A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….

2019 has seen the conclusion to a lot of franchises that I love such as Kingdom Hearts, My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, and the Avengers (sort of) and now The Skywalker Saga has come to a close. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker unfortunately suffers from the typical third film being the weakest trope. The first half did have some pacing issues especially the first half which felt rushed. I did kind of like the warp speed action scene at the beginning though. Actually the rest of the actions scene are really great. There’s fun chase scenes, intense lightsaber duels and the climax with all those Star Destroyers is humongous in scale and it’s pretty much exactly what the climax to this saga should be.

The movie takes risks that could’ve been emotional moments for the series like killing off Chewbacca and C-3PO gets his mind erased but ends up playing safe with them. This movie would’ve been more powerful if they went through with these risks. Speaking of safe, remember the twists from Last Jedi which I found disappointing (like Snoke and Rey’s parents)? Well this film retcons them with Snoke being a clone and Rey being related to Palpatine (I feel sorry for whoever Palpatine hooked up with). It did however feel like J.J. Abrams to just trying to please those who didn’t like Last Jedi.

The best characters of the movie and the trilogy as a whole are of course Rey and Kylo Ren. Daisy Ridley’s arc about destiny and where she’s from is handled very well. Adam Driver is still threatening as Kylo Ren but also tragic as Ben (especially in the scene where he reunites with his Father Han Solo).  Both characters work off each other wonderfully and their communicating though the force (also with the ability to grab stuff too) makes there dynamic strong.

This paragraph contains Spoilers for the ending: Rise of Skywalker ends with Rey burying Luke and Leia’s lightsabers on Tatooine and making a new one for her and inheriting the Skywalker name. Everything about this ending is perfect. The final line is perfect, the final shot with Rey watching the two suns is a perfect call back to A New Hope. It’s such a great book end to this wonderful series.

If I could sum the sequel trilogy it would be that this trilogy is a love letter to the original trilogy. I thinks it’s mostly the inner Star Wars fan in me that likes this more than others. Is it the best Star Wars movie? No, but I still think that Rise of Skywalker is a satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga and an emotional sendoff (for now) to the characters and galaxy we’ve grown up with for 40 years.

Verdict:
+ Action scenes
+ Ending
+ Rey and Kylo Ren
+/- Last Jedi twists retcon
– First half’s pacing
– Too safe

Score: A-

Rian Johnson is known for directing what people said is the best episode of Breaking Bad Ozymandias and the not so popular Star Wars: the Last Jedi (I liked it though) and now he’s directed a whodonut movie that people are praising. Usually mystery movies such as the whodunit type of mystery now seem too predictable. Well I’m here to solve the mystery of what makes Knives Out so great.

Suspect 1, characters: The big stand out in the cast is Danial Craig as Benoit Blanc. He’s such a great and enjoyable modern version of Sherlock Holmes. Danial Craig may be lead actor but the heart of the movie belongs to Ana De Armas as Marta Cabrera who’s also really great. There’s such a kindness and sympathy for her and you feel sorry for her and want to come out of this alive. No wonder Harlan left her his inheritance. Though it’s also because his family is full of assholes. Still the performances from the family are very enjoyable. I also like the two cops.

Suspect 2, humor: The movie has really great writing, not just in the story or dialogue but also the humor. This movie has a lot of great funny moments. A lot of the lines said by the cast, especially Benoit’s monologue about donuts and donut holes. Sure the movie is slow at times but the comedy really helps make every scene fun to watch.

Suspect 3, twists: Big SPOILERS here, because since this is a whodunit movie you probably expect there to be spoilers. Marta thought she accidently gave Harlan the wrong drug which he decides to commit suicide to cover it up. We find out that Ransom switched the medications assuming she’d give Harlan the wrong one but she’s done this so many times she actually gave him the right medication by mistake. This movie is full of well thought out twists that help progress the story.

So you’re probably wondering what makes Knives Out so great? All three suspects! It’s no mystery that Knives Out is one of the best mystery movies to come out recently. It’s fun, suspenseful and makes you excited to see how the mystery is solved. Case closed!

Verdict:
+ Ana de Armas
+ Danial Craig
+ Great comedy
+ The cast
+ Well-crafted twists
– Slow at times

Score: A