It's prequels week! Honestly, I had to google this because I was drawing a blank except for one. I noticed most prequels seem to be horror flicks that I don't care about. Wandering Through The Shelves picked a tough one this week, at least for me. Head over to her blog and see what everyone has chosen...Here are my 3...
1. STAR WARS 1: THE PHANTOM MENACE-1999
I still have to see the newest versions and, when I start to get mixed up with all the sequels, prequels etc...I turned off the films. I still prefer the first 3 that we made back in 1977, 1980 and 1983. This film is all about how Q-Tip(whatever his name is but well played by Liam Neeson)is mentoring a young Obi Wan Kenobi, played by Ewan McGregor, and is on the search for THE one. THE one is to be the saviour of all that is good against the evil forces. He believes he found him in the young Anakin Skywalker, played horribly by a really irritating kid, not realizing that this kid will grow up to be Darth Vader. We meet Jar Jar Binks...we won't go there, and a young Queen Armadillo(something like that) whom the dark forces are after. We have this evil guy with black and red zig zags across his face and teeth that a dentist would not want to fix. This sets in motion all that will happen in the future. The special effects are brilliant and the fight scene between Q-tip, Obi Wan and Zig Zag guy is excellent especially with the music composed by John Williams. In fact, I love that music piece and it is worth a listen.
2. RED DRAGON-2002
This is a precursor to Silence of the Lambs and it is a tense, thriller with sadness for the killer...not Anthony Hopkins but the character played by Ralph Fiennes. Fiennes is such a brilliant actor that, in lessor hands, his character would have been one dimensional. It starts off where the brilliant Hannibal Lector is caught but not before almost killing the detective played by Ed Norton. A few years later, a serial killer is running around the town and the cops need the Ed Norton detective who, in turn, needs the help of Hannibal Lector to find this monster before another victim is taken. It is an excellent prequel in my humble opinion.
3. OZ, THE GREAT AND POWERFUL-2013
Before Dorothy comes down and kills the Wicked Witch of the East with her house, meeting the drunken munchkins and singing down the yellow brick road, we meet Oz aka Oscar, played by smarmy, wanna slap him, James Franco. He works in a circus but is caught by the strong man making moves on the strongman's gal so Oscar leaves in a big hot air balloon only to be taken by a tornado to the magical land of Oz. There he meets sweet Theodora, a good witch who falls in love with the jerk. They go to the Emerald city and meet her sister, Evanora and they go in search of the wicked Witch...Glinda. Ya, we know she is not wicked and Theodora, so upset by being jerked around by a man(we have all been there) turns evil and green (we have not been there). This is an ok film with some beautiful art direction and wonderful costumes. I just didn't like it at all how the poor sweet gal becomes so evil because of a stupid oaf...he's not worth it Theodora! I wanted to go into the screen and take her to the nearest bar and have a few margaritas with her to help her realize she is better off without that jerk. Oh well..can't have everything.
Which 3 would you choose?
Hi, Birgit!
ReplyDeleteThis month Netflix added The Silence of the Lambs to their lineup. Mrs. Shady and I plan to watch it for the dozenth time. As much as I love Silence of the Lambs, I don't think I ever got around to watching Red Dragon. If I did, I can't recall a single thing about it, and that scene from the film and your synopsis don't ring a bell. After watching the clip and reading your review, I have Red Dragon on my watch list.
The following is off topic because it is not a prequel, but I just wanted you to know. Last night, we watched another film Netflix added this month - the remake of Cape Fear with Bob De Niro, Nick Nolte and appearances by the stars of the original Cape Fear film Bob Mitchum and Greg Peck. I highly recommend both Cape Fear movies.
I never even heard of Oz, The Great and Powerful, but I love James Franco and now I wanna see it.
I'll go with Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, which is both a prequel and a sequel to the original David Lynch TV series.
Thanks, dear friend BB, and enjoy the rest of your week!
I think you would really like Red Dragon..very well acted. I have seen both versions of Cape Fear and really like the one with Peck and Mitchum but I disliked the remake mainly because the family seemed like morons especially the girl whom I just wanted to slap. I will never get out of my head when De Niro bites off the woman's cheek(the one he is having some sexy-poo with). Oz is not bad and it not has James Franco but Michelle Williams as Glinda(she is kind of bland in this), Mila Kunis as Theodora and Rachel Weisz as Evanora
DeleteFor once, I've actually seen one of these films and that is the Star Wars prequel. I've never even heard of the other two. Laughed and laughed at all your synopses, but I swear, your synopsis of the Star Wars film is nothing like I remember it (grin). Hope you are doing OK and feel well.
ReplyDeleteHahahaa...maybe I am being too harsh with Star Wars but I am glad you found it amuzing.
DeleteI thought of all three Star Wars I, II, and III. That's it. Brain dead. I did see Red Dragon, but no OZ fan at all.
ReplyDeleteHey, you saw 2 out of 3
DeleteZIG ZAG GUY! The disrespect for Maul 😂 Red Dragon is the only one I haven't seen. I always forget that movie exists.
ReplyDeleteYeah..poor guy but he did kind of get split in half. You should see that film as it is quite good.
DeleteStar Wars prequel was the only one I saw and wasn't terribly impressed. Though, I am a Liam Neeson fan:)
ReplyDeleteYOU stay safe. Be healthy.
I love Liam Neeson and agree with you. I am healthy and not as crippled as the previous weeks
DeleteThe Phantom Menace was pretty good
ReplyDeleteIt was ok for me even though I love Loam Neeson and I love the effects and the fight sequence is excellent
DeleteI am not a Star Wars guy, the originals were fine but those three were plenty for me, so I've never bothered with any of the new prequels, sequels etc.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen this version of Red Dragon but I did see the William Petersen flick Manhunter which was pretty decent.
We match! I wasn't wild for this CGI heavy Oz though I thought Rachel Weisz was a whole lot better than everybody else and that includes the usually great Michelle Williams who came across as rather wan.
Prequels or origin stories are a huge thing now but I reached back a little to when they weren't so common for a couple of mine.
Another Part of the Forest (1948)-This prequel to Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes exposes how the cancerous home life of Regina, Ben and Oscar Hubbard’s family in their youth full of physical and mental abuse as well as hints of incest formed them into the malignant vipers they were in the original film.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)-Prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark with Indy (Harrison Ford) fighting an evil cult, rescuing kids and generally saving the day. Plenty of adventure but the weakest of the trilogy. Karen Allen’s marvelous Marion is sorely missed.
Oz the Great and Powerful (2013)-This many decades delayed prequel to the fantastic The Wizard of Oz explains how traveling huckster Oscar Diggs (James Franco) became the Wizard also what led sisters Glinda (Michelle Williams) and Theodora (Mila Kunis) to became arch rivals and respectively the Good Witch of the South and the Wicked Witch of the West. Colorful but empty with only Rachel Weisz as the Wicked Witch of the East standing out.
You know...I was thinking...if only there was a prequel to the Little Foxes...I had no idea there was an actual movie which I must check out. I am ho hum about the Indian Jones flicks and this one, which I just watched a month ago, was so blecchhh. The screaming woman and that annoying kid was too much. If you add in the bugged out eyes of the evil dude, you have ick running through it. What happened to the Witch of the North? Maybe one day she will make an appearance. I agree with you about Michelle Williams and i was really shaking my head about the reason Theodora goes evil...a bit too lame for me
DeleteHi Birgit - lots of useful prequels to read up about ... and to see at some stage. I don't think I've ever seen Silence of the Lambs all the way through ... so I guess I could start with Red Dragon - glad to be told about it ... stay safe - Hilary
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling I might see one of the Star Wars prequels. That was something I deliberately avoided choosing because I figured it would be too obvious and there'd probably be a lot of people choosing those.
ReplyDeleteIt's been a few years since I last saw The Phantom Menace in its entirety. I remember enjoying it as a kid but starting to recognize some of the problems as I got older and starting to understand better why it was so widely disliked.
I'd forgotten about Oz, the Great and Powerful. I remember actually enjoying that one, but the whole plotline with Theodora was difficult to handle largely because of how she gets manipulated by both her sister and Oscar until she gets tricked into turning evil. It's only made worse by the knowledge that she never even gets a chance at redemption because she ends up being killed by Dorothy in the next film. On the other hand, I did kinda like seeing a return to form for Glinda. There are so many fan theories and alternate interpretations that claim Glinda was actually the real antagonist the whole time, so it was refreshing to see someone actually going back to what was obviously the original intent for the character.
Actually I prefer the Manhunter version over Red Dragon.
ReplyDeleteFor prequels, I'll go with Rogue One which lead straight into the first Star Wars film.
I forgot to tell you that I specifically loaded some photos just for you in today's post. You'll need to scroll down until you see your name highlighted.
ReplyDeletehttps://alteredbooklover.blogspot.com/2020/06/rains-thursday-art-date-your.html
Hi Birgit, the Red Dragon is the only one I've seen, fabulous film,as are all the others in the serise. Hope all is well with you, Kate x x
ReplyDeleteOf your picks I've only seen Red Dragon which I thought was pretty good if I remember correctly. This in another tough one for me. Can't think of any prequels for the moment. Sequels yes, but not prequels.
ReplyDeleteArlee Bird
Tossing It Out
I'm not generally a fan of prequels. Why not tell that story first? And the Star Wars prequels wasted such opportunities. Sigh. I can't think of any I particularly liked, although I have seen all the movies on your list.
ReplyDeleteSeen all three. Hated the Star Wars prequels. Get worse as they go along. The 3rd was so cringe worthy.
ReplyDeleteImagining you reaching into the screen and pulling Theodora out, down the aisle, out the building, and into the nearest bar is a hoot, Birgit! hahahaha Yeah, it was an okay movie. Do the Star Wars movies count as prequels even though the young Enterprise crew is in a parallel universe. Spock and Uhura together works for me.
ReplyDeleteWhoops. I meant Start Trek. But, you knew that. :-)
DeleteBirgit,
ReplyDeleteWe watched Red Dragon. Silence of the Lamb was good but the prequel and sequel we didn't care too much for. I think they seemed more violent than the first film or maybe it was the very nature of the story line that we couldn't connect with which is quite disturbing. I think I'd like to see Oz the Great & Powerful. DH I don't think would like this but I like fantasy type movies and have enjoyed some of the non-animated remakes of Disney princesses films. Thanks for sharing. Have a good week!
Hello everyone...sorry for not writing to each but ..yeah, got bad again. It’s rough to write when fingers and everything is sore. Anyhoo, yes, I am getting kind of bored with prequels and wish for something more inventive. I heard Manhunter was really quite good and would like to see it. I do think the Star Wars prequels should be forgotten although they are laughable in some scenes like Yoda going all Bruce Lee on Christopher Lee. Yes, the Red Dragon is actually very dark and sad plus intense. Silence of the Lambs is dark but it ends on a positive note in a strange way which I think is one reason you don’t like this film. We need happy endings often because the world provides plenty of the opposite often.
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