Movie review: "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story"

dir. by Gareth Edwards
Rogue One is a story about hope, like many stories in the Star Wars universe. In many ways, it's a darker chapter in the franchise, but at its core it still encourages hope, even at the most hopeless of times, and even when it requires the greatest of risks and sacrifices. At a time where hope is in short supply, such a film is undoubtedly appealing, but while Rogue One succeeds as a sturdy, entertaining blockbuster, it never becomes more than that, even in spite of the greater desperation found in its story. It's a minor side story dressed up as a big epic in its own right, and while it has the look, the characters - the heart and soul of so many of these movies - are sorely lacking.

Movie review: "Moana"

BEST NEW FEATURE
dir. by Ron Clements and Don Hall
Moana, the latest animated film from Walt Disney Animation Studios, is the film's first musical since 2013's Frozen, which gives it a very high bar to live up to. Frozen was a deserving phenomenon, containing some of Disney's absolute greatest songs and pairing them with visuals of immense beauty. While Moana never exceeds that film's audiovisual heights, it comes ever-so-close, and boasts a sharper narrative to boot, making for a truly enchanting experience.

TV review: "Luke Cage" season 1

Created by Cheo Hodari Coker
Another day, another Marvel Netflix series which gets sidetracked in its second half. Luke Cage takes its titular character from 2015's excellent Jessica Jones and relocates him in Harlem, wandering amidst gang warfare and questions about black history and the African-American legacy. Like all of Netflix's comic book offerings, it positions itself as a more thoughtful take on the universe, and for a while, it succeeds.

If only it actually maintained that.