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1917 follows two British soldiers, Lance Corporal Schofield (played by George MacKay) and Lance Corporal Blake (played by Dean-Charles Chapman), as they attempt to deliver a vital message in hopes of saving Blake’s brother and 1,600 other lives. They must trek through hostile enemy territory while racing against the clock to prevent the complete and utter slaughter of their comrades, who are walking straight into a trap.

The narrative naturally lends itself to a certain level of anxiety, and by extension, to the one-shot effect. A good one-shot allows the viewer to put themselves in the situation onscreen and feel apart of the action. For 1917’s high-intensity sequences, this approach works flawlessly. The one-shot amplifies the stress of the scenes and creates some of the most engaging battle segments of recent memory. Unfortunately, maybe only three scenes throughout the film achieve this peak result, with most of the others taking a more thoughtful approach. The quieter scenes are not bad by any means, but you cannot help but notice how unnecessary the one-shot is in those instances. When 1917 slows down to tell a more personal story, the tremendous filmmaking and editing efforts fail to contribute to the film.

Not only does the one-shot fail to contribute at times, it also distracts and pulls you out of the movie. Several of the “hidden” cuts are so painfully obvious with how oddly the camera moves and pans that it distracts you from the weight of the scene you just watched.

But again, at its peak 1917 works immaculately. One scene has you trailing a corporal through a bombed out city at night, with intermittent flares lighting the way. This stands out as 1917’s best sequence, with every element of the film coming together perfectly to form an intense and beautiful triumph. If only the film could have had more of this to offer.

1917 fails to harness its much touted one-shot effect when it takes time to breathe, and in doing so often distracts from its more emotional moments with clunky and distracting camera movements. But that is the extent of the issues with the film; that it sometimes fails to live up to the expectations set by its own efforts. Although a tremendously frustrating work at times, 1917 still stands out as a film everyone should see. Its highs are so incredibly high that they mostly make up for the fact they are so few and far between.

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Brad Pitt plays Roy McBride, an astronaut on a mission to find his missing father (played by Tommy Lee Jones) out in space and save the world. The secrecy surrounding the mission only fuels Roy’s daddy issues as he delves further into space.

The stunning visuals of Ad Astra captivate the eyes. James Gray does an excellent job of lighting and framing each shot just right. He and the film never disappoint in this department, and watching Ad Astra for the cinematography alone might prove worthwhile.

If it does prove worthwhile, it will not have anything to do with the rest of the movie. Brad Pitt does his best, but the film does not give him much to work with. Side characters are just that, relegated to the sidelines and only given a meager number of lines. Tommy Lee Jones does not get enough time to leave much of an impact, but like Brad Pitt, strives to make the most of it.

Ad Astra tries to cultivate a contemplative atmosphere with rising tension; however, it actually moves painfully slow except for short bursts of action designed to wake the audience back up. Slower paced films can and often do work (see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for a recent example), but they need to either have something interesting to say, say something in an interesting way, or get a little weird and wild at the end. Basically, they need to have a payoff and Ad Astra has none. Ad Astra instead offers viewers standard issue commentary on family, father-son relationships, and appreciating what you have in front of you. Nothing too exciting. The film does have one good line rephrasing these concepts in a unique context, but it does not do enough.

No matter how hard it tries, Ad Astra amounts to nothing more than mere eye candy. It seemingly mutes most of its actors’ performances to lend gravity to the drama, yet never capitalizes on the tension it creates. The conclusion has nothing unique to offer and does not redeem or enhance the slog endured to get there. Visuals alone cannot save this film, but you should save yourself the time.

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From the first second of the traditional title scrawl, The Rise of Skywalker is in fast-forward mode. The big return of Emperor Palpatine? Done in the title scrawl. No setup or introduction. One or two words about cloning, technology, and the Sith being powerful, and voila. This rush to get through the worldbuilding remains consistent until the final confrontation. The material and story choices themselves are not necessarily bad, but they get moved through so quickly there is no time to emotionally process them.

The story clearly wants to get to the last third of the film and for good reason, it is easily the strongest part of the movie. Ignoring if you agree with all of the force power and story changes up until this point, J.J. Abrams puts on a show. A nostalgia powered space battle combined with the end of Rey and Kylo’s journey proves the franchise can still produce those epic moments. Unfortunately, this climax does not have the same level of emotional investment as other iconic scenes, due to the previously mentioned pacing issues.

Moreover, The Last Jedi is clearly already seen as the new black sheep of the franchise. If The Last Jedi properly set up The Rise of Skywalker, then the pacing of the story arc could have worked. Even if J.J.’s claim that Emperor Palpatine was always planned is true, Abrams obviously did not plan for director Rian Johnson to go as far off the rails as he did. The trilogy lacks a consistent vision and suffers for it.

Visually, The Rise of Skywalker produces some spectacular moments. A lightsaber battle over the water and a scene in the final battle stand out. John Williams’ composition remains a standout for the Star Wars franchise and hits all of the right nostalgic notes when J.J. Abrams demands it. Adam Driver even gives his best and most compelling performance as Kylo Ren this time around. However, all of this is in the background of the pacing issues. Without proper pacing, decisions do not have weight and characters do not resonate.

If you love Star Wars you already plan on watching The Rise of Skywalker. But the question is, how good of a film is it? In that regard, from a pure filmmaking perspective, not a very good one. For the most devout fans, it will give you one last rush of nostalgia before the saga finds itself on the shelf. For everyone else, it will rush through the majority of the actual movie while profusely apologizing for its predecessor (which sits at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes as of 12/28/2019). Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker tries to juggle too much and drops the ball. Watch for the closure, but do not expect any force miracles.

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No one expected Iron Man to experience the staggering success it did, much less the cinematic universe it would spawn. 21 films later Marvel has thoroughly proved the world wrong. Those first few films were a massive gamble for the financially struggling company, but boy did they pay off. Even though there were some duds along the way, Marvel kept on marching and improving.

No one remembers the mediocrity of Thor: The Dark World or The Incredible Hulk at this point. No, those disappointments have been washed away by the overwhelming sense of wonder comicbook fans have experienced since 2008. By now, you could even say they contribute to the charm of the first phase.

Doing something no one else has ever done represents true greatness. It does not matter that none of their films are Best Picture worthy. Rather, the sheer scale of their universe deserves an award of its own. In all these years, no copycat has reached near the same success. Marvel stands alone in its accomplishment, and now looks to see how far it can run up the score.

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UP next in Disney’s barrage of live-action remakes comes Mulan. At this point anyone wanting to claim fatigue will set in has to ignore reality. Disney will not stop until they have run out of animated films and then they will probably move onto Pixar. However, this particular trailer does not inspire the same doom and gloom as the rest. This new take on Mulan really does appear to be a re-imagining of the Disney adaptation. Without Mushu and the musical aspects shackling it to the past, hopefully this film will breathe fresh life into the IP.

As previously stated, this time around Mushu and the songs stay at home. Although reportedly, the musical numbers may make appearances as instrumental tracks. Somewhat understandably, die-hard fans of the original have not taken too kindly to this. Fantastic! If these changes have angered, depressed, or confused you, please just go watch the original. If Disney continues to insist on all of these remakes, they should at the very least shake them up a bit! One-to-one CGI recreations does not scream creativity. Hopefully general audiences give this adaptation a chance at the box office and Disney decides “riskier” ventures have a place in their lineup.

The trailer itself felt relatively safe. Some of the shots were gorgeous, the opening and rooftop running scenes specifically, but nothing not seen before. The dialogue also sounded hallow? It lacked a certain something to make it truly convincing. They went for a subdued voice-over to highlight Mulan’s compartmentalization, yet it did not have the quiet but striking tone to complete the effect. The zoomed in, “hazy” shots during the slow motion fight scenes also came across as unnecessarily uninspired. Dropping the effect altogether would produce a much cleaner and prettier sequence.

Another idea concerning the inner workings of The Mouse: could these remakes just be padding for Disney+’s arrival; both in terms of content and war chest? It’s an interesting thought and one that will stay unanswered for the foreseeable future. No matter, the latest Mulan trailer delivers hope for variety in Disney’s live-action remakes, and while not truly spectacular, should deliver enough to hold fans over.

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Let me start off by saying I do not consider Avatar one of my favorite movies. If I was all powerful, Avatar would have made a tidy sum, but it would not have dominated the box office so handily. However, no one should understate what a technological achievement and global event it was. I never see movies more than once in theaters and only go through my favorites at home on occasion. I saw Avatar four times and never grew bored with the spectacle. James Cameron managed to accomplish absurdity on a technical level. The CGI, language, crowd models, and real depth producing 3D effects blew entire theaters away. No, the story was nothing revolutionary, but not every story needs to be. At the time, Avatar was king.

Saying all of this, not everyone has to appreciate the movie; just don’t play dumb. Stop refusing to understand the success Avatar experienced. And for the love of god, stop parroting it had no “cultural impact.”

Asking people to name a character from Avatar does not prove its lack of cinematic worth. Name a character from Inception. Name a character from Full Metal Jacket. What do you specifically remember from The Usual Suspects other than the twist? All great films. People love these movies and yet fail this arbitrary film purity test. They convey larger stories, ideas, and messages than what a pop quiz’s single question can encapsulate. Even so, you do remember the Na’vi (blue people), environmental themes, and set pieces. Do not try and convince everyone you have no memory of the film when in actuality you just don’t recall plot specifics from a 10 year old story.

Cultural impact is not limited to how often you and your friends quote the movie. After the Avatar expansion to Disney’s Animal Kingdom, attendance rose 25%. Just like the movie, the park opened as one of the most technologically advanced in its class and people responded. It also ushered in (an admittedly botched) wave of 3D into theaters. Avatar almost single-handedly forced every action movie for the foreseeable future to include a 3D showing. It may not have resulted in a welcome addition, but it had an undeniably tremendous impact on the industry.

Just like I have to do every time Disney decides to make a live action version of a beloved animated feature, you have to realize a market exists outside of you. If a movie makes $2.7B at the box office, four sequels doesn’t come as that big of a surprise. Get out of the echo chamber and realize that you might just not like it.

So much “discussion” on the internet has turned into competing with one another to scream the popular opinion the loudest. Of course Avatar did not perfect film making or seep into every nook and cranny of our lives, I don’t claim it did. However, my head feels like it’s going to explode every time I have to read another article wondering why “Dances with Wolves but worse” made so much money. Avatar is not a 10/10 film. Yes, it probably made more than its “true” worth. No, it didn’t have zero cultural impact. Yes, it’s okay if you don’t like it. Yes, plenty of people will watch the onslaught of sequels. And no, you don’t have to. Please, just relax.

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