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Film Review – Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Disney’s Rey of Light

When the long-anticipated first entry of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, The Force Awakens, was released in theaters in 2015, it received widespread acclaim, with many critics calling it “a return to greatness.” However, as a longtime fan of the franchise, I disagree that the series ever “peaked” (an endemic opinion that emerged after the polarizing Prequel Trilogy), given the obvious overlooked flaws in the original films. Nonetheless, I continue to support the multimedia cash cow with my attention and money. The following year came the debut of the spinoff Star Wars film Rogue One, also well-revered, afterward the next mainline Episode, Star Wars: The Last Jedi.

Major Spoilers for The Force Awakens

Despite losing Starkiller Base, a third Death Star in all but name, the First Order rules the franchise’s nameless galaxy, forcing the Resistance to evacuate their main fleet on the planet D’Qar. In a daring move, pilot Poe Dameron leads a solo attack against the First Order dreadnought Fulminatrix, destroying its critical cannons and creating an opportunity for Resistance vessels to escape. However, Dameron’s decision to defy General Leia Organa’s orders and attempt to destroy the entire ship leads to his demotion to captain. This is a significant development as it highlights the ongoing tension and personal struggles within the Resistance, particularly in the aftermath of Han Solo’s patricide by his son, Ben, who still identifies as Kylo Ren.

The film picks up where The Force Awakens left off. On the aquatic world Ahch-To, Rey presents the self-exiled Jedi Master Luke Skywalker with his old lightsaber. The legendary Jedi Knight casually tosses it aside and locks himself in his hut. This moment has sparked intense debates among fans, critics, and even actor Mark Hamill. Luke has been criticized for allegedly losing his character growth from the Original Trilogy. However, one should consider that Kylo was his nephew, his flesh and blood. As I am no stranger to the pain of betrayal from my biological family, I can empathize with Luke’s reaction and understand his decision.

Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Snoke questions his apprentice Kylo’s loyalty to the dark side of the Force and potential to become a worthy successor to his maternal grandfather, Darth Vader. Snoke sees that Kylo has “too much of his father’s heart” in him and disciplines him through various Force powers like lightning. Back on Ahch-To, Rey tries to recruit Luke into the Resistance against the First Order, mentioning that his sister Leia sent her. However, Skywalker insists that the time of the Jedi Order has passed, alluding to their downfall after the Clone Wars. Eventually, the Jedi Master agrees to give Rey a few lessons despite his pessimistic views.

After an attack by the First Order on the vessel Raddus exposes Leia to cold space, the long-necked and lavender-haired Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, portrayed by franchise newcomer Laura Dern, takes charge of the Resistance. Holdo disdains Poe’s warning that the fleet will run out of fuel, causing the pilot to distrust the new commander. Meanwhile, former First Order stormtrooper Finn, now a full ally of the Resistance, wants to search for Rey and joins one of his admirers, Rose Tico, to seek the Master Codebreaker in the casino city Canto Bight on the advice of Maz Kanata (embroiled in a union dispute) so that they can disable the First Order’s hyperspace tracker.

On Ahch-To, Rey and Kylo briefly communicate telepathically, hinting at a deeper connection between the two characters. However, their interaction is disrupted by Luke, who initiates her first lessons and enlightens her that the Force is not a simple dichotomy of light and dark, as previously believed. Rey uncovers a place beneath the island, steeped in the dark side. Afterward, she continues her conversation with Kylo, who compels her to find the truth of his descent into darkness and the subsequent rift between him and his uncle. When Rey ultimately departs, an old friend visits Luke, who urges him to transcend the past. He delivers the most iconic quote in the Sequel Trilogy, underscoring the film’s profound impact on the Star Wars narrative.

Poe assists Finn, Rose, and BB-8 in visiting Canto Bight on Cantonica, where they encounter trouble with the local police. While in custody, they manage to escape with the aid of the stuttering slicer DJ, portrayed by Benicio Del Toro, who is also a new addition to the Star Wars saga. DJ assists them in infiltrating the Supremacy, disguised as First Order officers. Despite their efforts, they are eventually apprehended, leading to a confrontation between Captain Phasma and the defector Finn. The First Order decimates the Resistance’s fleet, leaving only the Raddus. Poe challenges Vice-Admiral Holdo, who commands the ship’s evacuation to an old Rebel Alliance outpost on Crait, the setting for the film’s climactic battle.

Meanwhile, Rey takes an escape pod from the Millennium Falcon and surrenders herself to the First Order. Kylo Ren escorts her to Supreme Leader Snoke’s throne room, leading to a confrontation reminiscent of Return of the Jedi, where she tries to persuade Kylo to abandon the dark side. The leader of the Knights of Ren grapples with both sides of the Force. The movie culminates in the Battle of Crait, echoing the Hoth battle at the start of The Empire Strikes Back, delivering unexpected twists that conclude the eighth episode on a high note.

As someone who initially didn’t care much for The Force Awakens but believed Episode VIII was an improvement, perhaps the pinnacle of the Sequel Trilogy, my first rewatch solidified that view. Most of the film felt fresh; since I rewatched the movie on Disney+, I saw it in its entirety and could mercifully pause for bathroom breaks. Like its predecessor, the writing is nothing short of intelligent. It has witty banter galore, plenty of homages to the Original Trilogy, and characters on either side of the conflict, predominantly Luke and Kylo, being equally just in their motives. The gray area of the Force receives significant focus as well.

However, while The Last Jedi is nearly perfect, it shares the same issues as its predecessors, chiefly the sheer number of events that occur within the films (for instance, C-3PO no longer has the distinctive arm color he had in Episode VII). No specific trilogy or movie has ever been the main problem with Star Wars; yet, admittedly, creator George Lucas wasn’t entirely foresightful when expanding it into a franchise. Consequently, the numerous spinoff books and television series have had to fill in the gaps between the films, and many remain unfilled. Nevertheless, the second installment of the Sequel Trilogy is a pinnacle of the Skywalker Saga and the series.

The GoodThe Bad
Excellent acting.
Very intelligent writing.
Insightful sociopolitical commentary.
Engaging character growth.
Tons of great homages to the Original Trilogy.
Superb soundtrack and visual effects.		Still a lot of things that occur outside the films.
The Bottom Line
One of the high points of the Star Wars saga.

Film Review – Pinocchio (1940)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Pinocchio (1940)

Liars, Lies, and the Lying Puppets Who Tell Them

Italian author, humorist, and journalist Carlo Lorenzini, better known by his pseudonym Carlo Collodi, published his magnum opus, The Adventures of Pinocchio, in serial form for the children’s magazine Giornale per i bambini from 1881 to 1882, and would receive acclaim as one of Italy’s most significant contributions to the worldwide literary zeitgeist, its most translated and widely read after the Bible. It would inspire countless other fiction and adaptations like Disney’s iconic version, its name shortened to Pinocchio, released in 1940, which initially failed at the box office due to the forthcoming Second World War.

The film opens with the Talking Cricket, named Jiminy in Disney’s version and voiced by Cliff Edwards, singing “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which would eventually serve as the studio’s musical motif. Then he narrates the tale of the eponymous puppet, so named for being made of pine, whom poor, elderly woodcarver Geppetto creates and wishes alive upon a star. Pinocchio consequentially animates thanks to the Blue Fairy but retains his puppet form, and she assigns Jiminy as his “conscience,” Geppetto doing his part to raise him and trying to send him to school.

A classic game of cat and…fox

On the way, Pinocchio encounters the effeminate vulpine con artist “Honest” John Worthington Foulfellow and his silent feline companion Gideon, who recruit him into vagrant showman Stromboli’s puppet show. Jiminy fails to emancipate his charge, with the Blue Fairy eventually doing the job after a round with Pinocchio’s untruths that results in her constantly elongating his nose, coupled with her iconic quote, “A lie keeps growing and growing until it’s as plain as the nose on your face.” Afterward, the puppet is on his own and joins a coach of boys en route to Pleasure Island.

The island bears a curse where its visitors, free to engage in vices like vandalism, fighting, smoking, and drinking, turn into donkeys due to making “jackasses” of themselves, with Pinocchio, mid-transformation, escaping with Jiminy’s help and finding Geppetto in the belly of the whale Monstro, from whom they must escape. Overall, Disney’s adaptation is, to date, still one of the strongest; however, there are some dangling threads, like what happens with Honest John and Gideon, and many moments come off as ridiculous today. Regardless, the musical numbers like “Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee” (which serves as a bit of a central theme) are endearing, and aside from endless ruination by past and modern activists, journalists, and politicians, is an iconic piece of animated cinema.

The GoodThe Bad
Still one of the best adaptations of Collodi’s classic.
Great animation.
Decent music.		A lot of moments that haven’t aged well.
Many character fates left unresolved.
Endlessly ruined politically.
The Bottom Line
A must-see among Disney enthusiasts.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Review (finally)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The Star Wars Trek

Star Wars’ Expanded Universe (EU) has been a crucial part of its narrative since its inception, even before the release of the sequel The Empire Strikes Back three years later. This expansion was marked by influential books like Alan Dean Foster’s Splinter of the Mind’s Eye and a few spinoff stories featuring the beloved character Han Solo. However, when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, they “rebooted” the EU, invalidating all narrative elements without the original and prequel trilogies; the primary Episodes would be rebranded as the “Skywalker Saga.” Three years later, Disney released the first canon entry of the sequel trilogy, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, a collaboration between Lucasfilm and director J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company.

Set three decades after Return of the Jedi, the movie introduces a new generation of characters. It revolves around the disappearance of Luke Skywalker after one of his rogue pupils annihilated his fledgling Jedi Order. His twin sister, General Leia Organa, leads the Resistance in defending the New Republic against the First Order, formed from the remnants of the fragmented Galactic Empire. On Jakku, a desert planet like Tatooine, Resistance pilot Poe Dameron discovers a star map of Luke’s location. This discovery leads to a chain of events, including the kidnapping and torture of Dameron by Kylo Ren, leader of the Dark Side-following Knights of Ren and successor to Darth Vader. A pivotal character in the narrative is disgruntled stormtrooper FN-2187, renamed Finn, who saves Dameron and escapes via a TIE fighter.

Kylo shares Vader’s dark sense of humor.

They crash-land on Jakku, escaping on the Millennium Falcon after the First Order begins an airstrike. The legendary vessel’s previous owners, Han Solo and his imposing furry friend Chewbacca, discover and board it, dealing with various gangs with which Han had conducted business. Afterward, the film cuts to political maneuvering at the First Order’s Starkiller Base, a planet converted into a superweapon (essentially a third Death Star, which the movie acknowledges, albeit capable of destroying entire star systems). Supreme Leader Snoke, who looks like a giant disfigured cross between Lord Voldemort and Gollum (with Andy Serkis ironically voicing the emperor stand-in), gives General Hux the OK to execute the weapon while questioning his apprentice Kylo’s capabilities as his enforcer (his reasons unfortunately spoiled to me by some jerkwad online before I saw the film in theaters).

The star map leading to Luke, harbored by the diminutive droid BB-8, is discovered to be incomplete. They travel to the planet Takodana to meet the cantina owner Maz Kanata, who is around a millennium old and offers the Resistance help. Visions of Rey’s past and the Jedi Order are revealed when she touches an old lightsaber below the cantina, which she allows Finn to keep. After a riveting speech by General Hux on Starkiller Base, the film’s dramatic high point, the superweapon’s fury is unleashed on the Hosnian System, home to the New Republic, leaving the Resistance by itself to face the First Order.

He could very easily be talking about many modern democracies. Try watching it in German, as well.

The First Order assaults Takodana in search of BB-8, with Kylo also capturing Rey and interrogating her at Starkiller Base. As the superweapon prepares to fire again, the Resistance launches a counterattack, with Han, Chewbacca, and Finn infiltrating the base. Kylo is confronted with a vile but heart-wrenching climax, after which the Resistance attempts to destroy Starkiller Base from within, with Rey and Finn confronting Kylo. The film concludes with a cliffhanger showing an aged Luke that ties into the following episode, The Last Jedi. The emotional impact of these events leaves a profound and lasting impression on the audience.

Probably the film’s comedic high point, ironically a bit before the emotional climax.

I didn’t have many expectations when I watched the movie in theaters, initially released in the previous decade. The trailers did an excellent job masking critical points of the narrative (but again, significant twists had been spoiled for me), and the focus on Luke’s disappearance at least surprised me. At first, it felt like a glorified remake of A New Hope (which it often and admittedly is). However, upon rewatching, I found it superior and better written, with the dialogue being nothing short of intelligent, including frequent witty banter, plenty of callbacks and homages to the original trilogy, and one reference to the prequel trilogy (“Perhaps Leader Snoke should consider using a clone army”).

The Star Wars franchise has always excelled in its sociopolitical commentary and themes, and The Force Awakens is no exception. Its chief motif is history repeating itself, freedom and democracy, and their perpetual struggle against tyranny, constantly being in flux. The characters, new and old, excel as always, with many, like Kylo, being very relatable and those like Han having had excellent growth between the original and sequel trilogies. While the sudden invalidation of the original Expanded Universe irritated many, the new canon has been just as enjoyable in many aspects.

Han probably had the best character growth in between the original and sequel trilogies.

However, The Force Awakens bequeaths many of the same issues as its predecessors, chief among them the sheer volume of events that occur offscreen, explained only in the canon books and television series, like C-3PO’s red left arm and the existence of the Knights of Ren themselves. Thus, the sudden dump of new characters, settings, and situations during the film’s initial release was somewhat problematic, with many books and series slightly filling the narrative gaps since then. There are also weird expressions like “moof-milker” (akin to The Empire Strikes Back‘s “nerf herder”).

Regardless, I enjoyed Episode VII upon my first rewatch, chiefly because it evoked many emotions from me, good and bad, and often hit home hard. I know its reputation has somewhat soured since its initial release, but I felt quite the opposite and think its themes could easily apply to today’s world. The characters and writing are superb, with the music and visual effects excelling as they always have throughout the Star Wars franchise. However, it inherits many problems from its predecessors, like the endless events occurring without the films. Even so, I was blown away by the movie when I rewatched it and will happily rewatch the following Episodes and the trilogies before.

The Good

  • Brought Star Wars to a new generation of fans.
  • Excellent characters.
  • Superb sociopolitical themes.
  • Heart-rending climax.
  • John Williams rocks as always.
  • Beautiful effects and battles.

The Bad

  • Basically a glorified remake of A New Hope.
  • Some questionable plot elements.
  • WTF is a “moof-milker?”
  • Way too many things that occur offscreen.

The Bottom Line

A great start to the sequel trilogy.

The Wind in the Willows (1995)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

I may have heard of Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows before seventh grade before I read the actual book, given its intelligent animal cast. After reading it, it remained one of my all-time favorite pieces of literature, mildly influential upon my written word. Numerous adaptations have spawned since the dawn of film and television (most on the latter), with Disney being among the earliest studios to take a crack at it by combining it with their interpretation of Washington Irving’s completely unrelated short story The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.

Among the more contemporary (sort of) adaptations is the 1995 British animated television film produced by the TVC (Television Cartoons) in London (likely defunct since nothing has come out of the studio since 2001). It opens with a live-action sequence where a Victorian woman begins to tell her children the tale, which quickly morphs into a full-fledged animated film. The story proper starts with Mole, disillusioned with spring cleaning, emerging from his underground home to meet and befriend Ratty (just called Rat in this adaptation), with both having a picnic with another river inhabitant, Otter, and his young pup, Portly.

Then they join the wealthy Mr. Toad, who takes them on a trip with his gypsy caravan, but the amphibian hastily develops a fascination with motor vehicles when one causes his carriage to crash. The following spring, Ratty, Mole, and their friend, Mr. Badger, attempt to dissuade their amphibian friend from his obsessions, but he steals and crashes a car, earning a score-long prison sentence. He ultimately escapes with the help of the jailer’s daughter, encountering various tribulations before reuniting with his companions and taking back Toad Hall when weasels seize it. 

Overall, I enjoyed this adaptation, though I can’t wholly attest to its faithfulness to the source material (but it seems to do so, at least in my memory). The bookends of the Victorian woman telling her children the story seem unnecessary. However, I liked the various costumes of the animal characters, Otter in particular, and the animation was pleasant. I would gladly reread the book were I to get the time and watch its other adaptations, probably excluding the live-action ones since most seem to star humans that look nothing like the animals they allegedly play. Regardless, I don’t regret watching this film and would recommend it.

Home on the Range

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

This 2004 entry to Disney’s animated film canon occurs in the Old West, with wanted cattle rustler Alameda Slim, who can lure along bovines with his hypnotic yodeling, purloining those of Dixon Ranch. The remaining cow, Maggie, is sold to a farm called Patch of Heaven. A local sheriff, Sam, informs its owner, Pearl, that she must pay back a bank in three days, or her farm will go to auction. The cows ultimately decide to pursue Slim for the reward money to save their farm, aided by their fellow farm animals and others.

I’ll admit that given the horrid titular opening theme song, Home on the Range didn’t leave a positive first impression on me. Furthermore, I don’t care for most music that features yodeling of any kind; however, a few like that during the ending credits are pleasant. The voice performances are decent, like Roseanne Barr as bovine protagonist Maggie, Cuba Gooding Jr. as Buck the horse, and Randy Quaid (aside from his singing) as Alameda Slim. Unfortunately, the writing frequently sounds awkward, and some plot beats, like Slim’s yodeling, didn’t sit well with me. Overall, this film ranks below average in my view of Disney’s animated films.

The Marvels

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe follows the events of Ms. Marvel, also being a sequel to Captain Marvel, with the titular characters banding to battle the alien Kree, afterward another nemesis named Dar-Benn. Every time they use their powers, the Marvels swap places, like Freaky Friday in a superheroine setting. I thought it was a typical MCU film that attempts to fuse action with lightheartedness. While the cast performances were solid, with Samuel L. Jackson, as always, doing an excellent job as Nick Fury, along with a surprise after the ending credits, I honestly think that the superhero movie market has somewhat become oversaturated, and ultimately hope that the Marvel Cinematic Universe finds a satisfactory grand finale as it continues the next few years.

Ms. Marvel

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

This Marvel Cinematic Universe miniseries follows Kamala Khan, a 16-year-old Pakistani-American high schooler who loves the Avengers, specifically Captain Marvel, but has trouble fitting in with society until she discovers her inherent abilities and becomes the eponymous superheroine, with the show ultimately tying in with the MCU film The Marvels. It starts a bit human-interest-centric but gives some decent insight into Islamic society in sync with Disney’s contemporary DEI approach and intensifies in the last few episodes. In brief, I didn’t think it was an excellent series, but I don’t regret watching it and will gladly see The Marvels as my next weekly film.

Hercules (1997)

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Disney’s original animated interpretation of the classic myth of Hercules opens with the songstress Muses narrating the film’s backstory in a musical style combining elements from the soul and gospel genres (and the studio back then was still mindful of DEI, even if in a different fashion), leading to the present where the gods Zeus and Hera have their titular son in Ancient Greece. Mythologically, the film fuses elements from Greek and Roman mythos, with Herc’s equivalent in the former being Heracles, but admittedly, that moniker doesn’t roll off the tongue, and deviations from the original myths abound.

While most of the gods of Mount Olympus celebrate Hercules’ birth, Zeus’ brother Hades, brilliantly portrayed by James Woods and the high point of the film, plots to overthrow the heavenly deities to rule himself. Thus, he sends his minions to kidnap the infant Herc and off him after having him ingest a potion that strips his immortality, although humans interrupt them and make them flee, leaving him with a drop of his godliness. Raised by mortals, Hercules faces estrangement for his excessive strength and discovers his destiny to rejoin the gods through heroism, with the satyr Philoctetes (or just Phil), just as memorable as Hades due to Danny DeVito’s performance, taking him on as his apprentice.

After proving his heroism in Thebes and boosting his popularity to being merchandized, Herc eventually confronts Hades and the Titans he seeks to revive while fighting for his eventual love interest, Megara (or Meg). In conclusion, this is probably one of my higher-regarded films in the Disney animated canon since I can easily relate to its themes of alienation and ostracization due to character and talent. Likewise, “Go the Distance” is an enjoyable central theme; despite what critics have said, I prefer Roger Bart’s in-movie rendition to Michael Bolton’s during the ending credits. As I mentioned, the film does take liberties with Greco-Roman mythology, but I nonetheless enjoyed it.

Zootopia+

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

Since I reasonably enjoyed Disney’s Zootopia, I naturally watched its spinoff Disney+ series, consisting of six short side stories parallel to the film’s events. The first sees Judy Hopps’ parents try to rescue their youngest daughter among countless children, Molly, as she hitches a ride on the train that takes her older sister to Zootopia. The second sees Fru Fru the shrew participating in a reality television series while dealing with her forthcoming wedding. The third sees Duke Weaselton ponder his life choices through singing, the next one providing backstory to Mr. Big in a further nod to The Godfather. The penultimate episode features Chief Bogo and Clawhauser participating in a talent show, the last on Sam, an otter waitress, as she serves the sloth couple Flash and Priscilla. I enjoyed this mini-series overall, given its addition to the film’s events (and a few scenes from the movie are even featured); I hope the franchise mythos is explored more before the forthcoming sequel in whatever incarnations Disney decides.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Posted on by Remy St. Gallen

The film adaptations of the first two installments of author Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series seemed to amount to an orphaned franchise, but the Walt Disney Company, after acquiring 20th Century Fox, distributor of said movies, gave its crack at the fantasy novels in the form of a streaming Disney+ show. The first season adapts the inaugural book, The Lightning Thief, focusing on the eponymous dyslexic, attention-deficit twelve-year-old grade-schooler, expelled from school after a supernatural incident at a museum, whom his mother Sally begins to convey to Camp Half-Blood in a world where Greek gods and monsters are real.

While it’s been years since I last read the books and saw the films, I enjoyed the Disney+ adaptation, given its modern fantasy setting like the Harry Potter books and mythological influences. The episode titles hint at the show’s lighthearted nature (and borrow from a few chapter names in The Lightning Thief). Given that the length of all episodes totaled grossly outweighs that of the first cinematic film, it’s assumedly faithful to the source material, having excellent world-building and cast performances. Thus, I will continue watching this series as future episodes are released.