Quick Review of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens' (SPOILER ALERT!)

"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away..." Never knew that this day would come after watching the original and prequel trilogies (along with the Clone Wars and Rebels animated shows) on DVDs at least about countless times and remembering the exact scenes that ended up being a lot more memorable than other big franchises like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter. But with new heroes, new villains, new droids, and even new vehicles, the Star Wars universe has gotten even bigger the moment Disney bought Lucasfilm 3 years ago after suffering a $200 million loss from the failed sci-fi franchise starter John Carter. The characters that I have already gotten to know prior to my first viewing of The Force Awakens are Rey, Finn, BB-8, Poe Dameron, Captain Phasma, and Kylo Ren. Except that there was SO MANY new characters that, hilariously, I haven't been able to instantly remember the names (minus Supreme Leader Snoke and Maz Kanata) except the main new ones as well as the old! Director J.J. Abrams, whose film credits include Mission: Impossible III, Star Trek and Super 8, has certainly brought back something that made the original Star Wars trilogy the greatest blockbuster movie franchise of all time, by not relying on the overuse of CGI (by using a lot of practical effects, as it should be!) and actually making the dialogue not too cringeworthy like in the prequels. However, I do think that there are some questionable flaws (but not in a hurtful way, mind you) that probably should not have made fans completely nitpicky with when it was supposed to be an amazing return to a very iconic franchise. But at least it wasn't a lousy nostalgic comeback in a disrespectful way like Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull or Terminator Genisys. Though it has a plot that feels kinda familiar with the very first movie that came out nearly 40 years ago and doesn't quite reach the heights of The Empire Strikes Back ("I am your father!"), which I know is the "best Star Wars movie ever."
Now for the spoilers, but those of you who have seen the movie are free to read some things that I learn and what could have been better. The opening scene with the massacre on the Jakku villagers left by the First Order Stormtroopers commanded by Kylo Ren was nothing like the action that I have seen before. Shame that Max von Sydow was killed instantly by Ren after handing over the piece of information of Luke Skywalker's whereabouts to Resistance pilot Poe Dameron. I thought that he would have such a huge role in the movie. Rey, the scavenger with an unknown history except that she was left behind on the planet Jakku. The actress Daisy Ridley playing her is actually very beautiful, way more than Natalie Portman, but it's gonna take some getting used to for a newcomer. Former Stormtrooper Finn, played a young black actor seems to pull it off in a decent way albeit only good at making funny one-liners and acts like he's the young Han Solo hence the attitude. But Kylo Ren, wow, he is definitely the movie villain of 2015 for me! I was surprised to learn that he is actually the son (named "Ben") of Han Solo and Leia Organa, which makes the latter's twin brother Luke his uncle and Darth Vader his "grandfather" hence his obsession with the fallen Jedi/Sith Lord. Love how he gets angry and throws out tantrum by slashing with his deadly and uniquely designed lightsaber, which makes him seemingly more dangerous than the other Sith Lords. I am however shocked that Kylo Ren killed his own father just when Han was about to talk some sense into him. There goes another one of the favorite Star Wars characters that kept the franchise going after Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Vader. May Han Solo be forever missed. Least Harrison Ford had a good run; better than how his return in Indy 4 turned out. Captain Phasma, played by the badass Gwendoline Christie from Game of Thrones, although an intimidating female Stormtrooper captain deserve some more recognition and not be immediately put aside like Boba Fett or Darth Maul. You know, her last scene that includes the trash compactor joke. But we should at least expect to see her again if she's signed up for #8! The lightsaber duel with Kylo Ren was very intense! Never have I seen such brutality, compared to the original/prequel lightsaber duels, as Ren severely wounded Finn before facing off with Rey (who now appears to be Force-sensitive!) holding Anakin/Luke's old Jedi lightsaber! Now to talk about... Luke Skywalker! 'Cept he's an old man like Obi-Wan Kenobi now. However, I would think that his appearance in The Force Awakens could have been more than just a teasing cameo. I wouldn't say that I was "let down" like everyone were from what I heard, but I think it was intended that way since his journey as a Jedi was already completed. But I look forward to see his expanded role in Episode 8 in two years now that we've lost Han Solo!
Having finished my fall semester at George Mason University with an A for aesthetics, an A- for digital printmaking, a B for editorial magazine design and a B+ for motion design, I'm glad that watching the new Star Wars movie was worth it while I still enjoyed the original three a lot more! Even though my parents and my sister are right now having their own problems to deal with after we finished the movie last night. But thank goodness that it wasn't as convoluted or underwhelming like The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones! Too bad J.J. Abrams will not be directing the next film, as the last two will instead be directed by Looper's Rian Johnson and Jurassic World's Colin Trevarrow. I do hope that they live up to the latest installment that's already breaking a LOT of box office records and may possibly beat James Cameron's Avatar (the sequel trilogy (too little too late?) may be out starting in Dec 2017) as the highest-grossing movie of all time! May the Force be with us!

Quick Review of 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2'

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 76th Hunger Games." Although not as spectacular as other excellent finale movies like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi or The Dark Knight Rises, it still perfectly ended this franchise on a high-note as the Mockingjay book did. What grieves me to learn is that Part 2 of  Mockingjay opened at a very meager weekend opening of $102 million unlike the previous 3 that each opened over $120-150 million. Perhaps the studios shouldn't get all too greedy splitting anything into 2-3 parts that are better off as one single film like The Hobbit should have been as most people say. The overlong padding after each action I think is what made this final film a little underwhelming unlike the 1st two Hunger Games movies which are, in my opinion, the best of the series. What I do love seeing however are the easily-likeable characters like Katniss, Prim, Effie Trinket, Johanna Mason, and Katniss' own beloved Peeta, as well as the most compelling villain (next to Heath Ledger's Joker, Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter, and Javier Bardem's Raoul Silva) President Snow. I was glad that the madness has finally ended after Mockingjay Part 1 had me in an overwhelming suspense because of Peeta's condition after the District 13 rebels rescued him from the Capitol. The parts that really get me are the poor children, including poor Primrose Everdeen, getting killed by the exploding parachute "gifts" that the Capitol (turns out to be President Coin (Julianne Moore)'s doing), along with Katniss yelling at the cat Buttercup to get out before goin in an emotional breakdown and when Haymitch reads out the letter to Katniss from Plutarch Heavensbee, the late Oscar-winning Philip Seymour Hoffman, which are pretty much his last words before the said actor's death. During the execution scene, I knew this was coming all along From what I read in the book where Katniss instead shot an arrow at Coin rather than Snow since he is already dying anyway. By the time all of the chaotic action is over, the best part that was worth it is when Katniss and Peeta finally get together again when they lay together on a bed like most beautiful couples always do ("Real or not real?" "Real"). And once the epilogue scene begins, it was like the most emotional scene I've ever seen, watching how cute the children that both Kat and Peet have years later and knowing that this is Jennifer Lawrence's big farewell to her Katniss Everdeen character. When the credits roll, her song ("Deep in the meadow...") can be heard which is an excellent way of making the Hunger Games franchise end with a bang. No other follow-up, whether sequel or prequel, is gonna be able to top everything since Mockingjay is to me the END of the most violent Hunger Games events ever occurred. Not even the Divergent or the Maze Runner movies are gonna be able to top the action and suspense that the Suzanne Collins book-made-into-movies have. I really hope that my Mockingjay Part 2 experience is worth it despite not doing so much of a bigger box office success it deserves to be like most other 2015 sequels (somethin that isn't Jurassic World, Pitch Perfect 2, Hotel Transylvania 2, or even next month's Star Wars: The Force Awakens) that fail to top their otherwise superior predecessors. May the odds be still in our favor.

15 Successful Movies That Were Considered "Failures"

Seriously, when is a movie that was able to earn enough more money than expected (thus, earning back almost their entire budget!) is ever declared a "huge financial failure"? Name one! Also, check again (namely Stealth, 47 Ronin, Final Fantasy, etc.)! That includes you, Disney (calling Avengers: Age of Ultron's $1.4 billion record a "failure")!

1. Man of Steel (2013)

Box Office: $668,045,518

Budget: $225 million

2. Batman Returns (1992)

Box Office: $266,822,354

Budget: $80 million

3. Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Box Office: $306,941,670

Budget: $145 million

4. Penguins of Madagascar (2014)

Box Office: $373,552,094

Budget: $132 million

5. The Golden Compass (2007)

Box Office: $372,234,864

Budget: $180 million

6. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

Box Office: $708,982,323

Budget: $200-255 million

7. Turbo (2013)

Box Office: $282,570,682

Budget: $135 million

8. The Smurfs 2 (2013)

Box Office: $347,545,360

Budget: $105 million

9. The Counselor (2013)

Box Office: $71,009,334

Budget: $25 million

10. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)

Box Office: $232,617,430

Budget: $90 million

11. Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)

Box Office: $142,817,992

Budget: $5 million

12. The Hangover Part III (2013)

Box Office: $362,000,072

Budget: $103 million

13. Johnny English Reborn (2011)

Box Office: $160,078,586

Budget: $45 million

14. The Matrix Revolutions (2003)

Box Office: $427,343,298

Budget: $150 million

15. The Chronicles of Narnia: 

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

Box Office: $415,686,217

Budget: $155 million

My Favorite Summer Movies of 2015

My Top 10 favorite movies of Summer 2015:

1. Jurassic World - 71% (CinemaScore: A)
2. Ant-Man - 82% (CinemaScore: A)
3. Avengers: Age of Ultron - 75% (CinemaScore: A)
4. Inside Out - 98% (CinemaScore: A)
5. Minions - 56% (CinemaScore: A)
6. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - 93% (CinemaScore: A-)
7. Mad Max: Fury Road - 97% (CinemaScore: B+)
8. Pitch Perfect 2 - 65% (CinemaScore: A-)
9. Pixels - 18% (CinemaScore: B)
10. Terminator Genisys - 26% (CinemaScore: B+)


Note: These percentages indicate how positive the critical reviews are, according to rottentomatoes.com. To learn more about CinemaScore, enter http://www.cinemascore.com/.

Is It Too Late for the Sequel to Fox's 2015 Fantastic FLOP?

"Everything I've heard would indicate that the studio will move forward with a 'Fantastic Four' sequel. It may not make that original 2017 date, but they're definitely planning to make it." Uh, hate to break it to ya, Mr. Chris Aronson, but isn't it a little late for an UNFantastic Four sequel to this year's reboot that sadly FLOPPED -- both critically AND financially!? Why immediately make a sequel to a movie that is already about to have a $60 million write-off? That's like making a sequel to either Disney's John Carter ($284 m on a $250 m budget) or Warner Bros.' Battlefield Earth ($29.7 m on a $73 m budget), both of which are huge critical/box office failures! I mean, come on! While the movie is simply bad because of the behind-the-scenes fiasco and how director Josh Trank feels toward his experience filming it, it still doesn't change how unimpressed I am with his vision of the dark and gloomy take on "Marvel's First Family" that deserves a much better movie treatment (the only proper FF movie for me is Disney/Pixar's Oscar-winning animated film The Incredibles) after the total disappointment that is 2007's FF: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Even if Fox believes that they are "forever committed" to the Fantastic Four lore, too bad it's gonna suffer the same fate as Sony's The Amazing Spider-Man 2 did (hence why we're no longer getting an Amazing Spider-Man 3 as planned). I'm sorry, but there is no "second chance" to develop another mediocre "Fantastic" Four movie even with "lessons learned" from such an awful attempt with a rehashable dark and gritty concept for most particular reboots. Neither is there any possibility that the yet-to-be-made/not made sequel will "redeem" the FF image. Don't see how you have any better ideas to retain the FF franchise as long as they have with X-Men. You can try something like putting the Fantastic Four in one of the X-Men movies like you've always wanted, but it's still uncertain if it's really gonna change our minds about how we feel towards the superheroes that can stretch, turn invisible, create fire, and clobbering stuff. That's why I signed in the petition to hopefully get you Fox studio execs through your thick skulls to just GIVE THE FANTASTIC FOUR BACK TO MARVEL already! And you had better hurry and reconsider the June 9th, 2017 date that you somehow made for the sequel BEFORE the 2015 movie even came out, because it will surely get clobbered (literally) at the box office big time by the likes of Star Wars: Episode VIII, Wonder Woman, Toy Story 4, and World War Z 2! But I will gladly wait for the Deadpool sequel ('pends if the 1st is a hit next February) to achieve that date!

Quick (but LONG) Review of 2015's 'Fantastic Four'

My worst fears have come true. This reboot truly is DOOMED. "Change is coming"? Give me a break. You think that after we were unsatisfied with the two Fantastic Four movies from 2005 to 2007, there would have been some miracle with the super-powered foursome. Shame that it couldn't live up to the REAL superhero blockbusters of 2015: Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. As much as found-footage superhero movie Chronicle was such a breakout hit in early 2012, Josh Trank's vision for a "David Croenenberg sci-fi horror type" of a superhero movie unfortunately didn't quite work for the more colorful heroes that can stretch, turn invisible, burst into flames, and get rocky or strong. The overall tone shouldn't be all dark and somber just because it "worked" in other fresher reboots since Batman Begins. It kinda makes the Fantastic Four lack any joyfulness and any feel that it's fun being a superhero! The flatlined, dreary atmosphere makes this 2015 reboot like Hulk 2003/Green Lantern 2011 bad when there is like too much quietness and all of that! But wait! Not only was the tone completely off for the team that should get along pretty well with the Avengers, the movie feels a bit... incomplete. It's no wonder the pacing is a bit completely forced the moment it shows the "one year later" caption. It has TOO MANY SCENES CUT OUT that would have properly developed the characters and the story! This is exactly what happened with The Last Airbender and Priest! You don't make the movies so abruptly short when they could have worked better as 2-hour long movies to provide a more coherent story! The third act of course could have had some proper changes to make it less anti-climatic! Guess that would explain the complications between Josh Trank and the studio when the reshoots were made. Was kinda hopin to see the Fantastic Four don their blue costumes like Miles Teller promised us! Ah. Guess he must've lied. Still want Ben/Thing to wear pants so that we don't mock his "nakedness". I highly recommend the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics, which the FAILED reboot was based on, more than what was brought to life on the big screen! Least they had a story despite the so-so illustrative comic book designs.

For the overall cast, they seemed pretty decent. But sadly, not for the four main characters. Miles Teller acts like he's not a worthy leader of the Fantastic Four. Since when did he just run off and then not come back to his friends after for a year just because the powers they were bestowed with are a "disease" to them? That should have been Ben Grimm's! And he calls himself "Mr. Fantastic". For the young Reed Richards, other than being scornfully dismissed by the teacher (voice of Homer Simpson, everybody!), I think there should have been more of those scenes where we see how he was treated by his father after trying out the interdimensional transporter prototype in the garage (like in the 1st Ultimate F4 comic book issue). Those of you who hated Ioan Gruffudd's REAL Mr. Fantastic (blame the mediocre script for the poor acting or the outdated stretching effects!) should reconsider their opinions! Kate Mara, prettier than she looks compared to her sister Rooney Mara or former Invisible Woman star (sex symbol is more like it) Jessica Alba, looked like she should've been promoted as Fantastic Four leader because of how bold she acts in her following scenes after receiving her invisibility/force field powers. And here is what I now call my least favorite F4 character of this so-called "superior reboot": Michael B. Jordan. No offense to non-racist purists, but I like Johnny Storm better when he is white, which truly makes it look like that Sue and Johnny ARE brother and sister, adopted or no! Making the Human Torch (name not said onscreen sadly) a black person feels completely... forced. He apparently lacked the hot shot maverick attitude that makes us like him more unlike how we feel towards Chris Evans, the REAL Human Torch. And one minute, he was feeling devastated as his newfound ability to go all flame on, then later he just immediately goes along with it like it was no problem. Completely forced. The "sibling" chemistry between Kate Mara and Michael Jordan (not the basketball player) doesn't strike me that they are related! Just like M Jordan doesn't appear to have a positive father-son bond with the monotone-voiced Dr. Franklin Storm, ANOTHER white character played by an "excellent" black actor! Again, it feels very forced unlike Michael Clarke Duncan's Kingpin, Idris Elba's Heimdall, and Kerry Washington's Alicia Masters! Reg E. Cathey, a good actor as he is, seems better off as a separate character specifically made for the movie. He may be a respectful (adoptive) father to Kate Mara's Sue Storm, but it's too bad that the way he speaks is not how I picture the REAL Dr. Franklin Storm in the comics, who I know cares so much of both Sue and Johnny. I feel like Jared Harris would have been a better Dr. Franklin Storm if Johnny Storm is changed back to white! And with him dead, there goes our only chance to see more of Cathey's Dr. Storm supporting the Fantastic Four along the way like his comic book counterpart does in the Ultimate comics! Among the quartet, Jamie Bell I feel deserve better! He feels like he's not part of the movie the way there is too much focus on Miles, Kate, Michael, and Toby in a few scenes prior to the interdimensional transportation experiment gone wrong part. I was so looking forward to more the Thing clobbering part, but instead of the said clobbering part that I was promised by the trailers, they were sadly only seen in the military footage after the abrupt "1 year later" transition. SERIOUSLY! With the excellent and more realistic motion-capture CGI on the Thing (in my opinion, way better than the obviously fake Thing makeup and costume worn by Michael Chiklis), there would have been a nice character arc for us to see Ben Grimm feeling tragic with his rocky form. And last but not least, Toby Kebbell as Dr. Doom. He is the one character I feel that Fox is NOT doing him justice besides Galactus! While he was not who I imagined him to be, least he was a lot more scary than the weak and miscast Julian McMahon. But I believe that this whole once-friend-now-enemy thing is getting old. He doesn't need to always be friends with the Fantastic Four and then get involved in their origin that involves them receiving their powers for the first time! Doesn't Fox understand that Doom is supposed to be the RULER OF LATVERIA instead of a young Latverian computer technician, once beloved by Dr. Franklin Storm, and having a crush on Susan Storm!? Then by the time he was brought back as the archenemy of the Fantastic Four that we know, his transition to a villain is obviously rushed without any buildup. And his evil motivations need to be much more clearer for us to admire him. Even if Dr. Doom was able to put up a fight with the four heroes unlike what Julian McMahon is SO BAD AT, he is unfortunately taken out too quickly! Come on Fox! You can't just introduce our favorite F4 villain and then kill him off immediately when there could have been at least some indication that should leave it open for his possible return as he is the most recurring villain of the Fantastic Four comics! This is exactly why Dr. Doom is better off in Marvel's hands if the Disney XD Ultimate Spider-Man/Avengers Assemble cartoons were able to use him!

And since this week's Fantastic Four failed to achieve the desired box office results like the studio had hoped, this is starting to feel like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 all over again. Maybe it was a bad idea to slate the June 2017 date for their yet-to-be-made sequel before the movie even came out this month! Despite Josh Trank wanting to make a "more edgier and grounded science fiction horror" Fantastic Four film, apparently his direction just doesn't satisfy us comic book fans. Regardless of his "unusual behavior" towards Fox for "meddling" with the movie based on his promising vision. Those of you who want Marvel's First Family to come back to the Marvel Cinematic Universe should hear this: Fox domestic distribution chief Chris Aronson had this to say about these numbers: "While we're disappointed, we remain committed to these characters and we have a lot to look forward to in our Marvel universe." I'm sorry, what? Fox still wants to keep the Fantastic Four rights until the end of time no matter how disappointing their F4 movies are becoming!!? Uh uh! Don't think so! If the movie bombs, then there shouldn't be a sequel coming already! How about make the same kind of deal with Marvel that Sony made to allow Spider-Man join the Avengers while the former retains control over him! Forget mixing the freakish X-Men mutants and the well-loved Fantastic Four together in one big movie! Once Fox had done so, Marvel could finally do the Fantastic Four, Dr. Doom, Silver Surfer, and Galactus done justice! The studio heads at Twentieth Century Fox should change their minds about permanently keeping the FF team away from Marvel!

My Reaction to the New Deadpool Movie Trailer

I've got to say, this is what us fans have been begging Fox to make a Deadpool movie to wipe away the tainted memory that is Weapon XI (who doesn't deserve Deadpool's name) in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and yet for once, the studio finally got it right after the X-Men franchise was saved by last summer's Days of Future Past. Guess the highly-praised reception to the test footage at Comic-con really paid off! It looks like Deadpool will be Ryan Reynolds' first excellent comic book movie after flops like Blade: Trinity, Green Lantern, and R.I.P.D. All of this blood and gore (hopefully, my dad's ok with it) among the violent action in this "vulgar comedy" is just what we expect in Deadpool which harkens back to the part where Hit-Girl kills all of the bad guys in the apartment in the 1st Kick-Ass movie. I'm glad that it's actually going to be rated R instead of the watered down PG-13 rating which didn't work so well with the first Wolverine spin-off that was supposed to define what makes Wolverine a savage mutant. Thought that everything Ryan Reynolds says (including the Green Lantern reference) is pretty funny, as though the script was made by Deadpool fans. But is it just me, or was Colossus IN this Deadpool movie? Only he looks more comic book accurate than he was in X-Men 2-3 & DOFP. Not sure what his purpose was besides being the main connection point that Deadpool is "set in the X-Men universe", but it's great seeing that the big Russian metal-skinned mutant is getting the recognition he deserves! This'll no doubt make a lot of money like how Kingsman: The Secret Service earned over $400 million even for an R-rated comic book film since there's like a LOT of fans who love Deadpool in the Marvel comics. I am absolutely ready for 2016, and this Merc with the Mouth flick is among my anticipated films I look forward to see besides Captain America: Civil War and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice!