Unlike Bennet Miller‘s Capote, this one is a fully realized character rather than simply a manipulator.

Truman and Nell Harper Lee (Sandra Bullock) travel to Kansas to research a new book about a grizzly murder.  Of course Capote is completely out of place in the rural Midwest and shunned by the local sheriff (Jeff Daniels) and townspeople until he wins them over with his tales of celebrities.

When the two murderers are apprehended Truman travels to the prison to begin interviewing the men and discovers a connection with the tender yet brutal Perry (Daniel Craig).

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It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Murder!?

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Hollywoodland
  • IMDb: link

Hollywoodland

Hollywoodland isn’t quite what you’d expect.  Much more an art house character study than a Hollywood thriller, it provides some genuinely funny and dramatic moments.  Although Hollywood does raise its ugly head in places, for the the most part it’s a well acted and well financed small film that finds most of the right touches to provide an intriguing look at the life, and death, of the man who many saw only as Superman.

George Reeves (Ben Affleck) is dead, and private investigator Louis Simo (Adrien Brody) wants to know why.  Sure he’s in it for the money and fame, but the more he becomes entangled in the web of lies and mysterious secrets, the more he needs to know the truth.  Was it a suicide like the local police want everyone to think?  Or was it murder?

The film follows two lives over the course of its two-hour running time.  The first is the life and career of George Reeves.  The second is the life of Simo which, in many ways, mirrors Reeves own in how it falls apart over the length of the film.

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