Tag: Frank Oz

Posted in Books, Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized

MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU

Posted on by D. Parker

Some call this Intergalactic Star Wars Day, but really, isn’t that every day?

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Yet this one has an added feature, we now have a date, December 18, 2015, of the next Star Wars movie, as I’m calling it, Star Wars VII: An Old Hope.

Also, cast announcements. The latter has brought a torrent of indignation from many fans.

I think this is unfair in many ways to the new cast.

Of course any comparison can’t be helped and it’s not likely to be favourable.

Many of us grew up with the original cast and still think of Star Wars IV: A New Hope as the first SW movie.

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In 1977 Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, and Mark Hamill weren’t even known.

Carrie Fisher hadn’t said, Help me Obi Wan Kenobi you’re my only hope or aren’t you a little short for a storm trooper? stars3

Mark Hamill hadn’t inadvertently kissed his sister, stood in the iconic pose against the twin suns, lost his hand, and screamed his famous nooooo!!!

Harrison Ford had never swaggered about the Millennium Falcon, said I know to Leila’s I love you, been encased in carbonite…

Alec Guiness hadn’t uttered the now famous, That’s no moon, that’s a space station, or said Use the Force Luke or become a cool ghost.

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We had never seen or heard the rasping menace of Darth Vader or the twisted malevolence of the Emperor…no Chewie or R2 or C3PO or Jabb14th10a or Lando or Boba-Fett.

So fear not, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, and John Williams are returning.

I think we should give the new cast a chance.

Adam Driver (he’s the best part of Girls, also in J. Edgar, The Unusuals, Your Don’t Know Jack, etc.),

Oscar Isaac (Sucker Punch, W.E., Inside Llewyn Davis, etc.),

Andy Serkis (Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit, King Kong, Einstein & Eddington, Longford, The Simpsons, Avengers: Age of Ultron, etc.),

Domhall Gleeson (Harry Potter as Bill Weasley, Black Mirror, About Time, When Harvey Met Bob, etc.),

John Boyega (Attack the Block and 24: Live Another Day),

Daisy Ridley (Mr. Selfridge, Silent Witness, etc.) and

Max von Sydow who’s been in I can’t even begin to list the work he‘s done since 1949, but he was Ming The Merciless.

Keeping an open mind, I am.

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Hope for the best, you should.

Now go get your comics, watch Star Wars movies, get your nerd on, and May The 4th Be With you!

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Posted in Books, Movies, Music, Televison, Uncategorized

Labyrinth

Posted on by D. Parker

ImageI’ve never been sure if Labyrinth was meant to be a children’s film that grown-ups love, or a grown-up film that some children just might like as well.

I guess it doesn’t really matter.

Either way it’s certainly a brilliant lesson in be careful what you wish for.

Remarkable performances by David Bowie (of course) and Jennifer Connelly (a vision of things to come), but we all know, the Muppets are the real stars in this fantastic fantasy flick.

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Bowie is the perfect choice (again, of course) for Jareth, the Goblin King. Edgy, intense, mature, and smooth, he embodies a very, very adult world. Sarah (Jennifer Connelly) is drawn to him (of course) as she teeters on the brink of becoming a woman while still desperately clutching onto her childhood with a grubby fist. Jareth is the embodiment of temptation, to want, to yearn, to cling…he compels her, offering what she thinks she wants, fighting herself to take responsibility for her own actions.

In the throes of teen angst, Sarah blames everyone for her restlessness and discontent. Jareth seems the answer to all until she sees the truth (“I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave.” ~Jareth) and the consequences – losing not only her baby brother, but herself.

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Sarah‘s lesson? There are so many to choose from, but the most important? That accepting who she was, is, and will be has its own rewards…instead of running from the future, she must embrace it and the present. The past will take care of itself, it always does.

OK, this definitely isn’t a new story, but this was beyond well-told, all the same.

And it has Bowie. And Bowie singing. Sigh.

 Sarah: That’s not fair!
Jareth: You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is?

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Magical…magically so.

Posted in Christmas, Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL

Posted on by D. Parker

christmas158There have been so many versions of A Christmas Carol over the years, but none make me smile the way The Muppet Christmas Carol does.

They’ve adapted this (added a Marley bro so they could use Statler and Waldorf),christmas160and made it a little more child-friendly that the original to give us a heart-warming, joyful gift that keeps giving. And we can’t get enough of this redemption ghost story, can we?

Kermit is the perfect Bob Cratchit and Michael Caine is the quintessential Scrooge.
I can’t say how many times I’ve watched this, but it’s still fun.

Tell me you can get this out of your head:

Still love The Muppets. Think I may have to go watch it…er, again.

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Posted in Movies, Televison, Uncategorized

What About Bob?

Posted on by D. Parker

whatab1I think What About Bob? is one of the funniest movies ever made.

Never ceases to crack me up.

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“I feel good. I feel great. I feel wonderful.”~Bill Wiley

Bill Murray is delightful as the multi-phobic, charming psychiatric patient, Bob Wiley, and Richard Dreyfuss is fantastic as Dr. Leo Marvin whose inflated ego makes him a bad doctor, father, and husband.

Bob follows Dr. Marvin on vacation and it becomes the ultimate anti-buddy film.

I just need to think the words, Baby Steps or Death Therapy or even see a goldfish and I get an internal chuckle.

The greatest lessons of this movie? Everyone has something to offer and lighten up, have some fun.

I will warn you, prepare yourself for sore ribs from laughing.