Film Review: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens

"The light — It's always been there. It'll guide you." - Lupita Nyong'o
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It's easy to become burned out over Star Wars. 38 years ago, the original film whetted audiences appetites for escapist adventure and fantasy, with spectacles the likes of which had never seen before. The original magic and charm became buried beneath the vitriol and controversy surrounding the sequels, prequels, revisions, spin-offs, and more. With George Lucas selling his company to Disney in 2012, the floodgates suddenly opened for a wave of new talent - writers, directors, actors, and more - to pick up the legacy of this troubled series and take into the next generation.

The Force Awakens is certainly the experience Star Wars fans crave. It has spectacular action - it starts off hard and fast with stormtroopers razing a village and fighters clashing in the skies. The most spectacular sequences include a breakneck chase scene over deserts and through the heart of a crashed spaceship. The last act is an all-out battle that shows X-Wings battling TIE fighters while the characters duke it out with blasters and lightsabers. It's all fast and it's some of the biggest scenes in the series.

Fortunately, it's not all that exhausting either - the film finds a decent balance between the spectacle, humor, and rolling the story forward. Most reviewers have generalized this as a remake of A New Hope. Undeniably, the film banks quite a bit on nostalgia, and it does repeat the broad story beats of the original films. Despite the notable similarities, I never once felt that I was being beaten over the head by nostalgia. It's merely a knuckle in the overall fist that smashes the face of Star Wars apathy. Even with familiar faces returning, the film's focus is firmly set on new characters, and they are truly a lovable bunch. Finn and Rey are heroes who elicit great empathy in their struggles, and show a lot of personality and character through their various nuances (which is especially phenomenal given the short amount of time they actually have to develop in the midst of so much action). Kylo Ren may come off as a whiny emo kid, but he is far more volatile than any before him, and he's clearly a conflicted soul with depth to him that's begging to be explored. Once the motivations are clear for these characters, one can't help but to wonder what directions they will go next.

Unfortunately, that leads me to wonder what else is left unsaid in the film. Many questions won't be answered until the next episode. Others can only be speculated in the gap between this and Return of the Jedi (I personally wish more was said about the New Republic, the New Order, Snoke, and other odd things). Characters like General Hux and Captain Phasma are great to behold, but are the shallowest characters of the lot and receive very little screen time.

Despite the even flow and attention to characters, the plot itself is fast and loose (come to think of it, all of JJ Abrams' films are like that). There are a few gaps and plot holes that can either be shrugged off, or may become points of contention for fans.  Parts of it seem to be rushed.  The film's biggest issue is that, like a Marvel movie, it is built to bridge a franchise, rather than to craft an original story. It requires knowledge of what happened before, and it sets up what will happen next. The film does its job admirably to revitalize the series with new faces, an expanded universe, and the old-fashioned sense of adventure. With recycled scenes and archetypes, however, some audiences won't be so easily swayed.

Of all the Star Wars films, this may be one of the best-looking ones of the lot. Filmmakers took great care to craft a plethora of authentic new creatures, sets, props, weapons, vehicles, costumes, and more. The film is packed with real-looking places and things, lending it the same sense of realism that made the original so jarring. What computer-generated effects the film has are spectacular and take nothing away from the experience. An even more pleasant surprise is in the acting and the script. Dialogue is often sharp, witty, and provides enough depth to make the story feel more relevant (even if it is a retread). Daisy Ridley brings Rey to life beautifully, with a commanding presence and emotional range. John Boyega's performance is superb and fun to watch. Oscar Isaac is surprisingly playful as Poe Dameron. Adam Driver portrays rage and tragedy very well in his part. Despite his age, Harrison Ford inhabits the body of Han Solo like wearing an old jacket, and he's surprisingly endearing that way. Carrie Fischer still plays it tough as Leia. Lupita Nyong'o plays an alien, and it's interesting. With so many players going all at once, what matters the most is that all of them pull their weight so that every little face, gesture, and word contributes to their respective characterization, giving much more depth to them through the art of showing more than telling. John Williams' music score is notably different, but I believe it lends the movie its own unique style and feeling.

Some might call this an unoriginal sellout, lacking in the boldness that the other films presented. However, it is a well-crafted crowd-pleaser. It entertains not only through its action, but also captivates with its characters. What I like about it the most is that, like many of my other favorites (including the original Star Wars), its nuances show more than tell, to capture and let our own imaginations fill in the gaps. With my own imagination filling with the possibilities of what could happen next, my appetite is now whetted for the next episode, and any Star Wars fatigue I had is gone.

4.5/5

Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 (Ray Bradbury)

"It was a pleasure to burn." - Ray Bradbury
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In the future, firemen don't put out fires, they start them.  They raid people's home, collect their books, and set them ablaze.  It is a terrifying, oppressive world where literature is forbidden.  By extension, it's a world where intellect, free-thinking, and questioning authority are forbidden.  This is the world of Fahrenheit 451, and this is the story about one fireman whose eyes are opened and he becomes the very enemy he was trained to hate and destroy.

Ray Bradbury's debut novel is short, pointed, and surprisingly elegant.  It can be rather wordy, especially with so much flowery language, but it's hardly a chore to read.  It is a book full of evocative ideas, tension, and compelling characters.  At the same time, there is a huge amount of depth and detail to it that gives the book a unique voice and a lot of heart.

The story is quite fundamental - the characters, story, and themes resonate universally, and have been influential in other sci-fi works.  The book's plot and conflict are subtle at first, slowly burning until the third acts hits with a tense, action-packed confrontation and chase.  Through the eyes of Guy Montag, readers are immersed in a world full of mechanical animals and wall-sized interactive TVs.  People are kept ignorant and happy through technology.  Montag's journey is one of intellectual discover, which eventually leads to rebellion.  The revelations of the characters and their celebration of intellect underscore the importance of art and literature, and suggest that in their absence, something important will be missing from people's lives and souls.

It's actually shocking to see how accurate Bradbury was in predicting certain things.  We do live in a world of information overdrive, with massive TVs streaming media at us all the time.  We are always distracted by music and information blasted directly into our ears with headphones.  What's most shocking is how people react and behave in their environments, so displaced and distanced on personal levels by technology.  It's as if Bradbury must have glimpsed into the future and saw an apathetic world full of selfish people with feelings of entitlement.  There's also some interesting observations about knowledge and happiness - people in this book are sheltered from intellect and knowledge because it's said to make them unhappy, while TV and loud music are figurative opiates.  It's widespread censorship, depriving all so that nobody would be offended or made unhappy by something.  It very much reminded me of modern trends, where political correctness and censorship are alive and well.  It all adds up to a terrifying warning about totalitarianism, where the government controls free thought, and nobody thinks to question them.  In a world without books, nobody thinks at all.

This book is very distinctive, thanks to Bradbury's precision with language.  He doesn't shy away from detailing some nasty details (leading to the book itself being censored on a few occasions), but for the most part it's beautifully written.  Characters show some very lively dialogue and plenty of heart.  The chief tends to lecture Montag relentlessly (and this is something I've been accused of doing in my own writing, so what the heck?).  Descriptions are full and lively, and often metaphorical.  It can be a bit challenging to fully understand what Bradbury is saying with some of his metaphors, but it definitely evokes phenomenal imagery, imagination, and emotion.

Fahrenheit 451 remains one of the biggest and best classics in sci-fi for a lot of great reasons.  It was a pleasure to read.

5/5

 

Book Review: Catcher in the Rye (JD Salinger)

The teenage years can be a weird time for anybody.  Many stories seek to capture the feelings of loneliness, confusion, angst, depression, and restlessness that everybody feels in these uncertain phases of life.  The Catcher in the Rye stands as one of the best and most successful, because it captures all of this in one tight, punchy package, and the experience of reading it is quite the trip.

Through the narrative eyes of Holden Caulfield, the story can come off as totally random.  It's all about Holden's wanderings from Pencey Preparatory school to the streets of New York City, where he sees and experiences a number of things that continuously alienates him.  It's a pretty bizarre series of encounters, which includes a lot of horseplay, bar-hopping, and interactions with particularly seedy areas of the city.  It might seem like a weird, plotless mess, but the characters and themes keep it all glued together as a cohesive plot:  this is not so much about "plot" as it is about Holden reflecting, and ultimately discovering, his own place in the world.  Through all the flashbacks and all the people he meets, he eventually finds something that inspires happiness in a world full of "phonies." The journey to discover what it means to be the "catcher in the rye" is what this story is all about.

Even though the book covers a lot of ground between covering Holden's past, present, and future, it is a short and incredibly characteristic.  The whole thing is written in a very casual style, using Holden's voice and all his mannerisms and colloquialisms to place the reader in his shoes and make us understand all his thoughts and feelings on an intuitive level.  Because of this, the book is not only consistently entertaining, it's also highly immersive and it succeeds at eliciting sympathy for the character.  It's just as evocative as it is easy to read.

In spite of everything, JD Salinger's prose is quite brilliant in its own ways.  He makes great use of language - the best and worst of it - to bring the character and story to life, and to make sure we can follow it to its end.  The book entails some intriguing metaphors (especially in its title).  Dialogue seems quite authentic.  The language overall can be rather uncompromising, especially in the liberal way it uses curse words, but it fits the character and story pretty aptly.

The Catcher in the Rye is an interesting, bittersweet classic full of character and themes that are worth reading.  It deserves to be read at least once.

4.5/5

 

Book Review: Logan's Run (William F Nolan and George Clayton Johnson)

The Logan's Run film has been a seminal staple of sci-fi cinema my whole life. It's a film that presents its unique premise with plenty of flair and adventure. It seemed essential that I had to read the original book to see where this marvelous movie came from, and how it compared.

The book is as short, breezy, and pulpy as they come. It wastes no time in establishing the funky world Logan 5 lives in, and the madcap quest he embarks on. It's a sprawling adventure that goes all over the place, from one perilous situation to another. There are definitely unique ideas and vivid settings to behold, and it is quite a wonderful sci-fi adventure at times.

Unfortunately, I did find some things to be rather wonky. Strange as it may seem, I thought the plot of the movie adaptation was handled better - it made more sense to me that Logan would be put on a mission, rather than how it is in the book, where on his very last day of living he decides to try and find Sanctuary on his own initiative. Mort importantly, the events of the book are so tightly-packed, it's almost dizzying. Logan goes from one city to another, through canyons and glaciers, confronting Sandmen and killer robots and a crazy nursery and everything. Little time is spent in between the peril to settle down and get to know the characters and their world (world-building is effectively shown, but it still feels like a lot condensed into a very small space). In the end, the actual plot and sequence of events is very random.  It's exciting at times, but not always compelling.

As far as characters go, surprisingly little is said about them. Despite all his strength and determination, I didn't think Logan's motivation was that strong, and there wasn't much for the reader to relate to. Other characters are quite flat.

Ideas and the world-building are immense, but once again, I felt the movie handled them better. The book details multiple cities worldwide, rather than just one. I can't say I can comprehend how the world as a whole could condone and conform to the system that's described, but the whole idea of controlling population by limiting age is a naturally compelling one (even if limiting it to 21 seems rather young).

The prose is pretty trim, tight, and easy to read. It might even come off as rather brusque in style. Descriptions are minimal, and most details about the world and the premise behind it are more shown rather than told. Action is always moving, dialogue is not bad, and the book overall gets the job done fine and dandy.

It is a fairly enjoyable piece of pulp sci-fi, but I personally value the movie more - its plotting is hammered out better, and its pacing much more even, whereas the book is tight and nonstop. I feel it's a little too fast and loose, and it doesn't quite capitalize on characters, concepts, and plotting as well as the movie does. It's worthwhile for sci-fi fans, but this is one rare case where I believe the movie is better.

3.5/5

 

Book Review: Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)

Catch-22.  Noun.  A singular term signifying a paradoxical situation that one cannot escape from.  Pretty much the same as "damned if you do and damned if you don't." Catch-22 is also a very bizarre war novel by war veteran Joseph Heller, in which he therapeutically channeled all his experiences and turned it into poignant satire.

To be fair, Catch-22 is quite the funny book at times.  It is loaded with kooky characters, who often speak in funny circles and engage in some totally random shenanigans.  The humor, especially in the form of circular logic, becomes a common thread that weaves through the whole book.  Eventually, it builds up to a rather darker, bleaker portrayal of madness in the time of war.  It doesn't get more bittersweet than this.

Despite its strengths, I personally found the book to be a bit of a chore.  In between the sharp dialogue and humor, there are pages and pages of prose that drone on.  What bothers me the most is that the plot offers little forward momentum - entire chapters go on where little actually seems to happen and characters don't really say anything of relevance.  The matter is further exacerbated by the mixed-up narrative and the way it goes back and forth through time.  After the first few chapters, I felt the book became tiresome, and were it not for providing a more grounded viewpoint through the protagonist, I probably wouldn't have cared for anything that happened.

Joseph Heller's writing can be quite wordy and meaty, but it is pretty easy to digest.  Dialogue shows a lot of character.  Characters are quite uniquely described and detailed (who wouldn't love people like Major Major or Col. Scheisskopf?).  What stands out the best will be the quirky way words are manipulated circularly and paradoxically to coincide with the central concept behind the book's title - it can be rather ingenious.

This book is worth reading for its notoriety alone - it is considered one of the great modern classics, and there is value in the humor and the terror the book portrays.  I just wish it could have been trimmer, more to-the-point, have more to the plot.

3/5