Star Wars 7: The Force Awakens

Well, after the long wait and all the hype from the trailers, Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens is upon us. And man, was I pretty excited for this movie and couldn't wait to see it. So, was all the hype pointless and was it garbage like the prequels? Or did J.J. Abrams bring back the Star Wars we all know and love? Grab your lightsaber and let's find out!

WARNING: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS!!
Go see the movie first! If you want to ruin the experience and keep reading, don't get mad at me.

Now, with that out of the way:

The Plot:
30 years after the defeat of the Empire, a new threat has arisen from the ashes of the enemy. The First Order. They are searching for Luke Skywalker and believe he is a threat to them. A resistance pilot has a map that leads to Luke and tries to escape, but is captured by The First Order and the dark jedi, Kylo Ren. The pilot's droid, however, has the map and escapes to safety. BB-8, the droid, runs into Rey, a salavger. She and BB-8 run into Finn, an ex stormtrooper and they fly off in the Millennium Falcon. There, they run into Han Solo and Chewbacca. Rey gets captured by Kylo Ren, who is an ex pupil of Luke Skywalker. Finn wants to save Rey and with the help of the resistance, they launch an attack on The First Order's base, Starkiller. During the attack, it is revealed that Ren is Leia and Han's son turned evil. Kylo Ren kills Han and fights Finn. Finn loses, and Rey, who is force sensitive, defeats Kylo Ren, but as the base is falling apart, she escapes with Chewbacca. Once they return, BB-8 and R2-D2 show the map where Luke is hiding. Rey flies to the planet and returns the lightsaber she found.

The Good:
J.J Abrams pulled this off. It's a mix of new and old and it works. The cast is perfect and each actor is believable. There's a lot of witty banter between characters and it makes you laugh. Yes, Chewbacca and Han Solo get a lot of screen time, but they don't steal the show from the new cast. Kylo Ren is a badass Sith with an attitude. Rey is strong and independent, but she's also relatable. Finn, is funny and heroic. It's just so good. This is how Star Wars was meant to be. There's a lot of nostalgia, but it doesn't dwell on the past too much.

The Bad:
There are some parts that come off a bit too cheesy. I also wish Luke would have said -something- and had not made the last scene awkward. And what's with these bad guys and building giant laser bases that shoot lasers? And what's with them having a weak spot? Did the First Order not learn anything from the Empire? I get that it's a call back to the original films, but it would have been nice to see something different. I'm okay with giant laser planets of doom, but make it a bit harder than "exposed weak spot".

Overall:
I'm just glad George Lucas had nothing to do with this movie. J.J Abrams pulled it off and we got something worthy of the original trilogy. It's not perfect, but it's still a wonderful movie and any Star Wars fan should see it. I hope Episode 8 is just as good.

Rating:
5 BB-8s out of 5. 

The Dark Knight Returns

Batman. The man, the legend, and I may or may not be him....Anyways, The Dark Knight Returns is an animated movie based off the comic book saga written by Frank Miller. Let's suit up and take back Gotham!

The Plot:
Set in an alternate universe, Bruce Wayne and other costumed heroes are put into "retirement" by the government. 10 years after Bruce hung up the mantle, crime in Gotham city is growing out of control and no one is doing anything to stop it. Tired of Gotham living in fear, an aging Bruce Wayne puts on his cowl and fights back. This return causes a stir in Gotham and not all are happy to see Batman return. The main threat: The Mutant Gang. At first, the leader of the gang has an advantage due to his youth, but Batman comes back and humiliates the leader, and breaks up the gang. However, this act manages to bring back horrors from the past, mainly the Joker. The Joker escapes from Arkham and begins to cause mayhem, and Batman has had enough. After defeating-ahem- somewhat killing the Joker (the Joker finished himself off) Batman has caused a stir that gets the government involved. Superman, now the president's lap dog, tries to calm Bruce down and negotiate peacefully. Bruce, has other plans, and continues to fight crime. Naturally, this leads into a face off and the playing field is set. Superman, weakened from a nuclear blast; and Batman, aging and beat up, but using a robotic suit. The two fight, and Batman comes out victorious, only to die from a heart attack. Was it a ruse or, did Bruce Wayne's legacy die?

The Good:
The animation is stunning and well drawn. I love this story too, it's one of my favorite comic books. The voice talent does their roles well and there's a lot of good lines said in this movie. This movie also manages to add scenes that the comic wasn't able to do. For example, the fight between Superman and Batman is lengthened and does the comic justice. There is a lot cut out from the comic, but the movie does manage to explain what's going on.

The Bad:
I can't think of much, honestly. There's a few parts where Peter Weller (AKA Robo-cop) doesn't sound as convincing as he should, but he does a stellar job. Other than that, this movie's pretty much close to perfection.

Overall:
The Dark Knight Returns is a great comic and a great movie. If you have the time, check it out. It's a classic and maybe the film will be too.

Rating:
4.5 kyrptonite arrows out of 5.  

The Shining

It's December! And you know what that means, right? Sitting back and enjoying a good holiday movie. Like The Shining for example. Classic holiday movie, right? This horror masterpiece was directed by Stanley Kubrick and stars Jack Nicholson, Shelly Duvall and Danny Lloyd. So come play with us forever and ever and enter the garden maze, this is The Shining!

"Heeeeerrrrreee's an awesome movie!"-Jack Torrence.

The Plot:
The Shining is about a writer who slowly becomes insane and tries to....No, that's not right. The Shining is about a family in a hotel that is haunted by ghosts and they have to...That's not right either. The Shining is about a family of writers who go insane at a hotel with ghosts. Nailed it. Anyways, this movie is about a writer and his family who stay at the Overlook Hotel and find out there's more to it than they thought. Jack Torrence, his wife and their son have to spend 5 months looking after the hotel and keep it up until the hotel is open for the season. However, as mentioned, there's more there than they bargained for. Jack, slowly succumbs to the evil at the hotel and begins to become more and more insane. Meanwhile, Wendy and Danny attempt to lead a normal life, but become threatened as Jack loses his sanity. (Accidental Joker origin story, perhaps?) Things start out normal, but the evil lurking inside the hotel eventually have Jack turn on his family and attempts to kill them. However, Wendy proves to be more resourceful than her husband and ends up besting him (by running away, of course). Jack tries to have one last attempt, but is outwitted by his son while chasing him through a maze in the freezing cold. Jack finally becomes part of the hotel, or was he always part of the hotel to begin with? Anyways, Wendy and Danny make their escape and we're left to assume how it ended for them.

The Good:
I'm not much of a horror movie person, mainly due to the fact that most "scary" movies are boring. That being said, I love The Shining. Kubrick was a master at making films and paced the movie in all the right ways. It starts off slow and normal and then the tension grows and grows until you're left with an epic finale. Jack Nicholson is brilliant and performs the role perfectly. Shelly Duvall's best acting is in the 3rd act and she's pretty good. The subtle tones of the movie are amazing too. You've got white man vs. Indians, as seen by Jack's "destruction" of the art. He tosses a ball at an Indian painting. Wendy's attire becomes more and more Native American as the movie progresses. Then there's the supernatural elements. Danny and his psychic powers. The ghost twins, room 237, and the ghosts Jack communicates with are all superb and interesting. Honestly, if any aspiring director wants to make a horror movie, they should watch this first.

The Bad:
Shelly Duvall's acting in the first two acts are meh at best. I get she's supposed to be happy go lucky and all, but most of the time, she comes off timid. Now, this could be because Kubrick was verbally abusing her and threatening her, but I don't know. Then there's some stuff that could have been left out. For example, there's one scene involving the head chef traveling to the hotel (because he's physic too and wants to save Wendy and Danny) and we see him driving through the snow. For a good five minutes at least. I get that it's snowing hard, but I've been beat over the head throughout how bad the snow storm is. It's repetitive and I dislike it when movies constantly beat me over the head with something I already know.

Overall:
The Shining is awesome. I love almost every second of it and I never get tired of watching it. It's also a good holiday movie to watch (a friend of mine's family does this and inspired me to do it as well). If you haven't seen this movie, dooo it. It's amazing.

Bonus Round:
1) They had to use a thicker door for Jack to cut through. He was a volunteer fire marshal at the time and chopped through the door to fast. They also had him cut through about 50 doors to get the scene right.

2) The scene where Wendy finds Jack's "book" was type written in at least four different languages for international release.

3) There was a happy ending originally in earlier drafts but it was removed. It had Wendy and Danny in a hospital being offered to live with the hotel's manager in California. Weird.

4) Shelly Duvall had to do the baseball bat scene 127 times before Kubrick deemed it perfect. She was so stressed she actually lost some hair.

Rating: 5 REDRUMs out of 5.