Movie Review: Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

It's the FINAL DAY of 2019 - and I should end it with a long overdue review of one of the most anticipated films of the soon to be past year!

It's been over a week since Disney and Lucasfilm finally released the long awaited final movie of the "Sequel Trilogy" to theaters worldwide - also billed as the final chapter of the "Skywalker Saga" that began with the very first "Star Wars" film released in 1977 that introduced us to Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia Organa, Han Solo, Darth Vader, and the rest of the wide fictional universe filmmaker George Lucas created from a galaxy far, far away. In this saga, we are introduced to new players and heroes - such as Rey, Finn, Poe Dameron, and BB-8 who make up the key members of "The Resistance". That new rebel faction faces off against the dark forces of Kylo Ren and The First Order - who will stop at nothing to take over the galaxy and finish what the Empire and Sith started long ago.

Well, I finally got to see "The Rise of Skywalker" - three times in fact and for the most part it is a DECENT Star Wars film. I've said that in two of my video reviews which you can find at my YouTube page here (Non-Spoiler) and here (SPOILER), and I've delved into non-spoiler and SPOILER reactions for the film. Since enough time has passed and revelations are out in the wild, I'll give my honest thoughts in this post about Episode IX - and why I think its serviceable yet a movie that needed much more to make it a perfect conclusion.

Again, SPOILERS WILL FOLLOW after the jump, so read at your own risk.

Movie Review: Terminator: Dark Fate

Been a while since I got around to reviewing some movies on this page, but there's definitely "No Fate But What We Make" in trying to get back into what you need to do - and there were a couple of blockbuster films I've seen in the past few weeks that were hotly anticipated and finally are playing in theaters. Most of them are sequels to established franchises that were hits back in the early 80's - and one of them is the long-running Terminator film franchise - which once again brings the cyborg killer robots back to our present to wipe out the hope of a possible post-apocalyptic future, but not without some heroes and protectors to help out and kick their asses as well.

Thanks to 20th Century Fox Philippines, I got to see the latest film in the series in "Terminator: Dark Fate" last October 24th - which brings back Arnold Schwarzenegger as the iconic T-800 cyborg. This time however, he's joined by other returning series veteran Linda Hamilton - who reprises her role as the older and badass Sarah Connor. Her return coincides with the comeback of legendary filmmaker James Cameron - who directed the first two successful Terminator films and is joining this new venture as a producer. Dark Fate is meant to be inserted as a "fresh start sequel" that ignores the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator: Salvation, and Terminator: Genisys. This is a movie catered to the fans of the old aging franchise - but does it deliver the goods? Here are my thoughts... And of course SPOILER WARNING if you want to catch the movie yourselves.

Movie Review: Joker

"Desperate Times calls for Desperate Measures."

That old expression sums up many things in life, but it also perfectly describes the feeling and atmosphere you'll get from "Joker" - the newest entry by Warner Bros. in their expanding DC Films line-up that, while based on one of their most notorious comic book villains, is not a part of the DC Extended Universe at all. Instead, this is a stand-alone movie meant to launch a new series of "DC Black" films - which will be darker, grittier, and more in line with mature and serious storytelling - which fits quite well with the atmosphere exploring the rise of Gotham City's future Clown Prince of Crime.

As one of the movies I was very much looking forward to before the year ends, "Joker" earned a lot of hype and positive buzz for weeks - premiering in this year's Venice Film Festival and winning the top prize of the show in the coveted "Lion" award.  I finally got my chance to see the film just before October set in, with Warner Bros. Philippines holding a special press screening this past September 30 (and just when I returned from my trip to Europe and the UK to boot!). Suffice to say - it BLEW MY MIND. While this is a film focusing on Batman's eternal nemesis and I'm a big fan of The Dark Knight to boot, he doesn't even exist in this film - and the primary focus is solely on the man that will eventually spiral down to a life of madness.

All it takes is one bad day... And that is explored in this artistic masterpiece of a psychological thriller film.