Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens: First Teaser Trailer

A long time ago, when I was but a child, The Force was present. It changed the way special effects were made, and had a huge social and cultural impact on the world. Then, not too long ago, when my children were young and impressionable, they too felt the force. Now the force has awoken and producer, director, writer, and all-around bad-ass  J.J. Abrams have released the first teaser trailer for the recently named seventh installment of George Lucas' epic mythology that captured the minds and hearts of audiences back in 1977. 

When  George Lucas wrote and directed "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope." he drew on all the archetypes basic pattern is found in many narratives from around the world called the "Hero's Journey." Episodes 4 - 6 were, in mind the best of the six. However, say what you will about the prequels, my kids love them.

There isn't an official synopsis yet, as Abrams is a pretty secretive guy. However, you can glean what you can from the trailer. 

In the trailer below, the scene fades from black to the arid desert of what we all presume to be Tatooine. A voice says, "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it?" Actor John Boyega pops up wearing a Stormtrooper's uniform sans helmet. He is looking panicked and confused. Boyega turns his back to the camera. Still in the desert, but I guess closer to 

civilization, a droid that looks like a ball with an R2-D2 like semi-spherical top comes rolling past the camera. A platoon of Stormtroopers prepares to disembark into the night. Actress Daisy Ridley mounts a box-like speeder and dashes away. Cut to an X-Wing pilot sitting in the cockpit as several X-Wings skim over a lake. A robed person, presumably a Jedi or a Sith, walks away into a dark forest. He draws his lightsaber -- it is red, but with a handle guard. The voice once again speaks, "The dark side, and the light." John Williams' classic Star Wars theme blasts as the Millenium Falcon screams through the sky banking and rolling as it comes to skim the desert floor as two TIE fighters scream by blasting away. Then the familiar logo that launched a franchise appears on the screen. 

I find the whole clip both interesting and disturbing at the same time. Interesting in that like in "Star Trek" we saw some pretty interesting places that he placed the Enterprise. Here we some X-Wings doing more within the atmosphere. We see some new speeders and droid designs. I find it disturbing in that the Empire still exists or was the Republic was never restored after "Return of the Jedi?"  Lawrence Kasdan, who contributed his writing skills to "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back" and "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" is listed along with Abrams as writers for this installment.

Overall, I am happy to return to that galaxy far, far away and a long time ago.

December 18, 2015 is a long time to wait.

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi

Year:  2015

Staring:  Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Domhnall Gleeson, Peter Mayhew, Max von Sydow, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, John Boyega, Daisy Ridley

Director: J.J. Abrams

Producer(s): J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, Kathleen Kennedy

Writer: J.J. Abrams, Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas (characters)
Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 

Release Date: 12/18/2015

Revisiting A Classic: Star Wars - 33 Years Later.

Tuesday, May 25^th, 2010 is the 33 anniversary of Star Wars: A New Hope

W hat were you doing on May 25, 1977?  I know where I was; I was getting off my paper route and rushing to the theaters to see a movie my best friend from Junior High told me about the day before.  I waited in the lobby for a few minutes, and then I walked down into the dark rows of seats.  On the screen, a cartoon was playing while I tried to find my friend.  I was wearing my news press delivery bag over my shoulders as I took my seat.  The cartoon ended, and then the Fox Pictures fanfare played, and then for a moment, silence...  An orchestral crescendo and the solid blue words appear on the screen, "A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away."  The next two hours went by in such a blur, that all I know is that I didn't move from my seat, perhaps not even a muscle as the spectacle that is now titled Star Wars: A New Hope unfolded before my eyes.  Well after all this time, I can still remember just about every line, every nuance of every character.  In the decades that followed the release of Star Wars, we have seen two sequels, and three prequels, an animated series, a universe of licensed books and merchandise.  The phenomena that are Star Wars has infected new generations of loyal fans.

The story is classic, a teenage farm boy, on the desert world of Tatooine, wanting a find a life of adventure and excitement waits for the day that he can escape from his life of boredom.  A young princess, captured by a wicked dark-lord, tortures her into revealing the base of rebels against the evil empire.  The swashbuckling pirate, who seeks to make a quick buck, ends up as a hero.  Throw in an old wizard, two Laurel and Hardy like robots for comic relief, and you have the makings of what American mythologist, Joseph Campbell would call the archetypal hero.  Starring Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia Organa, and Harrison Ford as Han Solo, George Lucas has not only reinvented the modern myth, but also reinvented how we create visual effects in films are done today.  The visual effects of the original team, led by John Dykstra, developed the techniques and systems that have now become Industrial Light and Magic, a name recognized around the world for the high quality and leading edge technology.  As a young man, I studied the works of illustrator Ralph McQuarrie and the storyboards and conceptual designs.  A technique I later put to excellent use as a designer as a project manager for the marketing departments of some of the world's leading technology companies.  What is a film director but the manager of a highly complicated project?  One of the many legacies that /Star Wars gave to us is the grand musical scores by Academy Award Winner, composer and conductor, John Williams.  From the opening theme of all the Star Wars pictures, to the haunting melodies that serve as the themes for each of the characters, Williams weaves a musical tale that almost rivals the film itself.

The many mythological comparisons that writers like Mary Henderson, in her book "Star Wars the Magic of Myth," she matches each character with each of the various archetypes from myth, legend.  Drawing chiefly from Joseph Campbell's book, "The Hero with a Thousand Faces," and giving full credit to Campbell, Henderson illustrates concepts such as when Han and Luke running around the Death Star in search of detention block AA23, where Vader is holding Leia, and comparing the scene to Theseus and the Labyrinth of the Minotaur.  Or one can compare Darth Vader as the Dragon guarding over a treasure.  Luke, like Prince Charming, finds and awakens Leia sleeping in her prison cell, like Sleeping Beauty, for example.  Another comparison to the Star Wars plot line is from Lloyd Alexander's 1964 publication of "The Book of Three.'" Lloyd Alexander's "Chronicles of Prydain" series that feature Taran, a young farm boy, orphaned at birth, raised by, and cared for by an old, wise wizard.  After chasing after the farm's prize possession out into the dark forest, an oracular pig, Taran returns to find his farm set on fire by the evil Horned King, his forever covered with a skeletal mask of a human with the antlers of a deer or elk.  Taran, in "The Book of Three," journeys to the center of the land, saves a princess along the way, finds a glowing sword of immense power, and meets archetypal and memorable characters along the way.  Some these characters may remind one of C-3PO, R2-D2, and Han Solo.  Lloyd Alexander is also the author of Disney's 1985 release, '"The Black Cauldron."

With the 33rd anniversary of what the America Film Institute ranks as the second best Science Fiction film ("2001: A Space Odyssey" is the number one) of all time, perhaps it might be time to dust of that Blu-ray, DVD or VHS and re-watch or introduce members of a newer generation to a film

Movie Data

Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Year:  1977

Staring:  Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing, Alec Guinness, Peter Mayhew, David Prowse, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker

Director: George Lucas

Producer(s): Gary Kurtz

Writer: George Lucas

Rating: PG

Running Time: 121 minutes

Release Date: 5/25/1977

Originally published on Associated Content by Robert Barbere on 5/19/2010 

Sorority Row

Sometimes you just want to see the bitches die.

In "Sorority Row" director Stewart Hendler makes no bones about following the slasher film formula. When he set out to make "Sorority Row," Hendler and writers Josh Stolberg and Pete Goldfinger throw in every slasher film cliché that could find. That said, "Sorority Row" has an adequate suspense factor, but not enough to justify the one-hour forty minutes of screen time. Starring the daughters of celebrities, Briana Evigan (Greg Evigan's daughter from B.J. and the Bear) and Rumer Willis (Bruce and Demi's daughter), this action-suspense-slasher film is good for a few laughs, and a few jumps.

A group of sorority sisters in their last year of college pulls a prank that backfires on them. Theta Pi Sorority House has your standard characters, and Princes Leia for a housemother, OK an old Princes Leia. "Sorority Row" is an "Animal House," meets "I Saw What You Did Last Summer" formula movie, each character is memorable for their faults and their lack of civility. The head of the sorority is Jessica Pierson played by 22 year old Leah Pipes, who does an excellent job of that girl you used to know at high school, you know the one, the one that turns up her nose every time you walked by. The one who always had a comment that on the surface, seemed like a compliment to you; only to realize a moment letter that she had put you down into your righteous position, a station well below her and her friends. These girls are not likable in any way. That is how Hendler wants them. Jessica's gold-digging plan for her life is marrying the son of a federal senator, and become the power behind the throne -- power is Jessica’s vice. Acting-wise Leah Pipes pulls that off, her presence, is one of maturity and of getting her way. The strongest of the girls Jessie deserves what she gets. If Jessica is the ultra-bitch then Cassidy (Briana Evigan) although a bitch, is on a different level that Jessica, perhaps the protagonist of this story, although she loves a good time, she seems to understand between right and wrong. Initially Cassidy wants to do the right thing and get help, but after the girls turn against her, she goes along with her peers. As you get to meet and each of the girls we find that, none of them has any redeeming character traits, OK perhaps one or two do. If the next character has a real name, the girls never mentions it, every one calls her Chugs (Margo Harshman), why? Take a guess? Chugs has issues with alcohol, and prescription drugs. Clair (Jamie Chung), an Asian girl whose vice is sex. Last, but not least, is Ellie (Rumer Willis), the smartest of all the girls, yet the weakest of she chooses to follow Jessie’s plan. The big surprise comes at the end when Ellie pulls a Bruce Willis ending.

In Star Trek, the expendable crew members wear red, in "Sorority Row"; the expendable characters have bad fashion sense. A couple of other characters to mention, like Megan (Audrina Patridge). She is part of the Theta-Pi prank; she becomes the victim, thus severely limiting her screen time. With a pitch to the director for some good old supernatural plot tweaking, Patridge could have gotten herself a better part and perhaps a more gripping plot arc. Be it as it may, the girls, during a sorority house party lead by Jessica play a joke on Chugs's brother, Garrett (Matt O'Leary). Garret and Megan, making out on video, suddenly goes wrong. Megan given a date rape drug starts to convulse and choke, Garret freaks, and the girls barge in and take over. The girls send Garret to get the SUV so they can take Megan to the hospital, while the girls try to revive her. Megan is not dead, just joking. However, the joke isn't over. They want to put Garret in a psycho-ward, so they continue with the charade, and they drive out to the hospital, getting lost on the way. Megan "dies." If anyone who plays their part well is Matt O'Leary, if he is a method actor, I wonder what he did to put him that over the edge state. In your 20s, you are ready to take the world and invincible, careless, fearless, and ultimately stupid. With Megan playing dead, the girls head for an abandoned mine and pull Megan out of the car. With no cell coverage, which they planned on, the girls continue tormenting poor Garret. Jessica devises the plan of cutting up Megan and disposing the body. The girls knowing it is a joke, turn their back on Megan and search for rocks and tools to cut up a body. At this point the girls, except for Jessica are ready to fess up and let Garret off the hook, Jessica overrules them and they continue looking for decapitation devices. Garret, finding the tire-iron, plunges it into Megan’s chest, she opens her eyes, chest-squirting blood, and Megan begins to scream. A couple of girls try to stop the bleeding, but it is too late, the joke long gone by now. Do they take the body and get in cell phone range? -- No. Do they want to do the right thing with their friend? -- No. The girls suddenly slip into "The Lord of Flies" mentality, and Jessica decides to go ahead with the original plan and dump the body. Cassidy is the opposing voice; Clair does what ever Jessica does; and Ellie as her character demands is indecisive, and eventually goes along. Cassidy needs more convincing than the rest of the girls. The girls dump the body while Cassidy, is looking for cell coverage to call 911. Before Megan dies, she sets her phone to record the scene.

Eight months later and graduation is upon the girls. Chugs is on anti-depressants and her parents’ instutionalize her now psycho brother, Garret-- nice sister -- huh? Chugs sees a psychiatrist that trades pills for sex. Jessica tightens her grip on Kyle, the senator's son, and Clair surprises the audience by not being pregnant yet. The night of the murder haunts Ellie, and she is always on the edge. Cassidy dwells on her decision of that night, but she lives with the choice. Cassidy is starting to move on, dating the Danny (Adam Berry), the schools Valedictorian. At an alumni luncheon, the girls get a text saying essentially, "I know what you did," not the exact words, but close enough. Megan's sister Maggie (Caroline D'Amore) shows up at the luncheon, looking a lot like Mega, causing Ellie to panic, screams, and faints during the reception. The writers and the director put a story together designed to get your attention. This is not a low-budget slasher film, in the true sense of the word; however, "Sorority Row" is just one-step above low budget. Showing enough of sorority life to make one believe it was one college wild party, just enough t and to keep the film from getting a more restrictive rating. The music works hard to create the tension and suspense that a slasher film like “ The Graves” doesn't have. Unfortunately, the work put into the music building suspense is lost on the delivery of the actual kill. The goal is to watch, as these truly horrible characters die horrible deaths via a pretty tricked out tire-iron. During this almost two-hour stab fest, "Sorority Row" reaches too far to keep the audience attention. Special honors to Carrie Fisher ("Star Wars," "Fanboys") for coming out and getting out some of her aggressions with a pump shotgun, almost made me think of her wielding a blaster in the gold bikini -- Not. The kill scenes are adequate -- no real torture and they did the blood in a politically correct way -- which for a slasher film is a bad thing. Okay, I get it, you don't want to puke in your popcorn, but this was pretty bland. Comparing this film against other horror films, I would give "Sorority Row" slightly higher marks than most however; this film is not a classic in any sense of the word. Rent the movie, watch about one and a half hours with your significant other, eat a bag of popcorn sit in front of the DVD, and have an enjoyable time.

Movie Data

Genre:  Horror, Thriller
Year:  2009
Staring: Briana Evigan, Leah Pipes, Rumer Willis
Director: Stewart Hendler
Producer(s) Darrin Holender & Mike Karz
Writer(s): Pete Goldfinger & Josh Stolberg
Rating: R
Running Time: 101 minutes
Release Date: 9/11/2011