Crazy Drivers Stink ... 11th Time Around The Force Awakens is Still Awesome

Part of seeing The Force Awakens a ridiculous amount of times has been the adventure of checking out new theaters. I used to see it in tiny theaters very close to my apartment, but as time goes on, the only places that still have it are those that keep a ton of movies for a long time. This time, I stopped at the AMC at the Garden State Plaza on a Tues mid-afternoon.

I nearly got run over in the parking lot.

Not kidding about that, unfortunately. You'd think we were pod racing. It was raining and parking spaces in the deck were hard to come by. Mind you, there were spaces, just outside under the pouring rain. I found one and put my blinker on to indicate that I'd take it as soon as the person pulled out. And the idiot in front of me backed up. I beeped, checked the mirror, and reversed in time to avoid a collision. I didn't have much time to think, but thankfully, I had enough sense to move my car out of the way before the fool hit me. Try explaining that to a cop, "yes, it looks like I hit him from behind but he really backed into me because he couldn't stand the thought of walking twenty feet in the rain."

Doesn't exactly give one the warm fuzzies when thinking about the state of humanity. It's a parking spot, people, there's no reason to come across as a complete nincompoop. I know drivers in NJ have a reputation to keep, but yikes ...

I digress.

Can I just say I am blown away by how many people are still watching this movie?

I tried to count discretely, but I lost count somewhere mid-sixties today. Granted, the theater was nowhere near full, but for a Tues in the middle of the day with a movie that's been out since Dec 18th, that's quite impressive.

And yes, I still noticed new things. I think I miscounted the times Finn gets knocked off his feet. On Jakku alone I think the number's near 4-5. Would be fun to see how many lines I actually remember at this point, but I'm sure the script's already floating around the internet somewhere. There are only two-three highly convenient points that are hard to explain. 1. How Finn knows Rey's going to be taken to the Starkiller Base. 2. How Rey knows where to find Finn after the duel with Kylo Ren. The woman must have a killer instincts in tracking, which is possible given her job as a scavenger. 3. How Chewie finds Rey and Finn. Timing's not always clear in the movie, but it still flows very nicely. I love some of the transitions. A lot of the scenery is downright gorgeous.

Star Wars The Force Awakens – By the Numbers

Tenth Time's the Charm

*Definitely contains spoilers*

As usual, I found all images on the internet, and I make no claim of owning any of 'em.

I have no idea why I felt compelled to count, but as I saw the movie subsequent times, I found myself keeping track of events by the numbers.

6.02 x 10^23 (ish) - # of CGI trees that died for this movie. (Starkiller Base pretty much takes out a forest while firing

the first time on the Hossnen System – sorry about the spelling; the Falcon cuts a nice swath through another forest while landing on Starkiller Base; planet explodes = bye, bye trees)

6.02 x 10^23 (ish) - about the # of times I can listen to Rey’s Theme

6.02 x 10^23 (ish) - seemingly about the # of steps poor Rey had to climb on that Jedi island at the end of the movie.

12 - # of X-wings that head into the battle over Starkiller Base

10 - # of times I’ve seen it in theaters as of 2/9/16. (Note: That’s largely what I’m basing this off of, so some of the counts might be slightly off. Please feel free to comment with any corrections you noticed. I could have very easily missed something. I’ve only seen it 10 times, mostly at 1 week intervals and a few with some shoddy neighbors using cell phones right in front of me. What is it with people and their dang phones in the movies. Grrr. If you wanna play on the phone do others a favor and skip the movie, just play Candy Crush to your heart’s delight.)

10 - # of Tie fighters Poe shoots down in the fight over Maz’s cantina

7 - # of X-wings that fly out of the battle over Starkiller Base

6 (ish) - # of time Rey’s referred to as some version of “the girl” (Unkar Plutt to his thugs telling them to get the droid; First Order officer in his report; Kylo Ren’s reply “What girl?”; Maz to Han “Who’s the girl?”; Kylo Ren to Rey right before he kidnaps her “The girl I’ve heard so much about.”; Han to Chewie “The girl knows her stuff”)

5 (ish) - # of times Finn was knocked off his feet (Tie fighter crash, encounter with Rey’s bo staff, Tie fighter assault on the tent, fight with the Stormtrooper wielding an electrified weapon, fight with Kylo Ren)

5 (ish) - # of main characters captured (Poe, Rey – extended; Han, Chewie, Finn – briefly)

5 - # of planets taken out by Starkiller Base’s massive attack on the Republic

4 (ish) - # of Tie fighters Finn destroys (2-ish on the escape – it’s hard to tell how many explode and I’m not sure whether to count the one he was shot down in, 2 on Jakku)

4 (ish) - # of time Rey cries (talking to Maz, as Kylo Ren’s “guest” – when he’s trying to get the map out of her mind; Han’s encounter with a lightsaber; over Finn’s unconscious body)

4 (ish) - # of people Rey hears in her vision (Luke, Yoda, Obi-wan, Vader)

4 - # of dropships sent to Jakku to retrieve the piece of the star map.

4 - # of times heroes say “I can do this.” (2x in a row Finn, then Rey)

4 - (at least) # of trees cut with lightsaber on the Starkiller base during the duel with Kylo Ren (Kylo hits one while fighting Finn, I think he hits another just into the fight with Rey, and she hits at least two during the duel.)

3 (ish) - # of Stormtroopers Rey shoots

3 (ish) - # of times Poe calls someone or something “buddy” (BB-8 2x, Finn)

3 - # of times BB-8 gets told to haul it on Jakku alone. “Come on BB-8” – Poe “Stay close” (Poe, Finn, Rey)

3 - # of times Rey either knocked off her feet or knocked out (once escaping Jakku, KO’d being kidnapped by Kylo Ren, blasted up and into a tree right before Finn fights Kylo Ren)

3 - # of Stormtroopers Poe shoots to free Han, Finn, and Chewie at the battle around Maz’s cantina

3 - # of Stormtroopers Finn kills in the battle around Maz’s cantina (one he runs through with a lightsaber, two he shoots once getting hold of a blaster)

2 (ish) - # of lightsaber vs equipment hissy fits Kylo Ren throws

2 (ish) - # of times Han calls Finn “Big Deal”

2 - # of people Kylo Ren freezes with the Force (Poe, Rey)

2 - # of modifications Unkar Plutt made to the Falcon that Han and Rey think are stupid (he did something to the fuel pump and something else that puts stress on the hyperdrive)

2 - # of times Han borrows Chewie’s bowcaster.

2 - # of people tortured with the Force by Kylo Ren (Poe, Rey)

2 - # of times BB-8 had to use his grappling hooks (once during the escape; once when Finn and Rey left him in the smuggling hatch)

2 - # of times main characters try to run away (Finn, Rey)

2 - # of people BB-8 almost takes out while rolling his way over to reunite with Poe (Finn, random Resistance fighter)

1 - # of blaster bolts Kylo Ren freezes with the Force

1 - # of times Han uses his signature line – “I’ve got a bad feeling about this”

1 - # of people who actually believe Finn works for the Resistance (just Rey; BB-8 and Han and probably Chewie are skeptical from the first moment)

Other observations:

- First thing Rey says isn’t in Basic. (She’s essentially yelling at Teedo to get off her turf and turn that droid loose.) “Your antennae’s bent” is her first Basic line.

- BB-8 has the first line of the movie and almost the last. I think R2-D2 gets in a last second beep, though Chewie’s shout to Rey is close.

- Finn claims Chewie almost killed him 6 times. “Which is fine!”

- Han warns Finn that women always find out the truth.

- 60 portions – price Unkar Plutt put on BB-8’s little metal head.

7th Time Viewing Experience - Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Disclaimer: I rarely write complaining blog posts, but this series of events was darkly amusing.

Confession: I’ve never seen a movie 7 times in the theaters before, so this is an all new experience anyway.

Conclusion: Star Wars: The Force Awakens is an excellent movie, but perhaps I should have quit while I was ahead.

Explanation: The theater experience left several things to be desired.

1) I don’t think they bothered turning on the heat for the 12 of us in the theater. I don’t actually blame them for that part though because it’s probably very expensive to heat a large cavernous space like that.

2) 10 minutes into the start of the actual movie, a family of 3 comes in and takes a seat directly in the row in front of me. Of course, the father—a pretty big dude—sits directly in front of me so that his head is now front and center of my view. There are like 100 empty seats all over this theater, mind you.

3) Okay, so no problem, get up and move, right? Yeah, well, about that … I move to get up just as the guy sits back to relax. Problem – this theater has reclining seats that move back about six inches, so my head meets this guy’s chair. Result – headache. Solution – Advil which I haul around with me for such random occurrences.

4) I move over two seats, and wind up in front of a man who ends up kicking my chair every half-hour. Fine, whatever.

5) Two seconds later, one of the kids’ phones lights up. To add to the fun, the kid must be texting because for a time the phone does that happy pinging noise of a received message. I know they missed the beginning courtesy statement about not keeping your phone on because the lights are distracting, but geez, have they never been to a movie ever? And I’m pretty sure it takes about a quarter second to turn the ringer off. If you’re staring at the dang thing, you don’t need the notification ping.

6) About ¾ through the movie, during a slow, sentimental moment the phone finally goes off, but then the kid starts yammering. “I love Star Wars. Star Wars is awesome.” Father – “Shut up.” Kid – repetition of similar statements for about 5 minutes straight. Me (*thinks*) – I would be more ticked off if this were my first time seeing the movie. Turn your phone back on. (It’s amazing what you can consider the lesser of two evils when it comes to movie annoyances. Phone light and noise vs kid shouting = phone wins for less annoying.)

Life Conclusion: You can’t control all the crazy in the world. And perhaps I need to see the movie and 8th time just to reclaim the good viewing experience :-).

Closing Comments: If you haven’t seen Star Wars Ep VII: The Force Awakens, go check it out. Odds are good that your theater experience will be better than mine.

*Spoilers ahead*

Favorite Moments and Quotes this Round (and a few Questions):

- Rey sledding down the sand is still one of my favorite moments.

- BB-8 navigating stairs is kind of fun.

- BB-8 falling on Finn when they all try to hide. I also find it funny that they left the poor droid in that hole. He had to use his grappling hooks to escape.

- Rey flying the Millennium Falcon during their escape.

- Rey running away from Kylo Ren the first time before she’s captured. She grows increasingly frustrated as she fires about 10 shots at him.

- The end of the Rey/Kylo Ren duel.

- Finn: “I can do this. I can do this.”

Rey: “I can do this. I can do this.”

- Finn: “We need some cover!”

Rey (confident): “We’re about to get some!” (whispers) “I hope.”

- How come the Resistance doesn’t have more of a scrap with the First Order near Maz’s temple. Leia’s ship arrives about 3 seconds after Kylo Ren’s takes off. They’d probably be in the same airspace for a moment.

- Does Poe’s first X-wing fighter have a self-destruct mechanism? It kind of blows up easily.

- How did Rey get her small gun back? Or is the one she’s wearing at the end of the movie just the same model as the one Han gives her earlier?

Review of Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens Soundtrack

Picture found on the internet, rights prob belong to Disney.

Summary: Soundtrack to Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens.

Comments:

- It took me a while to get into it. I listened to Rey's theme on loop from Youtube for like 2-3 weeks. Listened on spotify to the other tracks, but nothing really stuck.

- Once I finally bought it and reordered the tracks in my prime library, it got a lot better. It's kind of strange that the order makes such a difference, but try the playlist.

- I don't think this is my favorite Star Wars soundtrack, but it might be. It's got nothing as iconic as The Imperial March, but it's still got some gems.

- Rey's Theme, Torn Apart, and March of the Resistance are my favorite tracks.

- Suggested playlist for "best" flow. (Disclaimer, this is completely my opinion, I tried to group songs that sort of went with one another. If I could just listen without knowing a track changed, I kept it.)

Main Title and the attack on the Jakku Village (4/5 stars)

Rey's Theme (5/5 stars) - beautiful, lighthearted, contemplative, and actually one of the few memorable tracks on here

The Scavenger (4/5 stars) - good companion piece but not as good as Rey's Theme

That Girl with the Staff (3/5 stars) - starts out soft, ramps up midway through to lead into a fight or a chase or something

Follow Me (4/5 stars) - soft, again ramps up about halfway through to lead to a chase scene

The Abduction (3.5/5 stars) - full of discordant beats; fits the movie situation but not exactly a soothing theme

Finn's Confession (4/5 stars) - soft, thoughtful

Rey meets BB-8 (4/5 stars) - soft, sweet, but not particular notable

The Starkiller (4/5 stars) - oddly soft, sad, reminiscent of the themes they played behind Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith.

Torn Apart (4.5/5 stars) - interesting, evocative, oddly beautiful

On the Inside (4/5 stars) - I think this is the one where Rey's running around in the base, could be wrong about that. Theme is nice, not quite as good as the ones I've marked favorites, but decent.

I can Fly Anything (4/5 stars) - brash, bold

Kylo Ren Arrives at the Battle (4/5 stars) - mix of dark and lively

March of the Resistance (4.5/5 stars) - Nice, bold, brave, fairly screams, "good guys coming"

The Ways of the Force (3.5/5 stars) - mysterious

The Rathtars! (3.5/5 stars) - some discordant parts but also some pieces very similar to The Falcon

The Falcon (4/5 stars) - Lively

Scherzo for X-Wings (4/5 stars) - totally had to look up what the heck "scherzo" was but this is the score accompanying

X-wings...I think it was during the attack at the end. Lively, reminiscent of the old school themes.

Han and Leia (4/5 stars) - Sweet, sad, definitely sounds like Han's theme

Snoke (3.5/5 stars) - ominous

Maz's Counsel (3.5/5 stars) - nothing particular memorable, it's soft, I guess good for a talking scene, does have a small bit that's got a Jedi-like theme. I think it turns most moving when Rey's actually running away from Maz

Farewell and The Trip (4/5 stars) - bittersweet, close to my favorites, but I'd have to add like 5 to the favorites list if I was going to include this one.

The Jedi Steps and Finale (4/5 stars) - beautiful, fit the scene of the movie very nicely

Conclusion: If you give it a chance, you may like it more. Like I said, it took me a couple of weeks warming up to it. But now that I have it, it's worth it.