christensonj

Nolan presetns an epic conventienly, rushed at times, but immersive. The journey is bearing, strong, highly emotional. But the core of the story comes into focus in the last hour and resolves a profound story. I don't ever think Nolan cares about his last project. He just makes each movie with the same cinematic intent and gets the most out of it. I do think, if this was edited and given more small moments to breath, (similar to Oppenheimer) we would be talking about Nolan's best film, but the essences of its grandeur is undeniably here. 8.6/10

There was potential to make this a nostalgic-emotion trip for Jessie, but the significance of her being at Emily's house for most of the movie didn't amount to anything (it could've been anyones house). And it felt like Pixar was leaning too too much in a human story, not a toy story. (As if the toys were like Bonnie's inside out emotions.) I thought it should be more about Woody, Buzz and the gang reminding children to how fun playing with real toys can be? Not just find a friend for Bonnie. And Jessie needed to have closure with Emily somehow, being she's at her house the whole movie. The movie has essences of what makes Toy Story great, but it doesn't give strong justification as to why it exists. You're not missing a lot if you did.

Doesn't really present or provide anything out of this world. Just a simple, amusing space adventure with forgettable but resonant characters. But the ending turns this film up a notch (or two). You walk out shocked, fused by the experience. Where the majority of the film had little to care about, the ending gave it life like no SW movie has almost never had.

Dark Knight Rise sets itself apart from amost every superhero pic out there. But where DKR teeters is in its middle act. Nolan has a strong premise, plays out the anarchy in a pretty generic way. Giving Bane way too many speeches, and waiting too long for **** to hit the fan. There were also no stakes going into the Bane / Batman fight. It was just a fight for a fight. It doesn't ruin the movie, it just deflates it. But Nolan rights the course in the finals acts, lifting it back up with an empowering (a little archetypey) rise in Bruce's return. Even if it doesn't exceed complexity like his other films do, the grandeur is still immense. The ending / denouement (the last 10 minutes) may be the best sequence of the whole trilogy. It's not Nolan's best baseline film, but its peaks greatly outweighs the valleys, and ultimately delivers a strong finale epic. 7.9/10

I want to say there's a lot to like here, but I was expecting more from the story / the characters. Tarantino resorted for passive, slo-motion catwalk montages for characters, that give them pizzazz. But what's going on is just not interesting (nor resonating). Tarantino was enamoured by the lights, but negated the audiences connection / understanding with the characters. There was an opportunity to make us really connect with that, because the vibrancy of the landscape and atmosphere really draws you in. It's probably the best interpretation of this time period ever. And I got Tarantino's charming poetic license, as he brushes his magic on the time, but those are just garnishes. The bulk of the film doesn't really connect. But it has an incredible last 45 minutes, it really hits. But Tarantino expects his greatness here, and doesn't earn it enough. 7.3/10

Force Awakens offers very minimal, teeters on safe for the first hour or so. Nowhere near the level of J.j.'s take on Star Trek. Things movie is too enamoured to get out of the shallow end. But the movie slightly picks up in the last act, realizing it's just a simple adventure with new characters we barely care about. The movie uprises some old things, but this is safe territory for what a new-brand Sw could be. The ending with Luke saves it, and overall is a fresh, fun episode but nothing that breaks any ground.

I'm a fan of boldness and where Rian Johnson take this. But when it's overboard or misaimed, it doesn't do any justice. The movie is hung up on elevating a lot of things, but the drama between Rey, Luke and Kylo felt sidelined. The Resistance chase made sense for a little while, but became a run-on storyline that's resolve went too far and extinguished any other storylines significance. In the end, it's an epic SW movie. With lots to be enthralled by, but the most important dramatic elements felt a bit bypassed. It's on the level as the best of the prequels, but it's not a bad movie.