STAR WARS, INDY , HOWARD THE DUCK DEUCE; AND MORE

[Abraham Smashington]

YES. #TheNewAmerica

[BillyG]

Would you really end someone's life, just to hear a few seconds of trumpet music?

THE PURGE IS REAL GIVE ME THOSE SPOTLIGHTS KROL

[Matt]

Would you really end someone's life, just to hear a few seconds of trumpet music?

Depends upon WHO...

[FilmNerdJamie]

[BMichaelKrol]

This thread got real dark, real fast.

[Abraham Smashington]

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[Matt]

Well, I'm off to see it. See you guys in a few hours.

[Anderson]

Checking in with my theater folk. Every showing in town is sold out until 2pm tomorrow.

[Matt]

Short version: I liked it, didn't love it. I'm processing it still...

  Spoiler: Spoilers 

The characters:

- Luke. Hamill really goes for it here and plays a wounded, bitter old man to the hilt. He's always got a gleam in his eye of mischief, and that makes the character really sing. He's got most of the funny moments/lines, and his arc is strong.

- Poe. He's more of a character this time around and develops from a hotshot into a leader as the film progresses. I liked him a lot in this.

- Holdo. This is the Laura Dern character. All credit to the film, it leads you to believe that she's going to be ONE type of character, but she ends up surprising you by being something else entirely. She does something that produced the biggest HOLY SHIT THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME moment of the entire film.

- Rey/Kylo. Both actors here own the movie, and every scene that they share and that they 'share' (you'll know what I mean when you see the film) play beautifully. They have the second best moment of the movie in a lightsabre fight that is, to be blunt, amazing.

- Leia. She has a couple of good moments but, in the end, she really feels like she's there to prod people to action. I wanted more. Fisher is very good in the role, however.

- Finn/Rose. This dynamic didn't work. At all. They have a subplot on Canto Bight that never works for a second, and their romance never gels into something believable. Both actors are solid in their roles but they're given short shrift by the movie.

- Thief guy. This is the Benicio Del Toro character. A complete waste.

- Phasma. May as well have been absent from the movie.

- Snoke. Well played and suitably menacing, but there's nothing there for back story. He's just another evil guy.

- Hux. Laughable. He needs a mustache to twirl. He's made to be a buffoon here, and that didn't work for me. Here's a guy who's supposed to be leading the First Order in battle and he comes off as Gilligan.



The movie itself:

Very bleak. The movie kills off a LOT of characters, including some 'named' ones. Sure, a lot of redshirts die, but you really feel the loss because Rian does a good job of showing you just how many Resistance members are killed. I'm serious...by the end of the movie, the Rebellion/Resistance can all fit in the Millenium Falcon. It's pretty bold. To that end, all of the battle sequences really work (even if some of them go on too long) and work very well to advance the plot. The only real failure of the film is all of the Canto Bight/Casino Planet stuff. None of it works. NONE of it. All of the 'humor' falls pretty flat, all of the scenery is un-inspired (it looks like Las Vegas with aliens...that's it), and the plotting feels off. Luckily, we're not stuck on this planet for very long.



While the movie is very bleak, it's also VERY funny. Surprisingly funny. The movie tries hard to be funny and works about 90% of the time (mainly failing on Canto Bight), so be prepared to laugh. My audience certainly did.



But you're here to see Jedi train and fight. The good news is that all of the training scenes work (and Ridley and Hamill have some great moments together) and all of the Jedi stuff is effective. The different actors all feel fully realized as Jedi and make the lightsabre stuff work beautifully.



There are many moments in this film that really need to be seen in a full theater for the 'communal audience' effect. The Laura Dern moment, in particular, is a jaw-dropper.

Of note: this really does not feel like a SW movie. At all. This plays more like the episode '33' of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

[Anderson]

Short version: I liked it, didn't love it. I'm processing it still...

  Spoiler: Spoilers 

The characters:

- Luke. Hamill really goes for it here and plays a wounded, bitter old man to the hilt. He's always got a gleam in his eye of mischief, and that makes the character really sing. He's got most of the funny moments/lines, and his arc is strong.

- Poe. He's more of a character this time around and develops from a hotshot into a leader as the film progresses. I liked him a lot in this.

- Holdo. This is the Laura Dern character. All credit to the film, it leads you to believe that she's going to be ONE type of character, but she ends up surprising you by being something else entirely. She does something that produced the biggest HOLY SHIT THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME moment of the entire film.

- Rey/Kylo. Both actors here own the movie, and every scene that they share and that they 'share' (you'll know what I mean when you see the film) play beautifully. They have the second best moment of the movie in a lightsabre fight that is, to be blunt, amazing.

- Leia. She has a couple of good moments but, in the end, she really feels like she's there to prod people to action. I wanted more. Fisher is very good in the role, however.

- Finn/Rose. This dynamic didn't work. At all. They have a subplot on Canto Bight that never works for a second, and their romance never gels into something believable. Both actors are solid in their roles but they're given short shrift by the movie.

- Thief guy. This is the Benicio Del Toro character. A complete waste.

- Phasma. May as well have been absent from the movie.

- Snoke. Well played and suitably menacing, but there's nothing there for back story. He's just another evil guy.

- Hux. Laughable. He needs a mustache to twirl. He's made to be a buffoon here, and that didn't work for me. Here's a guy who's supposed to be leading the First Order in battle and he comes off as Gilligan.



The movie itself:

Very bleak. The movie kills off a LOT of characters, including some 'named' ones. Sure, a lot of redshirts die, but you really feel the loss because Rian does a good job of showing you just how many Resistance members are killed. I'm serious...by the end of the movie, the Rebellion/Resistance can all fit in the Millenium Falcon. It's pretty bold. To that end, all of the battle sequences really work (even if some of them go on too long) and work very well to advance the plot. The only real failure of the film is all of the Canto Bight/Casino Planet stuff. None of it works. NONE of it. All of the 'humor' falls pretty flat, all of the scenery is un-inspired (it looks like Las Vegas with aliens...that's it), and the plotting feels off. Luckily, we're not stuck on this planet for very long.



While the movie is very bleak, it's also VERY funny. Surprisingly funny. The movie tries hard to be funny and works about 90% of the time (mainly failing on Canto Bight), so be prepared to laugh. My audience certainly did.



But you're here to see Jedi train and fight. The good news is that all of the training scenes work (and Ridley and Hamill have some great moments together) and all of the Jedi stuff is effective. The different actors all feel fully realized as Jedi and make the lightsabre stuff work beautifully.



There are many moments in this film that really need to be seen in a full theater for the 'communal audience' effect. The Laura Dern moment, in particular, is a jaw-dropper.

Of note: this really does not feel like a SW movie. At all. This plays more like the episode '33' of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.

  Spoiler: Even more spoilers 

All of the Casino stuff changed brutally throughout this movie's life. As a result, Del Toro's character got gutted a bit.

The fact that Dern ended up so well is amazing to me.

Leia's weird Force usage doesn't make sense to me, but Luke's ascension makes sense. From what I've heard rumored, if Qui-Gon made a jump past what other Jedi could do, Luke just made a jump past Yoda and Obi-Wan.

and that ending should tell you everything you need to know about the future Rian trilogy.

By the way, the chronology of this film is fucked. It's opening right after TFA, but so much happens so fast. When Episode 9 rolls around, how long has this trilogy been unfolding? 2-3 weeks?

Also, the Rey parents thing is an obvious fake-out. I assume they did it to leave something for Abrams.

[Abraham Smashington]

Loved it. Will post more after processing.

[BillyG]

Liked it more than Force Awakens, especially after rewatching TFA the other night. I am still processing my thoughts but yo, Star Wars made me cry. I don't think I've ever cried over a movie before.

  Spoiler: SPOILING MY LIL BITCH TEARS 

Maybe it's just my attachment to Luke that made me cry. Luke is THE character for me. Since I was a kid.
He's the only costume I made/wore. All of the farm boy makes good shit hits with me so hard I still can't believe Lucas pulled it off in New Hope as well as he did.

But his work here is so perfect. And just the right ending for the character.
I knew something was off when he showed up in the base with Leia That haircut, and smile. No, that's not the broken man we'd seen all movie.
But the shot of him looking into the horizon, over two stars. I cried. I sat there and cried. The two stars over Tatooine is probably the one piece of celluloid I would want to own. I've always loved that image since I was 4 years old.

Other things:

Phasma: Why did you bring her back again? And talk up how she will have more to do? What a waste.

Matt is right about the casino sequence. Benecio is wasted. The humor is bad. But I LOVED the kid using the force to pick up the broom, then looking to the stars and holding the broomstick like a lightsaber. But, see previous love of the two stars/Luke imagery.

Finn/Rose aren't great. They both do ok work, but they get stuck with the casino sequence. And I am not sure that was supposed to be a romance.
If so it's bad, especially with Rey concerned about getting a word back to Finn throughout the movie.

Poe/Laura Dern are really good. I kept waiting on a big swerve like she's a spy, or completely inept. It never comes, and thank fuck for that.

Rey/Kylo really steal the show. I needed 5 more minutes of them with the FUCKING BADASS IMPERIAL GUARDS THAT ACTUALLY ARE DARK SOULS BOSSES holy shit that was rad.

Leia and her use of the force was reeeeeeeeal dumb. We had seen her being sensitive, but that felt like some Jedi master level shit.

In a three minute sequence they PERFECTLY nail the Yoda/Luke dynamic.
He's still the impetuous farm boy. He's still the wise master with a mischievous edge. I smiled the whole time. FUCK YOU IM BURNING THIS DOWN FROM AFTER LIFE LUKE

[BillyG]

Cameos I didn't realize:

  Spoiler: spoiler for actors lol 

Billie Lourd as Lieutenant Connix
Simon Pegg as Unkar Plutt
Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Slowen Lo
Veronica Ngo as Paige Tico
Justin Theroux as "Kington" Master Codebreaker
Prince William as Stormtrooper
Prince Harry as Stormtrooper
Tom Hardy as Stormtrooper
Gareth Edwards as Resistance Fighter

Theroux was the only one I noticed.

[Abraham Smashington]

The more I think about it, the more I'm slightly disappointed overall with the movie. Which is a first for me in regards to the SW movies. I will definiately need to see it again.

It was so inconsistent. The moments that worked really worked, but those that didn't fell completely fucking flat.

  Spoiler: spoilers 

Stuff that I loved:
Kylo was the goddamn MVP. Sorry Rey. Kylo is the only interesting character we have and he was given some great fucking material.

The force linking scenes were fucking great.

Porgs. Love em.

LUKE DRINKS ALIEN TITTY MILK

Maz's quick scene where she is kicking ass and then flies off on a jetpack.

That opening battle with Poe and the bombers was intense as balls.

Rey's "force tree" scene with the multiple Rey's.

YODA. And a puppety looking one at that!

The Snoke scene with Kyle and Rey teaming up and subsequent "RULE THE GALAXY" speech which, honestly, was the best "JOIN ME" speech in all of the movies. For a split second I honestly thought it was going to be Kylo/Rey vs. Luke.

The western-like showdown between Kylo and Luke was fucking awesome. That reveal was amazing.

Hux. Love this guy.

Holdo's last ship maneuver. Awesome x10.


What I didn't like:

Luke was kind of a bitch in this. In all other movies he never gave up on the hope that people had good in them. In this that was mostly thrown away. I now know why Hamill wasn't a fan of how he was written. It was sort of saved at the end.

Canto Blight was straight out of the prequels. Terrible.

Leia's GoTG space scene.

Finn and Rose. Not once did I buy anything but platonic friendship. Honestly, if Finn and Poe don't hook up I'll be sad because they keep hinting at some underlying shit there...

Snoke's death scene. It's awesome, but holy shit he didn't do anything for the most part. Felt like Darth Maul all over again.

Phasma was wasted but in no way did she die. I don't buy it. I was really hoping she was going to take off that mask and wreck shop.

Too many fakeouts.

So yeah, this is the first movie where after only a night of thinking about it that I'm not over the moon about. But again, I think I need to see it again now that the wait is finally over.

I think I still prefer TFA over this but just barely.

[Matt]

It's actually improving for me as I dwell upon it. Nothing it going to make that Canto Bight shit work, but I'm appreciating the fact more and more that Johnson took a wrecking ball to the story and reduced it down to a simplified core by the end of the film. It really feels like Episode 9 will be a fresh start, and I dig the heavy lifting that was done in this film to get us to that fresh start.