BoundingSlinky

After the resounding success of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" Lucasarts Studios has rewarded the loyal Star Wars fans with a film that would introduce us to the story about how the rebel alliance exactly got to the plans of the ' Death Star' in the beginning of the movie where it all started. In this way, the film builds on the success that Star Wars with her first 3 films has amassed, which is a very smart choice. We can't exactly say the same about the prequels sadly…Say what you want but the pre- quels were now not really a bull's eye. The story focuses around Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), who from an early age since losing her parents, took on a rebellious path which has proved quite troublesome for The Empire apparently. When she meets Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a member of the Rebel Alliance, she unwittingly lands into a plot against The Empire. Gradually the two in contact with various individuals who all have reason enough to join the group. The most notable of which are the duo of Chirrut Îmwe a blind (force wielding) ninja-like fighter, his best buddy Baze Malbus and K-2SO ( a hilarious re-programmed Empire-droid, with a great use of sarcasm). The mission sounds simpler than it seems: getting a hold of the plans of the Death Star to prevent the whole Galaxy being under the power of The Empire.

The 'Star Wars '-label on this film is both a curse as a blessing: on the one hand it brings the return to this "Galaxy far far away" nostalgia back. The grim post-apocalyptic atmosphere that the original trilogy had as well,finds its roots deep into this movie as well, the visual effects, the costumes and the overall atmosphere throughout this movies is a joy to watch and something you don't really find in a lot of movies nowadays.

On the other hand, the fact that this film was clearly as a story 'leading up to' (although is already 40 years old) A New Hope, makes the film also firmly limited in its freedoms: While this movie has created so many things you want to know more about, the movie simply doesn't have enough time to go into much dept about them. The characters suffer the most here. Outside the main character, Jyn Erso, none of the Rogue-One group members get a lot of time to develop their backstory, their motives of really much of an arc. So you feel little to no involvement when they are in danger during the suspenseful scènes. You just know too little about these characters to experience a real commitment. When u have already seen the original trilogy (as I suspect you did), you also kind of know where this whole story is going. While this is not fully deal-breaking, it does take away a bit of it stakes throughout the movie. The film is also rather slow start during the first part and it really takes a while to get the movie going. The first half of the movie does need quite a long time to orient the events in the universe and sometimes this feels orchestrated. I had a feeling that throughout the movie the paths of the characters were already pretty much set and this gave me a a bit of a compromising experience. However, the biggest problem that this movie will probable face is the fact that it made bad use of its. By putting our most favorite bad guy in the Galaxy in the trailers a lot of Star Wars fans had high expectations for the screen time that Darth Vader would receive during the movie. Unfortunately Darth Vader only appears 2 scenes. Although one of the scenes was absolutely amazing to watch (you will know it when you see it), I can't deny that I was a bit bummed out by only seeing him this much. That being said, Rogue One does contain at his core something where every Star Wars fan instantly falls in love with. The fact that Rogue One also answers some questions where a lot of fans have been waiting for 40 years for, does make this movie relevant. There are also some very nice treats for the very attentive fans amongst us, who will be rewarded for knowing and remembering all of their Star Wars-trivia (bonus geek points!) Last but certainly not least the movie is also surprisingly funny, much credit here for goes to the sarcastic droid K-2SO (voiced by Alan Tudyk). All in all this movie is a welcome addition to the Star Wars universe. Star Wars fans that don't get their expectations too high will undoubtedly enjoy this movie. If you previously, however, weren't Star Wars fan was, this movie will not suddenly win you over.

Conscensus: don't go with too many expectations to this movie (not sure if you have a lot of Darth Vader expected). The film comes when slow start but once the action starts, both action-fans as Star-wars lovers really enjoy this movie. You also want to watch' A New Hope ' again right away!

This movie is about a very successful Florida lawyer who hasn't lost a case since he started, played by Keanu Reeves, when he gets the chance to go work for a big lawyer company

Going into this movie, I expected something very different from what I got. It wasn't quite clear what the movie was going for. The scenes feel very rushed and most of them don't really serve a purpose. The first and the second part also felt very separate from each other. The first part felt more like a biopic, while the second part got glimpses of a psychological thriller. Only until the very (second to) last scene the movie revealed it's underlying message, but by then for me it was already ruined.

The performance felt a bit choppy for me, especially Keanu Reeves got on my nerves with some serious overacting. He also had something really irritating about his voice. Also Charlize Theron's character was just plain stupid, she had no personality whatsoever and you don't really care for their relationship. (It even annoys you a bit at times) The one bright spot in this whole movie is the performance of Al Pacino though. Every minute he's on screen he demands all the attention, and while you get from the beginning that he's not really very reliable, you do however enjoy every scene he's in because it really looks like Pacino is just having a fun time. Pacino has some great monologue moments in this moments, and all the credit goes to him because he didn't really have so much to work with, but somehow he made it click.

That's however the only really enjoyable part in the movie, because what's left is really just a hot mess. The editing feels very choppy and rushed, like already mention the dialogue is very dull and you don't really know where this movie is going or what it wants to be. It is blunt and too subtle at the same time. Sometime the movie wants to make something clear so bad that it just looks absolutely ridiculous while at other times you don't really get what the movie is trying to tell you. Having said that however, I do think if you see this movie twice, you Will get a bit more satisfaction over it if you do decide to concentrate on the underlying tone. It is pitiful however that you only can get grasp of the tone of the movie at the end of the movie. (The last monologue of Pacino is undoubtedly the thing that elevates this movie) I don't think anyone would really care to see it a second time to be honest, because you would have lost you attention for the movie long before the first watching even ends 5,5/10 verdict: A hot mess

This series is more of a documentary than a 'netflix-series', and that's the way you should look at this. If you're just looking for a TV-series to lighten you're mood, then this clearly isn't for you. If you are, however interested in the subject of the importance of education, if you want to have a good look at how the American college system works ( especially if you're not from the US this is interesting), than this series might be exactly what you're looking for.

What sets Last Chance U apart from other 'reality-series' is the different angles where it is coming from. From the grad student, to the renominated coach Buddy Stephens, to the concerned tutor of the college athletes who is desperately trying to get them graduated at the end of the year. You really understand the importance of the situation, the legacy that these young athletes are trying to maintain. It also doesn't really feel like a real documentary-series, although you keep getting reminded that this in fact has really happened before.

However Last Chance has a hard time trying to keep my focus, maybe it was just me but I found myself numerous times being distracted while watching the series. and while this is no doubt a real documentary, I couldn't help myself but finding it all a bit by the books. It almost sounds like a classic football story which you have seen so many times before. I couldn't help myself wondering if some things were really scripted.

Still if you can get yourself invested in the stories of these coaches, students and their surroundings, you do really get a real reward out of it, because it does leave a mark. It really gave me satisfaction to get to know the stories of so many lives in this little Mecca of American football. So if this subject is your niche... you should definitely check it out.

7,5/10 Verdict: A very interesting and touching look at the life of student athletes