"Films with Friends" Star Wars Contest!!!

OK so what is this Star Wars contest all about? Well it’s more than just a contest; it is the beginning of a new chapter in my blogging life. In addition to this blog I am now going to be one of the authors of a new blog called “Films with Friends”. I started it with fellow blogger Thomas, author of The Oscar Buzz and Optigrab. In order to start of strongly we decided to both write articles about the upcoming Star Wars movie and include a brief plot summary of our ideal version. Now one of the stories is a lot briefer than the other but whichever one you like better must be accounted for. We have included a poll at the end of both of the posts to see which one is best according to the readers. It’s fun to think about being in a competition and I can’t wait for the results. Make sure to start reading from the very first post to explain the competition since we couldn't wait to start off. Click here to go to the first post.

New Star Wars film announced! Disney buys LucasFilm for 4.05 Billion

Yes the time has finally arrived for all nerds around the world to rejoice. LucasFilm has been purchased by Disney and is no longer under the hands of George “I only had 2 great films in me” Lucas. Let me break down what this means for us fans by giving you a bit of history on the subject.

George Lucas Directed “Star Wars” the movie that changed cinema forever. It became the highest grossing film of 1977 and the highest grossing film ever at the time, making 530 million dollars by 1982 Setting George for life. Not only was it a financial success but it was an immense critical success as well, having been nominated for 10 Academy awards including best picture and best director for Lucas, but ended up winning only 6 of them. The legacy that the film left behind was so massive it influenced pretty much every science fiction and fantasy film to come after it.

Then came the 2 sequels. The first hint to audiences that something was fishy about the situation should have been that Lucas didn’t want to direct. Fans ignored that red flag because as it turned out “The Empire Strikes Back” and ‘Return of the Jedi” where arguably even better than “Star Wars” itself.

The series ended and all seemed well; Lucas was a billionaire, we had 3 great movies, there was nothing but a legacy of great memories, action figures, and the highest esteem for a great trilogy. And then George decided that he wanted to make a bit of extra cash. “Let’s improve the special effects in the trilogy with computers and then make significant alterations to the story, the dialogue and the characters” (Han shot first dammit!) he said and so the “Special Edition” was born.

And then George decided that the money from the “improved” home video releases weren’t enough so he went and made the prequels. “The Phantom Menace” was to many (including yours truly) the John Wilkes Booth to “Star Wars” Lincoln. It disappointed fans and critics, but not Lucas’ wallet. “Attack of the Clones” was to many (Including me) the Lee Harvey Oswald to “The Empire Strikes Back” JFK; similar reaction as in “The Phantom menace” but solid box office performance nonetheless. Now I have to admit to myself that “Revenge of the Sith” was a decent movie and a lot of audiences and critics agree, however it was nowhere near as good as the original trilogy and didn’t evoke that nostalgia that the prequels where meant to evoke.

“The Clone Wars” was a truly abysmal film. Many people complained about the prequels being horrible but at the end of the day they where at least watchable. This movie though was a complete waste of time! The characters looked like they were made out of clay dough, if was full of plot holes and stupid additions that didn’t make any sense, and worst of all they removed the iconic music from it and replaced it with some crappy Middle Eastern sounding noise.

OK George you have done it; you have destroyed our memories, you have ruined the legacy that you helped create and you have turned a massive amount of fans against you, what do you have to say about that? “I am selling LucasFilm to Disney for 4.05 billion dollars.”

So what now? We all ask ourselves. Well first of all the first sequel to the Star Wars universe is confirmed with a release date in 2015. Aside from that there is little to no information and everyone is scratching their heads as to what they think about it. I myself have mixed feelings because it could go either way. We could get sequels that are a made by someone that thinks with his or her brain instead of their wallet, or we can get another stinker like “The Clone Wars”.

I know that getting your hopes up about a movie is dangerous but I am inclined to give Disney my full confidence because they understand what it is like to create memories (“Beauty and the Beast” “The Lion King” “Aladdin” “Iron Man” “The Avengers”) they should be able to handle the material well. I think the best director to take over for the series is James Cameron; when I saw “Avatar” I immediately thought of “Star Wars” because of how much imagination the film had and how much of a fictional world Cameron created with the picture. James Cameron is a man who knows how to handle his special effects without forgetting his characters and who will do the best job directing the next in the series. But that happening is about as likely as me pulling a hundred dollar bill out of my but, so my next choices would be J.J. Abrams (“Mission Impossible III”, “Star Trek” 2009, “Super 8”) or the Wachowskis (“Bound”, “The Matrix”, “Speed Racer”).

But who do you think should direct the next Star Wars? Tell me who you would like to see even if it is unlikely. Also tell me if there is anything else that you would like to see from Disney now like a new Indiana Jones film.

Mike's Reviews.

  All of my life I have loved movies. Everyone appreciates watching a good film but my fascination towards cinema goes beyond that of the average moviegoer. Before we get into my obsession with film however it would be better If I gave you folks some background on myself. I was born in Modesto California and I lived there until the age of 7. My mother is Greek and my father American. I also have a sister named Amy that is 4 years younger than me and together the 4 of us moved to Greece and I remember not being to happy about it. But if my memory serves me well i handled the situation as well as any 7 year old would be expected to. I soon got over it though because life there was nice and my mother has a huge family in which all the members are very close so I didn't feel alone. But then when I was about 13 years old my parents divorced and my father moved back to California so me and Amy lived alone with my mother.

   
     For a lot of people the divorce of their parents can be traumatic but for me it was quite interesting. They split up on friendly terms, they did a great job making sure it didn't affect us negatively by telling us "Dad is moving to American to take care of Grandpa", and since my dad was now living in California, me and Amy had excuses to travel for the summer and spend our vacation with our American family and friends. One very popular pastime for me Amy and our Dad was going to the movies. We didn't go to the movies that much in Greece because movie-going is not as hot there as it is in the US. So in a way you can say that had my parents not have separated I wouldn't have become the cine-file I am today.

   

My Brother Nektarios

     Today my life is very different: I am now 20 years old I have been living with my dad since I was 17 because I finished high school in Greece, and with enough persuasion from my parents, I decided to pursue a higher education in the US. My dad has since remarried and my mother surprised both me and Amy with with a little brother back in 2007 named Nektarios who is now 4 years old and makes me smile every time I talk to him.
     
     I aspire to be a filmmaker someday but for now I think that reviewing films will satisfy my craving for interesting movie discussions and will give me room to voice my opinion.

"Every great film should seem new every time you see it." Roger Ebert

     On this blog I will review movies and give them a rating on a 1-10 scale based on their merit. I will be focusing more on classic movies rather than new releases but occasionally I might review a new film if it is worth reviewing. By classic movies I don't necessarily mean old ones, just ones that have or will stand the test of time as well as some obscure ones of my choice. I will also accept requests occasionally and will post special blogs where my audience might get to review a film.

   
     So if you are skeptical about a film before you watch it and want a film lover's opinion, look no further than Mike's Reviews. The only thing I ask of you aside from relaxing and enjoying my content is to provide feedback. LOTS AND LOTS OF FEEDBACK!!! I can assure you that the more feedback I get the better I will be. You don't have to analyze every aspect of my blog or give me a report for every post, but a simple comment saying "Great post Mike! Excellent job. Cant wait till your next review" will go a very long way. So are you ready to begin a relationship that will benefit both of us? My first review will be up soon (actually within a few hours) and we should start strong. I use WE because this is not my blog it is our blog and it will only work if both of us really want it to. So get that popcorn ready and lets watch some movies!