Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Tightly plotted and relentlessly entertaining, this was the second Star Wars film to be released (although it's placed fifth in the overall narrative sequence).

There's an excellent script full of highly quotable lines, and a lot of it is very funny, too. Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill are all at their best.

There’s romance (Han and Leia), adventure, mystery, excitement and peril. Plus an odd recurring theme of disfigurement.

The pacing is perfect. Director Irvin Kershner keeps things moving, but never at the expense of character development.

The Blues Brothers (1980)

Directed by John Landis, this is a remarkable blend of comedy, musical, road-trip saga, crime caper and love letter to Chicago. It’s rightly seen as a classic. There’s absolutely nothing else like it.

Brothers Jake (John Belushi) and Elwood (Dan Ackroyd) need to raise money to save an orphanage, so they plan to get their old band together – the Blues Brothers – to play a fundraising gig. The problem is that they are being pursued by the police, a country band, a bunch of Nazis and Jake’s angry girlfriend (Carrie Fisher). 

The action sequences are astonishing, with a huge number of police cars being trashed in the chase scenes. 

It’s especially notable for the song performances by jazz, soul and blues stars James Brown, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, John Lee Hooker and Chaka Khan. There are also acting roles and brief cameos for John Candy, Frank Oz, Steven Spielberg and – bafflingly – Twiggy. 

It’s so good-natured and silly that it quickly wins you over. You end up rooting for these two daft men “on a mission from God” despite the inevitability that they are heading for disaster.

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Charming New York comedy written and directed by Woody Allen. It examines the lives and relationships of three sisters, played by Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey and Dianne Wiest. Their husbands (or ex-husbands) are played by Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and Woody Allen, while Carrie Fisher is woefully underused as a family friend.

As with most Woody Allen films it’s intricately plotted, with wit, sophistication and emotion, but unusually for his work a few things seemed slightly unresolved. What happened to the architect that Dianne Wiest and Carrie Fisher were both going to the opera with? Did they both decide not to date him? It felt like a scene was missing. Also, there’s a moment in which Barbara Hershey’s character Lee is heading to an AA meeting. Then later she is seen dancing with Michael Caine and enjoying a glass of wine. Did he get her back on the booze and, if so, shouldn’t the story have picked up on this? Or was that a continuity mistake? These points aside, it’s a thought-provoking drama that’s resolved in a very satisfactory way.

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

This romantic comedy directed by Rob Reiner isn’t up to his usual standards. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan play the mutually attracted New Yorkers intent on staying just friends. There are some funny moments, but others fall flat. Billy Crystal emerges as difficult to like. I know that’s meant to be part of the character, but the problem is that I kept disliking him even after we were supposed to believe he had finally stopped being shallow and grown up.

Meg Ryan is as charming as ever and makes acting seem very natural. In particular, her crying scene – in which he hands her tissues and she tosses them over her shoulder – is brilliantly done. Carrie Fisher plays their friend (comically named Marie Fisher) and is also excellent. But overall, something was missing – chemistry, perhaps. Or maybe it’s just not believable enough.

Nora Ephron would go on to write funnier Meg Ryan films – Sleepless in Seattle (1993) and You’ve Got Mail (1998).

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

The last of the sequel trilogy had a lot to deliver, resolving not only the new sequence of films but also the entire saga. Did it achieve that? Well, sort of. Mostly.

It offers such a rich visual feast and a fairly full-on narrative. So much happens so quickly and there's a lot to take in. Unlike with Episode VIII, there’s no filler. The characters are stronger – there’s a warm feeling of “the old gang back together” – and the weaker ones from the last film (such as Rose) had been minimised.

Although the overall story worked, the plot was flawed in many ways:
• It's ludicrous to think of Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) having a wife and children, not to mention how he cheated death and came back to life (an increasingly common trick in Star Wars).
• General Hux (Domhnall Gleeson) being the spy was too convenient and unlikely. Couldn’t Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) sense who was betraying him? He had pretty much every other power imaginable.
• Fin (John Boyega) suddenly developing Force sensitivity somewhat cheapens that power. Can anyone have it now? Perhaps it was just to give him more of a reason to exist, but I still think his character could have been combined with that of Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac).
• There’s a conspicuous lesbian kiss (seen among the celebrating Resistance fighters) for no apparent reason. This seems like a right-on gesture with no grounding in the plot logic.
• Even given the ending, in which Rey decides to consider Luke and Leia her true parents, the title made little sense.

Those points aside, there was a vast amount to enjoy. Daisy Ridley was compelling as Rey and the complicated love story between her and Kylo Ren makes for a strong central theme.

I was surprised how much Carrie Fisher was in it, given that she died before filming – presumably a “deep fake” scenario rather than a repurposing of unused footage. Wasn’t expecting to see Harrison Ford, either.

It was lovely to see a couple of Ewoks and a relief that there were no Gungans.

There were a few laughs – mainly banter from Poe.

The big “surprise” (unless you’d seen the trailer) return of Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian was superfluous, but presumably they felt they needed everyone they could get from the old films.

It goes without saying that the effects were incredible. I loved it when Palp sent force lightning up into space.

All in all, a hugely entertaining romp.