Blodeuedd's Monday Review: Solo (2018)

During an adventure into the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.

Director: Ron Howard

Writers: Jonathan Kasdan, Lawrence Kasdan 

Stars: Alden Ehrenreich, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover

2h 15min | Action, Adventure, sci-fi

My thoughts:

I should have written this at once! Here I am, 3 days later. It's just the best time to write in peace is when SO is putting S to bed and I have barely had time to check blogs in that time these past few days. Sadly my initial reactions are gone, but I will try my best ;)

I did NOT have high expecations. After having watched the trailer all I thought was that Lando looked awesome! But I was pleasantely surprised!

Negative things:

Nope, Alden is NOT Han Solo. MIL was all omg he looked just like him and acted like him, ha! no he did not. I get that they can not find another Harrison Ford, but I just did not get the feeling that this was Han Solo...at all. It was just your run of the mill smuggler and that was still cool.

Q'ira...yeah, was she like only there for there to be a female? I did not care for her character and I did not sense any chemistry between them.

A person that shows up that made me go all wtf?!

Positive things

Omg you guys, Donald GLover killed as Lando. He WAS Lando. He looked like him, he nailed it.

L3 was the best character int his movie. Dang! Funny, awesome. My heroine.

THis other character that shows up totally needs a movie, just saying. Was not around a lot but stole the screen.

I ended up enjoying the story, and I would say it was better than the new ones. Except Rogue one which is the best Star Wars movie of the new ones. But yes I did like Solo better than the trilogy cos I am so not a Rey fan. And the movies are so Disney. While this one managed to be funny and dark. A win win.

SO yes, go see it.

Guest Post: Did The Force Awakens Meet Expectations?

Happy Recovery Day after Xmas!

I would all like you to give another warm welcome to my guest here at CRR's! 

Maria is a writer interested in comic books, cycling, and horror films. Her hobbies include cooking, doodling, and finding local shops around the city. She currently lives in Chicago with her two pet turtles, Franklin and Roy. You can follow her on Twitter @MariaRamos1889.

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Did The Force Awakens Meet Expectations?

In a word - yes. As the Internet rushes to assure fans around the world that their favorite franchise is finally back without giving out spoilers, it's important to reflect on what makes this film actually work. While not flawless, The Force Awakens manages to tell a story that feels like it belongs in the Star Wars canon in a way that no visual property has managed to do since Return of the Jedi.

The Star Wars franchise is one of the largest in science fiction spanning comic miniseries spin offs, TV shows like Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars: Droid Tales available through Disney XD and DTV, novels, toys and countless other outlets that have created a rich universe easy to get lost in. Even with the elimination of the Expanded Universe as canon in the runup to The Force Awakens, there is still a ton of material to help flesh out this galaxy far, far away. Of course, what truly works about this movie is that it adds to that universe in a way that seems natural and fitting.

A major failure with the prequel trilogy was that it had far too large a focus. It wanted to tell the story of the fall of the Old Republic and rise of the Galactic Empire, but it did so in very broad strokes losing focus along the way. The Force Awakens hearkens back to the original trilogy in that it tells an epic story, without shifting perspective away from the main characters. Sure, the fate of every person living in this galaxy was important in the original trilogy, but the journey we were concerned about was Luke's. Similarly, the stakes in The Force Awakens are incredibly high, but ultimately our concern is with Finn and Rey who are caught up in this adventure.

One way in which this film truly excels is with its dialogue. All six of the previous films were almost Shakespearean at times in their writing, however that could often come off as stilted. Here every interaction feels natural, adding to the instant chemistry between several of the characters, and it really doesn't take long at all to start to love these new characters just as much as the returning ones.

The film itself focuses primarily on three main characters: Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac), Finn (John Boyega), and Rey (Daisy Ridley), with most of the screentime going to the latter two. After BB8, the R2D2-type droid of the new gang and trilogy, is given some important information by Dameron to prevent it from falling into the hands of the evil First Order, he closely escapes capture multiple times and meets up with Rey and Finn, starting them on an adventure that would soon change all of their lives.

Directing and cinematography really stand out in this film, not to mention successfully fulfilling JJ Abrams goal of returning to the less-CGI focused times of the original trilogy with a film full of practical and visually pleasing effects. The villains reflect the type of figures that we have gotten used to, but they also stand out with individual personalities and a sense of having inner lives that give them depth. And while Kylo Ren is arguably the most developed character in the film, the final scene before the credits is most notably beautiful and perfectly composed, leaving us with a sense of the grand scale of this event and the ones leading up to it.

While I don't want to go into detail or share any spoilers, it is valid to say that the structure of the film is very familiar, leading to a split reaction among fans regarding the plot and writing. Less discussed is the rather strange pacing at the beginning that moves in fits and doesn’t fully take off until Finn and Rey meet.

Other than the slow beginning though, the movie generally exceeds all expectations. Some fan theories were correct, others were way off thanks to very clever marketing, and there a quite a few surprises not many saw coming. If the pattern holds true, the next film will be far more narratively challenging, giving Rian Johnson (Director) some leeway by re-establishing the brand here.

Either way, Star Wars has regained the cache that it had spent decades building and nearly squandered with the much derided prequel trilogy. From here, we will hopefully see some daring new stories being told that will make us fall in love with this world all over again.

Fun At Work: The Epic Tale of Tim Hortons

Tim Hortons, fun? How is that possible? If you know anything about me, you know that I have a certain hatred towards Tim Hortons, however I do love the people there (99% of them, that is). I love my co-workers.

Well, there is two purposes for this post: 1) I have some Tim Horton News and 2) I want to share a taste of the people I have to deal with.

First, I'll get the news out of the way:

First, Sarah is officially a Timmy Hos worker. She's been worker there for a couple weeks now. I haven't worked with her yet, but I'm sure I will in the upcoming future! Second, Anee just left for maturnity leave. Boo! Well, it's a good thing I guess. She hasn't had her baby yet, but he's going to be here any day! I can't wait! Third, I'll be working more hours because we are extremely short-handed. It's the time of the year when people quit, have babies, and are fired. Ugh. Also, I'll be working more hours once my semester is over (I'm not enrolling in the Summer semester).  That's all the Tim Horton News I have for this time.

Now for the funny/stupidness:

When me and Sarah were hanging out, we decided to give ourselves 'tattoos' that would forever remind us of work....don't worry the permant marker came off after 4 hours. =(

Last week when I walked into work Zach and Jo asked me, "Carole, are you part of the Empire?"
I replied with a roll of the eyes, "Sure." After that it was downhill. I wasn't quite sure what they were talking about. Me, never watching 'Star Wars' or anything like that didn't catch the joke right away. It was hilarious though! They kept me laughing until their shift ended. Zach drew this picture and put it on the bulletinboard over the schedule sheet:

As you can see, I'm now Darth Carole

=) I love Tim Hortons...well maybe I don't love that place, but I love the people I work with. What do you love about your work?

<3CaroleRae aka Darth Carole