#rey x kilo ren

[thegreyreylo]

Ya’ll my own brother is an anti 

I will be seeing TROS with him 

How smug will I be during the Reylo scenes?

This smug

Get out the way bitch

I’m here to see Dark Rey and Ben Solo 

[unexpectedreylo]

TLJ One Year Later

The first time I saw TLJ (Saturday December 16, 2017), I liked it a lot (thanks, Reylo) though I sure seemed kind of bitchy about it in my initial review posted on my prequel fan site.  

The second time I saw TLJ, the day after Christmas, I loved it.  I have some issues with it, but the issues I have aren’t unique to this film and probably won’t be resolved until IX, or have to do with worldbuilding (I didn’t understand the conflict between the Resistance and the First Order and what it was all about until I read the TLJ novelization) and drawing out the best from the creature/alien design department.  While I’m happy to see new creatures and the like, not many other than the porgs would get the coveted “fabuloso” stamp or even the Plo Kool one.  And would it kill them to throw in a Hutt, a Rodian, a Togruta, a Zabrak, or a Twi’lek every now and then to remind us it’s in the same galaxy?  It’s like company policy to never include anything other than Chewbacca or Ackbar, and he’s dead now.

Enough of that.  Now on to what makes the movie great.

Luke’s turn in this movie was and remains a point of controversy.  I admit, as an old Star Wars fan it was kind of hard to watch the first time even though I thought Hamill did a great job and I thought Luke’s death was pitch-perfect.  I mean, would Luke do what he did?  The second time I saw the movie though, it didn’t seem quite so harsh.  Rian Johnson didn’t pull this right out of his kiester (it was actually one of the plot points taken from Lucas’s original outline) and he didn’t write Luke this way just for the sake of destroying an icon (which I suspect is the real reason why some fans have taken this so personally).  If anything, Johnson is saying, “Forget about the Luke in your head, rewatch the movies and really pay attention this time.”  One thing those of us getting older don’t like to admit is our flaws and weaknesses are often baked into our personalities and they’re difficult to overcome or change.  Luke for all of his virtues was always temperamental, reckless, impatient, and took failure personally.  He was probably more haunted by Darth Vader and his family’s legacy than he wanted to admit.  From that prism it becomes plausible that he would act rashly when faced with Ben’s darkness and suffer a crisis of faith because of those actions and their consequences.  As a Skywalker, of course he would be extra enough to exile himself to an obscure island, cut himself off from the Force, and disown the Jedi religion.

Another point of controversy is the whole thread with Finn and Rose and their excursion to Canto Bight.  I understand why people lose patience with this part of the movie.  The stuff with Rey, Kylo, and Luke are so good and so engrossing, anything else seems like an annoying distraction.  I would’ve traded a few minutes of this part for more time with our space wizards.  I could’ve just watched them for 2.5 hours straight.  That said, I really don’t think this sequence is worth the angst and drama.  There’s a trajectory they’re taking with Finn and I think this part is an important part of his development.  The thing with driving down a dark road with this trilogy is we won’t see where that ends until IX. And I love the visuals and the exhilaration of the chase scene.

So yes, the parts of the film with Luke, Rey, and Kylo punch greatness in the face from a writing standpoint, from an acting standpoint, and from a visual standpoint.  Kylo and Rey’s scenes in particular remain beautiful on every level. This is what elevates Star Wars from your basic blockbuster entertainment and what elevates the sequel trilogy in particular.  These scenes are mysterious, mystical, emotional, erotic, and riveting.  The hand touching scene is still one of the most visually-evocative expressions of the need for connection I’ve ever seen.  If you’re going to credit Rian Johnson for anything, it’s taking characters you might have thought were two-dimensional or who had fit into predetermined roles and making them infinitely more fascinating.  Ditching Kylo’s mask to get the most out of Adam Driver’s amazing performance was the single best decision Johnson made.  Rey benefits from Daisy Ridley’s natural charm and effervescence but she shows a vulnerability that further humanizes our heroine.  I came to care for both Kylo and Rey to a degree I’d never expected.  

There are many other things I love about the movie:  Paige’s sacrifice during the bombing raid at the beginning, the Raddus cutting right through the Supremacy, any scene with Hux and Kylo (I love their anti-bromance), the visuals on Crait, the natural beauty of Ahch-To, Yoda’s surprise cameo, all of the prequel references/influences, weirdo chaotic neutral DJ, homicidal BB-8,  Rose’s spunkiness, that part where Leia stuns Poe, Artoo’s scenes with Luke, and Luke’s reunion with Leia.  And of course, porgs.

It’s said the film is about failure and it is but above all, TLJ is a smart meditation on heroism.  What makes a hero?  It’s not bravado, it’s not brashness, it’s not destiny, or hereditary traits.  All it takes is courage and heart.  And who can be a hero?  Anyone, somebodies and nobodies.  “Good guy” and “bad guy.”  Heroes are human too, capable of failure, suffering, guilt, fear, hatred, anger, and recklessness.  Yet it’s never too late to come back from them.  And instead of selling iconoclasm, TLJ actually advocates for the value of legends.  (It took me until the second viewing to realize this.)  The Broom Kid--I’d nicknamed him Barry Broomstein--is inspired in the end by the legend of Luke Skywalker, just as many others will be (as we’ll likely see in IX).  When you realize this, it’s kind of hard to argue TLJ was made by a madman who either hates Star Wars or doesn’t understand it.  

TLJ is the most challenging, interesting, beautiful, and bold non-Lucas Star Wars movie to date.  It exemplifies “go big or go home.”  Just as TESB was a bold follow up to what was the biggest box office hit of all time, TLJ was a bold follow up to current box office king TFA.  

[estalpastel]

Okay but not gonna lie I am becoming obsessed with this couple from starwars I have watched 4,5 and 9 I will watch all of the starwars shit oml it's so COOL.

[the-last-dragonfly]

Death Cab For Cutie - I Will Follow You Into The Dark +Lyrics

“Cries in Reylo”

[ramibriidge]

je suis moi-même perdue sur ce que je viens de dessiner...

[zombieturtlex]

Guess not

I thought I had my obsession with Reylo tamed but the release of the teaser trailer has proven I was only kidding myself.

[knight-and-shewolf]

[chicagoindiecritics]

New from Al and Linda Lerner on Movies and Shakers: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Can this final Star Wars movie live up to the fevered anticipation? It’s a split decision. While delivering an action packed fantasy that fans demand, Director J.J. Abrams pulls a few punches. To placate stalwarts who gave Rian Johnson’s dark re-tooling of the storylines in The Last Jedi, Abrams brings back some original villains to test Rey (Daisy Ridley). Abrams has to provide some answers about family trees and political alliances without bogging down the pace. And Abrams keeps this one frantic. 

The film begins with the epic full screen crawl getting the audience up to speed from the end of the last movie. Rey is getting ready for the final battle with the First Order. She’s training under the tutelage of Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher). The late actresses lines were pulled from previously unused shots in The Force Awakens. Carrie Fisher is just the first of a parade of iconic Star Wars characters who walk across the screen as if taking nostalgic curtain calls.

The three main heroes, Rey, Finn (John Boyega), Poe (Oscar Isaac)  and the heavy Kilo Ren (Adam Driver) were introduced by Abrams in 2015’s The Force Awakens, so it’s fitting he gets to close these chapters. Boyega and Poe get a lot more screen time and their relationships are more fully developed. 

The script by Abrams and Chris Terrio has so much ground to cover that the enterprise becomes a manic exercise trying to fit in plot points while stuffing the screen with hyper-battles, light speed space travel, and audio pounding explosions. The sky is filled with every kind of starfighter and , for the first time, stormtroopers fly through the air! Some even sport stylish red stormtrooper shells. Abrams throws in everything eye-catching device. 

We have to learn Rey’s real origin story and lineage. What was Poe up to before he became a Resistance good-guy. And how does über-villain Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid), who supposedly was killed off back in 1983’s Return of the Jedi, get back in the game to rule the universe?

With such a massive to-do list Abrams and Terrio simply leave holes in the story. It’s impossible to write about any one Star Wars movie in a vacuum. They all have to relate to the others. Where Rian Johnson gave a despondent persona to Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and a Resistance that teeters on the brink, Abrams ignores most of those devices to make a Saturday matineé popcorn throwback to the past. He’s more concerned keeping the fan base happy than innovation.

There are also underused characters we were hoping to see more on this  journey. Chief among them is Rose Tico (Kelly Marie Tran) from The Last Jedi. She was a winning, charming presence that is relegated to a near extra-role here. Zorii Bliss (Keri Russell), makes appearances, we think, because she is completely covered in her red space suit and helmet. You can’t even see her eyes! New to the Resistance is Jannah (Naomi Ackie) Both Zorii and Jannah come and go so fast it looks like they’re only introduced to be used in whatever next Star Wars movies are in development. Without giving away all the old faces who pop up, one who gets more than a moment is Lando Carlissian (Billy Dee Williams) back in the pilot seat with a lot of added closeups.

All the droids are back too, and a new charmer, D-O, who reminds us a bit of Wall-E who will likely get more screen time down the road. Wish there had been this time so we could become more attached to this new character. 

Even the battling machines have a nostalgic tenor. Rey and Kylo Ren engage in Light-Sabre battle on the destroyed hulk of the Death Star amid massive crashing surf. The CGI effect of battling the enormous  waves Rey has to traverse, while going at each other, rank among the best effects in the film. But that’s not all. Rey even takes to the sky in Luke’s original X-wing for aerial dogfights. Nice touch.

Of course sound and fury are central elements to generate excitement and cheers from the audience. But what this film lacks are more gentle, quiet moments like when C-3PO takes a pause to look at the heroes surrounding him and says, “I’m just taking one last look at my friends.”  There aren’t many openings for touchy-feely moments like this in a movie that moves frantically like a video game on a quest to find a prize while hop-scotching across the galaxy.

The music from John Williams not only strikes the same chords we’ve heard for generations and that’s as it should be. He also writes powerful new music to get your attention during the action scenes. But in a nod to present day composers, J.J. Abrams accepted the offer from his friend Lin-Manuel Miranda to write the music for what we’ll call the obligatory “cantina” scene.

Does this final episode of the third trilogy put a proper bow on the franchise? George Lucas began Star Wars in 1977 because he couldn’t secure the rights to the hero he really wanted to bring to the screen, Flash Gordon. Now, with all the movies, TV (Mandelorian) and spin-offs, this franchise re-shaped entertainment culture with the dawning of these blockbuster events. Will you get final answers to the questions about the Skywalkers, Vaders and Palpatines? J.J. Abrams has competently brought this mythology about family, power, hope and love to a conclusion. But fear not, true fans, Disney is sure to find a new action adventure in a galaxy far, far away… and as close as the cineplex.

Walt Disney Pictures       155 minutes              PG-13 

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