A Day of Moviegoing at AMC Theatres...

May the 4th be with you! Gettin' ready to watch Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (which celebrates the 25th anniversary of its theatrical release this month) today!

Revisiting RETURN OF THE JEDI...

Earlier today, I went to AMC theaters to watch the third film in the original Star Wars trilogy, Return of the Jedi.

Also known as Episode VI, Return of the Jedi was back on the big screen to celebrate the 40th anniversary of its original theatrical debut in 1983...even though the version that's now being shown at the multiplexes is the 1997 Special Edition (which I saw on the big screen when was a junior in high school at that time).

While it was a thrill to see Jedi at the theater—with such awesome action sequences as Luke Skywalker freeing his friends from Jabba the Hutt's sail barge near the Sarlacc Pit on Tatooine, the thrilling speeder bike chase between Luke, Princess Leia and the scout troopers through the Endor forest, the Battle of Endor between the Rebel Alliance and the Imperial fleet, and Luke's final showdown with Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine back on the big screen—revisiting this movie after multiple Star Wars films and TV shows were released since 1997 made me realize how flawed this flick really was!

Up until the much-maligned Star Wars prequels were released between 1999 and 2005 (and The Last Jedi and The Rise of Skywalker premiered in 2017 and 2019, respectively), Jedi was considered the worst film in the Star Wars saga...and I can see why.

On the big screen, the scenes at Jabba's palace in the first act of the movie were boring as heck, even with the updated visual effects for the Rancor and new shots added of the Max Rebo Band and Boba Fett. Princess Leia was incapable of silently sneaking through the palace in the middle of the night as she sought to free Han Solo from carbonite, and the dialect she used when Leia was disguised as the bounty hunter Boushh was as laughable as the way Groot talked in the Guardians of the Galaxy films, and I don't mean that in a good way for Boushh.

The scene where Luke, Han, C-3PO, R2-D2 and Chewbacca were caught in that Ewok trap on Endor was edited in a haphazard way...with R2 taking less than 5 seconds to cut a hole wide enough for all five characters to fit through as they fell from the net. Basically, I couldn't wait till Luke finally told Leia that they were related (which makes one wonder what the heck were George Lucas and Irvin Kershner thinking when they had Leia give Luke a wet kiss at the Rebel base on Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back), because it's after this that Luke departed from the Ewok village to confront Vader...and the best parts of Return of the Jedi were about to be shown on the silver screen!

Despite the flaws in Episode VI, this movie had some of the best Star Wars musical themes by legendary composer John Williams—ranging from Approaching the Death Star, Sail Barge Assault, the Luke and Leia theme, Into the Trap, The Ewok Battle and The Dark Side Beckons to The Emperor's Death. Oh, and I emphatically prefer the Victory Celebration track in the Special Edition over the Yub Nub song in the 1983 version!

Return of the Jedi isn't perfect, but it was still a classic way of ending a science-fantasy trilogy that revolutionized cinema. It's depressing that the happy ending that Luke, Han and Leia enjoyed at the end of Episode VI was spoiled three decades later by the events of The Force Awakens, but it's also awesome to see how the galaxy fared in the post-Palpatine era through Disney+ shows like The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett and this August's Ahsoka.

I'm wondering if all three movies in the original trilogy will simultaneously hit the big screen again like they did in 1997! Until then, I'll just watch them over and over on my DVD player.

May the Force be with you!

On This Day in 1997: Remembering STARSHIP TROOPERS...

It was 25 years ago today that I watched Paul Verhoeven's sci-fi cult classic Starship Troopers on the big screen.

It was also on this day that I received my actual driver's license in the mail (after passing my driving test almost three weeks before that) prior to heading to the theater.

The fact that I celebrated my newfound independence by immediately watching a movie at the multiplex set the tone for the next 25 years! I was a senior in high school when Starship Troopers was theatrically released nationwide.

One of the best aspects of Starship Troopers (apart from the amazing visual effects that made me excited for what was in store with the Star Wars prequels years later) was the awesome music score by the late Basil Poledouris! Here's the adrenaline-pumping piece Klendathu Drop from the soundtrack:

On This Day in 2002: Remembering ATTACK OF THE CLONES...

20 years ago today, one of my college classmates and I went to the AMC theater near our alma mater, Cal State Long Beach, to watch Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.

While Episode II was my least favorite film in the prequel trilogy (yes, even moreso than The Phantom Menace), it still had its moments: Boba Fett and his father Jango making an appearance, seeing a group of Jedi run into battle on the big screen for the first time, watching the clonetroopers make an appearance on the planet Geonosis to begin the Clone Wars, Samuel L. Jackson kicking arse as Mace Windu with his purple-bladed lightsaber, and cheering on Yoda as he engaged in a fierce lightsaber duel with Count Dooku.

Remembering Attack of the Clones also makes me nostalgic for early 2002...when I was on the verge of being accepted into the film production program at Cal State Long Beach during that summer, and the Los Angeles Lakers won their third straight championship after defeating the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals a few weeks after Clones made its theatrical release. (I'll talk more about the Lakers and the 20-year anniversary of their 3-peat in my main Blog next month.)

I'll end this entry by saying that members of the boy band *NSync almost made cameos in Episode II! It's a good thing this plan fail through... The news of these cameos caused quite a negative stir among Star Wars fans back in early 2002. Carry on.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY - Movie Review

So yesterday, I watched Solo: A Star Wars Story at a local AMC Theatre, and needless to say, it's a fun new addition to the Star Wars universe! While he's no Harrison Ford, Alden Ehrenreich gave his own interesting take on Han Solo...portraying the character as one who was idealistic, so full of hope, and out to reunite with his long-lost love before turning into the cynical swashbuckling smuggler that we met inside the Mos Eisley cantina in A New Hope. The rest of the cast for Solo was exceptional...with Donald Glover stealing his scenes as a young Lando Calrissian, Emilia Clarke being both sweet and bad-ass as Qi'ra, Woody Harrelson giving a smooth performance as Solo's mentor Tobias Beckett, Thandie Newton being one tough chick as Val, Paul Bettany being a slimey yet suave gangster as Dryden Vos, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge delightfully playing the rebellious droid L3-37. And of course, let's not forget Joonas Suotamo—whose role as Chewbacca in this movie is the third time he played the Wookie in the Disney-era Star Wars saga (behind The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi). And the fourth time will be the extra charm when he plays Chewie again in next year's Episode IX.



In regards to the story, screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jonathan were faithful to the origin of Han Solo that Star Wars fans have known for the past three decades or so. As established in the Expanded Universe before it was revamped by Disney a few years ago, Solo was an ex-Imperial officer from Corellia who rescued Chewbacca from the Empire prior to becoming a galactic smuggler...but not before winning the Millennium Falcon in a game of Sabacc from Lando Calrissian. The Kasdans didn't really add anything new to Solo's backstory, except the fact that (Spoilers Ahead) Han got his last name from an Imperial officer on Corellia who recruited him to fight for the Empire. The twist that the Kasdans gave to Solo's history didn't involve him, but the original love of his life, Qi'ra. This plot point has already been spoiled by numerous websites since Solo's release last Thursday, but Qi'ra was not only a romantic interest of Han, but a woman who yearned to rise up the ranks of a criminal organization known as Crimson Dawn. Qi'ra's new boss in this crime syndicate [after she (Spoilers Ahead) eliminated her original superior, Dryden Vos] turned out to be someone who was last seen on the big screen in The Phantom Menace almost 20 years ago. Here's a hint of who he is: He couldn't wait to reveal himself to the Jedi. He couldn't wait to have revenge! Are those good enough clues for ya?



In regards to the visual effects in Solo, they looked top-notch...as is expected for a Star Wars movie. That ground battle that Han Solo, Beckett and Val took part in before they deserted the Empire looked intense. The dogfight between the Millennium Falcon and those TIE Fighters near Kessel looked awesome. The droid L3-37, like K-2SO in Rogue One before her, looked photo-realistic. And that firefight between Beckett and his gang, those Ranger Troopers and Enfys Nest's (Erin Kellyman) Marauders aboard the Conveyex train on Vandor was one of the best action sequences in Solo. Music-wise, composer John Powell created his own sweeping score for Ron Howard's film while obviously incorporating memorable tunes from the previous Star Wars installments—such as the Imperial March (of course), the asteroid chase theme from The Empire Strikes Back, the Rebel fanfare and...Duel of the Fates. Yet another hint as to who I'm talking about in the last two sentences in the previous paragraph! And let's not forget that John Williams himself composed the new theme for Han Solo in this movie. Can't wait to listen to it when my Solo soundtrack CD arrives in the mail next week.



All-in-all, Solo: A Star Wars Story is a nice addition to the Star Wars saga. Before the movie was released, naysayers pointed out that this was a story that didn't really need to be told. While that's somewhat true, the main heist (to steal a form of hyperfuel known as coaxium) that Han and his gang pulled off in Solo was of great importance to the formation of the Rebel Alliance years later, and the revelation of who Qi'ra's new crime boss is at the end of the movie will have major ramifications for future Star Wars films. Even if the First Order is neutralized in Episode IX, Crimson Dawn will be a force (pun intended) to be reckoned with in any Star Wars flick that takes place during Solo's timeline (which is set between Revenge of the Sith and Rogue One, respectively). This new crime boss could also have an effect on the Boba Fett and Obi-Wan films that Lucasfilm is currently plotting out as well. We shall see.



So yea, Solo is a good movie and you should check it out as soon as possible! Happy Memorial Day weekend.

4 out of 5 stars. ****

Image of the Day: A Mandalorian Artwork...

In honor of Boba Fett getting his own Star Wars movie soon, just thought I'd share this artwork that I drew of the Mandalorian Commando 23 years ago...when I was a freshman in high school, and George Lucas recently announced that he was gonna film the prequel trilogy. The Boba Fett spin-off is set to be written and directed by James Mangold, who helmed last year's X-Men flick Logan and such movies as 1999's Girl, Interrupted, 2005's acclaimed Walk the Line and 2007's 3:10 to Yuma (one of my favorite all-time Westerns). Boba Fett, as well as Obi-Wan Kenobi, are two of the most beloved characters in the Star Wars saga who'll get their own films after Episode IX hits theaters in December of next year.

And speaking of another beloved Star Wars character, I can't wait to watch Solo: A Star Wars Story at AMC Theatres tomorrow! I'll post my (hopefully positive) review of it by this Sunday. Happy Friday.

The 2018 Academy Award Nominations...

Earlier today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled the list of nominees who will be up for Oscars during the 90th annual Academy Awards on March 4 (airing on ABC TV at 5 PM, PST). Out of all the Best Picture nominees for 2017, I saw Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk, Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and Jordan Peele's Get Out. I think that Three Billboards will be the Best Picture winner (it was a great film; I'm glad that Frances McDormand is nominated for Best Actress, and Sam Rockwell as Best Supporting Actor), though I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed if Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water won instead. Much props to Peele for earning a Best Director nod for his horror-comedy flick Get Out—which received a total of four nominations [which also includes Best Picture, Actor (for Daniel Kaluuya, below) and Original Screenplay]. I hope Peele's comedy sketch buddy Keegan-Michael Key isn't too envious!



In regards to the technical categories, Blade Runner 2049 (which I watched twice at the theater) is up for five awards: Best Cinematography, Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Production Design. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is up for four Oscars: Best Visual Effects, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Original Score. Considering that these first three nominations are up against Blade Runner 2049, I reckon The Last Jedi will come up empty in those categories. And I'm surprised that John Williams has been nominated for the two Disney Star Wars films that he worked on... His work on The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi were well-done (I like the themes for Rey, Kylo Ren and the Resistance), but the Star Wars prequels had more memorable tunes in The Phantom Menace's "Duel of the Fates," Attack of the Clones' "Across the Stars" and Revenge of the Sith's "Battle of the Heroes." But enough dwelling on the past. I hope that Williams will close out his third Star Wars trilogy when it comes time to composing the score for Episode IX next year. And he gets an Oscar nomination for that as well!



And lastly, it's unfortunate that Wonder Woman came up completely empty-handed this morning. Wonder Woman was a watershed in being a movie directed by a woman, starring a woman, and telling the story of a superhero that empowered women. Sorry, Patty Jenkins and Gal Gadot. But hey— As a Los Angeles Lakers fan, I'm glad that 5-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant got an Oscar nomination for a film that he worked on last year! Go to this Blog entry to read more about it. Happy Tuesday!

STAR WARS: THE LAST JEDI - Movie Review

Last night, I attended an advance screening of Star Wars: The Last Jedi...and needless to say, it was an absolutely amazing film! Just by watching this eighth installment in the Skywalker saga (and ninth live-action movie in the Star Wars franchise), you can see why Rian Johnson would get Disney and Lucasfilm's blessing to produce his very own Star Wars trilogy—the first episode of which Johnson himself will write and direct next decade. While obviously paying homage to the Original Trilogy and prequels before it, as well as expanding upon the events depicted in 2015's The Force Awakens, Episode VIII also veers into uncharted territory as we see the power of the Force as never before, and the war between the Resistance and First Order taken to new levels. Rian Johnson created a Star Wars movie that puts the franchise on course for new and more exciting directions.



In terms of the characters, The Last Jedi nicely develops the majority of folks previously seen in The Force Awakens. Of course, we finally get to hear Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) speak...and when he does speak, he has some memorable and funny one-liners. From telling Rey (Daisy Ridley) that there's a reason why he traveled "to the most unfindable place in the galaxy" (the planet Ahch-To) to chastising her and even Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) by mentioning that "everything (they) said (about the Force) is wrong," Luke still has that spunk he first showed when he was a Tatooine farm boy in 1977's A New Hope. In regards to Rey and Kylo Ren themselves, these two have the most interesting relationship in The Last Jedi. I won't spoil how this occurred, but something happens with the Force that causes the aspiring Jedi and would-be Sith Lord to communicate with each other (and briefly touch hands) even though they are literally light-years apart in the galaxy. It is this connection that prompts Rey to leave Ahch-To—home of Luke and the first Jedi temple (as well as some very adorable Porgs)—and confront Kylo in the final act of the movie. It is when they're together that the most memorable events and action scenes take place in The Last Jedi...and the sequel trilogy for that matter.



Also getting a bigger role in The Last Jedi is Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac)...who started off as a "trigger-happy flyboy" before becoming a potential leader of the Resistance by the end of the film. He clearly has to be the Han Solo of the new trilogy—since he's apparently the first character in the Star Wars franchise (unless I misheard the line) to say "ass" in a movie. (The actual term he used was "big-ass door;" I won't elaborate on which door he's talking about). Rey, General Leia Organa (the late Carrie Fisher) or Kylo Ren wouldn't have gotten away with uttering a real-world swear word like that. But maybe Finn (John Boyega) would. (He does say "bastard" in the film.) Speaking of Finn, John Boyega once again did a nice job portraying the stormtrooper-turned-freedom fighter. Even though he's separated from his best friend Rey for much of the movie, Finn gets to team up with Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran)...a Resistance mechanic who, in the words of Finn back in The Force Awakens, thinks the ex-stormtrooper is a "big deal." As a fellow Asian-American, it was cool to see an Asian actress have such a huge role in a Star Wars film. And I'm proud to say that, spoilers ahead, Rose will be back to help the Resistance continue battling the First Order in 2019's Star Wars: Episode IX.



Going back to General Leia Organa herself, it was bittersweet to watch Carrie Fisher give her last performance as the iconic figure. On the plus side, we get to watch her exhibit some amazing Force powers over the course of the movie. And yes, we get to see a nice reunion between her and her brother Luke (somewhat) towards the climax of the film. Like Heath Ledger's Joker in The Dark Knight, Leia will live on following the events of The Last Jedi. The sad thing is, we'll never get to see what's next for this beloved character in the sequel trilogy. But at least the princess of Alderaan had a happy ending in Episode VIII.



To prevent this review from getting too long, I'll mention all the other characters in this paragraph: Domhnall Gleeson once again gave a great (and very funny) performance as the sniveling General Hux. Gwendoline Christie was awesome as the forever-underused Captain Phasma (but at least Christie finally got to reveal her face, somewhat, in The Last Jedi). Laura Dern was commendable as heroic Vice Admiral Holdo. Billie Lourd (Fisher's daughter) was cool as Lieutenant Connix, who was first seen in The Force Awakens. Benicio Del Toro was the Lando Calrissian/Boba Fett of Episode VIII...delightfully stuttering as he "helped" Finn and Rose in their mission to infiltrate a First Order Star Destroyer. And lastly, Andy Serkis once again did a fantastic job performing the motion capture for Supreme Leader Snoke...who was both funny and terrifying while it lasted.



In regards to the action scenes of The Last Jedi, they were nicely executed in the movie—particularly during the final act. The opening space battle was fantastic, even though it was sad to see the Resistance bombers quickly get picked off by the First Order as if this was an outer space equivalent of the Battle of Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back. The scenes on the casino world of Canto Bight looked gorgeous, even though the time spent on this planet could've been shortened a bit. The Battle of Crait—where we see Resistance ground forces take on towering AT-M6 walkers—was almost as intense as the one on Hoth over three decades earlier. But the action scene that definitely takes the cake is (big spoiler ahead) the multi-person duel between Rey, Kylo Ren and Snoke's Elite Praetorian Guards. As a sign that The Last Jedi isn't a blatant remake of The Empire Strikes Back, Rey and Kylo Ren briefly team up to engage in a lightsaber duel with the red-clad warriors. However, this alliance is short-lived as Kylo Ren goes back to his villainous ways and, like his grandfather Darth Vader before him in The Empire Strikes Back, wants Rey to join him and the Dark Side after the duel is won. But hey, at least neither of them lost a hand during the fight!



Musically, John Williams created more memorable tunes for The Last Jedi than he did with The Force Awakens. We obviously hear motifs from the previous episode such as the Resistance, Kylo Ren and Jedi Step themes from the end of Episode VII. We also hear Leia's theme, the Rebel fanfare from the Original Trilogy and even Yoda's theme...for a very good reason. (I can't wait to get my Last Jedi soundtrack CD in the mail after Amazon ships it today. Hopefully today.) Visual effects-wise, The Last Jedi looked stupendous! Not a surprise though... Episode VIII was originally set to be released on May 26 (in celebration of A New Hope's 40th anniversary this year) before it was pushed back to this weekend. So Johnson—who completed the movie for a targeted Memorial Day debut—had lots of extra time to work with Industrial Light & Magic to make The Last Jedi's visual effects as spiffy-looking as possible. This film definitely needs to be one of the five contenders for Best Visual Effects at the Oscars next year.



All-in-all, The Last Jedi was an awesome film. Fittingly, Luke Skywalker resembled Chuck Norris in his most badass moment towards the end of the movie. Kylo Ren evolved from a Darth Vader wannabe in Episode VII to a legitimate threat, akin to Count Dooku of the prequels, to the entire galaxy. Rey is truly on the path to becoming the newest Jedi hero like Luke, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi before her. And Leia will live on in Star Wars lore as the Resistance leader who survived to fight another day; even though sadly, we'll never get to see her fight on the big screen again. And it remains to be seen how Finn, Poe and Rose will rise up to take on Kylo Ren, General Hux and their evil forces once more in Episode IX. But in the meantime, go to the theater and watch The Last Jedi right away to see how Rian Johson expanded on the Star Wars saga...while saying farewell to much of what came before it. May the Force be with you.

4.5 out of 5 stars. ****1/2

Disney Acquires 21st Century Fox...

So as of today, Disney not only owns Star Wars, Indiana Jones and the majority of the Marvel film franchise, but it now has total control over The Simpsons, Aliens, Avatar, Independence Day, Family Guy and the rest of the Marvel film franchise (Sony owns Spider-Man but Marvel Studios is allowed to use him in its own movies). All I can say is, offer Hugh Jackman a huge paycheck so he can play Wolverine one last time in Avengers 4, make sure that Deadpool remains R-rated, ensure that James Cameron's Avatar sequels don't conflict with the release dates of future Star Wars movies (i.e. Rian Johnson's new trilogy) and (this is a NO-BRAINER) make sure that the next Fantastic Four and X-Men flicks (Will next year's Dark Phoenix be canceled? Of course not) are officially included in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Oh, and create an Independence Day sequel that's as good as the first one! Carry on.

And yes, I will be watching The Last Jedi during a 7 PM screening at AMC Theatres tonight.

THE JEDI MASTER: A Star Wars Story...

I read on The Hollywood Reporter a few hours ago that Lucasfilm is in talks with Oscar-nominated director Stephen Daldry (of 2000's Billy Elliot and 2002's The Hours) to write and helm a Star Wars spin-off flick that would focus on none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi. No script has yet been written for this installment, so it's too early to say if Ewan McGregor will reprise the role that he made his own in The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones and Revenge of Sith more than a decade ago. Presumably, this would be the Star Wars standalone flick that is set to be released in 2020. We'll see. We'll also see if this movie completely takes place on Tatooine if it's set after the events of Episode III and before A New Hope. Though perhaps Mr. Daldry and Lucasfilm will take a creative gamble by having Obi-Wan briefly leave Tatooine (and young Luke Skywalker) to take on an unknown menace off-planet... We'll see again.

PS: The title for this movie should, as mentioned in the subject line above, be called The Jedi Master: A Star Wars Story. Predictable, but awesome.

Photos of the Day: The STAR WARS: SPECIAL EDITION...

Just thought I'd commemorate the 20-year anniversary of the Star Wars: Special Edition—which opened on January 31, 1997—with these screenshots from the revamped version of George Lucas' classic film. I was a junior in high school when the original Star Wars trilogy returned to theaters that year, and it was so cool to see Luke, Han, Leia and Darth Vader finally on the big screen. (Up until this period, I would watch the original films on VHS tapes almost every weekend since I became a Star Wars fan in early 1995...after Lucas announced that he was gonna make the prequel trilogy.) Such a memorable time... I remember running into my cute classmate Liz, who was in my homeroom at school, just as she was about to exit the theater where I was gonna watch A New Hope on opening night (though I'm sure Star Wars wasn't the film that Liz saw that evening). And I remember when Howard Stern fumed that Return of the Jedi beat his movie Private Parts at the box office on opening weekend! Totally hilarious.



It's amazing that 10 years later, I'd be lookin' forward to a brand-new Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, which gets released this December. Five new Star Wars movies have been released since the Return of the Jedi: Special Edition opened in theaters on March 14, 1997. Revenge of the Sith ended up being the only installment that I liked among the prequels, The Force Awakens ended up being the highest-grossing domestic film in U.S. history (at $937 million), and Rogue One ended up being a satisfying tale about how the plans for the first Death Star were obtained by the Rebel Alliance. Thanks for continuing the magic (a.k.a. the Force), Disney! And also no thanks. I'd elaborate on that last part, but that's a blog entry for another day. Live long and prosper!

That was intentional.

The STAR WARS: EPISODE VIII Title Has Been Revealed!

The Last Jedi... That will be the name for this December's eighth installment in the Star Wars saga. For the most part, I like it. Of course, I like anything Star Wars-related that doesn't involve Jar Jar Binks or post-Phantom Menace Darth Maul. I was hoping for a more sinister title like Fall of the Resistance or Death to the Resistance—especially considering that these would-be titles are consistent with the four-worded format for previous middle episodes Attack of the Clones and The Empire Strikes Back. Oh well.

And on a more humorous matter, Transformers fans around the Internet are probably joking that Michael Bay wants his title back! ('Cause you know, The Last Knight hits theaters nationwide on June 23?) I guess this is Lucasfilm's revenge for 2009's Revenge of the Fallen (there was an online joke that George Lucas wanted his title back for that one...in reference to 2005's Revenge of the Sith). Or not. Can't wait for The Last Jedi's first trailer to be unveiled soon! Happy Monday.

Bad Santa 2...

Last Sunday, I watched the sequel to the 2003 sleeper hit Bad Santa, and needless to say, Bad Santa 2 had its moments. Billy Bob Thornton was back to playing Willie Soke, the hilariously repulsive alcoholic who disguises himself as Saint Nicholas to commit heists, with Tony Cox reprising his role as Marcus Skidmore, the disgruntled and conniving elf assistant. Brett Kelly didn't miss a beat playing the happily oblivious and naive Thurman Merman once more, while Kathy Bates was game at sporting tattoos as Sunny Soke, and calling Willie (her son) a "sh*t-stick" in almost every other line in the film. Of course, while Bad Santa 2 had lots of funny moments...it was also a lot more raunchier and irreverent than the 2003 original—which isn't necessarily a good thing. Case in point: Reference to the Immaculate Conception as the Ejaculate Conception... I'm not a devout Catholic, but yea, other Christian folks may have rolled their eyes to that one. Assuming, of course, that die-hard religious individuals actually went out to see this movie. If its opening weekend box office gross is any indication, then no—they did not.



Bad Santa 2 basically fell victim to the pitfalls that prevented 2014's Dumber and Dumber To from being as successful as its 1994 predecessor...those pitfalls being that the sequels were released far too long after the first movies came out in theaters, and the sequels having to resort to very raunchy gags in an attempt to re-capture the humorous feel of the originals. A long gap between a hit film and a sequel is okay when it comes to animated flicks and action or sci-fi epics [case in point: Pixar's Finding Dory (a follow-up to 2003's Finding Nemo) and the new Star Wars trilogy (seven uber-successful live-action movies in 39 years and counting), but sadly not Independence Day: Resurgence (the follow-up to the highest grossing film of 1996)], but this seldom applies to comedy flicks. Moviegoers' tastes in comedies evolve over time. The humor in American Pie was game-changing back in 1999...but that sort of comedy is now commonplace in today's TV shows such as the CBS sitcoms 2 Broke Girls and The Big Bang Theory.



If there was one reason to re-watch Bad Santa 2, it would be due to the charm of Christina Hendricks. I've never seen the now-defunct AMC TV show Mad Men, but yea, Hendricks' character Diane Hastings is sweet and delightful in one scene and um, romantically voracious in another. "Romantically" isn't the actual word I wanna use here, what with her moments with Willie Sokes capturing just how bad Bad Santa could be (I'm referring to Soke himself). I just wished that Bad Santa 2 overall was closer to being as memorable as the original film. Maybe it would've been if Bernie Mac and John Ritter were still here to reprise their roles as Gin and Bob Chipeska, respectively. Well, maybe not Gin—since Marcus killed him in the first movie, but Bob. Rest in peace, Mr. Mac and Mr. Ritter... Carry on.

INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE - The Review...

So last night, I went to the Cinemark theater in Orange County to catch a double-feature screening of 1996's Independence Day (ID4) and the newly-released Independence Day: Resurgence (IDR). ID4 was still as patriotic, feel-good and cheesier as ever...with President Whitmore's (Bill Pullman) Area 51 speech and David Arnold's music being memorable 20 years later. As for Resurgence, all I can say is— It was both exciting and disappointing at the same time. It was exciting in that, despite the absence of Will Smith's character Captain Steve Hiller, the other characters were as lively as in the original, and the story was more intriguing than in ID4. Resurgence was disappointing in that David Arnold didn't score the movie this time around. With no disrepect to IDR composers Thomas Wander and Harald Kloser (who began conducting the scores for most of Roland Emmerich's films after the director had a falling out with Arnold due to creative differences over 2000's The Patriot...which was eventually worked on by John Williams), Arnold would've added the same patriotic and melodic fervor to IDR like he did in the previous film. It might be my nostalgia talking, but the best moments in IDR had the classic music motifs from ID4 playing in the background.



In regards to other aspects of Resurgence, the visual effects were stunning...although the same critique made about the Star Wars prequels (the CGI was excessive) can also be applied here. The arrival of the so-called "Harvester Ship" was cool (though once again, it would be much cooler if the ominous music playing in the background was scored by Davi— Ah, nevermind), yet it still somehow lacked the punch of the 15-mile-wide alien destroyers arriving above Manhattan, Los Angeles and other cities in the first film. The Harvester Ship is supposed to be 3,000 miles-wide (compared to 500 miles for ID4's Mothership), but the fact that the vessel was created via CGI as opposed to using a practical model prevented it from having the same impact as the destroyers did in 1996. As for the new alien attackers in IDR (once again, it's my nostalgia talking), these fighters didn't have as memorable a design as the manta ray-shaped spacecraft that Steve Hiller and company battled in ID4. Also, the engines on the new attackers didn't have a cool screeching sound like their 1996 predecessors had. Nor did the laser guns on the new ships sound as interesting as those fired by ID4's killer UFOs.



The one thing that I really looked forward to with Independence Day: Resurgence was seeing the alien exoskeletons in action for the first time. Weta Digital (the company that worked on The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Peter Jackson's other films) did a great job animating the murderous extraterrestrials. It was cool to see the Harvester Queen suit up inside her biomechanical armor and wreak havoc on the humans once she set foot on earth. The Queen's movement echoed the behavior of the monsters seen in the J.J. Abrams movies Cloverfield and Super 8...and watching her take on the alien hybrid jet fighters piloted by Patricia Whitmore (Maika Monroe) and company was a cool sight to see. One person who sat behind me at the theater yesterday complained after the movie ended that Resurgence felt too futuristic compared to the more grounded, realistic world depicted in ID4. On one hand, he is completely right. On the other hand, it is understandable that this would happen...seeing as how 20 years have elapsed and it obviously makes sense that we would apply alien technology to our weapons, vehicles, and every other applicable thing that we used in our daily lives. That, and most of Earth's major cities were wiped out in 1996...so that gave Emmerich freedom to interpret how a rebuilt Washington, D.C. would look post-ID4.



And lastly— The story in IDR was intriguing, to put it mildly. Not to spoil anything, but the ending paves the way for a third film if Resurgence makes enough money at the box office (it won't be 2016's highest-grossing film the same way ID4 was in 1996, that's for sure) to convince Twentieth Century Fox to give Emmerich the go-ahead to shoot another installment. I doubt a third film will be made...seeing as how Independence Day 3 will essentially become Star Trek, 2013's Ender's Game and every other sci-fi space flick due to the premise introduced right before the end credits. Also, IDR killed off two beloved characters from the original film—so the presence of at least one of them will be missed in a third movie. All-in-all, Resurgence had so much potential...but it didn't quite live up to it. Just like the 2014 comedy Dumber and Dumber 2 (which came out 20 years after the first film did), IDR was released in theaters several years too late to have the same impact as that of the original. Back in 1996, ID4 was called "the Star Wars of our generation." You really can't say that about Resurgence now when four new live-action Star Wars films (with a fifth movie, Rogue One, arriving in December) were released since then! But I am definitely onboard if Roland Emmerich and David Arnold finally set their differences aside...and Arnold graces us with another patriotic and energetic music score in Independence Day 3 if it ever gets made. That is all.

3 out of 5 stars. ***

Darth Maul: Apprentice...

Check out this awesome fan film that focuses on the horned Sith Lord that made his mark (albeit briefly) in 1999's Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. The lightsaber duels, visual effects and cinematography are top-notch...with actor Ben Schamma doing a great job capturing Ray Park's mannerisms and fighting skills from The Phantom Menace in Darth Maul: Apprentice. If this isn't a worthy calling card for writer/director Shawn Bu and his crew in regards to getting involved in the production of the actual Star Wars movies themselves, I don't know what is! I wonder if Star Wars: Episode VIII director Rian Johnson and/or Episode IX helmer Colin Trevorrow had the time to watch this film... Probably not Johnson (since online reports state that he should be shooting Episode VIII scenes in Dubrovnik, Croatia soon), but most likely Trevorrow. That is all.

Photos of the Day: The Costumes of JOY and THE HATEFUL EIGHT...

MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Just thought I'd share these photos that I took of the outfits worn in David O. Russell's Joy and Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, respectively. I haven't seen any of these two potential Oscar contenders yet, but that didn't stop me from taking a snapshot of the movies' wardrobes—which are currently on exhibit at ArcLight Cinemas in Hollywood. In the photo above, a suit used by Édgar Ramírez and an outfit worn by Jennifer Lawrence are on display. (I'll quickly mention that I stood as close to the glass case holding J. Law's attire as possible to see how tall she is compared to me. It appears that J. Law is 1-2 inches taller than I am... Gotta love being Asian! *Sarcasm*) In the pic below, the Western-themed outfits worn by Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell and Jennifer Jason Leigh are shown. Sam Jackson's getup looks the most slick, unsurprisingly. He's Mace Windu and killed motherf**kin snakes on a motherf**kin' plane!

Afterwards, I watched Star Wars: The Force Awakens inside the Cinerama Dome just outside the ArcLight's main theater. Just kidding, no I didn't. Would Tarantino bang a fist against his keyboard if he read this? Go on Google to see what I'm talking about... Have a good day!

Less Than A Month Till The Force Is Awakened...

As the marketing campaign for Star Wars: The Force Awakens continues to amp up in the final weeks before the most anticipated film of 2015 invades theaters, just thought I'd share these recent photos that I took of Star Wars' growing presence (it that was even possible) in the public and media. The cardboard marquee shown above is displayed at the AMC 20 theater in my hometown; I took a picture of it right after I watched the film The 33 (which is about the 2010 Chile mining accident... The movie was good) last week. The image below shows the three Star Wars magazines that I bought this past weekend. The Entertainment Weekly issue was bought at Barnes & Noble last Friday, while the Newsweek mag and that Movie Magic issue was bought at Stater Brothers and Walmart on Saturday, respectively. I'm sure that more magazines with covers devoted to Episode VII will be hitting the stands at bookstores over the next 20-plus days.

Disney and Lucasfilm would be pretty amused at how easy it is to take money from me when it comes to promoting the next installment in that Galaxy far, far away!

Photos of the Day: A New Addition to my STAR WARS Collection...

So two days ago, I went to the local Walgreens to get my annual flu shot when I stumbled upon this cool Kylo Ren action figure at the drugstore afterwards. Seeing as how I drove to multiple shops on "Force Friday" 20 days ago to seek out anything that involved Kylo Ren (and Captain Phasma) from Star Wars: The Force Awakens, it was amusing to see that Walgreens would carry this item...when it's still nowhere to be found at any of the Target and Toys"R"Us stores (which promoted Force Friday more than Walgreens did; in fact, I don't think Walgreens had any advertisements promoting the release of new Star Wars merchandise. I'm most likely wrong...) near my house. Fail, fail, fail.

Anyways, the Kylo Ren figure is displayed um, proudly with all of my other Star Wars stuff at home (below). Though I'm gonna have to figure out how to make room for collectibles when Rogue One: A Star Wars Story get released in theaters next year. And I won't even worry about Star Wars: Episodes VIII and IX yet...let alone the other Star Wars spin-off films. Have a nice day.