RoastedKowakianMonkeyLizard Reviews

The Green Knight (2021)

This is not an action-adventure fantasy film.

[9/10 · 30 July 2021]

Though it may seem unknightly, The Green Knight (2021) will not hold your hand. It takes its sweet time, it doesn't try to engage the viewer with adrenaline-fueled swashbuckling sequences of adventure. It does not care if you can't clearly understand the English of old.

All of these seem like flaws but they're actually the movie's greatest strengths. The Green Knight does not actively try to be easy to follow both visually or through dialogue, and in doing so becomes so much more immersive and hypnotic. Instead of relying on drawn-out action sequences, David Lowery tries to enchant you with The Green Knight's cinematography and mise-en-scene, and succeeds.

The film is very light on plot as it is a decidedly simple adaptation of a simple legend. So if you're into movies with a particularly ambitious story, this definitely isn't the movie for you. What The Green Knight lacks in terms of being a commercially appealing film, it makes up for by being cinema. And as cinema, it is profound.

This is an exquisite treat for the eyes and the ears. The score, the sound design, the camerawork, the lighting, the editing, the costumes, the effects, everything superbly comes together to create something wholly original.

This is not an action film. It is a film about honor. It's not a big-budget extravaganza but very evidently arthouse cinema that serves another purpose- just so you know what to expect.

If you appreciate cinema as an art form, watch this in a theater.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)

Derivative, but thankfully it derives from an enjoyable Star Wars film.

[8/10 · 19 December 2019]

If you've watched the original Star Wars, you know the plot to The Force Awakens- a droid containing vital information to the Rebellion is placed under the care of a lone person on a desert planet who is then tasked with the safe delivery of the droid to the Rebellion without any unnecessary entanglements with the evil Empire, who pursue the same droid and its custodians. There is even a planet-destroying battle station at the end for the Rebels to destroy. Just replace the faction names with Resistance and First Order, replace the droid's name with BB-8 instead of R2-D2, and replace the character's names and the names of the planets and battle-stations they are on, and boom, you've got The Force Awakens.

It's almost a formula at this point- and it's one that this movie sticks to, so obediently that it is almost laughable. That is not to say that this isn't an enjoyable film- if your Star Wars film is inspired by the Star Wars film that literally gave birth to more Star Wars films- it's going to be fun as hell. And this film is, even though it doesn't have nearly as much impact as the 1977 original, which is close to impossible to achieve in today's day and age.

It's obvious what the writers set out to achieve for this film. They knew of the backlash that the prequel trilogy faced for being so different from the original films, so they wanted to craft a film for a new generation that emulated what they felt when they watched the original Star Wars- which is understandable considering the amount of death threats and irrationality that had a clear presence in the Star Wars fanbase after the prequel trilogy came out.

The Force Awakens manages to deliver on some key things that make Star Wars fun- the film is nicely paced, the new characters are interesting, and it acts as a good stepping-off point for these new characters to go in directions that the original trilogy characters might not have in the subsequent films. After ten years of no Star Wars, listening to John Williams' iconic fanfare is a rousing experience, although that leads me to one of the film's faults- which definitely extends to the entire trilogy. The Force Awakens is too dependent on nostalgia for a lot of the moments that just 'click'. They're good moments, but honestly, I expected this pattern to end after this film and The Last Jedi, but after coming out of The Rise of Skywalker, that definitely isn't the case.

Yes, there are scenes like the one on the bridge of Starkiller Base between Ben Solo and his father that really stand out in terms of originality, but there is not a lot else in the movie that truly brims with imagination. Starkiller Base essentially being a system-destroying, just plain bigger Death Star, definitely doesn't help.

This film does work- at least on its own. It may not be original but at least it isn't boring- not something I thought I would be proud to say before the prequel trilogy came out, but now I guess I am.

Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)

The film made better by the test of time and The Rise of Skywalker.

[9/10 · 19 December 2019]

The Last Jedi is a movie that is considered the most divisive of the Star Wars films- a title that once belonged to the now-revered Empire Strikes Back. Without spoiling the next film in the trilogy, I can definitely attest to the fact that the first and last films of Episodes VII, VIII and IX definitely do a lot to elevate VIII in terms of quality.

Yes, there are decisions in this film that defy what many fans would like to call as logic- Leia flying with the Force, Luke being the hermit no one expected him to be (or, more importantly, wanted him to be), Holdo lightspeeding through the capital Star Destroyer even though nobody has this genius idea over the course of seven films. I'd like to add that Episodes IV, V and VI had equally as many moments in them that defied conventional 'logic' as well. Obviously they did, I don't really know what people were expecting from a franchise that is prides itself on being a fantasy as opposed to science-fiction. Whatever didn't make sense in theaters while watching this movie, makes a lot more sense now having watched the entire trilogy.

I'll go as far as to say that The Last Jedi works on a dramatic level, especially after watching The Rise of Skywalker and The Force Awakens as the tense middle chapter. I can't help but recall some scenes that truly stand out in the entire saga as some of the best- the throne room sequence, or Luke confronting Kylo at the end, or Luke's first lesson to Rey, for example. It's also the most original of the three films, both VII and IX rely heavily on nostalgia for many of their key dramatic moments- this is not the case here. Themes such as mutiny, moral relativism, the true meaning of leadership as well as the menace of warmonging corporations are a welcome addition to the franchise, something we never could have seen in VII because of the nature of its pacing and its adherence to the tried and true Star Wars (1977) formula.

There are a lot of little details and foreshadowing that are absolutely nailed in this film as well- the way it ties into IX is almost organic. The film looks amazing, Steve Yedlin's cinematography is some of the best of the entire saga and the visual effects, while a touch dated, still look fine today. John Williams' orchesteral score is as brilliant as ever. The acting from almost the entire cast is great, I also think Benicio Del Toro's character and performance in this film are some of the two most overlooked aspects of this trilogy.

I'm taking away a star because of the Finn and Rose subplot which admittedly meandered a little too far for my taste from the more interesting and engaging plot elements of the film.

Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019)

It could have been much worse. It deserved to be so much better, too.

[7/10 · 19 December 2019]

First of all, it's disappointing to see any objective look at this movie become marred by agendas on both sides of the fanbase's spectrum. Despite what some fans might want you to believe- no, The Rise of Skywalker isn't a failure or a disaster- neither is it a masterpiece or even a particularly memorable entry in the saga. As the ending to the sequel trilogy that started with The Force Awakens- it serves its purpose just fine. And I really mean fine, I still think there are a lot of missed opportunities when it came to this trilogy. But, as a movie that serves to answer some of the questions that were brought up in The Force Awakens and went completely unanswered in The Last Jedi, it delivers- albeit introducing some of its own unanswered mysteries in the process, which is sort of frustrating for the last movie in the saga.

That's one of the failures of this film- it doesn't really work as the finale of what's being pitched to us movie-goers as the last part in this colossal nine-part epic. It's so centered around the characters and events of this trilogy that even when it tries to bridge the gap between this trilogy and the prequel trilogy, it feels forced. It's not a boring movie by any means, I mean there is so much that happens in this film, and I usually love it when a Star Wars film is paced that fast. But, whereas in films like The Empire Strikes Back, A New Hope, Rogue One or The Force Awakens, the fast pace at least feels fine- here the clunkiness shows. Scenes just happen- they go by so fast that it becomes inconsistent when the film comes to a standstill- which it very well does in some of its more pivotal and dramatic moments.

That's not to say there is nothing redeeming about this film. First and foremost, John Williams' score- the movie is probably worth watching for that reason alone. I thought the score for both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi was good, but boy does this movie's score tear both of those scores a new one. Absolutely legendary and possibly the singular best thing about the so-called Skywalker Saga, hands down. The acting- particularly from Adam Driver, is good. Other than that, there's the usual Star Wars highs- the cinematography is breathtaking, the audio-visual effects are presented the best way they possibly could (for 2019 standards anyway), the production design and art design both deserve an A+ for effort. There is no doubt about it- the sequel trilogy looks and sounds amazing, though by any means, that is not solely what makes a good movie and I think this is a good example of that.

As for some of the decisions they made in this movie regarding plot elements and the usual important characters- it's obviously not for everyone, for some fans it's a hard pill to swallow whereas others might be more accepting of what happens. You can't please everybody, which holds true not only for this film or this franchise but for any piece of media that has a large amount of fan following already and comes with so many expectations. As a fan myself, I found that some decisions sat right with me, while the others were frustrating in that they were confusing. Obviously since cinema and Star Wars is so subjective, your mileage may vary.

Like I said before, it's not boring- I have seen Star Wars movies that have bored me- even as someone who considers the franchise my favorite. For the average movie-going person this is an enjoyable film. For the Star Wars fan, it's enough to start a discussion, which essentially all Star Wars films have been doing since The Empire Strikes Back. I just think the last film of the saga deserved a lot better when it came to the writing, which is what I assume many will come to feel once the hype for this movie (or the vitriol) dies down. It's obvious that when it comes to Star Wars, people have a lot of expectations and they'll go out of their way to rate films such as these on either extreme ends depending on how they feel about the film. All I have to say is, it's a decent enough movie, though it could have been so much more with better writing.