Star Wars The Force Awakens, mini movie review

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I have spent the last several months avoiding every single spoiler, theory, and new trailer with new images for Star Wars The Force Awakens, episode VII in the 38 year long running Star Wars movie history, starting with Episode IV, A New Hope, in 1977.  I've been a fan of the Star Wars series since elementary school, waiting desperately to find out what happens with Luke, Leia, and Han Solo.  When I discovered Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zhan, the book that launched the Star Wars Extended Universe and truly made me an avid reader, influencing my life just as much as Star Wars episode IV and V, that became my episode VII.  Then it was announced when I was in High School that there would be a new Trilogy.  Excited I was.  Stoked I had been, until I found out the trilogy would be episodes I, II, and III, instead of episodes VII, VIII, and IX.

I don't need to remind everyone who saw The Phantom Menace in 1999 the great disappointment that movie was.  The hype was tremendous.  And I remember the overall "What the crap was that?" feeling that overcame me when the credits rolled.  The stunned silence of the audience is an experience I'll never forget.  (Jar Jar Binks = 'nuff said.)

For this movie, which I've been waiting a long 22 years for, I wanted to go completely spoiler free.  I wanted to be completely surprised.  My Dad shared the same sentiment as I, not even wanting to hear the fresh tomato rating, which I looked at during a moment of weakness.

And I know many others don't want spoilers, either.

So I'm not going to spoil anything, because you really need to experience this movie for yourself.

All I'll say is I liked this movie.

I saw it twice today, though the second time was because half my family got tickets spontaneously for the next showing, and I went for a second ride, though I really wanted a little more distance between showings.  But I'll see it again soon, maybe even splurging on D-Box.

In 2 to 3 weeks I'm going to write another review laced with spoilers, but I want to wait for all my friends to see this movie first.  It gives me time to re-read Heir to the Empire and see the movie once or twice more.

But I will ask this, am I the only one who cried when, "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away . . ." came on the screen, followed by the yellow epilogue?  I was totally crying, trying to hold back tears.

And am I the only one who thought those round explosives towards the end of the movie look like really cool Pokeballs?

Really important questions.

Have fun at the movies!

MPAA: Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence.

 

Asakusa, Kaminarimon gate and Senso-ji Temple, Japan Day 5, Part 2

 The second stop on this Thursday with my brother and sister-in-law, October 8th, was to see the Kaminarimon gate and Senso-ji Temple in Asakusa.  We took the Ginza metro line from Shibuya to Asakusa, which was our first time taking the subway.

It seemed each station we stopped at had it's own theme music; one stop had heavy organ music which was very Halloween appropriate.

 The grounds surrounding the shrine were quite impressive.  I was excited to see the famous large entrance gate and Japanese pagoda.

 We got our fortunes by shaking a stick out of a large metal cylinder.

 I got a bad omen which meant I had to get rid of it by tying it on a line and then trying again.

 There are vending machines everywhere!

Honestly, this is pretty awesome.  So many yummy flavors between 100 to 150 yen.

 As we left we walked through the Nakamise Shopping Street.  Japanese school children stopped us to practice English, and we were rewarded with green tea.  I was so caught up with helping them with their English I responded entirely with English, which in hindsight was probably good practice for them, but not good practice for me in speaking Japanese.  I told them "That's Good" instead of "ii desu."  And I could have said "wakarimasu" for "I understand."  Heh, this happened a bit on the trip.  I did use Japanese to ask questions and I understood the answers at times, but a lot of times I would walk away from a situation thinking "dang it!"  Because I could have said a little something in Japanese!  That's why I was in Japan!  Well, that and being able to experience the culture, though I totally failed when it came to eating Japanese food.

Krista and I holding up our green tea.  We don't drink it, naturally, being members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but we graciously took the packets with a smile.  The children were so sweat.

Meiji Shrine, Japan, Day 5 Part 1

 This week I plan on finishing and posting all the blog posts about my trip to Japan.

On our final full day in Japan my brother Michael, sister-in-law Krista, and I visited a few amazing spots around Tokyo city.  Our first stop was Meiji Shrine, which is located next to the Harajuku JR train station.  A few days previous we tried to visit Meiji Shrine, but we got there 5 minutes before closing.  The security guard let us through the closing gate, but we weren't able to see much, so we promised to return.

 This Shinto shrine honors Emperor Meiji, who died in 1912, and his wife Empress Shōken.  Construction started in 1915 and was finished in 1921.

The grounds are absolutely extraordinary.  From Wikipedia: "Meiji Shrine is located in a forest that covers an area of 70 hectares (170 acres). This area is covered by an evergreen forest that consists of 120,000 trees of 365 different species, which were donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established."

All the trees were planted around 90 years ago!!  And yet it feels like you're walking through an old forest.  It's really quite beautiful, and a nice relaxing place to visit in the bustling city of Harajuku/Shinjuku.

 Trying to get our bearings.

The grounds are quite large and there's a few walking paths.

 Barrels of sake.

 Prayers and wishes.

 All the beautiful trees.

On our way to Asakusa and the Genza subway line.

(Photos by Michael and Sarah Stufflebeam)