The Milwaukee Post

By TOM JOZWIK Post Film Critic A friend hit the nail on the head when he predicted the seventh film in the "Star Wars" series "will be a good movie, (but) won't be great." What has been great, or at least remarkable, about "Episode VII: The Force Awakens" is record-setting statistics on the business side; weeks of publicity gen- erating an unprecedented degree of interest; and, ulti- mately, a cinematic event adolescents and their par- ents can truly enjoy togeth- er. "The Force Awakens" is an intriguing integration of sound (John Williams' music, preeminently), spe- cial effects and characters. Mentioning every iconic character who appears would require a spoiler alert, so suffice it to say Harrison Ford's Han Solo and Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa — once something of an item — are back, hoping to reunite with his long-lost buddy and her twin brother, Luke Skywalker. ("You changed your hair," Han remarks upon seeing Leia for the first time in years. "Same jacket," she says, looking at him.) Sardonic Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), Solo's huge, hairy sidekick, is back as well. And there's a bar sequence, as in earlier "Star Wars" films. This one features Oscar-winner Lupita Nyong'o and is one of the film's best segments. Transpiring, according to the onscreen legend that kicks off the movie, "a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away" (and some three decades after the sixth installment, "Return of the Jedi") the new episode pres- ents a "new evil" — adher- ents of the First Order. That bad-guy bunch, one of whose leaders is Kylo Ren (Adam Driver), who could be Darth Vader's clone, is likely to put more than a few viewers in mind of the Nazi party and Leni Riefenstahl's notorious documentary "Triumph of the Will." Opposing the First Order are General Leia Organa and fellow members of the Resistance. What the adversaries have in common is that all are seeking Skywalker, the First Order folks to kill him, and Organa and company to enlist the last Jedi's aid in establishing a lasting peace in the galaxy. Prominent in the search on the good-guy side are Finn (John Boyega), who's defected from the Stormtroopers he was forced to join in bygone days; pretty desert planet scavenger Rey (Daisy Ridley); and pilot Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac in a kinder, gentler role than his last couple). Boyega is espe- cially enjoyable as a befud- dled, if heroic, everyman who delivers some of the movie's better lines. "I've had a pretty messed-up day," Boyega's Finn resignedly understates at one point. "I'm working on it," he responds to Rey's edgy ques- tion, "Are you ever going to fight back?" Ford as Solo spouts equal- ly memorable dialogue, advising his endangered yet smitten compatriots Finn and Rey to "Escape now, hug later" and informing Boyega's character that "Women always figure out the truth. Always." Ford is still a fine fit for Solo at age 73; but Carrie Fisher, 59, looks more like a matron who's temporarily left her bridge table than a formida- ble militarist. The seventh episode's essential plot is simple. Viewers new to, or far from grounded in, the "Star Wars" franchise, however, may find themselves con- fused by the profusion of unusual proper names and rather sketchy background information. The movie did- n't drag, but I would've been satisfied with considerably less than 135 minutes. Sci-fi action violence has resulted in a PG-13 rating. An eighth entry in the series is planned for 2017 (and a ninth for two years thereafter). Until then, to paraphrase Fisher's Leia as "The Force Awakens" draws to a close, may the Force be with us all. December 24, 2015 • Milwaukee County Post • 15 ENTERTAINMENT Episode VII good, just not great LucasFilm The Millennium Falcon is back, along with familiar actors reprising roles from the original "Star Wars" movie in "Episode VII: The Force Awakens." The familiar mixed with a 'new evil' At a glance "Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens" ★★★ Starring: John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Mayhew, Lupita Nyong'o Director-screenwriter: J. J. Abrams MPAA rating: PG-13 Running time: 135 minutes Showings: www.marcus- theatres.com 'Hustle' director Russell helms 'Joy' to behold By TOM JOZWIK Post Film Critic David O. Russell's new movie "Joy" is a tantalizingly quirky comedy in the tra- dition of his 2013 ABSCAM-based endeavor "American Hustle." Tantalizingly quirky in the early going, anyway. "Joy," named for its main character, portrayed with customary professionalism by Jennifer Lawrence, is a start-to-finish delight. But it might've been even more delightful, if it hadn't progressed from quirky comedy to more traditional dramedy. Based on the story of Miracle Mop inventor Joy Mangano, "Joy" has bits of numerous vintage songs on its sound- track. It also has Lawrence convincing a cable network magnate (Bradley Cooper) to allow her to plug her "self- wringing mop of the future" on TV, where established on-air talent includes Joan Rivers, played by the late comedi- an's dead-ringer daughter. Sales go astronomical, but unethical and incom- petent business associates threaten to obliterate the working class inventor's success. If the basic plot sounds pretty stan- dard — particularly in the year of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" — well, real- ize the plot kicks in only after a good deal of zany exposition. Joy's is a four- generation household, also including her grandmother (sporadic narrator Diane Ladd), mother (Virginia Madsen), father (a thoroughly enjoyable Robert De Niro) and kids. De Niro's Rudy lives in the basement along with Tony (Edgar Ramirez), Joy's lounge singer ex-hus- band, and the two men despise each other. Tony's "You touch it and I kill you," said to Rudy regarding the micro- phone with which Tony practices, is one of the more civil comments these antag- onists make to or about one another. Agoraphobic mother Carrie, divorced from Rudy, divides her time between watching soap operas starring the likes of Susan Lucci (faux programs, in black and white) and spilling yogurt on the Photo by Merie Weismiller Melissa Rivers portrays her mother, comedian Joan, in David O. Russell's "Joy." See 'JOY' on Page 16

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