Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)

So I did go to see the latest, and liked it, but didn't love it. It was OK. I thought it was better than the last. Spoilers ahead (don't read if you haven't seen yet).

My favorite parts are when C3P0 loses his memory and when Chewie gets Leah's medal at the end. I also liked seeing Han Solo (Harrison Ford) come back as a force ghost and I liked seeing Kylo Ren turn to the force/the good side. That was satisfying. Lando (Billy Dee Williams) was good to see but he's not really in it much. And I liked seeing the Emperor again revealing himself to be the mastermind.

There were alot of things I didn't understand about the movie. I watched Kevin Smith's review (below) and he had pretty much all of the same thoughts I had about things.

I didn't understand the "healing" powers that Rey and Kylo had, and didn't get all the mind-meld stuff and abilities to step into someone's space like when Rey destroy's Kylo's chambers with her lightsaber when she's not there.

Suppose I need to suspend my disbelief on some stuff, though. Oh well.




Now that the "Skywalker" trilogies are done, I'd still watch some other "Star Wars" universe movies.

- Would still like to see a "Solo: Part II" and show more of Jabba the Hutt
- Would like to see more Obi Wan Kenobi adventures
- Would like to see more of Yoda's life in-between Episodes III and V
- Would like to see a dramatization of Luke training Kylo

Star Wars The Force Awakens (2015)

I went to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens last Sunday afternoon and enjoyed it so much that I went to see it a second time yesterday in 3D!

Before I saw it for the first time, I thought I knew what was going to happen because I had listened to a podcast from Pop Culture Leftovers where the hosts attempted to piece together the entire movie after a careful dissection of every second of the trailers and every rumor that had come out thus far, including some dubious production photo/script "leaks" (click here to listen to that episode).

They got alot right, but they also got a bunch of things WRONG, and the movie was so much better than I expected.

The visual effects were dazzling and the acting was great, especially by the two new young leads, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega - their real names even sound like they belong in the Star Wars universe.

The movie never felt like a rip-off of the original 1977 classic, even though there were plenty of homages to that movie throughout, right down to cameo appearances by aliens and robots from that movie, which I didn't mind at all.  All of the new characters were interesting, including the new villain Kylo Ren, who aspires to be just like his grandfather Darth Vader.

The only thing I didn't like about the experience was that it felt like SO MANY character and plot details are left unanswered, and that it'll be a 2-year wait until the next movie! Oh well, it's Ok though. One of the marks of a great movie is that it leaves you wanting more after it is over.

With Harrison Ford, Max Von Sydow, Oscar Issac.