Movies: December 2023

Wednesday, December 27, 2023

There used to be common ground, that despite disagreements over policy, we were mostly united in the belief that the United States is a good thing, was founded on good principles, and is a force for good in the world. In the last decade or so, we have seen the rise of a significant number of people, including the majority of young people, who do not believe this and want to tear it all down.

If we do not have some common shared beliefs, then we will be at each other's throats.

Tuesday, December 26, 2023

Star Wars - How To Kill A Franchise

@john2001plus (1 minute ago)
What I liked about The Last Jedi is that it tried to take Star Wars in a new direction where you didn't have to be a Skywalker or a Palpatine to be a force user. I thought that this was interesting and badly needed, and the final scene with Broom Boy was a hopeful look to the future. I was half expecting this character to turn up again as a young rebel. Had the next movie followed this storyline, instead of throwing it all away, it would have been a much more coherent sequel trilogy, and IMO more interesting.

The Last Jedi does a good job explaining why Luke turned into a cynical character. If we can overlook some flaws in the film, the story is entertaining. The problem is that the movie didn't meet people's expectations, but if they had given us exactly what we wanted, then it would have been a pretty boring movie. It is not our story to tell, and they chose to tell the story of Luke in a way that most people rejected. However, I will swear to my dying breath that The Last Jedi is an entertaining movie because I found it very entertaining.