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Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Video Games
Jun 19, 2019 (Updated Jun 19, 2019)
Lego and Star Wars have followed up their previous successful collaborations with Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens and it is a delight to play.
The game combines, humor, action and creativity as it allows gamers to play as several characters from the hit film and also explore adventures set before the events of the film.
Of course being a Lego game this is not a strict rehash of the plot for the film as while many of the locales and events from the film are present, the trademark Lego humor is evident throughout and allows for a fun spin on the story.
With a new Multi-Builds system, players can decide if they want a more challenging build option in game or simply have fun and explore the game at their leisure. This is great for younger gamers as well as older ones looking for more of a challenge.
While locales such as Starkiller Base and Jakku are featured, there are other locales that arise and allow players to fill in some of the plot aspects in the years between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens”. One such mission details how Han and Chewbacca were able to secure the deadly Rathtars as well as missions involving Poe Damron, Crimson Corsair, Lor San Tekka and more.
What really makes the game shine aside from the diversity and fun of playing it is hearing several of the stars from the film voicing their Lego characters. Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and several more all contribute to give the game a new level of realism and enjoy ability.
Boasting an impressive lineup of over 200 characters many of whom can be customized and over 80 vehicles would be impressive enough but for $9.99 a DLC program is available that will offer several new characters, vehicles, missions and more.
Graphically the game is very impressive as the detail level of the characters and sets is great fun to behold as is the great sound quality of the game.
This is key as combat modes ranging from Arena battles and space flight are one of the best parts of the game and really look and sound amazing as well as being great fun to play.
The game is ideal for Star Wars or Lego fans and has plenty of stuff to keep gamers of all ages hooked. I cannot wait to see what they developers come up with next as Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is not to be missed.
http://sknr.net/2016/07/11/lego-star-wars-force-awakens/
The game combines, humor, action and creativity as it allows gamers to play as several characters from the hit film and also explore adventures set before the events of the film.
Of course being a Lego game this is not a strict rehash of the plot for the film as while many of the locales and events from the film are present, the trademark Lego humor is evident throughout and allows for a fun spin on the story.
With a new Multi-Builds system, players can decide if they want a more challenging build option in game or simply have fun and explore the game at their leisure. This is great for younger gamers as well as older ones looking for more of a challenge.
While locales such as Starkiller Base and Jakku are featured, there are other locales that arise and allow players to fill in some of the plot aspects in the years between “Return of the Jedi” and “The Force Awakens”. One such mission details how Han and Chewbacca were able to secure the deadly Rathtars as well as missions involving Poe Damron, Crimson Corsair, Lor San Tekka and more.
What really makes the game shine aside from the diversity and fun of playing it is hearing several of the stars from the film voicing their Lego characters. Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and several more all contribute to give the game a new level of realism and enjoy ability.
Boasting an impressive lineup of over 200 characters many of whom can be customized and over 80 vehicles would be impressive enough but for $9.99 a DLC program is available that will offer several new characters, vehicles, missions and more.
Graphically the game is very impressive as the detail level of the characters and sets is great fun to behold as is the great sound quality of the game.
This is key as combat modes ranging from Arena battles and space flight are one of the best parts of the game and really look and sound amazing as well as being great fun to play.
The game is ideal for Star Wars or Lego fans and has plenty of stuff to keep gamers of all ages hooked. I cannot wait to see what they developers come up with next as Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens is not to be missed.
http://sknr.net/2016/07/11/lego-star-wars-force-awakens/
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) in Movies
Dec 10, 2019 (Updated Dec 10, 2019)
The Force Awakens is a damn good return to the Star Wars saga, reintroducing us to beloved characters that we haven't seen in decades, whilst simultaneously introducing new and exciting blood.
The new characters take centre stage here - the most important of course being Rey. It's great that in this day and age, young girls all over the world have a strong female protagonist to look up to within Star Wars. There have of course been some great heroines before, but Rey is well developed over the course of TFA, is extremely likable, incredibly badass, and represents the ever heroic light side.
Over on the dark side, we are introduced to Kylo Ren, a villain who idolises the now legendary Darth Vader, to the point where he even wheres a mask. Ren feels emotionally unstable and dangerous throughout, and gives a strong villain for this new trilogy.
We also have Finn, a Stormtrooper who defects after seeing war atrocities commuted by the First Order. This storyline feels important, and it's nice to see that Stormtroopers are human under the armour.
And we also have Poe Dameron. Poe is my least favorite out of the new characters in all honesty. He doesn't feel all that relevant, but he's entertaining enough.
The inclusion of Chewbacca, Han Solo, C3-P0 and Leia, give us a nice shot if nostalgia, as all of our protagonists fight to thwart The First Order, and search for the AWOL Like Skywalker at the same time.
The set pieces and action sequences are nothing short of breathtaking. The CGI is top notch, and Star Wars has honestly never looked this good. All the great thing that JJ Abrams bought to his Star Trek reboot are replicated here and then some.
Saying that, he does play it safe when it comes to the plot, and a lot of the film has a familiar feeling to it. A handful of plot elements borrow heavily from A New Hope, sometimes feeling like a re tread, but for those of us who are less cynical, we can always view it as a love letter instead, from a man who adores Star Wars just as much as we do.
Once again, John Williams provides a fantastic score, and just like that, Star Wars is exciting again.
TFA has flaws here and there, but it's the best Star Wars movie since the original trilogy concluded, and it puts a huge smile on my face.
The new characters take centre stage here - the most important of course being Rey. It's great that in this day and age, young girls all over the world have a strong female protagonist to look up to within Star Wars. There have of course been some great heroines before, but Rey is well developed over the course of TFA, is extremely likable, incredibly badass, and represents the ever heroic light side.
Over on the dark side, we are introduced to Kylo Ren, a villain who idolises the now legendary Darth Vader, to the point where he even wheres a mask. Ren feels emotionally unstable and dangerous throughout, and gives a strong villain for this new trilogy.
We also have Finn, a Stormtrooper who defects after seeing war atrocities commuted by the First Order. This storyline feels important, and it's nice to see that Stormtroopers are human under the armour.
And we also have Poe Dameron. Poe is my least favorite out of the new characters in all honesty. He doesn't feel all that relevant, but he's entertaining enough.
The inclusion of Chewbacca, Han Solo, C3-P0 and Leia, give us a nice shot if nostalgia, as all of our protagonists fight to thwart The First Order, and search for the AWOL Like Skywalker at the same time.
The set pieces and action sequences are nothing short of breathtaking. The CGI is top notch, and Star Wars has honestly never looked this good. All the great thing that JJ Abrams bought to his Star Trek reboot are replicated here and then some.
Saying that, he does play it safe when it comes to the plot, and a lot of the film has a familiar feeling to it. A handful of plot elements borrow heavily from A New Hope, sometimes feeling like a re tread, but for those of us who are less cynical, we can always view it as a love letter instead, from a man who adores Star Wars just as much as we do.
Once again, John Williams provides a fantastic score, and just like that, Star Wars is exciting again.
TFA has flaws here and there, but it's the best Star Wars movie since the original trilogy concluded, and it puts a huge smile on my face.
Movie Metropolis (309 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies
Jun 10, 2019
Star Wars goes western
Star Wars has had somewhat of a chequered history since turning over to the dark side, sorry, I mean Disney. You see, since LucasFilm was acquired by the House of Mouse there has been one Star Wars movie each year. The Force Awakens was good, if a little safe and The Last Jedi was brilliant, but incredibly divisive.
What’s been more exciting to see evolve however, is the Star Wars Story movies. Rogue One became my 2nd favourite film in the series after Empire with Godzilla director, Gareth Edwards proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Then, LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were hired to direct a Han Solo origins story and that got people very excited indeed.Fast forward a few months and they were unceremoniously dumped from the project during filming with veteran director Ron Howard brought in as their replacements. Howard’s name is a concerning one. He’s become something of a director-for-hire over the last decade: competent but not exemplary. Phew! Keeping up? Good.
The resulting film has been plagued by ballooning costs, expensive reshoots and rumours of on-set acting classes for some of the stars. It’s finally here, but are we looking at the first new generation Star Wars failure?
Young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) finds adventure when he joins a gang of galactic smugglers, including a 196-year-old Wookie named Chewbacca. Indebted to the gangster Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), the crew devises a daring plan to travel to the mining planet Kessel to steal a batch of valuable coaxium. In need of a fast ship, Solo meets Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), the suave owner of the perfect vessel for the dangerous mission — the Millennium Falcon.
Thankfully, and by nothing short of a miracle, Solo: A Star Wars Story is engaging, packed full of nostalgia and features an incredible ensemble cast. It’s not perfect by any means, but we’ll get on to that later.
Billed as a heist meets western kinda movie, Solo hits all the right beats to carefully straddle the line between those two genres. The writing is snappy, genuinely funny and engaging with all the cast members doing their fair share of the heavy lifting. Emilia Clarke is great as Solo’s love interest Qi’Ra and Woody Harrelson is as charming as ever in a role that could’ve been serviced by many 50-something actors who could do fancy stuff with a blaster.
It is in Donald Glover however that the film truly belongs. His Lando Calrissian is absolutely, unequivocally sublime. He channels his counterpart from Empire beautifully and you do feel like you’re watching a young Billy Dee Williams in action.
There is some striking imagery throughout the film with the western-style finale being absolutely superb
In fact, there are only two of the main cast members that fail to register in the way that they had clearly intended to do. One is Paul Bettany’s Dryden Vos; the Star Wars universe’s first real villain failure. Alas, it’s not the fault of Bettany. The part was originally written for a CGI motion capture performance but was changed at the last minute with reshoots being added for Bettany’s scenes.
The other, unfortunately, is Han Solo himself. Alden Ehrenreich definitely makes all the right noises. He’s cocky, arrogant, self-assured, just like Harrison Ford, but, for all of his effort, he just isn’t doing a Harrison Ford in this film. Now, that doesn’t ruin the movie as much as you might think it does, as it’s easy to just go along for the ride, but at no point in Solo’s run time did I think we were watching a young Harrison Ford in action. Ehrenreich is good, he’s just not that good.
Thankfully, what is that good is the cinematography. The action is staged beautifully, though I’m unsure as to whether this is Howard’s influence or the previous directors. There is some striking imagery throughout the film with the western-style finale being absolutely superb. The CGI is nicely integrated with animatronics and props, just like a Star Wars movie should be, and each of the set pieces is brimming with excitement.
One sequence in particular, involving the liberation of some slaves is really nicely filmed with a great colour palate and the much-marketed monorail heist is edge-of-your-seat stuff with cracking CGI.
Pacing is generally good, and at 135 minutes that is no easy win though things do drag a little about half way through. What is pleasing however, is how the bromance between Chewbacca and Han takes a backseat up until about 40 minutes before the end in which a familiar theme plays over the action: it’s spine-tingling in its simplicity. In fact, John Powell’s score is rousing when it needs to be and beautifully put together. A real match for John Williams’ classic orchestral soundtrack.
Overall, Solo: A Star Wars Story is better than it had any right to be. Whenever a film goes through such a turbulent production process, it’s always concerning that the final product will be somehow lesser in quality, but this isn’t the case here. It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but as a continuation of the new Star Wars mantra under Disney, it’s a fitting entry and a great addition to the series.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/05/24/solo-a-star-wars-story-review-stars-wars-goes-western/
What’s been more exciting to see evolve however, is the Star Wars Story movies. Rogue One became my 2nd favourite film in the series after Empire with Godzilla director, Gareth Edwards proving to be a force to be reckoned with. Then, LEGO Movie directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller were hired to direct a Han Solo origins story and that got people very excited indeed.Fast forward a few months and they were unceremoniously dumped from the project during filming with veteran director Ron Howard brought in as their replacements. Howard’s name is a concerning one. He’s become something of a director-for-hire over the last decade: competent but not exemplary. Phew! Keeping up? Good.
The resulting film has been plagued by ballooning costs, expensive reshoots and rumours of on-set acting classes for some of the stars. It’s finally here, but are we looking at the first new generation Star Wars failure?
Young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) finds adventure when he joins a gang of galactic smugglers, including a 196-year-old Wookie named Chewbacca. Indebted to the gangster Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), the crew devises a daring plan to travel to the mining planet Kessel to steal a batch of valuable coaxium. In need of a fast ship, Solo meets Lando Calrissian (Donald Glover), the suave owner of the perfect vessel for the dangerous mission — the Millennium Falcon.
Thankfully, and by nothing short of a miracle, Solo: A Star Wars Story is engaging, packed full of nostalgia and features an incredible ensemble cast. It’s not perfect by any means, but we’ll get on to that later.
Billed as a heist meets western kinda movie, Solo hits all the right beats to carefully straddle the line between those two genres. The writing is snappy, genuinely funny and engaging with all the cast members doing their fair share of the heavy lifting. Emilia Clarke is great as Solo’s love interest Qi’Ra and Woody Harrelson is as charming as ever in a role that could’ve been serviced by many 50-something actors who could do fancy stuff with a blaster.
It is in Donald Glover however that the film truly belongs. His Lando Calrissian is absolutely, unequivocally sublime. He channels his counterpart from Empire beautifully and you do feel like you’re watching a young Billy Dee Williams in action.
There is some striking imagery throughout the film with the western-style finale being absolutely superb
In fact, there are only two of the main cast members that fail to register in the way that they had clearly intended to do. One is Paul Bettany’s Dryden Vos; the Star Wars universe’s first real villain failure. Alas, it’s not the fault of Bettany. The part was originally written for a CGI motion capture performance but was changed at the last minute with reshoots being added for Bettany’s scenes.
The other, unfortunately, is Han Solo himself. Alden Ehrenreich definitely makes all the right noises. He’s cocky, arrogant, self-assured, just like Harrison Ford, but, for all of his effort, he just isn’t doing a Harrison Ford in this film. Now, that doesn’t ruin the movie as much as you might think it does, as it’s easy to just go along for the ride, but at no point in Solo’s run time did I think we were watching a young Harrison Ford in action. Ehrenreich is good, he’s just not that good.
Thankfully, what is that good is the cinematography. The action is staged beautifully, though I’m unsure as to whether this is Howard’s influence or the previous directors. There is some striking imagery throughout the film with the western-style finale being absolutely superb. The CGI is nicely integrated with animatronics and props, just like a Star Wars movie should be, and each of the set pieces is brimming with excitement.
One sequence in particular, involving the liberation of some slaves is really nicely filmed with a great colour palate and the much-marketed monorail heist is edge-of-your-seat stuff with cracking CGI.
Pacing is generally good, and at 135 minutes that is no easy win though things do drag a little about half way through. What is pleasing however, is how the bromance between Chewbacca and Han takes a backseat up until about 40 minutes before the end in which a familiar theme plays over the action: it’s spine-tingling in its simplicity. In fact, John Powell’s score is rousing when it needs to be and beautifully put together. A real match for John Williams’ classic orchestral soundtrack.
Overall, Solo: A Star Wars Story is better than it had any right to be. Whenever a film goes through such a turbulent production process, it’s always concerning that the final product will be somehow lesser in quality, but this isn’t the case here. It’s not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but as a continuation of the new Star Wars mantra under Disney, it’s a fitting entry and a great addition to the series.
https://moviemetropolis.net/2018/05/24/solo-a-star-wars-story-review-stars-wars-goes-western/
Connor Sheffield (293 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) in Movies
Apr 20, 2017
The beginning of an era that will last a life time (3 more)
Character
Special Effects
Movie Score that is highly recognizable
Han Shot First!!!
Star Wars...the movie no one believed would become anywhere close to the success it is today. Not even George Lucas believed it would be as big as it is, but that's the beauty of it.
Star Wars wasn't just the beginning of a new fandom, it was also the beginning of a new era for film itself. Skywalker Sound revolutionized special sound effects and and the CGI used in Star Wars (during it's original release) made directors like Steven Spielberg realise they can bring their dreams to life, such as the film Jurassic Park which then revolutionized film even further.
Introducing new and original characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader and so many more! The film introduced the strong female role model in what is actually a kid's film. Carrie Fisher portrayed Princess Leia and there has never been anyone quite as brilliant as her since, because at only 19 years old during the first film, she became an icon and one of the strongest woman on screen.
All 3 of the main cast went on to take on great roles. Mark Hamill is probably most famous for his voice over work in cartoon shows such as Batman the Animated series where he has become the most famous voice for The Joker, taking on the role multiple times including in the Batman Arkham video games. Harrison Ford went on to star in many famous roles in big blockbuster films such as Indiana Jones, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner and many more. Carrie Fisher went on to star in When Harry Met Sally, Drop Dead Fred, and Scream 3.
The villain of the film quickly became one of the most badass and recognizable villains to ever appear on the big screen...Darth Vader! He was menacing, manipulative, and powerful.
The visuals of this film were incredible for the time, from the space battles to the lightsabers. Not to mention that a lot of the space ships, and the death star trench are all models with actual (mini) explosions.
Star Wars is so popular these days that it has been parodied and praised by countless other films, TV shows, sketches, art, porn and almost anything you can think of.
It even has a holiday after it 'May the 4th be with you' (May the force be with you), now known simply as May the 4th. Along with conventions and celebrations, Star Wars has become more of a way of life for a lot of people and not just a fandom.
Star Wars wasn't just the beginning of a new fandom, it was also the beginning of a new era for film itself. Skywalker Sound revolutionized special sound effects and and the CGI used in Star Wars (during it's original release) made directors like Steven Spielberg realise they can bring their dreams to life, such as the film Jurassic Park which then revolutionized film even further.
Introducing new and original characters such as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Darth Vader and so many more! The film introduced the strong female role model in what is actually a kid's film. Carrie Fisher portrayed Princess Leia and there has never been anyone quite as brilliant as her since, because at only 19 years old during the first film, she became an icon and one of the strongest woman on screen.
All 3 of the main cast went on to take on great roles. Mark Hamill is probably most famous for his voice over work in cartoon shows such as Batman the Animated series where he has become the most famous voice for The Joker, taking on the role multiple times including in the Batman Arkham video games. Harrison Ford went on to star in many famous roles in big blockbuster films such as Indiana Jones, Apocalypse Now, Blade Runner and many more. Carrie Fisher went on to star in When Harry Met Sally, Drop Dead Fred, and Scream 3.
The villain of the film quickly became one of the most badass and recognizable villains to ever appear on the big screen...Darth Vader! He was menacing, manipulative, and powerful.
The visuals of this film were incredible for the time, from the space battles to the lightsabers. Not to mention that a lot of the space ships, and the death star trench are all models with actual (mini) explosions.
Star Wars is so popular these days that it has been parodied and praised by countless other films, TV shows, sketches, art, porn and almost anything you can think of.
It even has a holiday after it 'May the 4th be with you' (May the force be with you), now known simply as May the 4th. Along with conventions and celebrations, Star Wars has become more of a way of life for a lot of people and not just a fandom.
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Jan 6, 2020
Director JJ Abrams was faced with a daunting task; bringing the 9 part Star Wars main story to a satisfying conclusion and appeasing certain toxic fans who have been very displeased with the last two cinematic outings for the franchise.
Thankfully Abrams has stuck the landing and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is an entertaining and satisfying conclusion with enough action and nostalgic moments to spare.
Picking up after the events of the last film; it is learned that threatening radio transmissions are going out across the galaxy in the voice of the late Emperor Palpatine. This deeply concerns Leia (Carrie Fisher) and her remaining Resistance as it combines with The First Order to create a larger possible threat than anyone could deal with.
Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is also very interested in the source of the signal as he does not want anything to stand in the way of his control of The First Order and will use whatever brutal means at his disposal to increase his power.
Naturally this sets Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac), along with Chewbacca and C3PO on a daring mission to find clues to the source of the transmissions and stop what appears to be a devastating invasion which will make anything the First Order has pale in comparison.
Naturally there are plenty of amazing special effects, twists, turns, and surprises along the way as the film races to an epic confrontation.
The film hits the ground running with plenty of action at the start before settling into a longer narrative setup than some fans might like. Thankfully there are enough points of interest along the way to hold your attention before the action kicks up.
The film combines new and favorite locales and characters to create a satisfying finale to the Skywalker saga as the biggest questions from the new trilogy are answered and the few new ones I have after this will likely be heavily debated by fans or explored in a future book or comic and they are minor questions indeed.
The characters work well with one another and it is difficult to go into specifics without spoiling the film as there are plenty of surprises as I mentioned earlier. Suffice it to say that while it will not usurp the original “Star Wars” or “The Empire Strikes Back” amongst fans; it likely will be considered the most enjoyable of the new trilogy and best since “Rogue One” in the Disney era of the franchise.
The biggest remaining question is what is next for the film series as there have been rumors of a new film in 2022 with a new setting, cast, and possibly timeline. While audiences will have to wait and see what the cinematic future for the franchise is; they can be content with a very enjoyable new film.
4 stars out of 5
Thankfully Abrams has stuck the landing and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” is an entertaining and satisfying conclusion with enough action and nostalgic moments to spare.
Picking up after the events of the last film; it is learned that threatening radio transmissions are going out across the galaxy in the voice of the late Emperor Palpatine. This deeply concerns Leia (Carrie Fisher) and her remaining Resistance as it combines with The First Order to create a larger possible threat than anyone could deal with.
Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) is also very interested in the source of the signal as he does not want anything to stand in the way of his control of The First Order and will use whatever brutal means at his disposal to increase his power.
Naturally this sets Rey (Daisy Ridley), Finn (John Boyega), and Poe (Oscar Isaac), along with Chewbacca and C3PO on a daring mission to find clues to the source of the transmissions and stop what appears to be a devastating invasion which will make anything the First Order has pale in comparison.
Naturally there are plenty of amazing special effects, twists, turns, and surprises along the way as the film races to an epic confrontation.
The film hits the ground running with plenty of action at the start before settling into a longer narrative setup than some fans might like. Thankfully there are enough points of interest along the way to hold your attention before the action kicks up.
The film combines new and favorite locales and characters to create a satisfying finale to the Skywalker saga as the biggest questions from the new trilogy are answered and the few new ones I have after this will likely be heavily debated by fans or explored in a future book or comic and they are minor questions indeed.
The characters work well with one another and it is difficult to go into specifics without spoiling the film as there are plenty of surprises as I mentioned earlier. Suffice it to say that while it will not usurp the original “Star Wars” or “The Empire Strikes Back” amongst fans; it likely will be considered the most enjoyable of the new trilogy and best since “Rogue One” in the Disney era of the franchise.
The biggest remaining question is what is next for the film series as there have been rumors of a new film in 2022 with a new setting, cast, and possibly timeline. While audiences will have to wait and see what the cinematic future for the franchise is; they can be content with a very enjoyable new film.
4 stars out of 5
Versusyours (757 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Dec 30, 2019 (Updated Dec 30, 2019)
Another film ruined by Endgame's splendour
Contains spoilers, click to show
The Rise of Skywalker
Some endings are welcomed whilst others are heart-breaking and sudden, then there is this movie that closes a curtain that’s older than my very bones. In the time from 1977 there has been highs, lows and Jar Jar Binks a plenty and lots and lots of toys, lunchboxes and soap sets in all shapes of droids. The film itself opens and quickly reintroduces all the main characters and sets up the plot lines for each person and they embark on a path that is destined for them all to meet later. Kylo Ren is on a solo Gooniesesque mission to retrieve something darker than One Eyed Willies rich stuff with the aid of a Toblerone shaped virtual map. Helmetless and emotionless he encounters the Emperor you in fact is not dead but just chilling out with many engineers, Sith corpses and a big evil throne that he may use to do dark side Sudoku. Kylo Ren must kill Rey and then he and Palpatine might both crack a smile and take turns on the evil throne as all powerful rulers.
Is it a bird? Is it plane? Well its half bird in name alone it’s the Millennium Falcon doing what it does best and being chased and escaping for the numerous time but this time they are light speed jumping even though they are told not to, naughty naughty. Po and Finn get some gossip and head to the planet the Rebels are all hiding on to share their news. Enter the heroine its Rey in a new outfit and floating up high but failing to entice the Jedi spirits to appear but why would they this early on in a film. The hero’s all use the gossip from the Empire spy and Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, BB-8, and C-3PO depart in the Millennium Falcon. Space trip!!!
They head for a Space desert that is like Mardi Gras with sand, it’s so lucky that these sandy terrains are common in space like they are common on Earth as Star Wars loves these arid landscapes. They get into a scrape as they always seem to do but with Stormtroopers being inept and despite being airborne, they now fail on both land and air to do anything other than being a source for explosions. C3-PO finally gets the chance to be of actual use but in his golden and splendid way he is unable to translate a Sith message orally and it remains unheard and unseen in his memory banks. Kylo Ren mentally Skype calls Rey and she forgets to turn off her location settings and he turns up. In the ensuing melee Rey turns up the bad ass levels and destroys an Empire ship containing the Wookie we all fell in love with Chewbacca. In a big fiery furball of fire he is gone, Rey is beside herself with regret and they all escape on board Not the Millennium Falcon. Another planet another mission to add to the collection sees the group hoping to find a brain surgeon to extract the Sith message from C3-PO. On planet Jim Henson we see a large collection of weird and wonderful puppets and cosplay experts. The downside of the brain surgery is it will format C3-PO to the factory settings so he can learn to be annoying to everyone all over again. A little shaved Mogwai turns out to be the master surgeon and he completes the job easily enough and they retrieve the message, but the worst fears are realised as C3-PO remembers no one.
From the furry flames Chewbacca, we find out is not dead but merely being pampered in the Empires many hair and nail bars. Sensing this fashion disaster waiting to happen Rey organises a rescue mission and they break into the Star Destroyer with relative ease until Poe, Finn are caught and assigned to death. Rey is on her own mission and breaks into Kylo Ren’s bachelor pad and has a look around and gets the Sith dagger and another Skype call from Kylo Ren is taken where he tells her some missing parts of her childhood and about her true lineage as a pesky Palpatine. The age-old Star Wars family is not who you think it is trope is wheeled out once more. Learning from her previous failures of her location services she refuses to tell Kylo but when the melted helmet of the original absent father Darth Vader falls at Kylo’s feet he knows she is in his room. Enraged in case he left any interspace porn lying around his room he quickly makes a run for his awesome ship.
With certain execution facing Poe, Finn and the now unlucky Chewie and the blasters set to wipe them out General Hux turns Rouge One and saves the heroes at the last second. With his turncoat and spy status ensured he shows his true childish colours and he wants Kylo Ren to lose because he has longer and hair on the darker side of black (maybe). Before allowing them to escape he asked for a blaster wound to give his story of them overpowering the guards some weight, surely a fool proof plan with your boss being able to mind read. He takes a blaster to the knee before hobbling to explain himself before being shot as the traitorous Rebel scum he is. If only he had lived long enough, he may have seen his wish come true. They well-travelled hero’s travel to space Astoria for another Goonies part of the quest where they see the remnants of the second Death Star and use the dagger doubloon to perfectly line up where the way finder is located. A big source of luck as the waves that engulf the planet and are crashing all around the wreck of the Deathstar have avoided any damage over the years. It’s deemed impossible to traverse the giant waves until morning but when Rey sees her opportunity she sails over the waves with relative ease while the rest of the heroes are chatting to a local about zero hour Strom trooper contracts and a lack of a good sickness benefit policy. As Rey makes it to the wreckage, she is met with Kylo Ren and they have a lightsaber battle after he smashes the way finder and asks her to join him in getting rid of Papa Palpatine and being the Sith power couple. Kylo seems to be building up the anger in Rey and trying to temp her to give in to her rage. Some great action shots and some force leaps make this a memorable fight scene until Leia ‘force times’ Kylo distracting him enough for Rey to become the victor. This is the last stand for Leia as she gives up the ghost and therefore becomes one of those ghost Jedi figures. With a sudden change of heart and with the wound barely open Rey uses her force healing abilities to fill Kylo’s hole right up before stealing his ship and leaving him stranded on Goonieland. With all this free time Kylo throws away his lightsaber and becomes Ben Solo once more and squeezes in a catch up with his old dad Han in dreamworld or memoryland.
Rey is now on a mission to destroy the Sith and the Emperor on the hidden planet now she has the map but only after setting Kylo’s sweet spaceship on fire and then realising her error. This impulsive nature may be leading to the dark side!! She heads to Exegol the Sith planet just as Palpatine is setting his sights on getting on with ending the Rebellion once and for all. If a job is worth doing its worth doing it yourself and orders the destruction of planet by a weapon that’s on each Star Destroyer. When Rey catches up with the Emperor, he is happy to see her and he invites her to strike him down, probably to become more powerful than we can imagine. Rey leaves a trail of cosmic breadcrumbs and she is followed by the resistance and they have a plan to take on the Final Order by destroying a central communication tower, so again a rather simple way to stop some heavy duty weaponry; the old classics are the best!!! It becomes a bit Star Wars of the Rings with space horses appearing and galloping to the rescue, not since the ill-fated days of the Phantom Menace has wildlife shocked me in such a manner. Back to the will she, won’t she, Rey and the Emperor are still wanting different things and Palpatine has invited the ghosts of Sith past to witness his greatest triumph. Rey has a choice of lightsaber’s due to Leia giving her an extra, maybe there was a reason for this!! Oh, wait Ben Solo has arrived lightsaberless what a stroke of luck!! Palpatine has had enough and he decides to drain both the Jedi’s of their life force and levels ups and gets back to rage mode and gets his lightning on. He dispatches Ben and then takes out the full resistance fleet with an impressive lightning show. Rey in her weakened state finally perfects the connection with the Jedi spirits that she failed at early in the film. Armed with the x-factor of crossed lightsabers she pushes the Emperor back and turns his own electricity and his face is melted off Raiders of the Lost Ark style. Ben then comes back into the mix and repays the force healing from earlier and gives Rey the gift of life followed by a kiss. This is a kiss of death literally and he fades away into nothingness. In scenes not seen since the Avengers help arrives when all hope is gone, and the fight is won by the good guys again.
I felt that this film was too fast paced and had too many storylines that were quickly explored and this was at a detriment to what could have been. Maybe on repeat viewing there will be the chance to slow down and explore the potential of the film. Some scenes were for the older generation and some were for the newbies to the galaxy far, far away and this again was at a cost to the whole experience. This all being said the watch was enjoyable and had its genuine emotional moments and humour was used to break the tension at times with C3-PO having a few choice lines for once.
Some endings are welcomed whilst others are heart-breaking and sudden, then there is this movie that closes a curtain that’s older than my very bones. In the time from 1977 there has been highs, lows and Jar Jar Binks a plenty and lots and lots of toys, lunchboxes and soap sets in all shapes of droids. The film itself opens and quickly reintroduces all the main characters and sets up the plot lines for each person and they embark on a path that is destined for them all to meet later. Kylo Ren is on a solo Gooniesesque mission to retrieve something darker than One Eyed Willies rich stuff with the aid of a Toblerone shaped virtual map. Helmetless and emotionless he encounters the Emperor you in fact is not dead but just chilling out with many engineers, Sith corpses and a big evil throne that he may use to do dark side Sudoku. Kylo Ren must kill Rey and then he and Palpatine might both crack a smile and take turns on the evil throne as all powerful rulers.
Is it a bird? Is it plane? Well its half bird in name alone it’s the Millennium Falcon doing what it does best and being chased and escaping for the numerous time but this time they are light speed jumping even though they are told not to, naughty naughty. Po and Finn get some gossip and head to the planet the Rebels are all hiding on to share their news. Enter the heroine its Rey in a new outfit and floating up high but failing to entice the Jedi spirits to appear but why would they this early on in a film. The hero’s all use the gossip from the Empire spy and Rey, Finn, Poe, Chewbacca, BB-8, and C-3PO depart in the Millennium Falcon. Space trip!!!
They head for a Space desert that is like Mardi Gras with sand, it’s so lucky that these sandy terrains are common in space like they are common on Earth as Star Wars loves these arid landscapes. They get into a scrape as they always seem to do but with Stormtroopers being inept and despite being airborne, they now fail on both land and air to do anything other than being a source for explosions. C3-PO finally gets the chance to be of actual use but in his golden and splendid way he is unable to translate a Sith message orally and it remains unheard and unseen in his memory banks. Kylo Ren mentally Skype calls Rey and she forgets to turn off her location settings and he turns up. In the ensuing melee Rey turns up the bad ass levels and destroys an Empire ship containing the Wookie we all fell in love with Chewbacca. In a big fiery furball of fire he is gone, Rey is beside herself with regret and they all escape on board Not the Millennium Falcon. Another planet another mission to add to the collection sees the group hoping to find a brain surgeon to extract the Sith message from C3-PO. On planet Jim Henson we see a large collection of weird and wonderful puppets and cosplay experts. The downside of the brain surgery is it will format C3-PO to the factory settings so he can learn to be annoying to everyone all over again. A little shaved Mogwai turns out to be the master surgeon and he completes the job easily enough and they retrieve the message, but the worst fears are realised as C3-PO remembers no one.
From the furry flames Chewbacca, we find out is not dead but merely being pampered in the Empires many hair and nail bars. Sensing this fashion disaster waiting to happen Rey organises a rescue mission and they break into the Star Destroyer with relative ease until Poe, Finn are caught and assigned to death. Rey is on her own mission and breaks into Kylo Ren’s bachelor pad and has a look around and gets the Sith dagger and another Skype call from Kylo Ren is taken where he tells her some missing parts of her childhood and about her true lineage as a pesky Palpatine. The age-old Star Wars family is not who you think it is trope is wheeled out once more. Learning from her previous failures of her location services she refuses to tell Kylo but when the melted helmet of the original absent father Darth Vader falls at Kylo’s feet he knows she is in his room. Enraged in case he left any interspace porn lying around his room he quickly makes a run for his awesome ship.
With certain execution facing Poe, Finn and the now unlucky Chewie and the blasters set to wipe them out General Hux turns Rouge One and saves the heroes at the last second. With his turncoat and spy status ensured he shows his true childish colours and he wants Kylo Ren to lose because he has longer and hair on the darker side of black (maybe). Before allowing them to escape he asked for a blaster wound to give his story of them overpowering the guards some weight, surely a fool proof plan with your boss being able to mind read. He takes a blaster to the knee before hobbling to explain himself before being shot as the traitorous Rebel scum he is. If only he had lived long enough, he may have seen his wish come true. They well-travelled hero’s travel to space Astoria for another Goonies part of the quest where they see the remnants of the second Death Star and use the dagger doubloon to perfectly line up where the way finder is located. A big source of luck as the waves that engulf the planet and are crashing all around the wreck of the Deathstar have avoided any damage over the years. It’s deemed impossible to traverse the giant waves until morning but when Rey sees her opportunity she sails over the waves with relative ease while the rest of the heroes are chatting to a local about zero hour Strom trooper contracts and a lack of a good sickness benefit policy. As Rey makes it to the wreckage, she is met with Kylo Ren and they have a lightsaber battle after he smashes the way finder and asks her to join him in getting rid of Papa Palpatine and being the Sith power couple. Kylo seems to be building up the anger in Rey and trying to temp her to give in to her rage. Some great action shots and some force leaps make this a memorable fight scene until Leia ‘force times’ Kylo distracting him enough for Rey to become the victor. This is the last stand for Leia as she gives up the ghost and therefore becomes one of those ghost Jedi figures. With a sudden change of heart and with the wound barely open Rey uses her force healing abilities to fill Kylo’s hole right up before stealing his ship and leaving him stranded on Goonieland. With all this free time Kylo throws away his lightsaber and becomes Ben Solo once more and squeezes in a catch up with his old dad Han in dreamworld or memoryland.
Rey is now on a mission to destroy the Sith and the Emperor on the hidden planet now she has the map but only after setting Kylo’s sweet spaceship on fire and then realising her error. This impulsive nature may be leading to the dark side!! She heads to Exegol the Sith planet just as Palpatine is setting his sights on getting on with ending the Rebellion once and for all. If a job is worth doing its worth doing it yourself and orders the destruction of planet by a weapon that’s on each Star Destroyer. When Rey catches up with the Emperor, he is happy to see her and he invites her to strike him down, probably to become more powerful than we can imagine. Rey leaves a trail of cosmic breadcrumbs and she is followed by the resistance and they have a plan to take on the Final Order by destroying a central communication tower, so again a rather simple way to stop some heavy duty weaponry; the old classics are the best!!! It becomes a bit Star Wars of the Rings with space horses appearing and galloping to the rescue, not since the ill-fated days of the Phantom Menace has wildlife shocked me in such a manner. Back to the will she, won’t she, Rey and the Emperor are still wanting different things and Palpatine has invited the ghosts of Sith past to witness his greatest triumph. Rey has a choice of lightsaber’s due to Leia giving her an extra, maybe there was a reason for this!! Oh, wait Ben Solo has arrived lightsaberless what a stroke of luck!! Palpatine has had enough and he decides to drain both the Jedi’s of their life force and levels ups and gets back to rage mode and gets his lightning on. He dispatches Ben and then takes out the full resistance fleet with an impressive lightning show. Rey in her weakened state finally perfects the connection with the Jedi spirits that she failed at early in the film. Armed with the x-factor of crossed lightsabers she pushes the Emperor back and turns his own electricity and his face is melted off Raiders of the Lost Ark style. Ben then comes back into the mix and repays the force healing from earlier and gives Rey the gift of life followed by a kiss. This is a kiss of death literally and he fades away into nothingness. In scenes not seen since the Avengers help arrives when all hope is gone, and the fight is won by the good guys again.
I felt that this film was too fast paced and had too many storylines that were quickly explored and this was at a detriment to what could have been. Maybe on repeat viewing there will be the chance to slow down and explore the potential of the film. Some scenes were for the older generation and some were for the newbies to the galaxy far, far away and this again was at a cost to the whole experience. This all being said the watch was enjoyable and had its genuine emotional moments and humour was used to break the tension at times with C3-PO having a few choice lines for once.
Jordan Binkerd (567 KP) rated Star Wars, Vol. 1: Skywalker Strikes in Books
Jul 21, 2019
A stellar start
Note: this review is transposted from my personal review blog, and so was originally written several years ago. I figured if I reposted it here, someone might actually read it….
Okay, cards on the table: I loved the Dark Horse Star Wars comics. Almost all of them, especially anything featuring the team-up of Ostrander and Duursema. So I was very much saddened to see that company lose the Star Wars license. Not surprised, following the purchase by Disney, as that mega-company also owns Marvel. I figured it was only a matter of time, and that turned out to be the case. So I was saddened, just as I was saddened by the relegation of a bunch of my favorite stories to the status of Legends. But the one thing I never expected was that Marvel would drop the ball. I mean, it’s bleedin’ Marvel! If there’s anything they understand, it’s comic books. Now, having read the first arc of their eponymous Star Wars series, I can confidently state that my faith was well-founded.
We join our cadre of heroes as they attempt a daring assault on the Empire’s largest weapons factory, the entire planet of Cymoon I. Posing as a trade delegation from Jabba the Hutt arriving to negotiate renewed supply lines in the wake of the destruction of the Death Star, our heroes slip through security and set about rigging the automated factory’s reactor to blow sky-high. Everything is going to plan, until Darth Vader shows up to negotiate for the Empire….
I mentioned that this was amazing, right? The writing and art sync perfectly to sell you on the fact that you’re watching the continuing adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han. Luke is still a brash hotshot, still feeling his way with regards to the Force, and can be kind of whiny when he’s confronted with just how far he has to go. Han is just as sardonic and impulsive as ever, though the backstory they’re teasing for him may help ground him a bit. We’ll see how that one turns out. Leia is clearly in charge, driven to achieve justice for Alderaan and her family, and even Chewbacca knows to follow her orders. It’ll be interesting to see where they take her character in future arcs.
One potential point of annoyance for some readers is going to be how closely this series and the Star Wars: Darth Vader series that runs concurrently are tied. Events from one series are offhandedly referenced in the other with no explanation, and have major repercussions at times. For example, Vader fails to apprehend our Rebel heroes in this book, is chastised by the Emperor and hires Boba Fett in the Darth Vader book, and then Fett shows up in this book to try and capture Luke. Complicating matters further is the fact that there’s a particular order you need to read these in to get the whole story, and even then you’ll get ahead of yourself unless you stop in the middle of an issue at times. I wasn’t that annoyed by it, but I’d checked out the timeline first and knew what I was doing. (In case you were wondering, the proper order is Star Wars #1-3, Darth Vader #1, Star Wars #4, Darth Vader #2-4, and then #5-6 of both series happen simultaneously, both culminating in the same scene from slightly different perspectives.) This is set in the first year following the destruction of the Death Star, maybe a couple months at most.
CONTENT: Some violence. Minor profanity. Mild flirtation, and a few scantily-clad females in Jabba’s Palace.
Original post: https://jordanbinkerd.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/review-star-wars-skywalker-strikes-by-jason-aaron-john-cassaday/
Okay, cards on the table: I loved the Dark Horse Star Wars comics. Almost all of them, especially anything featuring the team-up of Ostrander and Duursema. So I was very much saddened to see that company lose the Star Wars license. Not surprised, following the purchase by Disney, as that mega-company also owns Marvel. I figured it was only a matter of time, and that turned out to be the case. So I was saddened, just as I was saddened by the relegation of a bunch of my favorite stories to the status of Legends. But the one thing I never expected was that Marvel would drop the ball. I mean, it’s bleedin’ Marvel! If there’s anything they understand, it’s comic books. Now, having read the first arc of their eponymous Star Wars series, I can confidently state that my faith was well-founded.
We join our cadre of heroes as they attempt a daring assault on the Empire’s largest weapons factory, the entire planet of Cymoon I. Posing as a trade delegation from Jabba the Hutt arriving to negotiate renewed supply lines in the wake of the destruction of the Death Star, our heroes slip through security and set about rigging the automated factory’s reactor to blow sky-high. Everything is going to plan, until Darth Vader shows up to negotiate for the Empire….
I mentioned that this was amazing, right? The writing and art sync perfectly to sell you on the fact that you’re watching the continuing adventures of Luke, Leia, and Han. Luke is still a brash hotshot, still feeling his way with regards to the Force, and can be kind of whiny when he’s confronted with just how far he has to go. Han is just as sardonic and impulsive as ever, though the backstory they’re teasing for him may help ground him a bit. We’ll see how that one turns out. Leia is clearly in charge, driven to achieve justice for Alderaan and her family, and even Chewbacca knows to follow her orders. It’ll be interesting to see where they take her character in future arcs.
One potential point of annoyance for some readers is going to be how closely this series and the Star Wars: Darth Vader series that runs concurrently are tied. Events from one series are offhandedly referenced in the other with no explanation, and have major repercussions at times. For example, Vader fails to apprehend our Rebel heroes in this book, is chastised by the Emperor and hires Boba Fett in the Darth Vader book, and then Fett shows up in this book to try and capture Luke. Complicating matters further is the fact that there’s a particular order you need to read these in to get the whole story, and even then you’ll get ahead of yourself unless you stop in the middle of an issue at times. I wasn’t that annoyed by it, but I’d checked out the timeline first and knew what I was doing. (In case you were wondering, the proper order is Star Wars #1-3, Darth Vader #1, Star Wars #4, Darth Vader #2-4, and then #5-6 of both series happen simultaneously, both culminating in the same scene from slightly different perspectives.) This is set in the first year following the destruction of the Death Star, maybe a couple months at most.
CONTENT: Some violence. Minor profanity. Mild flirtation, and a few scantily-clad females in Jabba’s Palace.
Original post: https://jordanbinkerd.wordpress.com/2015/08/25/review-star-wars-skywalker-strikes-by-jason-aaron-john-cassaday/
Gareth von Kallenbach (965 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) in Movies
Aug 6, 2019
If it’s not one of the most anticipated movies of all time, it is certainly way up there. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is the thing that every Star Wars fanboy, including myself, fears. Will it be as good as the original trilogy, or will Disney and Bad Robot drop a deuce like many believe Lucas did with the prequel trilogy. Well, here is a spoiler free look from someone who has these fears.
Fret not, everyone. Abrams has done a magnificent job of continuing the Skywalker saga in Episode VII. And great news, there are no lens flares, at least none that I noticed. As I mentioned, this is spoiler free, but I will give you an idea of the overall plot.
Episode VII picks up 30 years after the end of Episode VI. The Emperor is dead, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) began training a new generation of Jedi. But something went wrong and one of his students turned against him and destroyed the school. Blaming himself, Skywalker went into isolation. With Luke out of the picture, risen from the ashes of the Empire, the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), is trying to reclaim the power of the Empire. Knowing that Skywalker is their only threat, they are attempting to find him to eliminate him before he can join the Resistance’s fight against them. Daring Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is attempting to find a map to Luke’s location, but is quickly interrupted by the First Order. He hides the map on his droid, BB-8, before being captured by the menacing force. And so sets off a chain of events to find Luke Skywalker by the Resistance and the First Order alike.
It’s no secret that many of the main cast is returning, including Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), See-Threepio (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). We also have a slew of new characters such as the aforementioned Poe Dameron, Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), General Hux (Domnall Gleeson), and Supreme Leader Snoke. The cast, both returning and new, blended really well together and had a great amount of charisma on the screen. There was the right amount of comedy, drama, and action in this movie, and the interaction between the characters just felt genuine. This movie definitely felt more like the original trilogy than the prequels did.
The soundtrack and effects were amazing. Right in line with what you would expect from a Star Wars movie, but as I mentioned to the studio rep as I was leaving the theater, the film didn’t try to go overboard with everything. So there was no feeling of over production as some felt from the prequels. And with John Williams doing the score again, you know it will have the same sound. He did a great job of blending in little melodies, or snipits of songs, that made reference to the previous movies at just the right moments.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic film that did not leave me disappointed. It shouldn’t leave you disappointed either. Now, it’s not without a few plot holes, and suspension of belief will help, but they are, for me any way, forgivable and I will leave it for you to discover them. At the end of the day, this is definitely the Star Wars film you are looking for. Go see it. See it multiple times. Give Disney and Bad Robot more reason to continue not only with the Skywalker saga, but also the other stories like next year’s Rogue One, young Han Solo and Chewie, or, one can only hope, the story of everyone’s favorite bounty hunter/orphan, Boba Fett.
Fret not, everyone. Abrams has done a magnificent job of continuing the Skywalker saga in Episode VII. And great news, there are no lens flares, at least none that I noticed. As I mentioned, this is spoiler free, but I will give you an idea of the overall plot.
Episode VII picks up 30 years after the end of Episode VI. The Emperor is dead, and Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) began training a new generation of Jedi. But something went wrong and one of his students turned against him and destroyed the school. Blaming himself, Skywalker went into isolation. With Luke out of the picture, risen from the ashes of the Empire, the First Order, led by Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis), is trying to reclaim the power of the Empire. Knowing that Skywalker is their only threat, they are attempting to find him to eliminate him before he can join the Resistance’s fight against them. Daring Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is attempting to find a map to Luke’s location, but is quickly interrupted by the First Order. He hides the map on his droid, BB-8, before being captured by the menacing force. And so sets off a chain of events to find Luke Skywalker by the Resistance and the First Order alike.
It’s no secret that many of the main cast is returning, including Han Solo (Harrison Ford), Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), See-Threepio (Anthony Daniels), and R2-D2 (Kenny Baker). We also have a slew of new characters such as the aforementioned Poe Dameron, Finn (John Boyega), Rey (Daisy Ridley), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie), General Hux (Domnall Gleeson), and Supreme Leader Snoke. The cast, both returning and new, blended really well together and had a great amount of charisma on the screen. There was the right amount of comedy, drama, and action in this movie, and the interaction between the characters just felt genuine. This movie definitely felt more like the original trilogy than the prequels did.
The soundtrack and effects were amazing. Right in line with what you would expect from a Star Wars movie, but as I mentioned to the studio rep as I was leaving the theater, the film didn’t try to go overboard with everything. So there was no feeling of over production as some felt from the prequels. And with John Williams doing the score again, you know it will have the same sound. He did a great job of blending in little melodies, or snipits of songs, that made reference to the previous movies at just the right moments.
All-in-all, it was a fantastic film that did not leave me disappointed. It shouldn’t leave you disappointed either. Now, it’s not without a few plot holes, and suspension of belief will help, but they are, for me any way, forgivable and I will leave it for you to discover them. At the end of the day, this is definitely the Star Wars film you are looking for. Go see it. See it multiple times. Give Disney and Bad Robot more reason to continue not only with the Skywalker saga, but also the other stories like next year’s Rogue One, young Han Solo and Chewie, or, one can only hope, the story of everyone’s favorite bounty hunter/orphan, Boba Fett.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Princess Diarist in Books
Feb 8, 2018
Carrie Fisher's latest memoir details a behind the scenes look of the first <i>Star Wars</i> film. Motivated by the recent discovery of the journals she wrote while filming <i>Star Wars</i> in the late 1970s, Fisher discusses her naive nineteen-year-old self: not yet famous (though with famous parents) and unprepared for the juggernaut that would become the <i>Star Wars</i> franchise. She also covers her now famous co-star, Harrison Ford, and their relationship during the three months of filming. Fisher presents excerpts from her discovered journals and ponders on her life and the fame and notoriety that playing Princess Leia has brought her.
I am new to the <i>Star Wars</i> fandom, having only recently discovered the films myself in the past two years or so. My four-year-old daughters love them (and Leia), so I was intrigued by the idea of Fisher's memoir. While I like the films, I don't consider myself a fanatic by any stretch of the imagination. Still, I was interested in hearing some behind the scenes tidbits about filming. And Fisher starts out with such facts, explaining how an early scene was re-written due to the physical limitations of Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca. It's that sort of information that I find fascinating--and imagine other <i>Star Wars</i> fans would as well.
And, I won't lie, I was also fascinated by Fisher's reported relationship with Harrison Ford, who is about 15 years her senior (and was married while they were filming). Her portrayal of Harrison in the book seems spot on and is actually quite humorous at times. Unfortunately, her actual detail of the relationship is scant at best, and we really don't get much insight into their romance. What we do get is a lot of particulars about Fisher's own insecurities about herself, her body, her acting, etc.
She includes actual excerpts of the journals she found in the middle of the book, and I confess, I eventually started skimming them, because they were just agony to read. I can understand how they resonate from the perspective of a lovestruck teenager (because, truly, she was just that at the time), but so many years later, they just seem like a lot of bad poetry and ramblings that make no sense out of context. And beyond a few stories about Harrison, we really get nothing in the book that explains them, which is unfortunate, as Fisher seems witty and interesting (albeit insecure, but hey, so am I). I understand her angst from the journals, I really do, but I'm not honestly sure I wanted to read it in such form.
Plus, after that section of the book, we move on to Fisher discussing her fans and how "being Leia" has affected her life. And, again, I get it: we all forget how no one expected <i>Star Wars</i> to be so big. You wouldn't at nineteen realize what you were getting into, and I'm sure this character has absorbed much of her identity. And maybe it was reading this on the heel of Anna Kendrick's memoir, but I can only take so much of celebrities complaining about their fame and lives. The second half of Fisher's book, basically, is her capturing "conversations" with awestruck fans explaining how much Leia and <i>Star Wars</i> meant to them. But, really, it's mocking them and illustrating how tiresome the "lap dance" (her words) of signing autographs and appearing at various conventions can be. But, you know, as she states, it's worth it for the money. You can't help but feel a little offended on the part of these devoted, crazy fans, and a little less sorry for Fisher, even if she was not included on merchandising shares for <i>Star Wars</i>.
Sigh. Overall, I'm a bit conflicted on this one. Bits and pieces were very interesting. But I would have enjoyed hearing more about the actual set and her interactions with the other actors beyond Harrison Ford. While I also didn't mind hearing about Fisher's impressions of how Leia impacted her life, the fandom sections just rubbed me the wrong way. 2.5 stars.
I am new to the <i>Star Wars</i> fandom, having only recently discovered the films myself in the past two years or so. My four-year-old daughters love them (and Leia), so I was intrigued by the idea of Fisher's memoir. While I like the films, I don't consider myself a fanatic by any stretch of the imagination. Still, I was interested in hearing some behind the scenes tidbits about filming. And Fisher starts out with such facts, explaining how an early scene was re-written due to the physical limitations of Peter Mayhew, who played Chewbacca. It's that sort of information that I find fascinating--and imagine other <i>Star Wars</i> fans would as well.
And, I won't lie, I was also fascinated by Fisher's reported relationship with Harrison Ford, who is about 15 years her senior (and was married while they were filming). Her portrayal of Harrison in the book seems spot on and is actually quite humorous at times. Unfortunately, her actual detail of the relationship is scant at best, and we really don't get much insight into their romance. What we do get is a lot of particulars about Fisher's own insecurities about herself, her body, her acting, etc.
She includes actual excerpts of the journals she found in the middle of the book, and I confess, I eventually started skimming them, because they were just agony to read. I can understand how they resonate from the perspective of a lovestruck teenager (because, truly, she was just that at the time), but so many years later, they just seem like a lot of bad poetry and ramblings that make no sense out of context. And beyond a few stories about Harrison, we really get nothing in the book that explains them, which is unfortunate, as Fisher seems witty and interesting (albeit insecure, but hey, so am I). I understand her angst from the journals, I really do, but I'm not honestly sure I wanted to read it in such form.
Plus, after that section of the book, we move on to Fisher discussing her fans and how "being Leia" has affected her life. And, again, I get it: we all forget how no one expected <i>Star Wars</i> to be so big. You wouldn't at nineteen realize what you were getting into, and I'm sure this character has absorbed much of her identity. And maybe it was reading this on the heel of Anna Kendrick's memoir, but I can only take so much of celebrities complaining about their fame and lives. The second half of Fisher's book, basically, is her capturing "conversations" with awestruck fans explaining how much Leia and <i>Star Wars</i> meant to them. But, really, it's mocking them and illustrating how tiresome the "lap dance" (her words) of signing autographs and appearing at various conventions can be. But, you know, as she states, it's worth it for the money. You can't help but feel a little offended on the part of these devoted, crazy fans, and a little less sorry for Fisher, even if she was not included on merchandising shares for <i>Star Wars</i>.
Sigh. Overall, I'm a bit conflicted on this one. Bits and pieces were very interesting. But I would have enjoyed hearing more about the actual set and her interactions with the other actors beyond Harrison Ford. While I also didn't mind hearing about Fisher's impressions of how Leia impacted her life, the fandom sections just rubbed me the wrong way. 2.5 stars.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019) in Movies
Dec 20, 2019 (Updated Jan 22, 2020)
Contains spoilers, click to show
Right then... I definitely need to go and see this again to properly digest it, so my thoughts on it will probably change...
Just like TLJ before it, there are things that I liked about Rise of Skywalker, and plenty that I didn't. There are also parts that I liked overall, but we're executed poorly - this unfortunately seems to be what to expect from Star Wars these days.
The opening act of ROS, so let's say the first 40ish minutes, felt like a complete mess to me. We are thrown from scene to scene without having much time to catch breath. It feels panicky, and not in a good way.
It not really until the-bit-from-the-trailer-where-rey-jumps-over-a-tie-fighter that the narrative seems to just calm down a bit and find it's footing.
What follows is a mixed bag of humour and mild action which is a bit so so, slowly leading up to the films finale.
I have to say, I actually really enjoyed the majority of the third act. The action scene that takes place on Endor is fantastic. It looks amazing, some of the visual shots are great, and the choreography just about resists falling into prequel territory lightsaber battles.
The final battle, again is visually stunning, and though at times corny, I felt it was a suitable end scene for the saga.
In terms of characters - I once again enjoyed Rey, even i was left undecided with how her arc was left off - the same goes for Kylo Ren, and once again, Adam Driver was a massive highlight throughout.
However, I once again found myself struggling to like Finn and Poe, and it seems that after the events of TFA, both of these characters were just a bit of dead weight, still included in the larger narrative because the actors had signed contracts. Finn runs into a group of defective stormtroopers at one point, and the movie sort of half-arses them into the story, but they ultimately serve no real purpose.
The narrative is also guilty of setting up a potentially important plot beat between him and Rey, which is eventually dropped and forgotten without mention.
Leia's story felt a bit unfleshed, and that surely down to the limited footage they had to work with.
There are two moments that stuck out when it comes to bad execution - the reveal of Rey's lineage is sudden and questionable, but the dialogue used when Kylo Ren delivers the revealing line is laughable, and spoils any weight the moment may have otherwise had. The second is when we are inevitably introduced to Luke's force ghost, a moment that has been coming since the events of TLJ, is delivered with a fan-service line referencing the moment where he threw his lightsaber away at the start of said film, and this bring me to one of my main criticisms of ROS.
I was not the biggest fan of TLJ, but as I mentioned in my review for it, I have a lot of respect for Rian Johnson for trying something new, and ROS reverses a lot of what he did. It feels a bit disrespectful, and a bit spineless.
This also happens a few more times in regards to plot points to do with Chewbacca, and C3-PO - the narrative sets up a fairly ballsy move, and then reverses it and plays it safe. It's a little frustrating.
Palpatines return is something that I can just about get behind - he looked suitably terrifying - but I just wish that the groundwork had been put down a bit more in previous films (films, not the TV shows). Instead, it does have a bit of a desperate ret-con feel about it.
But enough moaning from me, have some more positives - the music score is once again fantastic, the visual effects and CGI are pretty damn good (barring a couple of dodgy shots here and there), and I once again enjoyed the locations that we visited.
Rise of Skywalker will no doubt be devisive, just like The Last Jedi, and it's a film filled to the brim with thrilling Star Wars moments, as well as really really stupid moments, but to be honest, I've come to expect no more and no less at this point. Go and see it for what it is, and try and have a good time, because for the most part, it's pretty entertaining sci-fi fluff.
Side note - Everytime Merry from Lord of the Rings popped up, I found it completely distracting...
Just like TLJ before it, there are things that I liked about Rise of Skywalker, and plenty that I didn't. There are also parts that I liked overall, but we're executed poorly - this unfortunately seems to be what to expect from Star Wars these days.
The opening act of ROS, so let's say the first 40ish minutes, felt like a complete mess to me. We are thrown from scene to scene without having much time to catch breath. It feels panicky, and not in a good way.
It not really until the-bit-from-the-trailer-where-rey-jumps-over-a-tie-fighter that the narrative seems to just calm down a bit and find it's footing.
What follows is a mixed bag of humour and mild action which is a bit so so, slowly leading up to the films finale.
I have to say, I actually really enjoyed the majority of the third act. The action scene that takes place on Endor is fantastic. It looks amazing, some of the visual shots are great, and the choreography just about resists falling into prequel territory lightsaber battles.
The final battle, again is visually stunning, and though at times corny, I felt it was a suitable end scene for the saga.
In terms of characters - I once again enjoyed Rey, even i was left undecided with how her arc was left off - the same goes for Kylo Ren, and once again, Adam Driver was a massive highlight throughout.
However, I once again found myself struggling to like Finn and Poe, and it seems that after the events of TFA, both of these characters were just a bit of dead weight, still included in the larger narrative because the actors had signed contracts. Finn runs into a group of defective stormtroopers at one point, and the movie sort of half-arses them into the story, but they ultimately serve no real purpose.
The narrative is also guilty of setting up a potentially important plot beat between him and Rey, which is eventually dropped and forgotten without mention.
Leia's story felt a bit unfleshed, and that surely down to the limited footage they had to work with.
There are two moments that stuck out when it comes to bad execution - the reveal of Rey's lineage is sudden and questionable, but the dialogue used when Kylo Ren delivers the revealing line is laughable, and spoils any weight the moment may have otherwise had. The second is when we are inevitably introduced to Luke's force ghost, a moment that has been coming since the events of TLJ, is delivered with a fan-service line referencing the moment where he threw his lightsaber away at the start of said film, and this bring me to one of my main criticisms of ROS.
I was not the biggest fan of TLJ, but as I mentioned in my review for it, I have a lot of respect for Rian Johnson for trying something new, and ROS reverses a lot of what he did. It feels a bit disrespectful, and a bit spineless.
This also happens a few more times in regards to plot points to do with Chewbacca, and C3-PO - the narrative sets up a fairly ballsy move, and then reverses it and plays it safe. It's a little frustrating.
Palpatines return is something that I can just about get behind - he looked suitably terrifying - but I just wish that the groundwork had been put down a bit more in previous films (films, not the TV shows). Instead, it does have a bit of a desperate ret-con feel about it.
But enough moaning from me, have some more positives - the music score is once again fantastic, the visual effects and CGI are pretty damn good (barring a couple of dodgy shots here and there), and I once again enjoyed the locations that we visited.
Rise of Skywalker will no doubt be devisive, just like The Last Jedi, and it's a film filled to the brim with thrilling Star Wars moments, as well as really really stupid moments, but to be honest, I've come to expect no more and no less at this point. Go and see it for what it is, and try and have a good time, because for the most part, it's pretty entertaining sci-fi fluff.
Side note - Everytime Merry from Lord of the Rings popped up, I found it completely distracting...