Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Movie Review

Ah!  Felt good typing in the title for this one. I've waited too long for this. And it's not just me. You should've seen the crowd outside the theater. Everybody was there. Grandpas with their six year old granddaughters. Twenty-something bachelor office-mates. Under-grad students wearing identical 'It's a trap!' t-shirts. Groups of 9 year olds accompanied by a single elected adult supervisor(who, for once, was happy to pick the shorter straw). 

Aand then there was me. The guy who ditched his friends to watch the movie alone in order to not miss anything. All in vain, because as the words "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away" showed up and John Williams' music cued, everyone howled like a Wookie who was told they didn't have to be in the prequels.

How's the movie though?  It's..                                                                                      Good.
Yeah. It's what I wanted a Star Wars sequel to be. A fun fantasy movie that also had the essence of the originals.

This movie got plenty of things right. For starters, characters. Star Wars needs to have good characters. Otherwise, it's just aliens talking and doing stuff I don't care about. This movie delivers on the promise of interesting, relatable characters. Daisy Ridley as Rey is amazing. She's our way into the Star Wars universe this time and I bought it. Her expressions alone were better than some of the acting in the originals.
John Boyega as Finn is probably the most surprising character mainly because of how much energy and humour(unexpectedly) he brings to the movie.
 Oscar Isaac as Poe Dameron was good as I thought he would be. I've never seen him do something that I didn't like. His character is the one who's kind of pushed to the side and I hope they give him more of a role in the films to follow because he's just a badass.
The old cast brings their game as well. Harrison Ford as Han Solo especially. It wasn't just Han Solo being played by an old man. It was Han Solo who got old and while still the same guy at his core, had some metaphorical scars on his face.
Even the new droid, BB-8, was instantly likeable. Although he felt more like a round, more sublime Wall-e (that's a great t-shrit idea right there).
 Kylo  Ren, the new baddie, was not just a plain villain doing villainy stuff(no, that was Domhnall Glesson as Commander Hux). This was a villain treated just like any other character. Multi-layered, in conflict, with a meaningful motive to his actions. The characters  are clearly written in way that there's plenty of room to flesh out each one in episodes 8 and 9. Good to know that there's some kind of thought process and planning behind the scenes. That's a thing this movie does really well. Setting up the perfect stage for a more progressive story to be told.

Roll-e was voiced by Bill Hader and Ben Schwartz. Hah!

Another thing apparent from The Force Awakens is director J.J. Abrams' love for the original films. Many plot points draw parallels to those movies. A few character traits in Rey, Finn and Poe are similar to the original trio. Certain sequences and images are heavily inspired as well. And at times, it may even feel a bit too comparable. To the point that it feels repetitive. Disappointing, though the lack of new,original ideas and plot was, it didn't take me out of the movie. At no point did I not want to watch the events play out. The callbacks are mostly(MOSTLY) well handled and respect the originals instead of ripping off of it.

Yet another thing that draws attention is the way 'the Force' is used. Some instances make for really cool scenes and others, while doing the same, also leave you with a lot of questions. Questions that the film does not answer. Stuff happens that seems like it happened because it needed to. I am, however, willing to not hold that against the movie simply because it's the first of a trilogy. Inconsistency due to change in the directorial helm will not be accepted, however.

This movie had so much to do. And that resulted in a fast-paced movie with very little time to breathe. It does not mean that it feels hyperactive and is exhausting. Abrams gives us beautiful wide shots, pauses for touching character moments and then paces forward.

Lawrence Kasdan is back to write the script, and it shows. The way the characters meet. The way they interact. The dialogue feels organic to the characters' nature. It all works. Instead of having the old cast pass the torch to the new, we see the torch being lit by the new cast and the old cast just sort of nods in approval. Abrams executes this with focus as well. Nicely shot action sequences punctuated with a sense of humor that is new to this familiar world. It works well sometimes. Sometimes it feels too Joss Whedon-y.

Boba Fett of the movie award goes to..

The Force Awakens is not perfect. The similarities to previous movies, the unimportance of characters like Captain Phasma, the so-so character of Supreme Leader Snoke (Andy Serkis does a good job,no surprise), the plot conveniences that apparently occur due to the "Force" and some of the unneeded snappy jokes might be a problem for some fans.

But I can't imagine someone not being entertained while watching this or not liking any of the new characters or not looking forward to the sequels. They did a good job despite the amount of pressure and check boxes that needed to be ticked. Some might call it an assembly line production of a blockbuster machine. Not to me. I saw the love and care that went into making this film and am definitely going to watch it again. And again.

So what did you think about Episode 7? Where would you rank it in the list of all Star Wars movies? What part did you like the best, and what didn't you like? Comment below.

Mistress America Movie Review

Directed by Noah Baumbach, Mistress America is a story of betrayal.
Wait. No. No, it isn't. Well I guess it's more about how very different people often get along good. Or don't (so basically, human nature).

Tracy(Lola Kirke), is a college freshman in New York who finds that college is almost nothing like she expected. She describes the experience to her mother as "being at a party where you don't know anybody". Her mother, who is getting remarried asks Tracy to call her to-be partners's 30 year old daughter, Brooke(Greta Gerwig).
So she does. And before we know it, Tracy's in a cab with her, on the way to the best night she's ever lived, casually being passed what would possibly be her first cigarette ever by the dynamic Brooke. We soon see our two main characters sitting on chairs higher than the table talking about their existential crisis. I think. I don't remember.

"Kind and fearless", Brooke describes herself as. That's a definition of 'kind' that most people would disagree to. Lola and Greta both nail their performances, coming off as natural than annoying caricatures. Not particularly likeable, these characters are what I was invested in. Yet, 30 minutes past, I was still clueless about where the movie was headed. In the beginning, this movie felt very fast-moving. In an irregular manner. It took some time to find its footing.

Tracy admires Brooke. Brooke likes to be admired."She was too much fun to agree with." She's the kind of open-spirited person that appears in movies once in a while. All we need is a little twist and punch to it, and we're good to go. Brooke, in this case, wants to open a restaurant. I could easily compare certain scenes and character moments in this film to say, a Wes Anderson or a Woody Allen film. But Baumbach has gained my respect and  I acknowledge his style as his own (influenced, however it may be).

The addition of a certain character who is introduced late in the film felt like a plot convenience than an essential part of the film. But they way he is written made me look past that. This character who claims he isn't the boring square his wife thinks him to be because he "saw Nirvana live. Before Nevermind." slowly seemed less of an intrusion in the film's tone.

Quite like Baumbach's last venture "While We're Young", this movie provides commentary on social media and mobiles altogether in a seemingly unconcerned manner. And quite like "While We're Young", some parts of Mistress America were thoroughly fresh, while others I was indifferent to. Although, this one is surely more comedic.

"You're funny 'cause you don't know." says one. "I know." says Brooke (played by Greta Gerwig, who also co-wrote the film).

The reliance on movement of characters rather than camera, the brilliant dialogues, the fleshed out protagonists and the breezy story-telling format make Mistress America a rather good film.
The sometimes annoying side characters, the weak storyline and the misguided narrative prevent it from being a great one.

"Being a beacon of hope for the rest of the world is a lonely business."

Mistress America is movie I could not recommend you to go watch instantly, but if you do get the chance, don't skip. This vibrant, colorful movie is a guaranteed entertainer, and might just speak to you at some level.

So have you seen this movie?What did you think about it? Comment below.  And if you like what you read, give this a like. Share, even.