Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) review

(Disclaimer: I promise that there’ll be no MAJOR spoilers in this review)

When Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith was released in 2005, many assumed that this was the end of the Star Wars film franchise. After all, it was the final installment of the highly controversial prequel trilogy whose purpose was to officially close the gap on the story of how Anakin Skywalker fell to the Dark Side and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. However, this all changed in 2012 when Lucasfilm was bought by Disney for $4.05 billion. Now the House of Mouse was in control of arguably the biggest franchise in all of pop culture and, sure enough, it immediately got to work on a new line of Star Wars films. It all began in 2015 when director J.J. Abrams returned audiences to a galaxy far, far away with Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. As was the case with the previous first installment of a new Star Wars trilogy, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens was put under some of the heaviest expectations ever seen from the film fan community, as many hoped that it would deliver where they felt the prequel trilogy did not. Thankfully, the film did manage to meet those expectations, for the most part, as it was a major critical and commercial success upon its release. Oh sure, there are still the nagging criticisms that have been made by those who have accused the film of being a remake of Episode IV: A New Hope, but the film was well-received by critics and audiences and it became only the third film ever to gross over $2 billion worldwide.

One year later, Lucasfilm then initiated a new line of spin-off films (referred to as ‘Star Wars stories’) with Rogue One. Set in-between the events of Episodes III and IV, it focused on the Rebellion’s efforts to steal the plans for the Empire’s devastatingly powerful battle station, the Death Star. And overall, it proved to be another critical/commercial success for Disney, even after it had to go through some highly publicized reshoots to fix its ending. But now, the time has come for the next installment of the main saga, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. This time around, though, J.J. Abrams is not the one behind the camera. Instead, directorial duties go to Rian Johnson, and while this may technically be Johnson’s first big-budget outing as a director, he has made quite a name for himself in the film industry thanks to his work on several critically-acclaimed projects. This includes the 2005 neo-noir thriller Brick, 2012’s sci-fi action thriller Looper, and three of what many consider to be some of the best episodes of the iconic TV series Breaking Bad (headlined by the show’s antepenultimate episode, ‘Ozymandias’). And after the whole ‘TFA copied A New Hope’ incident, many fans are hoping that Johnson will deliver a fresh, new take on this legendary franchise. Does he do so? Well, I don’t know if I can call The Last Jedi that ‘fresh and new’, but what I can say is that Johnson does give us a highly satisfying follow-up to what was an equally terrific first installment of this new Star Wars trilogy.

At the end of The Force Awakens, Rey (Daisy Ridley), a young scavenger from the desert planet of Jakku, traveled to the remote planet of Ahch-To to find the elusive Jedi Master, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill). Having learned that she is capable of using the powerful essence known as the Force, Rey seeks Luke’s guidance in learning the ways of the Force in her efforts to realize her true potential. However, Luke is hesitant to train her at first after he had previously failed to protect his former protégé/nephew Ben Solo from the Dark Side, which ultimately led to him becoming the feared First Order commander Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Eventually, though, Luke does begin to train her in the Jedi arts when it becomes apparent that a connection has started to form between her and Kylo Ren, with the latter being shown to still be struggling with letting go of his past identity even after killing his father, Han Solo. Meanwhile, the Resistance, led by Luke’s sister (and Kylo Ren’s mother) General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher), finds itself under attack from the First Order after their main base of operations is discovered. With the Resistance fleet at risk of being destroyed by the First Order, pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), ex-stormtrooper Finn (John Boyega), and mechanic Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) enact a desperate plan in order to help the Resistance escape their foe’s wrath.

To put it quite simply, Star Wars: The Last Jedi has it all. In terms of visuals, it’s one of the best-looking Star Wars films to date thanks to the excellent cinematography from Rian Johnson regular Steve Yedlin and the franchise’s consistently strong visual effects. As one might expect, this results in some excellent action sequences that range from epic lightsaber duels to high-octane space battles. But just like The Force Awakens, this film’s writing (which was handled solely by Johnson for this installment) is just as strong as its visual game. As a follow-up to its immediate predecessor, the film does an excellent job of continuing the story that was established in The Force Awakens while also further developing both its new collection of main protagonists and the saga’s iconic returning characters. And really, Johnson deserves a lot of credit for getting so much depth out of what could arguably be described as a simple chase plot. If I had any sort of issue with this film, it’d be that it does admittedly feel a tad bit overlong due to its hefty two and a half hour runtime. Now, to be clear, it’s not like there were any parts of this film that dragged or anything because there weren’t any. It’s just that, without spoiling anything, by the time that the finale rolls around… there’s still about half an hour of the film to go. But again, this isn’t really that much of a shortcoming in a film that is solidly paced.

If I had to list what my favorite aspect of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was, it would have to be its characters. Even when dealing with the franchise’s consistently high expectations, many of the new characters introduced in The Force Awakens proved to be just as endearing as the saga’s original heroes. Sure enough, this trend continues with The Last Jedi, starting with the new trilogy’s lead trio of Rey, Finn, and Poe. All three of them are great once again thanks in large part to the excellent performances from Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, and Oscar Isaac, respectively. The same goes for the film’s main antagonist as well, as Adam Driver is fantastic once again as the fascinatingly complex Kylo Ren. And while there’s not really a lot of new characters introduced in this film, the ones that are do prove to be quite memorable, including Laura Dern as the Resistance’s Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo and Kelly Marie Tran as Rose, the latter of whom proves to be a delightful addition to this trilogy’s group of main protagonists. But, of course, we cannot forget about the iconic leads from the original Star Wars trilogy, Luke and Leia. After only having a brief non-speaking role in The Force Awakens’ final scene, Luke now takes on a far more substantial role in this film’s story where he gets some great new bits of character development that give us an idea of how much he’s changed since Episode VI: Return of the Jedi. And as for Leia… well, as we all know, this was sadly Carrie Fisher’s last time in the role following her death this past December. Not much more to say about this except that, for what is her last appearance as one of the most iconic sci-fi heroines of all-time, it may arguably be her greatest performance in said role.  

Well, given my stance on Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I guess that it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that I quite enjoyed Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Now, granted, I don’t mean this in the sense that I found it to be a ‘fresh’ new take on the franchise as I’ve seen some critics opine (though, at the same time, that doesn’t mean that I think that Johnson’s directorial vision was neutered by Lucasfilm… as I’ve also seen some critics claim). When I say that I loved this film, I mean that more in the sense that it just simply delivered on everything you’d want from a great Star Wars film; a strong story, great characters, and terrific visuals and action sequences. If you loved The Force Awakens, then I’m sure that you’ll probably love The Last Jedi as it proves to be an excellent continuation of the story that its predecessor set up. And, sure enough, it sets up the groundwork nicely for the final installment of this new trilogy that will be coming in 2019, Episode IX, which will see J.J. Abrams returning to the role of director. And while I know that some feel that he’s ‘too safe’ of a choice for director after what Rian Johnson did with this film, the quality of TFA is more than enough to give me full confidence in my favorite director working today to once again deliver when it comes to this franchise. To paraphrase one of the biggest lines from The Force Awakens, I fully believe that J.J. “will finish… what [he] started…”

Rating: 5/5!

American Made (2017) review

Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of films that have been based on true stories that seem outright ridiculous to those who have never heard of them and yet totally happened. This has ranged from films like Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street, which told the story of hard partying, drug-using stock traders, to Michael Bay’s Pain and Gain, the tale of a group of small-minded bodybuilders who partake in kidnapping and extortion to try and get rich. And as for the latest entry in this ‘genre’ of crazy stories that really happened, we have American Made. This film tells the story of Barry Seal, who went from being a commercial airline pilot to a drug and weapons smuggling informant for both the CIA and the Medellin Cartel in the late 70’s and early 80’s. It’s a film that certainly has a lot of big names working on it, that’s for sure. In the director’s chair is Doug Liman, who’s given us quite a lot of hits over the years including 1996’s Swingers, the first Jason Bourne film, 2002’s The Bourne Identity, and 2014’s cult hit Edge of Tomorrow. This film also sees him reuniting with his lead actor from Edge of Tomorrow, the one and only Tom Cruise, in what is shaping up to be a more dramatic turn for the legendary action star. And together, they give us an entertaining, albeit a bit flat, black comedy that’s fully bolstered by Cruise’s excellent performance in the lead role. 

In the late 70’s, pilot Barry Seal (Tom Cruise) works for Trans World Airlines, having notably been one of the youngest pilots ever in the company’s history. However, he decides to leave TWA when he is approached with a ‘better offer’ from CIA agent Monty Schafer (Domhnall Gleeson). After being given his own plane by Schafer, Barry is tasked with flying reconnaissance missions for the CIA in South America. Soon, this escalates into Barry serving as a liaison between the CIA and Panamanian Dictator Manuel Noriega. However, not long after this, Barry is then approached by Jorge Ochoa (Alejandro Edda) and Pablo Escobar (Mauicio Mejia) of the Medellin cartel. The cartel then proceeds to have Barry smuggle their drugs into the U.S. for them. However, when the DEA soon comes into the picture, Barry is forced to move to the small town of Mena, Arkansas with his wife Lucy (Sarah Wright) and their three kids to avoid suspicion. But that doesn’t stop Barry from continuing to work with both the CIA and the cartel, and thanks to the continued success of his operations, Barry is able to amass more and more wealth while also maintaining the secrecy of his endeavors through his ‘charitable’ actions in the community of Mena. Soon, though, Barry finds himself in an increasingly tense situation as he tries to balance everything that he’s been getting involved in.

While I usually don’t like to make a lot of comparisons between films, it’s safe to say that American Made shares quite a few similarities with The Wolf of Wall Street. After all, both films are about mildly successful men who get ahead in life when they partake in business practices that aren’t exactly legal. Both films also maintain an irreverent tone throughout with various bits of black comedy thrown in. But just like Wolf of Wall Street, American Made is a solidly entertaining ‘dark comedy’ based on a true story that only gets crazier and crazier once Seal begins to get involved with multiple parties at the same time. Liman’s direction is excellent and the film’s strong pacing gives it a fast-paced feel without ever seeming like it’s rushing through the plot. And thanks to the screenplay by newcomer Gary Spinelli, there are plenty of great humorous bits of dialogue throughout, primarily whenever Barry is narrating (again, like Wolf of Wall Street). I also appreciate the efforts made by Liman and his crew to give this film a nice retro aesthetic, and I’m not just talking about its status as a period piece set in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Right from the opening credits, which utilize the old logos of the production companies that worked on this film, American Made has a nice old-school aesthetic that makes it seem like the film was genuinely shot in the 80’s.

However, if I did have one gripe with this film, it’d be that the overall proceedings can sometimes be a bit dry. And that’s mainly because the character development in this film is admittedly rather slim, meaning that you don’t really connect with any of its characters apart from Barry. And even then, he’s still kind of ‘just there’ as far as main protagonists go. Still, Tom Cruise does do a fantastic job in the role. As some tend to point out, it’s been quite some time since Cruise’s days as a dramatic actor. After all, that’s where his career initially started before the Mission: Impossible franchise turned him into the action star that we know him as today. Thus, it can be argued that this is one of the rare instances where Cruise delves out of the action genre for once to remind us that he is very much more than just an action star. And here, he’s incredibly charismatic (as usual) even in the role of a morally grey character. In short, Cruise very much carries the film, and while most of the supporting roles are minor by comparison, there are still some great standouts from the film’s supporting cast. Sarah Wright has solid chemistry with Cruise in the role of Barry’s wife Lucy, who gets to have some great back-and-forth moments with her husband whenever he starts acting crazy. And as for the most prominent member of the supporting cast, Domhnall Gleeson, he too works great with Cruise as Barry’s government liaison, who works just as much as Barry does in his line of work to move up the ranks within the CIA.

I think many will agree that Doug Liman has been one of the most consistently reliable directors in the film industry. While he has had some critical misfires over the years, he’s also given us plenty of great films as well, and American Made is no exception. From the looks of it, it seems like this film is a decently faithful take on the real-life events that make up its story. And sure, like any film based on a true story, there clearly must have been some deviations from the truth; however, as Barry states in the trailer, ‘some of this s*** really happened’. And I guess you can say that it’s only fitting that Liman was the one to tell this story given that his father Arthur was, in fact, connected to this whole ordeal as the chief counsel for the investigations surrounding the Iran-Contra affair in the mid-80’s that had basically been spawned from all this. Sure enough, American Made is a well-made drama mixed with great bits of dark humor. Now, granted, that doesn’t mean that it’s flawless, as it does suffer from not really having much emotional depth to it. However, it’s all worth it for one of the best recent performances of Tom Cruise’s career. While he has certainly proven himself to be one of the best action stars in the business thanks to films like Mission: Impossible, Jack Reacher, and Edge of Tomorrow, a film like this proves that he’s also a great actor when given a great script to work with. And while American Made may not exactly be one of his best films, it still stands as an entertaining crime drama based around an interesting tidbit of this country’s history.

Rating: 4/5

mother! (2017) review

Director Darren Aronofsky has become well-known for his work on psychological dramas that delve into the psyches of their main protagonists. However, while several of his films have done excellently with critics, they’ve also attracted tons of controversy for various reasons, usually because of how insane some of them get. His sophomore directorial effort, 2000’s Requiem for a Dream, was deemed too intense for audiences, thus initially earning an NC-17 rating from the MPAA. Aronofsky refuted the decision, but his appeal was denied and the film was instead released unrated by its distributor. While his 2010 effort, Black Swan, did earn Natalie Portman an Oscar for Best Actress, it also led to some debate over how much of the ballet dancing in the film was done by Portman herself. And as for his most recent film, 2014’s Noah, it ended up being banned in several countries due to Aronofsky’s radical take on the story of Noah’s Ark, while also turning out to be his most commercially successful film to date. And from the looks of it, this trend of Aronofsky’s polarizing output continues with his latest film, Mother. Headlined by the ensemble of Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer, Mother is a psychological ‘horror’ film that’s steeped in biblical allegories. However, that hasn’t stopped the film from attracting an extremely polarizing response from critics, and given that it was handed the worst rating possible from the marketing research firm CinemaScore, an F, it’s also proven to be quite divisive amongst audiences as well. As for me? Well, unfortunately, I find that I lean heavily towards the side that gave this film an ‘F’.

In a quaint, little-secluded area, a young woman (Jennifer Lawrence) lives with her husband (Javier Bardem), who’s a poet, in their newly renovated home. The young woman has spent much of her time working on the remodeling so that they can have a perfect home, even though it becomes clear that this isolation has had a negative effect on her husband’s work. However, their idyllic home life is soon threatened by the arrival of some unwanted guests. First, a doctor (Ed Harris) arrives at the house, having been led to assume that it was a bed and breakfast. He also mentions that he’s a big fan of the husband’s work. Later, the doctor’s wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) arrives as well, and while there, she begins to question the young woman about why she and her husband have yet to have kids. This, obviously, begins to freak the young woman out but, to both her surprise and dismay, her husband is extremely welcoming of their new guests. And soon enough, more people start to arrive on the premises just so that they can meet with the husband. Thus, as the young woman begins to become more and more stressed due to all the unwelcome guests in her home, it also starts to have quite an effect on her relationship with her husband, especially after she does indeed become pregnant.

As noted in the intro (and without giving anything major away from the plot), this film’s story is basically one big biblical allegory. If you’re familiar with some of the most famous stories from the bible, then you’ll probably recognize them here by way of how they’re represented in the film’s characters. This includes everyone from the older couple that comes to visit the main characters’ home to their two sons (played by real-life brothers Domhnall and Brian Gleeson) and, of course, the titular ‘mother’ and her husband. And to this film’s credit, I do think that it’s an interesting way in going about telling a Bible-influenced story in a modern context. However, the way in which Aronofsky goes about it is what ultimately ruins it. Part of this is due to the often-temperamental cinematography by Aronofsky regular Matthew Libatique. Said cinematography involves tons of close-up shots and quite a bit of erratic/shaky camera movement, the latter of which becomes a huge problem when things get nuts in this film. And believe me, this film gets nuts, mainly during its second half where to be perfectly frank, it goes off the frigging wall… which, as you might have guessed, is not a good thing in this case. This film also utilizes Aronofsky’s quick-cut style of editing that was apparent in Requiem for a Dream, though it mostly comes into play during the more chaotic moments of the narrative. So, in other words, pair rapidly cutting editing with erratic cinematography and you have a film that can make you feel quite nauseous at times because it’s moving around so much, thereby giving you barely any time to try and grasp just what the heck is happening onscreen. 

It’s a shame, really, that this film is the disaster that it is because everyone in the cast is solid in their respective roles. At the very least, they all do a fine enough job at conveying the traits of the biblical characters that they’re meant to be representing. While not necessarily the best performance of her career, Jennifer Lawrence does do a fine job in the ‘title role’. She holds her own for sure, especially given that the film mainly revolves around her, but she’s also quite good whenever she’s working off one of her co-stars, like the always charismatic Javier Bardem. With that said, though, prior to its release, there was some controversy over the fact that Lawrence’s main romantic lead in this film is 21 years her senior. However, if anything, the film does sort of address this and, again, without giving anything away, it ends up making a bit more sense once you realize who Bardem’s character is meant to be. The other couple in this film, played by Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer, provide an interesting contrast to the main couple given their overall characterizations. Harris’ character is more of a charming stranger while Pfeiffer’s character is far colder, the latter of which is seen whenever Pfeiffer interacts with Lawrence. Both Harris and Pfeiffer are great in their respective roles, with Harris providing some nice charisma while Pfeiffer is great at conveying an incredibly uncomfortable, steely persona. Ultimately, though, these solid performances aren’t enough to save this dreadful material.

Now, to be fair, I can at least see why some have reacted positively towards this film. I can see why they’ve found it to be an artistically fascinating and refreshingly original film in today’s current market. Ultimately, though, I did not see ‘exactly’ what they saw with this film. Now, to be clear, this wasn’t a situation where I just didn’t get what was going on (for the most part…). I did, at least, understand all the biblical references that this film was conveying. However, it’s ultimately the overall execution of it all that just makes this an incredibly frustrating film to watch. Because while the cast does do a good job with what they’re given, Aronofsky’s direction and the erratic cinematography end up turning this film into a chaotic mess. I mean, for the record, I do think that this is an interesting way to do a modern take on a story that’s heavily influenced by the bible. However, as much as I hate to say it, this probably would’ve worked a hell of a lot better under a different director; say, David Fincher or someone similar. Because as is, this is just an incoherent and all-around ugly film that’s way too surreal for its own good to the point where it comes off as being extremely pretentious. Now, again, if you liked this film, then all the power to you. But as for me, though, this ended up being one of the most emotionally-draining films that I’ve ever had to sit through because of everything that I’ve covered in this review… ugh, thank god this comes out this Friday.

Rating: 0.5/5

The Revenant (2015) review

Over the past few years, Leonardo DiCaprio has established himself as one of the best actors in the business, with plenty of great performances in films like ‘Inception’, ‘Django Unchained’, and his numerous collaborations with director Martin Scorsese in films like ‘The Departed’ and ‘The Wolf of Wall Street’. However, all of that success has yet to earn him a win at the biggest award circuit in the industry; the Academy Awards. He’s been nominated four times in the past, once for Best Supporting Actor for 1993’s ‘What’s Eating Gilbert Grape’ and three times for Best Actor for 2004’s ‘The Aviator’, 2006’s ‘Blood Diamond’, and ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ in 2013, but has come up empty-handed every time. Leo’s unlucky streak at the Oscars has practically become a running gag amongst film fans on the internet to the point where some have joked that it’s more likely that someone else is going to get an Oscar for playing Leo in a film than Leo actually winning one himself. But this year could finally end Leo’s Oscar drought with his latest performance in ‘The Revenant’, inspired by the real-life experiences of frontiersman Hugh Glass in 1823 in the Great Plains. It certainly has the team behind it, as the film is directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu, who’s fresh off of winning the Oscar for Best Director for his work on last year’s Best Picture winner ‘Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)’. And while I can’t really say that this is the best of this year’s Best Picture nominees, primarily due to the film occasionally straying far from the actual story of Hugh Glass, DiCaprio truly does shine in this intense but beautifully shot tale of survival.

In 1823, frontiersman Hugh Glass (DiCaprio) is part of a team of trappers led by Captain Andrew Henry (Domhnall Gleeson) hunting for pelts in the unorganized U.S. territory that would eventually go on to become the Dakotas. When the party is suddenly attacked and forced to flee downriver from a group of Arikara Natives, Glass recommends that the party return to their outpost, Fort Kiowa, on foot, which they do at the expense of having to ditch the pelts that they’ve acquired. But while scouting ahead, Glass is suddenly attacked and viciously mauled by a grizzly bear. Near-death and after being transported on stretcher by the party for a little while, he is left behind along with fellow trappers John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy) and Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Glass’ half-native son Hawk (Forrest Goodluck) when Fitzgerald suggests that Glass won’t survive his injuries. But that only results in Fitzgerald trying to kill Glass himself, which then leads to him killing Hawk and lying to Bridger in order to help him bury Glass alive by telling him that the natives are nearby and that they must leave him there. Left for dead, the severely wounded Glass now finds himself on his own in the harsh forest landscape as he must now embark on a perilous journey in order to get back to his party and, more importantly, enact his revenge on Fitzgerald for both leaving him to die and for killing his son.

‘The Revenant’ is easily one of the most beautifully-shot films of the year. From the gorgeous landscape shots to the long takes that were a key part of Inarritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki’s last film ‘Birdman’ to the fact that the two decided to almost entirely shoot the film with natural lighting, this is one great-looking film. And while it meant that the film ended up being quite an arduous shoot that also went quite a bit over-budget, at the end of the day it was most definitely worth it if solely for this outstanding cinematography. This also results in a film that can obviously be very brutal at times in terms of its action, from the infamous scene where Glass is attacked by the bear to the climactic fight at the end which I won’t spoil the details of for anyone who hasn’t seen the film yet. These sequences are well-shot and put you right in the center of the action. Admittedly, though, for as well-shot as the film is, it does lack a bit in terms of emotional depth. Now don’t get me wrong, the film’s themes of survival are very prevalent throughout, which is most definitely admirable. But at the same time, the whole thing about Glass seeking revenge on Fitzgerald isn’t as strong, namely in regards to him avenging the death of his son at Fitzgerald’s hands. Spoiler Alert, the whole thing with the son is purely fictional. From what we know, Hugh Glass didn’t have a son or a wife, he was just pissed at Fitzgerald and Bridger for leaving him to die. So as a result, that part of the story feels pretty darn hollow because of the fact that it was 100% fabricated.

Leonardo DiCaprio has gone on record saying that this was ‘the hardest performance of his career’ and considering what happens in this film, I don’t blame him. After all, in this film his character goes through all sorts of hell and considering how rough the shoot must have been at times, the same could be said for what DiCaprio had to do while in the role. At one point he even had to eat raw bison meat while being a vegetarian in real life. This performance is no easy task and to put it simply, DiCaprio does endure to deliver an excellent performance as you’d expect from him nowadays. Equally excellent here is Tom Hardy in the role of Fitzgerald, who in a lot of ways is actually a much more layered character than one may think. While he may serve the role as this film’s antagonist given the fact that he’s the one who orchestrated Glass’ abandonment and was responsible for killing his fictional son, you actually do get where he’s coming from, as strange as that may sound. He clearly realized that the party wasn’t going to get very far carrying the critically wounded Glass through this harsh environment with a bunch of natives on their tail. So he did what he felt was the right thing to do; leave him on the grounds that he would probably soon succumb to his injuries in order to prevent the possibility of him and Bridger being killed by the pursuing natives. Because of this, Fitzgerald is more than just a straight-forward baddie and Tom Hardy handles this complex character perfectly. 

I’ll admit I didn’t actually read into the ‘true story’ behind this film until after seeing it and quite frankly, it’s a little disappointing that the film didn’t go all the way with it. Instead, the film adds in a fabricated story involving Glass and his fictional son which doesn’t really elicit as much emotional drama as it wants to. I for one feel that it would’ve be far more interesting for the film to be more focused on the true aspects of the story, especially in regards to how this conflict between Glass and Fitzgerald ultimately turned out. It’s different in the film and as cool as the conclusion of that conflict is between the two, I think the actual conclusion would’ve been much more thought-provoking, as it would’ve strengthened the moral predicament of Fitzgerald having to do what he did primarily due to the hostile environment that they were in while also showing that Glass never really did enact his revenge on Fitzgerald for leaving him to die. But on the bright side, ‘The Revenant’ does benefit from some amazing cinematography, solid direction from Inarritu, and terrific performances from its two leads, DiCaprio and Hardy. So in short, ‘The Revenant’ isn’t really my favorite of this year’s Best Picture nominees, mainly due to its issues in terms of its story. But at the very least, the film is still one of the best-looking films of the year so it does definitely deserve some Oscar attention from a technical standpoint. And who knows… this could finally be the film that breaks Leo’s cold streak at the Oscars. Seems like this year is the best opportunity for him to finally win that coveted golden man.

Rating: 4/5

  

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) review

(Note: Fear not, those who haven’t seen the film yet, for I will be as spoiler-free as possible during this review.)

It was over 38 years ago when George Lucas released the first installment of his epic space saga, ‘Star Wars’, later retitled ‘Episode IV: A New Hope’, into theaters. Despite all of the problems that occurred during the film’s production, it became one of the biggest hits of all-time, spawning two equally critically and commercially successful sequels and creating one of the biggest and most beloved franchises in pop culture history. After 1983’s ‘Return of the Jedi’, it seemed as if the story of Luke Skywalker and his friends had finally come to a close. Lucas initially had plans for a sequel trilogy but those plans ended up getting scrapped. However, Lucas would soon return to the world that he created through the creation of a prequel trilogy, beginning in 1999 with ‘Episode I: The Phantom Menace’, which explored the rise and fall of the original trilogy’s main villain, Darth Vader AKA Anakin Skywalker. However, while this second trilogy was just as commercially successful as the first, the prequel films did not receive the same critical acclaim as their three predecessors. Many ‘Star Wars’ fans were especially disappointed with the films as they felt that Lucas had placed greater emphasis on visuals than story and characters, the opposite of what made the Original Trilogy so beloved. Regardless, the films were still big commercial hits and when 2005’s ‘Episode III: Revenge of the Sith’ was released, once again we all thought that this was the end of the ‘Star Wars’ saga.

And then, in 2012, everything changed when Disney purchased Lucasfilm for $4.06 billion and announced that new ‘Star Wars’ films were going to be produced. Not only was there going to be a brand new trilogy of films that would follow the events of the Original Trilogy, as Lucas had originally planned, but there were also going to be ‘spin-off’ films that would further expand the universe. In January of 2013, J.J. Abrams, fresh off of resurrecting the ‘Star Trek’ franchise with 2009’s ‘Star Trek’ and 2013’s ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, was hired to lead off the new series of ‘Star Wars’ films. And over the next two years, Abrams began production on what has arguably become the most anticipated film of all-time; ‘Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens’. Seriously, I don’t think there has been a film that has been this anticipated since, well, the last time ‘Star Wars’ made a comeback on the big screen with ‘The Phantom Menace’. And with that said, yes we are all very much aware about what happened the last time we ‘Star Wars’ fans hyped up a new film this much. That ended up backfiring big-time for most people and even though I was very excited for this new film, primarily because one of my favorite directors working today was directing it, I made an effort to keep my expectations in check hoping that, at the very least, this would not become another situation like ‘The Phantom Menace’ where most people would end up being very disappointed by it. But now that ‘The Force Awakens’ is in theaters, I can happily say that you will not be disappointed by what J.J. has given us.

It has been 30 years since the events of ‘Episode VI: Return of the Jedi’, in which the Galactic Empire had finally been defeated by the Rebel Alliance. But in the years since then, a new villainous faction has emerged in the form of the First Order to oppose the Rebel Alliance, now known as ‘the Resistance’. As the film begins, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) is sent on a mission by General Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) to retrieve a vital piece of information that both the Resistance and First Order are after. When the First Order catches up with him, Poe is captured but is freed by Stormtrooper FN-2187 (John Boyega), dubbed ‘Finn’ by Poe, who defects from the First Order when he finds himself unable to follow their vile ways. The two end up getting separated and Finn soon finds himself coming across Poe’s droid BB-8, who is carrying the aforementioned vital piece of information, and its current companion Rey (Daisy Ridley), a scavenger living on the planet of Jakku. With the First Order aggressively pursuing them, Finn and Rey embark on a life-changing adventure to bring the information that BB-8 is holding back to the Resistance before the First Order, and more specifically Dark Side user Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), gets it first. Along the way, their journey even sees them coming across legendary figures like the one and only Han Solo (Harrison Ford) and his trusty co-pilot Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew).

There have been quite a few people that have made comparisons between this film’s plot and the plot of ‘A New Hope’. And yes if you really do look at it, it’s true that this film follows quite a few of the same beats of that film, like the fact that the two main factions are after a piece of information of great importance to both sides or how the film’s finale revolves around a powerful space weapon. But even with that said, unlike some of the film’s detractors, I didn’t mind at all the fact that this film is very reminiscent of ‘A New Hope’ in regards to its plotting because it just shows how much J.J. Abrams respects the original trilogy while also making sure that ‘The Force Awakens’ is its own story. In other words, ‘The Force Awakens’ is very much a new ‘Star Wars’ film. It all feels like a very fitting continuation of the story since we last left it in ‘Return of the Jedi’, giving the major returning characters from the previous trilogy further character development that respects what has been set up before while also establishing its new main protagonists who will lead the way for the rest of this new trilogy; Finn, Rey, and Poe. And I must say that in our current age where the internet could spoil anything about a film (I very much sympathize with anyone who unfortunately had something about this film spoiled by jackasses trying to ruin everyone’s fun), it’s nice to go into a film like this generally unaware of what’s going to happen and I will say that there were some things in this film, namely certain plot-points that I of course won’t at all reveal in this non-spoiler review, that I didn’t see coming.

One of the major reasons why fans loved the Original Trilogy, particularly from a modern-day perspective, was that it was primarily done with practical effects in a time when CGI wasn’t even a thing yet. As a result, one of the major complaints of the prequel trilogy, as well as the changes made to the ‘Special Edition’ versions of the original films, was the over-reliance on CGI. So fans will be very happy to know that this new film does not go down the same ‘CGI-heavy’ road of the prequel trilogy. After all, J.J. did the same thing with the ‘Star Trek’ films, opting to utilize as many practical sets as possible for a sci-fi film of that scale. And that is once again the case with ‘The Force Awakens’. Sure there are obviously still quite a lot of CGI effects in this film but unlike ‘Attack of the Clones’ and ‘Revenge of the Sith’, in which Lucas went as far as to just shoot the actors in front of a green-screen and not actually shoot on a set, the major set-pieces of ‘The Force Awakens’ were filmed in real locations and they definitely look much better because of it, resulting in some pretty awesome action sequences. Not only that, but the screenplay by J.J. and ‘Empire Strikes Back’ and ‘Return of the Jedi’ writer Lawrence Kasdan, as well as J.J.’s direction in general, really captures the same fun spirit of the original films through fast-paced action and witty dialogue.  

As many of us know, the cast is a combination of both returning members of the Original Trilogy and a whole bunch of newcomers. Fans of the original trilogy should be satisfied with the appearances of the original leading trio of the series, all of whom easily return to their iconic roles with ease, especially Harrison Ford, with Han Solo basically having the most substantial role of the original trio in this new film. And right from the get-go, the new cast of leads are well-established and all three work greatly off of the writing. John Boyega gets a great redemptive character arc as Finn, the former Stormtrooper who rejects the ways of the First Order but then perhaps gets a bit too in over his head as a result, Oscar Isaac brings a Han Solo-esque charm and wit to the role of Poe Dameron, whom Isaac himself dubbed as the ‘best freaking pilot in the galaxy’ (a claim that he basically does back up given his piloting in the film), and Daisy Ridley captures a lot of the same relatable qualities that Luke had in the Original Trilogy and brings that to the role of Rey. Now let’s talk about the main villain, Kylo Ren. Without giving anything major away, Ren has a particular connection to the ‘Star Wars’ lore that not only makes for one hell of a reveal, but it also brings quite a lot of depth to the character and his motivations. It’ll be very interesting to see how Ren’s story arc will play out in subsequent films.

‘The Force Awakens’ is a film that very much lives up to the massive hype that the fans built around it. Like with Marvel and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this film squashes the fears of any skeptic/cynic who thought that Disney’s purchase of the brand would lead to its downfall. It’s a film that both continues the ‘Star Wars’ series in grand fashion while also honoring its previous installments. Under J.J.’s excellent-as-usual direction, the film is a rousing adventure full of awesome action, funny dialogue, great character moments, and moments that just simply feel epic given the legacy of this franchise. As you could see from this review, I didn’t make much comparisons to the last set of ‘Star Wars’ films, the much-maligned prequel trilogy, because I wasn’t willing to go down the same path that I know many other reviewers are; using this film as another way to bash the prequels. Instead of being stuck in the past and busting a trilogy that seriously isn’t as bad as the internet constantly puts it out to be, I kept my eyes firmly locked on the future and based on this first film, I can tell that we are in for one hell of a new ‘Star Wars’ trilogy, with Rian Johnson set to direct ‘Episode VIII’ in 2017 and Colin Trevorrow to helm ‘Episode IX’ in 2019. But for now, I end my review with this message to the one and only J.J. Abrams. Thank you J.J. for giving us one of the most exhilarating film experiences in recent memory that proves just how special this franchise has been to many people and how it will be again for a whole new generation of fans. ‘Star Wars’ is back!

Rating: 5/5!

Unbroken (2014) review

Of course we all know who Angelina Jolie is, from her work in acting to her highly publicized relationship with Brad Pitt. But, according to recent comments that she made, it looks like she might soon be retiring from acting and is planning to switch into directing films instead. She made her official directorial debut back in 2011 with ‘In the Land of Blood and Honey’, a romance film set during the Bosnian War. However, that film did not get much attention either critically or commercially. But it’s safe to say that her newest directorial effort, ‘Unbroken’, is no doubt getting much more attention than her directorial debut, given the fact that it’s based on a true story. ‘Unbroken’, based on the book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand, is the story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic athlete and member of the Air Forces who was primarily known for his time spent as a prisoner of war in Japan during World War II after spending more than a month lost at sea when the plane he was on crashed into the ocean. It’s been made clear that this project means a lot to Jolie due to the fact that she became good friends with Zamperini, who had been her neighbor for years up until his death this past July. And as such, ‘Unbroken’ is certainly a well-meaning biopic that aims to do its subject justice. I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s a ‘perfect’ film, and that it can also be very emotionally draining at times, but it’s still a pretty solid biopic highlighting a story of endurance, resiliency, and the strength of the human spirit.

When he was a young boy whose family had just immigrated to the United States from Italy, Louis ‘Louie’ Zamperini (Jack O’Connell) constantly got into trouble with both the law and other kids. One day, when he notices that Louis can run really fast, his brother Pete (Alex Russell) starts training him to be a runner, telling him that otherwise he’d end up ‘a bum on the streets’ the way he was going. Soon, Louis starts to become well-known as an accomplished distance runner and eventually ends up competing in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where he sets a new speed record for a single lap in the 5000 meter run. Louis then enlists in the Air Forces but while he is on a search and rescue mission one day, his plane ends up crash landing in the middle of the ocean when its engines fail, leaving Louis and two other survivors, Francis ‘Mac’ McNamara (Finn Wittrock) and Russell ‘Phil’ Phillips (Domhnall Gleeson), stranded at sea. After more than 47 days at sea, they are finally rescued… but by Japanese forces, who immediately take them prisoner. Louis ultimately ends up in a prisoner camp in Tokyo run by corporal Mutshiro ‘The Bird’ Watanabe (Miyavi), who constantly targets Louis due to his status as an Olympic athlete. Now facing constant abuse from ‘The Bird’, Louis struggles to survive in the hopes of one day being set free.

‘Unbroken’ is, to put it quite bluntly, a very hard-hitting film in terms of how emotionally draining it can get at times, specifically when Louis is in prison in Tokyo and constantly getting abused by ‘The Bird’. And from what I hear, unlike a lot of biopics that dramatize certain aspects of this story, apparently this film really didn’t ‘BS’ a lot of the facts so a lot of this really happened, which is just crazy. At the same time, this story is truly fascinating in regards to seeing Zamperini endure all of this, from having to spend more than a month at sea to years facing all sorts of hell from ‘The Bird’ in prison. Jolie’s direction is solid and the film benefits from excellent cinematography from the great Roger Deakins and a solid score from Alexandre Desplat. The only major complaint I have about the film is that it kind of skimps over some of the earlier parts of Zamperini’s life, namely his childhood and his time as a runner, in favor of his time lost at sea and as a prisoner of war. Now obviously, all of the war stuff does make up the bulk of the story so it does actually make sense that the film focuses on that more. Still, the scenes of Zamperini’s life before the war are fairly brief and are just flashbacks that occur right at the beginning of the film so it would’ve been nice to see a bit more of Zamperini’s early life because I bet there was some legitimately interesting stuff that happened to him then (Disclaimer: I’ve not read the book).

Obviously the role of Zamperini requires a lot of endurance and emotional strength given all that he had gone through. And with that said, Jack O’Connell more than proves that he was absolutely the perfect choice for the role. While the film probably won’t be getting much awards buzz given its generally mixed critical reception, O’Connell is easily the best part of the film, giving a very strong and emotionally powerful performance while also giving off a very likable and sympathetic persona. That persona is effectively balanced against Japanese pop star Miyavi’s equally excellent turn as ‘The Bird’ who, quite simply, is quite the scumbag and Miyavi does a really good job at capturing how much of an a-hole he really was, making that iconic scene from the trailer where Zamperini lifts a giant piece of wood when ‘The Bird’ threatens to have him shot one of the most satisfying moments of any film from this past year. Because they’re the main character in the story, everyone else, including Wittrock, Gleeson and Garrett Hedlund, the latter of whom plays a fellow prisoner of Zamperini’s, doesn’t have as much to work with but overall the film is well-acted from all involved. The whole sequence with Zamperini, Mac, and Phil on the raft at sea does do a great job of showcasing the fairly strong camaraderie between O’Connell, Wittrock, and Gleeson.

While ‘Unbroken’ is only Angelina Jolie’s second film as a director, she definitely shows that she does have potential in directing as shown in this very well-directed film. True it may be very hard to watch at times given the brutality that Zamperini had to deal with while as a prisoner of war in Japan, but at the same time it’s also a fascinating look into the life of a man who went through hell but managed to get through it all thanks to his resiliency and perseverance. Admittedly, the movie could’ve benefitted from spending a little more time focusing on the earlier parts of Zamperini’s life, namely everything before he joins the Air Forces, but then again the main part of Zamperini’s story does consist of both his time spent lost at sea for 47 days and then his time (just a little over two years) as a prisoner of war in Japan so it actually does make sense for the film to maintain the main focus of the story on those two parts of Zamperini’s life. Regardless, it’s clear that Jolie’s main intentions to do the life story of a good friend of hers justice are no doubt present in how this film is made. It’s a very well-made, well-directed, and well-acted biopic that may be hard hitting at times but will also invoke a sense of spirit in you while watching it.

Rating: 4/5

Star Wars Episode VII: First Cast Announcement

It’s been almost a year and a half since J.J. Abrams was first announced as the director of ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’, the first in a new trilogy of Star Wars films produced by Disney (not counting the spin-off solo films that they are looking to do, meaning that there will be at least one new ‘Star Wars’ film a year) and since that time, we’ve pretty much all speculated as to who would be in the cast, and let me tell you, there was quite a lot of speculation. I’ve seen quite a lot of posts online with rumors that various actors/actresses had been reading for parts and in fact, according to Saoirse Ronan, pretty much ‘everyone’ in Hollywood was reading for roles for this film. Aside from Ronan, other actors ‘reportedly’ testing for roles included Benedict Cumberbatch, Gary Oldman, and Michael Fassbender, and obviously that’s just to name a few. There were so many reports and rumors on the casting process that it was getting to the point where it was starting to get really annoying.

But now, we finally have our cast for the next entry in the ‘Star Wars’ saga as it was recently announced, and shown through a black and white photo (featured above) of the cast’s first table read, who will be in the film and overall, I have to say that it’s a pretty solid cast from top to bottom that includes both new and returning faces. Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Harrison Ford, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, and Peter Mayhew will be reprising their roles as Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, C-3PO, R2-D2, and Chewbacca respectively. And they will be joined for this film by John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson, Daisy Ridley, and Max von Sydow. Some of the new additions were amongst those reportedly up for roles, like Driver, Boyega, and Issac, but some, like Ridley, von Sydow, and Serkis, were not amongst the list of actors and actresses who were up for roles (at least from the reports I’ve seen). And of course, there were plenty of reports about how Hamill, Fisher, and Ford would be returning as well. With this announcement, we can finally lay the majority of all of these casting rumors to rest.

Top Row (L-R): Boyega, Ridley, Driver
Bottom Row (L-R): Gleeson, von Sydow, Issac

Now there’s not much I can say about this because as of right now we don’t know who these new cast members are playing. This was just an announcement stating who would be in the movie and not about ‘whom’ they would be playing. The only one whose role has sort of been determined is Adam Driver, who will apparently be playing a villain in the vein of Darth Vader. But even then, we don’t know ‘who’ this villain is nor do we know who everyone else (aside from the returning characters, of course) is for that matter. So right now, all we can do is speculate. But as for the cast itself, I really like the group of actors/actresses that they’ve picked to be in the film. I haven’t really seen a lot of the films that most of these actors were in (e.g. Oscar Issac, Adam Driver, Domhnall Gleeson), but I at least know who they are. The only member of this cast who is a complete unknown in my book is Daisy Ridley. Even after looking up her IMDB page, I really don’t know who she is but no worries, because I remember reading somewhere that Abrams wanted a cast of lesser known actors/actresses so it’ll be cool to see some new talent on screen. And on another note, I’m fine with having the older cast members in the film so that they can pave the way for the new cast to take over for future films.

Now of course as I’ve said earlier, we don’t know who these new members of the cast will be playing, but we can still speculate as to what their roles in the film will possibly be. Reportedly the film will center around three new leads (not Luke, Leia, and Han), and I’m guessing that those three will most likely be Boyega, Isaac, and Ridley. Driver, as stated earlier, will be the main villain. It does seem a bit obvious, but like a lot of people, I’m guessing that Serkis will probably be playing a motion-capture character. I mean, who knows, maybe he isn’t (after all, he has played some non-motion-capture roles in the past) but I think it’s pretty likely that he will be doing something that is motion-capture related because that’s what he’s known for. Plus, I’m interested in seeing what kind of character he might be if he’s doing motion-capture. As for Sydow, I’m guessing that he’ll either be A.) A ‘sage’ character similar to Obi-Wan (as portrayed by Alec Guinness) in the original trilogy or B.) Possibly a villain alongside Driver. Finally, with Domhnall Gleeson, I’m not entirely sure, but I’m guessing that he’ll be a character similar to Lando Calrissian.

Note: Not an official poster; I just really liked this fan-made one, even if it's just a 'Star Wars' version of the first 'Star Trek Into Darkness' poster.

But remember, we don’t really know much yet and for all we know, this could end up being another case like ‘The Phantom Menace’, which also had a really nice cast (Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Samuel L. Jackson, etc…) and yet look how that turned out. Now for the record, I’m not saying that I think that this is going to be another ‘Phantom Menace’. I want this new film trilogy to succeed and I do have a lot of faith in the cast and crew. J.J. Abrams as the film’s director is the main reason why I’m excited for the film as I really loved his two ‘Star Trek’ films (the first one being one of my top 10 favorite films of all time). It’s also co-written by Lawrence Kasdan, the writer of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, which is still the best entry in the series. And I like these new additions to the cast, even if I haven’t seen much of their work. It definitely feels like all of those involved on this film know what they’re getting themselves into and are looking to make the film as good as it possibly can. But again, we’re still more than a year away from the film’s December release and this is just a cast announcement so we’ll just have to wait and see. But for now, I’m very optimistic about how this film is currently shaping up to be based on who’s involved with it in front of and behind the camera.