In Memoriam: Carrie Fisher 1956-2016

In a year that keeps taking our beloved performers, another blow has happened with Carrie Fisher passing away from heart failure. On December 23, Fisher went into cardiac arrest on a flight from London to Los Angeles and was subsequently taken to the UCLA Medical Centre where she passed away in the morning of the 27th of December.

Carrie Fisher had a long and storied life that went far beyond the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars, which shot her to international fame. Fisher was born to Hollywood royalty as her mother Debbie Reynolds was a famed actress known for her role in Singin' in the Rain and her father Eddie Fisher was an actor and singer.

Fisher's first movie role was in 1975, in the comedy Shampoo, which starred Warren Beatty. When Star Wars was released in 1977, only her second film role, Fisher and her co-stars Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford all shot to super stardom. Apart from the Star Wars films, Carrie Fisher appeared in numerous other movies, like Hannah and Her Sisters, When Harry Met Sally, The Burbs, The Blues Brothers, Scream 3 and Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Fisher also worked as a script doctor on a huge number of films, including Sister Act, Lethal Weapon 3, The River Wild, Hook and all three prequels of Star Wars. This work went uncredited. She also wrote novels like Postcards from the Edge, which was adapted into a film starring Meryl Streep.

She also had a tumultuous personal life. Fisher had a serious drug problem through most of her life and also suffered from bipolar disorder. She married singer Paul Simon in 1983, but divorced a year later due to their conflicting personalities. She also had an affair with co-star Harrison Ford when they were filming Star Wars in 1976. She had a relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd with whom she had a daughter Billie Lourd.

Ed's Thoughts - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Warning – Whilst the minor details discussed here wouldn’t typically be considered *spoilers*, I know some people want to go into this film with as little information as possible. If you want spoiler-free, check out Jack's official review. You have been warned! 

The truth is, I’m not a Star Wars fan. 

Now before you rage-mash your keyboard into a galaxy far, far away let me clarify; I enjoy jumping into the world of the three Star Wars movies just as much as any casual observer, but given the fascinating obsessiveness of the legion of Star Wars fans, I simply don’t consider myself worthy to be classified among their ranks. So what did I – the casual observer – think about Episode VII - The Force Awakens? I’ll tell you as soon as I stop grinning. 

It’s probably best to address those movies that shall not be named right now. I was about the right age when the Prequel Trilogy started to come out - and I had enjoyed the previous ones - but looking back, these films were the reason why I lost interest in Star Wars. Quite apart from the story concerns that more avid viewers so frequently chastise them with; as a general film lover, my criticisms rest with the fact that they’re so blatantly boring and contrived that I find it difficult to sit through even one of them nowadays. The poor CGI and lack-of-hindsight toward shooting a blockbuster solely on digital at such an early stage in its lifecycle also frustrate me – but the visuals are but part of the problem, so let’s just continue to ignore those films for the time being. 

The Force Awakens is another brilliant lesson from J.J Abrams in how to capture the essence of a classic franchise whilst still selectively updating it for modern audiences. From the cheesy transition effects to the myriad of landscapes – J.J has built a time-capsule that will find the most uninitiated viewer fanboying out over even the most subtle nods to the original films. The reintroduction of old characters, ships, worlds and ideologies is handled with the utmost of care and with an emphasis on fun – and boy is this movie fun! From Stormtroopers backing away from Kylo Ren’s temper-tantrums to Han Solo’s greatly-missed running commentary on the ridiculousness of the situation, The Force Awakens puts as much emphasis on humour as it does adventure, with the two intermingling and playing off each other to form what I’d consider the first quality Space Opera since The Fifth Element. I’m also SO thankful that Abrams ditched the obsession with CGI for a focus on practical effects, another major reason that The Force Awakens really feels like it belongs alongside the original trilogy. 

To be fair, the movie does have its flaws. Parts of the story are occasionally rushed through with moments of blatant exposition - particularly during a conversation between Solo & Leia – and in general it feels like they’re trying to cover too much of the thirty years’ worth of changing content, but conflictingly that gracefully-choppy feeling actually brings it more in line with the style of the original trilogy anyway. Supreme Leader Snoke feels slightly out of place in the series as an actual character and whilst he & Nyong’o’s motion-capture is superbly acted out, their heavily CG’d characters stand-out like a sore thumb in a world that feels so real. There’s also not much room for a quick breather in over two hours of action and dramatics, but that’s never hurt the series before and it’s safe to say that the film is utterly exhilarating from start to finish. 

The returning characters grace the screen with ease, as if they’ve actually been off living their own lives these past few decades – something which is extremely difficult to achieve when reanimating a franchise. The old characters perfectly bolster the new, training them up to deal with the threats of the galaxy and preparing the next generation of crusaders. These new characters really do feel like they deserve to take the baton and carry the series to wherever Disney decides to take it. John Boyega’s Finn is funny and instantly charismatic - you do really hope he finds whatever redemption he’s looking for. Adam Driver returns a sinister arrogance to the dark side through Kylo Ren with just a dash of delightful innocence to keep you interested. Issac’s Poe is as cool as he is stylish with his trusty side-kick (and the cutest character since the Ewoks) BB-8. Make no mistake however, Rey is the cone that holds this film together. An extremely capable and thought-out character who’s no doubt destined for great things, just like her actor, Daisy Ridley; who plays her to perfection – Is it weird that I fanboyed more over the fact that she’s related to Dad’s Army’s Arnold Ridley rather than that she’s in a Star Wars film? 

Watching The Force Awakens exudes the same emotions that audiences must have felt watching A New Hope back in ’77. The care taken and consideration for every detail is evident from the opening crawl. Abrams has breathed new life into the dormant series and hopefully Rian Johnson will have as much success with Episode VIII. This isn’t just a tacky opportunity to relive what was lost and revel in nostalgia. The Force Awakens will make you care about Star Wars again.

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens

This is definitely the most anticipated film release of the decade. The Avengers may have come close, but the excitement for this film transcends both generations and levels of fandom alike. A lot of that anticipation also comes from whether or not this film will be a disappointment like the prequels that came before. Well, guess what? It isn't! Yay, I know, how great is that. We finally get a film that one of my friends referred to as what the prequels should have been. It's not my job though to sit and sing the film's praises without having an in depth look at what makes it tick, so let's get to it.

This is usually the part in any review where I would set the scene for what happens in a film, but since a friend told me he would end my existence if I said anything about what happens, I won't. Not even vague details. I guess this is a chance for me to hone my skills as a critic, so I shall. J.J. Abrams had said that this is his love letter to the original films and that really shows. Almost a little too much though. There was a point where I realised that they were following the original film almost beat for beat, but they happen in different places and times. Where this episode differs greatly from the prequels is the fact that there will be an overall narrative. Yes I know they did too, but we knew how they were ultimately going to end.

The nostalgia and name checking is probably the most noticeable thing in this movie and it's not at all a bad thing. The reveals are fun when they could be extremely tacky and little things that will make fans eyes sparkle, do. If we were to place this film on a dark/light spectrum, Empire being the darkest of the films, Jedi being the lightest, it goes further than Empire did by leaps and bounds. The stakes are higher than any of the films and that's great for tension and excitement. Technically, this is a beautiful looking film. The practical effects are amazing and the CGI is seamless. There are no dodgy insertions or anything hastily pasted on. I was always amazed by the lighting and how it reflects on surfaces around it, especially the lightsabers, which were more impressive than in films gone by.

It should be easy for the returning cast members to slip back into character by now (and they do it well), but to bring a new character to the screen and make them likeable is a difficult task, but the young leads do well. Daisy Ridley is phenomenal as Rey and shows incredible promise as a lead for the series and John Boyega will do remarkably well in his supporting role. Oscar Isaac is one of my favourite actors so of course I am going to demand more screen time with him, but I know we'll see more of him in the upcoming films. Both Domhnall Gleeson and Adam Driver play bad guys way too easily if you ask me.

Giving this film seems like a pretty arbitrary task to me, but I have to give it one. I wouldn't go so far as to give the first Star Wars five stars, it gets a 4 1/2 from me, and the next best is Empire, just half a star down. I'm just really justifying my score now. Go out and see it!

Classic Movie Review: Fanboys (2009)

Over the next few days, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens will finally be released across the globe. But let's not go crazy with excitement just yet. Some will remember a time when we got excited about a new Star Wars movie nearly twenty years ago. There is a movie that captured our excitement and disappointment back then in Fanboys. Like the Ghost of Star Wars Past, I'm going to take us all on a journey.

The year is 1998 and Eric Bottler (Sam Huntington) is working for his father as a car salesman. At a Halloween party he runs into his old friends Hutch (Dan Fogler), Windows (Jay Baruchel) and Linus (Chris Marquette). They bring up an old idea they had of breaking into George Lucas' Skywalker Ranch to steal a rough cut of the The Phantom Menace. Bottler dismisses the idea, but after Hutch and Windows come to him with the revelation that Linus has cancer, Bottler decides to help him with his dream. Together with their friend Zoe (Kristen Bell), they drive across America to fulfill every Star Wars fan's pre-prequel dream. Along the way they meet a whole bunch of colourful characters, including super geek Harry Knowles (Ethan Suplee), Seth Rogen as a Trekkie and drug dealing Star Wars fan and pimp and William Shatner as himself.

Fanboys is filled with deep cuts references to Star Wars fandom. The guys have debates about whether or not Luke and Leia actually love each other in a romantic way despite being siblings, actual merchandise from he era and the rivalry between Star Wars and Star Trek fans. The film even features Ray Park, who played Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace. All the main characters have equivalents from the movies. While the jokes may seem very basic, but funny if you're in the right mood. The funniest sequence probably comes when they encounter The Chief (Danny Trejo) who gives the guys guacamole laced with peyote. This scene also has an emotional aspect to it as The Chief taps into the fact that Linus has cancer.

The lead actors here aren't the best but that's not the focus of the film, it's more in the smaller roles. This film has some of today's biggest comic actors before we knew how big they would become. Seth Rogen had only marginal fame before he did this. Watching him fight himself is a great scene to watch. Danny McBride features as well as Joe Lo Truglio, Will Forte and Craig Robinson. Ethan Suplee plays actual nerd Harry Knowles, but a little more aggressively than the actual man. Veteran actors William Shatner, Carrie Fisher and Billy Dee Williams all have cameos.

The last line of the movie is uttered by Bottler just before they sit down and watch The Phantom Menace and it's "What if the movie sucks?" I guess what the purpose of this review is for us all to be mindful like our favourite Jedi. We have had new Star Wars movies in the past and been disappointed, so let's not be too upset if we're disappointed by J.J.

Star Wars VII finally gets title!

After months (if not years) of speculation, and now at the end of principal photography, Star Wars Episode VII has finally had its offical title announced as: 'Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens'

Walt Disney Pictures announced the title, and that filming had finished, on Twitter

Star Wars VII is the first in a planned sequel trilogy, that will see the saga rebooted. J.J Abrams is currently directing VII, starring Andy Serkis, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Domhnall Gleeson and Gwendoline Christie. Rian Johnson is rumoured to be taking the helm for Episode VIII.

What do you guys think of the title? Are you excited to see 'The Force Awakens'?