Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of The Sith (2005) - #224

Empire top 301: #224
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 6/10

Director: George Lucas

Writers: George Lucas

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Christopher Lee, Samuel L. Jackson, James Earl Jones & Frank Oz

"Once more, the Sith will rule the galaxy! And... we shall have peace."

The Jedi Knights are spread out across the galaxy leading a massive clone army in the war against the Separatists. The Jedi Council dispatches Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi to eliminate the evil General Grievous, leader of the Separatist Army. Meanwhile, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, separated from Kenobi, his former master, grows close to Palpatine, the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic and, unknown to the Jedi, a Sith Lord. Their deepening friendship proves dangerous for the Jedi Order, the Republic, and Anakin himself who inevitably succumbs to the dark side of the Force and becomes Darth Vader, changing the fate of the galaxy forever.

Set three years after the dreadful Attack of The Clones, George Lucas continues to destroy the legacy of Star Wars. Before Episodes 1 - 3 where made I dreamed of Lucas making the prequels and episodes 7 - 9 and finishing his story. Now, having seen Episodes 1 - 3 I wish he hadn't of bothered. Episode 2 didn't make the top 500 and I'm not surprised because it really is the worst of the Star Wars films. Revenge of The Sith is a step up from the previous two but it's still pretty bad. 

Lucas continues to write possibly the worst dialogue ever, perhaps he should have hired Carrie Fisher as a script doctor. Chances are she'd have shredded the script completely and told him to start again! That would have been the best thing to do. Again, more focus is given to the special effects and costumes and again the film suffers for it. Did they film any of the picture on location or on an actual set? To me it just all looks CGI with only the actors and the odd chair here and there as real things! The first films still look amazing today as they where filmed on real sets, real locations and the characters where made using great puppets and make up! The space ships were filmed using miniatures, however they looked real and huge! It was clever filmmaking. The worlds and characters here just look silly and cartoonish. 

With this film Lucas had the opportunity to tell an amazing story about the birth of one of cinema's greatest villains, instead he chooses to show Vader as a sulking brat who wants to save his one true love but the Jedi won't let him...boo hoo! He writes the evil dark lord as a pre-hormonal teenager! Then he defies belief by having Padme pop her clogs immediately after giving birth to Luke and Leia - whom she manages to name - because as the ridiculous medical droid puts it "she has lost the will to live". WHAT?? The silly cow has just had two kids, but she can't be bothered to live anymore because her husband has gone over to the dark side! How on earth would sulky Anakin and weak Padme ever create two children as brave and awesome as Luke and Leia? Lucas should hang his head in shame! 

This silliness also ruins the scene in Return of The Jedi where Leia tells Luke she remembers images and feelings of her real mother and how sad she was, erm how is this possible when Padme died on the operating table immediately after giving birth to her! Did Lucas not see Return of The Jedi? Also, at what point does Anakin give Obi-Wan a lightsaber to give to his son when he is old enough to have it. Anakin didn't even tell Obi-Wan that Padme was pregnant with his child. This is just simple stuff that should have been addressed properly! 

As with the previous two movies there are some rather cool moments that save it from being a complete dud, like the final scene of Vader and the Emperor overlooking the creation of the Death Star from the battleship with a young Grand Moff Tarkin. The birth of Vader is really cool; that moment when the helmet goes on and the music fades, then that sound of Darth Vader's respirator....chills. Unfortunately, this is then ruined by that awful "NOOOOOOOOO" moment. Why Lucas, just why?

There's a really cool easter egg of the Millennium Falcon docking at a landing bay in Naboo. Yoda kicks ass and seeing him fight with a lightsaber is always great to watch. There is a great scene - which was criminally cut from the final film - of Yoda arriving on the Dagobah system. It's a great nod to the original trilogy and should have made the cut! (See below). 

Hayden Christensen continues were Jake Lloyd left off and delivers an equally annoying and awful performance, so at least there's consistency here! Natalie Portman, again is pretty shocking and at times I don't even think she is taking it seriously, it's like "she has lost the will to act". Ewan does as best he can with terrible lines like "It's over Anakin, I have the high ground"...that reminds me, didn't Darth Maul have the high ground in The Phantom Menace, but Obi-Wan managed to off him pretty easily. Samuel L. Jackson floats from bad to good to bad again throughout the movie and Ian McDiarmid manages to turn Palpatine into a pantomime villain. It's Razzie's all round as far as I'm concerned. R2-D2 provides the acting chops here. 

However, despite my slagging off of the movie it's much better than Episodes 1 & 2 and does provide some entertainment. I think my anger of the prequels stems from my love of the originals and how I believe these movies could have been so much better. If J.J Abrams wants to know how to make episodes 7 - 9 great he needs to watch the prequels and do the exact opposite of what he sees on screen. They're already on the right path by not letting Lucas write it!! 

When Harry Met Sally (1989) - #151

Empire top 301: #151
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 6/10

Director: Rob Reiner
Writers: Nora Ephron
Starring: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher & Bruno Kirby

"You see? That is just like you, Harry. You say things like that, and you make it impossible for me to hate you."

In 1977, Harry Burns (Crystal) and Sally Albright (Ryan) finish school at the University of Chicago and share the drive to New York City, along the way they discuss issue of "can men and women ever just be friends". The two disagree and don't exactly hit it off, but over the years after a few chance encounters they become friends, but is love just around the corner? 

This is the first time I've ever seen When Harry Met Sally, however I was aware of the film and it's most infamous scene, more on that later. Firstly, the screenplay by the late, great Nora Ephron is great. Really likeable characters with some funny dialogue. Whilst Nora writes Harry really well, she excels with Sally. Such an interesting, annoying, neurotic, adorable, loveable character and played so brilliantly by Meg Ryan, who wouldn't fall in love with Sally. 

After researching the movie, I noted that Director Rob Reiner directed two of my favourite movies; Misery and The Princess Bride. The direction here is pretty good and he has created some great and memorable scenes. The wardrobe is very "bad 80's", I mean Marie's wedding dress, really? Just awful...but I'm pretty sure bang on trend when the film was made/released. Loved the music, Harry Connick Jr's voice is gorgeous and it really suits the tone of the film. 

The chemistry between Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal is great and I love the idea that Sally would fall for someone like Harry. An uptight, kinda OCD, girl who you would expect to be looking for a 6ft handsome prince falls for a short, can be annoying guy who she never agrees with. Is this where Sex and the City got their Charlotte and Harry storyline from? 

Meg Ryan steals the movie, even from Princess Leia herself!! But that's ok, she really is great and even though I've seen the clip on thousands of shows before I still laughed out loud at the "fake orgasm in the cafe" scene, it's played wonderfully. I can imagine it took quite a few goes to get that take. Billy, the crew and the extras must have been wetting themselves laughing. Carrie Fisher I could watch all day, I imagine I'd be transfixed watching her do the laundry I love her!! 

Now I did enjoy the film, but it just didn't blow me away, to me it was a bit run of the mill. Maybe because I've seen thousands of rom-coms; rom-coms that probably pinched ideas from this movie but nevertheless I wasn't thinking, "can't wait to watch that again". It was an enjoyable 1 hour 30 minutes spent but definitely not worthy as number 90 on the top 500 movies ever made. At least not for me! 

Grease (1978) - #192

Empire top 301: #192
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 9/10

Director: Randal Kleiser
Writers: Bronte Woodard, Jim Jacobs, Warren Casey & Allan Carr
Starring: John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing & Jeff Conaway

"Why, this car could be systematic, / hydromatic, ultramatic / Why, it could be greased lightning"

Grease is the story of good girl Sandy Olsson and local bad boy Danny Zucko, who meet on the beach during the summer of 1959 and fall in love. With the summer over and Sandy going back to Australia, she fears she will never see Danny again. After her parents change their mind about going back to Australia, Sandy joins Rydell High School and is met by an all together different Danny Zucko than the one she met on the beach. Teaming up with the Pink Ladies Sandy tries to rekindle her love with the leader of the T-Birds. 

Grease is one of my favourite movies, I was brought up watching this movie; and even though I've seen it thousands of times whenever it's on the television I still stop and watch. Grease has in my opinion some of the best and memorable musical numbers, ever! From "Summer Nights" to "You're The One That I Want" the film is chock full of great songs. Everybody at one point in their life has been at a party/disco where a song from Grease has been played, even today some 35 years after the film was released. Grease is also one of those movies that people can quote word for word, if you say a line from the movie, people will know exactly what film it's from and who said it. 

Sometimes in musicals when the actors/characters burst into song, it can feel a little forced and cringey but in Grease it works. The transitions from spoken performance into song are flawless and every song works, there are so many musicals where songs feel like they've been shoe-horned in. And whilst the songs are narrative and explain the characters current emotions, they never feel like it's just dialogue put to a bit of music, they're fully rounded excellent songs. The musical numbers and choreography are great, never more so than in "Grease Lightning" and "We Go Together" routines. 

The cast of Grease are great. John Travolta and Olivia-Newton John are both at their sexiest in this movie and they have great vocals. Olivia doing her best work on "Hopelessly Devoted to You" whilst John Travolta shines with "Sandy". John Travolta again proving he is an excellent dancer during his dance segment at the School Dance to "Hand Jive". My favourite performance and character comes from Stockard Channing. I love Rizzo, always have, and whilst none of the other performances are very layered I feel Stockard really breathes life into the character of Rizzo. Her 2 performance numbers are my absolute favourite, especially "There Are Worse Thing I Could Do", I can hear the pain in her voice!

I've never met anyone yet who hasn't seen Grease, but if you're one of the few who haven't, what are you waiting for! It's a classic!! 

The Lives Of Others (2006) - #199

Empire top 301: #199
IMDb top 250: #54

Rating: 8/10

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Writers: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Starring: Ulrich Mühe, Sebastian Koch, Martina Gedeck, Ulrich Tukur & Thomas Thieme

"We are the Shield and Sword of the Party"

Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler (Mühe) is a master interrogator, assigned an operation to spy on playwright  Georg Dreyman (Kock) who lives with his actress partner Christa-Maria Sieland Gedeck), as they are believed to be potential enemies of the GDR regime. The film is set in 1984 focusing on the activities of the Stasi, the German Democratic Republic secret police who are blacklisting artists who go "too far" against the socialist regime in their work. Whilst Georg is visiting his blacklisted friend Jerska, a theatrical director, Wiesler and his team bug his apartment and using an abandoned space on the top floor of the apartment block Wiesler, who lives for his job and the Republic, spends several months listening to his subjects and begins to open his mind to a new way of thinking and changes his views on his known way of life. 

I really didn't know what to expect with this film. I must admit I'm not all that familiar with the GDR and the Stasi operations and I had to pause the movie half way through to go on my iPad and do some research. I thought the movie was going to be an all out thriller in the vein of Baader Meinhof Complex, which I loved, but it was a bit slower paced and more intimate focusing more on a smaller operation against the backdrop of politics and art. The movie is beautifully filmed and von Donnersmarck allows the camera to take in so much to give the viewer more insight into the characters. I particularly love the scene where the camera stops on Wielser showing his turning point in the movie, where that tear falls down his face as Dreyman plays Beethoven's "Appassionata". 

The two male leads in the movie Wiesler and Dreyman are played exceptionally by Ulrich Mühe & Sebastian Kock. The two men couldn't be anymore different, Dreyman is charming and has a bohemian, well read feel to him, whilst Wiesler is staid and grey and by the book. Their differences can be seen in their lives too, from the look of their apartments to the type of company they keep. Mühe is particularly good and goes through every type of emotion beautifully. 

Martina Gedeck's performance as Christa-Maria is equally as impressive as the lead actors, however I was so distracted every time she was topless; she was having to strategically move her arms to cover her nipples. Ulrich Tukur & Thomas Thieme make for excellent villains who are eager for power. The film has some incredibly tense moments and you will be upright during these moments, von Donnersmarck executes these scenes really well. There are plenty of twists and even a few "I never saw that coming" moments too. The movie has a lot of dialogue and therefore a lot of subtitles and the dialogue is important so if you don't speak or understand German you will need to have your brain switched on. This is a superb directorial debut from von Donnersmarck. 

Almost Famous (2000) - #97

Empire top 301: #97
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 9/10

Director: Cameron Crowe
Writers: Cameron Crowe
Starring: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Anna Paquin, Kate Hudson, Patrick Fugit, Jason Lee & Philip Seymour Hoffman

"And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were... I'm on drugs!"

William Miller (Fugit) is a 15 year old aspiring music journalist, who has a rebellious sister who gets him into rock music and a strict conservative mother who thinks rock music is the root of all evil which leads to drugs and promiscuous sex.  After writing a few well received articles William is contacted by the editor of Rolling Stone magazine to write a piece on up and coming band Stillwater, to travel on the road with them and get a story worthy of the front page. Whilst on tour with the band William gets to know head Band Aid (Groupie) Penny Lane (Hudson) and he falls in love with her. 

I have a huge love for music, not just the singers or groups but the songs, the sounds and the lyrics and this is what I get from this movie. Crowe has a love for the MUSIC. The film is a semi-autobiographical look at Crowe's younger years when he travelled with bands like The Who whilst writing for Rolling Stone magazine. Whilst I wasn't born in the 70's from the various documentaries I've seen and books I've read, to me, Crowe has got the feeling, look and sound of the 70's down. The soundtrack is awesome and has my favourite Elton John song "Tiny Dancer" slap bang in the middle of the movie during a great scene, but in every scene there is some amazing song playing in the background. 

The Oscar winning script is superb, it's funny and moving and joyous and sad. Most of the best lines belong to Frances McDormand's overbearing mother Elaine but everybody gets their time to shine with some great dialogue. Frances McDormand does kind of steal the show; her Oscar nominated performance is hilarious and very relatable to anybody who has parent(s) that won't just let them be who THEY want to be. This is not the case for me, but I have friends who have parents like this! 

Billy Crudup and Jason Lee, the central guys in the Stillwater band are both excellent and have some great scenes together, especially the turbulent flight scene which has an hilarious ending. Kate Hudson brings depth to what could have been a really floaty and limiting role, whilst Penny is mostly carefree Hudson brings a lot of vulnerability to it with her emotive eyes and facial expressions; she really does a beautiful job. I adore Fairuza Balk as Sapphire, she really gets that carefree, fun loving character. 

I haven't seen the movie in a while and it was fun to see how many people are in it who are now big stars; Anna Paquin, Jay Baruchel, Jimmy Fallon and Eric Stonestreet to name a few. Almost Famous is a great coming of age story written by someone who really gets music and how it can make you feel and the soundtrack really is AMAZING. 

Rushmore (1998) - #211

Empire top 301: #211
IMDb top 250: -

Rating 7/10

Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson & Owen Wilson
Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Luke Wilson, Seymour Cassel & Brian Cox

"War does funny things to men."

Max Fischer (Schwartzman) attends Rushmore school, a school he has always wanted to be a part of. He is both Rushmore's most extracurricular and least scholarly student, with his grades slipping due to extracurricular activities Rushmore's Headmaster informs Max that if his grades don't improve he will be expelled. Herman Blume (Murray) is a millionaire industrialist with two children he doesn't like and a wife who has no interest in him. Herman admires Max and the two become friends. Both Max and Herman fall in love with the first grade teacher at Rushmore, recently widowed Rosemary Cross (Williams) and the two fall out trying to win her heart. After Max tries to build an aquarium on the baseball diamond at Rushmore he is expelled and has to attend a public school.

I was really not expecting to enjoy this movie, I've always thought it was going to be one of those 'you have to be in on the joke, to get it' kind of movies. How wrong was I. Rushmore is really really funny. Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson and written some hilarious dialogue; the script is excellent. I particularly liked Magnus's (the scottish kid) dialogue and his put downs of Max were LOL funny. 

Jason Schwartzman is so funny, he delivers all of his lines in a complete deadpan way and this just makes the dialogue even funnier. The character of Max is completely inappropriate but hilarious - "we both have dead people in our families". Not so much now, but in this movie Jason could pass for a young Tom Cruise. Bill Murray is good, but it's a performance I've seen him give countless times before, he's a dab hand at the weathered kind of miserable man and could do it in his sleep. 

Luke Wilson has a short role as Rosemary's friend Pete and he's involved in the extremely funny dinner scene which has some great lines in it. Olivia Williams does widow well, see a well known M. Night Shyamalan film for further details. 

I definitely think this is one of those marmite type films that people will think is hilarious and really love or won't get it and think it's awful. I enjoyed it and it kept me entertained for it's 1hr33min running time, I thought the soundtrack was pretty cool too and I actually loved the stage sets for Max's plays; only wish my school plays had have been like that, people might have actually went to see them.  

United 93 (2006) - #DidntMakeTheListButShouldHave

Empire top 301: -

IMDb top 250: -

Rating 10/10

Director: Paul Greengrass

Writers: Paul Greengrass

Starring: Cheyenne Jackson, Corey Johnson & David Alan Basche

"This is a suicide mission. We have to do something. They are not gonna land this plane." 

United 93 is the story of the fourth plane hijacked on September 11th 2001 during the terrorist attacks against America. United 93 was the only plane hijacked on the day that did not reach it's target. The movie tells from the moment United 93 takes off right through to it's conclusion and also about the other hijacked planes.   

United 93 was one of the films on the list that I was most excited about watching, I'd been threatening to watch it for years and have heard great things but I always put it off. Perhaps it was the subject matter and the fact I knew it was going to be difficult to watch. I am so glad I've finally watched it now, to say I loved it would be an understatement. This movie is superb!!! Paul Greengrass is a master at building up tension and suspense and my heart was pounding throughout and I actually was on the edge of my seat. 

I found myself shocked, sad, terrified, baying for blood during the last forty minutes and ultimately spent when the film finished. It drained me but I loved every minute of it. The events of 9/11 are so shocking and awful it still has the power to sadden me, whenever I see something 9/11 related it takes me back to the day when I saw it happen on the television, it was shocking then, it's still shocking now. 

The acting is exceptional, from everyone! The film is quick paced and frantic and every actor does an outstanding job. During the control room scenes it's hard to believe they're actually actors, they're so good and convincing. The way the movie is filmed also makes it feel very realistic and this really heightens your emotions. The scenes were the passengers phone their loved ones broke me and a few tears were shed, the fact this actually happened only made it worse, it must've have been truly awful. The movie is unflinching and hard to watch but it should be watched, by everyone! 

I cannot recommend this film enough it is outstanding!!! How it never made the top 301 I'll never know!!