BlogAlongAStarWars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi

Hello :-)

I’m back again for The Incredible Suit’s BlogAlongAStarWars part trois. My own account of the ongoing quest to become a proper Star Wars fan and crush the oncoming tidal wave of adult life by revisiting all the Star Wars movies in the run up to Episode 7, this most recent of posts which is absolutely definitely not late and absolutely didn’t need to have been posted by the end of August…

So here ends my look back at the original trilogy. Again, I haven’t re-watched episodes IV – VI for years but thus far I’ve thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these much loved films as an adult and letting them batter down my snarky and jaded defences.

In episode VI we discover that the Galactic Empire, under orders from Human Mole-Rat Emperor Palpatine, are building a second Death Star so they can crush the Rebel Alliance once and for all. Meanwhile Luke Skywalker, C3PO and R2D2 set in motion a plan to rescue Han Solo who is still encased in carbonite and hanging on the wall at Jabba the Hutt’s lair.

This film had me from the off. Bad-ass music *tick* iconic scrolling opening *tick* and then a ruddy excellent rescue *tick tick tick*. I love a good heist but (puts on M&S advert voice) this isn’t just a heist, this a bonkers Space Opera heist. The whole sequence is tremendous fun, the call back to “I Love you/I know” was super cute, I love that this is the first time Luke seems like a proper Jedi, it’s just an all-round good time.

Here’s a potentially controversial statement: I don’t understand the appeal of Boba Fett. I know he’s supposed to be this great man of mystery and intrigue but I’m just not seeing it. To me he hasn’t done enough to justify the esteem in which his character is held and when he’s accidentally knocked into the giant sand vagina I gave zero shits.

For a film series that has thus far stayed away from massive exposition dumps it is a little disappointing that when we get back to Dagobah, after Yoda sadly shuffles off this mortal coil, the ghost of Obi Wan has to show up and explain everything. This isn’t the worst offender I’ve ever seen but it did feel as though Lucas wrote himself into a corner and then decided to Force feed the audience (Geddit?!?! FORCE feed… because it’s Star Wars… and the Force… oh fine be like that…) some piffle, albeit piffle delivered by the legendary Alec Guinness, in order to work his way out of it. I’m not saying that this is an omen of things to come but it absolutely is.

Then we move to Endor. I don’t hate the Ewoks as much as most (they gave us Warwick Davis and he is a goddamn legend) but I will concede that they are narratively unnecessary and conspicuously commercially lucrative. We’ve already established that this is a David and Goliath space parable; you don’t need a physical representation in the form of tiny bears fighting massive Stormtroopers.  Also, I know everyone says Ewoks are just children’s toys but let’s not forget they did want to eat Han Solo. Like actually EAT him…

Then everything comes to a head in the final act and it’s glorious. The rebel strike team try and take the Endor base, the X-Wings are sent to take down the Death Star, Luke goes mano a mano with his Daddy and Admiral Ackbar utters the line that spawned a thousand memes. Each of these showdowns matter and the cutting between the three of them is done really nicely, enough to keep us engaged but not manic enough to confuse us.

Each individual finale fight matters but the battle between Vader and Luke is the one with the biggest emotional heft and brilliantly done it is too. We all know that Luke isn’t really going to turn but when he lets rip on Vader he proper goes for it and it has all the drama you’d expect from such an anticipated fight.

Maybe it all wraps itself up rather fluffily and a bit too nicely but by this point I don’t really mind. The redemption of Vader, Luke’s transition to fully fledged Jedi, Leia and Han’s happily ever after, it’s full on fairytale ending stuff which , as a life-long Disney fan, I am not one to shy away from.

So everyone is happy, we’ve got fireworks and dancing Ewoks; but then, looking like the creepiest creeper who ever creeped, Hayden Christensen’s ghostly figure appears like the Ghost of Special Editions Present. Aside from the fact that this makes no sense (I’m not accepting Lucas’s retcon bullshit about how he’s “returned to his inner persona”, how would Luke even know who he is? He’s only ever seen his Father as an old man?! Poor Sebastian Shaw…), it is a painful reminder of what I have in store over the next three months.

George Lucas’s ridiculous changes aside, I get Star Wars now. I understand the affection; the characters are joyous, I agree with the consensus that Episode V is the best one and if Lightsabers were real I would absolutely want one. So let us soldier on dear reader and you can watch as the prequels shit all over my new found love... *sigh*

Final Thoughts: (This is pretty much exactly what I did at the end of Return of the Jedi) 

‘I wonder if there’s any other original trilogy stuff I can look at before I have to start on the prequels…’

*takes to the interwebs*

‘Ooooh ‘Star Wars Holiday Special’ that might be worth a look...’

*10 minutes later*

‘What the actual FUCK…’

Surprise Discovery: I completely forgot about the suggestion that Leia has powers too. Fingers crossed that’s something we get to see in Episode VII!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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BlogAlongAStarWars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back

Hello :-)

Here we are for round 2 of The Incredible Suit’s BlogAlongAStarWars and my own personal quest to become a proper fan of this hallowed film series (read as ‘quest to procrastinate as much as is humanly possible’).

As previously discussed I haven’t seen the original Star Wars trilogy in a long time and even in my formative years, I didn’t watch them often. The Empire Strikes Back is the film that suffered most from my Star Wars indifference because it’s the one I’ve seen the least.

Three years have passed since the events of A New Hope and everyone is a little war weary. Our heroic rebels led by Princess Leia have been chased across the galaxy and set up a base on the Ice planet Hoth. Darth Vader is hell bent on finding Luke Skywalker and scatters thousands of probe droids across the galaxy with a view to finding him and turning him to the dark side.

I’m glad to report that everything is present and correct from the last film; stirring score, fun space chase scenes (say “space chase” five times fast), awesome action; but Empire is giving us a bit more than we got before. This feels like classic ‘second episode in a trilogy’ stuff; the stakes are higher and everything’s gone darker. It sounds cliché but it’s undeniably effective and by the end of Empire Strikes Back the audience is totally on board for Episode VI.

I love that things have progressed; it’s never spelled out for us but we’re clearly a few years on from A New Hope, not just because the locations have changed but because our characters have. Everyone seems a bit more mature and the relationships feel like these guys have been living together for ages, like genuine friends.

It’s really nice to be back in the company of our central trio. Luke’s still a bit of a whiney bitch but his little brother/ big brother relationship with Han is so cute I’ll forgive him. Han and Leia’s back and forth is lovely. Of course she’s in love with him, she was never not going to be in love with him, LOOK AT HIS BEAUTIFUL FACE. But seriously, their moments have just the right balance of wit and vulnerability to convince us that these two are destined for each other.

This is the Two Towers of the series where our central team spin off into their own mini adventures. Han, Leia and Chewie are trying to evade capture in the Millennium Falcon (what’s a girl got to do to get a Hyperdrive fixed in that Galaxy?!?!) meanwhile Luke has swanned off to the Dagobah system because Obi Wan’s disembodied voice told him to. You really can’t underestimate how ridiculous that statement is until you write it down but on screen it works. When they introduce this psychic Jedi Voice messaging system in A New Hope I thought it was a bit odd, but I went with it because the film had earned my goodwill by that point. Here it works because we discover Yoda can hear it too and we get a lovely explanation of what being a Jedi means. It’s a really nice way to expand on that mythology and the idea that the fastest or strongest are not necessarily the best is a sweet little take away.

Whilst we’re on the subject, I was utterly unprepared for how hilariously batshit Yoda is when we first meet him. Why have I never heard anyone talk about this?!?! Everyone is all “Do or not do, there is no try” and yes, it’s great when he gets his Jedi Master on and raises the X-Wing from the swamp but that introduction when he’s poking around Luke’s stuff and giggling his little green tits off is one of my new favourite things.

They’ve really ramped it up in terms of environments for this one which is great fun. We got a glimpse of the deserts of Tatooine in A New Hope but for the most part we’re in the Millennium Falcon or on a Star Destroyer or in an X-Wing, not that they aren’t joyous places to be, they’re just a tad samey. It’s probably a reflection of the increase in budget but Hoth and Cloud City look fantastic whilst simultaneously being a lovely way to add to the scope of the universe.

Let’s talk about Darth Vader for a minute because I completely forgot to do that last time. In terms of iconography, there is nothing more Star Wars than Vader.  The character design is epic, everything he says sounds badass and that voice is just fantastic (James Earl Jones = instant gravitas). However, why these Imperial Starships have so many staff on them remains a mystery to me. If you jump on that Galactic Corporate ladder you’re pretty much destined to end up with Vader doing his (occasionally comical) invisible chokehold on you.

The reveal of Vader’s paternity is so engrained in pop culture it feels like something I’ve always known; however this blogging malarkey has alerted me to the fact that I’ve never properly sat down and watched that scene. The reveal itself is iconic but that whole build up and aftermath makes a massive impact; it’s a demonstration of how powerful Vader is, how seductive the Dark side can be, it shows far Luke has come, how much he still has to learn and the fact he’d rather jump into the abyss than join his Father says so much more than just dialogue. Despite the slightly awkward getaway (how EXACTLY does he manage to get sucked up by that air vent?), it’s the definitive turning point of the series.

Without having rewatched Return of the Jedi I can’t say if this is the best of the trilogy, it’s not as uncomplicatedly fun as A New Hope, but it feels like Empire Strikes Back is the reason the series is as revered as it is.  This is the heart of the franchise; everything we care about is expanded on, building a bigger universe with a vim and vigour that makes wide eyed children of us all.

Final Thoughts: I’m not being funny but the Empire should have had the battle of Hoth sewn up. That energy shield was more of a hindrance than a help to the Rebels’ escape, they could only get out through a bottleneck made by that Ion Cannon so why not position your ships over it and blast everyone to pieces on their way out? FFS Vader!

Surprise Discovery: Hello Grand Maester Pycelle! Fancy seeing you here!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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BlogAlongAStarWars: Episode IV – A New Hope

Hello :-)

So I’ve decided to take part in The Incredible Suit’s BlogAlongAStarWars because I can’t think of a better way to distract myself from the impending responsibilities of my own adulthood.

Also because I don’t think I’m a Star Wars fan.

Hang on! Put those flaming torches and pitchforks away! When I say I’m not a Star Wars fan, that doesn’t mean I don’t like Star Wars. It’s fine, it’s a perfectly pleasant way to pass the time, I just don’t emotionally connect to it. I haven’t seen the original trilogy for years, I can’t quote it, I can’t remember what happens in each film (I’ve seen them all but they blur together in my mind); basically I’m a bit vague on the whole thing.

So I’m going to see if this little project can turn me into a proper fan. Or at the very least help me remember the difference between a Jawa and a Sandperson…

It would be extremely easy to be cynical about Star Wars, they’ve got to be the most parodied movies in modern cinema so sitting there, eye-rolling my way through every iconic shot or line sounds about right, especially for someone as bitter and jaded as me. However, I press play and I can’t do it. I’m totally engaged because of that score. That score is fucking majestic. There’s no way you can be arch and glib when you’re listening to that, it’s too awesome.

So straight away my defences are down and we get into the story. I could’ve sworn it was more complicated than this but here we go; Princess Leia, sporting a parallel cinnamon bun hairstyle, is captured by The Empire because she’s stolen their secret plans, she sends a SOS message to Obi Wan Kenobi via robots R2D2 and C3PO who make a quick getaway via an escape pod. We land on a desert planet where some Jawa traders (Ahhhh! So THEY’RE the Jawas…) kidnap our droids and sell them on to Owen Lars and his nephew Luke Skywalker. Luke comes across Leia’s message and sets out to find Obi Wan.

What’s weird about taking A New Hope out of it’s fandom context is that on viewing, it’s refreshingly unpretentious. I’d never criticise anyone for reading into the philosophy behind these films, art is made for the viewer, not the artist and if you get a deeper message out of them then more power to you, but A New Hope makes no bones about the fact that it’s here to be a super fun space romp and to that end it’s a total success. It feels a little like we’re moving from one set piece to another sometimes but it’s all so good natured and perky you get dragged along for the ride with a huge smile on your face.

Luke is a perfect central character because he is basically every teenager who ever existed; a bit stroppy, naïve and desperate to experience what life has to offer, his character arc basically writes itself. He comes off as a little beige in the beginning of A New Hope, especially when he’s surrounded by such brilliant characters as Han and Leia, but by the time the credits roll you’re totally rooting for him.

Speaking of Han and Leia they have so much personality I want to bottle it and spread it around all the modern blockbusters that don’t imbue their characters with half as much as this did. Impractical hairstyle aside, Leia is wonderful. Carrie Fisher practically glows with wit and moxie. As for Harrison Ford… well he’s pretty much perfect. There’s no other way I can put it, it’s a perfect performance; charming, daring and cheeky before Nandos was even a thing.

The downside to this awakening of the potential Star Wars fan within me is that the only versions of the original trilogy I can find are the remastered ones. Now, when I watch Sci-fi from the pre-CGI age, as long as the story is good enough, I don’t have an issue with the effects. Particularly in the case of Star Wars because a lot of the effects are practical and as we all know the believability half-life of real effects is inordinately greater than that of CGI. However, in this remastered version, George Lucas or whichever clown is responsible, deemed in necessary to add in extra CGI creatures and a whole new scene featuring a CGI Jabba the Hutt. These scenes are massively jarring because the CGI clashes hideously with the original footage. What I really want to do is immerse myself in a world, what this is doing is pulling me straight back out of it. 

Despite the CGI retconning, A New Hope is an inordinate amount of fun. It’s full of characters you want to spend time with, action you care about and a style of storytelling that puts as much faith in the audience as the audience does in the film.

I’m starting to wonder why I didn’t watch Star Wars more as a child because I would have absolutely loved it, in fact I love it now. Maybe the Force is turning me into a fan after all…

Final Thoughts: George Lucas gives zero shits about scientific accuracy. He’s gonna stick “PEW PEW!” noises all over the space battles and there’s not a god damn thing you can do about it.

Surprise Discovery: I had no idea Debbie Reynolds was Carrie Fisher’s Mum, cheers Google!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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Inside Out Review

Hello :-)

Pixar have been the leading light in modern children’s animation since the release of the seminal Toy Story in 1995. However, when the studio turned out Cars 2 in 2011 it was seen as a move towards more cynical, toyetic releases and the movie going public feared the worst. With a perceived reliance on sequels and the recent resurgence in quality from Disney Studios, Pixar’s position as the best in the CG game was looking shaky; can they turn it around with their newest offering Inside Out?

Inside Out is about the emotions in our heads, specifically the emotions in the head of a young girl, Riley (Kaitlyn Dias). Riley is governed by Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Fear (Bill Hader), Anger (Lewis Black) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). The emotions help Riley make decisions, navigating her way from childhood to adolescence, forming glowing memory marbles along the way. When Joy and Sadness are cut off from the other emotions they get lost in Riley’s Long Term Memory. Joy and Sadness must find their way back to Headquarters or Riley may never be happy again.

Forgive my pre-amble, I hate talking Pixar down but it must be said, Cars 2 is a Turkey. Thankfully it looks like it’s going to be consigned to the history pages as a blip on Pixar’s record because Inside Out is back up there with some of the studio’s best.

There’s an inbuilt quality that we’ve come to expect from Pixar and it’s time we stopped taking that for granted and appreciated the artistry they produce. The animation on Inside Out is gorgeous. The inner and outer worlds are clearly defined and the mind-machinations are fleshed out in bright, shiny visuals that literally give shape to the abstract.

In terms of story it’s the most ambitious concept Pixar have attempted so far, but the world of Inside Out is so beautifully realised you won’t struggle to engage with it. There’s a lot of detail in the film and it’s a testament to the writing team (Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve and Josh Cooley) that it all feels effortless and natural.

Some have said the ideas might be too much for very young viewers but I disagree. There are just as many layers here as there are in the Toy Story movies; younger viewers can enjoy the jokes and glorious visuals, adults can have their heartstrings tugged by the truths about letting go of childhood and everyone can shed a tear when [REDACTED FOR SPOILERS AND MY OWN SANITY BECAUSE I’M STILL NOT OVER IT].

Pete Docter previously directed Up and with that film’s infamous opening it’s no surprise that some tears will be jerked here. What’s so special is how that’s balanced with humour and moments of levity. There are some lovely gags peppered throughout and Pixar still remain the masters of encorporating cultural references that everyone will get something out of. The pacing allows for all of this without ever feeling like it’s dragging you from one emotion to the other, more letting you experience each one as it guides you through the film.

The voice cast is unsurprisingly excellent. It reads as a who’s who of Hollywood comedy but it’s Amy Poehler’s Joy and Phyllis Smith’s Sadness that lead the charge. Poehler and Smith make a great mis-matched pairing and, whilst neither of them are covering ground they haven’t already broached in other projects, they fit perfectly into the world.

The seeming refusal to end on an unequivocally happy note is an indication of how sophisticated this storytelling is. The acceptance and understanding that all emotions are valid and that we need to embrace the whole spectrum of our complex inner lives is one of the most profound take-aways I’ve seen in a film in a long time, let alone in one aimed at children.

I can’t think of anyone else that could have made Inside Out. It’s the perfect marriage of technical skill, adventurous writing and spot on performances that earned Pixar their reputation as the best in the business. Sweet, poignant and fun, Inside Out is a joy.

Inside Out is on general UK release on Friday 24th July.

That's all from me for today. 

Goodbye till next time :-)

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It Follows Review

Hello :-)

If you’ve read any of my Horror reviews before you’ll know I have a history of actively avoiding the genre until recently when I decided to rehabilitate myself and get on board with scary films. This has proved an excellent decision and I’ve seen a whole load of great stuff I otherwise wouldn’t have, most recently I went to see low budget Horror flick It Follows.

Jay is a 19 year old girl dating the seemingly lovely Hugh. They have what she believes to be an innocent sexual encounter, but afterwards she seems to hallucinate figures walking towards her and can’t shake the feeling that something is out to get her. With the help of her friends Jay tries to get to the bottom of these strange visions and avoid becoming its next victim.

Anyone that’s been on Facebook, owned a mobile phone or had an e-mail address has probably seen a chain message of some kind. They usually tell some kind of horrific story and then end by saying “if you don’t forward this message to 10 people the same fate will befall you!” This is the concept behind It Follows and the results are scarier than you’d think.

It Follows revels in suburban gothic imagery, using Detroit’s indigenous dilapidated buildings to great effect. The result is a striking mix of decaying infrastructure, and the unnerving leafy quiet of residential purlieu that really puts the audience on edge. The camera work further aids the atmosphere with the inclusion of a number of 360° pans that whip round just fast enough to make you question everything you see.

In order to set themselves apart from the crowd, the subversion and omission of genre tropes has become a necessity for Horror film makers recently. Happily, It Follows does both by simultaneously proving and disproving Randy Meeks’ theory that sex in Horror films is fatal. It’s a nice twist on an old trope and it’ll stay with you well after the scares have gone.

Having said that It Follows doesn’t rub it’s meta in your face. It’s a genre-literate film and, whilst the sexual spectre (or randy revenant, whichever you prefer) is refreshingly original, it has a definite lineage behind it. David Robert Mitchell is a Director who wears his influences on his sleeve and this film positively reeks of John Carpenter. The music, the shot composition, the growing sense of dread, the slow, linear momentum of the villain.  Carpenter has proved to be a huge influence on a number of filmmakers recently and I for one, wholeheartedly encourage this.


Maika Monroe is a stand out in a film from a genre not usually know for the quality of it's performances. She's sympathetic and stays on the side of distressed damsel rather than crossing over into being the maker of moronic decisions. The rest of the cast don't quite match her levels of nuance but none of them are irritating enough for the audience to wish them into cannon fodder.

There’s a lovely nod to 1942’s Cat People as the film gathers momentum towards the finish line, but things come to a crashing halt when an almost entirely unexplained final show down punctures the carefully constructed atmosphere. It Follows ends on a high with an utterly superb parting shot but it’s hard not to feel let down by a film that does brilliantly for three quarters of its run time but messes up its grand finale.

It Follows is probably one of the most interesting cinematic conversations about sex in recent years. The sub-textual discussion of the way youth imagines sex is fascinating but it’s packaged in such a way that you’ll be jumping out your seat and checking over your shoulder for the promiscuous poltergeist all the way home. It’s not as ground breaking as some would have you believe but what it is, is really good.

Ok, let’s have some…

Reasons to be Cheerful :-)

1. It’s been out for a little while now but there’s a teaser trailer for the new Fantastic Four film. Fantastic Four (or FantFourStic as I’m petulantly calling it) is an interesting one because it’s pretty much been deemed a lost cause already. After seeing the trailer though, I’m not so sure it should be. My ever-increasing crush on Miles Teller aside, I really think we should go into this one with an open mind.

The cast look great, they all have good track records, Josh Trank is an interesting,  young talent (in spite of the found-footage tag the relationships in Chronicle are one of its best assets) and nothing in this teaser gives us cause for alarm. I mean it’s not as if the existing films are masterpieces, let’s give it a chance :-)

2. You may or may not be aware that I’m a daughter of the Midlands and the lack of midlands based media is a constant thorn in my side. Enter my hero Caitlin Moran and her sister Caz who have put their heads together and penned Raised By Wolves, a Channel 4 show about girls from a poor family growing up in Wolverhampton. Needless to say it’s utterly brilliant. The first episode aired on Monday so if you missed it catch up on 4OD.

That’s it for today!

Goodbye till next time :-)

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P.S I’ve managed to sneak some of my ramblings on to Den of Geek again. This time I’ve been complaining about people telling me I can’t complain about things :-)