Solo: A Star Wars Story Review

Synopsis
After escaping his home planet of Corellia, Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) joins up with Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson) and his criminal gang to steal hyperfuel, starting his life as one of the mot famous smugglers in the galaxy.

Review
When Lucasfilm announced they were creating a Han Solo stand-alone film, it was met with mixed reactions. On one hand, Han is without a question one of the most popular characters from the Original Trilogy and we could always use more Han. But on the other, did we really need to see Han’s back story? Not knowing is part of the charm of his character. I was in the former camp, albeit with some reservations. I’ve made it no secret that I haven’t been too keen on the latest episodic installments of the Star Wars franchise but I did enjoy Rogue One, the last “A Star Wars Story” film. For me any time I can spend in a galaxy far, far away, I’m there. However, it seems that the rushed and troubled production took its toll on Solo: A Star Wars Story.

This movie does have its moments. After 8, almost 9, episodic movies, we’ve spent our fair share of time in the Star Wars Galaxy. At this point, to make the stories seems fresh, they need something to stand out. To look at the superhero genre for an examples, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a spy thriller that happens to have superheroes, Logan is a western that just happens to have superheroes, and Ant-Man is a heist movie that happens to have superheroes. Solo does something similar were it is a heist/western that happens to take place in the Star Wars Galaxy. I hope to see this trend continue where Star Wars movies just use the galaxy as a setting but exist in a whole other genre. It has shown it can work, like the aforementioned superhero examples, and could make for some pretty enjoyable Star Wars films. If they continue to make these anthology installments, that is.

As I said, Solo is a western infused with a heist. Maybe this is a personal taste of mine, but I wish the movie would have spent more time on the heist portions. Is was cool that there were essentially two heists throughout the film but as a result, not a lot of time was spent with the set-up portion. This is usually my favorite part of a heist film so I was a little bummed it went quick. Not really anything wrong with the film, just a personal preference as I said.

Alden Ehrenreich had the monumental task of portraying a character made popular by Harrison Ford. For the most part he did a good job in the role. He was able to capture some of Ford’s charm that he put into Han to make the character so lovable, but at the same time wasn’t a straight imitation and Ehrenreich put his own mark on the character.

Now, to move onto an actor who was a perfect fit for their character: Donald Glover. Sometimes an actor is just born for a role and that is the case for Glover as Lando Calrissian. He perfectly captures Lando’s attitude and swagger. He’s charming and sophisticated yet intimidating and tough at the same time. Based on this performance alone, I’m convinced Glover’s Lando needs his own spin-off film.

This movie definitely tried to cram as many locations as possible within its run time. It moved at a fairly quick pace, never really letting you settle down in each new environment before it moves onto the next. While it is nice getting your money’s worth for the amount of settings you experience, it still felt somewhat rushed yet too long at the same time. Han has a lot of history before Luke first meets him in the Mos Eisley cantina and Solo tries to cover it all. Despite covering much of Han’s history brought up in the Original Trilogy, it still tries to set up a sequel, which, let’s be honest, probably won’t happen at this point. Knowing that they wanted a possible sequel, the filmmakers could have streamlined the story, making it a little less chaotic.

But in trying to set up a sequel, the film gave either the best or most confusing cameo anyone would have expected. While I was shocked and liked it, others who only watch the movies might have been left scratching their heads. As exciting as it is to see Disney is working hard and making a conscious effort to connect Star War across all its mediums, the character’s appearance came from left field and probably confused more people than it excited.

I thought Solo: A Star Wars Story was OK 😐 As much as I like Han Solo as a character, this film did leave the lingering question of ‘why?’ It was fun to see his history brought to the big screen but part of Han’s charm is not knowing what’s true and what’s exaggerated. While it was enjoyable, I don’t see this having the rewatchability of most of the other Star Wars films.

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Ron Howard – Director
Jonathan Kasdan – Writer
Lawrence Kasdan – Writer
John Powell – Composer

Alden Ehrenreich – Han Solo
Joonas Suotamo – Chewbacca
Woody Harrelson – Tobias Beckett
Emilia Clarke – Qi’ra
Donald Glover – Lando Calrissian
Phoebe Waller-Bridge – L3-37
Paul Bettany – Dryden Vos
Erin Kellyman – Enfys Nest
Thandie Newton – Val
Jon Favreau – Rio Durant (voice)
Linda Hunt – Lady Proxima (voice)
Ian Kenny – Rebolt
John Tui – Korso

Movie Quote of the Week – 1/30/15

Answer to MWL 1/28/15: Tallahassee (Woody Harrelson) – Zombieland

Tallhassee: My mama always told me someday I’d be good at something. Who’d have guessed that would be zombie killing?
Columbus: Probably nobody.

The following people answered correctly:

Kim (Tranquil Dreams)
Ashley (Box Office Buzz)
The Geek (Confessions From A Geek Mind)
Mikey (Screenkicker)

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Review

Synopsis
After their victory in the 74^th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen (Jenifer Lawrence) and Peetah Mellark (Josh Hutherson) learned rebellions have begun across the twelve districts, inspired by their actions during the Games. In order to eliminate all victors as a threat, President Coriolanus Snow (Donald Sutherland) announces a special ruling for the 75^th Hunger Games: All tributes will be selected from the existing pool of victors.

Review
The Hunger Games was good, but I felt the franchise had room to improve. Thankfully, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire did just what I was hoping. It successfully improved on its predecessor, further building the world of Panem, as well as digging deeper into the characters.

One of the aspects of the first Hunger Games that didn’t sit well with me was Peeta. However, this time he is much better, and his character has developed, too. He still has a little bit of the love-sick teen vibe to him, but it doesn’t come across as strong, or as sad, this time. Peeta can actually fight, unlike much of the previous movie, where he spent most of the time playing follow the leader or was injured. It was nice to see what he was actually capable of.

I thoroughly enjoyed the supporting cast. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth banks return with some sleight changes. Harrelson as Haymitch is more lighthearted than he was previously and Banks, as Effie, had some humor worked into her character, though neither got as much screen time as before. Gale, played by Liam Hemsworth, on the other hand, had much more screen time and Hemsworth really did fantastic. Some of the new blood that added a lot to the story was Jena Malone as Johanna Mason, a victor from District 7, Jeffrey Wright as Beetee, Amanda Plummer as Wiress, victors from District 3, and Sam Claflin as Finnick Odair, a victor from District 4. Each did a great job with their parts and added some interesting dynamics to the story.

Going behind the scenes of the games and watching the Game Maker control what happens in the arena was fun in The Hunger Games. This time, not much was seen from that point of view, which enabled the story to keep a focus on Katniss and the group of characters with her. We saw a lot of it already, so it wasn’t necessary to see it again. Also, had they kept cutting to the control room, the discovery Katniss made about the arena layout would have been given away.

The format of Catching Fire is very similar to its predecessor: start in District 12, go to the Capitol, try to get sponsors, then to fight in the games. And since the format is almost identical as before, it is plagued by some of the pacing issues that bothered me. So that hasn’t changed.  However, it looks like the next installment should veer away from this format.

I feel every movie should be self-contained, regardless if it is part of a series or not. So when a movie ends in a cliffhanger, I get irritated. I’m sure the books ends the same way, and I know that it will lead directly into Mockingjay, but it’s still irksome that it leaves me hanging.

The Hunger Games: Catthing Fire is everything you want out of a sequel. Peeta is developed much more, and the supporting cast is more enjoyable and interesting than the previous film. Despite some pacing issues that still bog down the story, and a cliff hanger ending, Catching Fire is a great sequel and bodes well for what’s to come in The Hunger Games franchise.

Rating
4/5

For the rest of The Hunger Games series, check out my review for The Hunger Games.

The Hunger Games Review

Synopsis
74 years after a failed rebellion, Panem’s twelve districts must send one boy and one girl to the Capitol for the annual Hunger Games. In the Hunger Games, the “tributes” must fight to the death until only one remains standing. When Primrose Everdeen (Willow Shields) get selected, her sister, Katniss (Jenifer Lawrence), volunteers to take her place. Along with Peeta Mellark (Josh Hutcherson), Katniss travels to the Capitol to prepare to fight for her life.

Review
Apparently 2012 was the year of the archer. It produced The Avengers, Brave, and The Hunger Games. I’m not complaining, they were all really good, and two of which gave us great female characters in Katniss and Merida. But Katniss is definitely my favorite out of the two (and I would be lying if I said Jenifer Lawrence wasn’t a part of it). The Hunger Games delivers a great first entry in a franchise that could potentially be the next successful franchise in the same vein as the Harry Potter series.

The casting was spot on. Lawrence is the perfect fit for Katniss. She is able to balance being a strong woman, doing whatever it takes to survive, with a softer, more delicate and caring side. Woody Harrelson’s grizzle fits perfectly with Heymitch’s rough attitude. Despite not having much screen time, my favorite performance was Stanley Tucci as the charismatic TV personality Caeser Flickerman. It feels like it may have been overacted, but I think that is what made it so entertaining.

The Hunger Games introduces a love triangle between Katniss, Peeta, and Gale. It’s obvious in the beginning that Katniss and Gale were together, then Katniss and Peeta shared a few moments (and a kiss) during the games that were broadcast to the twelve districts. The fallout was not seen in this movie, but rather delegated to the sequel. I’m happy that wasn’t dealt with here because I felt the relationship between Katniss and Peeta was one of the movie’s weakest elements.

The pacing varied throughout the film and it took a while for the movie to build up. The first half was Katniss and Peeta getting ready for the games. It was focused on building the characters and explaining about the games. But for the most part, nothing interesting happened. Once the Games actually started is when it really drew me in, especially once Katniss displayed her skills as both an archer and a survivalist.

By the end of the film, I didn’t particularly care for the character of Peeta. Hutcherson did well in the role, bringing Peeta’s charisma on screen, but the character wasn’t appealing to me. He started out alright, but he turned into this love-struck teenager that made him seem weaker than I’m sure he is. I’m hoping that as the franchise grows, so will his character.

During the scenes in the forest during the Games, the camera is a shaky cam, similar to a documentary. This both helped and hurt the movie. It helped because it felt like an episode of Man vs. Wild with the cameras following the characters, like your actually watching the Games on your TV. But at the same time, it got really close, limiting the view on screen. And when the action did rev up, it was hard to focus on what was happening.

The Hunger Games aims to be the next successful book franchise to transition onto the big screen, and it’s off to a good start. Casting was perfect, and the characters, and the world in general, have the potential to become well rounded over the course of the franchise. Other than some off pacing, and an unsteady camera, The Hunger Games kick off the franchise well, but still has room to improve.

Rating
3.5/5

For the rest of The Hunger Games series, check out my review for Catching Fire.

Now You See Me Review

In the summer of 2013, I watched six films in around eight weeks at the theater. Seeing that many movies in the theater that close together was not something I had done before.  I knew that if I was going to start a blog, I wanted to have several reviews ready.  This amount of movie going was the final step that made me decide to begin blogging.  These six reviews are what I tend to call my “original six.” Actually, these aren’t the first reviews I wrote when I began thinking about blogging but I forgot about a few of my earlier reviews until after I already started.  I feel like my writing has grown since 2013 and also that I have found my writing groove.  As part of my Anniversary Week celebration, I will repost these first six reviews throughout the next few days.  Other than updating them to my current format, the reviews will remain unchanged. First up is my review of Now You See Me.

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Synopsis
Four street magicians (Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Isla Fisher, and Dave Franco) are recruited by a mysterious man to perform heists during their performances. A skeptical FBI agent (Mark Ruffalo) and an Interpol detective (Melanie Laurent) must work together to track the magicians down before they perform their biggest heist yet.

Review
Now You See Me is labeled as a thriller, but at its core it is a heist movie with thriller elements. Heist movies are some my favorites, so this film was enticing to me. Magic is all about misdirection, and many heist movies use misdirection (see the Ocean’s series) to perform the heists, so what would happen if a magician used their skills in misdirection to rob a bank? The result is a very entertaining piece of cinema.

This film does a great job of keeping you on the edge of your seat. Every time you think you have it figured out, something happens that makes you rethink you rethink it all over again. In the film it is repeated several times “The closer you look, the less you’ll actually see,” and this applies to the story as well. Since the main characters are magicians, it’s best to not think too far ahead and predict what will happen, because most of the time you will be wrong.

Because of the nature of the movie, a good rule of thumb is to go with the opposite of what you think. However, I think it is best to not try to predict the movie and just enjoy it as it goes. For me, this makes any movie more entertaining. There was something that kept nagging me about one of the characters and during one of the final reveals, I felt like the jaded moviegoer in me should have seen the reveal coming. But the fact that I was still taken by surprise says a lot towards the film.

With Stars like Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, and Mark Ruffalo, there was no way this movie was going to disappoint. Now You See Me as one of the best casts of any movie in recent memory and bringing together such an all-star group of actors paid off in spades. I don’t think I can pick a stand-out performance because all members of the cast were perfect.

Now You See Me is a great heist move wrapped in a thriller. Its always shifting elements always keep you rethinking about what will happen next. Add an A+ cast list and you have one of the best movies of the summer.

Rating
4/5

Trailer

Cast & Crew
Louis Leterrier – Director
Ed Solomon – Screenplay
Boaz Yakin – Screenplay / Story
Edward Ricourt – Screenplay / Story

Jesse Eisenberg – J. Daniel Atlas
Woody Harrelson – Merritt McKinney
Isla Fisher – Henley Reeves
Dave Franco – Jack Wilder
Mark Ruffalo – Dylan Rhodes
Melanie Laurent – Alma Dray
Morgan Freeman – Thaddeus Bradley
Michael Caine – Arthur Tressler
Michael J. Kelly – Agent Fuller
Common – Evans
David Warshofstky – Cowen
Jessica C. Lindsey – Hermia
Caitriona Balfe – Jasmine Tressler