Tag Archives: Star Wars

Aug 18 2014

Top Ten Space Adventure Films

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Ever since the very first Star Wars film made its debut, sci-fi cinema has seen its fair share of space adventure or space opera films. Boasting brash heroes, larger-than-life villains, cool spaceships, exotic worlds, strange aliens and grand adventures, these films tried to recapture the magic of Star Wars. Admittedly, many of these were just poorly executed Star Wars knockoffs. But there are many gems that were nifty, exciting and had a lot of heart or were just so goofy that they’re fun to watch.

10. Battle Beyond The Stars: Despite its bargain-basement production values and other flaws, this film is arguably the best of the early grade-z Star Wars ripoffs. The script (by John Sayles) is an battle beyondouter space reworking of Seven Samurai with young Shad (Richard Thomas) setting out in a sentient ship (with a front shaped like a woman’s breasts!) to search for mercenaries to defend the peaceful planet Akir. The film features special effects done by James Cameron (yes, that James Cameron) and a score by James Horner that predates his work on Star Trek II.

9. Flash Gordon: This attempt to cash in on the Star Wars craze by dusting off the famous Alex Raymond comic strip character is a campy delight. Football player Flash Gordon (Sam J. Jones) is hijacked to the planet Mongo and has to stop the planet’s ruler Ming the Merciless (Max Von Sydow) from destroying the Earth. The film doesn’t take itself seriously and it shouldn’t since its ladled with gaudy sets and costumes, cheesy special effects and a script with lines like “No! Not the bore worms!” Still, Flash Gordon is a great guilty pleasure to watch.

flash gordon and vultan

8. The Fifth Element: Bruce Willis is your not-so-average Brooklyn taxicab driver in the 23rd century who is burdened with the responsibility to protect a beautiful but kooky damsel (Milla Jovovich) that is fated to save the Earth. The Fifth Element like so many of these films has a silly but infectious quality while being a thrilling joy ride chock full of weird aliens and a scene-stealing, out-of-left-field comedic performance by Chris Tucker. He plays a flamboyant talk show host that gets caught up in the pyrotechnic mayhem and his screaming adds to the laughs!

titan27. Titan A.E.: There are many animated space adventure films, but Titan A.E. is the best of them. This Don Bluth animated film takes place fifteen years after Earth was destroyed by aliens in the 31st century and humanity now lives as ragtag refugees in space. Salvager Cale Tucker (voiced by Matt Damon) sets out on a quest with his friends to find the Titan, a humongous starship that holds the key to humanity’s survival. Titan A.E. is energetic and awe-inspiring with eye-catching galactic visuals, which is why it’s an underrated animated classic.

6. The Last Starfighter: Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) is your typical teenager looking for some excitement in his life. He gets it when he is unexpectedly whisked to the planet Rylos to join its Star League and defend it from enemy aliens. At the time of its release, one of The Last Starfighter’s selling points was its then-revolutionary CGI effects, which are woefully dated. It resonates to this day because of its heartfelt performances, sincere execution, and a central theme about a nobody filled with wanderlust who makes a difference.

5. Serenity: Joss Whedon’s directorial debut is a sequel to his cult TV show Firefly. Serenity reunites that show’s serenity moviecast and continues the adventures of quick-witted space cowboy Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his quirky crew onboard the space freighter Serenity as they stay one step ahead of the law in the ‘verse, the hated Alliance. The film carries on with the same endearing traits from the show such as witty banter, appealing characters with nuanced histories, and a believable and detailed ‘verse filled with high-tech and backwards colony worlds.

4. Avatar: Filmmaker James Cameron’s labor of love is a visually stunning and grand space epic with an imaginative and well-conceived Avataralien world populated with exotic aliens, flora and fauna. The planet Pandora looks like what it’s supposed to be: an alien world. This impression is sold thanks to its floating mountains, giant six-legged creatures and translucent forests. The story updates the standard sci-fi pulp adventure and follows Jake Scully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic who integrates himself with the planet’s Na’vi population via an artificially grown Na’vi body. Over time, he becomes their greatest protector and the stuff of legendary sci-fi space heroes.

3. John Carter: It’s too bad Disney dropped the ball in promoting this terrific adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter books. Taylor Kitsch plays the title john carter 2character who is a Civil War veteran that is transported to Mars (or Barsoom as the natives call it) and gets entangled in a grand adventure to save a beautiful princess (Lynn Collins) from a rival kingdom. John Carter was the quintessential space adventure film with haunting and wild alien locales, thrilling scenes, great special effects and a dashing hero. It captured the swashbuckling tone of Burroughs’ works perfectly, and although it died in the box office, it deservedly has its legions of fans.

guardians of G2. Guardians Of The Galaxy: Marvel Studios’ entry into the space adventure sub-genre is an exciting and fun-filled romp with very endearing heroes that captured our hearts. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) a.k.a. Star-Lord, the legendary outlaw (in his mind at least), teams up with a group of misfit alien thugs and killers to prevent an evil alien from using a power-enhancing stone to destroy the peaceful planet Xandar. Guardians Of The Galaxy perfectly balances drama, action and humor while displaying lovingly detailed out-of-this-world places from the pristine and futuristic Xandar to the seedy and raucous criminal outpost Knowhere. But most of all, the film has a sense of wonder and pulp-inspired fun.

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1. Star Wars films: Starting from the very first film (Episode IV: A New Hope or just plain Star Wars) in 1977 and continuing with the new installments coming our way, the Star Wars films are the epitome of space adventure/space opera epics. Even the flawed entries like Episode I: The Phantom Menace presented audiences with richly detailed and imaginative worlds and characters. star wars 3 shipsCapturing and enhancing the excitement from early sci-fi movie serials, they’re a tribute to those blustering sci-fi pulp adventures on film and print. More importantly, the Star Wars film changed the sci-fi film landscape forever thanks to eye-popping special effects, fast-moving, cliffhanger-laced stories and most of all, unforgettable characters like the Skywalker family, Han Solo, Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Lewis T. Grove

Jul 27 2014

Comic – Con 2014 Highlights & Observations

max avengers ultron poster 

This year’s Comic-Con didn’t have any big, surprise revelations that brought down the convention halls, like last year’s announcement of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Nonetheless, there were many scintillating news that came out of the convention that made many drool and envious that they weren’t there to witness the announcements…or see the exclusive trailers and footage.

Dawn Of The Justice League

It’s funny how pumped up people are for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and it’s not coming out next year! Warner Bros. and DC Comics may want to reconsider their release schedule of May 2016 and put this film out sooner. While next summer and December are already covered by guaranteed blockbusters, there are plenty of other months where Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice will completely dominate the box office like Captain America: The Winter Soldier did this past April.

bat fight

What brings out this feeling with us here at Starloggers is that based on the fact that there is footage out about the movie, it seems as if it’s close to being complete. Those shots of Batman on the rainy rooftop decked out in full armor and a visibly angry Superman up in the sky facing him were just electrifying. Apparently, director Zack Snyder took the essence of Frank Miller’s classic The Dark Knight Returns and translated it to screen. As a bonus, the reveal of Gal Gadot in her Wonder Woman outfit was just a perfect bonus; an Amazonian warrior brought to life!

Avengers: Age Of Ultron & The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Unlike Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, there hasn’t been any photos or footage leaked over next summer’s eagerly awaited sequel to The Avengers. The same went for Ant-Man. Reportedly, the crowd predictably went bonkers over the exclusive footage shown for Avengers: Age of Ultron. In the clips shown, the attendees saw Iron Man’s Hulkbuster armor, footage of the heroes fighting Ultron and a haunting image of Captain America’s broken shield.

broke shield

What helped whet the appetites for fans around the Internet and at Comic-Con were the beautiful posters showcasing each individual Avenger fighting Ultron and his android army. The full poster that has all of them put together is sure to be a sought-after item.

The news that actor Patrick Wilson dropped out of Ant-Man may have reminded some of the behind-the-scenes production headaches plaguing this film. Still, the production is pushing on with their promotion and hopefully Marvel Studios will have another winner in their hands.

The film studio is so confident about Guardians of the Galaxy, that they announced that the film’s director James Gunn will return to direct the sequel, which has a firm release date in July 2017.

The Absentees

While Marvel Studios confidently showcased their upcoming films, it was noticeable that Twentieth Century Fox didn’t have anything to show for next summer’s Fantastic Four reboot. It’s obvious that the studio and the production team behind the much-maligned reboot is feeling sensitive and protective over the film in response to the negative feedback from many fans. No matter how you look at the situation, it doesn’t bode well for the film. But it may wind up winning over fans in the end.

There were other films being released next year that weren’t represented as well. The biggest one was Star Wars Episode VII, which if something was shown might’ve eclipsed the Marvel and DC presentations. Also MIA was Brad Bird’s highly anticipated and mysterious Tomorrowland . Not seeing anything from Star Wars wasn’t a surprise since the film is still early in production, but it’s a missed opportunity for Tomorrowland because there is a lot of curiosity over the film. But Star Wars fans didn’t walk away empty handed: the full-length trailer for the animated TV series Star Wars Rebels made its debut at Comic-Con and it looks terrific.

Other News

Despite the lack of big, headline-making announcements, there were some that had merit. Take for example the news that Legendary Pictures plans to release a prequel to King Kong that takes place on the mighty ape’s homeland, the dinosaur-packed Skull Island. Then there was the pleasant surprise for fans of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine when it was announced that Alexander Siddig (Doctor Bashir) is joining the cast of Game of Thrones. Also noteworthy were the news that the Batman villain Ra’s al Ghul will be a major nemesis for the next season of Arrow and Bobbi Morse a.k.a. Mockingbird will be part of the returning Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Of the many trailers for movies and TV shows, one that caught everyone’s attention was that of next year’s Mad Max: Fury Road. From looking at the footage, it seems clear that director George Miller has returned to the high-octane roots of the Mad Max franchise. It’s a welcome thought since that futuristic anti-hero has been absent from the screens for too long.

That wraps up what we thought of Comic-Con 2014. We already cannot wait for next year’s convention. BTW, check our Background Noise and Facebook pages for any links (once we find them) to leaked footage or photos themselves of Avengers: Age of Ultron and any other highly anticipated film.

Apr 29 2014

Star Wars Episode VII Cast Announced

Well so much for waiting for May 4th to make the announcement. After months of speculation from fans and the press, Lucasfilm has just announced the cast for the upcoming Star Wars Episode VII.

As expected many of the actors from SWcastthe original Star Wars trilogy will reprise their iconic roles including Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia (will she be a queen by this time?). Also returning are Peter Mayhew as Chewbacca, and Anthony Daniels and Kenny Baker as the droids C-3P0 and R2-D2. At this point, Billy Dee Williams has not been announced as returning to play Lando Calrissian.

new castNow for the new actors, there hasn’t been any official announcement as to who will play who, but the following actors have been confirmed: John Boyega, best known for his role in Attack The Block; Daisy Ridley, a newcomer who may be playing Obi-Wan Kenobi’s descendant; Adam Driver, from the HBO series Girls, is rumored to be playing the villain; Oscar Isaac, who won a lot of acclaim for his recent role in the film Inside Llewyn Davis; Andy Serkis, who is known by genre fans everywhere for his groundbreaking mo-cap work as Gollum in The Lord Of the Rings trilogy, the title character in the King  Cast 2Kong remake and Caesar in the recent Planet Of The Apes films; Domhall Gleeson, recognized by fans for playing Bill Weasley in the latter Harry Potter films, and legendary actor Max von Sydow. It would be fun if von Sydow played a similar scene-chewing role as he did as Ming in Flash Gordon. However, it’s more likely he may play a diplomat, perhaps the leader of the New Republic, or maybe a clandestine villain ala Palpatine.

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Well, we can breathe a sigh of relief that Star Wars Episode VII director J.J. Abrams hasn’t picked anyone cringeworthy like Jake Lloyd or Hayden Christensen. In fact, some of these picks like von Sydow, Isaac and Serkis are quite inspired. Whether or not one is thrilled with these choices, the fact remains that a feeling of excitement is palpable among Star Wars fans now that a new Star Wars film is going to be a reality. Announcing the cast now just whets our appetites for next year.

Annette DeForrester

Mar 12 2014

Star Wars: The Clone Wars Unveils Its Final Episodes

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The sixth and last season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, entitled “The Lost Missions”, just premiered on Netflix. As the final season of the excellent series it’s a shortened one with 13 episodes as opposed to the usual 22. The purchase by Disney brought about the cancellation of the series and the creative team led by Dave Filoni has moved onto the upcoming series called Star Wars Rebels.

This sixth season has four story arcs which begin with a very interesting storyline about a clone trooper named Tup that suddenly attacks and kills his commanding Jedi general. His fellow clone trooper named Fives (Dee Bradley Baker) investigates anakinwhat caused this violent behavior and uncovers a conspiracy going back to the creation of the clone army in their birthplace planet Kamino and the Sith Lord Darth Sidious (Tim Curry). This story, as well as others in this season, lead directly to events in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of the Sith, which makes this season a very good send off for the show.

The next story arc involves Senator Padme Amidala (Catherine Taber) and an old flame named Clovis who gets involved with political intrigue involving the Banking Clan as well as Sith Lords Sidious and Count Dooku (Corey Burton). While this may not sound very exciting, these episodes actually show how Palpatine further consolidated his control over the Republic and also have both Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and Padme questioning the nature of their secret marriage.

dooku

The third story arc features everyone’s favorite Gungan Jar Jar Binks (Ahmed Best) and Jedi Knight Mace Windu (Terence ‘T.C.’ Carson) trying to solve a mystery involving a planet where its spiritual leaders are disappearing and dealing with a prophecy about darkness taking over the galaxy. These two episodes were good although not quite as significant to the overall story of the Clone Wars as compared to the other arcs.

The last batch of episodes deals with the Jedi trying to find out about the murdered Jedi Sifo-Dyas and Yoda (Tom Kane) being contacted from beyond the grave by Qui-Gon Jinn (Liam Neeson), who shows him how he can continue to exist after death. Qui-Gon has him travel to a world that is the origin of the Force itself and face his worst fears. This references a scene in Revenge of the Sith where Yoda tells Obi-Wan Kenobi that he has discovered the secret of existing in the Force after death. It is a great way for Star Wars: The Clone Wars to end, with Yoda knowing that while the Clone Wars may end badly, there will be a way for the Jedi to continue on.

destroyerStar Wars: The Clone Wars was in the middle of production when it was cancelled, but the last season is one of the strongest in the series. The quality of these episodes shows that even at the end the writers still came up with very interesting ideas and perhaps the shortened run prevented any weaker episodes from coming up. Overall, Star Wars: The Clone Wars will go down as first rate Star Wars action and drama that did justice to its cinematic counterparts. Hopefully the upcoming Star Wars Rebels series will continue this trend.

C.S. Link

Feb 7 2014

Remake The Last Starfighter!

gunstarOne of the best underrated celluloid gems from the ’80s is The Last Starfighter. It starred Lance Guest as Alex Rogan, a bored teenager stuck in a trailer park who wants to leave home and who can blame him? Soon enough, Alex gets his shot…at  the stars. Literally.

One night, Alex plays this arcade video game called Starfighter in the trailer park and sets a new record in the game, much to the cheers of his middle-aged and elderly neighbors who have nothing better to do. Later that night, Alex is abducted by a fast-talking con man called Centauri (Robert Preston), who’s actually an alien. It turns out that the video game was a way for Centauri to uncover gifted recruits for the Star League on planet Rylos. Before Alex knows it, he’s caught up in an interstellar war and faces the choice of returning home or defending the Frontier against Xur and the Ko-Dan Armada–the plot line of the video game he played back home.

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Ok, so The Last Starfighter is a Star Wars ripoff, but it’s a damn good one! Director Nick Castle infused the film with an innocent, sincere and naive charm that works. The film is a wish fulfillment of every sci-fi fan who wants to be whisked away on a grand space adventure. That idea is even expressed at the very end of the movie when Alex Rogan’s little brother Louis (Chris Hebert) eagerly begins playing the Starfighter video game so he too can be recruited.

The film isn’t perfect, it’s pretty simplistic, but it’s a fun watch. It had many nice performances, especially from alex and alienPreston and Dan O’Herlihy as Grig, Alex’s boisterous reptilian partner on their fighter ship. Alex was a very relatable character who grappled with wanderlust and self doubt. His arc was predictable but well done. The spaceship designs were unique and eye catching thanks to artist Rob Cobb, and the film had a rich and rousing score by Craig Safan. It was one of the best Star Wars-esque themes I’ve ever heard and fits the tone of the film.

There’s been talk of a sequel for some time now, but as these things go, it’s stuck in development hell. It would be fantastic if a sequel were to be made; this story is ripe for further examining. Did Alex return to Earth? Did his brother become a Starfighter? Whatever happened to that buffoonish villain Xur (Norman Snow)? But it’s been thirty years since that film came out, trying to launch a sequel and reunite the remaining cast members may be too difficult.

So it may be best to just remake The Last Starfighter. But in this celluloid market crowded with unnecessary remakes why reboot this one if it’s still fun to watch? Well, while the film has many merits, there’s room for improvement. A remake can be better written and less simplistic, although it shouldn’t try to be dark and gritty. A new take of The Last Starfighter needs to retain the pleasant charm of the original, which will be hard to duplicate. But the right director can pull it off. An important thing that can be improved would be the special effects, of alienscourse. At the time it came out, The Last Starfighter had then-revolutionary CGI effects that are horribly dated now. You and I can generate better effects with our desktops at home. Another thing that must be changed for a remake is the look of the Rylans and Emperor Xur. They look utterly ridiculous with white hair that wraps around their heads and bald tops. Another flaw with The Last Starfighter was that the major villain Xur wasn’t menacing at all. There was one scene where he appears as a hologram to taunt our heroes that had me laughing hysterically. He looked so dumb as a disembodied head! That’s surprising because the other aliens in the film are pretty well designed.

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Other films with less faults than this one have been remade. The Last Starfighter is worth remaking  because it has a nifty story that is relatable to us fans that needs retelling.

Waldermann Rivera