stormryder_thomas

When Emperor Palpatine returns, Rey must face him & the truth about her past. Meanwhile, Kylo Ren makes a final effort to convince Rey to join him.

The end of a 40+ year Saga, TRoS promises an epic final battle & satisfying closure to our beloved characters.

Unfortunately, the latest episode of Star Wars marks a disappointing low for the franchise with a lazy script, full of aggressive pandering & fan service so condescending, it clouds any hope of a great concluding story. Oh how the mighty have fallen...

Disappointing signs from the get go, Episode 9's pacing is unnecessarily fast. We are constantly jumping from scene to scene without narrative cohesion. McGuffin after McGuffin is forced (no pun intended) onto our characters to get them constantly moving without letting the audience breathe. As this is the final Skywalker installment, there are moments where both characters & audiences need to process information for emotion when we can't. All attempts at pathos were absent. There was just apathy...

Unearned story revelations & plot devices seem to grant our characters God mode, as not a single threat seems to challenge our leads. Whenever a problem approaches them, it's inexplicably resolved within the next, or even the very same scene. The convenience of the plot will make you pull your hair out, as you expect this dumb-downed, uncreative story telling from maybe a Terminator film, but never a Star Wars film. This franchise is known for inventive storytelling, character investment & after The Last Jedi, subversive genre-play. This was stupidly safe.

J.J. Abrams' form of mystery story telling does this film no favours, as when he 'answers' fan questions from previous films, he just creates more with threads never resolved. Cramming random & unexplained lore, TRoS retcons its predecessors by abolishing its narrative structure over the last 2 films. This trilogy has no throughline, clearly no vision & makes a complete mess both as a film & a 3 part saga. What a waste.

It's not all bad for fans though. The visuals are still stunning, the music is great & Adam Driver proves he can give a great performance even when his source material is subpar. TRoS is a film made by committee to appease, not challenge fans. It's a film full of rushed, undeserving segments that thinks it's giving me what I want, but now, what I really want is my money back.

Feature debut director Michael Pearce brings us a modern gothic romance that showcases an intimate spiral down insanity through its complex characters and eerie atmosphere. Pearce demonstrates an amateur eye with his low-budget approach to locations and static camera work yet shows potential as a new up and comer. The film has a well of thematic complexities that although are imbedded in our lead characters are sometimes too muddled and lost in their toxic relationship that anchors the plot. It's part mystery killer, part forbidden romance that attempts to balance the best of both but falls short of thought provoking enjoyment, straining the audience in the last half to stay engaged.

Beast originally debuted at last year 2017's Toronto Film Festival, finally finishing its festival circuit one year later. So, after a year of generating buzz, how does it flare up? Beast is set in Jersey, a small island town off the coast in the UK that has recently been burdened with mysterious murders and disappearances of three young girls. The story focuses on Moll (Jessie Buckley), a detached and isolated young woman who through her oppressive mother and sick father, is commonly misunderstood by her high-class family. On the evening of her family birthday party, Moll escapes to go out dancing where she meets Pascal (Johnny Flynn), a ruffled yet fascinating young man who she befriends after he saves her from a drunken creep. As their relationship develops, Moll has to fight her inner demons, family conflict and growing suspicions as Pascal becomes a prime suspect for the recent murders.

Jessie Buckley gives a strong, dynamic performance. Moments she is reserved and quiet, acting through subtle body movements and facial expressions, while others she is loud, frightening and does not hold back. The same can be said for Johnny Flynn, who plays the wit and charm of a scruffy Jersey local paired with a darker, more violent side to make his Pascal well rounded. The story's melancholy truly comes through via Buckley, but unfortunately that is all she is, a melancholic mess. As the film progresses the audience is put on a strain, as Moll lacks moments of likeability or relatability. The film chooses to show a bunch of corrupt and damaged people which doesn't leave the audience anyone to latch on to. This lack of engagement makes any ending for these characters unsatisfactory.

Pearce excels in building tension and suspense. His scenes always have a sense of dread and ambiguity. He uses well timed ambient noise and a melodic score that when it isn't obnoxiously drowning an already depressing scene, is where the film stands out, creating a palpably anxious environment that we can't escape, mirroring its claustrophobic mood. There are messages it touches on such as oppression, solace, escape and redemption, but brushes on all four instead of harnessing one well first. It's murder mystery side plot almost seems a waste as it bleeds into the background for most of the film, where it could have easily shared the foreground with the romance. Beast overall is a rich indie effort that has a lot of ideas but seemingly leaves the audience emotionally unengaged, no matter how captivating the leads were. It's a valiant debut for Michael Pearce who although has no distinct style or voice as of yet, Beast shows he has potential.

Covenant is the 6th movie in the franchise with director Ridley Scott returning. So what did they get right? Well as expected the visuals are always stunning. Scenery of the planets, art design and cinematography are aspects of Alien with Scott's direction I can always count on. In terms of acting, Michael Fassbender gives a chilling performance. He manages to portray creepiness, desire and obsession so well it got under my skin. He was given the most to do with his existential themes and creator complexity so that was expected. Unfortunately I still left the theatre underwhelmed. Scott clearly wanted to return to the roots of the 1979 classic so much, that it essentially BECOMES that. The film becomes the conventional horror flick it so started in '79 riddled with tropes (if they're alone; THEY DIE, if they're having sex; THEY DIE). It offers nothing new in the franchise as we've grown to see the scene where a dude looks into an facehugging egg, or a revelation that androids can't be trusted. It certainly tries sets up new directions they could've taken but never quite gets out of its comfort zone and in the end we get a plain "monster-picks-off-people-one-by-one" story. Also the CGI Xenomorph PALES in comparison to the mechanic puppet used in previous films. This lack of practical effects was also a bummer. In the end though it acts fine as a sci-fi horror if you're not too attached to how revolutionary Alien and Aliens are. Part of me wanted something a little more unfortunately.