Want to find out about a movie before you spend your hard-earned money on it? MovieReviewMaven will tell you the good, the bad, the ugly and the inspiring, so you can decide if it's right for you or your family.
In a Nutshell: J.J. Abrams puts a spine-tingling spin on
doomsday prepping. He is a master at
suspense and this psychological thriller has plenty of it. He loves to NOT show the audience things,
which adds even more to the achingly tense scenes and viewer anticipation. Did you ever see his 2008 Cloverfield
movie? (It made me dizzy with all its shaky
cam effects.) This is sort of a sequel, but it’s not necessary at all to have
seen that one to understand this one.
Uplifting theme:
·Which is scarier: the known monster or the
unknown one?
·Be prepared.
Things I liked:
·Excellent performances by John Goodman (Howard),
Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Michelle), and John Gallagher Jr. (Emmett) Did you know that both Mary Elizabeth and
John got their start on Broadway?
·The film really plays with you, so much so that
you never know exactly what the truth is until the end.
·Foreboding music really gets you on edge….the
whole time.
·I love the close-ups on small things that really
tell the story without words, such as when you see Michelle’s white knuckles on
the steering wheel to her chipped fingernail polish.
·Fantastic car accident in the beginning. Very well done. It really got me.
·You’ll get to see lots of emergency prep
products and think about what you might need if there really were some kind of
disaster. I noticed Emergency Essentials
buckets in the house, which is a company I have used for many years and can
highly recommend!
·The Santa Clause card game scene was
outstanding. It was intense, funny, and
the moment where the movie really revs up and gets crazy.
·The majority of the movie takes place inside a
very small space, which increases the dramatic tension immeasurably.
·This is director Dan Trachtenberg’s first
movie. It looks like he has a bright
future.
Things I didn’t like:
The
ending. Hmmm….could have been
stronger. Does that mean this will
be a trilogy? J.J. Abrams refers to anticipation as
his “mystery box.” He is excellent
at building expectation, but sometimes the end result is a bit
disappointing. I’m still mad at him
for the TV series Lost: Season 6 - Final Season
, but I think he did a a great job with Star Trek Into Darkness
. His next one comes out this summer!
Like
the first Cloverfield
movie, you only get to see a tiny bit of the “thing”. You’ll be disappointed if you think you’re
going to see a bunch of monsters or aliens.
John
Gallagher’s character doesn’t get as much attention as you might
want. There is a tiny back story,
but it feels rushed and we don’t get to know him very well. Of course, Michelle is the protagonist
in the story, so her experience is where the focus is.
There’s
really only one line that shows any connection with this movie to the
first Cloverfield
and that is when Howard mentions he worked for a
satellite company. In the first
movie, it is a satellite that falls into the ocean that awakens a
monster/alien from underneath.
Funny lines:
“There’s no place like home.” – Howard
“Neither
one of us will be able to go up there to help you if you get stuck. Don’t get stuck.” – Howard
“Come
on!” - Michelle
Tips for
parents:
There
are some explosions, a shooting, and some gruesome images of dead people
that might frighten young children.
Mary
Elizabeth Winstead is in her underwear during some scenes.
In a Nutshell: YESSSS! Episode VII is everything you
hoped it would be! I loved it! The fans that filled the theater to capacity where I watched it cheered and cried and loved it too. It has just the right amount of “old stuff”
with respectful nods to the past, yet it’s also full of new, interesting characters, creatures, and special effects. It's beautifully shot and will saturate your eyes with awesomeness. Every frame could be turned into
a popular movie poster.
With plenty of humor, action, lightsaber duals, space
chases, and exciting thrills, it FEELS like a great Star Wars movie. Everything looks
real, not a bunch of hokey CGI or fake green screen trickery. How do I get to be an Extra in the next movie?!! Did I ever tell you when I played an Extra on
a telenovela that never made it to the screen? It was called "Saints and Sinners." I played a Congressman's wife. So fun!
In the words of Supreme Leader Snoke, “There’s been an
awakening. Have you felt it?” In a word,
YESSSS!
Uplifting theme:
“Don’t give up hope.” – Rey
“The
crazy thing is it’s true. The
Force. The Jedi. All of it. It’s all true.” – Han Solo
“Feel
the light. It surrounds you. It will guide you.” – Maz
“May
the Force be with you.” – Leia
“Hope
is not lost today. It is found.” –
Maz
Like Rey, we don't realize the greatest inside us.
Things I liked:
The
audience immediately liked the new characters, yet applauded and cheered
like crazy when former characters made their appearances on the screen. Director and writer J.J. Abrams has successfully created new characters that
you care about. He has done a great job with the Star Trek franchise and now the Star Wars phenomena. He shows great respect for what has been and knows how to make new episodes fresh and new.
Familiar
characters, but with a new twist, like a Storm Trooper with a heart. It's seriously impressive how well they kept the secrets about this script and cast before releasing the film.
I love
the small details. For example, Rey
makes this really cool bread that only appears on screen for about 10 seconds,
yet it’s memorable. She also eats a
really cool piece of fruit in the bar scene.
Cool new
creatures we haven’t seen before.
I love
that Daisy Ridley (Rey) can cry so easily without having her entire face turn red like
mine does. She just releases
dainty, yet believable tears at the perfect time, a director’s dream. She is an unknown actress who is brilliant in this film. She is the heart and soul of this movie. How refreshing and wonderful to have a female heroine and one who is good and kind.
Supreme
Leader Snoke is pretty darn cool. I
want a bad guy to look creepy and amazing at the same time. Mission accomplished. Even more is that he is voiced by Lord of the Ring's talented Andy Serkis who gave us the unforgettable Gollum.
Maz is
awesome! My fave! She is voiced by the lovely Lupita Nyong'o.
The
scenery is beautiful and believable with great sweeping vistas.
See it
in 3D if you can!
It
makes WAY more sense to have a droid with that roller ball base, so he can
get around on the sand and even stairs, unlike R2-D2. R2-D2's unrealistic transport mode always bugged me. BB-8, the new droid, also has some fun features, like the cigarette lighter
that elicited laughter from the audience when he holds it up to show his enthusiasm for something. Did you know funnyman Bill Hader is the voice of BB-8? BB-8 is cute, but not overly like Jar Jar Binks who annoyed the heck out of everyone.
Welcome to stardom, John Boyega (Finn). He does a great job and is quickly likable and enthusiastically charismatic.
SPOILER ALERT: It was great to see Mark Hamill again as Luke Skywalker.
Great sound effects and that epic sound track by John Williams! Check out this fun video that Jimmy Fallon and "The Roots" made with some of the cast to pay tribute to the epic music:
Things I didn’t like:
It cracks me up how everyone can
understand what BB-8 says.
Some
things are brushed off without explanation. That being said, fans have been critical of some of the previous episodes that told us what was happening, rather than show us. I like that this movie shows us!
Leia (Carrie Fisher) should be dressed more like the queen that she is, but doesn’t until the end of the
movie. I used to adore her mother, the talented Debbie Reynolds.
Kylo
Ren (Adam Driver) has some serious anger management issues. Ha ha He does an excellent job and I appreciate the good script-writing that gave us a villain with motivation and depth.
Don't be impatient that there is a cliff hanger at the end. You already know that there are more episodes coming to complete the trilogy, so don't leave the movie disappointed. Enjoy this one.
Funny lines:
“Women always figure out the truth. Always.” – Han Solo
“I’ll
show you the dark side!” – Kylo Ren
“So,
who talks first? You talk
first? I talk first? It’s just hard to understand you with
all that apparatus.” - Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac)
“Look
how old you’ve become.” – Kylo Ren
“Something far worse has happened
to you.” - Lor San Tekka played by award-winning Max Von Sydow, who was also featured recently in the movie "The Letters", which is also in theaters currently.
“Don’t
do that.” – Leia
“Do what?” – Han Solo
“Anything.” – Leia
“You
know you can’t trust those little freaks.” – Han Solo
“I’ve
got a bad feeling about this.” – Han Solo
“This
is not how I thought this day was going to go.” – Han Solo
“Whatever
you do, don’t stare.” – Han Solo
“At what?” – Rey, Finn
“Any of it.” – Han Solo
“That
light saber…it belongs to me.” – Kylo Ren
“Come get it.” – Finn
The line that got the audience to cheer the loudest:
“Chewy, we’re home!” – Han Solo
when he steps onto the Millennium Falcon. It's so great to see Harrison Ford revisit his role as the lovable Han Solo. He and Chewbaca banter back and forth and it was more than wonderful to see the two of them together on screen again.
Tips for
parents:
The language is clean and there is plenty of action and fun creatures to keep young kids entertained.
There
is a lot of violence and fighting.
Umm…it’s a Star Wars movie.
It might be interesting to talk to your kids about which kind of
fighting affects them more or has more of an emotional impact: close-up
light saber duals or the big space battles?
There
are plenty of heroes in this film.
Ask your kids who they are and how they show bravery, courage,
loyalty, teamwork, and hope.
There
are common themes that run through all of the episodes. Help your kids identify some of them:
good vs. evil, fatherhood, power, loneliness, hope, mentorship, etc.
Ask
your kids how marketing affects them.
Invite them to point out all of the merchandising they have seen.
'STAR WARS' MAKED OVER $100 MILLION:Star Wars: The Force Awakens broke box office records, raking in more than $100 million on its first day in theaters, according to studio estimates. The previous record holder was the second installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, which made $91 million on its first day. The Force Awakens also broke preview records, selling $57 million in tickets.
movie? (It made me dizzy with all its shaky
cam effects.) This is sort of a sequel, but it’s not necessary at all to have
seen that one to understand this one. , but I think he did a a great job with Star Trek Into Darkness
. His next one comes out this summer!
