Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Review

Three years ago, a lesser known property of the Marvel Universe graced the screens, with many wondering if it would catch the attention of the world. Not only did it catch the attention of the world, but became one of the favorites in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This was one of the first movies that showed that Marvel could be successful outside of Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, and that the Marvel Cinematic Universe could truly expand beyond what was initially anticipated. This property caught my attention way before it’s release, and no I am not talking about comic book form, I found out that they were doing it, I believe sometime in early 2012, and that’s when it first caught my attention, and then it stood out more when I saw some concept art in 2013, and just how cool this movie could look. It was a nice little surprise when it came out in 2014, and just proved what the Marvel Cinematic Universe was capable of.

Needless to say, anticipation for a sequel was high. Probably just as high as the sequel to The Avengers back in 2015. I am happy to say that the sequel is totally worth your time in seeing. While I am going to admit this right off the back, I think the first one is just a little better. Now keep in mind, I said a little, because the first one was a surprise. The first one had a bunch of us laughing so hard throughout the movie, even moments to the point that I thought I was turning blue, like Yondu. The second had plenty of laughs, and even some moments where I was laughing really hard, but I don’t think I was laughing as much as the first one. Now before you say to yourself, “that’s it, I am not seeing this anymore,” I was totally fine with the idea that they turned the humor notch down just a little bit, because that paved the way for some really good emotion from the characters. I honestly felt that this movie explored a lot of the characters from the first one in ways that I was left just as surprised as the first one. The first one, I enjoyed watching the characters work off one another, but this one, I felt more connected to the characters, and they were more than fun characters to be around, you really cared more about them, even characters like Yondu and Nebula, who I didn’t think much of in the first one, I really cared about their characters this time around.

 

Now let’s get into the spectacle of the movie. There was plenty of action, and lots of eye candy to go around. This movie took us to a lot of awesome places to explore, including Ego’s planet, which was probably one of the most colorful places I have ever seen, seriously it was just incredible to look at. I saw this on IMAX, and it was really awesome to see it this way, as it made all the places feel more massive. I missed out on seeing the first one in IMAX, but it was great to see this one that way. Let’s get into the music for a bit, does it beat out Awesome Mix Volume 1? That’s hard to say at this time. The soundtrack for the first one was a big surprise, I was not anticipating them to using music from the 70s/80s during the first one in such an amazing way. The music is used very good here as well. It’s hard to say if I like this soundtrack more or not, I may need to rethink this in a few months before giving an official answer, but there are great songs on Awesome Mix Volume 2.

 

How does Baby Groot turn out? He was adorable, simply no other way to put it. The opening credits with him dancing was one of the most fun opening credit sequences that I have seen in a long time. I will personally admit this, I think I like that sequence more than the opening credits to the first movie. Many can disagree, but that’s how I felt. There were other moments that were fun when they used him, including when two of main characters are in prison and they need to get out, and they have Baby Groot grab something that will help them escape, and being little, obviously didn’t know what was needed exactly, so he kept coming back with many different things, one of them that really shocked and surprised me, I didn’t know how to process it, but it was really funny, while I kind of spoiled this sequence, I won’t spoil what that thing is here.

 

The characters is really what made this movie a blast to watch, and seeing the characters develop even further made this movie so much more worth it. I felt all of the main heroes got a really good amount of screen time, no one felt  overshadowed by another, especially Baby Groot didn’t take over the whole show, while I would have been alright with it, the movie wouldn’t have had the same impact that it does here. That idea of family really sticks out here. There is a line that Nebula says “You aren’t friends. All you do is fight and yell at each other.” And Drax responds back, “You’re right, we aren’t friends. We’re family.” While they drove each other nuts, they still cared for one another, and that can be seen throughout the movie, and it works great.

This movie was a blast from start to finish with an emotional core that makes the journey more worth it. I strongly recommend that you check this one out.

The Circle Review

How would you feel about working for a company that has a lot of possibilities? That has great health benefits, that make you feel welcome, that allow you to socialize, that increase your opportunities, that is trying to make the world a better place? That all sounds good. What if this company is trying to take over the world, that wants to but into your personal life, that guilt trips you when you want time away from others and to be alone? Would you want to work for that company? I sure wouldn’t. Here is where you get the movie The Circle, that new movie with Tom Hanks, Emma Watson, and John Boyega. The one thing you will be hearing is how it’s a cautionary tale of the dangers of technology taking over our private lives, and it could be seen throughout the movie. It also seemed like it went to extreme lengths to show the dangers. If you want to inject paranoia into people about using their Facebook or Instagram accounts, you take them to something like this.

Please note, I am going to get into spoilers below, so you have been warned.

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While watching this movie, the second half reminded me of EdTV, you remember that one with Matthew McConaughey back in 1999, I didn’t see it all the way through, but basically the idea was that Matthew McConaughey has his entire life broadcasted on TV, just about 24/7, and it hits moments where his true friends distance themselves from him because they don’t want their lives public like that. Emma Watson’s character literally hits that point at the midpoint of the movie, where she decides to have her life broadcast 24/7 for everyone at this place The Circle. I kept sitting there thinking how uncomfortable it would be to have your life broadcast like that, no privacy whatsoever. Her parents get sick of the attention that they unplug themselves really quickly. This idea was presented back in 1999, apparently no one has learned that this is a bad idea. Still an interesting idea no doubt, I mean that I don’t know why people think it would be a great idea to implement in real life.

The one moment that hit really that really creepy vibe in my bones is when two employees approach Emma Watson and basically guilt trip her into not using their social accounts at The Circle, and not showing up to social events (even though they declare that it’s optional) during the weekends. That would be the killer for me, especially just how creepy that moment was.

The more and more I reflect on the movie, the more I realize just how over the top a lot of the situations are. Emma Watson learns of a cool design that her friend did, which was a chandelier made of deer antlers. She takes it and posts it on the Circle social media network, and there are many activists that see the post and declare the friend as a deer killer, to the point that they send him death threats, and he admits that he does not use his email much, and to see that shocks him. Honestly, out of anything going on in the world, and they go after a guy for making a chandelier out of deer antlers. What is more bizarre is when he comes to visit Emma Watson’s character to explain the situation, how they begin to video the conversation. Seriously who in all does that.

I do admit I see the dangers of technology invading our privacy, but I don’t ever see it going as far as many of the scenarios that are present in this movie. It felt like they were pushing beyond the boundaries of what could happen. Maybe I am wrong and I am downplaying this whole scenario, but this is beyond paranoia in my opinion.

The biggest flaw I found in the movie is John Boyega’s character. He plays a founder of The Circle, and admits to Emma Watson’s character when they first meet that the company grew in a way that he was not proud of, it was not how he envisioned it. He takes her to places to show some of the secrets of The Circle. Even near the end, he helps her uncover many of the darkest secrets of The Circle. Someone with such a high profile, and no one bothers going after him, especially when they go after many other characters for all their secrets. I was seriously waiting throughtout the movie for Tom Hanks and Patton Oswalt to expose him, but no, he never gets touched.

After all this, you would expect a big resolution, where The Circle disappears, or that it becomes this great company with John Boyega runs it and all is happily ever after. Well, you would be wrong, it didn’t seem like much really got resolved. Did Tom Hanks and Patton Oswalt go to jail? I just like Patton Oswalt’s pout face at the end when Emma Watson exposes all his secrets. Tom Hanks plays it off even though he is upset, but Patton Oswalt wears the face when someone sunk his battleship. Anyway, The Circle is supposedly shut down and redone, and it didn’t seem like anything got resolved.

I did like the majority of the performances. In case you didn’t know, this was Bill Paxton’s last movie, he played the father of Emma Watson who is struggling with Multiple Sclerosis. I also liked the concept it had.

This is one of those movies I am glad I saw. I actually did enjoy it, but I have a hard time recommending this one, unless you have a strong desire to see it.

Your Name Review

Last year, a movie took Japan by storm, whether the director, Makoto Shinkai, was planning for it to be as big of a movie as it was or not, the Japanese animated film (typically referred to as Anime) caught the attention of Japan, and has become the highest grossing Japanese animated film in Japan, even beating out Spirited Away. The success also translated well into other countries in Asia. This is where it started to catch fire. I first heard about Your Name back in December, when a YouTube reviewer by the name of Chris Stuckmann talked about it. The poster caught my attention, at that point, I started to look into it and found a trailer and was stunned by what I saw, and at that point, this movie came onto my radar and I knew that I needed to see this movie as soon as I can.

I first saw one of Makoto Shinkai's films on Netflix back in 2011 entitled "The Place Promised in Our Early Days", not knowing anything about the director but the animation looking stunning. I can’t tell you anything about the story as I don’t really remember much about it, but what I can tell you is that the animation was really pretty to look at. With the release of Your Name drawing closer to US theaters, I decided to check out another of the director’s works, a movie called “The Children Who Chase Lost Voices”, and the one thing that really stunned me about the movie was just how amazing the animation looked for the movie, the coloring was just incredible.

That is the first thing that really drew my attention to Your Name, was just how stunning the animation looked, from the night skies to the landscapes, especially the scene near the end of the movie which I don't want to spoil here but it takes place on top of a mountain. The coloring and how the image comes together is just breathtaking, I really don’t know how else to put it. Plus there are a lot of great sequences of Tokyo and also the countryside, everything about the animation is just breathtaking. That alone is worth the price of admission.

 

Regardless, it’s not just the animation that really got me invested in the movie, but it was how the story and characters worked. I will lay out the basic premise of the story, it is about a teenage boy from Tokyo, Taki Tachibana, and a teenage girl from the countryside, Mitsuha Miyamizu, who randomly start switching bodies with one another, think of Freaky Friday. These two eventually learn about one another’s lives, and some crazy things happen as the movie progresses. This was one of those movies that I easily could have gotten on Wikipedia and read the entire plot and know exactly what was going to happen, but for some reason I stayed away from any major spoilers, and I am really glad I did, as the twists that took place in the movie really caught my attention, and made the journey for the two main characters way more interesting that I thought it was going to be. I became so invested that I sat there just waiting and hoping that Taki and Mitsuha will get together. I will not spoil the movie any further than what I have said, as I think it’s worth experiencing for yourself.

Another aspect of the movie that I really liked was the music, which was done by a band in Japan known as Radwimps, following pursuit of many popular musicians of bands that have composed for feature length films. The music by Radwimps is very nice to listen to and it helps to compliment the beautiful animation, and also the journey of these two characters. They even wrote a few songs as well. An interesting note, for the English dub, they re-performed the songs in English, which is something that really doesn’t happen when Anime is dubbed into English.

This movie got a limited release on April 7 in the US, and I am very glad it did and that I got to see this on the big screen, as I feel this is one of those movies that is worth making the effort to see on the big screen. I strongly recommend this to any fan of Japanese animated films, anyone that has any sort of interest, even if it’s very small. Heck, even if you are looking for a good animated film to see, I recommend checking this out.  

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

This morning we were treated to the first footage of the most anticipated movie of the year, Star Wars The Last Jedi. If any of you read about my thoughts on The Force Awakens, you know one of the big things I really liked about it was that it gave us a lot to speculate about. "Who is Rey's parents?" being among the biggest questions, if not the biggest, and hope to get an answer in this coming movie. This will probably be one of those that I will have to make an effort to stay away from the Internet for a few days before this comes out, so I don't run into potential spoilers, or I might stay on and generate some fake spoilers.

Anyway, I have posted a link to the trailer above so you can check it out for yourself. This one already generates a few questions, sorry nothing with Luke saying, "Rey, my daughter!" So if you watch it looking for that, sorry :(. But watch it for yourself and begin speculating. I can already tell you, the wait for December is going to get a lot harder.

Jason Bourne Review

I don't do too many of these reviews anymore, but I felt that I should do a review for Jason Bourne since the series has had a big impact on me. I thought I should start at the beginning.
 

I remember first seeing The Bourne Identity when it arrived in theaters back in 2002, I went a few weeks after it came out. I remember it getting really good reviews and I had a couple of friends telling me that I should go see it, so I did. I was 16 at the time, and as I watched it, the action sequences were awesome, but I was lost in what was going on, I didn’t really know how everything connected, but this became one of those moves that as I went back and rewatched, I could start to make sense of everything, and how everything fit together. What was cool that it was not a huge hit in theaters, it did fine in theaters but didn’t break any records, in fact, where it really started to soar was when it hit DVD the next year in January. I bought it with a gift card I got for Christmas, and was eager to watch it again, and also to get the rest of my family to see it. It really intrigued everyone. I was pumped when I heard a sequel was coming out in 2004.

When the second one came out, I was visiting family in California with my older sister, and all of us wanted to go see it that weekend, we located a DVD copy of the first one and watched it Friday night, and then Saturday afternoon we went to see The Bourne Supremacy, this was opening weekend, different than waiting a few weeks after release, and this one was a big hit in theaters. I was blown away, the action was great, the story was intriguing, and everything was excellent about it. At the end of the movie, it was clear that a third one would be made.

Forward to three years later when The Bourne Ultimatum arrived in theaters, I went opening night (Friday). We got our tickets ahead of time, originally it was suppose to be me and my sister going, but she ended up having to work, so I called a friend up and he joined me instead. The interesting thing about that night was how difficult it was to get tickets, as shows were selling out, and I remember hearing the employees talking about how the next couple of shows of the movie had sold out as well. I just realized I saw this trilogy evolve, from a small movie with modest earnings, to the last film becoming a big box office hit. With the two movies under my belt, I went in on the edge of my seat throughout the movie wondering what Jason Bourne was going to find out and how everything was going to tie up at the end. I was definitely blown away, and of course future viewings of the movie helped me catch the moments that I wasn’t focused on when I first saw the movie. Of course, at the end of the day, it was a wonderful trilogy, and one that I still enjoy to this day.

We also had another movie released 5 years later that didn’t really involve Jason Bourne, but another agency and a different set of characters, entitled The Bourne Legacy. I wasn’t impressed when I first saw it, but it has grown on me since, but of course it doesn’t match the original trilogy at all, which I expecting when I went in, but I was expecting a sequel to that instead of a return of the main characters, but of course a couple of years after the release of Bourne Legacy, we learn that Matt Damon and Paul Greengrass are coming back to do another Bourne movie. I was pumped but wondering what they had up their sleeve.

When 2016 approached, I started to research to see what to expect, learned there was a jump in time, and that got me intrigued. Then the Superbowl teaser dropped, and that really got me pumped, and also the first trailer that followed a couple of months later. I was certain that we had another classic, this was going to be the movie of the summer.

My expectations were very high throughout the summer, that was until the reviews started to pour in, and then I realized that maybe I needed to level my expectations. So I went into the theater tonight with my expectations not as high, but still hoping for an excellent Bourne movie. Well, I can say I was disappointed…okay but please don’t stop there, because I still really liked the movie, I still thought it was a good movie, and one I can still recommend, I just can’t say that it was as good as the other Bourne movies (with the exception of The Bourne Legacy, which isn’t a surprise to anyone). The findings were not as interesting, and also one of the main plot points wasn’t that compelling. However, there were action sequences that were very compelling, one in the middle of the movie that I was definitely at the edge of my seat wondering how everything would play out. Another one was near the climax of the movie, which I found very interesting, and of course there were great car chases. Another strong aspect was the performances, Matt Damon is of course great as Jason Bourne, Julia Stiles returns as Nicki Parsons, and of course Tommy Lee Jones does a great job as the new CIA Director (think Chris Cooper and Brian Cox), but a newcomer that did a great job was Alicia Vikander.

Great cast, great action sequences, you would expect it to be another classic Bourne, so why is this a disappointment. Well, the original trilogy had a very compelling story, one that involved discovery, and finding out about who Jason Bourne was, they were able to build it over three movies and had very compelling things going on as well. This movie takes place many years after the events of The Bourne Ultimatum, and while it was trying to be compelling, it just didn’t reach the greatness that was already achieved. Yes, I was a little letdown, but the reviews and ratings coming out ahead of time, I was prepared, and was still able to enjoy the movie we got. I still thought it was a good movie, just not a great Bourne movie, but maybe there is still a great Bourne movie that could be made before Matt Damon decides his days as Jason Bourne are done. With all that said and done, I am still giving this movie a recommendation.

Personal top 10 movies of 2015

Another year in the books. There were a lot of good movies, and of course a few bad ones.  I decided to take the time and put together a personal top 10 of the movies this year. This was a hard list to come up with, but in the end, this is my list. I don't expect many of these movies to be on anyone else's lists. Keep in mind that I did not see everything that came out this year. Anyway, here is my list (warning: there may be spoilers found in the descriptions):


 

10. When Marnie Was There – This is supposedly the last movie that Studio Ghibli will be making since they are kind of closing down. Even if this is the last movie, I have to admit it was a really good one. It is not one of my favorites of theirs, but that is because there are so many wonderful ones done by Studio Ghibli, if you haven’t checked out any of their work before, I recommend getting started today, some of the great choices of theirs is Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, and The Secret World of Arrietty, this is just a small handful of their work, one day I should do a list of all their work and order them from best to least. Anyway, I had the privilege of seeing this movie on the big screen in a theater in Salt Lake City. While I enjoyed it when I saw it, it really started to go through my head after I left the theater and stuck with me for days, I just kept thinking about the movie after I was done seeing it. I would say that is a great sign for a very good movie. The animation is just gorgeous, which is no surprise since Studio Ghibli is known for producing beautifully animated movies. This is one of those that was worth checking out, and I was so glad to catch in theaters.

9. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation – I didn’t think too much on this sequel when I first saw it, but each time I saw it afterwards, it really grew on me and more I really liked it. Tom Cruise is back as Ethan Hunt in his fifth outing, this time to find the Syndicate. I would rank this as one of the better adversaries that Ethan Hunt faced, however the best is still Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mission Impossible 3, honestly after that one I could never picture Philip Seymour Hoffman as a good guy, which is why I was thrown for a loop when he became a good guy in The Hunger Games series. Anyway, getting off track, the villain really stood out in this one, and the main girl was someone you weren’t always sure which side she was on until near the end. You also get the best of the team in this one, Ving Rhames, Jeremy Remmer, and Simon Pegg, who always seems to steal the show anytime he is on screen. This was just a fun and smart movie during the summer.

8. Creed – I have a confession to make, I have not seen all of the Rocky movies. In fact, before this movie, I had only seen the 6^th entry, Rocky Balboa. Not that I didn’t know anything about Rocky, as it was a simple story, but I just never saw the movies, not even the original (I have since corrected this mistake and watched the first one, not the other ones yet however). I am seen enough of the old movies on TV to know about Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed, so I was familiar that they were good friends in the movie and I knew that Apollo Creed died in the fourth movie. I knew the set up, I knew enough of the characters, and that made watching this movie stand out. I will spoil a part of the movie, so stop reading if you don’t want to know anything about the movie if you haven’t seen it…..During the second half of the movie, we learn that Rocky gets cancer. It really hit hard, while I never grew up watching these movies, I knew who Rocky was, even when I was a little kid, so not only was Rocky getting old, but Rocky was getting sick as well, and that hit me hard, and I think many audience members as well. Anyway, Creed was a great movie to watch, and a great story. It’s not anything new, but hey, whatever isn’t broke, don’t fix it.

7. Bridge of Spies – The latest movie directed by Stephen Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks (this might be their 4^th collaboration), this time Tom Hanks plays an insurance attorney who is hired to defend a Soviet Spy during the Cold War. I saw the trailer a couple of times, but never really focused on what was going to happen, so I was thrown for a loop as the story progressed, when it started off by him defending the Soviet Spy and then he goes to Russia to bring home one of their own and they use the Soviet Spy as a means to exchange prisoners. A movie where no guns were fired or anything of the matter, but yet during the second hard, the tense would build and you could feel it and wondered how everything was going to be resolved, and I didn’t know what was going to happen as I don’t study the history books.

6. The Peanuts Movie – I am not one of those that watched Charlie Brown specials growing up that much, or really read the comics, however I was very familiar with Snoopy and the other characters. I really liked this movie for the fun moments that I feel take a lot of the strong points of the characters, and pays tribute. As well, it was honestly refreshing to sit through a very clean movie, that didn’t have any of the trash or language that tends to make it into movies these days, but the main reason this movie left a strong impact with me was for the simple story, and the simple message it presented at the end, in a world where we focus more on success instead of the efforts, this movie focuses on the simple qualities that make a person great, and not necessarily the achievements one makes, this is something I feel is lacking in the world today, as the world is pushing for more success and not taking time to praise the efforts made or the other wonderful qualities that make a person great. That is why it earns it’s place on this spot.

5. Ant Man – A movie that I liked more than what was suppose to be the best movie of the summer (Avengers: Age of Ultron). Don’t get me wrong, I still really liked Age of Ultron, I just liked Ant Man more. Ant Man, like Guardians of the Galaxy last year, was a Marvel property that I wasn’t very familiar with, so it was fun to see what they did with it, I especially enjoyed how they used the humor in the movie, and the character interactions and the parts they all played. There were so many cool gadgets, and so many awesome worlds to explore, and the intriguing way that everything was used to add uniqueness to the Marvel Universe, especially after adding another galaxy in Guardians of the Galaxy, just when you thought the Marvel Universe couldn’t get any bigger, they get smaller. There were so many things that just made this a worthwhile time.

4. Mad Max: Fury Road – 30 years after Thunderdome, we are graced with this sequel. Wow is the best word to describe the movie and the experience of watching it. We live in a world where special effects are heavily relied on computers, but this one goes back to the basics and uses practical effects, and the effort is mind blowing. There is just an awesome look to the whole movie. Not only is the visual look and effects awesome, but we have some really cool and strong characters. Tom Hardy does a great job as Max, but Charlize Theron does a wonderful job as Furiousa. I would have to say that this was one of the best action movies I have seen in a long time. The only other Mad Max movie I had seen up to this point was Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, and I have to say that this blew it completely out of the water.

3. The Martian – If you were alone on a planet for over a year, how would you react? Would you sit in a corner or whatever and start crying, or would you make the best out of the situation. Matt Damon chooses the latter. For those that are worried of seeing a repeat of Cast Away, this movie is anything but the same experience as that movie. (which is still a good movie, don’t get me wrong, but not as strong as this) There are many movies that receive praise that tend to push towards the really dark situations, and pushes the characters in the darkest of the situation, and yet this movie more focuses on the light side of a dark situation, and that’s what makes this movie really stand out for me. Matt Damon is also not the only one in the picture, there are several very talented cast members that help drive the story forward, and help make this a fun ride that was worth going to the theater. Not only that, but the landscapes of Mars are breathtaking, and no I will not join that program where I would travel to Mars and live there the rest of my life, watching this on Blu-Ray is good enough for me, or receiving HD pictures of Mars will be plenty.

2. Inside Out – If there was one movie that I was ready to buy another ticket and go back in and see right after the credits rolled, it was Inside Out. A movie about emotions, I experienced a bunch of emotions throughout the movie. I laughed so hard throughout many parts of the movie, and I had not laughed that hard in a theater in a long time. There were also moments that I almost cried. The entire world that was created for the movie was very inventive, and I felt that the way things came out I could picture going on in my mind. I feel that a lot of people could relate to this. The importance of emotions like Sadness, despite how we want to fight them off, or want to keep others from experiencing Sadness, but it becomes necessary to be able to experience joy. Memories that fade after time because we choose not to remember them (except mine, they always find a way to come back). The gum commercial jingle that comes into the mind out of nowhere, and sometimes for no reason except to mess with us. I feel the world that was created was a very relatable one. Not only was this one of my top movies of the year, but this is one of my favorite Pixar movies of all time.

1. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – This was the most anticipated movie of this year. After the prequel trilogy, there was many concerns and doubts that did arise in this movie. As I was seeing the trailers for this movie, the more I became excited to see it. This was actually the most excited I have been for the release of a movie in a long time. I could say that in some ways I was more excited for it than Star Wars Episode 1, even though I was very cautious at the same time, as we have all been excited for a new Star Wars movie and were disappointed with the Episode 1 when it came out, but this stood out because there were many elements that stood out from the Original Trilogy, the one that we all grew up with (before the….cough cough…. Permanent Special Editions, which I hope one day George Lucas undoes that mistake). Not only did it meet expectations, it exceeded them. There were so many things in this movie that were worth talking about, and worth going back into the theater to see again. One of the many things that was discussed was Rey and who is her family (my bets are on Luke Skywalker, and no I am not placing money…..I’m placing Republic Credits :p). Another thing that has started conversation was the new character Snoke, the one who is pulling the strings, how did he rise to power, some have even brought up that he could be Darth Plagus, if you don’t know who Darth Plagus is, rewatch Revenge of the Sith and he is discussed by Palpatine in the Opera House scene. Other questions raised like how did Maz Kanada get a hold of Luke’s lightsaber, why did Luke really go into hiding. This movie brought us so much that the prequels just could not, and no I am not talking about how poorly the prequels were made in comparison to the Original Trilogy, but because the prequels dealt with the past, there might have been a couple of questions we had when watching the movie, or just a couple of things worth discussing, but this movie had so much worth discussing after the credits rolled. This movie also had a great balance between the Original Trilogy and setting up new adventures for these new characters. This was the real Star Wars movie we were hoping to get for a long time, and I couldn’t have been any happier. 

So there you have it, 2015, another year of good movies. Time to look for the next hits in 2016. 

Legend of Korra Top 15 Personal Favorite Episodes

I first started watching Avatar: The Last Airbender back to 2008, I knew about it beforehand but never really watched it. Then I started watching it after it aired on Nickelodeon, and when they were playing repeats on Nicktoons, so I started to check out the series whenever it aired, didn’t really watch it in chronological order until later. It soon became one of my favorite TV shows.

In 2011, I learned about The Legend of Korra, and saw the teaser promo for it, and it looked very intriguing, first off taking place in the future in a steampunk setting, that looked very intriguing, and then the new Avatar being a female waterbender, yep I was interested. I became hooked on the series and followed it when new episodes became available on the Amazon network so I could buy and download each episode for my Kindle Fire. It became a very intriguing series that grew as the series progressed.

There were many joys, and there were frustrations, but watching the series had a ton of rewarding moments, and became another favorite TV show. While I will say I enjoyed Avatar: The Last Airbender more, I like this show more for different reasons, and this show stood out more in many aspects. For anyone that has watched both shows probably understand what I mean.

I thought since the series was over, I thought it was appropriate to share with you my personal top 15 episodes. Keep in mind, this list may not include favorites of your own, and my favorite moments will probably not be the same as yours, but this is what stood out to me and the reason why this show became a personal favorite to me. Each person will get something different out of this show, this is what I got out of it.

Please note, that there might be spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t seen the series and don’t want anything spoiled, then I suggest holding off reading any further until you have finished.

The Legend of Korra Top 15 personal favorite episodes

 

15. The Revelation – The reason this episode is on the list because of the awesome designs of Republic City at night. It really stuck out as we jumped ahead in the Avatar franchise and were given a new story, it was cool to see this somewhat old fashioned city with steampunk elements. Ever since I saw the concept art of the show when they introduced it, I was just in awe with Republic City, this was one city I was looking forward to exploring, and they did a lot of it. Plus we are introduced to one of the show’s iconic villains, probably my favorite villain of the show (tied between him and Zaheer).

 

14. Operation Beifong – This once stuck out to me for many reasons. We have Toph, who is one of my favorite characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender, who comes to help Lin, Opal, and Bolin rescue Suyin and the rest of the family. It is very clear that Toph’s priority is her family. There were many awesome elements, Bolin redeeming himself by helping the family, Opal showing her love to him in return by helping him rescuing Shu-Lee, Lin forgiving her mother Toph, the fight between Kuvira and Suyin. This was a great episode.

13. Original Airbenders – There were many intense episodes in Book 3, but this was not one of them. This was one of those episodes where you take a step back and get to see how the training of the Airbenders is going. Keep in mind, that this is the first time there is a huge gathering of Airbenders in 170 years. It is fun to see Tenzin try to push everyone to be an Air Nomad, but realizes that things aren’t going to be the way he pictured everything, and then having everyone come together when Kai and Jinora are captured. You also have baby bison which were cute. And the character moments were excellent. Just a lot of great moments.

 

12. A Leaf in the Wind – One word that made me place this episode on this list, Pro-Bending. I caught the series premiere a week after it aired, and this was an awesome thing to experience when I watched this show for the first time. I watched Avatar: The Last Airbender after it finished on TV, and had seen all the episodes, so I was familiar with this world that was already created. This was an awesome entry to the world, and showed how the world had become modern. I also enjoyed seeing Korra train to become an Airbender and how she became frustrated, and seeing her relation with Tenzin grow as they strived to understand each other’s point of views.

  

11. A New Spiritual Age – This was an episode that I was looking forward to for a long time, there was always one place that I had always wanted to see explored in the Avatar world, and it was the Spirit World. When I learned that this Season was going to do that, I was excited for it. This gave us a great introduction into the Spirit World, it’s beauty and it’s dangers. Plus, we had a return to a famous place from Avatar: The Last Airbender, known as Wan Shi Tong’s Library. It was really cool to re-explore. Plus, we got to see another old favorite character, Iroh. He gave guidance that helped Korra in her journey.

 

10. Beginnings – I guarantee that anyone that makes their top 10 lists of best Korra episodes, and this will for sure be on their, and there are several reasons why this is such a standout episode (well it’s a two parter, and I am cheating for combining the two). The animation and designs in these episodes are beautiful, and truly stand out from all the other episodes in the series, which helps set a difference between the two times. It also gives us the origin story on the Avatar, and how it all started, and why one was needed. A lot of people will say that Book 2 was the weakest of all the seasons of Legend of Korra, but all will agree that this was the best episode of the season. This was a truly profound episode. While I do have another episode on the season that is higher than this, but there is a reason for me that it was higher, and again it was a personal reason, or two.

9. The Steakout – Book 3 is my favorite season in the whole series, and this was the turning point as to why it became my favorite. Even though all the other episodes were great, this was where things really started to get interesting, this one featured a lot of twists and turns. Korra learns about the Red Lotus and their purpose. There were other many great moments, visiting an old place from Avatar: The Last Airbender is always a plus which is the Misty Palms Oasis (think back to Book 2 right before they visit the Library), we learn about Pai Sho as Asami and Bolin play. It was cool how when they were playing, Bolin said that it is important to make a move immediately, but Asami had a different idea in that you should wait and study out what to do, they were different views but both were right, as Pai Sho is about knowing your opponent, and we see Asami kick Bolin’s butt for many games, and when Bolin is about to win one game, Pabu ruins it. It’s kind of funny, as we see this kind of play out when Korra enters the Spirit World to confront Zaheer to learn from him and figure out his strategy. The big cliffhanger was when we saw Korra and Asami captured by the Earth Queen’s troops, which I thought it would have been Zaheer’s group capturing them, but Mako and Bolin are captured by Zaheer’s group instead. Very interesting and intriguing episode, and the big turning point for me where a great season was getting even better.

 

8. The Metal Clan – There are many locations in the Avatar world that I would love to visit if I ever got to explore it, and one of those locations would be Zaofu. The design of the city was awesome. And some of the ideas of the government were really cool in my mind, a place where everyone is encouraged to reach their potential, and expand their talents. We were also introduced to Lin’s sister and her family. It is a toss up between this episode and the next, where we learn of the feud between Lin and Suyin. But the introduction of Zaofu made this one really stand out a hair more, and the image of Korra and Opal training together with the sunset behind them was breathtaking. However, it is a bit of a cheat since I would group this episode with the next. Also, this is the first time we see Zaheer without the hair, and that threw me off, when he comes to Air Temple Island, he seems very humble, and you kind of figure that something isn’t right. Here is a little interesting trivia, we also get our first shot of Kuvira before we are formally introduced to her in the Book 3 finale (go back to the dance rehearsal scene and you will see her). Overall a great episode for me, and the next too.

7. The Calling – There are so many reasons why this episode stands out for me. First off, we see an adventure with Tenzins’s kids, and this is one of those rare ones, and each of them have a fun personality. Personally, Meelo kind of reminds me of one of my nephews in my family. I also really enjoyed the moments of Ikki, trying to work with the guards to get information, she is not the same fast talker she was at the beginning of the show, but still full of upbeat energy. Seeing everyone grow since the start of the series was fun, can’t believe Jinora is a teenager at this point, and of course pretty much the same, very quiet and still the one with the strong spiritual connection. I also loved how all of them played a part in finding Korra at the end, each admitted how they wouldn’t have found her if it wasn’t for each one of them. There are also the lessons that Toph teaches Korra in the swamp, for example “You can’t expect to face new enemies when you are still holding on to your old ones.” Great advice. We have challenges, and ones that put us down, but if we don’t let them go, then we won’t be able to move on and face new opportunities. Also, all her enemies all had a goal that could better the world, but were out of balance so their ideals were out of control.  The biggest moment that was a huge payoff for me was when Korra reconnects with Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo. After years of feeling alone and distant from those who love her, she reconnects and realizes there are those that still love her, and that gives her motivation to come back and get the remaining poison out of her, that was a very strong moment, and what made this episode stand out. Family is always there even when we forget that.

 

6. The Guide – There was a lot that went on in this episode, but there are a couple of reasons why this episode made the list. One was that it was a huge build-up with Korra prepping to go into the Spirit World, and this was the start of why Jinora became one of my favorite characters in the show. We learn that she has the power to see spirits when others can’t see them, which was a natural ability for her. This was the episode where she really started to stick out a lot. Each of Tenzin’s kids have a personality, but Ikki and Meelo ended up sticking out a lot beforehand because of how loud and fun they each are, Ikki would talk super fast, and Meelo, well, I think we could write a whole essay on everything Meelo. Jinora was the very quiet one and we didn’t really get to know her very well except that she liked to read, and then her ability really stuck out, and at that point she stuck out and became a more interesting character, and she played a huge part in the rest of the season, and played a big role in Book 3 as well. The other reason this episode ended up on this list is because of how glued I got to the story that when the episode ended, I didn’t realize that it was over so soon. I was so invested in the episode that I lost track of time, and boom the episode was over. That was something for me to be shocked to see the end credits so soon. Never had that experience before, and probably won’t have it again.

5. Out of the Past – Korra is the one Avatar that we are aware of that has trouble connecting with her spiritual self (there might be other Avatars that had the same problem in the mythological world, but we only know of so many). So this was a highlight for that reason since we see her connect with Aang and be able to experience his past in flashbacks. In Avatar: The Last Airbender, we see Aang get to experience Roku’s past in a spiritual journey, and he speaks to him face to face. Korra learns from Aang through his flashbacks. This sticks out because it brings the idea for me that personal revelation can come to an individual differently from one person to another, there is not just one way a person gets to experience personal revelation, it can come through a thought in the mind, or a burning in the bosom, or a voice in the head. Korra got to connect with her spiritual self by listening to those experiences in the way she was receiving them. Throughout the season, she kept having glimpses in flashbacks and didn’t know what they were, but when she was trapped, she chose to meditate and was able to connect and learn from Aang. I also really enjoyed seeing some of the later adventures of Aang and his group of friends.

 

4. Beyond the Wilds – This one stuck out for many reasons. One of them is how Korra is struggling with meditating into the Spirit World because of her traumatic experiences with Zaheer, so she decides to visit him in prison so she can see him face to face, and be able to realize that she no longer needs to be afraid of him. Instead, she shows up and learns from Zaheer on how to get back into the Spirit World, he works with her in overcoming her mental block. This goes back to what Toph said, she was so focused on being hurt by her former enemies that she forgot that she could learn from them, they all have done horrible things, but they still had great ideas and had knowledge that could help the world, and Zaheer was a spiritual person full of knowledge despite his deeds, so he was able to help Korra overcome her problems, and that was a strong moment, the one that really hurt her was the one that helped her in return. We can also go deeper with this episode, whenever we pray, we tend to have many thoughts and distractions that go through our minds that can keep us from focusing on the prayer, or even receiving answers to prayers, whether it is a traumatic experience or just being in a world full of noise which makes it hard to focus. I have not had a traumatic experience so I can’t relate to that, but having a ton of noise around me daily, that I can relate to, and it can be hard to escape and find quiet time to allow those distractions to leave the mind to allow meditation and prayer to take place, Korra placed mental blocks in her mind, and placed limits on what she could do, and blamed others for her current position, and Zaheer assured her that she had limitless powers, but what was holding her back was what she told herself. We are all capable of many great things, but when we aren’t open to those possibilities, we aren’t able to experience the great things in store for us. And the moment where Korra reconnects with Raava was great.

 

3. The Ultimatum – This was one of those episodes that I felt was so well balanced, and this episodes showcases many reasons why Book 3 was my favorite season of Legend of Korra. So many stories and characters that seem different but all connect with one another. You have Bolin and Mako trying to warn Korra about the upcoming attack that Zaheer has planned for the Airbenders. On the way they rescue their recently discovered family the decay of Ba Sing Se. Then we have Mako and Bolin regroup with everyone and then they try to communicate with Tenzin to warn him of the upcoming attack. Then Korra meditates into the Spirit World at the Xai Bou grove to talk to Zaheer, and then meets Iroh, she mentions that she is no longer connected with her past lives and wishes she could talk with Aang, and then Iroh gives the idea of talking to Zuko instead who knew Aang very well, she learns that her connections aren’t all completely gone, but that she just needs to find a new way to learn from them. So when she leaves the Spirit World, she meets with Zuko and they talk. Then they reach Tenzin, and it’s too late, Zaheer and Evil Team Avatar is already up there. The last third of the episode deals with the Airbenders trying to escape but get caught. There is a great fight between Tenzin and Zaheer. Bumi and Kya are taking on Ghazan and Ming Wa, and then P’Li is trying to keep the other Airbenders from leaving, and you have Kai trying to distract her so everyone can escape, he gets shot down, but at the end of the episode, you see that he is still alive, and he gets away and is able to help Team Avatar when they show up and need to find the other Airbenders, but you aren’t sure if Tenzin lives until the next episode. Seriously, within a 22 minute frame, so much goes on, so many characters, so much story. In my opinion, one of the best episodes written, and there are many movies that don’t do as good as a job as this episode did.

 2. Endgame – “When we hit our lowest point, we are open to the greatest change.” This quote has easily become one of my favorite quotes of all time. And it is shown very well in this episode, yeah maybe a little rushed, but this was originally suppose to be a 12 episode mini-series, with this being the last episode, but then it became a longer series. Anyway, at one point Korra was stripped of all her bending abilities, Fire, Water, and Earth, and then at that point when she saw that Mako was about to have the same fate from Amon, she was finally able to Airbend, after a long period of not being able to do it. After defeating Amon, they go to Karata to see if she can restore her bending abilities, which she can’t, Korra feels hopeless, and at that moment she is able to better connect with her spiritual self since she felt she lost everything, and needed guidance. Because her bending abilities weren’t there, she was open to connecting to her spiritual self, and Aang was able to restore her bending abilities. This is a constant theme throughout the show, whenever Korra is given an obstacle or trial in her path, whether it is big or small, she finds a way to overcome it, and sometimes it is in a way she does not think possible. When Korra loses her connection to her past lives, Tenzin steps in and guides her with a new solution, at that point she becomes more open to listen to those around her. When she is poisoned and becomes vulnerable, she suffers years of isolation and because of her experiences she is able to relate with Kuvira and understand her and help her instead of just beating her, which was the strongest moment in the series finale for me. We all have moments where we hit our lowest point, and that is the moment that we can grow and gain something new as long as we are open to it, whether a new ability, newfound knowledge, or just better appreciation for those things we have around us, we can gain something after our most difficult trials where we hit our lowest points. The quote has changed my life and given me very strong inspiration.

 1. Venom of the Red Lotus – This finale left a huge impact on me. Every finale before, and the last one all left me satisfied to the point that I really didn’t need another season, I was fine, but was still looking forward to whatever the world of Avatar brought next, and where Korra’s journey would go next. This was the exception, this was the one that I really wanted to know what happened next, and who would blame anyone, because of how it ended. That shot of seeing Korra in a wheelchair near the end was a shock. I will cheat again with this one and pair it with the previous episode because it sets up the events of this last episode of Book 3. Korra realizes that the only way to free the Airbenders is to turn herself in. This decision alone shows how much she has changed since we first met her in Book 1. Beforehand, she would have never considered sacrificing herself for an entire nation, She is taken captive and poisoned and tortured, which greatly affects her for three years. She gives herself up for the Airbenders, and then in return they help save her from the grasp of Zaheer when she was at her weakest point. This was also the episode where Jinora became one of my favorite characters of the show. If they ever do any spin-off comics for any of the characters, I hope they do one for Jinora and all the other Airbenders during the three years, as I think that there could be many cool stories for them, and of course they could stories for them after the events of Book 4. I really also liked the themes of family being their for each other, like Ikki said back in Book 2, it is hard being part of a big family, but one thing is for certain, that they will always be there for you, which is shown in this episode. Korra turned herself in to protect family, Tonraq was determined to save his daughter from the clutches of the Red Lotus and he was there keeping her safe after the poison was removed, Tenzin was determined to find his family, Kai stayed behind after the attack and came to the aid of his new found family when they were in trouble, Jinora and the other Airbenders banded together to save Korra, basically a member of her family, from the grasp of Zaheer. Family is important and always there, which is a constant theme throughout the show. Of course, going back to the state that Korra ended up in at the end of the episode was shocking, in a wheelchair and depressed, the first time I truly had sympathy for the character, in fact I am sure many out there felt sympathy for her. It opened up possibilities for growth and opened doors for what could happen to her the following season, which got me excited and anxious for the next season. Very, very powerful episode. Easily fits the top spot here.

  

This show has many themes and ideas. These are the ones that stuck out for me. There will be other ones that will stick out to you instead of what stuck out to me, but there will be things in this show that will stick out for you. It is a highly recommended show if you haven’t checked it out. I hope you enjoyed reading some of my favorite moments of the show as I enjoyed putting this together.