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Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
1977 | Fantasy, Sci-Fi
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.
  
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Dieter Polcher (0 KP) Apr 22, 2017

May the Force Be With You

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Bookapotamus (289 KP) rated Artemis in Books

May 25, 2018  
Artemis
Artemis
Andy Weir | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
7.7 (34 Ratings)
Book Rating
Huge Martian fan here! And this one, while totally different, did not disappoint! There is plenty of space drama, including the fear of what could happen when crisis occurs, but also some charm, witty characters and some pretty crazy daredevil situations.

I didn't particularly like Jazz, the main character. Shes got man drama, friend drama, family drama, work drama.... BUT she is one pretty bad-ass chick who does whatever she wants and for the most part, takes no blame. She's extremely immature for her age (late 20s?) and incredibly irresponsible, and I couldn't believe she got away with some of the antics that went on in this book. Especially on the Moon!

Artemis is just that - a city - but on the moon! Very cool concept, totally different idea than The Martian. It's a pretty common practice to travel back and forth from Earth to the Moon occurs, but only if you are a zillionaire and can afford to do so. It is a hot vacation destination for rich and famous travelers, but like a lot of vacation hot spots - there are those who live and work there, like Jazz, and are natives, born there, work there, and are neither rich nor famous.

Jazz works in transportation, unloading the ships that bring stuff from Earth - which covers for her side job as a smuggler - bringing in contraband to those who request it- like cigars, etc. (um hellooo? we all know fire does not bode well in space!) One request for a pretty shady request, sends the entire city into complete chaos. Why on Moon (see what I did there?) would Jazz stoop so low and put the entire city in danger? Money - and lots of it. Jazz is saving up for something, and money is her answer to everything. And we slowly unfold the story that makes up Jazz and start to understand why she is the way she is. We also see how ridiculously smart and courageous she is and you may even start to like her a little!

There is a LOT of science in this book. I now know exactly how to weld on the moon. I mean, exactly. My husband is a welder and I read some parts to him and he said it all sounded pretty legit, so I can imagine the research that went into crafting some parts of the story.

Overall it was a lot of fun - Jazz is quite the character and I'd totally read a sequel if Jazz had another story to tell. Andy Weir knows his space, and I'm quite glad he loves it so much to write such entertaining and engaging stories for us.
  
Black Panther (2018)
Black Panther (2018)
2018 | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Diverse casting (no, seriously.) (6 more)
STRONG WOMEN
Subverting stereotypes all day long
Excellent soundtrack
Ambiguous "villain"
Representation
The seamless blending of tech and tradition
BEST. MARVEL. MOVIE.
Contains spoilers, click to show
OH my god. This was definitely the best Marvel movie yet. Chadwick Boseman was absolutely amazing as T'Challa. (Warning, SPOILERS AHEAD.)

I loved that the love interest was already established - there weren't any "falling in love butterflies" to distract from the plot. SO MANY STRONG WOMEN. All of T'Challa's support were strong, gorgeous women of color. His mother, his sister, his general, his love interest. The female guards. Absolutely fantastic.


The blending of technology and traditions was superbly done. People still tend crops and animals and tan hides and go to the marketplace in Wakanda - but they have vibranium armor and weapons, and technological wonders on their wrists that pop up virtual screens, and their medical care is the best in the world. Oh, and ships. Spaceships, basically.


THE CLOTHES. The dresses, the makeup, the armor, the weapons - the appearance of Wakanda was amazing.


And then the plot. The difference between "Well, we're Wakandan, and we look out for the Wakandan people" and "We should be looking out for ALL of our people (black people all over the world, not just Wakandans.)" That was where the real conflict arose in Black Panther - and it was interesting that the two leads, while opposing each other, actually felt the same about it. Just with different ideas of how to do so. (There's a lot to unpack about why they feel this way - some of it, I think, goes back to African-Americans having their nationalities forcibly stripped from them during the slave trade - so being black is the only thing white people left them with; while non-American Africans have their national identities to look to. So they might be Nigerian or Ethiopian instead of one unified black group. And the opposing lead was brought up in America.)



The differences between how the Wakandans viewed white people, and how the American prince viewed white people, are a very important conflict. You can watch the movie as just another superhero movie, and it'll be good. But watching it looking for the racial undertones makes it absolutely fantastic.


Also - the casting is diverse. Just because it's almost all black people doesn't mean it's not diverse. Again, that's a white American thing, looking at black people as one unified group. They're not. Also how many movies have been almost all white people with a token black guy? People complaining about "lack of diversity" in this movie need to take their white supremacist selves out of the theater and away from this amazing movie.
  
Captive State (2019)
Captive State (2019)
2019 | Sci-Fi, Thriller
John Goodman delivers a solid performance, visually appealing, (0 more)
Too grounded in reality, lacked originality, didn't feel satisfying in the end (0 more)
Not Captivating Enough - 6/10
Captive State is a 2019 sci-fi/thriller movie directed by Rupert Wyatt and co-written by Rupert Wyatt and Erica Beeney. It was produced by Amblin Partners and Participant Media with producers Rupert Wyatt and David Crockett. The film stars John Goodman, Ashton Sanders, Jonathan Majors, and Vera Farmiga.


In 2019, Chicago is placed under Martial Law as extraterrestrials invade Earth. Attempting to flee the city, the Drummond family, breaks through a barricade to a tunnel exit. Before they can back up and reverse, the aliens attack, vaporizing both parents, with the children having survived in the backseat. Nine years later, 2028, the world has surrendered to the conquering alien forces, who have now become the governing authority. They are called "The Legislators" because all rules of governance and subsequent laws come from them. Walled off from the rest of the city and deep beneath the ground, they've had conscripted humans build them suitable habitats called "Closed Zones" where only high government officials are granted access. Gabriel Drummond (Ashton Sanders), the younger son of the Drummond family is confronted by Chicago Police Commander William Mulligan (John Goodman) who believes he is a part of the resistance. Gabriel's brother Rafe Drummond (Jonathan Majors) was part of the resistance but died on a mission and murals are painted of him in Pilsen, the poor part of town, where Gabriel lives. Mulligan however is not convinced the resistance group, called Phoenix has been neutralized as believed and continues to work towards bringing them down.


This movie was not at all what I expected. I thought it was going to be better than what it was and that's because I didn't even have high expectations going into it. So from the previews/trailers it looked like it was going to be a bigger scale resistance. When I hear resistance fighting, I guess I picture more like fighting like Fallen Skies or like the resistance fighters in Star Wars. This was more of a political/spy thriller going back and forth between the point of view from members of the resistance and those tasked with bringing them down. It had sprinkling of sci-fi and aliens but was too grounded in reality to make it entertaining. It seemed very "done before" and lacked originality. John Goodman did a good job and so did Ashton Sanders but I feel this movie suffered from a bad plot to begin with. Or maybe it sounds good on paper but the delivery failed. Visually it was appealing, the aliens and ships and things looked wonderful but after watching seemed like it wasn't enough to leave the audience satisfied. I give it a 6/10.
  
    Model 15

    Model 15

    Music and Entertainment

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    Quincy

    Quincy

    Music and Education

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    Quincy is a most unique music composition tool. Its modular approach to interpretation of cellular...