There are reasons I decided to do this challenge and it was to see epic films and there was an ultimate goal that I wanted to achieve besides hitting number 366. That goal was to be at this very point where I am reviewing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story for today’s film. The film takes place some twenty somewhat odd years after the events of Star Wars: Episode III. The Imperial Empire has taken over the galaxy with Emperor Palpatine firm in control. The Rebel Alliance with their backs against the wall discover that an Imperial pilot has defected from the empire with information on a weapon that the empire is creating from the lead engineer himself in Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen). After learning this herself, Galen’s daughter Jyn (Felicity Jones) will risk it all along with a group of rebels to retrieve the info to help the Rebel Alliance. The film also stars Diego Luna (Milk) as Cassian Andor, Alan Tudyk (Zootopia) as K-2SO, Donnie Yen (IP Man) as Chirrut Îmwe, Wen Jiang (Chinese Zodiac) as Baze Malbus, Ben Mendelsohn (Australia) as Orson Krennic, Forest Whitaker (Arrival) as Saw Gerrera, Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler) as Bodhi Rook, Genevieve O’Reilly (Glitch) as Mon Mothma, James Earl Jones (Star Wars: A New Hope) as Darth Vader, and the film was directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla).
Spoiler Alert: There is going to be some information leaked in this paragraph that could give away some details or all the details in the film. So either proceed with caution or do not read any further, but you were warned. First off, I am going to star this by saying that I really and truly enjoyed the film from beginning to end. I thought it was a great stand alone film that was made to explain some details leading up to episode IV that many of you may have wondered about. Now was it better than Star Wars: A Force Awakens? While it may be a valid question, I find it a little unfair because they are two different films. I loved a lot of the individual performances in this film from people like Donnie Yen who was funny and awesome all at once. Felicity Jones was terrific in the film as Jyn and while Diego Luna may not be Han Solo, he was still very cool as well. This film had Darth Vader and even though his appearance was brief, it gives this an edge over F.A. I have to admit that his entrance was pretty bad ass. This film may have had too many quick hard cuts during a lot of the scenes which would be my only criticism. The story was great and the acting was great and it injected humor right in the perfect spots. The battle scenes were pretty amazing as well and it reminded you why you loved Star Wars. I did think it was very awesome to see the late Peter Cushing in the film once again even though he is not listed because it was a CGI version of him. Wait till you get to the end for the surprise visit that comes then. I think there is very little to criticize about the film, but I’m sure others will find the flaws. I am going to give the film an A- for a final grade.
James Franco (Pineapple Express) is slowly becoming one of my favorite actors because he has down a little bit of everything in his career. I am also enjoying his team ups with guys like Seth Rogen and Jonah Hill. That is why I chose to watch the film True Story which stars Franco and Hill together in a film that is based on a true story. Michael Finkel (Hill) is a well respected journalist for the New York Times, but after some untruths are uncovered in a recent article, he is fired from his job. He then learns that a man named Christian Longo (Franco) who has been convicted of murder used his identity while he was on the run from the law in Mexico. Curious as to why he did it, Finkel soon starts a correspondence with him in hopes of getting his story out to the public, but things and facts may not seem to appear right with Longo. The film also stars Felicity Jones (The Theory Of Everything) as Jill Barker, Maria Dizzia (Margin Call) as Mary Jane Longo, Ethan Suplee (Chasing Amy) as Pat Frato, Robert John Burke (RoboCop 3) as Greg Ganley, Gretchen Mol (Boardwalk Empire) as Karen Hannen, and the film was directed by Rupert Goold.
I am sincerely super impressed with James Franco which is why I said he is becoming one of my favorite actors. Here is why I enjoyed him in this film and it’s because he is so charming that he fools you like his character fools the public (look him up, he is a real person so I am not spoiling anything). To go along with charming, he is also very witty and convincing which is just downright dangerous because he had me believing that there was a chance he could be innocent. I don’t blame Michael Finkel for taking this on because I probably would have been a sucker for it as well. See that is what I loved about this film and why I would suggest this one to anyone that is a fan of him and even a fan of Jonah Hill. This must have been a difficult thing to live with for Michael who was already facing his own personal trial for what happened over at the New York Times so he was vulnerable. I loved the cinematography to the film as well because the photography matched the overall tone of the film and the story. It was a dark film to begin with so not a lot of happy colors and more dark imagery like the photos of the wife and kids. If you want to find out what is true or not about the film, then visit the website 
365moviesin365dayschallenge 