Who Was The Road to El Dorado Made for?

Posted on March 8, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I remember hearing about The Road to El Dorado in 2000 during my senior year of high school. It looked too juvenile for me. However, I did hear that it had some adult stuff in it, like characters getting naked and using swear words. Still, it was a cartoon. I know, animation isn’t purely the realm of children’s stories. But the animation style seemed deliberately aimed at a younger Disney audience. So I avoided it for many years.

My wife recently wanted to watch old DreamWorks movies she had seen long ago. So we found a copy of The Road to El Dorado and sat down and watched the thing. I was right about what I had expected to find in it. But at the end, I was left with a burning question. Who was this movie made for? Continue reading →

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Movie Matchups: Watchmen vs. 2010: The Year We Make Contact

Posted on March 1, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Watchmen and 2010: The Year We Make Contact have quite a bit in common. I didn’t realize that until my eldest brother pointed out some of the connections to me. And then it dawned on me. They both tell the story of averting a nuclear holocaust. Plus, they’re based on famous novels. A graphic novel in one case.

So I credit my brother for this particular Movie Matchup. Having said that, on with the show! Continue reading →

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Bedtime Story: The Magic Ring

Posted on February 22, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The first short story I shared was a little on the dark side. That one was entitled “The Strange Fruit.” Not all of them will be like that, though. This one has a much more upbeat tone and ending. I call it “The Magic Ring,” and I hope you enjoy it. Continue reading →

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I Think I Found James Horner’s Inspiration for ‘Willow’s Theme’

Posted on February 15, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Have you ever listened to a piece of classical music and thought to yourself, “This sounds awfully familiar?” Plenty of people have dissected the main Star Wars theme to discover its classical roots, for example. But I recently found something a bit more obscure. Continue reading →

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Everything I Wanted to Say About Red Notice in One Video

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

A few months ago, I forced myself to sit through a Netflix movie called Red Notice. I had heard it was great fun from one of my brothers, so I wanted to give it a fair chance. Unfortunately, I had just watched a truly amazing action movie called RED. Now that was a masterpiece of quirky humor mixed with breathtaking action sequences.

Red Notice, on the other hand, was a hollow movie. Watching it back-to-back with RED ensured I’d see the contrast instantly. It’s supposed to rest on three things:

  1. Three big-name actors
  2. A bunch of lazy jokes
  3. Tired action set pieces

After watching Red Notice, I didn’t care to take it to task in an article. It felt beside the point. The movie is awful, boring, and a waste of time. Sure, I could expand on those points, but what for? In this case, I didn’t think the movie deserved any more thought. Why am I writing about it now? Because someone else took on the challenge and succeeded in spades. I’ll get to that in a moment. Continue reading →

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Do We Have to Lose Things to Truly Appreciate Them?

Posted on February 1, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Until recently, I had only ever known a world of smells and tastes. Flavors. Spices. Sweets. Sours. Richness. Bitterness. The whole spectrum. But a few weeks ago, all that went away. On January 11, 2022, my sense of smell and taste faded. For one week after that, I couldn’t taste anything. I couldn’t enjoy food. It was scary.

Eating suddenly became a burden. Before that, I had no idea how important smell and taste are to my enjoyment of life. Of course, I had lost them during colds, but that was always such a temporary issue. My smell and taste always returned quickly. They seemed like such small things. Such unimportant things. I took them for granted. After all, I never thought of them as things until I suddenly couldn’t do them anymore.

Like many unexpected aspects of life, this is not without its element of humor. It reminds me of the Michael McIntyre standup routine where he talks about things you don’t even think of as things suddenly becoming impossible when you’re a parent. Continue reading →

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If Holidays Were Superheroes

Posted on January 25, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Holidays are meant to be special. Under other circumstances, they might be considered regular days. Like when Rocky Balboa tells Adrien, “To you, it’s Thanksgiving. But to me, it’s Thursday.” However, what gives holidays a touch of magic is the respect we give them.

Similarly, superheroes are usually regular people thrust into extraordinary situations. Sometimes they are granted godlike superpowers by chance, and other times they simply use what they were born with for the benefit of mankind.

Whatever the case may be, I had an interesting idea to compare the two. If holidays were superheroes, which ones would they be? Here is my list of what that might look like. Continue reading →

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How the Kobayashi Maru Test Demonstrates Character

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

This is why I love Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. There are an infinite number of things to talk about in it. What I’d like to focus on today is the Kobayashi Maru test. It’s a test of character, as Admiral James T. Kirk points out. There is no correct solution, only a revelation of what makes a person tick when under extreme pressure.

Three characters take the test in Star Trek II: Lieutenant Saavik, Admiral Kirk, and Captain Spock. And they each demonstrate why they’re in the positions they’re in. Saavik is inexperienced and not yet ready for command duties. Kirk is a wise old fox who believes he can think his way out of any scrape. Then there’s Spock. He is a loyal friend and an ever-present source of support to Kirk. Continue reading →

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Bedtime Story: The Strange Fruit

Posted on January 11, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I’d like to try something different than my usual fare. My kids are pretty awesome. They love when I share a bedtime story with them. I used to search online for bedtime stories, but all the ones I found were lackluster at best. So I usually wound up using them as springboards for coming up with my own creative interpretations. I’d take a character or concept from them and turn it into something much grander.

Last year, I ventured into my own unique creations. These stories came from my own imagination and experiences I’ve had over the years. I’d like to share them with you from time to time because I enjoy writing them as much as telling them out loud. Plus, they’ll last longer this way when they’re not just somewhere in my memory.

I’ll share a story and then explain what inspired it and other notes I’d like to point out about it. This first one is probably the most complex one I’ve ever done. I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to tell it to your own kids, if you like. Continue reading →

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Spider-Man: No Way Home Is the Best Nostalgia Can Offer

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Like most of you, I was born into a much different world than the one we exist in now. I got to experience the ‘80s and ‘90s. The unique cultures those decades possessed. The unique creations they spawned.

But about two decades ago, everything seemed to stop. Not that people weren’t producing just as many films and songs. But they all felt as if they were pointed backward, never forward. There hasn’t been any new event or creation to look forward to as long as I’ve known to look for them.

We have neat new phones, cars, and other gadgets that are patterned after old things that came long ago. We have new sequels and remakes of old films, or else adaptations of old properties, such as comic books.

I have never been able to fully capture my feelings on this topic in words. But a movie recently came out that I believe showcases the true essence of the problem we face. That movie is Spider-Man: No Way Home. It’s funny that a movie I thought I had no interest in watching turned out to be exactly what I needed to see. Continue reading →

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