MOVIE - Star Wars: The Last Jedi

PG-13 (2:32)

12/15/17 Wide Release

Viewed 12/21/17 at Carlisle 8
IMBd:  7.7/10

RT Critic: 92   Audience:  54
Critic's Consensus:  Star Wars: The Last Jedi honors the saga's rich legacy while adding some surprising twists -- and delivering all the emotion-rich action fans could hope for.

4/Liked it a lot

Directed by Rian Johnson

Walt Disney Productions

Mark Hamill, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Carrie Fisher

My comments:  May the force be with you!  I wish I could remember more of the story from one episode to the next.  I am not a lover of the super shoot-em-up, bang-em-up explosion scenes, but the relationships between the characters are great fun to explore and watch.  So much subtle humor, and it was great fun to watch Carrie Fisher reprise her Princess Leia role.  It was pretty cool for even Yoda to make an appearnce!  And I have become quite an Adam Driver fan of late, I totally enjoyed him in this role as bud guy.  Just hearing the Star Wars music gives me goosebumps! So now both Han and Luke are dead in the movie and Leia is alive.  So odd that in real life it's the exact opposite, Looking forward to the next one - two years?  three?  

RT/ IMDb Summary:  In Lucasfilm's Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the Skywalker saga continues as the heroes of The Force Awakens join the galactic legends in an epic adventure that unlocks age-old mysteries of the Force and shocking revelations of the past.

MOVIE - Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Rating/Time

Wide release 12/16/16

Viewed Sunday, 1/8/17 with Kilko family
IMBd:  8.2/10

RT Critic: 85   Audience:  89
Critic's Consensus:  Rogue One draws deep on Star Warsmythology while breaking new narrative and aesthetic ground -- and suggesting a bright blockbuster future for the franchise.

Cag:    4/Liked it a lot 

Directed by

Studio

Based on the book by

Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Forest Whitaker, Jimmy Smits, 

My comments:  Right from the start this reminded me of the original Star Wars movie, it had a great feel, and I liked it more than some of the non-standalones.  The characters were wonderful, and the actors portraying each of them were excellently chosen.  I particularly loved Chirrut Imwe (the blind Force fanatic) and Bodhi Rook (the Imperial Forces pilot who changed sides). SPOILER - Even though it really should have ended the way it did, it startled me a bit....

RT/ IMDb Summary:  From Lucasfilm comes the first of the Star Wars standalone films, "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story," an all-new epic adventure. In a time of conflict, a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire's ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.

MOVIE - Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens

PG-13 (2:16)

Wide release 12/18/15

Roadhouse Cinemas Friday 1/8/16

RT Critic: 93   Audience: 90
Critic's Consensus:   Packed with action and populated by both familiar faces and fresh blood, The Force Awakens successfully recalls the series' former glory while injecting it with renewed energy. 

Cag:  4.5 Liked it a great deal

Directed by J. J. Abrams

Walt Disney Pictures

Harrison Ford

My comments:  This was excellent storytelling that somewhat paralled the first episode - I loved the story, the actors, and was totally able to follow the plot the first time (unlike others in the series).  Very enjoyable, with a great deal of humor.

RT Summary:  They've done a great job about keeping the plot under wraps so that no spoilers leak out to people that haven't seen the movie yet:  The Star Wars saga continues with this seventh entry -- the first under the Walt Disney Co. umbrella. The film will act as the start of a new trilogy set after the events of Return of the Jedi.