Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Review

There has never been a fandom as vocal and as passionate as that of the Star Wars franchise. The reactions to the George Lucas prequels and Disney’s sequel trilogy have been either hot or cold with little middle ground given, and fans have been mocked and depicted in the media as toxic trolls. The final film of the Skywalker saga, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, continues to elicit the same passionate reactions from fans. I find myself experiencing difficulty unpacking all the details from a single viewing of the film, but I’ll try my best. I enjoyed the film as a whole, and found it to be a fitting end to the Disney-produced trilogy. Not treating it as a true finale of the entire saga is a safe place by which to effectively review its merits.

The original trilogy ended with Return of the Jedi, itself an imperfect film that would’ve likely been skewered by fans had it been released in the social media days.  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker doesn’t have the benefit of following arguably the best film of the entire saga. On the contrary, it has to contend with the baggage left by Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi. It’s that scenario that likely led Lucasfilm/Disney to return the stewardship of their trilogy to J.J. Abrams. After Johnson’s film turned the dangling storyline on its head (for better or worse), Abrams had the task of rebuilding his narrative. Much of the film attempts to do just that, revealing Rey’s parentage as being Palpatine and downplaying the role of Supreme Leader Snoke. I was not put off by Palpatine’s sudden reappearance, as his Modus Operandi has always been to be working the long game from within the shadows. The film logically continues Rey’s hero’s journey in the fashion of a certain former whiny farm boy. The interactions of Rey, Poe, and Finn are more akin to the camaraderie established in The Force Awakens. It’s the ease and chemistry these characters have with each other that carries the film. 

If the film suffers from anything, it’s trying to tie up too many loose ends while attempting to please everyone, which ultimately weighs down the pacing and storytelling. That being said, the film packs an emotional wallop, evident by the outward sobbing I heard from the audience. I admit that I teared up more than I would during a Pixar film. The redemption of Kylo Ren seems earned, rather than contrived. The amazing acting of Adam Driver as Ben Solo/Kylo Ren made the character’s turn to the Light Side of the Force all the more believable. The action is riveting and the special effects are incredible. The cameos and callbacks don’t feel shoehorned in, and serve to forward the story. Aside from the annoyingly unresolved “thing” that Finn was trying to tell Rey throughout the film, I found that very little was left dangling. It was as good a film as it could be to bring the saga to an end. It is important to note that there has never been such a thing as a perfect Star Wars film, although The Empire Strikes Back certainly comes close. Recalling the lack of any cohesive plan to rescue Han in Return of the Jedi, I can only imagine the fan base blowing up the Internet, had it existed and the conversation extended beyond the water cooler. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is the film that will be remembered as the one that tried to do much more than it needed to, being weighed down by its history. Again, as a conclusion to the Episode VII-IX trilogy, the film works well enough. 

Hicks vs Aliens: Spaced Invaders Review

Ask anyone what their favorite Disney Halloween film is and chances are they will respond with Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, or The Legend Of Sleepy Hollow. There is a pretty good chance that they won’t respond with 1990’s Spaced Invaders. There isn’t a lot of love for this Touchstone Halloween gem. It managed to score a dismal 8% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and got a less than stellar review from Robert Ebert. The film did poorly in the cinemas and quickly faded from the public consciousness. I first saw the film on cable and the 7 year-old in me enjoyed the slapstick elements while the adult in me found the premise and culture clash hilarious.

The premise is that a rag-tag band of Martian outcasts are given the menial duty of patrolling asteroid belts while the Martian Imperial Space Navy attacks their enemy in Arcturus. The Martian forces are defeated due to the forced reliance on Enforcer Droids. The outcasts search for a signal from the fleet and instead overhear a rebroadcast of the famous Orsen Wells Halloween prank broadcast of The War of the Worlds. Like many Americans during the broadcast, the actual Martians believe the attack on Grover’s Mill is real. The band makes a beeline to Earth to join the invading Martian vanguard. They end up in the fictional rural town of Big Bean Illinois and hilarity ensues. The good people of Big Bean are a mix of stereotypes including a down on his luck old farmer played by veteran actor Royal Dano and the “New Sheriff in town” Sam played by Douglas Barr and his daughter Kathy played by future Jurassic Park alum Ariana Richards.

The Martians get into trouble right away by being clocked at 3000 miles an hour in a 35 zone by the Sherriff's deputy and pull a Back to the Future style crash in farmer Wrenchmuller’s barn. The crew consist of a mix of characters including the militaristic Giggywig whose favorite line is “Prepare to die Earth scum!” and the Jack Nicholson-cool pilot Blaznee. Being that the events occur on Halloween, the group is initially mistaken as trick-or-treaters until the dim-witted townsfolk realize what they are.

While the inhabitants of Big Bean are two dimensional stereotypical small town types, this works to the comedic betterment of the film. One standout character is a boy in a duck costume, played by J.J. Anderson,who steals every scene he is in.  The characteristics of the Martians are a nice throwback to sci-fi troupes of the 50's. The effects hold up remarkably well, due to Director Patrick Read Johnson’s early career work as a practical effects expert on 2010:The Year We Made Contact and the TV miniseries V, although my daughter commented that the Martian's heads look like talking watermelons.  Many parts of the film work and some don't but for a light-hearted, seasonal offering Spaced Invaders is an enjoyable Halloween watch with the kiddos.

Disney’s The Black Hole film had it (kinda) right.

The Hubble Space Telescope has located a black hole that closely resembles Disney’s version from the 1979 film The Black Hole. NASA scientists hypothesize that the black hole at the center of the spiral galaxy NGC-3147 is starved of matter. This may account for the difference between this and other black holes resembling the one from Christopher Nolan’s 2014 film, Interstellar.

Black holes are thought to form an acceration disk from the massive gravitational pull swallowing surrounding matter. Matter-starved black holes apparently do not form acceleration disks. It seems that artist Peter Ellenshaw wasn’t wrong back when science was lacking an accurate description of black holes. Although Heaven and Hell probably aren’t in there, at least Disney got the look of the black hole right. 

Disney Parks Announces Smoker Accommodations

Disney Parks announced this week that smoking will be banned at all Disney theme parks.  While smoking will still be permitted on property, smokers will have to leave the theme parks (and their families) to get their fix.  This decision was applauded by non-smokers as a breath of fresh air.  Smokers have been very vocal as to their disapproval of the decision and have gone to social media to vent their un-filtered outrage.  They accuse Disney of discrimination and of shaming those who suffer from nicotine addiction.   While a Disney vacation is a magical experience, it can also be very stressful for individuals trying to manage Fastpasses while organizing the many advance reservations required to dine on any food other than turkey legs and chicken tenders.  The side effects of smoking cessation, even temporary, are increased anxiety, irritability, impatience, and increased appetite for sweets and carbs.  All of these factors may be amplified by the inherent stress of a family vacation.

Always on the forefront of customer service, The Disney Company has revealed new accommodations to help smokers, and the people who love them. Bob Chapek, Chairman of Disney Parks, addressed this issue. "We here at Disney want to ensure that everyone  has a pleasant and profanity free vacation experience at the Happiest Place on Earth." said Chapek.  "The new plan is broken up into 3 main components: Accommodation, Education, and Alternative Choices". 


For the "Accommodation" component, Disney has added smoking to the list of approved needs the Disney Disability Access Card program to ensure quick access to rides without subjecting the already anxious smoker to long waits, protecting them and those waiting in a three hour cue from the risk of verbal or physical attack. Additionally, Disney has established "Calming Stations" in the former sites of the now defunct Kodak Photo Spots.  Each station will be manned by caring and compassionate Cast Members and will be equipped with stress balls, massage chairs, and selections by musical artist Enya. 

Proposed "Calming Station" signage

For the Education component, Disney will include information regarding smoking risks with park maps and on the "My Disney Experience" mobile app.  The most exciting aspect of the Education concept is the return of the Kids of the Kingdom rebranded as The Nico-Teens!  The show will be updated to reflect modern sensitivities with a focus on smoking prevention. The newly titled "Nico-Teen Clean Lung Adventure" show will combine music and dance to extol the virtues and health benefits of smoking cessation to at-risk kids age 3 and up.  "Halfway into the performance, half of the Nico-Teens will have to leave the stage from the fatigue and shortness of breath brought on by smoking." said Chapek. "It will be a powerful lesson, done in the lighthearted spirit for which Disney is famous."

The Nico-Teens

The final component of providing "Alternative Choices" will allow nicotine addicted guests to explore a variety of replacement behaviors.  Convenient vending kiosks will be available serving jittery smokers with a wide selection of sweet and greasy food options, as well as supersized cups of  coffee. Chapek was most excited about the new "Gaston's Chew Spot" located outside Gaston's Tavern in Fantasyland at Walt Disney World. "Guests will have the opportunity to "Spit like Gaston" while competing with other tobacco chewing guests." Group and individual coaching sessions will be provided by experienced Cast Members, Chapek announced.  "Whether you have been dippin' for years, or trying it out for the first time, our cast will assist you with all your chaw needs. Disney has always strived to add new experiences that our guests can take home with them."

With guest attendance projected to be at an all-time high with the big drag of Star Wars Galaxy's Edge, Disney is hoping to get ahead of the possible complications caused by unruly smokers in large numbers.  Disney's can then set it's sights on other societal issues.  "We have already begun work on defeating childhood obesity by banning large strollers from the parks." reported Chapek.  "The health and longevity of our money paying guests is our top priority."

The One with the Girl: Captain Marvel Review

Marvel broke new ground with The Black Panther, and then again, it didn't. While the setting and villain (the best sympathetic antagonist in all of the MCU)  had unique character and depth, the protagonist was cut from the same ilk as Tony Stark and Thor. I didn't find myself emotionally connected to any of those rich and powerful boys who find themselves in a jam. The same can be said of Brie Larson's Vers / Carol Danvers. Her presence itself breaks new ground for a female lead in a MCU film, although DC has been doing that since 2017. Other than that, her character isn't any more interesting than any other leading character, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

At the beginning of the film, Vers (pronounced "Veers") is a powerful member of the Kree, who she describes with elitist zest as "Noble Warrior Heroes". She is strong, powerful, stoic, and well, boring. She doesn't get much more interesting throughout the film, but that's not the fault of Larson. What follows is a not so compelling journey of self discovery in the classic sense. The film, directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, can't figure out if it wants to be. It morphs from a sci-fi space flick, to a buddy cop movie, to a superhero movie while never fully commiting to any of those paths. The supporting characters are enjoyable, including a digitally de-aged Samuel Jackson as Nick Fury and Clark Gregg as a young Agent Coulson. The Skrull shape-shifter is played by the ever reliable Bill Medelsohn and is delightfully vibrant and eventually sympathetic. Trying to capitalize of the popularity of cute characters like Baby Groot, Boden shoehorns in a CG cuddly kitty named Goose who is taken in by the usually rough Fury.

Captain Marvel is standard Marvel fare that never rises above the fray, but it also doesn't sink below. The battles are exciting and flashy and the dialog between Danvers and Fury is clever. Unfortunately, neither reach the levels of Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor: Ragnarok. The film goes out of its way to shove 90's nostalgia down your throat with the soundtrack and dress. Not to the point of being annoying, but to the point of being obvious, from the use of old tech to Danvers in flannel with a Nine Inch Nails shirt.

I mentioned earlier that none of these issues are necessarily bad. A female lead hero in the MCU should be ubiquitous by now and that fact that it isn't is a sad statement on how little we as a society have grown. The lack of long, drawn out exposition on Danver's struggles growing up (shown in quick flashbacks) supports the notion that a female lead doesn't need to be any different then her male counterparts. Seriously, do we even care what kind of father Howard Stark was or how Thor's childhood was? We get more background on Steve Rogers' struggles than Carol Danvers' and that's ok! With that being said, we should all look to Captain Marvel as what it truly is; another solid origin story to support another Avengers movie. It doesn't need to be anything else.

Marvel announces Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge Comic Miniseries

While guests will have wait until Fall of 2019 to visit Disneyland’s new Star Wars themed areas, the journey to Black Spire Outpost on the planet of Batuu begins in April, in print form anyway.  Marvel Comics announced yesterday that a mini-series based on Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge will be released in April. The story will focus on an Ithorian trader Doc-Ondar and will take place in and around Black Spire Outpost which is the setting for the upcoming Star Wars themed areas for Disneyland in California and Walt Disney World in Florida.

While Marvel is tight lipped about the story, writer Ethan Sacks, in an interview with StarWars.com, provided some detail about what access the team had to Disney Imagineering and how it impacted the story:

Our series will give fans the chance to visit Black Spire Outpost months ahead of voyaging to Batuu in person. Armed with top-secret sketches and information from Walt Disney Imagineering and Lucasfilm, we are keeping this authentic to the spirit of this rich new setting. I’d tell you more, but I already have the death sentence on 12 systems….

Brucie and The Beast: Glass review

Before the acquisition of Marvel Studios, there were very few bonafide superheroes in the Disney catalogue. It wasn’t until M. Night Shyamalan’s  2000 ode to comic book culture, Unbreakable, that Disney (via it’s Touchstone Films Division) had a real super powered hero in the Bruce Willis’s David Dunn. Flash forward 17 years to Universal’s psychological horror film Split that anyone remotely thought that there would be a continuation of David Dunn’s story. As another of Shyamalan’s famous (or infamous) inevitable twists, the character appeared in final credits scene. Since the release there has been a quiet build-up of anticipation for a completion of the trilogy. That anticipation comes to an end with Glass.

The film picks up in the events following Split where James McAvoy’s character Kevin Crumb has been taken over by multiple personalities who collectively refer to themselves as The Horde, led by the animalistic personality known as The Beast.  Dunn and The Beast confront each other in the first act which is suprising being that the matchup of the two superpowered characters is the main selling   point for the film. Both are arrested during the fight and are sent to a psychiatric hospital under the care of Sarah Paulson’s Dr. Staple who specializes in treating individuals who view themselves as comic book characters. Also at the hospital is Unbreakable’s criminal mastermind Elijah Price, played by Samuel L. Jackson. Price is also known as Mr. Glass due to his brittle bone disease. A Dunn/ Glass reunion is something audiences were looking forward too, but proves to be uneventful being that Price is catatonic for two-thirds of the film.
There is a cast of forgettable supporting characters from the prior films: Dunn’s son, Elijah’s mother, and the lone survivor, and now Stockholm Syndrome girlfriend of the cannibalistic Beast. These characters do little to advance the story. Speaking of “story”, M. Night Shyamalan’s knack for using narratives to take the audience down divergent paths is present, but doesn’t pack the punch it did in The Sixth Sense or even Unbreakable, itself a love letter to comic book fans.

The plotlines of life imitating comic book art was ground breaking back in pre-MCU 2000. Now audiences are well accustomed to comic book story arcs and troupes. And that fact itself is what hobbles Glass from telling the story it is trying to tell. Shyamalan still feels the need to utilize exposition to inform the audience of something it already knows too well.  The film is far from a bust. The action sequences are thrillingly choreographed, especially when we see Dunn and The Beast face-off in evenly matched battles with no apparent CG enhancements. McAvoy transitions between Crum’s multiple personalities fluidly, even adding a few new ones. It is unfortunate that The Beast personality dominates the majority of screen time, but this isn’t Split. The score was disjointed, building to a crescendo at odd points in a few scenes, dampening the tension. There is ample enough fan service, especially when Glass and Dunn slip into their familiar costumes. And, of course the obligatory cameo by Shyamalan, which generates a few chuckles. The “big twist” at the end is basically just there.
The film does represent a unique partnership between two rival studios, with Universal handling the domestic distribution, and Disney the international. Maybe we will see a Split scare house at Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights. Here’s hoping we don’t get a David Dunn Stunt Spectacular at Disney Studios.  Glass is a fairly solid and fun superhero film that doesn’t quiet resonate as relevant in a world full of Avengers and Aquamen.  It’s not a bad film, it’s just 19 years too late.