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Brian Kapfer (2 KP) created a post

May 26, 2018  
**Warning! May contain spoilers, but I don't think so**

Watched the Solo movie last night. Did not really care so much for it, probably rank it down with Revenge of the Sith and the other prequels. The Solo actor's performance was tiresome at first and got a bit better, but still around Anakin level acting. Chewbacca got to flex his muscles, which was pretty cool. Emelia Clarke was gorgeous as per usual, her part was one of the better ones. Woody was decent, but he was kind of confusing when wearing Lando's helmet from RotJ, Lando himself was played quite well, his mannerisms and cadence was close to Billy Dee's. The villain was so generic and forgettable, he might have never been there at all, maybe I hallucinated it. The betrayal scene was so horrendously predictable, I nearly stopped watching. In the end the 'hero' walks into the sunset and credits roll. I would have thought much better writing from the Kasdan's and Ron Howard was the wrong director for this project.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/?ref_=nv_sr_1
      
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BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies

May 29, 2018  
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
8
7.6 (148 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Surprised by how much I enjoyed this film
I have a confession to make - I was surprised by how much I enjoyed SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.

Going into this film, I felt that this film had a few things going against it:

1). Trying to replace Harrison Ford with another actor in the title role.
2). Bringing in Ron Howard to "rescue" the film.
3). Overcoming Star Wars "fatigue" from the less than enthusiastic response to THE LAST JEDI.

And you know what? It has overcome these things - and more!

Set sometime between Episode 3 and Episode 4 (and before ROGUE ONE), SOLO is, in essence, the origin story of everyone's favorite rascal, but is told in an interesting way - as a heist/caper film.

Credit must be given to writers Lawrence Kasdan (THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK) and his son Jonathan Kasdan. They have developed a fast paced, twisty, back and forth con-man film disguised as a sci-fi film set long ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Bringing in Howard was a good, competent move, for he moves the plot along sprightly and the special effects-laden chase sequences are tightly paced - if unspectacular - but they help move the action along - and doesn't get in the way. There is no "special effects for special effects-sake" sequences and Howard's workmanlike approach works well. He lets his strong cast strut on the screen with their strong characters which is wise of him for he inherited a film sprinkled with very good talent who looked like they were having fun with their characters.

Start with Woody Harrelson as Solo's mentor. He provides a solid anchor to the proceedings. As does Emilia Clarke as Solo's best friend/love interest. She more than holds her own with Solo and Harrelson - and is as much a "rascal" as the other two.. Also providing a good turn is Paul Bettany as the main villain.

As with most Star Wars films, the "non-human" continue to be interesting. Starting with Lady Proxima (voiced by Linda Hunt), followed by Rio Durant (voiced by Jon Favreau) and the robot L3 (voiced by Phoebe Waller-Bridge), all were interesting characters, rendered well.

And...of course...there is Chewbacca (performed by Joonas Suotamo). I was thrilled to revisit the friendship between "Chewie" and Han. It was really easy to forget that you were watching a person in a Wookie costume. There is a rumor of a Chewbacca movie - and I'm all for it.

Speaking of "friendships" - this film also explores the beginnings of the HAN SOLO/LANDO CALRISSIAN friendships - and Donald Glover almost steals the movie in his portrayal of Lando. He has the swagger, debonair (and slightly feminine) attitude of the character down.

Which leads me to Alden Ehrenreich's performance as Solo. I have mentioned Harrelson...and Clarke...and Glover...and Bettany...and the CG characters...and Chewbacca...and this leaves Ehreneich's portrayal somewhat in the background. Don't get me wrong, he does a GOOD job as Solo, but - I feel - he just lacks the charisma and screen presence of the rest of them, and, of course, of Harrison Ford. He grew on me as the film progressed, but I felt he faded into the background at times - where he should have been up front.

But...this is a quibble...in a film who's energy, pace and characters really worked for me - more than I thought it would.

Letter Grade: A-

8 (out of 10) stars and you can take that to the Bank (ofMarquis)
  
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David McK (3425 KP) rated Tatooine Ghost (Star Wars) in Books

Jan 30, 2019  
TG
Tatooine Ghost (Star Wars)
Troy Denning
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
How do you link a Star Wars book set after the classic trilogy (and almost immediately after "The Courtship of Princess Leia") to the events of the prequel trilogy, without knowing how Episode III is going to play out?

Troy Denning's answer to that question is simple: by having his main characters (Leia, Hand, Chewbacca and C-3PO) return to the Skywlaker home planet of Tattoine, on the trail of a stolen Alderaanian painting; a painting that holds secrets that the New Republic don't want discovered by the Empire. As the novel is set on Tatooine, that then allows Denning to continue the story of some of the minor (and major) characters from "The Phantom Menace": what happened to them after Anakin left the planet in the company of Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon Jinn? How had his leaving affected their lives?

As in all official Star Wars novels, the events of this one also ties into voth previous and sebsequent novels: although he himself never really plays a main role within, we also have an early (chronologically speaking) appearance of Grand Admiral Thrawn, and some clues to future events in the Star Wars mythos.

Definitely worth reading.
  
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Rodney Barnes (472 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies

Mar 11, 2019  
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
2018 | Action, Sci-Fi
8
7.6 (148 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Story and Acting (0 more)
Han and Chewbacca meeting (0 more)
Another Good Anthology
Contains spoilers, click to show
I must say despite the protest for this movie for the last...well you know; I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. The characters were spot on. Donald Glover did the best job in my opinion. The story was good, Han looking for his lost love may have been a little stretch at that point in his career but it worked. The one thing I didn't like was the way Han and Chewy met. I know they wouldn't do it like the old canon, which would have been hard to do but I wish it could have been done a little different. Aside from the this movie met my expectations, as a Star Wars fan. I even liked the way they incorporated Lando's sidekick droid into the Falcon. We can now understand it's really a she. The part that excited me most was the ending. That was very unexpected for me. One of my favorite Sith Lords of all time made a showing. Darth Maul!! I hope this story arc continues with him in future anthology movies. This movie is a solid 8 for me. We will see what the future holds for more movies like this