My Own Little World

Solo is the first Star Wars movie where I just don’t care. This isn’t because of franchise fatigue or because it irreparably damages the franchise in any way or because it is a lesser achievement in filmmaking than the other entries in the series: Solo cannot stake any claim of coming close to these faults. No, my apathy towards this film is due to how much it bores me. There is nothing of consequence – either good or bad – to the Star Wars franchise, and there is nothing stunningly good or atrociously bad regarding the filmmaking. Solo takes not one risk in its 135-minute runtime, and it feels just as bland as that statement makes it out to be. The largest contributor to this is the film’s character development. Instead of being an origin story of how Han came to be the scruffy-looking nerf herder to who we are introduced in A New Hope , he shows up already being that character in the first five minutes, taking away any tension or anticipation for the character’s ar...

Film has the potential to be one of the most impactful forms of media because it excites the most senses: we can see, hear, and emotionally feel for everything that is happening on screen. We don’t always need big spectacles to do this for us either; sometimes, the smaller and more intimate a film is, the more impact it can have on the viewer. I recently saw Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri , a well-written character-driven mystery that has at its core a really unique portrayal of forgiveness and reconciliation. I think for a time like we are in now, this is a film that everybody must see. It doesn’t become overly political, and it doesn’t try to force these hefty themes: it simply tells a human story. The most central element to Three Billboards is the writing, both of the story and the screenplay. Martin McDonagh, the film’s director and writer, is actually best known for his plays, and that style of writing shows up constantly in this film. The dialogue is meaty...

My first reaction to Mockingjay Part 1 : wow, this is going to be long. My second: wow, this is good. Those two thoughts pretty much sum up my experience viewing Mockingjay Part 1 . I really didn't care for Mockingjay  the book as much as the first two parts of The Hunger Games trilogy, so when I heard it was being split into two parts, I knew this was a good possibility. Taking the same cast and crew as Catching Fire  plus a few additions was a good idea, but making Mockingjay  into two movies made me think of other young adult series that have suffered the same fate and not turned out as well as they could have if it was one film. That being said, Mockingjay Part 1  gets off to a good start for this two-part epic, mostly because of the script. The pace is a little deliberate, and there's not much action; however, the film turns into a war film shortly after it opens and begins poking fun (in a completely legitimate satire kind of way) at propaganda films. T...

Before watching the third film in the Hunger Games franchise, released last Friday, I thought I would share my thoughts on the first two films in the series: partially to remind myself of the universe, and partially to have an excuse to watch these movies again. This is a review of the second of the two films.  After seeing The Hunger Games , I wanted desperately to see the sequel, Catching Fire . There was so much potential for the franchise after the first film, and as I liked Catching Fire  better than the first novel, I had high hopes. When I heard Lionsgate had replaced Gary Ross with a new director, Francis Lawrence, I was even more excited for this film. In my mind, a new director was just what this franchise needed. I'll start with the script and story, as their quality was largely unaltered from the first film. Even though the series's author Suzanne Collins would not stay on to write the script for Catching Fire , it largely stayed true to the novel. The larges...

Before watching the third film in the Hunger Games franchise, released today, I thought I would share my thoughts on the first two films in the series: partially to remind myself of the universe, and partially to have an excuse to watch these movies again. This is a review of the first of the two films.