5 Reasons Why Star Trek V Needed to Exist

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is generally considered one of the worst Star Trek films, if not the worst. It certainly has ambitious ideas, but the perfect storm of a writers’ strike, an overburdened Industrial Light & Magic, and a studio desperate to get something to theaters combined to spell disaster for this film.

But even a movie as hard to watch as Star Trek V led to several positive results. Let’s look for that silver lining as we explore five reasons why Star Trek V needed to exist. Continue reading →

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Guy Pearce Has Quietly Had a Spectacular Acting Career

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I was pleasantly surprised when Guy Pearce showed up in Iron Man 3 because his character fit his career as an actor so oddly well. In that film he plays a nerdy genius named Aldrich Killian who realizes that his greatest strength is his anonymity. He never really makes a lasting impression on people in a way that makes him instantly recognizable. Killian uses that ability to stay out of the limelight while pulling all the strings and making things work out to his advantage.

Guy Pearce may not be as instantly recognizable as, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger or Tom Hanks. But he has turned his lack of superstar status into a strength. He has quietly had a remarkable career, playing a variety of roles that he wouldn’t have been able to if he had become too famous for one role and been typecast. Continue reading →

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10 Actors Who Owe Their Careers to Someone Else’s Misfortune

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

A lot of movie casting decisions have compelling stories attached to them. Sometimes actors get a job at someone else’s expense. I’ve discovered 10 examples of actors who owe a lot of their professional success to someone else’s misfortune.

Some of these stories are tragic and others are kind of funny. Let’s take a look at who rose as a result of someone else’s (sometimes literal) fall. Continue reading →

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Everything in Planet of the Apes (1968) Came from These 6 Twilight Zone Episodes

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

It’s no secret that Rod Serling co-wrote the screenplay to the original Planet of the Apes in 1968. That was four years after his signature TV series, The Twilight Zone, had left the air.

I’ve heard people talk about the social commentary, twist ending, and other general similarities between Serling’s TV series and this feature film. But I’d like to get into the details and show how six episodes of The Twilight Zone seem to have directly inspired just about every aspect of Planet of the Apes.

Let’s get right to it! Continue reading →

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10 Actors Who Played Diametrically Opposed Characters

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

A great actor can play anyone, even if it means playing two characters that seem similar in some respects but are actually the opposite of each other in big and small ways. I’ve come up with a list of 10 actors who have pulled off this feat.

This post was inspired by a comment by my friend O Poderoso Chofer, another excellent blogger. He’s awesome, and I really appreciate this idea because I’ve had a lot of fun writing this article.

Let’s jump right into it! Continue reading →

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Whoa! The Matrix Is a Symmetrical Film

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

The Wachowskis have made yet another box-office bomb in the form of Jupiter Ascending. But that doesn’t mean that all of their films are terrible. I would like to draw your mind back to a time when they seemed like they were going to be the next Ridley Scott.

I’m talking, of course, about 1999 when The Matrix debuted and wowed audiences with its unique visual style and intriguing metaphysical ideas. Do you think this movie has already been dissected to death, and there’s nothing new to say about it? Well, I’ve got a whole new take on it that will have your head spinning.

It turns out that The Matrix is an example of cinematic chiasmus. That is, its first half mirrors its second half so that the film’s events all line up beautifully, creating a symmetrical whole. It joins an exclusive club of other superb sci-fi films that accomplished this remarkable feat of storytelling, like the original RoboCop, The Empire Strikes Back, and the Back to the Future Trilogy.

Grab your red pill and a big glass of water because this is going to be a lot to swallow. Continue reading →

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Forgotten Film Gems: The Villain

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Remember that time when director Hal Needham got really drunk and decided to cast Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cowboy in a western comedy? Yes, that really happened. Maybe not the drunk part, but I assume he had to be out of his mind when he cast a giant Austrian in a western. That’d make about as much sense as having John Wayne play Genghis Khan. Oh, wait. Anyway, the end result of Needham’s insane bit of casting is an anomaly of a film called The Villain.

In 1979, Needham had already directed two wildly successful films (Smokey and the Bandit and Hooper), and he switched gears and made the most unique western I’ve ever seen. This was after Stay Hungry but before Conan the Barbarian, so Schwarzenegger was still relatively unknown at this point in his career.

Let’s see how the West was fun as we explore why The Villain is a forgotten film gem. Continue reading →

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Bill and Ted vs. Wayne and Garth

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I recently re-watched Wayne’s World and it brought back a lot of fun memories. It got me thinking about another cinematic pair of rockers: Bill and Ted.

I was tempted to compare the two duos. After all, Bill and Ted and Wayne and Garth have a lot in common:

  • They are would-be rockers who film themselves in their parents’ garage/basement.
  • One has black hair and the other has blond hair.
  • They share a similar vernacular, including such phrases as, “Party on,” “Excellent,” No way,” and “Bogus.”
  • They date girls who are way out of their league (and/or century).
  • They each had two movies that end in chase scenes and some type of performance at the end.
  • In both duos, one actor went on to have a successful acting career (Keanu Reeves/Mike Myers) while the other fell into relative obscurity (Alex Winters/Dana Carvey).

But there is something about the very nature of these films that clearly differentiates them: the Bill and Ted movies are satires while Wayne’s World and its sequel are parodies.

Some might think that because of the shallow and stupid nature of the main characters, these films are completely silly and not worthy of any type of critical analysis. I beg to differ. I’ve already shown how Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure is an example of cinematic chiasmus. That, by itself, shows that there is at least something going on in this film just below surface.

Let’s dig deeper and see what we find about these films. Continue reading →

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Patriot Games Just Got a Whole New Layer of Complexity

Posted on February 10, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

While most people were watching the Patriots defeat the Seahawks at the Super Bowl last Sunday, I was watching Patriot Games and discovering something profound about it. What I learned is far more intriguing to me than any football game.

Patriot Games follows an ancient symmetrical form of storytelling known as chiasmus. Its first half mirrors its second half so that it begins and ends the same way and every other point along the way to the middle of the film matches up perfectly.

This is going to be easier to digest than my analysis of the Dark Knight Trilogy or some of my other longer examples of cinematic chiasmus.

Sit back and learn a whole new way to appreciate Patriot Games. Continue reading →

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10 Clever Uses of Old Pop Songs in Modern Movies

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

I love good music. And while I appreciate how some films (for example, Star Wars) manage to create a completely original orchestral accompaniment that complements the action, sometimes I like to relax in familiar territory with some good old pop songs on the movie soundtrack.

Here are 10 movies that perfectly use classic rock n’ roll or other types of pop songs in extremely clever ways. Continue reading →

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