Right before Christmas, we saw the end of a long journey, the nine movie spanning vision from George Lucas for his creation – Star Wars.
I jumped on this train at 13 years old back in 1977, and after 42 years, we’ve finally reached the end. (Of the main original concept, anyway!) 😛
It’s mind boggling, the way this universe and these characters have become so meaningful to so many of us over the years. Let’s not forget the music, either, as I believe John Williams is a BIG part of Star Wars’ success. Yes, not all of the films have been good, not all of it has been consistent, yet the plan (whether in its original form or not) has come to pass. It’s a testament of how much it has affected so many, that it survived long enough to be completed. Science Fiction and Fantasy weren’t considered as worthwhile in the movie biz back then. Star Wars opened the way for change.
1977 – Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope – The beginning! Super thrilling, exciting, a look at what Science Fiction could be. Thanks to John Williams, a deep love of background music began for me. It showed music could bring a new dimension to films that were as important as the special effects, the actors, the story. Peter Cushing from the Hammer Films! (Awesome!)
1980 – Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back – This one is my all time favorite. We learned more about the Force and the Jedi. Leia and Han Solo fight against the attraction they feel for each other despite their very different backgrounds. We discover Luke’s relationship with Darth Vader. (They published the book before the movie release. I still remember sitting at the couch reading the novelization and the utter shock at the revelation that Darth Vader was Luke’s father!) I waited in line for hours on opening day to get to see it! Squee! (Super Awesome!)
1983 – Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi – The culmination of the trilogy (already the news of Lucas’ vision for 9 films, 3 set before and 3 set after had everyone excited – even if the chances of them being made was slim.) Ewoks were introduced (So cute!), more awesome music by John Williams, Han and Leia reunited. The Emperor! Hardship and Victory! (Awesome!)
Then we hit the long gap of waiting… Would we ever see the 6 films promised? (There were a lot of other Star Wars things in between – books, comic books, the never to be spoken of Ewok Christmas Special, games, and more. But the films…where were the films?!)
1999 – Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace – They were back! Yes! More John Williams music, woot! Awesome special effects, but something was lost, the realistic, gritty part so successful in the first three films had disappeared, giving way to CGI. The reinvention of the Force and the introduction of Midiclorians. Trying to turn the mystic into science – even though this is a prequel! What? But who cared, Star Wars was BACK! YAY! Young Obi-Wan – woot! (And the introduction of Jar Jar Binks – I like him in this film, but so many people did not. Oh, the hate. Don’t give in to the Dark Side!) (Pretty Good! Starwars is BACK!!!!!)
2002 – Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones – Build up, setting more things in place to bring us toward the future we learned of in Episodes IV to VI. Anakin and Padme, more Obi-Wan. Christopher Lee – squee! But hold on, who the heck thought putting Jar Jar into politics and have him help mold policy was a good idea? Nice guy, but ‘hello?’ are you all nuts? (Decently Good?)
2005 – Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith – WTF? You changed the fighting style after 5 previous films? WTF? Instead of the most glorious Anakin vs. Obi-wan battle we get “but I hold the higher ground?” WTF? You have the Force, higher ground means nothing! Yoda gets turned into Dragonball’s Goku? (He even does the Kamehameha!) WTF? Unequivocally the WORST Star Wars film – EVER! I almost went to the Dark Side due to this one. I even rewatched it a few years later to make sure of the flaws – made me want to strike them down even harder! Ugh! I could rant on this one for hours, HOURS! (Though the lizard mount was super cool!) I waited 28 years for this? Bleah! (Horribly bad!)
2015 – Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens – Disney brought the franchise! They went back to having more physical objects, so the feel of the originals was back. Disney has money, Disney will pay someone to make a super awesome script and bring Star Wars back with a BANG! WRONG! 🙁 Instead, someone mushed together pieces of the first three films somehow thinking that was the recipe needed for success. Think again! Luke was back, Leia was back, Han Solo was back – yay! But wait, Han reverted to a five year old. Kylo Ren is godlike in his abilities. He can bend light! Mess with time! What? (Plus, there’s no way Darth Vader’s helmet survived! Not the way that ship blew. Oh the humanity!) Plus the hints about Rey’s parents? Totally ignored in the later films! Sigh. Oh, and a trash worker stormtrooper is part of an elite commando unit? Right… (Mostly garbage, but still better than Episode III!)
2017 – Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi – It was Star Wars so I went, but expectations were low. So in some aspects, I was pleasantly surprised, others not as much. Kylo Ren still way overpowered. Hints from Episode VII were totally discarded as if they’d never been. Disney is still not using their might to find a decent scriptwriter (that or there were too many hands in the pot). (Mostly Decent?)
2019 – Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker – Still no decent script, and loads of backpedaling, which made for a bigger mess. Tons of nostalgic moments. Several stupid ones. (If Rey can jump high enough to go over a super tie fighter, she should be able to leap around a shipwreck instead of tedious climbing it.) Rey is now showing godlike powers. Ugh. (How was there even a wreck? The whole facility exploded from the core!) (Oh and Force skills are NOT hereditary! Ugh.) A super secret Sith map – so make a dagger hilt in the shape of the wreck that is only about twenty years old but the map and knife are ancient? And the wreck has power? What? Oh and out of nowhere, let’s make Leia a MASTER JEDI in her youth! Yeah, like she’d have the time to become a MASTER? Some training sure, but a MASTER? So glad I did not have high expectations. Still, I got teary eyed, nostalgic, pumped by the music. I have tried my best not to look at it too closely or who knows what will happen. Heh heh. I will not give in. (Super nostalgic, but not good.)
The nine film journey is over. Huzzah!
Even with the crap, it is still an amazing achievement. I’m glad I survived in the world long enough to see it through. Though not all of those involved got to get to the finish.
I love the Star Wars universe, so, yeah, I’ll keep watching. I am sure this cash cow will be milked for years to come. Who knows, eventually the Force might be with us, and some awesome films will come our way again. 😛
There’s always hope. May the Force be with you, always.
Knives Out – This film was a lot more fun than I expected. It’s a classic Agatha Christie setup, but then it takes a left turn in an unexpected direction. Secrets, machinations, lies, a ton of details pulling every which way. Even when you think you know what happened, it turns out it wasn’t that way at all. Great performances, good twists and turns. There was something odd on the way close-ups were filmed, which made the actors and actresses look off, but this could have been intentional.
Jumanji: The Next Level – Hubby had been chomping at the bit to see this one. 😛 They did a great job showing some of the reasons Spencer chose to try to fix the game and going back inside. Some new people and characters get introduced as Jumanji gets thrown into a bigger crisis than before. The actors doing the avatars get to reinvent themselves as the people behind them have changed. They did such a great job! Awkwafina did a great Granpa Eddie. ROFL. Some new skills and new weaknesses. The prehistoric ostriches were super cool and scary. Lol. One extra bit ties the end of the film back to giving homage to the original Jumanji as well as a possible leading to another film! Favorite quote: “You are the worst Bravestone ever!” 😛 
Ford vs. Ferrari – Matt Damon and Christian Bale are fab in this film. The rapport between the two men and the difficulties they face came across as natural and with depth. From the quick research I did, this is mostly accurate, with the usual license taken by Hollywood to ramp up the excitement and drama. The one bit I do wish they’d pointed out better is how Ken Miles would have won the European trifecta of racing if he’d not been shafted at Le Mans. He would have been the first man to ever win all three. So sad. Good story, great cinematography, excellent acting, cool racing stunts. Rating: 3.75 out of 4 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)
Terminator: Dark Fate – A lot of James Cameron’s films of late have been not so great, so I went to see this with low expectations. I was very pleasantly surprised – the movie was good!
Gemini Man – Hubby and I had thought this would be Will Smith and his son, but it was all Will Smith. The film was great fun. Impressive stunts and fight scenes with some surprising moves. Gorgeous locals and cinematography. They even play with camera perspectives – enough to make it interesting, but not so much it disturbs the viewer. Rating: 3.5 out of 4 (Hubby’s Rating: Pay Full Price to See Again!)
The Current War: Director’s Cut – I’d never heard of the film until about a week ago. Per IMDB it was initially released in 2017. The title is horrible (If you don’t know what it is, you’d think it was an actual war movie.) The film is about Edison, Tesla, and Westinghouse and the fight/race to light up the US with either DC or Alternating Current. A lot of history gets sanitized for the history books. Here’s a chance to get a taste of what they don’t tell you. Great acting, fascinating history, and you get a feel for how truly revolutionary the concepts being thrown about are to the people of that ear. Rating: 3.75 out of 4 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price.)
Abominable – This film was super adorable! A gorgeous movie, full of amazing panoramic shots. Like “Ad Astra” this one is also an emotional journey as well as a physical one for Yi. They too do a couple of unexpected twists, just to keep things interesting. 😛 The Whoop snake is a hoot. (So is Dave. Lol.) Tons of adorable and cute moments. Some tear generating ones as well. You must sit through the credits as they are full of snapshots of things that happen after the adventure is over. The last one definitely tried to open the waterworks. 😛 Rating: 3.5 out of 4 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission.)
Men In Black: International – They are back! With more attitude, bigger weapons, and the usual chaos! 😛 The original theme music is back, so the film had a nostalgic vibe to it. There’s even a painting in High T’s office of J and K saving the world. 😛 There’s a recurring theme in the film they pound into you hard – the universe always puts you where you need to be when you need to be there. They stretch this out a bit much! And while some explanations on why things have happened are shown, there are others you have to infer from what’s been presented. (For example: Why H changed so much in 3 years. And no, it’s not the girlfriend. Though if you don’t put it together yourself, it’s gone :P) Cool effects, fast pace, overall a good ride! Rating: 3.5 out of 4 (Hubby’s Rating: Worth Full Price of Admission.)
The Secret Life of Pets 2: All our favorite pets are back, and we also meet several new ones. They took an unusual direction on this one, starting you off with a quick catch up to set up the new situations, then going off in three different seemingly unrelated storylines that will eventually come back to merge for the final piece of the tale. 
