Back to the Future

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🎙️ EPISODE 262: 05.20.20 this is a joint review incorporating thoughts on Back to the Future Part III (for some reason) as well When I recently reviewed BTTF2 for the very special golden 250th episode of my extremely low listenership podcast "The Movie Review Show," I did so without having seen the motion picture in quite some time. The wife and I had gone to seen the original film at an outdoor screening at the Penn's Landing waterfront in Philly a few years ago, back when humans did that sort of thing. Before that night, it had probably been since before I "cut the cord" that I had happened upon any of these movies in basic cable passing, and most likely since my VHS youth before I had sat down to purposefully watch them in full. So here I found myself in quarantine recently, wanting "something to watch," not a strange impulse to have at a time like this, what with escapism running rampant, I'd imagine. Perhaps you feel the same.

I keep a list of "movies that I want to watch," and much of this list is haughty taughty b.s. and low-budget cult crap. I look at the list sometimes and think, "how did my brain end up like this?" I've recently retreated into what I'll call "comfort food content" now and again, for lack of a better term. Something about The Big Q (COVID quarantining) has me seeking out "the classics" (see last week's review of The Master, and the week prior's take on Glen Danzig's Verotika, and also my decision to watch Olaf from Frozen interview the reunited cast of The Goonies, and subsequently the cast of it, you guessed it: this trilogy).

The first two films are classics. They are ubiquitous and entrenched, and fully drenched in nostalgia, yet have somehow avoided the annoyance-levels of cultural saturation which plagues other tentpole media franchises (I can think of one in particular that rhymes with "tar boars" and another one that rhymes with "moat flusters"). This is, naturally, because the creators of BTTF (Zemeckis and Gale, primarily, and probably to a lesser degree Spielberg, who would probably E.P. a reboot or sequel if the other two gave the OK) have been steadfast against it. I am not precious with any of this. I don't care. They could make more sequels or remake it. Whatever, my days are just the same. And I would watch. There's no part of your favorite movie(s) that has been made better or worse by decisions to expand upon the characters or story from it in subsequent releases. Let Batman Forever be your Batman, hell let Ben Affleck be your Batman for all I care! Let your spirit shine.




As previously noted, I did watch this reunion thing. And I was happy to see that, in just a half-hour, they managed to give love to the train set piece from Part III's ending. One of the truly magnificent moments in practical filmmaking which makes that particular film worth the price of admission despite its numerous goofy flaws.

I just saw a stork fly outside my window. OK maybe it was a heron. Is there a difference? Or is stork just a different kind of heron (or vice versa?)... Want to know the definitive rankings for the Back to the Future trilogy???

1. Back to the Future
2. Back to the Future Part II
3. Back to the Future Part III
Sometimes, it's just that simple, folks. Good day to ya.

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 261B - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 262B ⫸

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