For those of you just tuning in, The Good Parts is regular column, documenting our ongoing search for the good parts in even the biggest, messiest cinematic train wrecks. As you can tell by the title of this edition, I certainly have my work cut out for me. Released in 1995, First Knight tells the legendary tale of love and betrayal, featuring King Arthur and his first knight, Sir Lancelot. The adventures of the Knights of the Round Table are universally known and cherished, so what went wrong? Well, to answer this question, look no further than the second name on the movie poster: Richard Gere.

…continue reading The Good Parts: First Knight

Happy 10th anniversary to Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace! Today marks 10 years since the release of the most anticipated film in history. Some were thrilled. Others feel their childhood was raped! Even with its flaws, I still enjoy the first Star Wars prequel. I clearly remember hitting the theater 4 hours before the midnight showing with all of my friends, discussing every aspect of Star Wars. In celebration of the 10 years since its release we are doing a very special Good Parts article. It’s easy to point out how George Lucas fucked up, but why be negative? Here are the Good Parts of Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace!

…continue reading The Good Parts: Star Wars, Episode I: The Phantom Menace

Anticipating Friday’s release of J. J. Abrams’ Star Trek, we’re paying homage to Star Trek this week. One of the worst moments in the franchise’s history is Star Trek V, directed by William Shatner. Following the successful Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek V was a dismal failure. The story was poorly conceived and the effects were just terrible. Was it all bad? No. In fact a good writer could have made a huge improvement over the script. I re-watched the film searching for a few shining moments. Here is what I found:

…continue reading The Good Parts: Star Trek V – The Final Frontier

We’re starting a new series entitled “The Good Parts.” Every once in a while we will choose a bad movie, and point out what’s good about it. Sure it’s easy to say why a movie sucks, but we look at the glass half full not half empty. Our first movie will be Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.

Superman IV was the last of the Superman theatrical films to star Christopher Reeve. In this movie, Superman battles a solar-powered evil clone of Superman called Nuclear Man created by Lex Luthor (portrayed by Gene Hackman). The film was a huge failure for Warner Brothers with absurd characters and poor special effects. Christopher Reeve was quoted during the filming that the movie was going to be “terrible.” So what was good about the film?

…continue reading The Good Parts: Superman IV