We're looking at sequels that were better than their originals in this pairing, starting with the Star Wars sequel from 1980, "The Empire Strikes Back!" Directed by Irvin Kershner, and written by Leigh Brackett and Lawrene Kasdan, this is the film that almost all fans of the Star Wars universe agree is the best film to date! Starring Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Peter Mayhew, Kenny Baker, Billy Dee Williams, and the voice and puppeting skills of Frank Oz, this film hits all the right notes: story, cast, adventure, tension, and the best plot-twist perhaps of all time! Plus the near-perfect scoring by the master himself, John Williams, and you have what all sequels are supposed to be!

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The second of our Tim Burton pairing is the somewhat Hollywood-ized biography picture about legendary (and legendarily bad) writer, director, producer, and actor Ed Wood, in a 1994 film that bears his name. Although not originally a Tim Burton project, he chose to take this film on, casting Johnny Depp in the title role. Burton provided Depp with an absolutely amazing cast of supporting actors, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Patricia Arquette, Jeffrey Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Bill Murray, Lisa Marie, George "The Animal" Steele, Juliette Landau, and her father, Martin Landau, who would go on to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role! Although the subject matter is unusual, and Depp's performance may or may not be edging into caricature, the performances are extremely solid, and the story is very interesting, enough so that the faults the movie does have don't get in the way of enjoying this odd tale about a very unusual man! Plus, the trio reveal which "sequels better than the originals" they're going to be reviewing for the next pairing, coming up in late September!

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It's the first of our Tim Burton pairing! Episode 116 is perhaps the most quintessentially-Burtonesque movie in his canon, 1988's "Beetlejuice!" Directed by Burton, and starring Michael Keaton in the titular role, along with Alec Baldwin, Geena Davis, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Jones, Winona Ryder, Glen Shadix, and Sylvia Sidney, this is a supernatural romp like nothing else that's been put on film! With an outstanding score by long-time Burton collaborator Danny Elfman (that is also so very indicative of his scoring work), this is a film that all three geeks agree should be seen, and perhaps seen again! Plus, a few interesting tidbits about some of the alternate castings we could have had, and some of the other goings-on behind the scenes, makes this an episode well worth your time... just like the film itself!

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In the second half of our look at storybook movies, episode 115 moves ahead 20 years from the last film to tackle the intricate tale of truly "star-crossed" lovers in the cinematic adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel "Stardust!" Directed by Matthew Vaughn, who co-wrote the screenplay with Jane Goldman, narrated by none other than Sir Ian McKellen, and starring Charlie Cox (Marvel's Daredevil on Netflix), Claire Danes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mark Strong, Sienna Miller, Henry Cavill, Kate Magowan, Peter O'Toole, Rupert Everett, Mark Williams, Ricky Gervais, and Robert De Niro in the most un-De Niro-like role ever, this film delivers a solid, if a bit overly complicated, entertaining romp from one world to another and back again! Interestingly enough, this film was also given a GLAAD award (for reasons you'll have to listen to find out)! And finally, the trio reveal which director, a favorite of Jeff and Chad's, but not necessarily of Buddy's, they'll be focusing on for the next pairing!

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