Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Disney has released a new version of S​now White and the Seven Dwarfs. The early reviews are not good.

Three days ago I watched the original Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs for the third time in my life. The animation is fantastic, and two of the songs are particularly good. The dwarfs are wonderful. A couple of decades ago, this movie truly captured my heart. It’s easy to love the dwarfs and feel the emotion as they mourn Snow White’s apparent death.

However, the story is quite lightweight, and much of the film feels like filler. Nearly half of it consists of slapstick comedy. Too much time is spent on exposition, and not all of the music is engaging.

Had I seen this movie in 1937, I would have regarded it as the greatest animated film made up to that point—which it was. It was truly groundbreaking. However, it would be surpassed just three years later by Pinocchio.

Rating: B+.

We Don't Want to Give Creativity to Robots

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKO-LShEgcs&t=486s

Stan Lee’s Story of Creating Spider-Man

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Qcq-jhbVTGQ

Lilo & Stitch - Official Trailer (2025)

The Lilo & Stitch trailer makes the movie look fun, but it places too much emphasis on comedy. I love the original animated film, which had a bit of an edge to it. Stitch was a dangerous creature, and the girl being raised by her older sister faced a difficult adjustment for them both. Yet, having Stitch as a pet somehow improved all their lives.

The beauty of animation is that it allows for things that don't work as well in live-action. Turning animated classics into live-action films seems like a bad idea—they're never going to be as good as the originals.

Do we need a live-action Bambi? How good will that be?

Andor Season One is on Hulu & YouTube? | Tony Gilroy talks about how important Andor is to him

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhUFKtqtGwY

Andor is a fantastic series.  It is a prequel to Rogue One, A Star Wars Story.

It is not a normal Star Wars story with space wizards.  It is about people living under fascism and how that foments a rebellion.

The first episode:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EuCoDo2k9A

Tom Wilson (Biff Tannen) - The Question Song

https://youtu.be/AwKcPRCV6bI?si=3lgsqbN_sY0L7SXw

Gene Hackman died of heart disease, about one week after wife died of hantavirus: investigators

https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/gene-hackman-betsy-arakawa-deaths-investigators-provide-update

How James Earl Jones BECAME the VOICE of DARTH VADER

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/ri52vuMqoRI

We have lost Carrie Fischer, Kenny Baker, James Earl Jones, Peter Mayhew, and David Prowse.

Stellan Skarsgård Talks Playing Luthen In Andor

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w2JSniAoVDg

Rosie O'Donnell Says Michelle Trachtenberg 'Struggled' in Years Before Death

https://people.com/rosie-odonnell-says-michelle-trachtenberg-struggled-before-death-harriet-the-spy-costar-11686951

So I FINALLY Watched Andor...

Kathleen Kennedy and Star Wars

Actually, I love the George Lucas Star Wars prequels.

Clint Howard tells the secret of Tranya in Star Trek TOS

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MrOrCfvfVD4

Clint Howard is the younger brother of director Ron Howard.  He made appearances on The Andy Griffith Show and a memorable scene in the original Star Trek.   As an adult, he made a career playing minor and odd characters.

The politics of Star Wars

Rosario Dawson and 'The Bad Batch' Win Saturn Awards

https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2025/02/rosario-dawson-and-the-bad-batch-win-saturn-awards.html#:~:text=Star%20Wars%20projects%20got%20some,third%20year%20in%20a%20row.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John Coffey 
Subject: Why Ahsoka Tano is one of the greatest characters in all of Star Wars

This Star Wars character, whom you may have never heard of, is beloved by millions of fans. This is due to her long arc of character development, which has spanned over a decade.

She was almost the main character of the animated The Clone Wars series, as the show began and ended with her. She also appeared in the animated Star Wars Rebels and was at least referenced in The Bad Batch. More recently, Rosario Dawson portrayed her in live-action appearances in The Mandalorian, its spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the titular series Ahsoka.

My favorite of these series is The Bad Batch.  It is the most fun and perhaps the most beautiful.  I've watched it four times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joEMcCJAvsU

Why Ahsoka Tano is one of the greatest characters in all of Star Wars

This Star Wars character, whom you may have never heard of, is beloved by millions of fans. This is due to her long arc of character development, which has spanned over a decade.

She was almost the main character of the animated The Clone Wars series, as the show began and ended with her. She also appeared in the animated Star Wars Rebels and was at least referenced in The Bad Batch. More recently, Rosario Dawson portrayed her in live-action appearances in The Mandalorian, its spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the titular series Ahsoka.

My favorite of these series is The Bad Batch.  It is the most fun and perhaps the most beautiful.  I've watched it four times.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joEMcCJAvsU

How Robert Patrick’s speed Shocked Everyone on Set in Terminator 2: Judgment Day...

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/a3Ggp09vN94

Star Wars Meme Monday with Thor & Naboo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKYu7GEP3FM&t=694s

"Skeleton Crew" Episode 7 Review: How is this so good?

For the most part, Star Wars fans have been disappointed with everything Disney has done with the franchise since acquiring it from George Lucas, except for the Andor series, which was on another level.  I, however, differ in that I've enjoyed most of Disney's Star Wars offerings, though certainly not all of them.

When Disney announced they were creating a Star Wars kids' series that would combine elements of The Goonies and Lost in Space, almost no one was optimistic. Many expected it to be just as disappointing as the previous failed series. However, now that people have seen Skeleton Crew, the consensus is that it's knocking it out of the park. After a slow start, each episode has been better than the last, and it feels like what Star Wars should be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhlq2V94tc8

How 3 words created a masterpiece

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pmRvB0eApwA

Ben Shapiro’s Most OVERRATED Films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXnyd_4yPf0

The Force Awakens: Remembering what almost was (Nine Years Later)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_OQz0n1GiM

Watching “The Last Jedi” again after seven years: Will I feel any different?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GysRKGPivdI&t=21s

The Rise of Skywalker, Five Years Later

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F8cvxTkIMk

Dick Van Dyke

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4DP8IEh8wI

Superman | Official Teaser Trailer

I don't understand the need to keep rebooting Superman.  It is hard to beat the 1978 Superman movie.

I liked the last two Superman films, and I would have been happy to continue those stories, but they keep going back to the same well.  How many Superman origin stories do we need?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhUht6vAsMY

Why sci-fi alien planets all look the same

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yy16KFzM4XU

Superman The Movie/Superman II

Superman The Movie came out on December 15th, 1978. It was fairly impressive for its time. This was just a year and a half after the original Star Wars, and the special effects were groundbreaking. It was one thing to have ships flying through space, it is another to have a person fly through the air and look believable. At the Oscars, the film solely won the Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects.

What I didn't remember about this film is that it is half comedy, showing its comic book roots. It doesn't take itself seriously, unlike the more recent Superman Returns and Man of Steel. The film's goofiness is distracting, but this seemed normal in 1978.  We were used to campy superheroes, having watched Batman on television in the 1960s.

Some Superman fanatics didn't like Man of Steel because that movie ditched the red tights. I think that the red tights look goofy, and in the modern era, I prefer more serious superheroes.



Christopher Reeve was a great actor and he feels like he was born to play Superman. He is completely believable in the role, and he does a great job as his alter ego mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent.

Whatever problems Margo Kidder had later in life, she made a great Louis Lane.

Marlon Brando is great as Superman's father and gives the movie gravitas.

There are only two memorable pieces of music but they are fantastic.  The score by John Williams practically makes the film. Even Christopher Reeve acknowledged this and said that Superman would not be able to fly without John Williams's music.  The Superman Theme is rousing and is used constantly.  The love song "Can You Read My Mind" is Oscar-worthy, and notes from this song are snuck into almost every scene with Louis Lane.

Superman The Movie defined the superhero movie for a generation.  It is extremely well-made but feels dated.  

Rating: A-.

Much credit has to be given to Richard Donner who gave us a great film. 

Superman II was filmed at the same time as Superman.  Richard Donner directed both films but didn't finish the second one.   The filming on Superman II was suspended so that Donner could focus on finishing the first film.  After Superman was released, producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind decided to cut Marlon Brando's scenes from Superman II to avoid paying him a percentage of the film's box office.  Donner refused to make the film without Brando's scenes.

Superman II fails in every regard.  The story is weak.  The villains are goofy.  The special effects look bad compared to the first film.  The Kryptonians have powers we have never seen before, like telekinesis.  Rating: C-.

In 2008 Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on DVD.  This version of the film is barely passable.  I liked it better because it is not as goofy, but I am not sure that I can recommend it.

Why everyone loves "Shared Universes" (And how one may be in trouble before it even starts)

The roughly 23 movies in the Marvel Universe weren't all great individually, but the way they all culminated in Avengers Infinity War and Avengers Endgame was impressive.  Although Endgame made more money, I thought Infinity War was one of the best movies I had ever seen.

James Gunn, who made some good Marvel movies, is rebooting the DC Universe next year with a Superman remake.  I just barely found out about this.  However, there were already a couple of attempts to reboot Superman that didn't go anywhere.

Superman Returns * * * 1/2

People attending The Dark Knight Rises today will be treated to the first trailer for Man of Steel, which is due out next summer.  This is the latest attempt to reboot the Superman series, just coming seven years after the last attempt, which was Superman Returns.  Superman Returns is not so much of a reboot as it is a sequel that is also highly reminiscent of the 1978 Superman movie.  A few parts of it feel like echoes of the previous film with new twists.  Whether or not you will like Superman Returns depends upon your taste, but it is highly reminiscent of the 1978 Superman movie, which I loved, while exploring new territory that is interesting.

Superman Returns explores the Superman story in a post 9-11 world.  After a trip to find his home planet, Superman returns to earth to find that Lois Lane is married and has a child.  It is a world that has mostly forgotten about superheroes.  

I assume that those still interested in Superman are looking forward to Man of Steel.  By now, Superman Returns has largely been forgotten.  Still, the movie received 76% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and I think that it is underrated.  If you fell in love with the first Superman movie,  as I did, then this film has everything you could want.  Watching this movie felt nostalgic, because it does echo some key points from the first movie, but there is enough new material to make it into a good film.  Casting Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor was an act of genius.  He is is brilliant in this movie.

If there are negatives to the movie, it is that it is a little more brooding and that Brandon Routh  doesn't quite look the part.  The 1978 Superman movie states that Superman weighs 220 pounds.  Christopher Reeve bulked up for the movie and really did weigh 220 pounds.  Superman Returns states that Superman weighs only 120 pounds, and the contradiction bothered me. Although Brandon Routh does look somewhat like Christopher Reeve, he also looks too thin for the part.  People expect their superheroes to have some mass on them.