The Rise of Skywalker

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

I truly believe that J.J. Abrams does such an outstanding job as a director because he was a “fan” first and foremost. Abrams manages to wrap up this 40-year journey with class and great satisfaction. His many “throw backs” to the original three movies are a joy, and his attention to detail is sure to endear Rise in the hearts of Star Wars fans forever.

After Emperor Palpatine again rises from the dead, the Resistance faces the First Order in a battle of good vs. evil. Yep. My advice is to avoid all the negative reviews posted on the internet by people who don’t get it, or who were expecting a huge Hollywood blockbuster. I am a writer, an actor, and have been a Star Wars fan since the first paperback book came out. To me, this was perfection. It wrapped everything up quite nicely. I must say, Rey could start a whole new storyline now.

John Boyega as Finn, Daisy Ridley as Rey and Adam Driver as Kylo Rinn/Ben Solo are all in top form. Don’t let it blow your mind. None of these actors were yet born when Star Wars started in 1977!

Carrie Fischer is back as Princess turned General Leigh (via archival film footage). Joonas Suotmo is good as the new Chewbacca, in for Peter Mayhew, whose health would not allow him to reprise the role he made famous. Ian McDiarmid is as evil as ever reprising his role as Emperor Palpatine. He has appeared in every Star Wars film of the 9 except for the first, A New Hope. The only characters appearing in all nine chapters were C3PO (Anthony Daniels) and R2D2. Droids don’t get old.  Rose (Kelly Marie Tran) has a noticeably smaller role this time around, kind of hanging out with Leigh at the base.

There are cameos a plenty from Luke (Mark Hamill), Solo (Harrison Ford), Lando (Billy Dee Williams) . Kerri Russell (The Americans) is in as the masked Zorli Bliss. And it was nice to see our buddy Charlie (Dominic Monaghan) from LOST in a cameo as Beumont.

Great acting. Great story. I loved it. Five out of Five Stars.

-Michael Buffalo Smith

The Irishman (2019)

 It is truly a new era in motion pictures. These days, some of the finest movies are not even in the theaters. They are on your smart TV. Companies like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney Plus are producing outstanding movies starring A-list actors with A-list directors. Case in point, Martin Scorsese’s outstanding film, The Irishman, on Netflix.

This is a fictional movie based on real life characters. Pat Conroy called this type of story “faction.” A truck driver in the 1950’s (Robert De Niro) becomes involved with the Bufalino crime family of Pennsylvania, and is soon in over his head. He climbs the ladder to the very top to become a powerful hit man. Then he goes to work for Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino), a teamster leader with ties to organized crime. Everything goes south when Hoffa is murdered, landing Frank (De Niro) in prison along with Russell (Pesci). It is of interest to note that Joe Pesci actually came out of retirement to act in The Irishman.

Scorsese utilizes many of his usual suspects in this blockbuster. In addition to DeNiro and Pacino, there is Joe “Do I amuse you?” Pesci, Harvey Keitel, and Bobby Cannavale. Also featured are Anna Panquin (The X-Men), Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond), and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the cameos by Steve Van Zandt (The Sopranos. Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band) as singer Jerry Vale and Jim Norton as a dead-on Don Rickles. Just a stellar cast, and each one of these actors gives his or her 100 percent best performance.

The 209-minute film ranks right up there with mob films like The Godfather, Scarface and Goodfellas. Yes, it’s that good. Scorsese is the undisputed king of mafia crime films, and The Irishman is one of his best. Five out of Five Stars. (Can I give six?)

-Michael Buffalo Smith