Star Wars: The Last Jedi

I enjoy Star Wars, but it has never been a fandom I follow loyally. My brother is the Star Wars fanatic in my family. He eagerly awaits all the film releases and gets upset if I decide to wait until the Star Wars crowds die down before watching the films. (True story!)

Now that I live in New York and my brother can't get upset I barely got around to watching the film. This story has nothing to do with the rest of the review other than I find it funny because I'm an annoying little sister and what kind of sister would I be if I didn't do a good job of annoying my brother?

Anyway, there are many good things about the eighth installment of the franchise. In The Force Awakens we were introduced to Rey (Daisy Ridley) who is a female drawn to the force which is awesome to see. The film ended with Rey returning Luke's (Mark Hamill) lightsaber to Luke after he left to go into hiding. This film picks up where the other left off, with Rey trying to get Luke to train her and join the fight the rebels are fighting. He is reluctant to do either as his previous venture of mentoring ended in failure. I enjoyed that twist as the previous Jedi masters were all confident mentors.

Luke's previous student was his nephew Ben Solo who later turned into Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). Kylo Ren killed his father Han Solo (Harrison Ford) in the previous installment. Luke has just learned this news and as he sees similarities between Rey and Ben he refuses to train her as he is now scared of what can be accomplished with such natural power.

It is interesting to see Rey take on what was Luke's role in "A New Hope" and see Luke remember once again that he must take on Obi-Wan Kenobi's role. There are other parallels as well.

Luke like Obi-Wan also blames himself for his student's corruption as Kylo Ren takes on what was essentially Anakin Skywalker's role in the prequels. Kylo, like Anakin, destroyed the temple where he was being trained and the students who decided not to join him were killed.

Luke reluctantly teaches Rey a bit about the force. He tells her that it is the energy found everywhere that binds everything together. He gets scared when Rey is seemingly drawn to the darkness residing in the island way too quickly. He sees so much of Ben in her that he cannot continue the training.

Luke is not a great mentor, but there are hints that Rey possesses everything she needs to be a great Jedi master even if she has no formal training. I am curious to see how the next film will handle Rey's  storyline and continue to see how she grows. I am also curious to see where Kylo Ren's storyline goes. Hopefully we will get to see their storylines unfold with more interesting villains to face than the ones found in this film.

The Parisian Woman

Uma Thurman stars in "The Parisian Woman" playing at the Hudson Theatre on Broadway.

The first thing you notice is definitely the set. It sits openly as the audience takes their seats and it is gorgeous. All the sets are gorgeous and add to the richness of the characters who all live in DC.

That being said be prepared for politics from beginning to end.

The play is written by Beau Willimon. Willimon is the creator of "House of Cards" and you can definitely see the similarities between the play and the show. The play is politically driven and the characters are all deceitful and fighting for the upper hand.

Thurman plays the wife of a lawyer who is seeking to run for office. She is willing to help him achieve that goal no matter what it takes.

Chloe (Thurman) spends her days doing things that would improve the country's view of her husband. She knows how to avoid scandal and know which pieces to play in order to gain the upper hand.

Chloe's husband Tom (Josh Lucas) is presented the opportunity to run for an open sear in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The play consists of five characters and they are all key players in ensuring Tom gets the nomination. Peter (Marton Csokas) is Chloe's lover and having fallen in love with her is willing to put in a good word with the president on Tom's behalf. When he fails to do so, Chloe turns to her friend Jeanette (Blair Brown) to achieve this. Even Jeanette's daughter Rebecca (Philippa Soo) is thrown into this mix.

There are plenty of surprises thrown into the mix from the first scene. From their the secrets revealed only get more and more outrageous and yet the way they are used brings in a sense of dread. This could easily have turned into a farce, but it never crosses that line. No matter how ridiculous the situation you feel scared for how negative the political game can truly be.

There have been many things added to the show since it premiered after Donald Trump's election. Though he is never mentioned by name, it is obvious that this takes place in the present and the president mentioned is currently the one in office. There are plenty of digs thrown his way.

These digs brought on plenty of laughs from the audience, and yet I have not heard any complaints about this show being offensive.

The play is ultimately about power and the lengths people will go to obtain it. Chloe and Tom are both liberal, though they never outright say it. They know how to talk to friends with opposing viewpoints, not because they are being politically correct, but because they know how to gain what they need from them.

Chloe and Tom's marriage is very similar to that in "House of Cards". Affairs can be had as long as there is something to be gained from it and as long as the other person knows about it. Chloe is willing to stand by her husband and help him gain the things he needs to succeed. At times the events in the show can be hard to grasp, but it is engaging enough.

I am sure that these are extreme cases and not all political figures turn to such drastic measures to get what they want. (At least I can hope that most of them are not like this, though I will never know for sure). The actors are invested in the events these characters are experiencing and it is fun to watch.

Thurman is good in this role, though I do think I have seen her give better performances. She has a power and presence that are impossible to ignore, but I still feel she could have done more with the role.

The rest of the cast did wonderful, though the best performance comes from Soo. Her portrayal of Rebecca is believable and she never faltered. She fully embraced the character's experiences. When a plot twist involving her character is revealed, there is nothing to foreshadow this turn of events. (Although this can be attributed to the writing as Chloe is perhaps the only three dimensional character in the play). Still something can be said for throwing the audience through a loop.

This play is interesting and can be engaging, but ultimately not enough for the theatre. With all its similarities this could have worked as an episode of House of Cards or perhaps a spin off series. Not that it was disinteresting, but it definitely would have worked better in a different medium other than the stage.

The technical aspects in this show were truly astonishing. This isn't something I usually focus on, but in this show I had plenty of time to do so.