Coco- Another Pixar Masterpiece

In honor of Dia de los Muertos and the snow day, I decided to watch Pixar’s Coco on Netflix.  Going into this movie, I had low expectations.  I thought it was going to be too childish for my taste.  Just like the rest of Pixar classics, this movie defies age.  It can appeal and even force a tear out of everyone.

Summary

Coco is a story about Miguel and his struggle to become a musician during the Day of the Dead holiday.  Things quickly go south when Miguel decides to steal the guitar from the beloved musician Ernesto de la Cruz.  As soon as he plucks the strings, he phases to the Undead World.  Miguel’s mission suddenly changes.  He needs to find an ancestor’s blessing before sun rises and he gets trapped among the dead.

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Rating

Overall, I’m giving this movie a fresh rating.  Part of why I love this movie so much is how Spanish culture assimilated into the movie.  It’s not done in an offensive or stereotypical way, but as a means to educate people on the holiday.  Since we live in such a diverse country, I think it’s important that we learn about and accept our differences.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi- 1 Step Forward for the Universe

Episode 8 of Star Wars was definitely revolutionary, but was it what all Star Wars Fans wanted?

The Good

The movie did 2 things that this movie nailed

1). Appealing to old Star Wars Fans- They brought back Luke Skywalker as a mentor figure and Yoda as a ghost.  Do I need to say more?

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2). Using new cinematic technology- The scene towards the end over the movie where the rebel ship jumps into lightspeed and crashes into the empire command ship is an absolute masterpiece of screenplay.  It never fails to send chills down my spine.Image result for light speed crash in the last jedi

The Bad

I think this movie wanted to be innovative and as a result had a lot of issues.

1). The Leia Flying through Space Scene- Prior to The Last Jedi, we had never seen Leia use the force.  However, that doesn’t explain the fact she was able to survive the vacuum of space without a spacesuit.

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2). Death of Snoke- This scene definitely surprised people in the audience, but I think it was a cheap way to turn some heads.  The character was undeveloped.  By killing him, Disney lost out on a lot of story potential.

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3). James Corden- Look, I know he is a super well known figure and Star Wars fan, but does that really justify him getting screen time?  I feel like sticking him into a movie series with such a rich history undermines the gravity of this type of movie.

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The Rating

Overall, I would give this movie a fresh rating.  I think people like to bash on this movie because it is different from the original Star Wars trilogy.  If people can learn look past that, they’ll finally see the good in the movie.