“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” stars Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, and Carrie Fisher. Released on December 20, 2019, the film has Rey and her friends attempting to defeat the First Order for good. The film is directed by J. J. Abrams, who also directed films such as “Mission: Impossible III”, “Star Trek”, “Super 8”, and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. It is the third film in the “Star Wars” sequel trilogy and the final episode of the nine-part “Skywalker Saga”. It’s times like this where all good things must come to an end. This, my friends, is that time. After more than 40 years of lightsaber duels, Skywalkers, and Darth Vaders, the saga has reached its stunning conclusion. Although this doesn’t mean the franchise is coming to a close too as we’ll be getting more of that “Star Wars” goodness in the near future. Until then, let’s take a moment to see our favorite characters one last time. It wasn’t that long ago when “Star Wars” made its fantastic return to the big screen with the first chapter in its sequel trilogy, “The Force Awakens”, and continued its dominance with Rian Johnson’s divisive episode, “The Last Jedi”. While those films were very well-received by critics and performed extremely well at the box office, it didn’t take us that long to find out that most of the fans weren’t really happy with what they’ve seen so far, with “The Last Jedi” being the one that really got them all riled up. That situation alone, in my honest opinion, made me lose my respect for the “Star Wars” community in a heartbeat. But I don’t feel like talking about that. I want to talk about the conclusion to a 42-year-old story arc that started with a young boy who grew up to become one of the most iconic movie villains of all time. So far, I extremely enjoyed every single minute of “The Force Awakens” and I still think that “The Last Jedi” is great because of the risks it took to create a fresh story, so now it’s time for me to see if this final showdown can impress me just as much as the last two chapters. Get your lightsabers ready. It’s about to get epic. The story is set one year after the events of “The Last Jedi”, where Rey (Ridley) is continuing her Jedi training under General Leia (Fisher). Meanwhile, the sinister Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) rises from the dead with a plan to finally conquer the galaxy. Oh, and Kylo Ren (Driver) is helping him, in case you’re unaware. With her friends, old and new, by her side, including Finn (Boyega), Poe (Isaac), and the adorable little droid BB-8, Rey will have to face the ultimate test in order to bring peace to the galaxy and end the ever-lasting war between the Resistance and the First Order once and for all. There was a lot of stuff that J. J. Abrams had to accomplish in order to make “The Rise of Skywalker” work. Not only was he tasked to create a spectacular and emotional finale to the main story arc, but he also had to create a story that’s convincing enough to get fans that were extremely displeased with “The Last Jedi” back in their seats. How, you may ask? Two words: fan service. The last two “Star Wars” episodes had a habit of reintroducing old characters from the other films, mostly the original trilogy, and this film is unsurprisingly no exception. The film sees the return of some other old characters from the past, including Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams) and Palpatine, who was supposed to be dead in “Return of the Jedi”. Was being thrown into the Death Star’s core not good enough for your demise, Mr. Former Sith Emperor? There were also some other characters that made an appearance somehow, but I’m not going to tell who they were because spoilers. This strategy worked well in “The Force Awakens”. Unfortunately, in “Rise of Skywalker”, it kind of wore itself thin after the first introduction of Lando. To me, it felt like J. J. Abrams went back to the formula that worked in “The Force Awakens” instead of taking full advantage of what Rian Johnson introduced in “The Last Jedi” when it comes to the storytelling. The film did reference the events of the previous episode, but it looked like it didn’t do that much else besides heading into familiar territory from time to time, fearing that it will wind up sharing the same fate as “The Last Jedi” in terms of fan reception. The emotional stakes weren’t nearly as high as the ones from the other big franchise finales like “Harry Potter” and “Avengers: Endgame”, and the plot twists didn’t quite work well in its favor because it kept sticking to the traditional narrative that worked in the original trilogy. It’s very frustrating to see the film relying on nostalgia again in order to please the fans, and I’m pretty sure that most people might feel the same way. Other than that, it’s basically “Revenge of the Sith”. A solid, yet flawed, ending to a “Star Wars” trilogy. While the story didn’t quite match the epic scale of its dazzling set pieces and its entertaining action sequences, it was able to deliver a satisfying closure to some of the characters both old and new, particularly Rey and Kylo Ren, who were portrayed marvelously by Ridley and Driver respectively. For Rey, it was her journey of self-discovery, and for Kylo, it was his internal conflict between the light and the dark, which is still one of the best parts of the new trilogy in my opinion. The execution on Kylo’s ending did suffer from a case of deja vu, but I found his closure to be well-earned and respectable. As for Finn, he already had his closure back in “The Last Jedi”, so there’s not that much left for him to do in this one. Ian McDiarmid was also really good as the villainous Palpatine. It goes to show that McDiarmid still hasn’t lost his touch after being absent for more than a decade. Like the last two “Star Wars” installments, “The Rise of Skywalker” worked wonders in the technical aspects, especially its mixture of practical and CGI effects and the cinematography. There were a few moments that definitely earned its cinematic scale, like the film’s final act, although I wouldn’t say that they were as memorable as the ones from the other “Star Wars” films. Overall, “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” fails to be the “Endgame” of the “Star Wars” franchise, but it’s an entertaining and visually stunning finale that brings the 42-year-old story arc to a close. The force isn’t strong enough to push away its frustrating narrative choices and its lack of high stakes. However, that doesn’t mean it’s as horrible as the “Star Wars” holiday special that no one wants to mention. The cast did really well with their performances, the action was tense and entertaining, the visuals were breathtaking, and the story was suitable enough to bring closure to the Skywalker saga as well as some of the characters that were involved. It’s a step down from the previous two, but nowhere near as headache-inducing as the prequel trilogy. If you’re a fan of “Star Wars”, there’s plenty to like in this one. It’s not a “rush out to see” type of film, but it’s something that will definitely satisfy your science-fiction needs. With all that said, thank you all for reading my honest opinion on the new “Star Wars” film, have yourself a great holiday break, and may the force be with you. B
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“6 Underground” stars Ryan Reynolds, Mélanie Laurent, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Adria Arjona, Corey Hawkins, Ben Hardy, and Dave Franco. Released on Netflix on December 13, 2019, the film has a former billionaire forming a vigilante squad after faking his death. The film is directed by Michael Bay, who also directed films such as “Bad Boys”, “Armageddon”, “Transformers”, and “Pain & Gain”. It ain’t the holiday season without some explosive fireworks, am I right? After finally retiring from directing the live-action Transformers franchise (and making a bunch of picky fans act like grumpy babies who haven’t had their diapers changed in weeks), action fanatic Michael Bay is returning to play with the big boys. This time, he’ll be helming a vigilante film for Netflix starring Mr. Deadpool himself, Ryan Reynolds. These two people are the only reasons why I wanted to watch this film, plain and simple. While I can easily admit that Michael Bay isn’t always the reliable choice for the action genre, I can at least say that he did well in providing some entertainment value when it comes to the high-octane action, stunts, and explosions. I might get attacked for saying that, but I don’t care. I’m just saying how I feel about him. As for Reynolds, what more can I say about him other than the fact that he’s been one of my favorite entertainers since “Deadpool”? Are they enough to make the film watchable? Let’s find out. The story follows an unnamed billionaire and philanthropist (Reynolds) who witnessed the horrific actions of a ruthless organization in Turgistan. As a result, he decided to fake his own death, change his identity to “One”, and form an unknown team of vigilantes to kill certain criminals and terrorists, including a power-hungry dictator (Lior Raz), and yes, the members are named after numbers. This is, without a single doubt in my mind, exactly what you would expect from a Michael Bay film: a chaotic experience filled with fast-paced action, explosions, gunfights, adult humor, filthy language, and lots of slow-mo scenes. If you’re into that type of stuff, “6 Underground” will easily suit your needs. However, if you’re expecting it to offer any surprises in its storyline and the characters, this film will become a massive headache for that big brain of yours. Similar to some of Bay’s films like “Bad Boys” and “Transformers”, the film is just there to provide some mindless entertainment for people who needed a break from the awards season, including me. I was unsurprisingly satisfied with how much fun it had with its concept, but that doesn’t mean it's an action masterpiece. The two main elements that made the film work for me was the cast and the action sequences. Ryan Reynolds was the main highlight as One in terms of his enjoyable performance and his laughable (in a good way) delivery of his lines. Corey Hawkins was also decent in his role as Blaine, a former Delta Force sniper who’s recruited by One. I liked the idea on what they’re trying to do with the character of Blaine, but because of the amount of “Bayhem” that was captured onscreen, that idea kind of got left out in the dust almost instantly. Same goes to the other main characters. The film did a pretty good job at letting us know who these characters are before they joined forces, but they weren’t enough to showcase them as more than just people who crack corny jokes and annoy each other every few minutes. The action sequences were equivalent to the sequences from the other Bay films. They’re loud, they’re insane, they’re explosive, and they’re really fun to watch. They can be quite exhausting at times and the amount of incoherent editing and shaky-cam scenes may become a nuisance for some people, but the action scenes were able to overshadow those flaws long enough to impress certain fans of Bay’s works once again. As for the plot itself, it’s pretty simple for an action blockbuster and it has plenty of idiotic moments that will likely tick off a lot of the strong-minded critics. However, I enjoyed the fact that the film just rolled with it without taking itself seriously. Sure, it’s dumb, but it knows that it’s dumb. That’s what makes it entertaining for me. Overall, “6 Underground” is easily not for the strong-minded, but it has enough “Bayhem” in its concept to impress most of the fans of Michael Bay’s explosive style. On the one hand, you got a film that has an enjoyable cast and some entertaining action sequences. On the other hand, you got a giant, preposterous spectacle that lacks any big surprises in its plot and suffers from its editing issues and simplistic characters. If you’re expecting it to be the former, there’s a good chance you won’t be disappointed with this one. If not, then don’t waste your time complaining about it. C+“Richard Jewell” stars Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Kathy Bates, Jon Hamm, and Olivia Wilde. Released on December 13, 2019, the film is about a security guard who is unfairly classified as a suspect despite him saving lives from an exploding bomb. The film is directed by Clint Eastwood, who also directed films such as “Unforgiven”, “Million Dollar Baby”, “American Sniper”, and “The Mule”. It is based on the 1997 Vanity Fair article “American Tragedy: The Ballad of Richard Jewell” by Marie Brenner. It is also based on the 2019 book The Suspect by Kent Alexander and Kevin Salwen. Mr. Eastwood is back in the awards game this year with another fact-based drama about an American hero whose heroic actions are called into question. This time, it’s an ordinary security guard. Eastwood is known for bringing these types of stories to life, so it should come as no surprise that he wanted to helm this one. For those who needed a reminder, I was able to follow Eastwood’s filmography after experiencing his 2014 mega-hit “American Sniper” (which I loved, by the way), and since then, I have grown to appreciate his talent as a filmmaker. This was one of the reasons why I went and saw this film, with the other being the fact that I was interested in the events that it’s based on. It has already been chosen as one of the top ten best films of the year by the National Board of Review and Kathy Bates has already been getting some recognition for her supporting role, especially from the Golden Globes. Based on what I saw, does it deserve more? More importantly, Does it do the real-life event justice? The story chronicles the real-life events surrounding the title character (Hauser), a security guard who discovered a terrorist plot that resulted in the Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Summer Olympics. He was hailed as a hero by the people he evacuated, but the FBI identified him as one of the suspects responsible for planting that bomb. This lead the press to falsely accuse him of performing this despicable deed. With his life on the line, Jewell seeks the help of his lawyer Watson Bryant (Rockwell) to clear his name before he gets sent to jail as an innocent man. The film deals with defamation, in which the news media and journalists sent out false statements that unjustly harms someone’s reputation, and how it affects the person who is targeted. Like Eastwood’s other film “Sully”, “Richard Jewell” is a subtle dialogue-driven drama that relies on conversations to drive the story with an occasional intense scene or two, so if you’re not into that type of stuff, you might find this one to be either underwhelming or boring. Admittedly, it did have a couple of underwhelming scenes that didn’t exactly nail the emotional heights of its topic, but it’s still a well-crafted and respectable drama that honors Jewell’s heroic act as well as its frustrating topic. Clint Eastwood is the type of director who offers a sense of delicacy to his vision when it comes to the dramatic scenes. Sure, it’s not as hard-hitting or heart-pounding as the other fact-based dramas, but there’s something about his style that made me want to feel connected to those delicate dialogue scenes. They’re slow, but they’re also engaging and heartfelt. In short, he did a really good job at envisioning this type of story without losing focus on its objective. The main cast was great in their roles, especially Paul Walter Hauser as the title character. I think this is the first time I’ve seen this actor in a central role since he’s only known for being in supporting roles. From what I saw, he portrayed the character extremely well and his performance shows that he might be ready to take on more roles like this in the future. Sam Rockwell turned in another good performance as Watson Bryant and Kathy Bates was marvelous in her role as Barbara Jewell, Richard’s mother. Another thing I would like to mention is Kathy Scruggs (played by Olivia Wilde), a reporter who is responsible for writing the story about Jewell. Before I went and saw this film, I heard that it’s been criticized by The Atlanta-Journal Constitution for depicting a scene where Scruggs offers to trade sex with an FBI agent in return for private information. I don’t know the real story behind this situation, but what I do know is that this character is a jerk. If the film’s job is to make Scruggs the type of character who only cares about getting the story across rather than everybody else, it did its job well. I can understand why the newspaper company did not like the film’s portrayal of Scruggs, but they almost ruined Jewell’s life with their posts, so… Overall, “Richard Jewell” is another meaningful and heartfelt drama that only Clint Eastwood can make. The performances from the cast, Eastwood’s direction, and its engaging dialogue sequences are enough to represent its themes and its ordinary hero in a delicate and honest light. It’s too bad that it didn’t get any awards for everything else, but with all of the big award-potential films out there, it makes sense as to why it got left out in the dust. If you’re a fan of Eastwood’s filmography, this film is worth checking out. B+“Jumanji: The Next Level” stars Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Karen Gillan, Nick Jonas, Awkwafina, Danny DeVito, and Danny Glover. Released on December 13, 2019, the film has a group of teenagers re-entering the world of Jumanji in order to rescue their friend. The film is directed by Jake Kasdan, who also directed films such as “Orange County”, “Bad Teacher”, and “Sex Tape”. It is the fourth installment in the “Jumanji” franchise. Well, looks like we got ourselves a rematch between a film from a popular sci-fi franchise and a film about a group of teenagers who got stuck in a video game. Bring on the boxing gloves! About a couple of years ago, Sony announced a remake of the classic family film “Jumanji”, which was later classified as a sequel that transforms the magical board game into a magical video game console. It was met with a lot of negative backlash from people who grew up with “Jumanji”, which is very common when it comes to revisiting classic films via sequels, remakes, and/or reboots. However, when it made its debut five days after the release of the highly divisive installment in the “Star Wars” franchise, “The Last Jedi”, it surprisingly proved the naysayers wrong by gaining plenty of good reviews and becoming a huge box office hit for Sony. It even became the studio’s highest-grossing film domestically, beating out Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man”. Not bad for a sequel to a 90s classic. Due to its success, we now have another trip into the world of “Jumanji”. I really enjoyed the heck out of “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” not just because of its hilarious cast, but also because of its execution. It gave the first film’s concept a major upgrade for the modern age and had fun playing around with it by including some clever video game references and likable characters that somehow reminded me of “The Breakfast Club”. Plus, it’s a huge improvement over Jake Kasdan’s other film, “Sex Tape”, which I am not a fan of in case you are wondering. His involvement in “Jumanji” was pretty much an apology to me for making that embarrassing mess of a film, which I humbly accepted. So now he’s back in the director’s chair to make this level as fun and adventurous as the last one. Would he be able to pull it off? Taking place a year after the events of “Welcome to the Jungle”, one of the main characters, Spencer Gilpin (Alex Wolff), is secretly repairing the Jumanji video game system. Why? Because his anxiety is acting up…again. During the process, he gets sucked in to the video game world…again, so now it’s up to his friends Martha (Morgan Turner), Fridge (Ser’Darius Blain), and Bethany (Madison Iseman) to retrieve him and escape Jumanji….again. Based on their previous experiences, this mission should be a piece of cake, right? Well, this is where things get a little…interesting. In addition to getting a new quest from the NPC game guide Nigel Billingsley (Rhys Darby), they also have to deal with some issues involving their in-game avatars as well as Spencer’s grandfather Eddie (DeVito) and his former friend Milo (Glover), who inadvertently joined in on the fun. Now what do I mean when I said issues involving the avatars? Well, if you watched the trailers, you’ll know what I’m talking about. If not, let’s just say that this is what happens when your friend chooses your favorite video game character and has no clue how to master it. Similar to “Welcome to the Jungle”, “The Next Level” explores the concept of Jumanji being a classic old-school video game instead of a board game. Along with some usual game references, the film added something new to the mix in order to keep this concept fresh and exciting, most notably the main characters in different avatars, with the exception of Ruby Roundhouse (Gillan). Now we have Danny DeVito in Dwayne Johnson’s body, Danny Glover in Kevin Hart’s body, and Ser’Darius Blain in Jack Black’s body. I don’t want to list the rest because I don’t want to ruin any more surprises for you readers. Like most sequels, this one has a “been there, done that” scenario that’s impossible to ignore, but for those who don’t mind it, it’s an entertaining follow-up that’s just as playable as its predecessor. It took the core elements that worked in “Welcome to the Jungle”, sprinkle in some changes here and there, and boom! You got yourself a second helping of Jumanji a la carte. One of those elements is the cast, most particularly the ones that portrayed the avatars. What I liked about the avatars in “Welcome to the Jungle” was how they act like the human players from the real world, especially Jack Black’s character, who was one of the main highlights of the film in my opinion. “The Next Level” has them doing the same routine, but with Johnson and Hart acting like DeVito and Glover respectively, and unsurprisingly, I wasn’t disappointed with the final result. I also enjoyed the addition of Awkwafina as Ming Fleetfoot, a new avatar for “Jumanji”. Aside from DeVito’s running gag running out of steam halfway through, the cast was just as fun and hilarious as I thought they would be. The film also did wonders in portraying its suitable set pieces and some entertaining action. Rather than having the action take place in the jungle like the last film, it expands the Jumanji world by placing the characters in the desert, the oasis, and the snowy mountains, which I thought was pretty cool. As for the story itself, I respect that it recaptures the humor and the heart that made its predecessor work, although it did have some glitches that prevented it from getting a new high score. Like I mentioned before, the film did have some plot elements that were similar to the ones from “Welcome to the Jungle”, including the strained friendship between Eddie and Milo, which resembled the broken friendship between Spencer and Fridge at the beginning of its predecessor. However, the direction the filmmakers took for those elements was able to keep it from being a complete rehash of “Welcome to the Jungle”. The film also suffered a bit from its villain. Jurgen the Brutal (Rory McCann) is the new antagonist that the main characters are facing in the sequel. He’s a warlord who stole a magical necklace known as the Falcon’s Heart that provides fertility to the lands of Jumanji. I happened to like Jurgen a bit more than Russell Van Pelt from the last film because he has a strong connection to Spencer’s avatar, Dr. Smolder Bravestone. However, the story didn’t really take full advantage of this situation and wound up creating another generic villain that needs to be stopped. This is quite a shame to me because with a villain like Jurgen, it would’ve made the stakes really high for the main characters, but instead, we got ourselves another final boss that’s easier to defeat. I still enjoyed the story for what it is. I just wished that they made these elements a bit more exciting than what we got now. Overall, it wasn’t able to set a new high score for the franchise, but “Jumanji: The Next Level” respectively relies on the power-ups from its predecessor to complete its primary objective. Despite its approach into familiar territory and its villain, the film was able to once again deliver the laughs and the fun largely due to its cast, an enjoyable story, and the action. It’s actually quite amazing that Sony has two “Jumanji” sequels that were as good as the original. Usually, most sequels tend to falter compared to their predecessors that came out a decade ago. Luckily, this film and “Welcome to the Jungle” were able to prove to us that some long-awaited sequels can work with the right people behind and in front of the camera. Here’s hoping that it can also get a good sequel out of “Ghostbusters” next year. B“Honey Boy” stars Shia LaBeouf, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe, and FKA Twigs. Released on November 8, 2019, the film chronicles the life of a movie star and his relationship with his father. The film is directed by Alma Har’el, who is known for directing the 2011 documentary “Bombay Beach”. It’s always interesting to see someone turn their feelings and their past experiences into works of art, whether it’s a painting or a film. Most of us don’t see things the way others do, but we can all admit that their creativities are worth appreciating. This film seems to have the right idea as it was written by none other than Shia LaBeouf, who spent his time in rehab creating the script. This is another film that was able to catch my interest because of LaBeouf’s involvement as an actor and as a writer. Unfortunately, I had to wait a while until it plays at my closest cinema for me to see how it all unfolds, and by a while, I mean a month after its release. Fortunately, the wait was worth it. The film tells the tale of Otis (Hedges), a movie star who gets sent to a rehab facility after getting into a violent, drunken altercation with the police. During his time there, he recounts his past in which the young Otis (Jupe) is accompanied by his aggressive father (LaBeouf), a former rodeo clown, during his career as a child actor. “Honey Boy” is best described as an act of cinematic therapy mostly due to the fact that it is based on LaBeouf’s childhood and his complicated relationship with his own father. To me, this is his way of expressing his own personal feelings to the world, and the way he expressed it was downright beautiful. The best part about that was that it was brilliantly told in a span of under two hours. Alma Har’el has the type of vision that’s not only gorgeous and poetic, but it’s also filled with the right amount of emotion to make me relate to the characters and their relationships. Lucas Hedges and Noah Jupe were both stunning as the old and young versions of Otis, and Shia LaBeouf’s performance as his father was obviously incredible. This is the second film he’s been in that managed to impress me this year, with the first being “The Peanut Butter Falcon”. In addition to his performance, he has actually proven himself to be a respectable screenwriter. He told a story that came from his heart and Alma Har’el was responsible for bringing that story to life. The end result is a script that honors the emotional path to forgiveness. As for its flaws…well, actually, there wasn’t anything I would change to make it better. It’s fine the way it is. Overall, “Honey Boy” is a well-crafted and passionate tale that fully represents Shia LaBeouf as an actor and as a storyteller. The cast is great, the screenplay is full of honesty and emotion, and Har’el’s vision is immensely attractive. If it’s playing at a theater near you, it is definitely worth checking out. A |
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