I once heard the story of when a young George Lucas was in a recording studio working with a sound mixer. The man said he needed Reel 2, Dialogue track 2, but he shortened all of that information to simply, “R2D2.” For some reason, this sparked something in the burgeoning writer/direction, and he decided to write it down.
Maybe it would come in handy one day. Continue reading
This is probably a no-duh statement, but I think it’s easy to criticize and think we’re better than other people. It’s harder to be kind, thoughtful, and forgiving of others’ weaknesses.
I recently had an experience I’d like to share where I let my emotions get away from me. It doesn’t exactly paint a flattering picture of me, but I’ll be honest to hopefully explain why I want to be kinder. Continue reading
I recently received an email saying that I had been caught on a Web camera doing horribly lewd things. The sender wanted me to pay a lot of money to keep it quiet. It sounded like I was in quite a bit of trouble. However, there was just one problem with this scheme that the blackmailer apparently didn’t count on.
I had a powerful weapon to combat it: the truth. I knew I hadn’t done what he was saying I had done. Thus, I recognized that the sender of that email was bluffing because I had a conscience clear of guilt. Continue reading
My mom and dad love great Steve Martin comedies. That means I grew up enjoying movies like Three Amigos, Roxanne, and Father of the Bride.
So, as a child, when I saw Steve Martin’s first movie The Jerk on TBS one time, I thought I was in for a treat. I knew lots of facts about movies back then, and I recalled that it came out in 1979, the same year as The Muppet Movie, which Steve Martin had a small role in. In my child’s mind, that meant that I could conflate the two together because they already had two things in common.
But when my parents saw me starting to watch The Jerk, they quickly told me to turn it off and do something else. That was one movie that was off limits. I had no idea why. It seemed harmless enough. It seemed to tell the story of a naïve man trying to make his way in the world. At least, that’s the first part of the movie.
I recently found The Jerk on Netflix, and my curiosity got the best of me. Thus, I finally started watching it to see if maybe I knew better than my parents. Turns out I definitely don’t. My parents were right all along. Continue reading
Groundhog Day is one of my favorite movies, and (like Bronco) I’ve seen it over a hundred times. Okay, maybe just a dozen or two. However, there is a wonderful detail I never noticed until recently. I’m probably the last person to spot it, but I’m going to share it anyway because I think it’s too great not to share. Continue reading
I have praised my wife many times for her invaluable help without which the Deja Reviewer website wouldn’t be possible. Just about every image you see on my articles is captured, cropped, and placed by her. And there are still more people behind the scenes who contribute in big and small ways to my website, and I would like to acknowledge and thank them for everything they do for me. Continue reading
I remember hearing about The Hurricane when it came out in 1999, but I wasn’t able to go see it. And then I just kind of forgot about it. Until recently when it popped into my head, and I haven’t been able to think of anything else. I finally sat down and watched it, and I was surprised to find that it has a lot in common with another excellent movie about an innocent man unjustly sent to prison: 1994’s The Shawshank Redemption.
In fact, The Hurricane feels like a natural follow-up, or even a companion film, to The Shawshank Redemption. I’m excited to share with you all of the ways that it builds on the themes of that film. Continue reading
Conan the Barbarian is an entertaining movie. It’s a compelling revenge tale mixed with a tragic love story, and it’s got tantalizing hints at fantasy elements. Plus, it stars a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. At the start of the movie, the filmmakers needed a believable enough way to transition their main character from childhood to the adult version, which would be played by a hulking bodybuilder. They accomplished this by killing off the boy’s parents and then showing a montage of him being sold into slavery and forced to push a giant log around and around in a circle for at least two decades.
My question is this: would that actually work? Would pushing a heavy wooden contraption in circles actually work all the muscle groups in a way that would produce a body like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s? Obviously, his legs would get incredibly strong. And likely his forearms and biceps would grow to an impressive size. But what about his pectorals and abs? It just seems like the repetitive motion of walking forward and pressing hard on a heavy object would not activate all the muscle groups in exactly the right combination to create such a perfect form. Continue reading
I can’t tell you how much I love the soundtrack of The Last Starfighter. I’ve searched high and low on the Internet for years to find the complete soundtrack. For a time, there was something close to it on YouTube, but about two years ago it was removed. I periodically check YouTube and elsewhere to see if there might be more of it out there. But I’ve been disappointed for quite a while. The best I’ve been able to find are bits and pieces here and there.
At the start of August 2023, I searched one more time without much hope. To my amazement, however, I found exactly what I’ve been yearning for all this time! Continue reading
Remember that amazing mid-‘90s comedy about a divorced man trying to be a good dad that stars a legendary comedian at the height of his career? That’s right, I’m talking about Liar Liar pants on Mrs. Doubtfire.
That is, I’m talking about those two films, which starred Jim Carrey and Robin Williams, respectively. Imagine if those two actors had ever starred in a film together. Now that would have been a comedy for the ages.
Liar Liar and Mrs. Doubtfire have a surprising number of things in common, and we’re about to go through them all. Continue reading
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