Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi

Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi

Written Review By : Adolph Vega

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3D

Sadly the 3D element for this movie is wildly inconsistent. Many scenes the 3D was totally absent and not noticeable. Other scenes the 3D was very nice and added to the fun. One chase scene within a cave looked very nice in 3D. Another scene as people looked down a huge cliff the 3D depth was very helpful to make the height more menacing. Overall I am happy with the 3D visuals for this movie, but they are far from a necessity to enjoy the film. 

Final Verdict: Good 3D

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Movie

‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’ is a dramatically different movie than I expected it to be. Many times it takes the lore from the previous films and discards or changes it. Where things were previously black and white, now many shades of gray are present. Many people complained that the previous movie in this franchise (Episode VII: The Force Awakens) was too safe and too familiar, so this movie boldly treks into a new direction and is a very different kind of ‘Star Wars’ film. It is very difficult to explain why this movie is so different without spoiling the movie, so I will try to keep this review brief and as spoiler free as I possibly can.

‘Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi’ continues the story of Finn, Rey, Poe and more within the rebellion. The first order led by the Supreme Leader Snoke and Kylo Ren are trying to eradicate the rebellion and fully take over the galaxy. Rey seeks training and mentoring from the legendary Luke Skywalker, but is he interested in helping Rey? The movie is split up into three separate but interlinked plots. All of the plots eventually join together for an epic conclusion. This movie is very slow paced for a “Star Wars” movie. The slowness of this movie didn’t bother me because I was totally drawn into this story and the characters. The movie is beautiful to look at with stunning cinematography, fantastic special effects, excellent camera work, gorgeous locations and excellent creature design. This movie really develops the ‘Star Wars’ universe and makes for a more diverse a more complex narrative. Mark Hamill reprises his role as Luke Skywalker and I adore this older more jaded version of this character. This performance is both interesting and very different than what you might expect. I also love Carrie Fisher’s role of Leia. Leia is strong woman that has a commanding warm presence on screen. It saddens me that Carrie Fisher tragically died in 2016, and this will be her final performance in this iconic role. I really enjoyed the new character of Rose. Rose’s casino subplot may at first glance seem frivolous, but it adds more depth to the universe, and teaches a valuable lesson to several characters. Overall the story is nearly perfectly executed and I was captivated from beginning to end.

The movie is not perfect and I do have some minor problems with it. Some of the jokes and gags fall flat and at times the comedy feels forced. The pacing can be dramatically different depending on which subplot the movie focuses on and this can be jarring to the viewer. At times the movie purposefully teases the audience with hanging plot threads that are not fully resolved. I don’t care if all plot threads are never fully resolved, I enjoy the mysterious grandeur of it all. The issues I had with the movie are trivial and don’t dramatically hurt my enjoyment of this movie.  

In closing this movie is superb film making and this is my favorite “Star Wars” movie in the franchise. The movie has many fun twists and turns and at times purposely subverts the expectations of the viewer and I respect that. I can understand how some hardcore fans are exasperated by this movie, but I am wowed by it. New blood has been transfused into this long standing franchise, and future “Star Wars” movies will never be the same after this movie. ‘Last Jedi’ is more complex, more cerebral, and boldly goes where no “Star Wars” movie has gone before and I applaud it.

Final Verdict: 9 / 10, Editors Choice Movie Award

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Coco 3D Movie Review

Coco

3D Movie Review Written By: Adolph Vega

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3D

I actually watched this movie twice in the theaters for the sake of this review. My first viewing was in 2D in English , and the second viewing was in 3D in Spanish. I don’t regret watching this movie twice because my second viewing was a different experience compared to the first viewing, and I enjoyed the movie enough to want to watch it again. Unfortunately the 3D visuals for this movie are a nice but minor addition to the movie. During some scenes with large crowds you can clearly distinguish between individuals within the crowd because of the depth based 3D. Pop out 3D is rarely used within this movie and is largely a non-factor. One example of pop out 3D was during one scene a specific character points their finger outward toward the camera and the finger pops out of the screen. This happens for a split second and you can easily blink during this scene and miss it . The viewing experience is not dramatically different or enhanced because of the 3D, and I literally forgot the movie was in 3D for many scenes. You can call me little crazy, but I didn’t find anything memorable about the 3D element of this movie. The 3D visuals are pleasant and done with care but ultimately I just don’t care about it. Simply put the 3D is not worthwhile and I cannot recommend it.

Final Verdict:

Weak 3D 2D Recommended

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Movie

Coco is the newest animated movie from Disney / Pixar. The movie is about a young boy named Miguel who lives in Mexico and wants to be a musician but his family disapproves. Miguel accidentally travels to the land of the dead and needs to find his way back to the land of the living. Can Miguel find his way home? Will Miguel be able achieve his dreams and become a musician?

The first thing I want to mention in this review is that I am Hispanic. I am mentioning this out of pure transparency. My parents are from Mexico and I am comfortable and familiar with Mexican culture, so I can relate to this movie. I do not believe my upbringing will influence or detract my critique for this movie. That being said, I did feel that this movie does a fantastic job of showcasing the Mexican heritage without abruptly pandering to it. The movie feels authentic and respectful to the norms and customs of Mexican culture and never seems to play up to any stereotypes or gross over simplifications. I especially enjoyed the Spanish dub for this movie. If you don’t understand Spanish I don’t recommend watching the movie in Spanish, the English version of this movie is perfectly fine. That being said the English version of this movie does occasionally mix Spanish words into the dialog. Don’t worry if you don’t understand Spanish because those words are not integral to the plot. I feel like watching this movie in Spanish is the superior way to watch the movie. The best analogy to explain why I feel the Spanish version is superior is this is to discuss the difference between bottled Coca-Cola from Mexico and the typical Coca-Cola from the US. The Coca-Cola from Mexico is made with real sugar and presented in a glass bottle. In contrast the US Coca-Cola is made from high-fructose corn syrup and usually presented in plastic bottles or aluminum cans. Both Coca-Cola from Mexico and American are essentially the same recipe, but I can taste the subtle difference in the flavor and prefer the Mexican version. In a similar fashion Coco is the same movie in Spanish and English but I was able to enjoy Coco more in Spanish because of the subtle cultural differences. The various songs within the movie are great in english, but sound wonderful in Spanish. Regardless if you watch the movie in Spanish or English I think the filmmakers managed to make an excellent movie that anyone can enjoy regardless of their own life experience. 

Spanish version of the Song "Remember Me" 

English version of the song "Remember Me"

Coco succeeds as a movie because of its fantastic storytelling and touching character moments. The story has a warm heart that is well presented . The several emotional moments feel earned and are not forced in any way.  The voice acting and dialogue are excellent and feel natural and is well written. Miguel has legitimate talent to play the guitar, but his grandmother is justified to not allow him to become a musician because of the family history. I really appreciate that both sides of this argument are valid. The movie is highly entertaining and just a joy to watch. This is partially because of the beautiful and vivid visuals. The movie has a distinct look that appears realistic yet stylized. The musical aspect of this movie is also well done with several original songs that are fun and make sense within the context of the movie. The dynamic between the major characters feels very genuine and real. Coco is an animated movie but in many ways it feels like an exaggerated live action movie, because the characters and story feel fantastical yet are grounded and relatable.

As much as I enjoyed Coco the movie is not perfect. The movie is very fast paced and hurries itself to the next plot point and feels rushed. The movie has a huge cast of characters, not all of which are given a proper introduction or sufficient screen time. Many characters are superfluous and entirely one dimensional. Why even bother to have so many characters only to give them one line or no lines at all? Many secondary characters could have been eliminated without any loss to the story. The movie introduces the idea of spirit animals but it never explains what they are in detail. Miguel never takes in the spectacle or grandiose nature that is the afterlife. I understand this is meant to be a children's movie but I felt like the elements of life and death are glossed over within the movie. I wanted Miguel to soak in what the afterlife has to offer and consider the deeper elements of what living is. Once the movie goes to the afterlife it rarely if ever goes back to the land of the living, and that aspect of the story is almost entirely forgotten. I also found several elements of the story to be predictable. I also had problems with the dog named Dante. The dog is cute but annoying and is given too much time on screen. The movie is very enjoyable, but the small issues I had with it keep it from cinematic perfection.

Overall Coco is an excellent movie. I cried, I laughed, and I was immensely entertained with this movie. Coco is not a perfect movie but it is easily one of the best movies of 2017. I won’t forget this movie, and I can easily recommend it to everyone. 

Final Verdict : 9/10

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Justice League 3D Movie Review

Justice League 3D Movie Review

Written By: Adolph Vega

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3D

Overall the 3D visuals look nice and add to the enjoyment of the movie. The 3D presentation doesn’t do much with 3D depth, but it does have a good amount of pop out 3D. The pop out 3D is never overly gimmicky or excessive and it feels natural to the scenes presented within the movie. No specific scene wowed me or I found to be especially memorable because of the 3D. Justice League isn’t the best 3D presentation, but it is far from the worst and I can mildly recommend watching this movie in 3D.

Final Verdict: Good 3D

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Movie

Justice League has been a popular comic book series since it’s debut in 1960. For several decades Warner Brothers has tried and failed to make a Justice League movie. In 2017 finally a Justice League movie was released, so how is it ? Does it live up to the hype? Can it satisfy the hopes and dreams of the fans? Recently DC comic book movies have been a fairly controversial so can this movie be something that is universally loved?

Justice League is the latest in the DC comics extended universe of movies and is a sequel to both Wonder Woman and Batman v Superman Dawn of Justice. The movie takes place after the events of Batman v Superman. The movie starts as Batman and Wonder Woman are trying to assemble a team of super powered humans to help fight against an alien invasion. The alien invasion is from the character of Steppenwolf who is the conquerer of worlds. Can this league of super heroes put aside there differences and successfully stop the invasion? The main story of Justice League is fairly strait forward and go by fairly quickly. This movie is the first movie we have seen Aquaman, The Flash and Cyborg in a live action big budget movie. The movie spends an adequate amount of time introducing these iconic characters, but I wish we had more time with them. I feel like the characters have good chemistry with one another on screen. I enjoyed some of the dialog between Wonder Woman and Batman. The flash is portrayed as comic relief and for the most part I enjoyed his jokes. I really enjoyed Aquaman and found him to be both formidable and charming. Cyborg is still trying to find his place in society and is not comfortable with powers and abilities and who he is. The Flash and Cyborg bond well with one another as they are both younger characters. The movie introduces many minor characters and at times feels overstuffed. Overall I enjoyed the characters within the movie. 

The worst aspect of the movie is the villain. Steppenwolf is a generic alien invader and is a weak main villain. In fairness to the movie, I have never liked the character of Steppenwolf even in the comics I found him to be largely forgettable. Steppenwolf is more or less the mid-boss to the real major villain which is Darksied. The movie goes to many locations around the world, but I don’t really feel like the world is really in danger. Steppenwolf seems powerful but not menacing and the scale doesn’t really seem global. 

The movie has many enjoyable action scenes and set pieces. I do feel like the characters do a good job working as a team. However the movie doesn’t do enough to highlight the specific powers and abilities of each of the heroes. Flash is fast, but he can do so much more with that ability that isn’t shown within this movie. The movie has several action scenes and they all go by so fast. Again I feel like the movie is too rushed with the action scenes. 

The movie has a strange sense of humor. At times it feels like a Marvel movie with the humor and how it presents itself. Some of the humor feels natural and other times it feels forced. The flash is generally a lighter more humorous character but I feel like this movie version plays it up too much. Aquaman has some very excellent timing and is more funny than I expected. Some of the humor makes the tone of the movie feel odd and unlike previous DC movies. The tone of the movie feels more like a Marvel movie and less like the darker more gritty DC movies of the last few years.

Justice League has many problems yet I really enjoyed myself. I was very much entertained from start to finish. The movie is rushed but it also feels tight and without much fat. The comedy is sometimes great, sometimes cringe worthy but overall I enjoyed it. The tone is all over the place, but overall I liked how it built upon the previous movies. I enjoyed my time with Justice League but I cannot deny its imperfections. I hope future DC comics movies build upon on what worked and what didn’t work within this movie and I am more optimistic on what the future holds for DC movies.

Final Verdict: 8/10

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