Monthly Archives: May 1999

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace

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Star Wars Episode I:  The Phantom Menace

Written and Directed by George Lucas

Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Jake Lloyd, Natalie Portman, Ahmed Best, Ray Parks, and Ian McDiarmand

The most anticipated movie of all time, and I was third in line for tickets! This was like the grad party for all of my college friends, as we all got together 3 days after grad to go see this. Not only was it a film, it was a communal experience. Third in line for tickets, second for seats. Just getting to the theater was a blast!

Since there are like three people on Earth who haven’t seen it, I will try to keep this spoiler-free. Obi-Wan Kenobi and his mentor Qui-Gon Jinn (McGregor and Neeson) are sent to settle a dispute when the Trade Federation invades the peaceful planet of Naboo. Before long, all hell breaks loose, and our intrepid Jedis meet up with Gungan outcast Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best). Soon, they escape from the planet with its ruler, Queen Amidala (Portman), but they are forced to set down and make repairs on the planet of Tatooine. Here, they meet a child with whom the Force is stong, young Anakin Skywalker (Lloyd). After rescuing the child from bondage, they continue on their way to free Naboo. But, they are pursued by the true evil of the Trade Federation, a Sith Lord by the name of Darth Maul (Parks).

In my mind, there are 2 kinds of Star Wars fans: those who like the Ewoks, and those who didn’t. If you liked the Ewoks, then you will be more receptive to Jar Jar, and thus the film as a whole. I liked the Ewoks. I LOVED Jar Jar! He was just so silly! I think deep down inside, we are all a little Jar Jar. But enough about JJ! Coming back from a 22 year break from making films, George Lucas shows he’s still got it. McGregor pulled off a great young Obi-Wan, and Neeson was a wonderful mentor. Why couldn’t I have had more professors like that? The lightsabre battles were beyond belief! And who doesn’t love Natalie Portman? There are just so many good things about this film, I can’t say them all. Just go see it for yourself! Me, I hope to be seeing it again soon.

5 Nibs

Movie Reviews

Movie Review – The Mummy

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The Mummy

Directed by Stephen Sommers

Starring Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, and Arnold Vosloo

This is the last movie I see before Episode I, and the first movie of my summer vacation. I hooked up with a group of friends in the big city to see this, and it’s a great way to kick off the summer.

The plot is fairly simple: a brother and sister team of Egyptologists want to travel to the middle of the desert to seek the City of the Dead. The sister wants to do it as an archeological find, but the brother comes along because the place is a huge treasure trove. To guide them, they enlist a Foreign Legion officer, (Fraser), and the only man ever to return alive from the place. When there, they unwittingly release the mummy Imhotep, who seeks to first re-generate his body, and then resuurect his beloved from the dead.

This film, depsite how it’s being billed, is not that much of a horror movie. It is more of an action/adventure, with plenty of doses of humor thrown in for good measure. Fraser makes a good leading-man and Indiana Jones wannabe, and Weisz is OK as the woman who starts the whole adventure. And the climax, with all the warrior mummies is truly cool! My only complaint: too many flesh-eating beetles. Oh, and the effects were fantastic! (This is the last film ILM worked on before starting work on Episode I.)

3 Nibs