Star Wars: The Force Awakens

                  The long awaited return of on of the greatest franchises of all time has come! Today, we will look into J.J. Abrams's new film that has come out just in time for the Christmas Break. By the way, Merry Christmas! I'll do a Christmas post the day of, too.

S T A R   W A R S

E P I S O D E   V I I:

T H E   F O R C E   A W A K E N S

WARNING!!!: SPOILERS AS TO THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE ARE CONTAINED IN THIS REVIEW! THE RATINGS ARE RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM IF YOU WANT TO SEE EXPLICITLY THOSE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

                    The Empire has fallen, and in its place, the First Order has arisen, striking back with a fierce vengeance. Keep in mind that it has been thirty years since the events of Star Wars Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi.

                     Luke Skywalker has vanished, and the Resistance is desperate to find him and bring lasting peace to the galaxy. General Leia Organa has sent one of her most trusted pilots, Po, to retrieve a portion of a map that Luke left as to his whereabouts. This is where the film begins.

                     Po has just received the map, and the First Order is coming to get that map, too. So Po makes a run for it with his droid, BB-8. They run to their X-Wing and board while the Stormtroopers wreak havoc. And hey... they've still got bad aim. Well, that's not entirely true. Their aim is actually pretty good.

                    Anyway, Po gives BB-8 the map and tells him to run... more like roll, since their ship has been compromised. Meanwhile, the camera shifts to a Stormtrooper who witnesses a friend die. Coming to his comrade's side, his helmet is smeared with blood by his friend's hand.
                    Po is captured and brought before Kylo Ren. They sorta sit there for a minute and then Po says, "So who's gonna talk first? You gonna talk first, am I gonna talk first?" It's some good comical relief. Then Kylo goes on with his evil dialogue, yadda yadda yadda, same old stuff. 

                     Po is then taken to the First Order's base which is, basically, another Death Star. BB-8

makes his escape safely. I believe this is where the story shifts to a scavenger. Forgive me if I'm wrong, I've had some problems with remembering things what with my concussion. But that's not important. 
                      This scavenger is Rey, a beautiful young woman who is just trying to stay alive. To do this, she scavenges scrap metal in return for rations of food. Her rations aren't that great, and I'm wondering if she just had a bad rep with the guy who exchanged rations for the parts. 
                       Anyway, she leaves from where she was scavenging, a fallen Empire Battleship from Episodes IV, V, and VI. After receiving her rations, she goes to where she lives, a fallen AT-AT. It's really cool how they brought things from the original trilogy back. 
                       Well, she's eating and she hears a little skirmish just over the sand dune in front of her, so she goes to check it out. And she discovers none other than BB-8! She helps him outta trouble and agrees to care for him for the day and evening. Alright, back to Po.
                       He is brought into the First Order Battleship that is hovering over Jakku, the planet that Rey and BB-8 are on. He is then walked into a room and put into restraints. The same Stormtrooper on Jakku that had blood on his helmet is looking to make an escape at the same time Po is being led

to his restraints. 
                        The Stromtrooper walks into the ship Po was brought out of and removes his helmet. Captain Phasma stands behind him and tells him he's gotta turn in his blaster for inspection, because he didn't kill anybody when he was ordered to on Jakku. Because hey, maybe his gun was jammed or something, y'know?
                         Anyway, Po is in his restraints and is pretty beat up. Kylo Ren sits across from him and admires his ability to work against the various tortures of the First Order. But Kylo gets what he wants. He uses the force to... FORCE... Po to tell him where BB-8 is (see what I did there?). Kylo Ren figures out from Po that BB-8 is back on Jakku. So naturally, they wanna go back.
                         Later, a Stormtrooper walks into Po's cell, and says, "Ren wants to see the prisoner."
                         The Stormtrooper leads Po out of the cell and pulls him aside real quick. 
                         "What are you doing?" asks Po as the Stormtrooper removes his helmet. It's the same guy who had blood on his helmet.

                         "I'm helping you escape."
                         The Stormtrooper then takes Po to the ship's hanger and takes him to a TIE-Fighter. They make a daring escape, during which Po asks the Stormtrooper his name. He responds saying his serial number, FN-2187. Po decides to call him Finn, and the two are then crash-landed onto Jakku.
                         Finn wakes up and looks around for Po. He finds the TIE-Fighter they were in and retrieves Po's jacket just before the ship sinks into the quick sand. 
                         Is Po dead? Where will Finn go? What's gonna happen with the gir- I mean, Rey? What's gonna happen with BB-8? When do Han and Chewey show up? Who's Kylo Ren? Where's Luke and Leia? All of these questions can be answered at your local movie theater. So go on! Buy those tickets and see this awesome flick! It is definitely worth the price of admission, I promise you.
                         Later, I'll post another review of the movie. But this time I'll just rant on how awesome it was. 

S T A R   W A R S

E P I S O D E   V I I:

T H E   F O R C E   A W A K E N S

Ratings:
Family Friendliness- 9.5/10 Star Wars is one of the few series that you can take your kids to go watch in theaters and expect no blood, no sensuality, and no cursing. And that still holds true with J.J. Abrams's film in the continuation of the Star Wars Saga. I mean, of course there's lightsaber battles, and those get pretty intense, but hey, that's all part of the fun, right?

Story-line- 9/10 Oh my goodness, if you have seen Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, you're gonna practically re-watch it when you go to see Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. But I mean, if it worked back then, it can definitely work now. And lemme tell you, the story isn't old. It's freaking amazing!!!

Re-watch Probability- High (8/10) I am dying to go back to the theater to see it again. It was such a good movie! I mean, not to mention that J.J. Abrams directed it! Also, they brought back the originals like Han, Chewey, Leia, and Luke; so that was pretty awesome. They even brought back John Williams, the original composer for the other six Star Wars movies!!! I loved this movie guys, and if you are as into Star Wars as I am, or maybe this is your first Star Wars film, you've definitely gotta go see it. It is totally worth it.


Bibliography: "Star Wars" <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Star_Wars_Logo.svg/2000px-Star_Wars_Logo.svg.png>
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens Rey" <http://a.dilcdn.com/bl/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2015/11/ReyTFA.jpg>
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens Trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGbxmsDFVnE>
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens Kylo Ren" <http://cdn-static.denofgeek.com/sites/denofgeek/files/2015/12/kylo-main.jpg>
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens Rey and BB-8" <http://media.comicbook.com/2015/12/star-wars-rey-bb8-163203.jpg>


  
                         

                  

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

                  Get ready for the biggest finale of one of the most successful movie series of all time. This film is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat. Even if you have read the book, you will be wondering what is going to happen next. But there is satisfaction in having read the book! Whatever is to happen, you know exactly how it should happen, and it happens almost the exact same way you envisioned it. So get ready for a pleaser, readers!

T H E   H U N G E R   G A M E S:

M O C K I N G J A Y
P A R T   2

                     The film begins almost immediately. Katniss is with a doctor in District 13 and is getting her neck brace from the first movie removed. It is obvious that quite some time has passed

since the incident with Peeta.

                      "Alright. Now I want you to say, 'My name is Katniss Everdeen,'" commands the doctor.

                      "Mmmyyy..." Katniss wheezes.

                      "Take your time."

                      "Mmmyyy... nnaaamee... iis... Kaattniss... Everrdeen." 

                       Plutarch is there, witnessing Katniss speak for the first time in a while. He tells Katniss that they are going to try something different today with Peeta. They are going to send in somebody he trusts from District 12, but probably someone he won't hurt. But they're getting closer to letting Peeta see Katniss.

                        Guess who goes in? If you guessed Prim, kudos to you. Prim goes in and begins talking to Peeta, but that doesn't end so well. Peeta snaps again and starts yelling at Prim about how Katniss is dangerous. "SHE'LL KILL US ALL! YOU HAVE TO KILL HER PRIM! SHE'S DANGEROUS!"

                         Don't worry, Prim gets out okay, but she's a little shaken. 

                         Katniss then goes to see Coin, and says that Snow has to pay for what he did to Peeta

and to the districts. She wants to go to District 2, where Coin is thinking of shooting "propos" showing that the Mockingjay is alive and well.
                          Coin agrees and Katniss is on her way. 
                          However, Katniss is not to be going into direct battle. The brilliant minds of District 13 including Beetee and Gale suggest that they smoke out the people in the factory at 2 that is being held by the Capitol. But, they leave an opening that can be used to escape by train. Here, the District 13 officers and Katniss will try to convince them to turn over to the Rebellion.
                           Katniss goes to the train tracks and awaits the train. When it arrives, most of the men who come off surrender immediately, and one of the men is beat down. Katniss feels bad for the guy and rushes to him. But of course it's a gimmick, and he holds a pistol to Katniss's throat, asking, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot."
                           "I can't." 
                           Katniss goes on to explain that she is tired of being a pawn in Snow's game, and that if the man kills her, she is doing both Snow and her a favor. The man stops to think and lowers the gun. Katniss then turns to the rest of the Loyalists and begins to beg them to turn the Rebellion. But one Loyalist gets kinda ticked and pulls a gun, shooting Katniss in the chest.
                            I'm not gonna go on, but obviously Katniss lives. (Sorry for the spoiler alert guys! :P)

T H E   H U N G E R   G A M E S:

M O C K I N G J A Y   

P A R T   2

Ratings:

Family Friendliness- 7.8/10 Arrows: The film is not the most family friendly, but for what blood there is, there's not much. Just don't go taking your 6 year old to see this; that's probably not the best idea, y'know what I mean? Like, there's not any language, and if there is, it's very minimal. The violence is definitely up there, so just make wise decisions.

Story-line- 9.5/10 Mockingjays: Oh my goodness, if you read the book, you will be geeking out in your seat. What you imagined the scenes would look like when reading the book, they most likely appear that way in the movie. It's beyond amazing. For example, the way Finnick dies... oh gosh, it's so sad, yet it happens so quickly, just like in the book. Katniss says "Nightlock. Nightlock. Nightlock," and Finnick is gone with a big bang, quickly forgotten a couple moments later. It really isn't until the end of the movie when you actually have time to think about everything that has happened that you realize how tragic the deaths were.

Re-watch Probability- Very High (aka 12/13 Districts): You'll be wanting to watch this again as soon as you're out of the theater. So you might as well plan on buying it for unlimited playbacks. Trust me... it's that good.

Bibliography: "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Wallpaper" <http://wallino.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-full-hd-wallpapers.jpg>

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Katniss" <http://content-img.newsinc.com/jpg/415/29213897/22495131.jpg?t=1433849400>

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 Peeta" <http://www.panempropaganda.com/storage/thumbnails/15204888-26624111-thumbnail.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1445624414681>

"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 trailer" <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vyJr1dmBAo>