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Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
History Repeating, nevertheless enjoyable
The Force Awakens is the first Star Wars film I watched in the cinema. I'm too young for the original trilogy and the Trilogy-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named happened at a time when Hollywood movies were freely available on the internet long before they arrived in German cinemas. I watched the original trilogy on VHS at a friend's house and it made a lasting impression on me. I watched The Force Awakens in 3D and dubbed into German so I won't judge some the wonky dialogue too harshly before having seen the English original. I'm not a big fan of 3D and I thought it made some of scenes on the 21,4m x 8,8m screen, the biggest in my soulless multiplex, look rather toy-like. I managed to avoid all the trailers and all spoilers and going into the film knowing nothing about it was a great experience. Overall I enjoyed the film, it had decent action scenes, interesting new characters, great returning characters and moments of chuckling, tension and sadness. Unfortunately I couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu. I think J. J. Abrams played it too save. Did he really have to blow up the Death Star a third time? I have to admit that I didn't manage to sustain my suspension of disbelief. I don't want to nitpick, but when you start wondering that a vehicle which utilizes anti gravity relies on a combustion engine you know that you are not fully immersed. I felt that there was some back story missing, how could the First Order rise so quickly and build another Death Star? The Stormtroopers are still very bad shots, the overwhelming odds were too overwhelming, a lot of solutions too convenient and travel from one place to another was often miraculously fast. I liked the new characters, especially Rey, but Han Solo was far and away my favourite character in this film. (Harrison Ford made good for the Indiana-Jones-Movie-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named.) I'm not sure about Adam Driver, without his mask he didn't feel like a very threatening villain. He is still Adam from Girls for me. My favourite scene was the Apocalypse Now reference with TIE fighters and the laugh out loud funny moment was when Chewie complained about being cold. Overall I think it's a good film, but it's also a save film. As with Star Trek Into Darkness J. J. Abrams rehashed old ideas but this time without making up a totally nonsensical and bonkers storyline. I'm wondering if this film will bring forth iconic moments that will be remembered in years to come, like the original trilogy did.
Sports Night (1998)
Above average relationship (comedy)-drama with likable characters but no unique features
My Tweets about Sports Night while binge watching the show:
Watching "Sports Night", so many familiar faces.
Sports Night, end of season 1, the workplace relationship drama is starting to grate on me.
(With hindsight) Y2K episodes in TV shows are really lame.
After one and a half seasons of Sports Night I still don't have a clue what good sports reporting is supposed to look like.
Sports Night reminds me of how boring American sports are. At this point most of the Sorkinness I enjoyed on The West Wing has vanished.
"By the way, I met a girl named Suzy today. It sounds like she's the preferred vacation spot for all the men you date."
A "Hooker with a Heart of Gold" storyline.
It seems I'm not the only one who is watching Sports Night / The Newsroom and thinks, was I wrong to love The West Wing?
Sorkin's Sports Night is just another mediocre show, but the scene involving the punchline "You're wearing my shirt, Gordon." is magnificent
Verdict on Sports Night: Above average relationship (comedy)-drama with likable characters but no unique features.
Broadchurch (2013)
extraordinarily ordinary whodunit
Broadchurch, an extraordinarily ordinary whodunit with overacting, wannabe cinematography, overbearing soundtrack and all the usual clichés.
Some scenes reminded me of TV commercials. It feels like the polar opposite of "Top of the Lake", no ambition, no vision and it's certainly not as good as "Forbrydelsen". It's just another murder mystery TV show.
There is a scene in Game of Thrones S03E10, in which Tyrion wants to tell Sansa about a Wedding. I was really dreading their attempt to depict this conversation, fortunately Sansa already knows and we get just get to see Tyrion and Sansa looking at each other, great framing and great acting. The last episode of Broadchurch (S01) feels like the conversation I didn't want to see with all the overacting and the overly manipulative soundtrack and cinematography.