Simon's Movie Reviews

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) is a very interesting entry in Steven Spielberg’s grandiose filmography. It was made a few years before E.T the Extra-Terrestrial , in which only one alien is stranded on Earth, and decades before War of the Worlds , in which the aliens come to our homes for conquering. It was also made at a time when he was single, which might explain why a character would decide to abandon his family in order to chase after visitors from another world. A married Spielberg with kids might have made a different movie. In any case the final product is one of his most regarded films due to the iconic music by long-time collaborator John Williams and the stunning images courtesy of the late cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond. I can’t remember exactly when I first saw Close Encounters from beginning to end (I have my limits) but I do know there is a ceiling lamp in my mom’s dinning room that awfully looks like the alien mothership. I also have John Williams’ s...

The name George Lucas is most often associated with Star Wars , which has become part of pop culture since the release of the first film in the franchise decades ago. Yet before the massive success of his beloved fantasy series he had already achieved a fair amount of success in the United States with his second directorial effort, American Graffiti (1973). Like many filmmakers who feel nostalgic about their childhood, Lucas set the movie during the era of his teenage years, the early 1960s. Today it is a period piece, but I imagine back in 1973 it was a great flashback for many audience members. Also of note, it features up-and-coming talents such as Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, and a young man by the name of Harrison Ford. Before watching the movie, I sort of read the book. Back in the mid-1990s when I was living in Peru one of my school assignments was to read a biography and talk about it in class. In the library I saw a book called Skywalking: The Life and Films of George ...