Final Part of Time Traveling Trilogy 'Back to the Future Part III' Review

After recently watching Back to the Future Part I & II, I naturally wanted to see the final part of an enjoyable trilogy. One thing I wish I hadn't seen was the theatrical trailer for Back to the Future Part III; that was forced upon the viewer right after the Part II movie, before the credits rolled. The reason is that after seeing Back to the Future Part III, I soon realized the trailer showed most of the best scenes and lines from the movie.

Here is the Trailer for anyone that is interested: 

Back to the Future Part III's conflicts are pretty similar to the first two parts, and this film has a goofier and kind of cheesier feel to it as well.  If someone just watched Part III without watching the first two films, I can't imagine anyone liking it nearly as much.  The main reason being that this film plays off fan favorite parts from the other two films. Especially the over used catchy line said by, Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) & good pal, Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown (Christopher Lloyd).  They both say "Great Scott!" multiple times throughout all three parts.           

I do believe the ending of this trilogy was satisfying for anyone that saw all three parts. 

I would rate Back to the Future Part III: 7.2/10.  

Part three was no where nearly as good as parts one and two. I wish they made the third parts story and conflicts not so similar to what we have already seen in the previous two films. I guess the franchise went with the,"if it aint broke, don't fix it" strategy.  Rating wise though Back to the Future Part III, received a rating of 73% from Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the 96% that Back to the Future Part I was given.

Overall this is a great trilogy.  I enjoy the balance of thrill and drama with the right mixture of comedy and that is one thing all of these films did real well.  If somehow someone never saw any of these films, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND seeing the Original!  

If I just saw Back to the Future Part III without seeing the first two installments I would rate the film: 3.5/10.  You need to see these films in order to fully understand and enjoy the ride of this popular time traveling trilogy. 

Time traveling to the year 2015 'Back to the Future Part II'

Most of us have seen the Back to the Future movies, but it may have been a while since you've seen Back to the Future Part II, where Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) & The "Doc" (Christopher Lloyd) travel 30 years to the future!

They travel to October 2015 to prevent Marty's future son from getting arrested and sentenced to jail.  

I enjoyed seeing what they thought the year 2015 would have been like technoolgy wise, and unfortunately we are still years away from some of their "future" predictions.

Some of my favorite things they predicted for the year 2015:

Perfectly accurate weather, down to the second. It would be very nice to know exactly when the rain would stop/end. They showed that it was possible to put a mini dehydrated pizza in a "Black & Decker Hydrator" and have a full size pizza in seconds! I wonder if this technology of hydrating food will ever be invented.

I also liked how they thought clothes would be in the year 2015. They showed Marty wearing a self adjusting jacket, that could also dry itself automatically when wet. 

I love the Nikes with "Power laces" that Marty wore. I am surprised we haven't seen anything like these yet, hopefully Nike will actually make these in the near future. 

One thing I can't see catching on is "Kids" wearing their pants inside out, that is one fashion trend I hope never happens. 

One thing I feel that this movie did predict really well for how the future would be, is how much we are engulfed in media. There are deleted scenes I watched from this movie that I wish they kept because it may have been their best predictions. The scenes are of the future Marty coming home from work and going to talk to his son. His son is not just watching TV, but watching multiple programs at once. Marty wants his son at the dinner table, and the only way his son agrees is when Marty gives him these glasses you put on and can watch two shows at once.  I feel like we are getting close to a world like this where people use media 24/7. 

^Here are the scenes I wish they kept in the Movie^

Modern Family

When I was home over my break I found my self sucked into a marathon of Modern Family created by Christopher Lloyd and Steve Levitan. Before break I didn't really watch much of the show because I didn't have cable but I knew my own family loved it and that within the Park School and my group of friends it is a strongly liked show.

Getting more into the analysis of the show, I absolutely love all of the characters. There is literally a strong character that  every person can relate too and the crazy dynamic it creates is that of a real family. Not only is the writing for the characters good but it is casted so well. My favorite character is Phil Dunphy played by Ty Burrel. I love his witty awkward but yet smooth humor. It's so easy to match personalities of my own family to characters in the show and I think that's what makes it so funny. Also the writing in general is great, the jokes have so many levels are delivered so smoothly into the normal dialogue. I was actually fortunate enough to meet Christopher Lloyd when he came to Ithaca College last year. He was such a funny and energetic guy that it makes a lot of sense that someone like him helped create a show of such caliber. He also talked to us about the writing for the show and that they're inspired from real events they all experience in their own houses but they need to modify them so they fit into the story line and match the specific characters of the show better.

Along side of the fantastic writing and casting of the show, it also gives off several great messages and seems to be setting the new norms. The first and most obvious social norm it is setting is the stance on homosexual marriage. They have put loving faces and characters to the movement that people can stand behind and think about when addressing this situation in reality. They also address relationships like Jay's and Gloria's. That age isn't a problem when it comes to love and the obstacles of remarrying someone. Finally they also show that the family at a whole is perfect because it is flawed. I think this is such a positive message because it's taking away expectations from society that shows like The Brady Bunch set. Overall I think all of these messages can be summed up by the fact that love is love no matter of race, sexual orientation, or age.

Modern Family

Its finally that time of year again. The leaves are starting to change colors, the weather is getting brisk, the school year is in full swing, oh, and most importantly Modern Family is back on! 

As “modern” as you can imagine a sit-com being, this tri-family dynamic with its wide range of personalities does a fantastic job of bringing light to struggles and controversies of everyday life.  The families are all interconnected by Jay who is the father of Claire and Mitch, who both also have families of their own.

The Dunphys, including goofy, “I’m the cool Dad” Phil, and Claire, with their three children Hailey, Alex, and Luke are seen as the “traditional” family of the show.  But only in the sense that they represent the average family in society and mimic what most people find acceptable.  You know, man and wife and their three children. Yeah I know, sounds like déjà vu ,and not to mention boring, but I promise this is no ordinary family.    Well, unless you have a dad like Phil, who undoubtedly wins the award for the ability to make any situation awkward and who is frequently labeled as one with “not much going up on upstairs”. Yet who is then know for having the biggest heart and makes it apparent that family is his biggest priority. In fact, you may actually be surprised by how you may possibly relate to his character in several different ways.  And then there is Claire, who has the more serious role, and keeps things together and organized.  Both Phil’s and Claire’s personalities complement each other and make up the perfect recipe for comedy. They are the butt of each other’s jokes.   They use comedy to get through to one another in tense situations and it translates into being the audiences’ pleasure as well.

Mitch and Cam also bring a lot of laughs to the table.  Its no secret that they are gay and though many cant help but make a fuss about it in one form or another, especially during this culture change society is enduring, they aren’t portrayed any less as people or as a family than others.  They are accepted and represent a positive example to those who they reach out to.  We see them struggle through the adoption of Lily, winning the approval of parents, approval of society… you name it.  Regardless, the real impact I believe the writers of Modern Family were trying to portray was the uniqueness of the characters themselves and how they both blend and bounce off each other while at the same time reaching out to a different demographic. Cam himself can keep me laughing for days.  His mannerisms, his facial expressions, and his crazy actions alone are fantastic.   Cam is the portrayed as the lazy one who is perfectly content playing the role of housewife.  Mitch, however, is more like the average working guy, who goes to work and provides for the family.  They both are so opposite that they play off each other’s actions and emotions, which are often times way off the charts, and make it is impossible for you not to find yourself in a fit of laughter.

Then there is Jay and Gloria.  For those that have seen the show quickly recognize the big age difference between the two.  To put it into perspective, Gloria is the same age as Jay’s daughter, Claire.  I’m not going lie and say that I didn’t find it a bit strange and slightly uncomfortable initially. But as I continued to watch more of the show they became nothing more than a normal happy couple.  Age has nothing to do with happiness, its about who you are and your respect for one another and they make a great example of that.  In fact, it has come to my attention that there actually many couples that have substantial age differences and in this case it just adds to the originality and social accordance of the show.  Gloria is from Columbia and has an accent to say the least. I can’t help but have a love hate relationship with it.  Sometimes it makes me laugh because of her over exaggeration of words and emotions, then other times I would personally like to send her a rendition of Rosetta Stone so that I wouldn’t have to put on the captions.   Despite the fact, she adds an interesting quality to the show that is not to be overseen.  Jay, in return,  is simply a laid back older guy who either does whatever his wife wants or does whatever he can to get away from her and her over the top activities.  Just imagine the comedy in that. Let me tell you, its priceless.

 And not to be forgotten, the children are also big components into the success of the show.  Much of the drama revolves around them. Ranging in all different ages, from College to newborn baby.  For those who have kids can only imagine the drama that comes with that. And for those who are the kids…well, you know how it goes.

All in all there is something for everyone in this show.  The different aspects that reflect on many of society’s own, different personalities that we can all relate to, different ethnicities and cultures, and last but not least family. Writers and producers, Steve Levitan, and Christopher Lloyd have undoubtedly created one of the best sit-coms of all time and continue to produce awesome writing. 

Season 5 has just kicked off and I couldn’t be more excited. If you have not seen this show I encourage you to give it a try because I promise you that there is a big chance that it will be hard to walk away.  It airs on ABC at 9:00 every Wednesday.