Mousey Movie Mania!
It's been a bit of a movie frenzy over here, because I like watching movies, and that's about it. So, what do I think? Let's see what's on channel two... (in spoilery detail, so don't read if you haven't seen these movies yet!)
Rogue One
Ah Star Wars, that venerable sci-fi classic, the series against which so many are judged. Space Opera that everyone can love - good guys are good, bad guys are bad, and squid-faced aliens are squid-faced aliens. Spaceships and lasers, heroism and villainy, mystic powers and grizzled warriors... everyone knows the formula by know, since it's been going on for forty years. Trilogies and prequels and sequels, oh my!
And so once again we are faced with a deep and penetrating question: how does the latest entry in the Star Wars universe measure up against all the other entries before it? Let's discuss...
The plot: Good guys stand up to evil government and pay the ultimate price.
The pros: The story is daring, giving us a prequel that takes place practically moments before the events of "Star Wars: A New Hope". The writers have done their best to give us consistency and familiarity - we see familiar characters like Gov. Tarkin, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Gen. Dodonna, and others; we see how the Death Star came to be; we see lost mystics who could have been Jedi. We also have a cast of characters that is completely new and fresh, unrelated to anyone in the series before, which means the writers can develop them however they feel without consequence... especially since, by the end of the film, there are no survivors. The movie is a giant suicide mission, but we feel for each character and each death, right to the end.
The cons: Relatively few, for me. One small consistency plot hole, and a few hammy scenes... but then again, Star Wars is nothing without a bit of ham. Some people complain about having a female lead because OH NO HOW CAN A WOMAN LEAD A STAR WARS MOVIE, please shut up now, this is such a ridiculous argument, why are we even talking about this? Is this the best Star Wars movie ever made? A difficult question... probably not, but it is not an inferior work by any means. Can you watch this without having seen any other Star Wars movie? Probably a rhetorical question... but it does benefit from knowledge of the series, and it especially benefits from knowledge of "A New Hope".
The verdict: I loved it. I liked it better than "The Force Awakens" and better than Episodes 1, 2, and 3.
Notes: K2 wins the award for Sassiest Robot Ever. You go K2. Sass those stupid fleshbags. But credit to Lord Vader for sassing Krennic with "Try not to *choke* on your aspirations." Oh Vader, you big ham.
More notes: One of my favorite scenes comes at the very end, when Darth Vader boards the Rebel flagship searching for the plans. We have seen Vader engage in battle before, against other Jedi who are, if not his equal, then at least have had similar training. To see him unleash his Force powers against a squad of soldiers who have no comprehension of what he can do is a terrifying thing, and really hammers the point home how dangerous a Jedi or Sith can be compared to the common foe.
Even more notes: Worst job ever: People who have to stand next to the shaft where a Death Star laser beam passes. You just know that they're not having children ever again, and hopefully their Empire Blue Cross covers all their cancer treatments.
Moana
Welcome to the latest episode of Disney Princess theatre! Our princess of the hour: Moana, future leader of an islander people, facing a job prospect that does not entice her as much as the magical waters which surround her island. Does she answer the call of nature, or serve her people? And what's with the chicken?
Wait wait wait... let's back up. What we have here is another fun filled family friendly film (alliteration! My favorite flavor!) from Disney, and for some people that's all they need to hear. And, as I mentioned above, the big question is, how does it stack up with other Disney movies? And hey, how did I get two movies with Alan Tudyk in them? What are the odds?
The odds are irrelevant, of course. Let's talk movie.
The plot: A young lady fulfills her destiny. Fewer people die than in Rogue One. A lot fewer.
The pros: We have a story of being yourself, never giving up, of learning and growing... well, ok, it's like a lot of other Disney movies in that sense. Moana evolves from young adventurous reckless headstrong girl into a trained leader, Maui evolves from self-centered action hero to self-sacrificing team player, and the pig evolves from small pig to tender bacon strips. Wait, no, scratch that last one. The "villain" also evolves, to an extent, and of course everyone lives happily ever after, unlike pretty much everyone in Rogue One. And for anyone familiar with Pacific Island culture, the movie seems to have done a lot of research and put energy into being, if not perfectly accurate, then at least being properly representative of life on the islands. As a bonus, who knew that The Rock could sing? Not this guy!
The cons: I found the songs a bit... forgettable, compared to some Disney offerings. Then again, I'm not a huge fan of musical movies, so the less singing, the better. That's just me, though, and there are exceptions. The "goofy Disney sidekick" trope is so old and tired, and I'm sorry, chicken, but you are just excess baggage, a hollow and meaningless comic relief that's mostly there for slapstick.
The verdict: Still fun, maybe not the best Disney movie ever, but definitely worth a watch.
Notes: Really, I can't get over The Rock singing. Then again, his acting skills are not bad, when he's given the chance. Don't look at those Fast and Furious movies. Take a second and watch this instead.
More notes: Watching this sunny tropical movie in the dead of winter made me somewhat cranky.
Even more notes: It also made me miss Samoa and Hawaii, two great places to visit if you ever have the chance.
Bonus: There was a short animated feature before the actual film. The group sitting near me were surprised when it ended and didn't, somehow, realize that the actual movie hadn't started yet. Yes, I chuckled.
Rogue One
Ah Star Wars, that venerable sci-fi classic, the series against which so many are judged. Space Opera that everyone can love - good guys are good, bad guys are bad, and squid-faced aliens are squid-faced aliens. Spaceships and lasers, heroism and villainy, mystic powers and grizzled warriors... everyone knows the formula by know, since it's been going on for forty years. Trilogies and prequels and sequels, oh my!
And so once again we are faced with a deep and penetrating question: how does the latest entry in the Star Wars universe measure up against all the other entries before it? Let's discuss...
The plot: Good guys stand up to evil government and pay the ultimate price.
The pros: The story is daring, giving us a prequel that takes place practically moments before the events of "Star Wars: A New Hope". The writers have done their best to give us consistency and familiarity - we see familiar characters like Gov. Tarkin, Bail Organa, Mon Mothma, Gen. Dodonna, and others; we see how the Death Star came to be; we see lost mystics who could have been Jedi. We also have a cast of characters that is completely new and fresh, unrelated to anyone in the series before, which means the writers can develop them however they feel without consequence... especially since, by the end of the film, there are no survivors. The movie is a giant suicide mission, but we feel for each character and each death, right to the end.
The cons: Relatively few, for me. One small consistency plot hole, and a few hammy scenes... but then again, Star Wars is nothing without a bit of ham. Some people complain about having a female lead because OH NO HOW CAN A WOMAN LEAD A STAR WARS MOVIE, please shut up now, this is such a ridiculous argument, why are we even talking about this? Is this the best Star Wars movie ever made? A difficult question... probably not, but it is not an inferior work by any means. Can you watch this without having seen any other Star Wars movie? Probably a rhetorical question... but it does benefit from knowledge of the series, and it especially benefits from knowledge of "A New Hope".
The verdict: I loved it. I liked it better than "The Force Awakens" and better than Episodes 1, 2, and 3.
Notes: K2 wins the award for Sassiest Robot Ever. You go K2. Sass those stupid fleshbags. But credit to Lord Vader for sassing Krennic with "Try not to *choke* on your aspirations." Oh Vader, you big ham.
More notes: One of my favorite scenes comes at the very end, when Darth Vader boards the Rebel flagship searching for the plans. We have seen Vader engage in battle before, against other Jedi who are, if not his equal, then at least have had similar training. To see him unleash his Force powers against a squad of soldiers who have no comprehension of what he can do is a terrifying thing, and really hammers the point home how dangerous a Jedi or Sith can be compared to the common foe.
Even more notes: Worst job ever: People who have to stand next to the shaft where a Death Star laser beam passes. You just know that they're not having children ever again, and hopefully their Empire Blue Cross covers all their cancer treatments.
Moana
Welcome to the latest episode of Disney Princess theatre! Our princess of the hour: Moana, future leader of an islander people, facing a job prospect that does not entice her as much as the magical waters which surround her island. Does she answer the call of nature, or serve her people? And what's with the chicken?
Wait wait wait... let's back up. What we have here is another fun filled family friendly film (alliteration! My favorite flavor!) from Disney, and for some people that's all they need to hear. And, as I mentioned above, the big question is, how does it stack up with other Disney movies? And hey, how did I get two movies with Alan Tudyk in them? What are the odds?
The odds are irrelevant, of course. Let's talk movie.
The plot: A young lady fulfills her destiny. Fewer people die than in Rogue One. A lot fewer.
The pros: We have a story of being yourself, never giving up, of learning and growing... well, ok, it's like a lot of other Disney movies in that sense. Moana evolves from young adventurous reckless headstrong girl into a trained leader, Maui evolves from self-centered action hero to self-sacrificing team player, and the pig evolves from small pig to tender bacon strips. Wait, no, scratch that last one. The "villain" also evolves, to an extent, and of course everyone lives happily ever after, unlike pretty much everyone in Rogue One. And for anyone familiar with Pacific Island culture, the movie seems to have done a lot of research and put energy into being, if not perfectly accurate, then at least being properly representative of life on the islands. As a bonus, who knew that The Rock could sing? Not this guy!
The cons: I found the songs a bit... forgettable, compared to some Disney offerings. Then again, I'm not a huge fan of musical movies, so the less singing, the better. That's just me, though, and there are exceptions. The "goofy Disney sidekick" trope is so old and tired, and I'm sorry, chicken, but you are just excess baggage, a hollow and meaningless comic relief that's mostly there for slapstick.
The verdict: Still fun, maybe not the best Disney movie ever, but definitely worth a watch.
Notes: Really, I can't get over The Rock singing. Then again, his acting skills are not bad, when he's given the chance. Don't look at those Fast and Furious movies. Take a second and watch this instead.
More notes: Watching this sunny tropical movie in the dead of winter made me somewhat cranky.
Even more notes: It also made me miss Samoa and Hawaii, two great places to visit if you ever have the chance.
Bonus: There was a short animated feature before the actual film. The group sitting near me were surprised when it ended and didn't, somehow, realize that the actual movie hadn't started yet. Yes, I chuckled.