The Star Wars Movies

Imagine yourself back in 1977. Movie technology isn't very far along -- the best special effects you've seen are probably those in 'The Blob' (1958) and there's nothing that original that has come out.

But, there is hope. Star Wars Episode 4, 'A New Hope' is coming out in theaters and is expected to be the most revolutionary movie of its time.

The theater goes quiet and the music begins to play. Big, yellow words crawl up the screen, setting the precis. The words disappear, and suddenly, you hear gunfire and see a massive spacecraft flying from the righthand side of the screen and continue to be amazed throughout the whole film.

'Revolutionary' hardly begins to describe what Star Wars was to the movie-making world at this point in time. Today, a film student in L.A. could make a movie with better special effects on his home computer. But, that doesn't change the impact that these six films had on the world starting in 1977 right up until May 19, 2005, when thousands, possibly millions, loaded into movie theaters across the globe to watch Episode 3, the concluding movie in the series.

I'll be doing reviews on all six films over the next few weeks. I apologize if they are not in order...I watch them according to availability, and that is something I cannot help. I've already done Star Wars Episode Three, so you can view my post on that in my earlier archives.

Enjoy!

Finding Neverland

This was a very, very refreshing movie to watch. When I first heard of it, I thought I knew exactly what would end up happening...Johnny Depp's character would leave his wife in the end to be with Kate Winslet and they live in a nice little cottage in the woods for the rest of their lives. But that was not the case at all. This movie is a classic example of how a man and a woman can have a strong, healthy friendship without there being any scandal whatsoever.

James M. Barrie is a young playwrite living with his beautiful wife in Europe. He is struggling severly with coming up with a good play -- a play that will blow his audience away, not blow them into R.E.M. 7 sleep. Despite his creative genius, he has a bad case of writer's block that just won't go away. It doesn't help that his marriage is slowly desintegrating before his very eyes.

One day, while he is walking in the park, he meets a family -- a mother and her three boys -- and watches as, over time, a wonderful friendship blossoms. The family has recently been devastated by the death of their father, who had jaw cancer. When James starts spending more and more time with the four boys and their mother, people start whispering about how his behavior is 'scandalous' and how James and Sylvia (the mother, played by Kate Winslet) MUST be having a love affair.

Of course, all these allegations are untrue and ridiculous. As James gets to know the family more and more, he gets inspiration for a play -- a play that would eventually become the world-famous Peter Pan. He becomes a father figure in the lives of the boys and when tragedy strikes the family once again, he is there for them, and in turn, when his wife is involved in infidelity, they are there for him.

Johnny Depp, again, floored me with his amazing performance. Kate Winslet and he had amazing on-screen chemistry and by the end, I found myself bawling like a four-year-old at the intricate beauty of this film. Every second was perfectly choreographed, plotted, and performed. The most unique thing about this film was the glimpses into James's mind -- snapshots of how e sees the world. Instead of walking into his room, he's walking into a forest, decorated with the delicate loveliness of winter. Instead of taking a walk through a garden, he is wandering through deepest, darkest Africa.

The four little boys were adorable. My personal favorite was the youngest, Michael. The first time you see him, he is 'locked up' underneath the park bench the James is sitting on. He's been 'imprisoned by the evil Prince George(a.k.a. his oldest brother)'. He is a very cute character to watch, and since he plays a five-year-old, he has a wild imagination in an extreme sense of the word.

This is a wonderful story of friendship and love in the most literal sense of the word...not romance...honest to goodness friend-to-friend love, the kind that all humans should experience.

5 stars. This movie is an instant classic.