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

1983 interview with critics Siskel, Ebert, and Simon on Star Wars

While on YouTube, I stumbled upon this interview clip from 1983's NightLine program, where film critics Siskel, Ebert, and John Simon were being asked about 1983's Return Of the Jedi and the Star Wars films in general.

It's really interesting to hear some serious negative criticism about Star Wars, now a cultural phenomenon. I wasn't very familiar with John Simon before, but apparently I learned that he has had a reputation of being a harsh critic of beloved films and the actors in them.

Though I don't agree with him about the early Star Wars films, I guess I feel the same as he does about many/most of the superhero movies of the last two decades or so.

Interstellar (2014), Solaris (1972), and Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

This past summer I was able to catch up with two science fiction films that played here in Chicago in 35 MM at the Music Box Theater. The first was Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris a very slow paced and mysterious film set on a space station where members of the crew succumb to the planet Solaris' control of their minds. It was a visually beautiful film to watch, but felt long; I may need to watch it again a second time to fully comprehend its meaning. Christopher Nolan's Interstellar, also set in the future, left me with a bleak feeling at the end, as most of the characters in the film fell prey to a great deception. I also felt a bit exhausted at the end of it as well. Visually, the film was also beautiful to watch, with stunning visuals. It's another film that I may need to watch again to pay more attention to details, as I feel much went over my head, but I feel I caught the main ideas throughout. In, both films, the comic relief was limited.

Which brings us to one of the year's most anticipated films, Star Wars: The Last Jedi. "Part 8" in the Star Wars saga, this film has its share of suspense and surprises, but perhaps what surprised me the most was the amount of comedy in the film; this film contains probably the most comic relief of all of the Star Wars films put together, which seems unusual since this film was meant to answer some serious questions about the fates of some of the best-known characters in the series such as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia. Whenever an actual Star Wars film's comedic tone would fit well in Mel Brooks' Spaceballs (1987), something seems a little out-of-place.

I can only imagine what Interstellar and Solaris would be like with the amount of comedy that was in The Last Jedi.

The sinking of Titanic

Well, the numbers are in  (from box-office mojo and comic-book.com) and the latest Star Wars film - The Force Awakens - is now officially the #2 all-time box office moneymaking film in America, trailing Avatar (2009) by about $75 million dollars.

Never thought I'd rejoice over the sinking of the Titanic, but in this case I am! As you may know if you have been following my blog for awhile, Titanic (1997) is not one of my favorite movies.

I wonder if The Force Awakens can make enough to make it all the way to number 1 film of all time? With so many fans rewatching the movie multiple times, that could very well happen!

We will have to wait a few days or weeks to see!

More Star Wars links

If you're a fan of Star Wars then no doubt you're still talking about and/or pondering the latest movie and what you did and didn't like about it.

If there one's element about the new movie that irked me at all, it was all the unanswered questions...but that's OK because it provides plenty of fodder to talk about for the next 18 months.

***Warning some spoilers ahead***

One new character that many fans can't stop talking about is "Supreme Leader Snoke", the "Wizard of Oz"-like evil mastermind in the new movie, and his backstory. One theory I like is that he is really Jar Jar Binks from Episodes 1 and 2, which would make total sense and be very satisfying!! I really want that to be revealed so bad!

Another question everyone is asking is who is Rey? Is she related to anyone we already know, or was she just born with the force powers, like Anakin Skywwalker?! So many questions!

Here are some links to even more questions and theories if you dare!

18 Huge Questions we Need Answered after The Force Awakens (Cinemablend)

26 Unanswered Questions of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’: We Have the Answers (Slashfilm)

27 Star Wars Questions answered by the Novels (Mashable)

43 Questions We Desperately Want Answered After Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Gizmodo)

Star Wars 7 Script & Tie-In Novel Clarify Force Awakens Questions (Screen Rant)

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.

Plastic Galaxy: The Story of Star Wars Toys (2014)

I heard about this new documentary about Star Wars toys from the Now Playing podcast [details here], and immediately wanted to check it out. Like many of the people intereviewed for the documentary, I had a bunch of Star Wars action figures in the early 80s and spent hours playing with them and with my friends' collections. With those toys, I encountered my first experiences being envious and jealous: "how I wish I had that Ewok Village playset!", I remember thinking.  "The Millenium Falcon was so COOL!"  It seemed like an ENORMOUS toy - and my friend Aaron (who I envied) had it! I loved going over to my friend Aaron's -- he had almost every figure. And seeing many of those figures again in the film brought back lots of memories. I loved learning about the history of Kenner and their factories and the stories from the Kenner employees and toy designers. They show lots of early sketches and prototypes of toys that never were made. This is a really cool documentary to watch. The guys on the podcast talked about who they thought the target audience for the documentary is. In my opinion, I think you'll enjoy this film if:

1) You're a Star Wars fan

2) You had and played with the toys /action figures

3) You are a toy collector interested in learning more about the history of these collectibles.


Everyone else might be bored!

"Making of" Star Wars tv specials

I love any "Making of" documentary or featurette, especially when they show how they did the special effects. These two I remember watching on TV when I was a kid, the making of Empire Strikes Back and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.