Monthly Archives: December 2015

Star Wars:The Force Awakens (2015) Review: A NEW New Hope I'm not a huge Star Wars fan, I'll start out with that. I watched the movies when I was younger, it didn't really register with me the same way something like Terminator or Spider-Man did. I thought lightsabers were cool and Darth Vader was bad ass but for whatever reason, I could always take or leave Star Wars at the door. Having rewatched the films in preparation for Episode VII, I don't think that's changed, but I think I do "get it".It's a classic good vs evil story, not very nuanced, kind of loud, and pretty damn fun when it's good. Of course, I'm of the opinion there are only 2 good Star Wars films, of which one is half of A New Hope and half of Revenge of the Sith, so maybe I'm not the best judge. Regardless, I went into 'The Force Awakens' not too hopeful, but I wasn't down on the movie either. At the very least I was happy to be back in a galaxy far far away.And for the most part, the movie did it's job. It got me invested in the larger plot of it and it gave me moments that felt like Star Wars at it's best. The story goes that 30 years after the events of the Return of the Jedi, The First Order has risen from the ashes of The Empire. Kylo Ren, the new…

Creed (2015) Review:Rocky Episode VII In my review for Southpaw, I mentioned how the sports movie, and more specifically the boxing movie, is a rarity in film in that, rather than evolve from the tropes and cliches it's known for, it revels in it. Audiences even find it a travesty if the film doesn't include the things they came to see. Of course, you can't talk about that phenomenon without mentioning the OG boxing film, Rocky. The Rocky franchise is a perfect example of repeating a winning formula to the point of self parody.From a first film about rising out of the gutter to be a superstar, to symbolically winning the cold war in a fist fight with Russia incarnate, Rocky has always been about something, just not with as much subtlety as it used to. Each film is a take on the first Rocky, just with a twist that's usually preceded by "Except this time...". This is something that breaks most franchises, but like the titular main character, it just keeps getting back up. One thing is for certain though, there must be montages.With that in mind, I went into the newest film in the Rocky franchise, 'Creed', expecting to be entertained as I always was with these movies. I'd be engrossed in the main characters plight, watch him fail, train, and then win in a way that meant he'd overcome his personal obstacles, but may or may not have actually won the fight. Of…