The Dark Knight Trilogy

Cast

Bruce Wayne/Batman                                                 Christian Bale

Alfred Pennyworth                                                      Michael Caine

Rachel Dawes                                                             Katie Holmes/Maggie Gyllenhaal

James Gordon                                                             Gary Oldman

Lucius Fox                                                                  Morgan Freeman

Selina Kyle/Catwoman                                                Anne Hathaway

Robin John Blake                                                        Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Dr. Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow                                    Cillian Murphy

Ra’s al Ghul                                                                 Liam Neeson

Joker                                                                           Heath Ledger

Hervey Dent/Two-Face                                                Aaron Eckhart

Bane                                                                            Tom Hardy

Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul                                             Marion Cotillard

Batman Begins (2005)

The movie starts out with a young Bruce Wayne running around with a young Rachel Dawes. However while playing he falls down a well where a group of bats come out of a whole scaring him. His father comes down saying the fames line of “Why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up.” The movie continues and we see how Bruce becomes an orphan and furthermore how he becomes the batman. As he starts off his crime fighting as batman we see how his skills and money give him the ability to overcome the obstacles. The movie as a slight twist towards the middle followed by a seat gripping climax.

The Dark Knight (2008)

               We see Bruce return as the Batman. The city of Gotham loves him and criminals are scared to do business with him around. However there’s a new enemy in town, and he isn’t clowning around. As the movie progresses we come to see how evil and twisted the joker is. That this man does not kill for business, or for any apparent reason, he does it because he likes to, or as the movie puts it “some men just want to watch the world burn”. It is a gripping story filled with lots of new toys for Batman to play with, as well as a few new characters. The movie has a somewhat depressing ending making you feel as if Batman is doomed.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

               In this final chapter of the Dark night Trilogy we see that Bruce as become several depressed since the last movie. It also seems as if the effects of running around the city jumping off buildings as taken its toll on Bruce. However we also meet Batman’s greatest enemy, Bane, who plans on destroying the whole city of Gotham and everyone in it. This movie seems to focus more on the effect that Batman has had on Bruce, both physically and mentally. 

REVIEW

               This is one of my personal favorite movie trilogies. It has all the parts of a great action movie, a guy with almost super human abilities, good looking girls, and explosions. What more could you ask for from an action film? How about the fact that it’s based in the DC universe and it involves one of the most beloved super heroes of all time. You know the one I’m talking about, he jumps off roof tops, is super rich, and drives that awesome car, that’s right it’s Batman.

               But in all seriousness this is a great film trilogy. The acting by all the different actors is absolutely amazing, gripping you and bringing you in making you feel as if you are by Batman’s side the whole time. One of the best actors in the whole trilogy in my opinion was Heath Ledger (Joker). His acting is what makes you believe that the Joker is an insane, brilliant, villain. The way he moves and talks just make the Joker seem so much more than your typical villain. But as his name would state, there’s also a dark sense of humor to him that Ledger pulls off so well. It think most of the people who have seen all three batman films would agree that the Joker is by far the darkest and most cunning of the villain. And that is because of how good the acting is that just drags you into the film.

               Not only is the acting spectacular, but the special effects are top-notch. This really comes out in the third movie where we see some truly amazing shots. Such as the Bat flying around Gotham blowing everything in its path up. While the special effects in a movie aren’t everything, they do help you enjoy what you are watching.

               I can’t think of many bad parts to the movie, however there was one scene that I felt wasn’t needed. And that was the Robin reveal scene. You were expecting it the whole time, and then he just says it at the end. There’s no buildup of suspense, it just says it for no reason. It almost seems as if it was just thrown in at the end to satisfy someone. I think it could have been written in much better, and in a way that would have built a lot more suspense so that when it was revealed you would actually be surprised. But besides that I found the trilogy very enjoyable to watch.

Rating as a trilogy: 8.5/10

Batman Begins: 8/10

The Dark Knight: 9/10

The Dark Knight Rises: 7.5/10

Jurassic Park Trilogy

Cast

Dr. Alan Grant                                     Sam Neill

Dr. Ellie Sattler                                     Laura Dern

Dr. Ian Malcolm                                   Jeff Goldblum

John Hammond                                    Richard Attenborough

Lex Murphy                                         Ariana Richards

Tim Murphy                                         Joseph Mazzello

Robert Muldoon                                   Bob Peck

Dennis Nedry                                       Wayne Knight

Ray Arnold                                           Samuel L. Jackson

Dr. Sarah Harding                                 Julianne Moore

Nick Van Owen                                   Vince Vaughn

Roland Tembo                                      Pete Postlethwaite

Kelly Curtis Malcolm                            Vanessa Lee Chester

Peter Ludlow                                        Arliss Howard

Billy Brennan                                        Slessandro Nivola

Paul Kirby                                            William H. Macy

Amanda Kirby                                      Tea Leoni

Eric Kirby                                             Trevor Morgan

Jurassic Park (1993)

            When two archeologist, Dr. Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler, are invited to a secret island to give a review on a Amusement park owned by John Hammond. When they arrive they find out that Hammond is able to recreate Dinosaurs using their blood found in mosquitos. They also meet up with Hammond’s two grandchildren, Lex and Tim Murphy, and Dr. Ian Malcolm, a chaos theory scientist. Hammond sends them on a tour of the park, but during the tour something goes terrible wrong and the dinosaurs become free and start attacking the group. They are forced to fight for their life as they seek safety.

The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

            This one starts out with John Hammond, who has now changed to an environmentalist, losing control of his company. He is wanting to capture the dinosaurs in their natural habitat (Which is on a different island then the first film) so that it can be preserved. So he hires a team including Ian Malcolm. At first Ian Malcolm is hesitant to go but when he finds out that one of the other people on the team is his current girlfriend, Sarah Harding, he sets out to save her. However once they get on the island they find out that there is another team there to capture dinosaurs. They sabotage this other group and as a result both groups become stuck on the island. The only way out is though using the phones at the center of the island which. And so both teams make their way together to the island, getting attacked along there way.

Jurassic Park 3 (2001)

            Jurassic Park 3 starts out with 2 rich people (The Kirby’s) hiring Dr. Alan Grant to give them a tour of the island from The Lost World. He agrees and him and his assistant, Billy Brennan, leave to give this couple a tour from the air. However they soon find out that the Kirby’s had lied to him and where really searching for their son who got stuck on the island a few months before. Once they land they are almost immediately attacked by a dinosaur and while they are try to take off crash. They then most make their way to a boat in order to get off the island. While trying to do this they run into the Kirby’s son and a more dinosaur’s. They are however rescued from the island in the end.

REVIEW

            This series has a great start in Jurassic park. The first movie starts out strong, leading you into this large fantasy world where dinosaurs exist. Then once you get into this world and start to feel connected to the characters everything starts to go wrong. You actually feel connected to the characters grasping the edge of your seat in fear for the characters. The movie ends and you feel satisfied with what you just saw. But that all ends soon enough.

            While the second movie tries to make you feel connected to the characters, you end up not caring that much about them. In fact if it wasn’t for Jeff Goldblum, who was in the first film, you wouldn’t care about them at all. When people start dying you just laugh because it’s so ridicules. So much that in one scene a person yells “Don’t go into the long grass”(ignore the end) after realizing its velociraptors territory, then immediately runs into the long grass. At this point I literally said out loud, “WHY?!” he could have easily turned around and went the other way.

            By the third movie, Jurassic Park 3, it seems the people and the plot didn’t even matter. After the first 15 minutes of the film it seems all that happens is the group of people being chased by some dinosaur. I can’t help but remember that Office episode where Michael talks about his improve and says “Think about this: what is the most excitingthing that can happen on TV or in movies, or in real life? Somebody has a gun.That's why I always start with a gun, because you can't top it. You just can't.” This must have been what the writers where thinking when the wrote the Jurassic Park 3, what is the most exciting thing that can happen on TV or in movies, or in real life? Somebody gets chased by a dinosaur. Let’s do that, let’s do a lot of that.

            Overall I give the serious as a whole 6 out of 10 for lazier and lazier writing. However on an individual scale the first would have received an 8, the second a 5.5, and the third a 5.

Star Wars Episodes IV – VI (Original Trilogy)

Cast

Luke Skywalker                                 Mark Hamill

Han Solo                                            Harrison Ford

Princess Leia Organa                         Carrie Fisher

Obi-Wan “Ben” Kenobi                     Alec Guinness

Darth Vader                                        David Prowse/Voiced by James Earl Jones

Anakin Skywalker                             Sebastian Shaw/Hayden Christensen (2004 DVD release)

C-3PO                                                Anthony Daniels

R2-D2                                                Kenny Baker

Chewbacca                                        Peter Mayhem

Yoda                                                  Frank Oz (Voice and puppeteering)

Papatine/Darth Sidious                     Elaine Baker/Voiced by Clive Revill

Papatine/Darth Sidious                     Ian McDiarmid (2004 DVD release)

Star wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

            The first in the 3 part (6 part with the release of the “new” trilogy) movie series. It begins like all star wars movies do, the famous opening crawl.

It is a period of civil war.

Rebel spaceships, striking

from a hidden base, have won

their first victory against

the evil Galactic Empire.

During the battle, Rebel

spies managed to steal secret

plans to the Empire's

ultimate weapon, the DEATH

STAR, an armored space

station with enough power

to destroy an entire planet.

Pursued by the Empire's

sinister agents, Princess

Leia races home aboard her

starship, custodian of the

stolen plans that can save her

people and restore

freedom to the galaxy....

You soon find out that Princess Leia needs help from Obi-Won Kenobi and sends a droid to go find him. However Luke finds the droid first and finds part of the message meant for Obi-Won Kenobi. He brings the droid to Obi-Won and finds out he is a Jedi with great power. He joins the rebellion to fight the evil galactic empire and restore peace to the galaxy. On their adventure they meet other heroes that will help them on their journey, mainly Han Solo and Chewbacca. They also find out about the death star and make plans to destroy it. It ends with the death star finally being destroyed.

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

               In this second part of the trilogy when see the power of the empire and how the rebellion has no hope for survival.

It is a dark time for the

Rebellion. Although the Death

Star has been destroyed,

Imperial troops have driven the

Rebel forces from their hidden

base and pursued them across

the galaxy.

Evading the dreaded Imperial

Starfleet, a group of freedom

fighters led by Luke Skywalker

has established a new secret

base on the remote ice world

of Hoth.

The evil lord Darth Vader,

obsessed with finding young

Skywalker, has dispatched

thousands of remote probes into

the far reaches of space....

When find out that Darth Vader has started his quest to find the young Luke Skywalker so that he can bring him to the dark side of the force. Luke finds out through a serious of events that he must go and find a Jedi master by the name of Yoda. When the rebel base that Luke is at is attacked by the empire, Luke sets out on his quest to find this Yoda. He soon finds this master and starts his training. However he receives a vision that his friends, Han Solo and Princess Leia, are in trouble and need his help. He pauses his Jedi training and sets out to find them. However it was a trap set by Darth Vader to capture him and bring him to the emperor. When this happens you find out a surprising secret about Darth Vader.

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)

               In this third and final episode of the trilogy we see the final and darkest chapter in Luke's life.

Luke Skywalker has returned to

his home planet of Tatooine in

an attempt to rescue his

friend Han Solo from the

clutches of the vile gangster

Jabba the Hutt.

Little does Luke know that the

GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly

begun construction on a new

armored space station even

more powerful than the first

dreaded Death Star.

When completed, this ultimate

weapon will spell certain doom

for the small band of rebels

struggling to restore freedom

to the galaxy...

Luke makes a plan to capture his friend Han Solo from his carbonated prison. But in the process is captured himself. He and Han fight their way to freedom and in the process kill Han Solo's captor. However the rebellion finds out about a plan to make a second death star. And its almost complete. So they make a plan to destroy it. However in the process Luke is captured and brought in front of the Emperor himself. He then fights Darth Vader and wins. The Emperor tells Luke that he most kill Darth Vader for his journey to the dark side to be complete. But Luke will not do it. And so the Emperor attempts to kill Luke but Darth Vader kills him instead. With the Emperor and death star destroyed they celebrate there victory and the final credits role.

REVIEW

               This is a great Trilogy, possible one of the best of all times. It has a great story in which you feel connected to the main characters. It has drama as well with a very interesting love triangle. As well as possible the most surprising plot twists of all time. It has wonderful character development where we see a young Luke who wants to just leave his Aunt and Uncle and go fight, to this great, powerful, and Wise Jedi who wants to bring peace to the galaxy. You also see growth in Han Solo who goes from this immature smuggler to a great general of the rebellion. It also revolutionized special effects of the time. Making a huge advancement for movies

               While there aren't many things wrong with the movie one of my biggest pet peeves is towards the end. In all DVD editions of the Final movie, Return of the Jedi, they replaced Sebastian Shaw, the ghost of Anakin Skywalker, with Hayden Christensen. This did not work at all with the movie. You have this young Anakin Skywalker, who Luke has never seen before, with this old Obi-Won Kenobi and Yoda. If they were going to replace one they might as well have replaced all 3 of them.

Fun Facts about Star Wars

1. One of the most famous lines in Star Wars "Luke, I am your father" is never said. The real line is "No, I am your father"

2. Anthony Daniels, the actor who played C-3PO, and Kenny Baker, the actor who played R2-D2, hated each other.

3. Darth Sidious was originally played by a woman.

4. The line "No, I am your father" wasn’t placed in until right before the movie was sent to the theaters. All the actors where told the line was "Obi-Won is your father" and Luke's reaction was to the line. They did this because they didn’t want any rumors to go about and ruin the twist.

5. The scene where stormtrooper hits his head wasn’t found until after it was in theaters. 

Here's a video of the stormtrooper hitting his head