Rub’s December 2015 movie micro reviews

Or how to spend a long time in a galaxy far, far away…

It is a period of civil war. Rebel non-star wars movies, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the Galactic Empire of Disney. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire’s ultimate weapon, The Force Awakens, an armored space movie with enough power to destroy the entire box office. Pursued by the Empire’s sinister agents, Princess Emily Blunt races home about her star ship, custodian of the stolen script that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy…

Recommended to watch:

First up, out of the 11 movies seen this month, this ones i recommend watching just cause:

• Star wars: The Force Awakens
• Star wars: Episodes 4,5,6
• Sicario
• Creed

Recommended from other periods: 2014, January 2015, February 2015, March 2015, April 2015, May 2015, June 2015, July 2015, August 2015, September 2015, October 2015, November 2015.

micro-reviews:

Disclaimer and Legend:

* Movie name links to imdb when possible. IMDb/Rotten Tomato scores are from when i wrote the review so they might differ when you read.

* Stars are granted on a 5-star scale and are not meant to be compared universally but (perhaps) with equally themed movies. 5 stars for a romantic comedy doesn’tcompare to 5 stars on a action movie; genre and purpose matter.

* A “+” in a star scale means it’s better than equally starred movies it may contend with. Ratings are based on my opinion at the moment and may change cause reasons.

Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace(1999) — 136 min (2h 16m) — Action, Adventure, Fantasy

The unneeded prequel. It’s not a bad a movie as they make it out to be, it just happens to be the worst starwars movie so it sits in the small chair. Doesnt add much to general universe and on it’s own its a odd movie. Excelent start and end though.

Good if you like: star wars, darth maul, dual lightsabers, midiclorians

My Rating: ★✰✰✰✰

IMDB: 6.5 ;

Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones(2002) — 142 min (2h 22m) — Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Lot’s of jedi action and the start of the arc for a certain iconic character, this movie is very decent on it’s own, the romance subplot is badly handled and feels a bit forced/rushed.
Good if you like: star wars, you-think-sand-is-coarse, galaxy intrigue

My Rating: ★★✰✰✰+

IMDB: 6.7 ;Tomato: 65

Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith(2005) — 140 min (2h 20m) — Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A 3 years time skip help this movie (and damage it by having character developments u miss on) lead us into the character changes we all wanted from the saga (although, again, they feel rushed). On it’s own it has a lot of jedi action and huge set pieces. a predictable ending if you saw the originals ;)
Good if you like: Star wars, master yoda

My Rating: ★★✰✰✰+

IMDB: 7.7 ;Tomato: 79

Star wars(1977) — 121 min (2h 1m) — Action, Adventure, Fantasy
The one that started all. On this 2015 rewatch im impressed (glad) this movie didn’t get lost in some cult classic cheesy camp niche, cause it is every bit that. This movie plays it very fast and loose with the info it hands out and moves the plot a a very fast pace assuming you’ll like and accept what you see without much explaining. The story and characters (and quotes, so many quotes) are so iconic you’ll recognize many of them from pop culture. A Must watch for any living person.
Good if you like: Star wars, space operas, pop culture, rescue adventures

My Rating: ★★★✰✰+

IMDB: 8.7 ;Tomato: 94

Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back(1980) — 124 min (2h 4m) — Action, Adventure, Fantasy
A excelent space adventure with excelent iconic characters, the introduction of very much loved characters, this is considered by many the best original trilogy movie, definetly a much watch for any fan. It expands a bit on the lore that Episode 4 didn’t have a chance to explain.
Good if you like: Star wars, space operas, pop culture, adventure movies, good sequels

My Rating: ★★★★✰+

IMDB: 8.8 ;Tomato: 94

Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi(1983) — 131 min (2h 11m) — Action, Adventure, Fantasy
And here the circle is complete, continuing from the plots of Episode 5 we get more rescue missions, more jedi exposition, some of the best battles in the trilogy and more badass protagonists than you can shake a stick at. No losses here, if you saw even one starwars movie you have to watch them all, easy peasy.
Good if you like: Star wars, space operas, pop culture, adventure movies, rescue missions

My Rating: ★★★★✰

IMDB: 8.4 ;Tomato: 79

Star Wars: The Force Awakens(2015) — 135 min (2h 15m) — Action, Adventure, Fantasy

First View: Disclaimer: after waiting with excitement for years, i can’t judge this in any reasonable way, this is a purely emotional review. Jumping 30 years into the future this is another movie that plays it fast and loose with what has happened, the plot is very well paced, the action is awesome, the old cast plays very well into the plot of the new and the battles are (although controversial) very exciting. Go watch it, now. then go again so you can watch it more relaxed, seriously go. i can wait.

Second View:Why is this here twice? well, i thought i needed a more relaxed viewing to judge. On second watch the movie shines even brighter, so many details and story hooks to expand on, there’s a couple of convenient movie magic plot resolutions and the movie borrows so much from the older ones some might find that wrong. On it’s own this is a pretty good looking movie, with iconic characters (old and new) and many memorable quotes.

Good if you like: Star wars, space operas, pop culture, adventure movies, Star wars Episode 4/6

My Rating: ★★★★★

IMDB: 8.9 ;Tomato: 95

Sicario(2015) — 121 min (2h 1m) — Action, Crime, Drama
What a good looking movie! A modern take on the state of drugs and the drug wars, this one finely crafted movie, superbly acted and very well executed tension. Anyone who likes action, drug-world movies or just plain old good movies will be pleased to see this. Expect to see this in many best-of-year lists (including mine).
Good if you like: Drug wars, police action, tense movies

My Rating: ★★★★★

IMDB: 8 ;Tomato: 93

Rocky(1976) — 119 min (1h 59m) — Drama, Sport
Very well made underdog boxing story with interesting plot points and development. Extra brownie points for having beleivable fights (and results)
Good if you like: Rocky, boxing movies, philadelphia, underdog movies

My Rating: ★★★✰✰

IMDB: 8.1 ;Tomato: 93

Creed(2015) — 133 min (2h 13m) — Drama, Sport
This movie follows a similar formula to the original where a underdog goes through a interesting and beleivable story arc, it’s very well made and the boxing scenes are some of the best i’ve seen on cinema.
Good if you like: Rocky, boxing movies, underdog movies

My Rating: ★★★★✰

IMDB: 8.7 ;Tomato: N/A

That’s it for star wars month! Wait for the 2015 full recommended list coming in early Jan!