New in Theaters: “Cats” and “The Rise of Skywalker”
1.
”
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
”
(PG-13)
Trailer
J.J. Abrams
returns to direct the final movie, and uses old footage he filmed of
Carrie Fisher
for
“The Force Awakens”
to insert her into
“The Rise of Skywalker”
. That included
scenes
that now give
Billie Lourd
a chance to play opposite her mom again.
Keri Russell
joins the cast as a helmeted spice smuggler named
Zorii Bliss
. You should also look for cameos from
Dominic Monaghan
, and composer
John Williams
.
We learn early on that the Emperor (
Ian McDiarmid
) is somehow alive, and he's pushing Kylo Ren to kill Rey in order to end the Jedi and prove his Sith-ish loyalty. As for the main cast,
Daisy Ridley
is back as Rey,
John Boyega
is Finn,
Oscar Isaac
is Poe,
Joonas Suotamo
is Chewbacca, and
Adam Driver
is daddy-killin' Kylo.
Mark Hamill
is back as Ghostface Luke, because why not. Can't keep a good jedi down yo. He and some of the other dead jedi eventually start hauntin' up the joint.
Anthony Daniels
also returns as C-3PO. He's the only actor who's appeared in all nine of the Skywalker movies. R2-D2 actor
Kenny Baker
passed away in 2016.
But the main question is: How do you wrap up a storyline that's spanned multiple generations and 42 years of storytelling in just one movie, and still make all your fans happy? The answer is you can't.
Critics are complaining about everything from
“The Rise of Skywalker”
juggling too many storylines . . . to not developing Rey's character enough . . . or how they used the old footage of Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016.
Yes, it's the
worst-reviewed
movie of the franchise. But in the end, it doesn't really matter what any critics have to say.
Curiosity will drive many of us to get answers to such questions as: Who are Rey's parents? How will Han Solo's killer be punished? And how does a long-dead Emperor fit into any of this?
Nostalgia will draw you in to say goodbye to beloved characters we grew up with. And sheer boredom will get the rest of us to the theater just to shut the kids up for a while.
It'll spark debates as to whether we can be redeemed from the Dark Side, if this is a fitting end to nine movies and, most importantly, who's cuter:
Baby Yoda
or
Babu Frik
?
So may the Force be with you. At least until your Disney+ subscription runs out.
Taylor Swift
wrote
a new song for the movie, called
”
Beautiful Ghosts
”
, with the help of
“Cats”
creator
Andrew Lloyd Webber
. And
Jennifer Hudson
is the rejected cat Grizabella who gets to sing the main song from the movie,
”
Memory
”
.
Judi Dench
is the elder cat everyone is trying to impress to prove themselves worthy of being reborn into another life. The rest of the cast includes
Idris Elba
,
Rebel Wilson
,
James Corden
,
Ian McKellen
, British ballerina
Francesca Hayward
, and the impressive but
CGI-airbrushed
package of
Jason Derulo
.
3.
”
Bombshell
”
expands nationwide
(R)
Trailer
Nicole Kidman
,
Charlize Theron
, and
Margot Robbie
star as the ladies who took down CEO Roger Ailes in the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News. Nicole is
Gretchen Carlson
, Charlize is
Megyn Kelly
, and
John Lithgow
is Ailes. The cast also includes
Kate McKinnon
,
Connie Britton
, and
Allison Janney
.
