Shmee.Me

December 30, 2015December 30, 2015

Shmee’s Top 5 Movies Of 2015!

It is that time of year when everyone gives a top (insert number here) list of whatever, so who am I to buck tradition?! No-one that’s who! So here is my top five movies of 2015 in reverse order.

5: Crimson Peak

Gothic Period Romance with a twist of Horror? Yes please! I guess I am one of the few people that thought that way since Crimson Peak bombed in the theaters, but I like what I like, and Crimson Peak was a lot of fun provided you knew what you were getting in too. If you thought you were going to see a thrilling horror flick, I could see being disappointed. If you haven’t seen it, you should give it a try.

4: Inside Out

Inside Out proved that Pixar still has a little something left in the tank. Pixar seems to get rich making us all cry, but Inside Out reminded us that a little sadness is important. This was a wonderful movie, and it will easily sweep all the top Animated Film honors this award season.

3: The Martian

Every time we have to save Matt Damon from something it makes great cinema. He should just be in peril 24/7. This was also the film that showed that Ridley Scott still knows how to make movies that people want to watch, and reminded film makers everywhere that one man we know in danger is much more gripping than ten’s of thousands that we don’t.

2: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

This may surprise a few of you that this came in at #2 and not #1, but that is only because #1 was so blindsidingly good. Star Wars: The Force Awakens lets geeks everywhere be unashamed to love Star Wars again and judging by all the box office records they are not alone. Star Wars: The Force Awakens is my third favorite Star Wars film and that is high praise.

1: Mad Max: Fury Road

Oh man this movie! When I heard they were making a new Mad Max, I could not have cared any less, but then there was this perfect trailer. That got me interested and then everything they showed of Fury Road after only made it look better. There was no way it was going to live up to all the hype it was building. It turns out people weren’t hyped enough! With the positive buzz that Mad Max: Fury Road is still getting it may when some awards that are usually saved for boring addiction dramas. One more thing, it something I thought was impossible: it was progressive without being preachy. No smug here!

I kind of surprised myself by not having a comic book movie on this list this year, but with like eight million coming out next year that will probably change for 2016. What did your list look like? Let me know!

December 29, 2015December 29, 2015

The One Thing Star Wars: The Force Awakens Didn’t Give Me!

Star Wars: The Force Awakens was pretty much pure wish fulfilment for me, but there was one thing that it didn’t do for me, and I both hate and love the movie for it. Everything from here on out is a spoiler, so turn back if you haven’t seen the movie yet!

Spoilers in:

The one thing I didn’t get to see was the original three main characters back together again. I thought for sure I would see Luke, Leia and Han hanging out, but it didn’t happen. What we got instead was the sendoff of one of the most beloved Star Wars characters of all time played perfectly by Harrison Ford. Han trying to turn his son back to the Light at the end of the film was brilliant and heartbreaking. It took a few days after watching the film to realize that I wouldn’t be able to see Han and Luke on the Falcon one last time.

I am very happy with the way the movie turned out, so I don’t wish to change anything, but not getting to see Solo rib on Skywalker again is a sobering thought. I can only hope that Luke will at least get to see Leia, but it doesn’t look like we have any guaranties of that.

December 18, 2015December 18, 2015

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Takes Us Back To A Galaxy Far, Far Away!

With the letdown of the Star Wars prequel trilogy, and after years of excitement and anticipation, the bases were loaded for J.J. Abrams. All he had to do was not strikeout, and he did better than that. It wasn’t quite a grand-slam, but it was at least a bases clearing triple, and it is hard to be upset about that. For all of you that don’t understand baseball, what I am saying is that Star Wars: The Force Awakens is amazingly good!

I usually give some sort of blurb about the plot of the movie with this paragraph, but this is a Star Wars film, so you should kind of know what you are in for. If you haven’t seen a Star Wars movie yet, this is not a good place to start because a lot of Star Wars people do a lot of Star Wars stuff, and if you are like me and wanted a lot of Star Wars Stuff, you are in luck because The Force Awakens is lousy (as in, has a lot of) with it!

Which is one of the reasons this movie wasn’t quite a grand-slam, it may have had a few too many nods to the original trilogy. The other nitpicks would be that a few of the computer animated characters looked a little off, and that some of the dialog was a little info-dumpy. Like I said, those are all nitpicks in an otherwise great movie, and they do not ruin the experience at all.

The old cast was enchanting, and looked like they were thoroughly enjoying themselves. Yes, even grumpy old Harrison Ford looked happy to be Han Solo again. It was wonderful to see original gang back on screen. The new cast was excellent as well: J.J. really got the perfect people to fill all the roles. I can’t wait to see them in movies for years to come.

The special effects in The Force Awakens were fantastic, and the use of practical (real) effects really helped this movie feel like one of the originals. You can tell the difference when they build a real ship versus just having someone sit on a green box. Unfortunately like I mentioned earlier, those practical effects and set pieces did make some of the CGI stand out more, and not in a good way. Still, overall they did a great job.

Even if Star Wars: The Force Awakens was terrible, it still would have been one of the biggest hits of the year, but I am elated to report that it is an event movie worth watching, and a must see in theaters. J.J and his gang revived a classic franchise for a new generation, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in my favorite galaxy far, far away!

October 20, 2015

The New Star Wars Trailer Is Fabulous!

I didn’t think I could be any more excited for this Christmas, but after the launch of the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer during Monday Night Football, I am pumped. I mean I sat through half of a Giants versus Eagles game for this trailer! It was worth it to see it air live. Now to pre-order myself and Mrs. Shmee some tickets, and this may be one of the merriest Christmases ever!

August 17, 2015

Disney D23 Finally Announces The Star Wars Theme Park!

Even since Disney bought Lucas Film from George Lucas people have been waiting for the announcement that there would be more Star Wars based rides at Disneyland and Disney Word. By people I do mean me (hey I am people jerk!). Star Tours and Captain EO were definitely not enough. Well that time has finally come! We are getting a whole fourteen acre Star Wars based Land or World (depending on the park)! After seeing the amazing things Disney did with Cars (my least favorite Pixar movie by the way), I can’t wait to see what they do with Star Wars!

All they have to do is get the Marvel rides license back for Universal, and I am sure that Marvel land is right around the corner! I wouldn’t complain if they brought over the new Tron ride from Disney Shanghai either. What Disney “Land” would you like to see next?