Written By: Dan Geer

Fellow students of Bill & Ted University, and the chemical, physical, and biological nature of love…

With 2020 being one of the most non–non-heinous years in the history of mankind, it has become totally clear that all time and reality as we know it has folded in on itself in a most egregious way. A way that only heroes from our past – the two great ones, Bill S. Preston Esquire and Ted Theodore Logan – can totally restore balance to in the present. They must finally fulfill their destiny to explore the meaning of meaning and bring us the song that will unite the world in harmony and save reality as we know it.

While the Wyld Stallyns may be most unwise in the ways of science or politics to bring an end to our modern real-world problems, returning writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon have once again managed to make us totally forget about all of that for 1.5 hours in this most outstanding sequel to their 1989 and 1991 hit films Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey. It’s almost as if all of our world’s odious issues totally disappeared in a most bodacious way when watching this stellar cinematic achievement of pure unadulterated nostalgia and escapism.

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Written By: Dan Geer

In order keep this as spoiler free as possible, this review will refrain from discussing details about anything that was not already in the trailers and TV spots.

“Breathe. Just… BREATHE. Now, reach out with your feelings….”

By “feelings,” I mean the way you felt growing up watching Star Wars films – with a wild-eyed, childlike sense of wonder in the beginning, who continued finding new and fascinating things to love and appreciate about these movies as you grew into adulthood. Everything from the exciting characters, action sequences, droids, ships and lightsaber battles – all the way deep down into the incredibly intriguing myth and lore of it all. Get ready to experience that entire fan journey all in one film with Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

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Written By: Dan Geer

Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla (2014) was a valiant effort to revive the famous Kaiju as an American studio production, and it by far exceeded what Roland Emmerich did with the genre back in the late 90s. While Emmerich’s take veered far too much from the source material, Edwards really brought it back home by bringing the monster back to resembling the classic Godzilla of old (instead of a giant iguana), and honoring the spirit of what Toho did for the Japanese market for decades by having Godzilla stay true to its roots in terms of story and character, and giving it the top-notch special effects and story treatment the lovable giant monster had always deserved.

Sure, Edwards only had so much he could work with on the limited budget he was given, which lead the story to be crafted in such a way where there was tremendous buildup to the appearance of Godzilla, focusing much more on the human characters in the interim. Of course, this upset some fans since the famed monster wasn’t on screen as much as they had hoped he would be (although when he was, it was spectacular to say the least). However, fans should be grateful, because this paved the way for this year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters to really bring on the mayhem they were expecting with that first film, showing not only Godzilla much more, but other classic Kaiju from past Toho films as well. Director Michael Dougherty shows he knows the genre, and executes it with class.

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Written By: Dan Geer

Two years ago, showrunner Chris Carter brought back his hit TV series The X-Files for a limited run of six episodes that generated a somewhat mixed reaction from the fan base, and left X-Philes with a giant cliffhanger that left no choice but for there to be another season in order to resolve it. While it contained a decent season finale, it would have been a terrible way to end the series if the Fox network would have opted to never bring it back again.

Thankfully (after two years of waiting) Fox brought back the show for another season, this time granting a total of ten episodes to really allow The X-Files to breathe and stretch its legs. The fans saw it as an opportunity to perhaps resolve that Season 10 cliffhanger, tell better stories than the previous season, and bring closure to a series that we never quite felt we received after ten seasons and two feature films.

But closure was not exactly what Chris Carter had in mind…

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Written By: Dan Geer

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was a very safe film for Star Wars fans. It brought us back to a universe of familiarity, mirroring various themes and plot points from the original trilogy. Sure, it also introduced us to quite a few new concepts and ideas that we had never seen before in a Star Wars movie, and did it very well. But those things were surrounded by a safety net of nostalgia. It tasted great. It was the filet mignon you always order at your favorite restaurant, and you do not mind. Not one bit. I never tire of ordering The Force Awakens. It’s a great film.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi, however, is more akin to that menu item that you always notice, but are afraid to try because you have never had it before. You always default to the steak. It’s a safe choice you’re always happy with. So when you do finally gain the courage to try something new on the menu, you are not entirely sure you even enjoyed it at first, maybe savoring certain flavors but put off by the texture. It’s so different from the steak, and yet you’re still sitting in the same restaurant.

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Written By: Dan Geer

For kids of the 1970s and early 80s, Star Wars was the big blockbuster movie experience, and rightly so. Nothing was bigger. For me personally, while I technically saw Return of the Jedi in the theater when I was three, I don’t really remember much from that day. I highly enjoyed the films growing up, and even had a few of the action figures, an R2-D2 toy toter, and the original three films on VHS. But I never truly experienced seeing the Star Wars films in the theater until the Special Editions were released in 1997.

It was really the first Batman from 1989 that was my first big blockbuster theatrical experience. Aside from Superman: The Movie (1978), the comic book genre had really disappeared into oblivion with the abysmal sequels in the 1980s. So when Tim Burton’s Batman came along, it was the biggest craze since the Pet Rock, and put comic book movies back on the map. As a kid, nothing was more cool than that film. NOTHING.

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Written By: Dan Geer

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a movie that is literally going to change everything we thought we knew about Star Wars. As a prequel to Star Wars: Episode IV: A New Hope, it will change the way you view that story completely. It pushes the boundaries of camerawork and editing beyond what the saga films did (and will continue to do). This is the first standalone Star Wars film, and is highly experimental in a number of ways, which is risky, but well worth it as long as one is open to Star Wars not really feeling so much like your typical Star Wars episodes.

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Written By: Dan Geer

This is it. The first time both Superman and Batman share the big screen in a live-action film is finally here. Ever since Frank Miller’s Batman: The Dark Knight Returns comic book series first made its way into the hands of tens of thousands of superhero geeks around the world back in 1986, we’ve all wished and hoped for a live-action book-to-film adaptation of Miller’s story. While of course Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice is not that story, it still brings us DC’s two most popular comic book heroes together for the first time in a live-action movie that is very much inspired by Miller’s story, and that is something we need to step back, breathe, and be grateful for. Even ten years ago, I would’ve completely denied it as a possibility that we would ever get a film like this. Yet somehow, here we are – and it brought a big smile to my face.

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Written By: Dan Geer

After so many years of waiting, wondering whether or not Fox’s hit series The X-Files would ever get a third film, Fox decided that a limited series event for television was a better way to go, green-lighting six more episodes instead. Needless to say, fans were ecstatic. While we didn’t get a movie, we actually got more than we ever asked for, which was fantastic. More mythology, plus stand-alone stories for Mulder and Scully to investigate. It is hard to believe that it has already come and gone!

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Written By: Dan Geer

Wow. Simply wow.

It is so hard to put into words how it really feels to finally see Episode VII of the Star Wars saga. It’s been 32 years since Return of the Jedi, and over a decade since Revenge of the Sith, which we thought was going to be the very last Star Wars film we’d EVER see. As far as we knew, George Lucas was done. And he’s still done, but just not in the way we all thought.

Lucas of course made the decision to step out of the Star Wars sandbox and let other talent play in it, which caught us ALL by surprise. Selling the Lucasfilm rights over to Disney, Lucas handed the company over to long-time friend and film producer Kathleen Kennedy to lead the charge into a whole new era of Star Wars – one that takes us back to its roots. And it all started by bringing back The Empire Strikes Back writer Lawrence Kasdan to pen the screenplay, and hiring J.J. Abrams to direct. I couldn’t have imagined a more brilliant team to kick off the sequel trilogy  – a trilogy NO ONE thought would ever happen.

This review will not spoil anything for the reader. It is best to let the film unveil it all. Instead, let us just focus on what we can expect, in terms of tone, characters and story. After all, what you’re really reading this for is simply to know one thing: IS IT GOOD?!!!!

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