Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

4/5

Despite all my jocular poopooing of the film, Star Wars is a great movie. I really enjoyed watching it. For the first time, I understand the devotion its fans give it. I saw it slightly inebriated, but quite in command of my faculties, and I saw it when about five people not watching it were in the apartment cooking and talking such that I couldn't hear the dialogue a lot of the time. (This may have actually improved its rating as it forced me to focus on the better aspects of the movie, such as cinematography and overall sound design, and less on the worse aspects, like the dialogue.) Now, onto the review.

Without a doubt, the best part about this movie is its unparalleled sound design. It was also extremely well-shot, with crisp and evocative cinematography. The set design and costumes were really well-done too. The plot progressed and blossomed very fluidly. There were many thrilling action scenes that put you on the edge of your seat, all within an imaginative and all-encompassing new world. But I found the characters to be two-dimensional and emotionless, spewing horrendously corny dialogue. Even when their foster parents get brutally murdered and their home planet gets destroyed, not a single tear is shed (although the uninspired requisite visual of a man sitting alone before the setting sun(s) did find its way into the piece). I cringed at the acting by whiny Mark Hamill and annoying Carrie Fisher, but most offensive of all were the ubiquitous scene wipes. How much cheesier can you get? Also, there was one major cut I really didn't appreciate, during the fight scene between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader. Lucas cut to Luke/Leia/Han in the middle of one of the most climactic and iconic battles in all of science fiction history, and in so doing completely deflated the tension. It absolutely destroyed the entire scene for me. (Michael Bay does this in the Optimus Prime/Megatron fight in Transformers, so maybe he is paying homage to this?) Review over.

Now for my own ranting. I understand the need for directors to come out with "Director's Cuts" if the theatrical vision was not what they intended and had been changed from their original vision by the studio, but seriously what is Lucas doing? Leave this movie alone.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0076759/

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

2/5

What a meandering mess of a movie. This is a three hour attempt at being both a revolutionary epic and a personal romance that fails at both. Adapting the 700-page novel required trimming, and trimming they did. Important plot points (such as births and deaths) are glossed over, mentioned in passing once, and built off of extensively afterwards. The beginning is extremely confusing, as it flashes back to a different person from the one who gives the voice-over. The pacing was a travesty; I consistently found myself asking what the point of a scene was and no answer came. Pointless scenes in a long movie make an extremely boring movie. I have to say Omar Sharif's acting reminded me of Keanu Reeves' acting; however, it may just be the character that is flat, emotionless, and confused. Imagine watching Keanu Reeves wandering around for three and a half hours; yeah, it's like that.

There were three brilliant things in this movie, which elevate it from a 1 to a 2. The first is the incredible long take following Komarovsky in the beginning when Lara attempts to kill herself. The second is a scene where the two Zhivago brothers meet. One is describing the meeting in voice-over from many years later, and even though the two are talking in the flashback, his past voice is silent while his voice-over explains what he's saying. An example: In response to a question, the voice-over says, "I lied," while the past voice simultaneously mouths, "Yes." The third is the astounding ending. I also liked how it showed how the two main characters' lives intertwined before they even met without either one's realizing it. Unfortunately, these elements do not make the movie worth watching.

IMDb link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0059113/