Be One with the Force: My Review of Rogue One

It's a good time for Star Wars fans to be alive.

Our favorite saga that we thought had ended had been resurrected and we can expect at least one Star Wars film every year now! How cool is that? Last year we were introduced to the new generation of Star Wars in The Force Awakens. This year, we're getting the first standalone film in the saga entitled Rogue One: A Star Wars Story or simply Rogue One. 

For the first time, we're having a Star Wars movie that doesn't center on the Skywalker family. Rogue One tells a heroic story that takes place right before the events in A New Hope. As we all know, Luke Skywalker and his friends from the Rebel Alliance famously destroy Death Star at the end of that movie. Rogue One will let us know how the Rebel Alliance gets a map of Death Star which helps them destroy the superweapon. A team that names itself Rogue One runs the highly important yet dangerous mission. The Rogue One squad consists of new characters that we've never met before such as Jyn Erso, the daughter of the architect of Death Star, and Cassian Andor, a member of the Rebel Alliance. Gareth Edwards, whose previous projects include the 2014 remake of Godzilla, directed this film while Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones leads an international cast which includes Diego Luna, Mads Mikkelsen, Donnie Yen, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed etc.

The Rogue One squad (Source: www.magazine-hd.com)

Before the film was released, there were rumors that reshoots were done for the movie because Disney was not happy with it. The news made me, and lots of other fans as well, really nervous. Last minute changes and problems with the studio are never a good sign, eh? But, after seeing the movie, I realized that we shouldn't have been worried because the film is awesome!

What I love the most about the new generation of Star Wars films is how they trust young, talented and visionary filmmakers and let them helm the projects. J.J. Abrams has proven that he's the right man for the film when he successfully brought Star Wars back to life last year. Rian Johnson is currently working on Episode VIII  and I'm very happy that they choose him as the film's director. One of his previous films, Looper (starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis), is one of the coolest films I've ever seen. For Rogue One, the studio entrusts British director Gareth Edwards, and I approve this as well. He did a remake of Godzilla with Aaron Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen a few years ago and I love the film very much. I think the movie makes a monster attack, which is so otherwordly, feel realistic and plausible. I can say the same thing about Rogue One. This film's tone is a bit different from other Star Wars films. As you know, the other Star Wars films are always kept "light" and child-friendly (but still cool and awesome, of course!), but Rogue One plays with a darker tone. Edwards once said that he was going to make this film a war movie because the saga has the word "war" in its title haha, and he kept his promise. I think Rogue One really captures the roughness of wars. It shows how a war can force good people to do bad things like killing and deceiving. It also shows that not everyone can make it out alive by surprisingly (SPOILER ALERT) killing all of the main characters. This reminds me of Clone Wars. Oh yes I'm still not over Clone Wars haha.

Rogue One is a war movie
(Source: imdb.com)

Introducing new characters in a saga that has such iconic and beloved characters is clearly a challenge. I was a little skeptical about this at first, but Rogue One is surprisingly successful with its new characters. The characters have strong personalities and are definitely memorable. My favorites are Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, Chirrut Imwe and K2SO. I'm so proud of Felicity Jones's Jyn because she's a woman and she's the leader! I'm so glad they put more women in this saga! Diego Luna has officially become my new celebrity crush and favorite actor haha. His character Cassian is so heroic. And I love his accent very much (I think I have a thing for men with accents hahaha). Donnie Yen's performance as Chirrut Imwe is just so iconic! He even gives us a new quote ("I am one with the Force, the Force is with me.") and makes sure we don't forget it haha. K2SO the droid, played by Alan Tudyk, definitely steals the show with his surprisingly sarcastic personality. Oh I have to mention Forest Whitaker's character, Saw Gerrera, as well. Saw is a character that was first introduced in Clone Wars, which gives me all the Clone Wars feels. He worked with Anakin, Obi-wan, Ahsoka (Tano, Anakin's young Padawan), Lux (Bonteri, son of a senator who used to work with the Separatists but then joined the Republic) and his own sister Steela during the Clone Wars. If Saw can have a part in this movie, can we expect to see other characters from Clone Wars like Ahsoka and Lux in the future films? I told you, I'm still not over Clone Wars.

"I am one with the Force, the Force is with me."
(Source: Tumblr)

Similar to Fantastic Beasts (click here to read my review of it), Rogue One relates itself to the main story of Star Wars without trying too hard. It features tons of easter eggs that I won't mention one by one because someone has already done that here, but it has its own story and its own characters. I hope the upcoming standalone films can do the same thing. Oh yes, there will be more standalone films. I think they're working on that Han Solo film right now. I heard about a Boba Fett movie as well but I don't know whether it's confirmed or not. Those projects are exciting but I will be even more thrilled if they make an Obi-wan movie. Yes, we want Obi-wan!

So, I'm giving another five-out-of-five rating hahahaha. I just can't contain my love when it comes to Star Wars and Harry Potter, you know. Enjoy your holiday and go see Rogue One, everybody!

Rating: 5/5

Get Ready for the Awards Season!

As we enter the last month of the year, discussions and predictions regarding the Oscars and other prestigious awards start to emerge. Critics' Choice Awards announced its list of nominees for this year and, from there, I think we can see which movies are likely to dominate the awards season this time. Just click here to see the complete list of nominees in the film categories. The list of nominees makes me really excited for the 2017 awards season. Some of my favorite actors like Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone (hmmm) are there. Some films that I really want to see are nominated too, and I'm going to write about them in this post.

All images are taken from each movie's official Twitter account

ARRIVAL

I first found out about this film when one of my friends told me about it. He told me the movie was about alien spaceships that have landed on Earth, which made me think of alien invasion movies where the humans fight the aliens like Independence Day and War of the Worlds. However, it all changed when I saw this trailer.

Arrival is about a linguistics expert named Louise Banks (Amy Adams) who is summoned to investigate mysterious alien spaceships that have landed on our planet. Having no idea what the aliens' intentions are, Louise must use her knowledge to understand the aliens' language in order to be able to communicate with them before a war is declared. The film is directed by Denis Villeneuve (Sicario) with some high profile actors like Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in the cast.

As someone who learned linguistics at school and does translation jobs, the involvement of a linguist in an alien movie makes me somehow thrilled. I never imagined someone like me could be involved in a situation like that, so it would be interesting to see how it goes in the movie. Besides, Arrival receives 10 nominations in the Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress for Amy Adams, so it must be a pretty impressive movie.

HACKSAW RIDGE

This film has been on my list of anticipated movies even before the trailer hit the internet because one of my favorite actors (and celebrity crushes hahaha), Andrew Garfield, is in it. I became more and more curious about it when I saw this trailer, which I think is really moving, and when I heard that it receives positive reviews and even Oscar buzz. An Oscar-worthy movie with Andrew Garfield as the lead actor? Count me in! This film has been released in my country but I haven't got the chance to see it. I hope I can see it soon.

Hacksaw Ridge is based on a true story of Desmond Doss, an American soldier in World War II who saved many lives in Okinawa without using any kinds of weapon. Doss refused to use weapons and kill people but insisted to join the army. He really wanted to serve his nation but believed that there are other ways besides killing to do that. The inspiring man received Congressional Medal of Honor for his merit. Hacksaw Ridge is directed by actor/director Mel Gibson. Andrew Garfield leads a cast full of, again, high profile actors which includes Teresa Palmer, Vince Vaughn, Sam Worthington and Hugo Weaving. It receives 7 nominations in the Crtitics' Choice Awards including Best Picture, Best Actor for Andrew (Woohoo!) and Best Director for Mel Gibson. I really hope Andrew wins.

LA LA LAND

Yeah, I ship Stonefield (Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield, in case you don't know...) but the reason why Emma's latest movie La La Land is on my list is not because I'm obsessed with the ex-couple. It's because this movie looks soooo amazing. Take a look at the dreamy trailer below if you don't believe me. I was so moved and almost cried when I first saw it. The way Emma sings the song is the kind that makes you want to smile and weep at the same time.

La La Land follows the journey of two people, Mia (Emma Stone) and Sebastian (Ryan Gosling), who fall in love with each other as they struggle to pursue their dreams to reach success in the show business. As you might have guessed after seeing the trailer, it's a musical, so, yes, ladies, you can see Ryan Gosling sing and dance in it haha. It's not a full-on musical like Les Miserables, though. It's more like Grease where the characters burst into songs when they feel like talking can't express their feelings. La La Land is directed by Damien Chazelle, whose previous film, Whiplash, dominated the 2014 awards season. This film leads the Critics' Choice Awards nominees with 12 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director for Damien Chazelle, Best Actress for Emma Stone (Hooray!), Best Actor for Ryan Gosling and two Best Song nominations. I have a feeling this movie will win big this awards season.

LION

Lion is led by another actor that I admire: Dev Patel. In this film, Dev is accompanied by Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara and directed by Garth Davis. Like Hacksaw Ridge, this film is based on an extraordinary true story. When he was a little boy, Saroo (played by Dev in the movie) got separated from his family when he was lost on a train. He was then adopted by an Australian family. Haunted by the memories of his biological family in India, adult Saroo used his memories and Google Earth to track his lost family. It sounds like a movie that will make me cry and want to hug my family members haha.

Lion is nominated in six categories in the Critics' Choice Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor for Dev Patel (Yay!) and Best Supporting Actress for Nicole Kidman. Sia has a song called Never Give Up which is taken from this film's soundtrack, but unfortunately it's not nominated for Best Song in the Critics' Choice Awards.

Do you want to see those four films as much as I do? Or maybe you're more excited for the red carpets and the awards ceremonies? I just hope those films and the awards ceremonies will be played in our country haha.