The Zachtastic Movie Blog

Although Star Wars falls dead square in the middle of the current movie timeline, it was the first in the franchise to be produced and released in theaters. Yes indeed, this was the one that started it all. George Lucas wrote and directed the film. It was originally released in theaters on May 25, 1977, and inarguably changed the course of Hollywood history forevermore. The cast consists of Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, James Earl Jones (vocal performance; David Prowse provided the physical performance of Darth Vader), Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, and Peter Cushing. The film’s page on IMDB lists this as the official synopsis: “ Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader. ” Considering that the above video is just over 33 minutes lo...

Spider-Man: Far From Home directly follows the events of Avengers: Endgame and also serves as the 23rd film in the MCU timeline. Jon Watts returned to direct the film after having also worked on Homecoming , in which most of the original writing team also returned. The film was released in theaters on July 2, 2019. The cast consists of returning actors from Homecoming such as Tom Holland, Zendaya, Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Jacob Batalon, Angourie Rice, and Tony Revolori, in addition to Samuel L. Jackson, Cobie Smulders, and Jake Gyllenhaal. The film’s page on IMDB lists this as the official synopsis: “ Following the events of Avengers: Endgame , Spider-Man must step up to take on new threats in a world that has changed forever. ” Considering that the above video is 23½ minutes long, I declined to write a full summary of our thoughts. In general, though, the two of us enjoyed this movie and would sincerely recommend it. If you would like to hear more of what we had ...

Hello everyone! Thanks for checking out this post. Considering that the video linked above is only 3½ minutes long, I didn’t feel that writing a corresponding post was necessary. I recapped my favorite movies of 2019 in a short montage, anyway. I hope you enjoy seeing what my ten favorite movies of the year so far turned out to be!

Midsommar is the second feature film from up and coming director Ari Aster, and was released in theaters on July 3, 2019. Aster made a huge impact on movie fans last year with his debut feature Hereditary , and has once again delivered an ambitious and disturbing horror film for audiences. The cast consists of Florence Pugh, Jack Reynor, Will Poulter, William Jackson Harper, and Vilhelm Blomgren in the lead roles. Actual Swede actors were featured in supporting roles and as extras. IMDb reports the synopsis of the film as such: “ A couple travels to Sweden to visit a rural hometown's fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult. ” A video version of this review is available at the link above, and has a timecode of 10:42. But if you would like a brief written version of my thoughts, continue reading! Midsommar was easily one of my most antic...

One Punch Man was adapted from a manga series of the same name by ONE. Season 1 was originally broadcast in Japan in 2015, with simulcasting taking place in America and other regions. Season 2 premiered in April 2019, with Hulu having exclusive telecasting rights in the States. Both seasons consist of 12 episodes each. Footage from the Madhouse and JC Staff production film One Punch Man is featured in this review. All images and clips were fairly used and are the property of their respective creators. IMDb reports the synopsis of the show as such: “ The story of Saitama, a hero that does it just for fun and can defeat his enemies with a single punch. ” A video version of my comparison between seasons 1 and 2 can be found above; the video has a timecode of 13:33. But if you would like a brief written version of my thoughts, continue reading! To be very short of words, I love this show. One Punch Man initially was not on my radar for content I wanted to check...

The Retro Movie Minute feature is a series on my YouTube channel in which I briefly share my thoughts on an older film (to catch up with all other installments of this series, click here). Regardless of whether or not I had seen it previously, my general rule of thumb here will be that I report on something I had seen in theaters. I will also make exceptions for older films played in special events or if I am seeing some movie(s) in preparation for a new release that is somehow related. Thank you for reading/watching! Forrest Gump was directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay by Eric Roth; the film itself is an adaptation of the book of the same name by Winston Groom . Tom Hanks stars as the titular, and also acts alongside Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson, and Sally Field. The film was originally released on July 6, 1994, and eventually won six Academy Awards, including Best Picture. IMDb reports the synopsis of the film as such: “ The presidencie...

Toy Story 4 , the latest and certainly most unexpected installment in Pixar’s flagship franchise, was released in theaters on June 21, 2019. The story was filtered through many different creative individuals before ultimately being given to first-time director Josh Cooley to complete the film; he previously had experience co-writing Inside Out with Pete Docter. Other writers credited for Toy Story 4 include Rashida Jones, John Lasseter, and Andrew Stanton. Pixar produced the film, which was ultimately released by Disney. The film’s voice cast includes veterans to the franchise such as Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Joan Cusack, and Don Rickles (archival audio from the previous three films). New additions include Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, Keagen-Michael Key, and Jordan Peele. IMDb reports the synopsis of the film as such: “When a new toy called ‘Forky’ joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends re...