LAST CHRISTMAS (2019) – My rating: 7.5/10

Last Christmas is a romantic comedy directed by Paul Feig and written by Bryony Kimmings and Emma Thompson, who co-wrote the story with her husband, Greg Wise. Based on the song of the same name.  Because Last Christmas had so much hype as a must-see movie, one felt if they didn’t go to see it, they’d be missing a potential future classic. Not having any idea what to expect, I went to see Last Christmas and found the movie to be fun, romantic and a little sad.

During the Christmas season, a young lady who lives in London named Katarina “Kate” (Emilia Clarke), has been given a second chance at life, but abuses everyone she used to cherish. With the help of Tom Webster (Henry Golding), a mysterious gentleman who rides a bicycle and volunteers at a homeless shelter, she begins to slowly improve her attitude and heal her body. Working a dead-end job as an elf selling Christmas ornaments all year round, Kate goes out on singing auditions but is never hired. Her boss, who is referred to as “Santa” (Michelle Yeoh), bends over backward to keep Kate in her employment. On a more friendly side, Kate sets up Santa with a Danish man (Peter Mygind) who she befriends in front of the shop.  Kate is currently homeless after being thrown out by her flatmate. By choice, she remains homeless until she has no choice but to live back home at her mother Petra (Emma Thompson) and father’s Ivan (Boris Isakovic) house. The environment there is not the greatest, as her mother is a Yugoslavian immigrant who is suffering from depression and a father who was a successful lawyer back in Yugoslavia but is now driving an Uber cab because of money issues and is never home. Kate has a sister Marta (Lydia Leonard) who is a successful lawyer practicing in the UK.  Marta lives with her girlfriend Joyce (Patti LuPone) who is ignored by the family, as her mother doesn’t accept their relationship.

I thoroughly enjoyed Last Christmas, which was a far cry from the Emilia Clarke (Game of Thrones: Mother of Dragons) I was used to.  Emilia is a brilliant actress, however, Last Christmas received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances and chemistry of Clarke and Golding but criticized the screenplay, clichés, and plot twist, and has grossed $67 million worldwide. I recommend this film to everyone.  Check It Out!

 

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (2018) – My rating: 8/10

Solo: A Star Wars Story, or simply Solo, is a 2018 Space Western based on the Star Wars character Han Solo. Directed by Ron Howard, it was produced by Lucasfilm and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the second Star Wars anthology film following 2016’s Rogue One. A stand-alone installment set prior to the events of A New Hope, it explores the early adventures of Han Solo and Chewbacca. I was excited to see Solo based on trailers and my Star Wars history but wasn’t that happy about  how Solo turned out.  While I continued to be entertained, I didn’t feel as touched or as involved in the story as in the past.  Could it be that there are too many Star Wars movies giving one the feeling that it’s just a competition piece without rhyme or reason?  A money grabber, if you will.

On the shipbuilding world of Corellia, orphaned children are made to steal in order to survive. A young Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich) and his girlfriend, Qi’ra  (Emilia Clarke) escape from a local criminal gang. They bribe an Imperial officer with a stolen sample of coaxium, a powerful hyperspace fuel, in exchange for passage on an outgoing transport, but Qi’ra is apprehended by their pursuers before she can board. Han vows to return and rescue her, he then joins the Imperial Navy as a flight cadet. Han is given the surname “Solo” by the recruiting officer.

In the meanwhile, three years have past and Han has been expelled from the Imperial Flight Academy for insubordination. While serving as an infantryman during a battle on the planet Mimban, he encounters a gang of criminals posing as Imperial soldiers led by Tobias Beckett (Woody Harrelson). He tries to blackmail them into taking him with them, but Beckett has him arrested for desertion and thrown into a pit to be fed to a beast – a Wookiee named Chewbacca (Joonas Suotamo). Able to speak Chewbacca’s language, Han persuades him to work together to escape their confinement. In need of extra hands, Beckett rescues them and enlists them in the gang, which includes Beckett’s wife Val (Thandie Newton).  They then plot to steal a shipment of coaxium on the planet Vandor. The plan goes awry when the Cloud Riders show up with their leader Enfys Nest (Erin Kellyman), resulting in the deaths of two crew members and the destruction of the coaxium.  Beckett reveals he was ordered to steal the shipment for Dryden Vos (Paul Bettany), a high-ranking crime boss in the Crimson Dawn syndicate. Han and Chewbacca volunteer to help him steal another shipment to repay the debt.

At this point, the film picks up a whole new adventure.  There are many twist and turns and some surprises you won’t see coming.  Solo is an excellent story with far fewer characters than some of the earlier Star Wars productions. You might note the character Lando Calrissian  (Donald Glover) who was formerly played by Billy De Williams has been replaced with a younger actor.  Also, Han Solo was originally played by Harrison Ford but is not played by Alden Ehrenreich.  Over all I think Solo is missing the grandiose feeling usually displayed in these type of movies but still is a very good film.  Solo is definitely not worth seeing in 3D but is worth seeing in the regular standard format.  Check it out!

 

TERMINATOR GENISYS (2015) – My rating: 8/10

What a pleasant surprise!  Usually, a movie over done this many times sucks.  Terminator Genisys was really good, even with a visibly older Arnold Schwarzenegger, who turns 68 the end of this month.  Actually, Arnold made the movie.  This Terminator sequel has it all; action, special effects, humor, good story, surprises, mystery and it made sense.  Human Resistance Leader, John Connor (Jason Clarke), in retaliation to the on going machine war, sends one of his soldiers, Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back in time to 1984 to save his mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) in hopes of stopping Skynet from killing her.  This would enable the Resistances’ victory against Skynet to stand and allow mankind to live.  During Kyle’s transition to 1984,  he received a cryptic warning of events in the year 2017 as well as witnessed a soldier attacking John Connor. Everything was planned out for Kyle’s arrival but when he arrived, nothing was as they planned including the T-800, which Sarah and her “Guardian” (Arnold Schwarzenegger) killed.  Kyle had to convince Sarah to think outside the box and change what she thought she knew as the gospel. Eventually, Kyle and Sarah ended up in 2017 where they meet up with John Connor and detective O’Brien (J.K. Simmons) who gave a brilliant performance. This 5th sequel was well done — lots of effort went into Terminator Genisys.  They did a good job.  It is exciting and entertaining.