Rian Johnson, director and writer of Episode 8, has been talking about the Star Wars film set to release in December of 2017. He has confirmed information in an interview with USA Today that the film will begin directly after the events of Episode 7 The Force Awakens, and show the next moments between Rey and Luke. This begs the question as to what the crawl text for the film will tell the audience
Every other Star Wars film has jumped several years forward, and the crawl has explained what has been going with the heroes in the universe. This will be the first time a film has started directly after the end of the previous movie. Everyone who has seen The Force Awakens will know what has been happening, and there isn't much need for the crawl.
My first thoughts for what the crawl would say is that it would tell the audience what is happening in the rest of the galaxy other than with Luke and Rey. It would explain the fallout from the destruction of Hosnian Prime and the government and what that meant for the stability in the galaxy. Also a tidbit about the funeral of Han Solo and what was going on with the First Order. This is probably what the crawl will end up doing, but I hope it might explain what Luke has been doing for the past thirty years.
The crawl could solely focus on Luke. It could touch on him training and establishing a new Jedi and how Ben turned. It could explain what he went in search for, and why he is on the remote world Rey finds him on. It might also explain why he left a bread trail to his location for some to find. This probably won't be the case, but it would be a great justification for having the crawl. It would provide needed information for the audience since no new canon media has touched on Luke after the events of Return of Jedi other than the four issue comic Shattered Empire. The lack of information on Luke makes me hope this could be the case. It probably won't, but I can hope.
Let me know what you think the crawl text will be about for Episode 8.
A new trailer for Baywatch dropped and it showcases how over the top the 2017 summer comedy looks to be. Both Baywatch trailers have highlighted how the film looks to poke fun at the original source material of the early 90's television show. The Jump Street films did the same thing in their movies by taking a silly concept of a show and mining it for comedy gold. Could this be a new genre of spoof comedies?
Rebooting old shows and turning them into films isn't a new concept. Even in the 80's or 90's you had the same type of idea with the Brady Bunch, Beverly Hillbillies or Dragnet, but it seems with the blueprint from 21 and 22 Jump Street Baywatch looks to cement the idea of turning an older campy silly show into a modern comedy. Baywatch could be horrible and not pay off, but if it does there will be a run on older 80's shows optioned for studio production (I want an Alf and Small Wonder Movie).
There should be a genre to fill the void of crappy spoof movies which have come out over the past decade. During the 70's, 80's and 90's spoof movies of genres were well done and actually had smart jokes written within them. Airplane is a standard many live up too, but so are any Mel Brooks movies. The Scary Movie films along with all of the different types they spawned are shameless money grabs. Maybe remakes of televisions shows would be the same eventually, but the Jump Street films had thought behind them, and Baywatch looks to have some as well.
The trend of these films will follow if there is success. The Rock seemed to personally want to get Baywatch off the ground. If it makes money, which I'm sure it will, then there will likely be a sequel and many other studios will follow suit with similar movies. The problem with this is the films would then be cash grabs instead of having thought and passion behind them. It's an endless cycle, but maybe we can get a few more good ones before they all start to become mindless.
Let me know if you have a favorite campy television show which could make a good comedy film.
A Monster Calls starring Lewis MacDougall, Felicity Jones,
Sigourney Weaver, Liam Neeson, Toby Kebbell, and directed by J. A. Bayona. Who will also be directing the upcoming
sequel to Jurassic World. A Monster Calls is a story about a young man or older
boy, Conner, who is trying to cope with his dying mother played by Felicity
Jones. This tragedy causes him to call on a fictitious monster who comes to
tell him three stories. Conner wants the Monster to save his mother, but in the
end that isn’t what the Monster is sent to help Conner with. The film is sad,
but shows how the power of story, art, and imagination can help you cope with
loss. Anyone who has dealt with death and specifically of someone who was taken
too soon will connect with this movie.
The performances are all great. Lewis MacDougall stands out
as the child actor who holds the screen the vast majority of the film. His
performance is understated, but it has the reactions you would expect out of a twelve-year-old.
Having a boy this exact age I very much saw my son in how he reacted to
situations. It’s a risk to put so much focus on an unproven talent to carry a
film, but MacDougall does a great job and hopefully will get looked at for more
roles in the future. I was expecting more screen time from Felicity Jones, and the
small amount of screen time isn’t due to what you think. What time she does
have on the screen is emotional and impactful, and very well done. I wonder if this films promotion got pushed
down because of her role in Rogue One. It could be why there is minimal buzz on
this film coming into awards season. Sigourney Weaver is excellent as the prim
and proper Grandma, and has some truly heartfelt moments.
What was strange for me in A Monster Calls is that I
connected and related to almost all of the characters. Conner because he was
losing his mother and losing her before her time. The Grandma because she was
losing a child, and I can only imagine the pain of this loss, and then the
Mother because having children and leaving them before they grow is also a
fear. The film isn’t a happy look at life, but it is a fantastic take on coping
with grief and some deep dark truths loss force us to face. The relatable character’s
drive home the main points of the story and through empathy or sympathy you can
relate to their loss and what they feeling. The film isn’t one you can watch
over and over, but it is a movie I could watch again.
A big reason for possible repeat viewings is Bayona’s
direction and the animation of the monster and stories. Bayona does a great job of shooting from the
child’s perspective throughout the course of the movie. We see everything from
Conner’s point of view. The camera is always looking up at the adults, and if
he isn’t paying attention at school the teacher is muffled and you don’t
understand what they are talking about. Bayona does the most to make you feel
like you are in Conner’s head, without using any voiceover and he succeeds. The
animation of the monster and Liam Neeson’s voice are perfect. I loved the look
of the Monster and just how seamlessly he blended into the surroundings of the
world. A few times I wondered if they were using CG at all and if it was a
practical effect. The stories the monster tells are well animated and I enjoyed
the switch to the 2D look during the film to illustrate his tales. The stories
are good fables and fit into the narrative of the film and the overall theme of
the movie. Watching this film and Bayona’s use of CG and how he told the story
have increased my hopes for the sequel to Jurassic World.
The only slight negative I have for the movie is the
inclusion of a bully story line and having Conner deal with this along with the
loss of his mother. I don’t think this story was needed, and while the Monster
played a role in helping him stand up to the bully it just feels tacked. I
would have much preferred the story focus more on Conner’s relationship with
his father and have the Monster help with this instead of focusing on the
bully. Toby Kebbell does a good job as the father, but it seems much of his
role might have been cut out for time. Maybe the book the film is based on has
more of the Father’s story. This isn’t to say the bully confrontation is poorly
done, it just isn’t needed to serve the story overall.
A Monster Calls is a sad movie, but at the same
time it is also deeply satisfying. If you want to handle a movie dealing with loss,
then I would say this is Worth Seeing especially if you are a parent. It is at
the very least worth watching on rental if you don’t make it out to the theater
to see it. The animation of the monster alone is worth checking out, but the
story is what holds the movie together. I wish the film would have gotten more
of an awards push, because it deserves some more praise. Comment and let me
know if you have seen A Monster Calls or if you want to see it, or what your
favorite voiceover work down by Liam Neeson is. It’s hard to beat his portrayal
as Aslan. Like, share subscribe and all that fun stuff.
The second half of season three for Star Wars Rebels kicked
off with episodes ten and eleven, The Ghost of Geonosis Part 1 and Part 2. The
two episodes dealt with the crew of the ghost going to the planet of Geonosis
to discover what happened to the Rebel Saw Gerrera and his crew. Gerrera’s team
was sent to Geonosis to see if they could discover what the Empire did to the Geonosians.
When the Alliance lost contact with Saw they sent in the Ghost. This is a story
I thought the show would build up to during the first part of the season. I was
thinking the crew of the Ghost would help the Rebellion discover the existence of
the Death Star or indication the Empire was up to something. These episodes
were more of a character study on Saw, his extremities, and how the crew of the
Ghost reacted to him.
These were enjoyable episodes, but something just seemed to
be missing overall. Saw is an interesting character, and I’m glad we got more
time with him in Rebels, but his appearance would have had more effect if these
episodes were delivered before Rogue One. There was nothing in this episode which gave
away information to the plot of Rogue One, and it would have been great
development for people who watch Rebels to see Saw and his actions before the
film. We see how extreme he can be with his interactions with the Geonosian, and
how he tries to torture him for information for the good of the Rebellion. The
entire crew of the Ghost pushes back and allow the Geonosian to go his own way.
This is actually a good easter egg for people who read the Darth Vader comic,
because the queen egg the solider saves is probably the one Darth Vader
encounters during the comic. This
character development for Saw was great, but it just wasn’t as impactful as I
wanted for the episode or series overall.
The episodes were almost trying too hard to connect The
Clone Wars and the Prequels to the current era. The emotional resonance just
wasn’t there when Saw looked at his sister. Maybe it was the voice acting by
Forrest Whitaker that was a turn off, but something didn’t click. The quip
about sand was funny and I liked how they are poking fun at themselves. I didn’t
hate these episodes, and still found them enjoyable, but maybe I was expecting
more powerful moments. The action was still fantastic and it was great to see
Sabine take out the Stormtroopers with her own jump pack. The way the Ghost
escapes is also well done, but would have preferred more competent Imperials to
up the stakes in the episodes. I did like the Geonosian trying to inform the
crew about the Death Star and the crew not understanding the drawing. This was
handled well, and it fits extremely well within the framework leading to Rogue
One.
The second half of the third season is setup to be fantastic
with Thrawn closing in on the crew, and the eventual confrontation with Obi-Wan
and Maul. The Sabine storyline with the Mandalorians is also exciting. While
this was basically an hour long episode it didn’t propel any major storyline
for the crew going forward. Ghost of Geonosis just develops a character who we
see die in Rogue One. The placement of episodes in the series has really poorly
affected the pacing of this show, and having these episodes before Rogue One
would have had more impact for both the movie and the show. Having them after
the film make the episodes seem like filler instead of connecting to anything
overall. These aren’t bad episodes, but maybe the expectations were too high on
what they would deliver overall. The emotion wasn’t found in the episode like
the season premiere or even the mid-season finale. I’m still excited for the
second half of the season, but this was a small misstep to start off.
The new canon for the Star Wars universe keeps expanding, and it can be a little daunting for any Star Wars fan to keep track of. The last three years have provided some great new additions to the mythology of Star Wars. Everything hasn’t hit the mark, but enough material has been good or great to keep me coming back for more. 2016 saw a plethora of new material in all forms released and I wanted to do a rundown of everything to come out in the year. I’m going to try and touch on any new material released in the year, but will be omitting any retellings of previous canon material. For example, I’m not going to mention the comic for The Force Awakens which was released in 2016. This being said everything else is fair game, even if I haven’t read or watched it. I pulled my information from Wookieepedia and tried to cross-reference the material on other sites, but it had the most extensive list
Click the video above to see all of the Star Wars Canon which came out in 2016.
Variety had the scoop of the day with news that Woody Harrelson is in early talks to star in the Han Solo Star Wars Story film set to be released in May 2018. The story states Harrelson's character would be a mentor to the young Han Solo played by Alden Ehrenreich. This news leads me to speculate what type of mentor Harrelson character will be, and what role he will play in the story.
My first gut instinct in hearing Han Solo has a mentor, is why? Wasn't the cool smuggler born with the inherent self confidence and charm we see as he comes onto the screen in Star Wars Episode Four A New Hope? I do think we will still see the brash smooth talker, but contrasted with a mentor who is an old grizzled smuggler who is tries urge caution to a young Han.
I envision a character who knows how to get by in the universe. A grinder who has a ship and plays it safe. He likes the brash Han and lets him and his Wookie friend work on his crew. This or Han in a brash attempt frees a Chewbacca while working with the mentor character. Han for his part might resent the safe nature the mentor character always takes, and thinks he should take more chances to make money faster. An example would be Harrelson's character cautions Han on taking jobs with Hutts, but in the end Han doesn't listen.
Harrelson is a fantastic actor and I can see him playing a smuggler or even just a normal freighter pilot who keeps his head down to get by. He likes the brash kid, but also wants to direct him down a safe path. Maybe this won't be the case, and the mentor will be like Hondo in Guardians of the Galaxy and direct Han down a more dangerous dubious path. Woody has definitely played these types of characters before, but I'm hoping for a more subdued role from him in Star Wars.
This of course is all very early, and maybe Woody Harrelson won't even get the role. Adding talent to a project is never a bad thing, and the cast for the young Han Solo film is shaping up with some amazing talent.
Comment and let me know what type of mentor you want Woody to play in the Han Solo movie.
A movie which pays tribute to old school Hollywood musicals but
still tells a modern story, or maybe the story is timeless as well.
La La Land starring Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling and directed by
Damien Chazelle who also directed the fantastic film Whiplash. La La Land is a musical set in Los Angeles and is centered
around a struggling actress, Mia played by Stone, and musician, Sebastian
played by Gosling. It’s a film about going after your dreams and
all of the sacrifices and doubt which go along in pursuing them. The film is at
the same time extremely magical and lighthearted but also grounded and
realistic. La La Land is simply a great film which pays tribute to classic Hollywood
while telling a compelling story.
First I’ll start with Damien Chazelle and how he shot the
movie. I usually don’t notice shot selection or how scenes are framed in films,
but it stands out in La La Land in a good way. Most if not all of the musical
numbers seem to be shot in one take and it makes the sequences feel smooth and
for lack of a better word, joyful. The colors and costumes Chazelle used also
pop off the screen. The dance number with the three girls is just bright.
Loving detail was put into every single frame of this film and it shows in how
well executed everything comes across. I don’t think any filmmaker does any less
while making a movie, but in La La Land the effort paid off to perfection. The
entire movie is a joy to watch and this lands squarely at the feet of Chazelle
in how he wrote and directed the movie.
Adding to the amazing direction are the performances by
Stone and Gosling. Their chemistry is fantastic and they seem to always work
extremely well together. Gosling is believable as the struggling Jazz musician
who is passionate about the music’s history. I’m going to guess music has
played a big role in Chazelle’s life with his films revolving around music in
one form or another. The passion Gosling’s character Sebastian has for jazz
jumps off the screen. You want to learn more about the music and its history
after leaving the movie. Sebastian is so earnest in his passion you want him to
realize his dream. Stone’s character Mia is the same, and you feel discouraged
for her as she delivers some great lines and isn’t paid attention too in numerous
auditions. Her character is relatable with how hard she works, and yet still
can’t quite find success. The doubt she goes through about pursuing her dream
is something every person faces to some degree and Stone does a remarkable job
in portraying this part of the story. I wouldn’t doubt if she wins best actress
for her performance in this role. She is simply stunning in every aspect.
I don’t have any big negatives for the movie. The only minor
complaint is that the film might, and I stress might, have gone on for about
five minutes too long. However I could have stayed and watched both of the characters
for another thirty minutes. I would have happily watched another song and dance
number between both of them. I can see those who might think the film should
have ended at one point instead of going on, but I loved the ending and how the
story played out. The film is perfectly paced and there isn’t a misused part of
the story. The only reason I say it might have gone on for five minutes too
long is the last little bit may have been a tad drawn out. There really isn’t much wrong with La La Land,
and I could watch it multiple times.
Since I’ve gone on and on about La La Land this one is Worth
Seeing. I think just about anyone can enjoy this movie, even though it is a musical.
If you are a person who doesn’t like musicals I would have you give this one a
chance. There is enough story in between the musical numbers to be engaging.
The musical numbers are just a big joyous plus. I loved La La Land and will
look forward to watching it again. Until then I’ll just listen to its
Soundtrack.
Comment and let me know what you thought of La
La Land if you have seen it. If you haven’t would you be willing to give a
modern musical a chance? Like share subscribe and all that fun stuff.
