Star Wars: Rogue One Opinions

This has lots of spoilers. Go away if you didn't watch the movie.

Here's what I liked:
-- K-2SO
-- FEMALE X-WING PILOTS!! Yay!!!
-- The new planets
-- Vader actually being somewhat scary. That was good.
-- I am not an expert but it seemed like they did pretty well better than most with diverse casting which is super exciting.
-- JYN ERSO

-- The blind guy and his buddy were awesome (tbh I do not know any of the names except Jyn, Cassian, and Darth Vader)

-- The way it connected to the original/filled the huge plot hole of "Why does there just happen to be this one flaw in the Death Star???"

-- The darkness/realness of the rebellion and the fact that yeah, they did bad stuff too. They're not all Luke Skywalker.

-- R2 and 3PO's cameo

-- Jyn Erso again. Yas.

-- I think I'm in love with Cassian but that might just be because Diego Luna is really hot??

Here's what I didn't like:

I.  I typically watch movies for the characters. I think it's why I have started liking TV shows better than movies -- the characters have time to develop and get cooler and change. And while I LOVE humor and action and fun-ness, I am here for the characters. 

Rogue One had a lot of characters who are cool, yes, but you only got them for what, two hours? Two and a half maybe? You have no time to get attached or see them grow or anything. And because there's like six main characters, you have to try to learn about all of them really quickly. The droid was my favorite, mostly because his attitude reminded me of Holly. Everyone else did cool things, but they had very little personality. 

And because there was no time to learn about/care about the characters, their deaths were really hard to care about. It was like when you hear about a celebrity who you know about but don't really follow dying. Like you know it's sad because they were talented, but it doesn't really matter. 

II. I don't think I was ever wowed, or really even slightly surprised, by the movie. It was exactly predictable per se, but nor was it as twisty as I was led to believe. The moment that surprised me the most was Cassian's "death"... which was promptly ruined when he WASN'T dead, came and saved Jyn, and then died again in her arms. UGH, I should have seen that one coming. I was ANNOYED. 

I am so tired of characters not staying dead, guys. It causes trust issues. (Marvel, DC, I am looking at you.)

III.  There was just too much going on. Like, yes, I liked seeing all the new planets, but I don't remember a single one now and it's been less than twenty-four hours. The whole movie is a blur of gunshots and death, which I really don't think is good. It was all so rushed. 

IV. While Star Wars is doing good on the female character front, on the way home I started thinking about it and... yes, I am SO glad I got two female protagonists in a row, but every other main character in Rogue One was a guy. THERE WERE SIX MAIN CHARACTERS. ONE was a woman. C'mon. It's like, you're trying... but step it up. 

V. Tarkin's voice was so not right that I almost wish they hadn't attempted it. He looked pretty good, though. 

VI. There were several lines that made me laugh/cringe. "I hope you don't choke on your aspirations," for example. WHO LET THAT GO THROUGH. Actually, I laughed at many, many points in the movie that no one else seemed to think was funny... I don't know if I have a warped sense of humor or if everyone just didn't pick up on it. 

VII. They used multiple shots MULTIPLE TIMES. Like?? Buy the third time, it's not an easter egg anymore, it's laziness, guys. 

VIII. People have been bringing this up, but it didn't feel like Star Wars. And that is okay... but I went to see it because it IS Star Wars. I love that world and those stories. If anything, parts of it felt like the Hunger Games. And I LIKE the Hunger Games movies. But I came to see Star Wars.

IX. To go back to the top, JYN AND CASSIAN'S DEATH WAS SO CHEESY.  His first death was so much better. More real, more heartbreaking -- Jyn's glance back and then determined face as she kept climbing was WONDERFUL -- and then he wasn't dead. The clinging to each other on the beach death did not work for me. And the two of them died to what sounded eerily like Padme and Anakin's love theme which made me cringe so hard. 

The movie seemed very unnecessary. It's nice to have that information, but it would have been fine as a wookipedia article or a three-episode arc on Rebels. I feel like it would have been better for everyone if they just skipped this movie, focused on VIII, and made that the best it can be. They won't lose fans in two years. It felt more like a money thing, honestly. 

All in all: decent movie, but not great. I will probably see it again in the near future with my brother and we will see if my feelings change... but I doubt it.

Over-Caffeinated and Under-Motivated, Addi Suddenly Returns to the Scene

Good news, folks: I still possess the corner of the internet for my own thoughts/ramblings/stories/etc.

I realize my blog has been silent for three months. Oops?

Nothing like my impending doom in the form of finals to motivate me to blog.

Yes, I am procrastinating right now.

I want to talk about something that has been in the back of my head for a while.

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Since moving to New York, I have had dozens of people -- my old friends, my new friends, acquaintances, etc. -- comment on my life. I'm so lucky, people are jealous, life goals, that's so cool, I'm brave, etc. etc.

(Side note: This is literally the only picture I have of Times Square and I definitely just took it because of the Fantastic Beasts posters.)

And YES I am blessed beyond belief. If twelve-year-old me could see me now, she would be amazed and vaguely impressed. Also probably a little disappointed that I'm not actually on Broadway. (Lol at twelve/thirteen/fourteen-year-old me who had very different hopes and dreams and also an obsession with Wicked.)

I didn't ever think I would actually get to live here and have so many cool experiences and meet such amazing people. I NEVER thought I would be brave enough to live this far away from my family, but I am. I wouldn't have believed that I would get to stand backstage, even just for a bit, after a Broadway show, but I did. (Hopefully I will again.) I never thought I would get to make art museums and beautiful libraries my study haunts, but here we are. I definitely never thought I'd sleep on the streets of New York.

So, yes, I am living my dream.

But there's a lot that comes with that.

There's little mental breakdowns. There's drama amongst friends. There are homesickness and dirty dishes and hospital runs. There are whole seasons of New Girl and Teen Wolf because I don't know how to manage my time (see above, where I admit I am procrastinating literally right now). There are times when all I eat is muffins and cookies. There's the mild anxiety about everything from my grades to finding a job to what is my purpose and why am I here and am I living up to that and if I don't know what I want/am supposed to be doing then what am I working towards?

I guess... I thought, for some reason, that when I got to college everything would work itself out. College students would be much more mature than high schoolers, I would suddenly be responsible and less clumsy and awkward (HAH), a job or two would suddenly appear, etc. etc.

Naive, at best. Nothing like New York to give you a nice, cold reality check.

And as my first semester ends, I have learned a lot. Mostly what not to do. Mostly from experience.
I've learned that while I am very bad at time management and directions, I can do it.

I've learned how I need to organize everything from my notes to my to-do lists, because I have failed at both.

I can talk to strangers, although that works best if they start the conversation.

I have made doctors appointments ON THE PHONE by myself without saying something stupid.

I've gotten lost.

I've gone to the hospital.

I have failed quizzes and not turned in a paper and said really stupid things in class. Stupid as in pure blonde-moment, seriously-Addi-that-is-common-knowledge stuff.

I have embarrassed myself in every way possible and recovered.

And it has worked out okay. Not much scares me at this point. I will get through with a decent GPA and some solid friends and a lovely church.

This first semester has been wonderful. But, at the same time, it's been rough. Trust me, next semester can only get better.

So... what I've learned is that even "living the dream" is faaaaar from perfect. Because I am still a mess. And you know, it's real life.

But I'll be okay. I can handle New York with a little help from Jesus and my squad.

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Postscript: I reserve the right to take any and all of this back after my final grades are posted. There's still a decent chance I cannot handle anything and am actually just running on false confidence brought on by an abundance of caffeine.

Post-Postscript: Also, if someone wants to move in with me and take pictures for my blog or honestly just teach me how to use a camera so I don't have to subject everyone to blurry photos from my phone, that would be great.