This deserves the same type of praise as the previous editions of the saga: it’s a groundbreaking spectacle that builds upon the potential for special effects in blockbuster films. The precisely crafted action includes the throne room battle where Rey and Kylo Ren team up together against Supreme Leader Snoke’s guards, a sequence built without any quick editing or jerky camera movements. Even when there isn’t action going on, the engineering wizardry is put on full display. Just one of the locations the crew filmed on was a special effect spectacle in and of itself… the island of Ahch-To.

​​On this island full of rough weather and terrain conditions, the struggle to keep puffins out of each shot was just one of those many environmental factors that made production much more challenging. Yet these challenges gladly weren’t enough to make the crew’s efforts suffer, in fact, they encouraged further creativity, as the solution to eliminating the puffins resulted in the newest alien creation: the cute little porgs! Director Rian Johnson however wanted to go the extra mile with building the environment of Ahch-To, and decided to include extra shots of the porgs made out of complex puppets, with the controls removed by bluescreen technology. It’s really quite amazing how with each rewatch of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the more masterful techniques come to light, and the deeper the viewing experience becomes.

PG-13 (LV)
Sci-fi/Fantasy
2 hr. 32 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to feel HAPPY and AFRAID.

Over three decades after the original trilogy’s run, the series had gone through some drastic changes: the original movies received special edition changes, numerous TV shows/specials were made, countless spinoff novels were written, George Lucas created a prequel trilogy, and in 2012, he sold the rights of his franchise over to Disney. Thus, the new Lucasfilm produced Star Wars: The Force Awakens with a new direction to draw in new fans. Unlike the first three movies, this one had the advantage of CGI technology, all of which were wisely incorporated to enhance the action rather than to steal attention away from it. Therefore, most of the alien and droid characters, whenever possible, were puppets.

​Although the greatest special effect is BB-8, the new ball droid that couldn’t have been realized back in 1983, and as a bonus, was realized with almost no CGI. It delights the senses to see practical effects make a refreshing comeback, and now better than ever before since digital effects at that point could be implemented to enhance the realism of their presence. As a bonus, John Williams came back with his instantly iconic musical score, his standout new composition being Rey’s wondrous theme, which was made to harmoniously complement all other musical tunes from the whole series. The result of this ambitious collaboration was a blockbuster that met the full potential of George Lucas’s creation.

PG-13 (LV)
Sci-fi/Fantasy
2 hr. 16 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to feel HAPPY and AFRAID.

The first movie went to a desert planet straight out of a Western. The second went to a snowy trench battle, a swamp with a wise old hermit, and a majestic cloud city. And to cap all that off, Return of the Jedi went to a crime lord’s palace and a forest with a tribe of sticks and stones. It was the legendary trilogy’s third installment, and George Lucas somehow outdid himself yet again with his inspired eye for worldbuilding. John Williams’ musical score continues to be memorable, especially with more creative liberties to expand on the culture of this galaxy, with the tribal instruments of the Ewoks and a band whose tunes resemble 1980s funk. Yet even more amazing is how Lucasfilm pushed the envelope further in the visual effects department.

​The elaborate Jabba the Hutt puppet needed five puppeteers to bring this giant slug to life, which was still nothing compared to the Rancor sequence. Yet that’s just early on in the movie, from there, the showcase of stunts combined with ambitious visual effects includes the Sarlacc Pit battle, the speed biker chase, the Ewoks’ attack on the Stormtroopers, and the Rebellion’s flight into the unfinished second Death Star. Even the costumes are works of engineering mastery with the alien creatures in Jabba’s palace, which were made from costume materials that couldn’t have been afforded for the first Star Wars.

PG (LV)
Sci-fi/Fantasy
2 hr. 11 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to feel HAPPY and AFRAID.

Before The Empire Strikes Back, a “good” sequel rarely came around. While The Godfather Part II did win the Oscar for Best Picture, most sequels, especially those in the still rarely respected sci-fi genre, never met their full potential. Fans anticipated their return to the galaxy set far, far away, but even then, they had to question: “How does one top Star Wars?” Simple: Go darker and bigger. One of Lucasfilm’s ways of doing that was ironically by one of the smallest, purest characters in the series: Yoda. This was an engineering marvel with his wide range of facial expressions coupled with Frank Oz’s puppeteering on the sets built for his exchanges with Mark Hamill; it proved from there on that not all movie stars were going to be human.

​Besides just Yoda, there were many other massive visual effect spectacles the movie theater had never seen before. The Battle of Hoth alone is one of the most elaborate practical special effects symphonies in cinematic history, with its stop motion work on the AT-AT walkers and ship flying techniques from the first movie used once again, but this time in a bright snow environment instead of against the black of space. After going through this roller coaster of an experience, topped off perfectly by Vader saying, “No, I am your father,” everyone knew this new shift in Hollywood was only going to grow in maturity.

PG (LV)
Sci-fi/Fantasy
2 hr. 4 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to feel HAPPY and AFRAID.

This independently produced space opera prior to its release had no promise of becoming a mega-hit, seeing how it was a genre that nobody at the time took seriously. Yet George Lucas’s spectacle ended up changing everything forever. No storyteller had ever combined genres as different as Hollywood westerns, samurai epics, space operas, and fairy tales with as much fluidity as Lucas did, especially not with aliens and droids as innovatively detailed as they are here. Yet what really makes this galaxy far, far away shine bright is John Williams’ legendary musical score, which besides being a dramatic feast for the ears in a massive theater, also dares to be different with that jazzy Cantina Band tune played on alienesque musical instruments.

​Though ultimately, Star Wars was an exercise for the production crew as they worked with a new camera operating system, which was one step in their innovative special effects technology that created ships flying more flexibly than any other movie beforehand. It pushed for a permanent shift in the film industry; now everything about our culture has been drastically altered. The way we watch movies is different. The way we enjoy movies is different. The way we make movies is different. The way we think about movies is different. Think of any verb, and this first installment of cinema’s most famous franchise for sure made it completely different.

PG (LV)
Sci-fi/Fantasy
2 hr. 1 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to feel HAPPY and AFRAID.