Posts tagged john boyega
REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ is a fun, familiar paradox
REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ is a fun, familiar paradox

If it isn’t already apparent, I love these movies. I recognize their flaws, and I’m okay with them. I expect them to function on a basic story level, but none more so than the original movie, with its Joseph Campbell formula, where Lucas draped his rich world-building. For me, The Rise of Skywalker is decidedly middle-tier Star Wars. It’s not nearly as frustrating as many clickbait-y headlines, thirsty for the partisan rage that kept pundits in the black when The Last Jedi came out, will attempt to argue.

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Film, New ReleasesRobert Snowstar wars, episode 9, the rise of skywalker, the last jedi, j.j. abrams, daisy ridley, john boyega, adam driver, oscar isaac, ian mcdiarmid, palpatine, rey, finn, poe, 2019Comment
REVIEW: 'Pacific Rim Uprising' and how it stagnates a franchise
REVIEW: 'Pacific Rim Uprising' and how it stagnates a franchise

The story is pretty predictable after that: the drone Jaegers fail big time and the kaiju return with the biggest kaiju ever and Jake and Nate have to learn how to put aside their differences and save the world as a team. It’s a near rip-off of the plot of the first film, where two characters who start off disliking each other end up being perfect for each other, and in fact, if Pacific Rim: Uprising was a romcom it could actually work.

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Film, New ReleasesJason Chenpacific rim, uprising, pacific rim uprising, sequel, 2018, john boyega, scott eastwood, rinko kikuchi, charlie day, guillermo del toro, steven s deknight, robots, kaiju, sci-fi, action, film, movies, cinema, reviewComment
REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ is a first step into a larger world
REVIEW: ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ is a first step into a larger world

How satisfying, then, to see the follow-up to The Force Awakens deliver on that promise. The Last Jedi proves that the franchise is a lot more flexible than some may have expected. Oddly enough, one of its most significant themes is failure: last-ditch plans go awry, searches for information end up fruitless, and characters give up their faith. Events don’t follow a familiar path. All of a sudden, one of the most straightforward (and lucrative) film franchises in history becomes challenging to interpret. And it’s one of the most exciting things the series has done in years.

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Film, New ReleasesRobert Snowstar wars, the last jedi, luke skywalker, mark hamill, rey, daisy ridley, finn, john boyega, oscar isaac, poe dameron, carrie fisher, adam driver, kylo ren, supreme leader snoke, andy serkis, rian johnson, laura dern, benecio del toro, fantasy, space opera, film, movie, review, criticism, cinema, 2017Comment
REVIEW: ‘The Circle’ makes a fuzzy argument for Internet privacy…then against it
REVIEW: ‘The Circle’ makes a fuzzy argument for Internet privacy…then against it

The urge to decode our relationship with technology is a powerful one. We want to know why we invest so much time in our online presence. We wonder whether it’s a good idea for tech companies to step in when governments or other institutions let us down. We worry if part of what makes us human is getting stripped away.

So along comes The Circle, directed by James Ponsoldt (The Spectacular Now, Smashed) a movie that joins a burgeoning line of releases that caution against taking our online connectedness too far. The Circle’s worried about our privacy, or so it says. 

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Film, New ReleasesRobert Snowmovies, cinema, film, the circle, technology, tech, internet, privacy, company, google, facebook, emma watson, tom hanks, john boyega, karen gillan, patton oswalt, reviewComment