REVIEW: Gulliver's Travels (2D)

MOVIE
Gulliver's Travels

CAST
Jack Black, Jason Segal

RATING
PG

RELEASE
December 25, 2010

DIRECTOR
Rob Letterman

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 25 minutes




GRADE
A- (90)






STARS
***1/4

REVIEW:

Ah, Christmas: what a lovely time for Jews. Instead of getting a whole load of presents, we get movies and Chinese food. That's what I did today, my 13th Christmas; go see a movie and eat some Chinese food afterwords. The movie that my grandmother, my sister, and myself chose to see is Jack Black's latest family movie, Gulliver's Travels, which is based on the Jonathan Swift classic, about a man who comes into the tiny world of the Lilliputs, in which he makes a living for himself until he figures out how to get home. Now with all recent Jack Black films, you can't help but think that this will not be a good movie. Well let me be here to tell you that for those who don't like Jack Black films with absolutely think it sucks. Those who only like raunchy PG-13+ Jack Black will hate this movie. But people who like Jack Black no matter what, and families who are desperate for something to see other than Tangled or Yogi Bear will enjoy this movie. Luckily, I am one of those no matter what Jack Black fans, which means that I, believe it or not, actually enjoyed Gulliver's Travels.

SYNOPSIS: (Courtesy of iTunes Movie Trailers)
In a contemporary re-imagining of the classic tale, Jack Black stars as Gulliver, a big-talking mail room clerk who, after he's mistakenly assigned a travel piece on the Bermuda Triangle, suddenly finds himself a giant among men when he washes ashore on the hidden island of Lilliput, home to a population of very tiny people. At first enslaved by the diminutive and industrious Liliputians, and later declared their hero, Gulliver comes to learn that it's how big you are on the inside that counts.

Now with all movies that I see, I go in with an open mind. But after hearing negative to mixed buzz on this movie, I was wondering if I should see this or not. The theaters around me didn't offer the 3D option, so we had to stick with 2D, which made me even more turned off. But luckily, I was not disappointed with it. First off, it's a fun, kiddish, family-friendly movie. With the exception of seeing Jack Black's crack, (see what I did there? I should make a rhyming book) and a situation where Jack Black pees on a burning building, this is nothing more than a Jack Black kiddie version of Ben Stiller's hilarious Night At The Museum series. Second off, the 3D option is put out there to make more money, with the exception of movies like Avatar and Tron: Legacy. Although, I did see a 3D trailer of this movie with Narnia, so I thought it might actually look good. But honestly, the movie was fine for being in 2D.

Now getting onto the story, I thought it was incredibly predictable and not well thought out. The story felt as if I could write it, even though it's based on a classic book written almost 300 years ago. The movie itself is only a meager 85 minutes, including the credits, which is quite disappointing for a movie that could've elaborated more into the story. But still, the movie kept my attention, feeling timeless and longer than you'd think it is. So the story may not be the best thing in the world, but it's still fun to see this little world and Jack Black being stuck in this tiny world, where everyone acts like they are in The Princess Bride, in which they don't do anything to actually save themselves.

So is Gulliver's Travels a good movie? Actually, I enjoyed it more than Little Fockers, one of the two other big Christmas releases. (the other one being the teriffic True Grit) This one yopu could compare to Little Fockers since Ben Stiller was in a similar movie to this, Night At The Museum. Plus, both movies do have some language and bathroom jokes. I'm not saying that this is the absolute best family movie to see during the holiday break. It is if you're family has already seen the teriffic Tangled and the supposed crappy movie Yogi Bear. This won't do teriffic at the box office, but it's a nice way to kill time and have some laughs with your kids.

So if you've seen every teriffic family movie and every crappy family movie out there, you have no choice but to go see Gulliver's Travels. Luckily, you might just be surprised by how much fun it is. So should you go see Gulliver's Travels in 3D? You don't have to. So should you just see Gulliver's Travels in general? I think you should, and I think you will be surprised by it. So if you want to spend a short amount of time in a movie theater with your kids and either watch the movie or watch your kids reactions to what's going on, take the risk and go along with your family and Jack Black in Gulliver's Travels.





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REVIEW: Little Fockers

MOVIE
Little Fockers

CAST
Robert DeNiro, Ben Stiller

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
December 22, 2010

DIRECTOR
Paul Weitz

STUDIO(S)
Universal Pictures,
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 38 minutes





GRADE
B (84)




STARS
**1/2









REVIEW:

Is it just me or am I seriously "focked" up? Yes, Jack Brynes and Greg "Gaylord" Focker are back for more mischif in Little Fockers, the third installment in the Parents/Fockers series. But believe it or not, this was a disappointment for me. Ok I can admit that this movie was indeed funny, but it mostly relied on tons of sex jokes to occupy a 100 minute running time. But still, the movie was still funny enough for me to slightly recommend it. It's not as hilarious as Meet The Parents or Meet The Fockers, but itis still nice to see these characters back again, along with some new but uninspired characters.

Little Fockers takes us to approx. 6 years after we last saw the Byrnes/Fockers cause shenanagins. Now Greg and Pam have finally settled down with two adorable little twins of there's, while everyone else is the same old same old. We are now celebrating these twins turning five, but it's theplotline between Greg and a new sex drug client he has that sets the sparks off for Jack Byrnes, the always retired CIA agent. Now Greg and his family must deal with their families possibly one last time before Greg suceeds Jack into becomming "The God-Focker."

Now like I said this movie isn't nearly as good as the first two. Let me tell why this is. First off, the story was a bit predictable and uninspired. I understand that in the 2nd movie, Pam becomes pregnant, but they could've at least made the kids a little more interesting. Second off, all of the new characters I believe were not good at all. Jessica Alba, lovelyas always plays a spokesperson for a new Viagra like pill, and she has a thing for Ben Stiller's character. Now if it's an attractive woman sponsering a sex drug, you can tell what's going to happen. The other characters in this movie, including Laura Dern and Harvey Keitel had very small roles for their big names. Ifelt that we should've explored these characters more insteadof just them being there.


Now with the original characters, they are all basically the same as they were in the original two, instead of expanding their boundries. arbra Streistand and Dustin Hoffman, who play Ben Stiller's parents, had very small roles for being on the poster. I felt that both Streistand and Hoffman should've had bigger roles, instead of being seen for only 20 minutes total. Other than that, all of the original characters, especially Owen Wilson's character Kevin were hilarious for what they were, which was fine with me, just in case you were wondering.

So overall, Little Fockers did not live up to my expectations. I mean, it was a funny movie when it wanted to be funny, but the movie was just a bit too mature to be PG-13, like Dinner For Schmucks, for example. Actually, what both the "Schmucks" and the "Fockers" have in common with teachother is that they were both directed by Jay Roach, who also directed the Austin Powers series. Actually, he didn't direct this movie, Paul Weitz did, which kind of explains why this didn't live up to the original two. But it's because of the jokes and the fact that we get to see these characters once again for me to recommend this movie. But this is NOT a theater movie at all; it's more of a redbox rental when you're bored type of movie. But I can't prevent people from seeing this movie in theaters, I can only share my opinion. Some may like this movie, others will hate this movie. Me, I'm in the middle of all of those people. So would I go to meet the Little Fockers? Only on a DVD rental.






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REWIND REVIEW: Flipped

MOVIE
Flipped

CAST
Madeline Carrol, Callan McAuliffe

RATING
PG

RELEASE
August 6, 2010

DIRECTOR
Rob Reiner

STUDIO
Warner Bros. Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 30 minutes




GRADE
A+ (99)





STARS
****








REVIEW:

Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, The Princess Bride. What do those movies all have in common? Rob Reiner, of course! Of all of those classics I mentioned, the only one I saw was The Princess Bride, and I barely remember it. I haven't seen the other two for one deadly letter: R!! So in the meantime, I managed to watch my first emerable Rob Reiner movie, that combines the setting of Stand By Me, and the reality of "boy metts girl" situations. This movie is called Flippped, which is based on the acclaimed book from a few years back. And my g-d, this was an outstanding!

When the first time Bryce Lasky and Julie Baker, they both had oppiosite feelings for eachother. Bryce nearly despises this mysterious creature, while Julie is lovestruck by Bryce's big eyes. As the years go, they both have the same feelings towards eachother, but it's in 8th grade that changes everything. 8th grade is when everything in the world is "flipped" over, and very few things can change back.

In times when boys like me are experiencing hormonal changes in life, here comes a movie based on an acclaimed book that talks about the experiences both young boys and girls have when they experience their first crushes. Flipped captures exactly what reality is for adolescent boys and girls, also including pointers for the adolescents watching this movie. I personally believe that ALL teens should watch this movie with a big and open mind, and not judge it from the trailer. (attached below) This actually brings me to a big point in teenage lives:

Kids in my middle school, including some of my closest friends have already started dating as early as 6th grade. I really don't get how you could date at all in middle school. I mean, how do you possibly get around to places. Perhaps the kids in my school and the other middle school in my town feel that dating isn't really much and don't really understand the purpose of actually dating, which is two people who like eachother and want to test out a relationship between themselves. I know that whoever I know from either school might bash on me for saying this, but it's the honest to goodness truth: If you really want to start dating right, instead of announcing to the school that you're dating which is merely talking in hallways and hanging out at their houses after schools, wait untill high school, so you can experience the power of dating and love when the time comes.

Getting back to the movie, this is personally one of my 10 favorite movies of the year. I have never seen a more moving and realistic movie like this before, unless it was a reality-based movie. Almost everything in this movie was just perfect to see. The cast was perfectly chosen, the setting was beautiful to look at at parts, and Rob Reiner is the perfect director for this movie. The one bad thing about this movie that I can complain about is the running time. The movie is only a mear 90 minutes, which is really disappointing since this movie could've been longer. But the best thing about this movie is that each scene in this movie is described from the point of view from either Bryce or Julie, which basically shows us the same scene from the previous one, but from the point of view of either Bryce or Julie. That is just one of the many things that makes Flipped so flippin' good.

So overall, and I can't stop saying this, Flipped is a teriffic movie. I loved how Rob Reiner could take the basic teenage life and mold it into a work of art, with the help of the book for which the movie is based on. After seeing this, I want to rush over to my local library and get a copy, then compare the book to the movie. I would strongly recommend anyone, especially teens like me to see this movie, because it shows the troubles, ups, and downs of the average teen's life, both socially, mentally, family, and school related. So to all of my readers, what is it like for you to get "Flipped"?

REWIND REVIEW: Charlie St. Cloud

MOVIE
Charlie St. Cloud

CAST
Zac Efron, Charlie Tahan

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
July 30, 2010

DIRECTOR
Burr Steers

STUDIO
Universal Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 39 minutes





GRADE
B (85)





STARS
**1/2











REVIEW:

La la la la la, oh wait, this isn't High School Musical? Believe it or not, Zac Efron 'graduated' from East High 2 years ago. But after his modest hit 17 Again from April 2009, Mr. Efron wanted to establish himself as a serious actor in Charlie St. Cloud, the story about a man and second chances in life. Now this isn't nearly as good as the High School Musical series or Me and Orson Welles, but it's nice to see Mr. Efron making smart decisions for himself to establish himself as a full fledged actor.

Charlie St. Cloud is a sailor who has a loving family, a scholarship to Stanford, and a love and passion for sailing. One day when driving with his brother, Charlie gets into a major car crash that takes his younger brother's life away. The paramedic could only revive Charlie, thus making him have seen the light and had a near death experience. The one thing that Charlie gained from the experience was that he could communicate with his dead brother's spirit and play catch with him, which was a promise they made to each other before the crash. Five years pass, and Charlie gave up his life to spend time with his brother everyday, while running the local cemetery. But it's this year when he meets the possible girl of his dreams. So Charlie must decide to be with his dead brother, or move on with his life.

From the preview of this movie, (see below) this movie looked pretty interesting. Now after seeing the actual movie, I think that the trailer is much better. But that's not saying that the movie was bad. I just thought of it as an OK movie. The movie made me think about movies like The Sixth Sense and Ghost, though I bet those movies are better than this one. This movie won't win any awards, whether they're Oscars or Razzies. I just think that this movie isn't the best movie or the worst, this just falls directly in the middle, being ranked Average. Let me tell you why this movie was just an Average Joe.

First off, the story was just a bit too predictable. I mean just from the trailer, you know what will eventually happen to most of the characters, yet something might want you to think otherwise about it. Another average thing in this movie was the acting. When Zac Efron cries in this movie, you just can't help but giggle at it, finding it incredibly unbelievable. The rest of the actors in this movie just aren't that believable, other than Efron at times. I can see a bright future for Zac Efron in the acting industry, being able to perfect his profession by being a better actor. Who knows, maybe in the next 10 years, Zac Efron will win an Oscar, or just be nominated. But who can predict the future?

So was Charlie St. Cloud a must see movie? No. Will it win any awards? No. Is it even the slightest enjoyable? Yes. Even though the acting was a bit sloppy, and the story was pretty predictable, Charlie St. Cloud makes up with it's nice scenery, interesting plot, and Zac Efron's acting to call it an average movie. So it won't kill you not to see this movie, but it's good for what it is, and a nice way to spend about two hours when you're bored. So if you're a Zac Efron fanatic, and like sappy, sad, and dramatic romances, then Charlie St. Cloud is your weekend's must see with your gal-pals.

REVIEW: True Grit

MOVIE
True Grit

CAST
Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld

RATING
PG-13

RELEASE
December 22, 2010

DIRECTOR(S)

Joel & Ethan Coen

STUDIO
Paramount Pictures

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 50 minutes

GRADE
A+ (97)

STARS
****

REVIEW:

On the night of December 15, 2010, there were two movie screenings brewing up in center city Philadelphia. The first, was the Reese Witherspoon comedy 'How Do You Know'. The second screening was Jeff Bridges' 'True Grit'. Guess which one I chose? Yes, I did pick True Grit, in case you were curious is I spent my night watching Reese Witherspoon in strings of relationships. Now I personally was a bit skeptic on seeing this movie, since I really never saw a Western movie before, (does Back To The Future Part III count?) so I didn't know what to expect, other than cowboys and guns. But this is more than a western movie, this is a brutal, funny, disturbing, and serious movie that is surely to be hailed as one of the best movies of the year. Luckily, I agree with all of the critics who've reviewed the movie so far: True Grit really is one of the best movies of the year.

Mattie Ross' father got shot in cold blood by the coward Tom Chaney, and she will not rest until she sees Chaney dead. But in order to kill Chaney, she needs to hire a man who has what they call "True Grit". So the man she hires is the drunken, messed up Rooster Cogburn, who also happens to have killed tons of people. So the two set out to find Chaney, but soon become a threesome when a Texas ranger named La Beouf tags along to find Chaney, but for his own personal reasons instead.

Now this movie's been getting a lot of speculation lately, mainly because nobody likes a remake of a classic movie. Well I never saw the original 'True Grit' with the late John Wayne, but I will surely try to see it during my free time in the coming weeks. People have been telling me that John Wayne cannot be replaced or have one of his movies become remade. But from what I heard and saw, Jeff Bridges brought his own sense of originality to the role of the Drunken Cogburn that is surely one of the best played roles to be seen in film this year, which actually brings me to my next paragraph.

So what made this movie click was the two main performances from Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.Well there are two words that can only be said about these performances: OSCAR NOMINATION! Yes that's right, I said it. Jeff Bridges nails the part of a drunken US Marshall with both serious and comedic terms that made the whole theater laugh out loud at some points. Unfortunately, I haven't seen movies like The King's Speech or 127 Hours this year, (rated R) so i don't know if Jeff Bridges will win the Oscar this year like he did last year with the acclaimed Crazy Heart, but this movie definitely gives him a sure-fire nomination. In fact, I wouldn't mind seeing Jeff Bridges getting a two for one nomination for this movie and Disney's TRON: Legacy. But the performance I believe should WIN is Hailee Steinfeld in the Best Supporting Actress category, where she was spot on as Mattie Ross, whose character is basically a 30 year old woman trapped in a 14 year old's body, hypothetically speaking. Out of all of the characters in this movie, Ms. Steinfeld here should be the one to take some gold this year. The rest of the main players were teriffic in this movie, but nothing compared to Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld's performances. You have to see it to believe it.

There were many ups for me seeing this movie. 1.) It was my first Coen Brothers movie ever: 2.) this was my first Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, AND Josh Brolin movie in theaters, which all the more made the movie more enjoyable: and 3.) the movie was FREE! I'm glad that this movie was my first Coen Brothers movie, since the movie was both gritty and terrific for what it was. I'm actually glad this was my first Coen Brothers movie mainly because this is a supposed different turn for them, so I'm glad I was apart of a bunch of college kids/adults to see it. I would also like to point out that this movie was enjoyable because it had incredibly disturbing/disgusting parts involving gun-shots, severed body parts, pulling teeth out of a mouth, etc. I had to turn away at these parts since they were so hard to watch. But overall, True Grit was truly good.

So what is to say about True Grit? I mean, calling this movie a Western won't do this movie enough justice, even though it's main genre is Western. I'd call True Grit the following: a Comedy, Brutal, Disturbing, Bloody, and a Western, or A.B.B.C.D.W. for short. For those who like any of the giving words mentioned, True Grit is the perfect choice for a Saturday night. But I would like to mention, and this is a rarity to me, this movie isn't really something to be seen over and over again, sort of like Inception. One viewing was good enough for me. Surely I would be curious to watch it when it comes on TV, but that's about it. But overall, True Grit is one of the must see movies of the holiday season, an excellent film, and something that I think the late Wayne would've been proud of. So, do you have True Grit? You tell me.

REVIEW: Tron: Legacy in Disney Digital 3D

MOVIE
Tron: Legacy

CAST
Garrett Hedlund, Jeff Bridges

RATING
PG

RELEASE
December 17, 2010

DIRECTOR
Joseph Kosinski

STUDIO
Walt Disney Pictures

RUNNING TIME
2 hours 4 minutes





GRADE
A (95)




STARS
***1/2











REVIEW:

After 28 years in the making, Disney has finally released their anticipated movie, Tron: Legacy, bringing back some of the original actors including Academy Award winner Jeff Bridges as the protagonist from the 1982 cult classic, Kevin Flynn. Except instead of Jeff Bridges going into the game world, he's stuck in there and his son needs to get him out. Now from the minute I saw the test Comic Con trailer 2 years ago, I was absolutely excited for this movie. My anticipation for this movie was even higher than Avatar! Well, anticipation was well waited as Tron: Legacy is the biggest 3D movie spectacle we've seen all year, and one of my favorite movies of the year.

It's been almost 30 years since audiences traveled with Kevin Flynn and Tron into the world of computer programs. Fast forward to today, and Kevin Flynn has been missing for 20 years, no one knowing where he is. As it turns out, before Kevin Flynn disappeared, he had a son named Sam, who grew up to be a 27 year old tech savvy, but slacking adult. One night, an old friend of his dads receives a page from Kevin Flynn's old office, which causes Sam to go to his dad's old office to see what's up. In the office, Sam soon finds his way into the computer world, which has now evolved into a city-like atmosphere, filled with dangerous games, bars, and a controlling leader named Clu, who plans to get into the real world and take over the universe. Will Sam find his Dad in the computer world, (Yes) and will they get out of the digital world before the door between this world and the digital world closes forever?

Now from that lengthy plot I just gave you, I'm guessing you can already guess what will happen in the end. BUt this movie isn't about story, it's about the awesome 3D!!! The 3D in this movie is absolutely incredible to watch, and enhances the movie watching experience for the audience. I can personally compare this movie a lot to Avatar. Great 3D visuals, but weak/slightly predictable storyline. But believe me, this movie is no Avatar. Yes, the 3D was used a bit better in this movie than they used it in Avatar, but Avatar had a decent storyline and better yet, an original storyline. The movie ran its course, even for its 2 hours 42 minute running length, but it was still fun to watch. Tron, on the other hand is a campy movie. Sorry, campy isn't the right word. A better word could be fun and bright, even with the dim glasses.

Like I said, the story was pretty weak. But don't let that stop you from going to see this movie. Jeff Bridges is great as always, which basically proves that he can play any character he wants to, even if he doesn't want to play the character. The other actors and actresses are good in this movie, since they're acting is meant for this type of movie. None of the actors, including "The Dude" will win Oscars for this movie, let alone get nominated at all, since the acting was just average, c'mon, who would expect Oscar nominations for acting on these type of Disney films? I know I wouldn't, so you decide on it.

So overall, Tron: Legacy is fast, fun, and a whole lot of 3D cookin' for you. On the other hand, the story is slightly predictable, the acting is okay for what it was, and it's probably not going to be a memorable movie at all. This movie was really made for die hard Tron fans who love the original, and can pin point some of the hidden scenery objects in this movie that come directly from the original film that will make fans (including me) giggle and get excited in their seat. So just to sum this up, go see Tron: Legacy in 3D or IMAX 3D this holiday season, for the inner die hard fan in yourself, and the 3D lover you are. I would like to point out that if you have the means, try to see this movie in IMAX 3D, even though I enjoyed it when I saw it in my local 3D theater.



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REVIEW: The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader in 3D

MOVIE
The Chronicles Of Narnia:
The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader

CAST
Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes

RATING
PG

RELEASE
December 10, 2010

DIRECTOR
Michael Apted

STUDIO
20th Century Fox

RUNNING TIME
1 hour 52 minutes




GRADE
A (96)





STARS
***1/2









REVIEW:

Tired of seeing Harry Potter for the 10th time? Can't wait for TRON: Legacy? Do you miss the feeling of 3D, but don't think Tangled will satisfy your appetite? Well if you're a fan of Narnia, the latest and possibly final movie, The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader will definitely satisfy your appetite and keep you occupied before the big Holiday fiasco emerges come December 17th. It's not even that it will satisfy you, it's also possibly the best Narnia entry in the entire series. Well, it's definitely better than Prince Caspian, for sure.

Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, the youngest of the Pevensie children, hate living in the shadows of their older siblings, Peter and Susan. So while they're stuck in England during WWII with their snooty cousin, Eustance, the three children get transported back into Narnia, happy to greet the now King Caspian. But to their surprise, they all have no idea what brought them back into the magical land. Now the children along with their old friends must find who or what called them back, and stop it before it destroys the light and goodness in Narnia itself.

I was always a fan of the Narnia series, yes, I even slightly enjoyed Prince Caspian. This one however, was the best one to be brought in the series. Disney probably made the worst decision for a movie's quality, yet probably made a good financial decision. Yes even though the Narnia series are good movies, it seems that the people grew out of it only after the first movie, which I think is really disappointing. The reason why Narnia isn't as popular as it was five years ago is because the US isn't interested in revisiting these four british childrenin a magical land, which is basically a combination of Oz and the world of Harry Potter, with a light dash of Lord Of The Rings blended into it. So if you're a fan of any of those movies I mentioned, which I know you're a fan of, then take the Narnia series for a spin and see how well it fits for you.

I'm making this review short and sweet: this Voyage has fun characters, beautiful scenery, nice CGI, and awesome 3D. This wouldn't be a Voyage I would go on more than once, but it's fun while it lasts. It's also pretty fun as a side-choice to something more dark like Harry Potter and the Lord Of The Rings. Plus also if you are planning on seeing this, try to watch the first two (Disney released) Narnia movies in the series, since they are both family friendly, has just the amount of frights, and are just plain fun. So if you want to escape this world this holiday season, then you might want to travel to Narnia once again, this time on the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.





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R.I.P. Leslie Nielson 1926-2010; R.I.P. Irvin Kershner 1923-2010

It's tough when celebrities die. But it's even harder when the celebrities have created a lifetime supply of memorable movies. That's exactly what happened earlier this week when Leslie Nielson, of Airplane! and The Naked Gun series, and Irvin Kershner, thew director of one of the most celebrated sequels of all time, The Empire Strikes Back passed away, leaving behind so many great movies. For those who didn't know, Leslie Nielson was a serious young actor in the 50s, starting with the sci-fi film 'Forbidden Planet.' It wasn't until 1980 that he got his comedic shot as the doctor in Airplane!, which happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. Then in 1988, Mr. Nielson got his big star break as Lt. Frank Drebin in The Naked Gun: From The Files Of Police Squad, another one of my favorite movies. Those movies will ber the main reasons why Leslie Nielson will be remembered. As for Mr. Kershner, the only other big things he's directed was the james Bond movie, 'Never Say Never Again', and 'Robocop 2', both of which I haven't seen. But Mr. Kershner will be remembered dearestly as the director o "the greatest sequel of all time," The Empire Strikes Back. The one death I'm really sad about was Mr. Nielson, mainly because I wanted to meet him personally and tell him how much of a fan I am of his movies. Oh, well, now I'll never be able to. I give my sincere condolanses to both families, and hope that their family member, from both families had a great life. Rest in peace, because the two men who were apart of defying the 80s are now gone, with generations and generations to hear "Don't Call Me Shirley" or "Luke, I'm Your Father" and still be able to enjoy the timeless classics.