Potential in the Prequels: Appreciating the Hated Star Wars Episodes I-III

In the Star Wars fandom, there are not many who like Episodes I, II, and III as much as the older trilogy and even the new Force Awakens. I find that there are two main reasons for why this is so: 1) The expectations were high and 2) They were poorly done, from the writing to the acting to the overdone CGI. And honestly I don’t know anyone who thinks Jar Jar is funny. Fortunately, however, what makes a “good movie” doesn’t require only good acting, script, and effects. The characters, the plot points, the storytelling are also what makes a movie enjoyable. This goes for the Star Wars prequels; the story quality completely overrides the filming quality in these three films. For reasons I personally can’t understand, the Prequels did the fanbase a lot of damage and nearly gave Star Wars a bad name.

“But,” some of you may say,  “The Prequels ruined the feel for the original three. They’re so different from the movies we grew up with. We love Star Wars because of Darth Vader, Luke, the Millennium Falcon, the Rebel Alliance. We love Star Wars because of the evil Empire, the lightsabers, Han Solo and Chewie, the soundtrack. We love Star Wars because of Star Wars.“ And that’s true. But if you haven’t yet noticed, the title says “Appreciating The Hated Star Wars Episodes I-III.”

Movie Review – Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

***WARNING*** SPOILERS!!! (SARCASM MAY OR NOT BE DETECTED.) READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I hope you aren’t sick of Star Wars Yet, because there’s more coming! (Is there any such thing as being “sick of Star Wars” anyway?) Unfortunately, this post has spoilers, but the high box office records tell me that I shouldn’t worry too much about that at this point.

Music Inspiration for Writing Epic Scenes: Film Scores and Other Orchestral Artists

The film score is a very important part of movies today. This is partly because of their ability to convey certain emotions in different scenes. If it’s an action scene, you’re going to hear a lot of suspenseful, high strung music. If it’s a romance scene, the music is going to be sweet and most likely relaxing. Music alone can make you want to cry, laugh, dance, wonder, be horrified, sit on the edge of our seats, or (like me) wave your arms around and call it “conducting.” With no music, particular movie scenes would come across as less meaningful; something is missing.

Michael’s Movie Mentions: A John Williams and Hans Zimmer Comparison

Quick, try to think, out of all the film composers who exist in the whole world today, which one is the ‘best’, and most well-known. Probably eight out of ten of most people would think: Hans Zimmer. If you did, it was a good guess. If the names of all the film composers who still compose today were to be assembled, two impressive figures would stand out as most prominent: John Williams and Hans Zimmer. Really, it is hard to select only one of the two when it comes to the matter of who is the ‘best’ or ‘most well-known’. John Williams and Hans Zimmer are very different; they are famous for different reasons, and also prominent for different reasons. A comparison is certainly needed here…and though an argument could be made for ‘John Williams over Hans Zimmer’ on a list from greatest to least, all I will do here is compare the two:

“To the Opera!” – A Hans Zimmer/Mozart Mash-Up Score

Finally, a post on a film score. Haven’t done too much music discussions, so I decided to do one now, on one of my favorite film scores: “To the Opera!” By Hans Zimmer from Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows.

I love many different varieties and genres of music, from heavy metal instrumentals to classical, from indie pop to Celtic lullabies. Two of my main favorite genres are classical and film scores, so what’s better than a classical/Hans Zimmer mash-up, such as this particular film score?

Film Scores: John Williams Composing for Star Wars Episode VII

That’s right, folks! Set to be released on December 18, 2015 (come on, December!), Star Wars Episode VII will not only have Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford acting, but also John Williams composing, with, of course, the London Symphony Orchestra (the best I know of). After all, Star Wars sure wouldn’t be Star Wars without Williams putting the emotion into the film, and I’m positive that there are quite a few people who would agree with me heartily on that. For me, I like Star Wars partly because of the composer and music.