Rogue One

Gareth Edwards, 2016

4/5

I take quite a bit of pride as being someone that has been able to completely dodge the George Lucas Star Wars Prequels. I have no plans to see them. I don't care one bit that I will have that blind spot through the rest of my life. I am going to push my daughter into seeing the original 3 as soon as she is old enough. But I will warn her about those prequels just like I will warn her to stay away from the troublemakers at school. Lucas basically went Adam Sandler on the precious Star Wars franchise, where it was evident that he lost his fastball. It changed the way the fans viewed Lucas. Maybe it was because he never seemed apologetic. Instead he was the opposite, he actually seemed quite smug about them. He made the concious decision with those films to not take cinematic risks and shoot for something edgy that pleased the veteran adult audience. He made characters like Jar Jar Binks for his kids. The closest you will get me to seeing those three would be to watch one of the unofficial fan edits, such as Topher Grace's version.

So let's rank the original three. For me (and most people I think) - it goes Empire, New Hope, Jedi. With a pretty big drop off from Empire to Jedi. I watched Jedi a few months back now and all I can really recall (and this is probably the 3rd or 4th time I had seen it) is the Ewoks' dancing at the end. 

So where does Rogue One land? Well, in all fairness - I still have not seen the Force Awakens. But I would place this film directly behind A New Hope. This is better, and far better than Return of the Jedi.

You kind of have to go into this with neutral expectations, sit and just kind of take it all in. I didn't know much about it and went into it not expecting to see any familiar characters, other than the digital recreation of Grand Moff Tarkin (Peter Cushing - who died in 1994). I will admit at first glance when he appeared on screen that he didn't quite look 100% authentic and some of the digital elements bled through. But in the following scenes he sort of blended in. The idea of a standalone film is interesting because it completely abandons the familiarity of the characters that are buried in the zeitgeist. The Force Awakens was able to deliver a dose of nostalgia. But Rogue One isn't set on providing a dosage of nostalgia. But there are certain elements for sure that bring you back to the Star Wars universe and make you feel at home. Walks through trade districts, where you see all walks of (alien) life - as Jyn (Felicity Jones) bumps into a strange figure who immediately snarls "watch where you're going". Reminiscent of the Mos Eisley Cantina in New Hope. One of the features of the Star Wars movies is how absorbing the world can be. Rogue One created this same feeling.

Rogue One for the most part fits into the Hero's Journey structure with some deviation. But it's visually stunning, sounds great, compelling, and completely engaging. If I were to criticize anything, its that once the plot is set up, you can kind of predict the direction things are heading and the pace it takes to get there starts to slow down in the second act. But ultimately it's another Star Wars installment that goes down easy and feels ripe for a rewatch.

Slow West

John Maclean, 2015

IMDB

2/5

The best way to describe Slow West is to call it a simple love story set in the American West. Undoubtedly guilty of being too light on story, you spend a good portion of the film in a tracking shot as Jay (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Silas (Michael Fassbender) stroll across the western landscape (which is really amazingly beautiful New Zealand) on horseback. You are treated to flashbacks of McPhee and his love Rose (Caren Pistorius), who were separated in their native Scotland after a freak death forced them to flee the country to seek refuge in America.

Sometimes, quite often actually, the whole style over substance thing can work. But here it does feel like the film could have used a more colorful script. Especially with the level of acting involved. The story is too undeveloped for the actors. Fassbender, McPhee and Mendelsohn all have a lot more to offer and the empty script doesn't really provide them with the vessel to do so. Because of this, the film is more of a visual showcase. Good example of a film that you could follow with the volume completely down. And once again, sometimes that even says a lot for a film. But here it's more of a disappointing factor.

The flashbacks actually feel kind of forced. There are never any real moments where you look back and are fully invested in the love between Jay and Rose. When they are sitting next to each other, it feels like they were instructed to sit next to each other. Not a whole lot of chemistry. The most compelling part of the film is certainly the climax, with a very traditional Western-style gunfight. Not a lot of big moments leading up to that point. Slow West is a good movie if you are comfortable enough spending 90 minutes on horseback with Fassbender mumbling here and there, and McPhee spending a lot of time talking to the stars because his company isn't so conversational.

Bloodline

Glenn Kessler / Todd Kessler / Daniel Zelman, 2015

IMDB

4/5

Bloodline is a very different piece of episodic television. We have now been spoiled by amazing pilots, episodes that completely pull us in upon first viewing. Many years after Lost (possibly the greatest pilot of all time), the standards are basically set and expectations are always high. Honestly, Bloodline's pilot isn't all that great. It's undeniably bold, you have to give it that. Not many writers have the balls to show the final events of the season in the first episode. That sort of tactic exudes confidence in the sense that you feel self-assured that everyone is going to stick with it waiting to see WHY what happened actually happened. And for a couple of episodes, you sit there wondering if you really did see all that you really needed to see. You decided to hang in there because of the veteran cast: Kyle Chandler, Ben Mendelsohn, Sissy Spacek, Sam Shepard. But then, there's a shift. It's actually hard to reflect on the season and determine when exactly this shift is, but it's somewhere around the fifth episode. The amount of character development in such a short period of time is stunning. You get pulled into the dysfunctional family dynamic and you don't want to leave. The series is so menacing and yet so alluring. The dream sequences, past memories constantly resurfacing in their present moments, talking to imaginary figures. All while trying to run a family business and dealing with the same conflicts that many families do in terms of competitiveness and jealousy. Anyone with siblings likely will identify with many of the conflicts that arise, hopefully without the whole murder and criminal elements at play. The series really serves as a coming out party for Ben Mendohlson who is just fantastic in his Danny character. But it doesn't stop with him, the series is perfectly cast. Not one bad performance. Everything is so well executed that by the conclusion of the first season you really don't want to leave the Rayburn Inn. And that's strange because you've spent enough time there by the 13th episode to realize how foreboding the place can be when you get off of the beach and venture inside.

Starred Up

David Mackenzie, 2014

GoWatchit

4/5

Eric Love (Jack O'Connell) is moved to an adult prison where he realizes his father Neville (Ben Mendelsohn) is also serving time.

Starred Up is the term for when a young criminal is relocated from a juvenile facility to an adult one. Mackenzie's prison drama is less of an epic drama like The Shawshank Redemption and more of a focus on a singular figure behind bars like 2009's A Prophet. It has that same grit, the same candor. At times it's tough to watch, some disturbing imagery and language. But it feels authentic. And if it weren't for movies like this, how would we ever visit what's behind those cold stone walls? Starred is bound to trigger memories of fellow British prisoner Charles Bronson, who Tom Hardy played in Nicholas Winding-Refn's 2008 Bronson film. Like Bronson, Eric Love is an uncontrollable force constantly at odds with the guards or anyone in any kind of position of authority. You are fed bits of his upbringing, which are obviously contributory to his life of crime that landed him in the situation he's in. Child abuse, an absent father, no guidance. He never really had a chance. And if it weren't for counselor/psychologist Oliver Baumer (Rupert Friend), the system would just consume Eric and he would be another causality of the English justice system or would at the very least be a permanent prisoner number for the rest of his long life. The fact that he encounters his own father in the prison reinforces the need to confront his anger if he's going to move forward in any way. Eric's rage has snowballed to the point that it's at a boiling point. Oliver serves as the only relief valve, and if he doesn't at least try to mitigate the rage Deputy Governor Haynes is going to exterminate Eric to eliminate any more headache. It seems like there is always that one ambiguously neutral force like Baumer. They always stand as the critical liaison of the prisoners and the guards. It's likely the guards have become so jaded over the years that their expectations are incredibly low of the prisoners. They seemingly have no confidence that any of the prisoners can truly be rehabilitated. They would rather get through their daily shifts with the least amount of conflict, and they can reduce the conflict by inflicting their own force upon the prisoners. Fighting violence with violence, how much sense that makes.

The dialogue in this film is so quick and at times difficult to understand. You might want to watch it with the subtitles turned on (like me). Mackenzie manages to solicit a moderate amount of sympathy for Eric Love. If he doesn't manage to do this, the movie likely fails because it's difficult to get invested in a deplorable criminal. Eric is obviously a guilty person, rightfully serving his time. But at least there is some glimmer of hope that he will be able to be rehabilitated in some shape or form. You don't need a complete transformation with a story like this. You just need a slight arch, and this movie succeeds in bringing that.