We have just entered the month of June, which means that the summer movie season has officially begun. In fact, it was started early in April by the most anticipated blockbuster movie of the year: Avengers: Infinity War. I went to see that movie and enjoyed it, just like everyone else, but I just could not write anything about it. I like Infinity War and the other Marvel movies, but I just have nothing else to say about those movies besides the fact that I like them. That is always my problem with most Marvel movies. The first film that I saw after Infinity War is Solo: A Star Wars Story. It is the second standalone movie in the Star Wars saga which focuses on the adventures of young Han Solo. The film is directed by the legendary Ron Howard, with Alden Ehrenreich playing the iconic role of Han Solo. Emilia Clarke, Woody Harrelson, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Paul Bettany and Joonas Suotamo are also among the film’s star-studded cast. For this one, I do have some things to write about. Before the movie came out, I read some early reviews that say that this movie seems to have difficulties in finding its footing, and I totally agree with that. While I was watching, I felt like this movie did not really know where it was heading to. I expected the movie to be an origin story that tells us about where Han comes from, why he is the way he is, his family… but it does not really do that. It is more like a piece of his adventures before he meets Luke and Leia. The plot goes up and down and then up again… A bit messy, you know. There is not a single moment in this movie that serves as the peak, as something that defines Han as a character. This is probably caused by the decision to fire the original directors in the middle of the film’s production and replace them with Ron Howard. It must be quiet difficult to deal with that situation and keep going. I must say I am a little disappointed, but I can understand. In Solo, you will meet not only your favorite characters like Han himself, Chewbacca and Lando Calrissian, but also some characters from Han’s past life that we have never met before. I think the other Star Wars films from the new generation (you know, the Disney generation) have been quite successful in terms of creating new characters. We all love BB-8, Rey, Finn, Poe and (maybe) Kylo from The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. And who can forget the sarcastic droid K2SO, Donnie Yen’s blind warrior Chirrut Imwe and the rest of the super cool and heroic crew who sacrifice themselves for the Rebellion from Rogue One? Solo introduces new characters from Han’s past life, like Emilia Clarke’s Qi’ra and Woody Harrelson’s Beckett, but none of them could find their way into my heart. I really do not want to say this, because I love Emilia and Woody and the other supporting actors in this film, but their characters are forgettable for me. I think they just do not have any unique characteristics that make them stand out, and some of them get killed off way too soon. The person who has the toughest job in the Solo project is probably Alden Ehrenreich. He is tasked to play the younger version of one of the most (if not the most) iconic characters in the Star Wars saga which was successfully brought to life by the legendary Harrison Ford in the past! Can you imagine how he feels about that? I personally think he has done a great job in portraying young Han Solo. I love how he captures the youth and the innocence of young Han. The way his eyes light up when he sees, walks into and flies the Millennium Falcon for the first time just melts my heart. The way people around him treat him and always betray him also helps me understand why older Han always seems to avoid getting attached and emotional. When I saw Alden’s Han Solo, I could actually believe that he was the one who would become Harrison’s Han Solo that we all know and love. Speaking of Han and his life, I could not stop myself from wondering how it feels like to live a life like his. In one of the scenes, Beckett asks Han if he knows what it feels like to live with a price on his head, which really gets me thinking. How does it feel to live like Han? You know, he is always running away from people who want him dead, he does not really have a home, a career, a family, a secure life… He does not really have anything to hold on to. Like Han himself says in the movie, it sounds lonely. It makes me feel a little sad for Han. It also makes me think about how Han feels when he becomes a father. For someone who is used to living with no rules and no attachments like Han, being a father must be pretty scary and overwhelming, especially with a son like Ben Solo aka Kylo Ren… For fanboys and fangirls, it is always fun to find Easter eggs and references to previous films while watching new films from our favorite sagas. It is usually quite hard for me to notice the Easter eggs and references on my first time watching, but I can proudly say that I noticed most of them here in Solo. The coolest and the most shocking one for me is (SPOILER ALERT) the return of Darth Maul. He shows his iconic double lightsaber in this movie and I almost died of excitement seeing that. I hope we will get to see him do some lightsaber action in future films (SPOILER ENDS). For more information about the Easter eggs and references, check out this video below.
So, I think Solo: A Star Wars Story is a fun movie for Star Wars fans. It is definitely not my favorite Star Wars film ever, but I certainly enjoyed watching it. May the Force be with you! Rating: 3,5/5
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I’m not a fan of horror movies. A lot of people that I know love watching horror movies, but not me. It’s not because I’m a scaredy cat (well, maybe I am a bit of a scaredy cat, just a bit…), but I’ve tried watching some horror films and most of them just scare the audience as much as possible and don’t offer great stories. You know I love films with good stories that I can connect with, right? So most horror movies disappoint me... But that doesn’t mean I’ve never seen one that I actually like. My favorite horror film is 28 Weeks Later, starring Robert Carlyle, Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne and Imogen Poots. My friends, you know, those horror-movie fans (haha), made me watch it during one of our movie nights. It’s a zombie apocalypse movie and I surprisingly like it. I usually refuse to watch zombie movies because they freak me out. This one freaked me out too, but in a great way. It’s super scary but it also has a great story, unique visuals and great performances by the actors. So, yeah, I love that movie. And now the very short list of my favorite horror movies is finally getting a new addition. There’s a new horror movie called A Quiet Place. The film receives very positive reviews, so I went to see it and, man, it is such a great film. A Quiet Place is about a family that is trying to survive in a world that has been invaded by some kind of monsters (which remind me of those demogorgons from Stranger Things) that hunt by sound. So, basically, if you make a sound, the monsters will track down the sound to find you and kill you within seconds like Liam Neeson (haha). This situation forces the family to live in silence. Interesting premise, huh? A Quiet Place is directed and co-written by John Krasinski, who also stars in the film with his real-life wife, Emily Blunt, and two very talented child actors: Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe.
One of the coolest things about this movie is how it plays with sounds. As the family has to live in silence, the film is nearly wordless. It makes the film so quiet in a unique, eerie way. The silence makes the creatures’ noisy and monstrous appearances more frightening and shocking. This movie also made me realize that there are different kinds of silence. There is silence that occurs when you don’t talk. When you don’t talk, you can hear the sounds made by the things around you, like the sounds made by the wind that blows or someone’s footsteps. There is a different kind of silence that occurs when the things around you stop moving, which makes even your murmurs sound so loud and clear. And then there is complete silence, like the ones that we experience in the scenes in the movie where we are put in the daughter’s position. The daughter, played by deaf actress Millicent Simmonds, is also deaf in the movie. In those scenes that I mentioned before, you can hear no sound at all. You don’t hear anyone talking and you don’t hear anything moving around. I was so surprised by how loud that silence is. It was like the silence was screaming into my ears so loudly. It was a really unique experience that I’ve never had before. It made me more aware of all the sounds around us and how noisy we humans are! I’m always fascinated by actors in films who can say so much without even saying a word, and you can find actors who are doing just that throughout A Quiet Place. As I said before, this film is nearly wordless. The amazing thing is, the lack of dialogue in this movie doesn’t make it difficult for you to understand the story. I remember I had a problem understanding the film version of The Last Five Years, which is a musical where there is no real conversation because all the dialogues are turned into songs sung by just the two main characters. I didn’t have that problem with A Quiet Place because, I think, the script is so beautifully written and supported by really great performances by the actors. Despite being a scary movie that features monsters, this movie is surprisingly emotional and realistic. This movie shows how selfless parents can be in order to protect their children. John Kransinski’s heartbreaking final scene and Emily Blunt’s intense bathtub scene will show you that. Teenagers’ overflowing emotions are portrayed so realistically by Millicent’s character. My heart just sank when I thought about how terrible it is for a teenage girl to grow up in an environment like that. I also love how the son, played by Noah Jupe, is always so terrified throughout this movie. It shows that it’s normal for people, whether they are a man or a woman, to be scared. What matters is how we deal with the fear. Another thing from this film that surprised me is how it managed to make me see it from the point of view of a parent. I’m not a parent but, you know, I’m a teacher; I work with little children every day and love them like they are my own children. You know, I cringed whenever the kids in this movie accidentally made noises because I know exactly how hard it is to keep children quiet. And that final scene with John Krasinski! Oh my God! I completely forgot that I was in a public place and wept uncontrollably watching that scene, and so did the other people who were in the cinema with me. Do you know what I thought about during that scene? I surprisingly thought about my children at school and told myself, if monsters come and threaten my children’s lives like that, I will do exactly what John’s character does for his children in the movie. This film has really awakened the motherly side of me. In some films, having a solid history of how things happen is very important. A Quiet Place isn’t one of those films. There is no explanation about what exactly the monsters are, where they come from or how they invade our planet. In this case, I think not providing a backstory is a great thing because all the information really doesn’t matter for the characters and their story. These characters are not scientists who want to analyze the creatures; they are just ordinary people who want to survive. I think the decision not to create a backstory makes the movie even better and more unique.
So, I think A Quiet Place is a brilliant movie. Whether you are a fan of horror movies or not, I think you should see this movie. Rating: 4,5/5 The filmmakers of the Maze Runner movie franchise were on fire after the huge success that the first film received in 2014. They didn't waste any time and started developing the sequels immediately. They released the second movie, The Scorch Trials, about a year after The Maze Runner and continued with the production of The Death Cure, the final chapter of the saga. However, the saga must face its own trial when an unexpected incident happened. Dylan O'Brien, the lead actor, experienced a fatal accident on set which got him not only injured physically but also totally shaken emotionally. This forced the production of the movie to be postponed for a pretty long time to allow Dylan to recover both physically and mentally. Poor Dylan. Now, more than two years after the second movie, The Death Cure has finally hit theaters. This third installment takes place a few months after the events of the second one. Minho was captured by WCKD, and Thomas and his friends would do anything to get their best friend back, including breaking into WCKD's highly protected facilty as the organization's most wanted fugitives. The Death Cure is based on James Dashner's best-selling novel and once again directed by Wes Ball. All the actors whose characters survive the first two films, which include Dylan O'Brien, Kaya Scodelario, Thomas Sangster, Kihong Lee, Will Poulter and many more, reprise their roles in the movie. I saw the movie last week and I enjoyed it. It does have some flaws, but there are many things in the movie that, I think, are really deep and emotional, which is great for me. Let's start with the flaws. I think it is undeniable that there are too many coincidences in the movie that don't really make sense. Like how Newt and his gang were ready behind the rocks exactly where the container that Thomas and Vince stole stopped, and also how Brenda and Jorge suprisingly appeared in the Cranks tunnel just when the boys needed to be rescued. The science part made me a bit confused as well. (SPOILER ALERT) Near the end of the movie, it seemed so easy for Teresa to create the cure using Thomas's blood. If it was that easy, then why did they have to work so hard that whole time? I mean, WCKD used to have Thomas on their side before the Maze Trials and they seemed to know that he was special, so why didn't they just take his blood and make the cure back then? It is a little confusing. (SPOILER ENDS) Now, the good things. Dylan O'Brien is such a gem. The things that I love from his performance here are the little ones that make Thomas feel so relatable and human. I was most touched by how he turned Newt's goodbye letter away from his sight to prepare himself before he started reading it. It made Newt's absence felt so overwhelming and I knew, at that moment, Thomas, just like me, was not sure if he could contain that. Oh yeah, I burst into tears watching that scene, as usual haha. (SPOILER ALERT) I like his final scene as well. The way he looked at the cure bottle told me that he would go back and use it to cure the infected people. Some of my friends said that they didn't like the ending because Thomas and his friends left the infected people and went to the safe haven instead of finishing the problem, which is the virus. But I think it is a proper ending for their story because their main goal was always to be free, not to find a cure. Finding the cure was WCKD's goal. So yeah, they reached their goal by going to the safe haven. However, the look on Thomas's face at the end made me think that he had set a new goal, which is to finish what WCKD, and Teresa, started. Now that he knew that his friends were safe and he was the key to cure the people, I think it is totally possible that Thomas would leave the safe haven to cure people. That move would be so Thomas (SPOILER ENDS). So many thoughts caused by just a look on a man's face! The ability to tell so much without saying a word is a sign of a great actor, I think. I really hope Dylan will get more challenging roles in the future. A lot people are saying that he would be a great Dick Grayson aka Nightwing for DCEU and I couldn't agree more. I quite enjoyed watching the ladies of WCKD, Teresa and Ava played by Kaya Scodelario and Patricia Clarkson, here. They made me understand WCKD's position in all the mess. In a scene in her office with Janson, Ava said that what people could do when hard times squeeze them too hard is sometimes crazy and unacceptable. I think that describes WCKD perfectly. The virus destroyed many people's lives, so of course they wanted to stop it. The problem is they could only stop it by draining the Immunes's bodies and using their blood to make a cure. So it's either save the Immunes or save the people, and they chose the latter one. It is unfair for the Immunes, I know, but Teresa's scenes with her patient Shai and Ava's speech in the office made me understand why they did it. So yeah, WCKD is actually good. They are like good people with good intentions who had to make hard choices. This got me thinking, if I was put in Teresa's or Ava's position, what would I do? Save my loved ones or let myself and them die to save the rest of the world? I still don't know what to choose. There is one more female character from the movie that I really like: Brenda. I really like her when she led the Immunes on the bus when they were escaping from WCKD's facility. She knew that she had to prioritize the Immunes and get them out even though she really wanted to wait for Thomas. It is clear that she loved Thomas but she didn't let that blind her and make her ignore other people's safety, which, I think, makes her great. It was kind of hard for me to watch the boys this time, but I still love them. Seeing Minho shed a tear during his torture session really broke my heart. (SPOILER ALERT) Seeing Newt's death and listening to his voice reading his goodbye letter were even more dreadful (SPOILER ENDS). The one who made me smile is, surprisingly, Gally. He is just so different from the Gally that we knew from the first movie now. He was so calm and focused on his mission here. It is just so good to see Will Poulter as Gally again. Another aspect from the movie that impresses me is the set. The Last City where WCKD's main building was located looks pretty awesome. The set design here is definitely bigger and more fancy than the ones in the first two films. So I think Maze Runner: The Death Cure is a good movie. It is certainly not perfect, but the actors' performances are just too good to be missed and the messages behind the story are definitely something to think about. I'm a little sad because this saga has ended, but I'm pretty sure we're going to see the lovable cast members do some great things in the future because they're all just so talented. I never thought I would say this, but I'll miss the Glade!
Rating: 3,5/5 My Star Wars: The Last Jedi Review That Is So Long and Full of Spoilers Because I Just Can't Help It12/21/2017 My long Christmas holiday has officially started! During our last working days of the year, my co-workers who celebrate Christmas were busy preparing for the celebration while the ones who don't were planning their trips. What about me? Oh yeah, I was busy planning the day when I was going to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Yup, the highly anticipated eighth episode of the main Star Wars saga is finally here. Star Wars: The Last Jedi is directed by Looper director (it's a really cool movie, by the way) Rian Johnson. Most of the cast members of the previous episode, like Daisy Ridley, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver and Domhnall Gleeson (when I say "most", it means no Harrison Ford *sob*), reprise their roles in this one. There are also some new faces joining the cast, such as Kelly Marie Tran, Laura Dern and Benicio del Toro. The Last Jedi tells us what happened after Rey finally found the legendary Luke Skywalker in his hiding place. I've got SO MANY things that I want to say about this movie. There are so many shocking and unexpected moments that make the movie so great and satisfying, especially for fans of the saga who have seen and loved all the movies. So, this post contains major spoilers from The Last Jedi. If you haven't seen the movie and want to enjoy the suprises, please stop reading and come back after you've seen it. Here we go! THIS MOVIE MADE ME FEEL NOSTALGIC After I saw The Last Jedi, I thought about the storyline and realized how it is similar to the fifth episode, The Empire Strikes Back. In The Last Jedi, Rey, a girl from nowhere, found the Jedi Master Luke Skywalker in an isolated island and intended to undergo her Jedi training with him, just like Luke the farm boy from Tatooine who went to Dagobah to begin his training with Yoda in Empire Strikes Back. Luke was reluctant to take Rey as his apprentice, again, just like Yoda was. But they eventually did the training and discovered just how powerful the young ones were. Then, near the end of the movie, Rey decided to leave her master to do something that she thought was very crucial to do, and, you know, Luke did the same thing in Empire Strikes Back. But when Rey flew away from the island and landed on the bad guys' spaceship, things began to look like the final act of the sixth episode, Return of the Jedi. Kylo Ren was waiting for Rey to come and immediately took her to his master, Snoke, when she arrived. He was lurking behind Rey with conflicts within his heart while Snoke was doing his evil talk and showing Rey how her friends were struggling to survive. Sounds familiar? Maybe it's because the scene also happened in Return of the Jedi with young Luke, Darth Vader and the Emperor. The scene in The Last Jedi ended quite differently, though. While Vader killed the Emperor and turned back to the Light Side before he died, Kylo surprisingly killed Snoke and then asked Rey to join him and rule the galaxy in their own way. The twist reminds me more of Vader in Empire Strikes Back and Vader's old self, Anakin Skywalker, in Revenge of the Sith. One of the most shocking moments in The Last Jedi is when Luke DIED, and made my jaw drop because I was truly shocked, at the end after his spirit confronted Kylo Ren. When I thought of it, I realized that it is another throwback moment. When Luke died, his body disappeared as the wind blew his cape. This peaceful and graceful death reminds me of Obi-wan Kenobi's and Yoda's deaths in Episode IV and VI (and also Master Oogway's in Kungfu Panda, to be honest hahaha). I like what they have decided to do with Luke's death. It puts him among the great Jedi knights like Yoda and Obi-wan, who died in the same way and possessed the ability to appear in the world of the living as a Force ghost. Besides Rey, Kylo and Luke, the film also features other subplots; one of them is the one that centers on Finn and Rose. Finn and his new friend, Rose, went on a secret mission in Canto Bight to find a code cracker who could help them beat the First Order, which has been hunting the Resistance down using hyperspace tracking. They found a code cracker, not the one they were looking for, though, who helped them get into the First Order's spaceship. However, the code cracker, played by Benicio del Toro, shockingly betrayed Finn and Rose by selling information about the Resistance he got from the duo to the First Order. Benicio del Toro's character and his betrayal remind me of Lando Calrissian, who betrayed Han and Leia in Empire Strikes Back. I think we haven't seen the last of Benicio's character (I don't know the character's name, by the way). He might come back in Episode IX to redeem his betrayal, just like Lando did. And also, it's Benicio del Toro, man. You should not let him be wasted. Some other nostalgic moments that deserve to be noticed are the appearance of the white, salty planet where the ending takes place, which looks very similar to the icy planet Hoth in Empire Strikes Back, and the moment when Luke reunited with R2-D2 and the droid played Leia's old hologram message to him. I love all the moments that I mentioned above, but the award for the most shocking and the most nostalgic moment in the movie must be given to.... OUR LITTLE GREEN FRIEND, GRAND MASTER YODA! YES, MASTER YODA MADE A CAMEO PERFORMANCE IN THIS MOVIE! When Luke was distressed after Rey left to find Kylo and going to destroy the old Jedi books, Force ghost Yoda surprisingly appeared behind him. With his signature wisecracking style, Yoda gave Luke some wise words that enlightened his distraught mind. I don't remember the exact words, but Yoda told Luke that, as a teacher, he shouldn't just teach his students the great and good things that he knew; he must also tell them about the failures and mistakes that he had made. It's because failure is the greatest teacher, he said. I really love his advice, maybe because I'm a teacher. I think what Yoda said is very true but often forgotten. This shows that, even though Luke was a great Jedi, Yoda will always be a better master. In my opinion, this Yoda scene is the best scene in this movie. Another interesting thing about it is how they seem to use the puppet Yoda, like the one you can see in the original trilogy, instead of CGI Yoda, which was used in the prequel trilogy. I think it is, again, a way to honor the original trilogy. GOOD CHEMISTRY IS EVERYWHERE The Last Jedi divides itself into several storylines that focus on different characters. I like this because it allows us to see how certain characters interact with each other. I found some great pairings with good chemistry here. I really enjoyed watching Oscar Isaac's Poe Dameron and Carrie Fisher's Leia interact with each other. Poe was a young pilot who was so eager to blow things up (he kinda reminds me of young Luke and young Anakin), but as the story approaches its end, we can see how he learned to control himself and think before acting from Leia, who was always patient with him but was never hesitant when she had to scold him. I think they have a really great chemistry. I was also very touched by a scene that Leia shared with Admiral Holdo, played by Laura Dern. It's the scene where Holdo was basically saying goodbye to Leia before sacrificing herself to save the Resistance. In the scene, both female leaders were so warm and loving, but, when you think of it, what they were doing is actually really brave and heroic. That scene has made Admiral Holdo one of my favorite characters in the movie. One of the things from The Force Awakens that stung me is the fact that Han Solo died (*sob*) and would never reunite with his old pal Luke. Before seeing The Last Jedi, I wondered if Luke would get the chance to reunite with the other member of the iconic trio, Leia. And the answer is apparently yes. Luke and Leia finally reunited in a scene near the end of the movie. It was Luke's spirit that came to Leia, not his actual self, but the reunion is sweet and emotional. You know, that scene got my eyes wet. Now let's talk about the new characters and their chemistry. Maybe I'm the only one who thinks this way, but I really like watching Kylo Ren and General Hux together. Despite being on the same side, the two don't share many scenes in the movie, but there is one scene that features the two of them that I really like. When the First Order troops were pushing through the Resistance's last defense under the command of Kylo, there was a moment where Hux realized that Kylo was starting to lose control. Hux's face was stunned before he finally said, "Enough." I don't know why but I really like that. Hux hated the Resistance and found joy in the destruction of it but I think he still knew what is necessary and what is not while Kylo didn't. They both are evil but they are different to one another. It's interesting when the bad guys are not just bad but complex. I really want to see more of them together. I just found out that people have a ship name for these two, which is Kylux. Oh yeah, I ship Kylux hahaha. And I like the actors too. I know Domhnall Gleeson is a brilliant actor (you should see him in Ex Machina with Oscar Isaac and Alicia Vikander; so good), but this movie makes me a fan of Mr Adam Driver. A pair that has a lot of screen time together in The Last Jedi is Reylo aka Rey and Kylo. In the movie, they developed a connection through the Force that allowed them to communicate throught their minds. Their conversations surprisingly created an emotional connection between them. This connection even affected the two's decisions. Rey decided to leave Luke because she was sure that she could turn Kylo back to the Light Side and stop the war. I think I've said this in my review of The Force Awakens but Rey is so much like young Luke who was sure that there was still a bit of light within his father's heart. Kylo's connection with Rey also made him slice his own master, Snoke, and invite Rey to rule the galaxy with him, which is so Anakin/Vader. I like the dynamic of this duo and I'm curious about how things will be between them in Episode IX. Will it end the way Luke and Vader's relationship did? Hmm what do you think?
I COULD HEAR THE ICONIC QUOTES It's not a Star Wars movie if it doesn't have the iconic "May the Force be with you" line. This time Laura Dern gets the honor to say it. I don't remember whether there are other characters who say the line in this film or not, but if there are, my favorite is definitely Holdo's turn because it's, like I said, so warm and heroic at the same time (she said it during the scene that she shared with Carrie). I don't remember hearing "I have a bad feeling about this", which is a bit disappointing since it's one of my favorite quotes. I'm pretty sure Yoda's wise words will soon become iconic like all of his other quotes. However, my favorite quote from the movie has got to be the one uttered by Kylo near the end of the movie. "Blast that piece of junk OUT OF THE SKY!" screamed Kylo when he saw the Millenium Falcon flying around. I grinned when I heard the line because, despite their issues, at least Kylo agreed with his uncle Luke when it comes to the Falcon. WHO RUN THE EPISODE VIII WORLD? GIRLS! So far, three Star Wars films have been released after Disney bought Lucasfilm. All three of them have women as their leads. However, The Last Jedi feels even more special because it has more female characters that are unique, layered and cool. The opening sequence ended with a breathtaking, heartbreaking sacrifice made by a Resistance soldier who is a woman and an Asian. We can also see many female pilots looking just as fierce as the male ones. Captain Phasma looks so badass in her armor, but she desperately needs more screen time and backstory! Holdo is, like I said, such a heroine. She might seem annoying at the beginning, but she bravely stayed in the ship while the other Resistance members left and sliced that First Order's ship in a very jaw-dropping way and managed to look stylish while doing all of them. She's just an awesome leader. And don't forget Rey, who basically leads the movie and naturally proves that a female Jedi is just as cool as a male one. However, the most iconic female character in the Star Wars saga will always be... OUR PRINCESS, LEIA ORGANA. As you all may have known, Carrie Fisher, the actress who played Leia Organa in all the Star Wars movies, passed away last year, around the time when Rogue One was released. So, The Last Jedi is Carrie's last film. Even though the movie wasn't planned to be her last, the film feels like a tribute to her because it depicts her character very beautifully. I've mentioned about her lovely storyline with Poe and Holdo and her heartwarming reunion with Luke, but there is another part of the movie that shows just how powerful Leia is. Quite early in the movie, I was shocked by a scene where Leia seemed to have died. In an attempt to destroy the Resistance, Kylo joined his troops and started shooting the rebels' spaceship. He could sense his mother's presence in the spaceship's bridge and was ready to blast her. However, he was incapable of doing it and the troops ended up finishing the job. The bridge exploded and everyone in it, including Leia, were sucked into the airless space. I almost got a heart attack at that time. I kinda expected her to die in this movie, to be honest, but I didn't expect it to be so brutal and fast like that. I thought, is she really dead? Just like that? No, she can't be! And nope, she wasn't. The camera surprisingly came back to Leia's frozen body that was spinning around the space. AND THEN HER FINGERS MOVED AND SHE OPENED HER EYES AND SHE USED THE FORCE TO FLEW HERSELF BACK TO THE SPACESHIP. Yes, that really happened. My eyes almost popped out when it happened. It's just super cool. I haven't been reading other people's reviews of this movie because I want to make my own first, but I've been seeing headlines that indicate that this movie has received mixed reviews from fans. A lot of fans are even hating this movie. To be honest, I don't understand why people dislike this movie; as a fan I am very happy with it. I can't wait for the upcoming Star Wars films, especially the ones that explore the adventures of the characters outside the Skywalker family. The Han Solo movie is coming next and the team behind it seems pretty solid and convincing, but I'm most excited about the rumored Obi-wan Kenobi movie. I really hope they're going to make that movie and bring back Ewan McGregor because Obi-wan is my favorite Star Wars character.
Happy holidays! Rating: 4,5/5 It's so good to be back to writing blog posts. I haven't been able to write any blog posts until now because I started joining a (not so) short course about early childhood education back in September. After attending all the weekly sessions (there are five of them), I had to start implementing the knowledge that I gained from the sessions and write a report about it. The report is kind of similar to a final paper that you have to make in order to get a degree at the end of your college years, but I only had 25 days to finish this one. So I couldn't work on anything else except that paper since last month. The process of making it was frustrating, exhausting and just crazy, both mentally and physically. I'm just so glad it's over. Back in October, I saw the highly anticipated superhero movie, Thor: Ragnarok. I wanted to review it back then but, as I said before, I really didn't have the time to do it. Besides, I didn't have much to say about it. Two weeks ago, I saw another big superhero movie, Justice League. Surprisingly, I find the film that features DC Comics' most popular superheroes quite similar to Thor. Despite the very different critical receptions that they receive, to me, the films excel and fail in the same areas. Hence, I'm going to break down my thoughts about Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League in this combined post. THEY'RE FUN Both Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League are really funny and entertaining. I think making superhero films funny is a trend these days, huh? For casual viewers who go to cinemas to relax and find some entertainment, these films would be really satisfying. Both films feature a lot of funny moments that will make you laugh. Thor is probably the one that has more comedic scenes in it. In fact, if I had to classify Thor into a movie genre, I would put it in the comedy category instead of action or drama. I think the filmmakers do intend to make the movie funny. My favorite comedic sequence in Thor is probably the "Get Help" scene. That scene makes Thor and Loki look so stupid, silly and so not god-like, but it is hilarious. Justice League also has some hilarious moments but not as much as Thor does. The most memorable one is definitely the one where Aquaman pours his heart out because he accidentally sits on Wonder Woman's lasso (which compels you to tell the truth). THEY HAVE AWESOME SOUNDTRACKS Another trend that can also be seen in films these days is having killer sondtracks that consist of catchy old songs. Thor puts Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song in its main action scenes, which makes them pretty iconic. Justice League features a remake of The Beatles's Come Together, performed by Gary Clark and Junkie XL, which sounds so badass. But my favorite is Sigrid's version of Leonard Cohen's Everybody Knows, which is featured in the opening credit of Justice League. The song is just so haunting and matches the film's tone perfectly.
BUT THE VILLAINS ARE NOT SO IMPRESSIVE Thor has Hela, Marvel Cinematic Universe's first female villain, as its main villain. Hela is Odin's first born, which makes her Thor's sister, who claims to be the goddess of death. She is said to be very malicious and too powerful for the god of thunder to stop. We also get a backstory for her that tells why she wants to destroy Asgard as told by Odin and Hela herself. However, I feel like Hela doesn't live up to the description of her. She keeps telling everyone how much she despised Odin and Thor also insists that she is too strong to be defeated but I just don't see and feel it in her; it's like something that is said but not done. The problem is definitely not Cate Blanchett because we all know she is a fantastic actress, so I think it's because of the way the story is written. It's great that they finally give us a female supervillain, but hopefully they can make these villains better characters in the future. In Justice League, we get to meet Steppenwolf, a god-like supervillain who wants to create some kind of hell on Earth. While we at least get a backstory for Hela, we get nothing about Steppenwolf. All of a sudden he just came out of a portal in Themyscira and started rampaging. I know he wanted to create a new world where he could be the leader but that is such a lame reason that is not believable at all. I honestly prefer more grounded supervillains with powerful backstories and complex personalities like the ones in Christopher Nolan's Batman films than these god-like villains that make no sense. I hope we will get to see more villains like that in upcoming films. Judging from what we see in the post-credit scene, we have hope. I'm really excited about (SPOILER ALERT) Deathstroke aka Slade Wilson (SPOILER ENDS). I remember him as the baddie in the animated show Teen Titans. SOME OF THE PROTAGONISTS ARE NOT SO IMPRESSIVE EITHER (SPOILER ALERT) I really don't like how Superman is portrayed in Justice League. When I was watching the film, I got the idea that they intend to make us see Superman as the mightiest of them all, especially in that final fight sequence. In that scene, everyone else, even Wonder Woman who is half-goddess, was struggling to stop Steppenwolf, but Superman just needed a few punches to push him back. Well, I know he is super strong but I just don't like seeing him being more superior than the other team members like that. I mean, this is a movie about a team, so shouldn't they show more of equality, unity and team work here? Bruce said that Superman aka Clark is more human than him and that the team needed his humanity, but I just don't see that humanity in him here. Another thing about Superman's role here that got me raising my eyebrows is the fact that the team resurrected him using their own version of the Lazarus Pit. When Superman died at the end of BvS, I thought he wasn't really dead and will somehow wake up again or something. I know dead people come back to life all the time in the comics but I agree with Diana about this. Bringing dead people back to life is never a good idea. People lose their soul when they die and they can never be the same again even though they've been brought back. I saw a Batman animated movie called Batman: Under the Red Hood (which is a great movie, by the way) a while ago and, in the movie, we get to see dead Jason Todd aka the second Robin being resurrected by Ra's Al Ghul using the Lazarus Pit and going mental and becoming the infamous Red Hood after that. Batman is not happy at all about what Ra's has done to Jason in that movie because, like I said, we should NOT bring dead people back to life and Batman knows that. But in Justice League, Batman was the one who came up with the idea of bringing Superman back to life. I mean, what is the difference between him and Ra's, then? I expected Lois or maybe Clark's mom to say something about it but they didn't. Instead, they make it seem like a good thing, like it's the right thing to do, which I find unacceptable. (SPOILER ENDS) BUT SOME CHARACTERS ARE FUN TO WATCH In Thor, I really enjoyed the performances delivered by Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth. I just love the dynamic between Thor and Loki. They depict a complicated, love-hate relationship between siblings that we all can relate to. They fight, they help each other, they betray each other yet still have each other's back... They are just really fun to watch. It's great to see them spend a lot of time working together and have some hilarious moments in this one. Ezra Miller's Flash and Jason Momoa's Aquaman are fun, great additions to DC Extended Universe, but my favorite Justice League member is definitely Wonder Woman. I love how she is depicted here. In Justice League, she can be seen dealing with the trauma of her failure as a leader (*sob* Steve Trevor's death *sob*). I like this because it shows that women do experience those kinds of things too, not just just romance and boy problems. It is also very heartwarming to see a heroine who can be beautiful, strong, loving and smart at the same time. Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman is such a stunner. LAST BUT DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, NEITHER OF THE FILMS IS "DEEP"
Some people watch movies just to find entertainment, but I tend to enjoy great, meaningful stories that I can think about after I leave the cinema. Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League are definitely entertaining, but, to me, neither of them has what I look for. Both films serve predictable stories of good vs evil but don't spend much time exploring the characters' personal, emotional journeys. I understand that these films are not designed to be deep, but I'm just not impressed by these kinds of films. It would be amazing if they can make superhero films that not only are entertaining but also have great stories and characters. So, I'm giving 3 out of 5 stars for both Thor: Ragnarok and Justice League. I really hope the upcoming superhero films from DC and Marvel will be better than these two. I think I have said this before but I'm going to say it again: I'm very excited about Marvel's Black Panther, which is coming next year. The newly released trailer for Avengers: Infinity War gets me excited as well; I just hope Thanos won't be as disappointing as Steppenwolf. I'm also very happy to hear that DC has decided to make a Nightwing movie. I grew up watching Teen Titans and have always had a crush on Dick Grayson haha. September and October are usually the "quiet" months for big movies. After the season of blockbuster movies aka summer is over, film studios usually use these months to lay low and prepare for the Oscar season that starts around November. However, things are a little different this year. Last month, the highly anticipated, star-studded sequel of 2015's blockbuster film Kingsman: The Secret Service was released worldwide. Blade Runner 2049, another long-awaited sequel with high profile actors, has just been released this October. I have seen both films and found them really satisfying. Below are some thoughts that I have about them.
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE After the shocking death of his mentor, young Eggsy joins Kingsman, a spy organization, and takes over his mentor's place as Agent Galahad. An attack from an old enemy leads to a much bigger attack that destroys every trace of Kingsman, except Eggsy and Merlin. Together, they follow Kingsman's procedure for that kind of situation, which leads them to a similar spy organization located in the United States called Statesman. Meanwhile, the lady behind the attacks are planning to release some kind of poison that can kill millions of people worldwide in order to get what she wants. Kingsman: The Golden Circle is directed by Matthew Vaughn while Halle Berry, Channing Tatum, Julianne Moore, Pedro Pascal and Jeff Bridges join the three main stars of the originial movie Taron Egerton, Colin Firth and Mark Strong. I came out of the cinema after seeing this movie stress-free because this movie is very, very entertaining and fun. There are so many cool, intense action sequences and hilarious scenes, with some gory scenes that made me want to throw up (ehm mincer ehm). However, there are way too many repetitions from the first movie here. The character Charlie and his robotic hand are similar to Sofia Boutella's Gazelle and her sword-like legs from Secret Service, although Charlie is not as badass as Gazelle. The villains from both films also operate in similars ways, you know, creating a global threat that affect civilians. The iconic "manners maketh man" scene from the first film is remade in this one, with some hilarious modifications but a very similar setting. I could keep going but it will make this post too long (and this is supposed to be short hahaha). It is all fun and enjoyable but it would be greater if they could create something new and original for this film instead of just repeating things. And then there is that controversial sex scene. Halfway into the movie, Eggsy has to put a tracker on a female target (played by Poppy Delevigne, yup, Cara's sister). The tracker is designed to merge with targets' blood cells and can only be inserted through two body parts: nostrils and women's vagina. Eggsy chooses the latter one and successfully inserts the tracker after luring the target. The one thing about the scene that shocked me is how explicit the "inserting the tracker" part is depicted. I think the scene is meant to be a dirty joke but I really don't find it funny. Another thing from Golden Circle that deserves to be mentioned is the soundtrack. Like Baby Driver, this film features some great and catchy songs in the soundtrack. Most of the songs are old ones that match the scenes perfectly. I think using old songs for film soundtracks has been a trend these days. My favorite one is probably the one that Merlin sings during his final scene. The one that is played during the scene where Eggsy and Harry fight Poppy's guards is fun too; I think it is Elton John's song. Rating: 3,5/5 BLADE RUNNER 2049 While doing his job to hunt replicants (some kind of man-made humans) with old series numbers, Officer K, a new model of replicant, learns that there is a child who is born from a replicant mother, which is something that is believed to be impossible. As K's investigation gets deeper and further, he learns that he might be connected to the child mystery, or maybe not. Blade Runner 2049 is the kind of sci-fi film that will blow your mind with its twists. It is directed by Denis Villeneuve, who also directed one of my favorite films Arrival. Harrison Ford reprises his role from the original 1982 film as Deckard, but 2049 is more focused on K, the new character played by the charming Ryan Gosling. Some people might find 2049 boring due to its long runtime (almost three hours) and slow pace, but I really don't mind this. The slow pace and the silent moments that dominate this film remind me of Arrival so much. There are so many scenes where Ryan stays alone and quiet with very slow and calm music playing in the background. I don't know how he does it but Ryan manages to get me blown away with only his gaze in those scenes. His facial expressions say so much even when he says nothing at all. Those silent moments somehow gave me a sense of peace and humanity. It's just fascinating how they could create such powerful scenes with minimum dialogues like that. My favorite scene from the movie is K's last scene where he lies down on snowy stairs and looks at the sky peacefully. He doesn't say anything at all but, at that moment, I felt like I could really feel his weariness, his pain that comes from his wounds, his sense of fulfillment and peace, his loneliness... It was like I could go deep into his eyes and read his mind. I think, at that moment, he is trying to absorb everything that has just happened to him. At the beginning, he is just a replicant who does his job as well as he can. But then his findings turn his world upside down and make him think he is special, different. And at the end he figures out that he is not so special and different at all. It is not easy to accept the fact that we are just another living thing in this big universe but K's smile in that scene made me realize that it is alright because being special is not about what we are born with, but what we do with our lives. That scene made me breathless for a moment because it is so quiet yet incredibly deep for me. I heard that scene is a throwback to a similar scene from the original film. I have never seen Blade Runner so I didn't get the nostalgia feeling but the scene is still great for me. There has been a lot of discussions regarding a sex scene in 2049 which involves Ryan, Ana de Armas (who plays K's hologram girlfriend Joi) and Mackenzie Davis (a mysterious girl who is tasked to spy on K). In the scene, Joi gets some "help" from Mackenzie's character to have sex with K because she can't do it herself (K can't touch her because she is a hologram). So the two sort of merge and have sex with K in his apartment. This scene, just like that controversial sex scene from Kingsman, gets a lot of people raising their eyebrows, including myself. I think that scene is one of the strangest sex scenes I have ever seen. It also reminds me of the movie Her, which features a similar scene. Despite the issues regarding women and their depiction in films raised by that scene, I admire the performances delivered by the actresses in this film: Robin Wright and Sylvia Hoeks. Robin plays K's boss who is firm and charismatic. It's cool to see a woman playing this kind of character that is usually played by a man. Meanwhile, Sylvia's Luv successfully scares the hell out of me. She is cold, deadly and fierce. And there is something really intimidating about her sleek and futuristic style. She is almost as scary as Kyoko, that mute robot assistant from Ex Machina.
Speaking of Ex Machina and Her, this film has kept me thinking about the relationships between humans and AIs like those two films did. I think Joi shows how much K longs for company; how much he wants to love and be loved. However, I think he can't find any real person who feels right for him, so he chooses Joi, a figure that is programmed to be everything he wants to hear and see. It may sound sad and desperate but I kind of know how complicated it feels to have so much love to give but can't find that person who feels right. It makes choosing Joi an easier option. Joi also makes me wonder about how AIs are often shown as figures that are more humans than real humans. I think it is because AIs are still in the early stages of development even though they look like adults. I think these AIs who are still being developed are like children who are still pure and growing. One of my mentors once told me that the best and most human version of a person is the child version of them. So I think that is why they seem so human. AIs like Joi and children are reminders of humanity that we, adults, often forget. Rating: 4,5/5 Hi! This is my first blog post on this new blog of mine! So I've been learning about Weebly at work because we're using this site for work purposes now. You know, I've always wanted to make my blog look prettier and I really like the layout of the Weebly blogs so I decided to move here haha. It took a while to build this site but at least it looks a lot nicer and I don't have to use codes, which I know nothing about. So, welcome to my new blog! This first post is going to be about a movie that I just saw, Baby Driver. The movie is about a young getaway driver named Baby (Ansel Elgort) who has to work with criminals in order to pay his debts. When his debts are all paid, Baby thinks he could escape from the criminal world forever, but he soon finds out that it's not that easy to do that. Baby Driver is directed by Edgar Wright. The super cool ensemble cast in this film includes Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Jamie Foxx and Eiza Gonzalez. The premise that Baby Driver offers might not be something fresh at all. In fact it is quite predictable. However, the story is presented in a really unique and fun way. The most unique thing from Baby Driver that makes it different from other heist movies is the way it uses music throughout the film. In this film, music is a part of the story, not just something that is played in the background. There are scenes where Baby lipsyncs to some songs, which means the songs were specifically chosen during the scriptwriting process. We can also find some cool and fun scenes where the actors' movements synchronize with the beats of the songs played in the background. I think putting music as a dominant part of the movie is a great idea. It not only makes the film unique, but also allows me as a part of the audience to really immerse myself in Baby's world. Baby sees music as a huge and important part of his world, so the music really helps me see the world through Baby's eyes. And oh, the songs in the soundtrack are amazing. The soundtrack includes some old songs that are pretty cool. Most of the songs are not the kind of songs that I normally listen to but they just sound really perfect in the film. One of my favorite songs featured in the film is Easy (Like Sunday Morning),
I'm not an expert about cinematography and editing and stuff like that, but I really like the look of the movie. The style of the movie makes it feel like it doesn't exist in the universe that we live in (ehm alternate universe ehm the flash ehm). There are things that make it seem like the movie takes place in the present time, but there are others that make me think that the film is set in the past. I think the look of the movie is also related to the main character, Baby. Maybe for Baby the world is a retro one. There are also some shots in the movie that I think are pretty cool and fun. I love it when the camera circles around the actors, goes up from the bottom floor to the top one, and follows Baby as he carelessly skips around the area with his music playing. As I said before, the cast of Baby Driver is a really cool one. All of the actors seem like they have so much fun playing their characters. Their performances also seem naturally and effortlessly cool. You know, sometimes actors in heist movies try too hard to look cool by sporting some dramatic poses in every scene or making dramatic facial expressions. But the actors in Baby Driver somehow manage to look super cool and attractive (Dude, I have a huge crush on Ansel, Lily and Eiza because they all are gorgeous in this film!) without even trying. I love all the main actors in this film. However, I must admit that the true star of this film is Mr Ansel Elgort. His character Baby is such a unique character that is also very relatable. His youth and baby face often make people underestimate him, but, throughout the movie, he shows us that he is so much more than just a pretty face. We shouldn't judge a book by its cover, eh? I also love how Baby is not afraid to be himself no matter what people say about him. The other characters in the movie often mock him because of his addiction to music and unusual behavior, but he never lets them bother him. The character reminds me that sometimes you should just sing and dance in the middle of the road when you feel like you want to do it without worrying about what other people think. So, I think Baby Driver is worth to watch. It's cool, different and really fun. Watching this film on the weekend as you enjoy your free time would be perfect.
Rating: 4/5 |
The picture featured in the header is from the movie 500 Days of Summer.
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