Seth Sterner

It's interesting to reflect on this movie when it's all said and done with the sequel trilogy. People who look at and review any Star Wars movie seem to be stuck in a rut of not being able to acknowledge all of the good that is there. I struggle with finding good in the prequels, but there is good there to be found. You just have to be looking for it. I never watch something hoping it's going to be bad. When 'The Last Jedi' premiered in December of 2017 people seemed to be waiting to pounce on this movie and chose to let the negatives overshadow the entire film. Oddly enough, I have the same issues with the film as everyone else. The second act is a slog. Canto Bite can never see the light of day again and I'd be perfectly fine with that. I wasn't a big fan of Laura Dern in the film. She really didn't seem to serve a purpose only to go out in one of the coolest shots in the entire franchise. Rose really didn't work for me. I thought she was kind of pretentious and annoying. Everyone got hung up on all of those and it kept them from seeing all of the good that is there. Luke is amazing. Mark Hamill has never been better as this character. It's beautifully shot. The third act is enough to make your heart explode with excitement. Poe has an intriguing character arc in the film. Speaking of character arcs...Luke has an INCREDIBLE character arc in the film! The finale is amazing. Rey is a very compelling character in this film. And Kylo Ren is awesome and chilling here. And all of the good outweighs all of the bad for me, and seeing as all of the good takes up significantly more screen time than the bad, the bad doesn't really effect the film for me. It's hard saying anything positive about this movie online despite having the critics backing up people like me who loved this movie. You can't be a Star Wars fan and love this movie at the same time which is absurd logic in my mind. I don't like Revenge of the Sith but I don't call all the people who love that movie non Star Wars fans. At the end of the day I choose to simply say how the film affected me. It had a very strong impact on me and it's a Star Wars movie I choose to revisit more and more as the years go by. If you don't like, that's your prerogative. You don't have to like it. But I would challenge those who hated it to give it a second watch and make sure your mind is made up and to be sure to acknowledge both the good and the bad. Ironically that's that movie's message is all about.

I remember a time when I decided to rewatch these movies, trying to give them a second shot, trying to make sure I wasn't just making stuff up in my head. This movie actually did something that I thought was a big step up from the previous three: it actually had someone likable and charismatic leading the movie in the casting of Mark Whalberg. He's not only in this movie, but he actually has a character with a story. So that was a huge step up, but that is almost completely lost in what is the total mess of this story. Once again, Michael Bay has proved to us that all he really cares about is overdone CG, cringy jokes, and pervy shots of what are supposed to be underage teens. This is what these movies have been thus far and honestly I'm just kind of numb to it all now. They no longer hurt my brain as I just don't even think when I watch these. I just kind of sit there and drool a little bit, not thinking for myself. In all seriousness though, the plot is a mess (shocker), the CG is overwhelming (again, shocker), and the writing is pretty bad (and once again, shocker). I'm giving this one a D+

Well...hello nightmares and phobias I didn't know I had. This is creature feature that didn't even need the creatures because the atmosphere is so tense! A very well directed and wonderfully acted bloodfest of a movie!

Alright. How is this one the one that everyone loves? I seriously don't get it. I like the movie just fine but how did this win over all of the Last Jedi haters? It looks great. I'll give it that. The CG is good. The action is fun. Some of the jokes really land. But in hindsight, this is the one that kind of ruined this trilogy. People have said that 'The Last Jedi' retconned everything JJ tried to establish in 'The Force Awakens' and that simply just isn't true. Rian Johnson took JJ's ideas and built upon it to evolve the franchise. I freaking called Luke just tossing that lightsaber over his shoulder two years before 'The Last Jedi' came out! It made logical sense to me. What were people expecting? That's what good sequels do. They build upon the previous installment. They add clever ideas and are able to progress the story and god forbid it isn't always the way you "want" it to go. And after the brutal backlash 'The Last Jedi' as well as several people involved with that film, 'The Rise of Skywalker' felt like Disney playing it safe. They didn't want to step on any toes so they took what they had left and made the movie they thought the fans would want. Now I'm not saying that all fans love this movie, but significantly more people are praising it from a fan's standpoint than 'The Last Jedi'. But this movie ended up doing to 'The Last Jedi' what people THINK it did to 'The Force Awakens'. It took the ideas established in that movie and squandered them. I'm in the minority that actually LOVES 'The Last Jedi' and I will claim that without apology. I think it's the strongest Star Wars film since 'The Empire Strikes Back'. Love or hate this film, it didn't follow through with any major ideas that were set up in the first two installments. That being said I oddly enough kind of like this movie. It's got issues to spare, but I will never not feel joy seeing the Millennium Falcon fly. I will never not get excited at lightsabers. I will never not be intrigued by the mythology of Star Wars. And this movie has that in good doses. But where this film falters for me is that it just didn't take the risk of following through with where 'The Last Jedi' left off and was more concerned about making everybody happy than being a good movie. At the end of the day this movie exists and I'm glad I saw it opening night with a crowded theatre. I'm glad to have had my healthy debates with fans defending 'The Last Jedi' (and yes that is a hill I'm willing to die on). It's a mess. But it's a mess that's really close to my heart and I don't foresee that changing anytime soon.

Great news, folks! These movies are still getting made and guess what: they're getting longer, too! I often have to sit there and ask myself why I keep on letting Michael Bay assault my senses like this and why others are still paying to go see these in theaters. Why are we letting him do this to us? There's nothing new to see here, folks. Bay is back with his nauseating directing style and his laughably bad writers to try and tell me that we only landed on the moon to get a closer look at a crashed Transformer? Give me a total break! The plot is just bad! Bad! The acting, as always with these movies, is just laughable. It's just more of the same old same old. At least it's not quite as bad as Revenge of the Fallen, but that's not saying much. I'm giving this one a D.

I avoided this movie because of all of the less than average reviews it had received, but finally I decided to give it a try. This is no mere post-apocalyptic gore fest, but a beautifully written story about a man guarding a text that could bring humanity hope and eventually salvation with his life. Denzel Washington gives a strong performance and Gary Oldman delivers a despicable villain. It's graphic, it's brutal, but it's story cannot go unappreciated. I gladly give this movie a positive rating. This isn't another random action movie. This film has something to say, and whether you agree with the end result or not you must give credit where it is due. Masterfully directed and magnificently acted, I have no qualms giving this movie an A.

Here we go, y'all. This is the kind of movie you get when Michale (the king of the Bayhem) Bay is left on his own with screenwriters that don't even want to try. This movie did the impossible for me: this movie made me longing for that first film. You know, that one that was so focussed on the character of Sam trying to hook up with Mikala? Yeah...this movie had me longing for that. And if I thought that the first film was unfocussed, wow was I ever wrong. This movie distracts us from all of the what should be cool Transformer stuff going on with more of the same old cringe-worthy humor and laughably bad acting. I honestly can't think of one good thing that came out of this movie. Not one. I genuinely hate this film and I have no problem giving it an F.

I was finally able to catch the third season last night. If I'm being totally honest, I'm not at all ashamed to say that I was up until 4:30 in the morning watching Stranger Things. I caught this show later than most did. I tend to avoid shows until they have really good word of mouth as I don't like to get invested only to be disappointed. But there is no disappointment here. This is the only Netflix Original show I like. With a gorgeous aesthetic, lovable characters, and spectacular writing, this is definitely a show for young and old alike. The production quality is truly jaw dropping, the performances are excellent, and the story always has me wanting more.

A very worthy sequel to a very fine first chapter of an iconic story. A bit overlong, yes, but the performances and direction style definitely save it from becoming unbearable. There were two sequences in particular, one involving a locker and the other a room of mirrors that really got to me. I appreciate the loyalty to the novel and that, no matter how weird it may get, it still has the guts to tell the story from the master of horror himself. I'm giving 'It: Chapter Two' a B+

Easily one of the best movies of 2019. Made in the vein of Taxi Driver, The Shining, A Clockwork Orange and The King of Comedy, Todd Phillips' 'Joker' is sure to carry on the tradition of movies that move beyond just the overabundance of surface value comic book films of the modern day!