Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker

The constant barrage of emotional moments is a bit much, but aside from that, I liked the tone of The Rise of Skywalker. There isn't a whole lot to the plot, but the characters are likeable and it looks good, which is about all I expect from a Star Wars movie.

I wasn't really into the first six movies, so I don't have any allegiance to what "Star Wars" is supposed to be. I did like the two new ones, though.

I can appreciate that it's a closing of the arc, but I didn't like how every 5 seconds they hit you with saying goodbye to another big character. There was also a constant barrage of triumphant moments. Somebody described the movie as being waterboarded. Sure you like water, but that's too much water. I kind of agree.

Leia looked kind of weird. I always like Rey's outfit, though. I liked the new droid, but it's kind of weird that they keep introducing new ones.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

Star Wars: The Last Jedi doesn't do a lot to advance the plot considering the length of the movie, but it still feels pretty epic in places.

I didn't really know what Star Wars: The Last Jedi was going to be about before I saw it. I guess it's not really about much of anything. It definitely feels like a middle movie. I didn't like the old Star Wars movies, although I don't really remember them, so I should probably watch them again. But I do like the new ones.

This one seemed really "big," like it was a spectacle, and I was glad I saw it at the theater. There were a couple of times when the music went up and you felt the grandiosity of things, and it was nice.

I liked what they did with Kylo and Rey connecting. Kylo really is a lackluster villain, though. He always just seems whiny and weak. The entire First Order seems pretty hackneyed, especially that red-headed general they featured so much this time.

They went really heavy on the animals, with the big donkey horses, and the ice foxes, and the bird things. It just stood out, it didn't really blend well.

Logan

Logan was pretty decent. It works well as another chapter in the X-Men series, even if it is a sad one. The relationships between the characters are engaging, and Pierce is a cool villain.

As you know if you read my posts, I like X-Men. And I was probably the only person who liked Origins: Wolverine. I didn’t see the point of The Wolverine before or after I watched it. But I like Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. Which is probably why I didn’t enjoy seeing him being all old in this one.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

There isn't a whole lot more to the plot of Fantastic Beasts than "the guy has to get his creatures back," but I do always like the world of Harry Potter, and it's interesting to see it in a different country, in the '20s, without Harry Potter or any kids at all. It's a pleasant starting point for the series.

Last movie of 2016, in which I saw eight more movies than 2015. Still didn't quite hit my goal of one a week. I'm glad I saw Fantastic Beasts in the theater, although a lot of the CG was slightly off. I wasn't expecting much, and it delivered on that; another one of those where it's pretty much all in the trailer. Newt was a likeable character. He reminded me of The Doctor, probably because of the hair, the blue coat, and being British. All of the characters were likeable, though, especially Queenie and Jacob.

Captain America: Civil War

There wasn't a lot of substance to Captain America: Civil War. It basically left me feeling like, "Was that a movie? Did I just watch something?" Some of the action was cool, and I guess the question it raises is interesting, but it's less than memorable.

I didn't see the first two Captain America movies, so I guess I was missing out on a bit of backstory here (and apparently the second Avengers movie would have been relevant as well, which I also didn't see). But I think I get the idea – the Avengers are destroying stuff, and Cap and Bucky were friends when they were growing up. I think I read a review that said it's an interesting dilemma, the fact that so many innocent people die in these things, and that this movie doesn't really provide any answers.

I think it sort of does. Cap's logic seems pretty sound. I guess it's just like in any war. Ultimately you're saving more lives. It's not like they're out there *trying* to kill innocent people. And putting the government in charge of them wouldn't be good. Although there probably should be some sort of system of checks and balances in case one of them is ever less than altruistic. Maybe it works if they're just self-policing.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

I really liked seeing Tolkein's book "come to life," to be cliché, in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. I don't agree with some of the changes they made in the plot, but they did a great job visually. It does seem a bit dated, but so do the books.

I've wanted to see LotR since it came out, but I wanted to read the books first, and I didn't do that until a couple years ago, and by then I didn't have time to watch old movies anymore. I tried to read The Hobbit, and either it was the most boring book I've ever read, or it was one of maybe two books that was so terrible I didn't finish it; I can't remember which. Either way, I won't be seeing that series (and it's not supposed to be good, anyway).

I feel like an unusual amount of memes came out of this series, like "one does not simply walk into Mordor." And that wasn't even a big line in the movie. Why did it become so popular?

This movie has a weird look to it, like it was shot on old-school film, and it has a weird old-school fantasy vibe to it in general. But so did the books -- they were written in 1937-49, after all -- so maybe they were going for authenticity. The opening part in Hobbiton reminded me of Willow.

X-Men: First Class

The main plot of X-Men: First Class comes off as extraneous, but the movie is still an entertaining look into the characters' backgrounds. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy do a great job portraying the origins of Charles and Erik's relationship, and Kevin Bacon hits the right notes as the villain. 

I don't know why I wasn't interested in First Class when it first came out; maybe because I didn't know any of the actors at the time. Now James McAvoy is one of my favorites, and I like Nicholas Hoult from Warm Bodies. I wasn't really on the Michael Fassbender boat before I saw First Class, but now I think he's good. I was a little confused about the casting of Kevin Bacon for the villain, but he did a good job with it. His nose was insanely distracting, though. I guess it's always been like that and I just haven't seen him in a lot of movies. Maybe they could've shot from a more flattering angle. Or maybe it didn't bother anyone else.

I always thought of the title "First Class" as like "elite fighters for the government" or something, and I don't think I realized until I saw the movie that it meant "the first class that Professor X trains." I still don't like Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique; or I don't like the way they're styling this version of her, or both. The suit is just unattractive, and the hair looks so fake. What they did with Rebecca was so much better. And I'd love for them to spring on some CGI or something to soften the look of the greasepaint. My #1 X-Men pet peeve, greasepaint; especially glaring for Azazel this time.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is pretty anticlimactic, especially if you already know all the spoilers. It's not that interesting visually, and there's just not a whole lot going on.

I finally finished the Harry Potter series, and it only took me until four years after the last movie came out. The beginning of this one is really weird. It felt like I came in at the middle of the movie, which I guess makes sense since it's a two-parter. I didn't remember Part 1 at all, though, so I was pretty confused. Maybe they could've done some kind of recap. Or maybe they thought they did. There wasn't a whole lot going on in this movie. I was pretty tired when I watched it, and I was just waiting for it to end already. It probably would've been more interesting if I hadn't found out all the spoilers from the internet.

Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame

Detective Dee: Mystery of the Phantom Flame is visually interesting, but the story is somewhat confusing and the action falls flat.

I saw a trailer for Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon that looked cool, so I requested it from the library. When it came in, I checked IMDb to see if it was any good or not, and I found out it was actually a prequel. I figured I had better watch the original one first. I love the  Huayi Brothers movies. They're always so gorgeous. The costumes in this movie were great. The sets were beautiful; I loved the use of different colors of light. It was cool how the eyes of the Buddha looked out over the city; it was such an interesting shape to look out of.

The action was confusing, though. I had no idea what was going on half the time. I think I'd like to see fewer movies choreographed by Sammo Hung. It just gets boring when you can't follow what's going on. I had a hard time following the characters and the plot, too. I could've used some of the pop-on character names from the Tai Chi movies here.

The Fast and the Furious

I'm a fan of Vin Diesel, and Paul's easy on the eyes. The plot kept me interested, too.

Sex and the City

It was nice to see it again, but it was even worse than the show. The plot was completely contrived and predictable. Everyone also looked insanely, un-attractively thin. Despite the fact that it was like half-strength fluff, I would probably watch another one if they made it.

The Mummy

Ugh, Rachel Weisz, why do you look so terrible in this? Also, fake hair, bad times. The opening half-naked hot lady scene was the best part of the whole movie. It was kind of hard to think of Imhotep as a bad guy, too, since all he was trying to do was resurrect his girlfriend.