Rogue One: A Star Wars Tale
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
George Lucas created a cultural phenomenon with
Star Wars, later retitled “Episode IV, A New Hope” and shaped the lives
of young fans and film makers for decades to come- the children of those
movies (people who were lost in the adventures
of Luke Skywalker, Obi Wan Kenobi, and Princess Leia) are now adults
and artists and film makers who grew up with games of their own and
stories of their own and adventures of their own. All of these stories
were given birth in the Star Wars Universe, where
Jedi fought with lightsabers and space pirates ran Imperial blockades
while a desperate band of rebels struggled against tyranny. And while
the Episodes continue, Disney’s purchase of the Star Wars franchise also
brings us a series of new anthology stories…
movies just off to the side of the primary source films that continue
to follow the adventures of the Skywalker family.
Rogue One is not, actually, the first film to step
off to the side in the development of an expanded Star Wars universe-
George Lucas’ production team also brought a few Ewok films to life in
the 80’s. He also brought the Clone Wars and
Star Wars Rebels cartoon series to life. But this is the first film
under the Disney umbrella and the first real attempt to expand Star Wars
cinematic scope- and it’s a Star Wars geek’s dreams come to life.
This is the Dirty Dozen of the Star Wars universe- a
group of outlaws, spies, and saboteurs are on a mission to retrieve the
Death Star’s lead science officer (played by Mads Mikkelson) and gain
information on the Empire’s Secret Weapon-
but things are far more dire than anyone realizes and it may be too
late to prevent the creation of the weapon itself. The galaxy is torn
apart by war and darkness and this is the darkest story in the Star Wars
canon- a story of desperation and hope. Jyn Erso
(Felicity Jones) is the daughter of that science officer, a girl raised
in the desperate years of struggle against the Empire and an outlaw in
her own right. She is recruited by a rebel spy and assassin, Captain
Cassian (Diego Luna) to track down her father.
They are joined by turncoat Imperial Pilot (Riz Ahmed), two temple
guardians (Donnie Yen, Jiang Wen), and a reprogrammed Imperial Droid
named K-2SO (Alan Tudyk, in a scene stealing performance).
Let me get this out of the way- PETER CUSHING!!! I
could not believe it when Gran Moff Tarkin turned and revealed the face
of Peter Cushing, the original actor who had played the signature Star
Wars villain from the first film- the very
man who held Vader’s leash. To be honest, I expected some sort of a
cameo- I knew I should expect Darth Vader (And no, you’re not REALLY
expecting Vader to be like this… WOW!) but the truth is that I didn’t
expect him to speak or even PERFORM for that matter.
But Peter Cushing is one of the primary villains of Rogue One- he
doesn’t just appear in a cameo, he is a driving force behind the film
and appears in a number of scenes. This is some serious necromantic
movie magic at play here!
9 out of 10. Must see in the theater, must buy for Star Wars fans.
Yoga Hosers
For those who don’t know, this is Kevin Smith’s
latest cinematic venture into his True North Anthology. It’s currently
planned as a trilogy, but one never knows where his Canadian fixation
may lead him. The films are only slightly interconnected,
and Smith immediately let’s the audience know that the tone of this
film will be vastly different from the one set by the first film in his
series. While both films feature horror elements, Yoga Hosers is a much
stronger return to his comedic roots and bears
strong similarities to his earlier work.
This film sees the return of Guy LaPointe (Johnny
Depp) and the Colleens (Harley Quinn Smith and Lily Rose Depp) from
Tusk. The two convenience store clerk teens are a best friend “pair”
with a band and a reputation after being featured
in the rescue of the Human Walrus experiment from the first film.
Sarcastic, irreverent and dismissive of the world around them, the
Colleens are super excited to be invited to a senior party when they’re
plans come crashing down in a series of mishaps that
uncover a secret underground Nazi experiment beneath their store.
LaPointe returns to aid the girls when his investigation into a string
of grisly murders brings him back to their store. There is obviously a
lot of raw talent in the Colleens, who are carrying
the majority of the film on their own backs. They overshadow the
strange LaPointe at every turn and deliver fine performances on their
own.
This isn’t really a “horror” film by any stretch of
the imagination. In point of fact, this is a very odd film that sort of
defies the ease of genre classification… but let me take you back to
the mid-to-late 80’s and the local video stores
stock of obscure titles: Munchies, Ghoulies, Critters, and a number of
other low budget films- quirky “light-horror” films with less of an eye
toward scares and much more of an eye toward a few thrills and low brow
humor. That’s what this film is and in that
regard it hits the mark. Smith wrote and shot a film that would appeal
to the preteen kids and it should be measured as such… so with that in
mind, the film is often silly, a little stupid, and incredibly crass.
But the film is also an endearing and affectionate homage to those films.
The film isn’t going to appeal to a majority of
viewers, but I was entertained throughout and found myself feeling kind
of happy when all was said and done. There were a few laugh out loud
moments, some gross outs, and an impressive monster
suit.
Unfortunately, whether budget constraints or a lack
of shooting time prevented it; Smith’s lighting choices were not done
very well in showing off the suit itself. Instead of looking like the
gross and disgusting assortment of rotting meat
that it was, the suit looked like precisely what it was- foam rubber
and latex.
5.5 out of 10 and a low priority rental.
