Star Wars: The Last Jedi; 2017
(w/ Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Adam Driver, Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Laura Dern, Andy Serkis, Kelly Marie Tran, Benicio Del Toro)
5 stars
There is so much to say about this movie and so much that I can’t say about this movie in case there are still some out there who have yet to see it (since I didn’t see The Force Awakens until after it was out on DVD). There were times where I felt as if I was watching a retelling of Empire Strikes Back but it was also very much unlike that too. Let’s just say, the characters drew me in and the story was incredible. I got very sucked into the story.
Rey wants to be trained as a Jedi by Luke Skywalker. He seems very reluctant the whole time. He basically is the new Obi-wan and Yoda, being all alone to live in peace away from all the hubbub of the problems of the universe.
Finn wants to do things right away to help fight against the forces of darkness, meeting a new character (my new favorite) named Rose. They make a good team. Rey and Ren also have more times of interaction since The Force Awakens.
What this film shows us is that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you are born into, you are able to make a difference and a stand. You are important.
Rey is such a cool person throughout this movie by the way. I really like how she has developed as a character.
Leia hasn’t really ever shown much of her “force-ness” before, but we get to see a little bit of it in this film. I have always loved Leia and in this she shows a lot of wisdom and guile. She has grown more quiet than she used to be and is more observant in this film.
The actual juice of the story in this movie, I can’t talk about. I will state that I sobbed and sobbed for a good hour or two after the movie was done. It didn’t flow out of me until after I got out of the theater and it wouldn’t stop. I didn’t know what was wrong with me as I have never done that for that long or that hard of a cry after watching a movie. I can’t tell you why I cried, because that means spoilers, but it was definitely as a result from things that happened at the end of this movie.
One thing I kept saying after seeing the movie was, “It was so beautiful.” It was.
Content: kissing, lots of fighting (so expect death, though they are not graphically shown), One character says a couple swear words in this (which I think was the misuse of the word “hell” only, possibly the “d” word and I think the larger “b” word), deceit, a man is shown without a shirt (really weird scene in my opinion), a strange creature’s nipple is shown being milked (it looks like a cow of sorts), there is some torture, people are shown cut up with light sabers, there is a lot of creature abuse (animal abuse) in this, blood is shown coming out of someone’s mouth, people are shown drinking and gambling.
The Greatest Showman; 2017
(w/ Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Keala Settle)
5 stars
I am really glad that I got to see this in the theater. When I saw the trailer for it, it was not obvious at the time that it was a musical, but it looked like they were showing people dancing in singing in portions of it, so I told my husband, “I think this is a musical!” I was excited to find out it was and anticipated it even more.
The story is about P.T. Barnum and his life from some successes to some failures. It shows a lot of the hardships that people that would be in the circus would have gone through and the discrimination they saw. It also shows some of the deceit that he used to try to make a buck by overemphasizing the “attractions” or the “freaks” as they were known as. Beyond that, it is about his relationship with his wife and those who worked with him.
The music throughout this movie is really lovely. I have all the songs in my head all the time lately. My kids do too. My husband has not seen it so we keep quiet around him as to not spoil anything for him.
content: circus outfits are shown (so there is a lot of cleavage and leotards and such), there are “circus freaks” shown that might surprise children who are unaware of those who are different from themselves (my kids seemed unphased), someone thinks another is in an affair, racial discrimination is shown, I believe there was only the “d” word said in this two times (I did not catch any other language), kissing, appearance of unfaithfulness, some punches are thrown, scenes where people drink are shown, a woman in shown in a long gown that looks like old school bed wear.
Birth of the Dragon; 2017
(w/ Yu Xia, Billy Magnussen, Philip Ng, Simon Yin, Vanessa Wu)
3.5 stars
If you have NOT seen Bruce Lee’s Enter the Dragon film, then you won’t really understand the way this film connects to that film. Therefore, go see Enter the Dragon. Now. I have seen it five times in my life, and can even quote it a little. It is still pretty fresh in my mind. They pay homage to it with this film because it is supposed to be based on a true happening Bruce Lee went through to inspire that film’s story. It is not confirmed completely if it is true, but it is pretty good.
Now, to go into Birth of the Dragon. Let’s learn a little bit about Bruce Lee for a moment. When he started out as an actor, he was introducing martial arts from China to white people, which was not exactly a good thing to those who were top martial artists in China. They were a bit upset. Watch the film to understand why.
The guy who portrays Bruce Lee in this film is pretty much a show off. It is not like how Bruce Lee was later on in his sadly short career.. Bruce Lee is a show off and you won’t like him in most of this film. I kept commenting on it while watching it. “Bruce Lee was more humble than this! What is going on?” After a while I learned that the event that happened portrayed in this film is what helped change him.
The main character in this film is a white guy who really wants to learn more about martial arts. He is a student of Bruce Lee’s. Also, a Shaolin monk is sent to America to talk to Bruce Lee. He wants to just get to know him a bit, but Bruce Lee just wants to fight and prove he is a better fighter than him. The white American starts to learn more and more about the monk where they form a bit of a bond.
The whole story turns out to be an anti-human trafficking movie. You’ll find out more about that if you watch the film though. Therefore, I definitely loved it and was really into it. My husband adored it.
content: talk about slavery (nothing at all shown though), fighting (lots of martial art fights at that – some blood shown), some shooting shown, gang related stuff happens, the “s” word is used, smoking is shown, the misuse of the word “hell” use, the “d” word is used.
Red Army; 2015
(documentary)
3.25 stars
It is not a secret that I love watching old Olympics’ clips online and watch movies and read books about Olympians. I have a fascination with learning about people who are normal coming out against the rest of the world with their talents. It is really fun for me. Because the winter Olympics is 7 days away, I had to watch an Olympic sport movie!
The Red Army was the Soviet Union’s hockey team. They were specially trained to be the best in the world, and they were. All around the country there were boys who tried out and were trained to be the best to represent their country. There was a lot of pride in doing so.
This movie in particular follows the two-time Olympic winning hockey team that eventually became the Russian Five who were on the Red Wings in the US who won the Stanley Cup. It was so fascinating to see how they led their lives, the problems they had in their own country, their problems they had in the US, and the things they do today because of their true love for the sport that was and still is their life.
content: there is bad language in this movie. Also there is talk of oppression and corruption.
