u/dee_palmtree

I remember the release of this album very vividly as it being hailed as a "return to form" for Madonna fans. Especially the people who enjoyed albums like American Life, and her other more experimental stuff. Personally, after 7 years, I still go to it a lot. Especially the international "deluxe" songs. I remember being on this sub and only reading praise after praise, now suddenly Confessions II is out and I only see it being dubbed as her worst album? It's not even close to being her worst. Strange behaviour.

So I just got out of Toy Story 5, and I'm going to keep this completely spoiler-free,

Overall, I had a really good time with it. The fact that we're five movies deep into this franchise and it's still entertaining is honestly kind of remarkable. Most long-running franchises completely run out of steam by this point, either becoming repetitive or losing sight of what made them special in the first place. Toy Story somehow continues to be enjoyable even after all these years, which deserves credit in itself.

That said, I think the movie suffers from some of the same issues that I personally had with Toy Story 4.

My biggest complaint is once again how little the original gang gets to do. Rex, Hamm, the Potato Heads and several other classic characters feel sidelined for large portions of the movie in favor of newer additions. I understand that introducing fresh characters is part of keeping a franchise alive, but at this point these original toys have been with audiences for over 30 years. They're a huge part of why so many people fell in love with Toy Story in the first place.

In particular, I was surprised by how little some of them contribute. Mrs. Potato Head barely registers in the movie and doesn't even get a single line. Rex and Hamm have some moments, but nowhere near enough for characters that have essentially been part of the franchise's core identity since 1995. Instead, much of the attention goes toward newer characters who, at least for me, simply aren't as funny or memorable as the classic ensemble.

One thing I did appreciate, however, was the increased focus on Jessie. After spending years feeling somewhat underutilized compared to Woody and Buzz, it was nice to see her receive more attention and a stronger role in the story. If there was one member of the established cast who deserved the spotlight, it was probably her.

My other issue is a little harder to explain, but it's mostly about scale and feeling.

When I think about Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and especially Toy Story 3, those movies feel like major cinematic events within their own universe. They have this sense of scope, emotional weight, and adventure that makes them feel bigger than the sum of their parts.

Toy Story 4, and now Toy Story 5 to some extent, don't quite give me that same feeling. They're enjoyable, well-made, and often very funny, but they feel more like extended specials than full-fledged Toy Story films. The comparison that kept coming to mind was Toy Story of Terror! or Toy Story That Time Forgot. Those specials were great, but they felt like side stories rather than essential chapters in the saga.

That's kind of how I feel about 4 and 5. They're entertaining continuations, but they don't carry the same epic emotional scope that the original trilogy had. The first three movies felt like defining moments in these characters' lives. The later entries often feel more like additional adventures.

Now, maybe that's inevitable. Toy Story 3 had such a powerful sense of closure that anything afterward was always going to feel somewhat smaller by comparison. Perhaps it's unfair to expect every sequel to reach those heights.

Even so, I genuinely enjoyed Toy Story 5. It's funny, heartfelt, visually gorgeous, and still has that Pixar magic that many franchises lose long before reaching a fifth installment.

I walked out with mixed feelings about some creative decisions, particularly regarding the treatment of the original cast, but I never felt bored and I never felt like the series had completely lost its identity.

At the end of the day, we're talking about a franchise that is somehow still capable of entertaining audiences after five movies across more than three decades. How many series can honestly say that?

So I have a hate / love relationship with The High Republic novels. I read all 6 adult and YA novels in Phase 1 and loved most of them. The only one I struggled with were "Midnight Horizon" & "Fallen Star" , it became a bit convoluted for my taste.

Then Phase 2 came along, and I barely made it through that adult book, so I just skipped those and read the two YA books and I LOVED those.

Then when Phase 3 started I remember reading the first adult book "The Eye of Darkness" and enjoying it but thinking "this is getting a bit dragged out and I have no idea what the point of this is". This was almost two years ago and I haven't picked up any phase 3 novels since then. While yes, I am curious about what will happen with some characters like Reath and such... the jumping from characters between adult / ya books is too confusing at this point after not reading them for years. I don't have the money and time to read all these phase 3 books in chronological order.

So my question is, am I the only one who hasn't really picked up phase 3?
And if so, and for the people who have read everything, would I be fine with just reading the adult novels from phase 3? I really want to finish the main plot I suppose after spending so much money... but also, there's so many new other Star Wars books being released that seem way more interesting.

Something I've realized getting older is that my relationship with the two trilogies has almost completely flipped. I'm prepared that this will be downvoted into oblivion but I just want to write out my thoughts on this. Keep in mind that these are just that, my thoughts, and anyone who feels differently has the full right to do so.

When I was a kid, the original trilogy was the easy entry point. It had the classic hero's journey, simple good-versus-evil storytelling, memorable characters, and a sense of adventure that is almost impossible not to enjoy. You didn't need to think very hard about galactic politics, trade disputes, or institutional decay. You had Luke, Vader, Han, Leia, lightsabers, star battles, and a giant evil empire. It was straightforward and exciting.

But now that I'm 30, I find myself appreciating the original trilogy more as an important piece of film history than as something I actively enjoy revisiting. That's probably a controversial opinion among Star Wars fans, a group of people who have somehow spent nearly fifty years arguing over movies about space wizards, but here we are.

Whenever I rewatch the originals today, I often find myself getting restless. The storytelling is very simple, the themes are broad, and the characters are often archetypes rather than deeply layered individuals. Luke is the classic farm boy hero. The Empire is evil because it's evil. The Rebellion is good because it's good. There is certainly depth there if you look for it, especially in Vader's redemption and the themes of hope and sacrifice, but compared to modern prestige storytelling, much of it feels aimed at younger audiences.

That's not necessarily a criticism. George Lucas openly described Star Wars as being made for children. The original films succeed brilliantly at what they set out to do. They are mythological fairy tales set in space. The problem is that as an adult viewer, I sometimes find that simplicity less engaging than I once did.

The prequels, on the other hand, have had the exact opposite trajectory for me.

As a kid, I loved them because they had better lightsaber fights, cooler planets, bigger battles, and a sense of scale that felt enormous. Like many kids who grew up in the late 1990s and early 2000s, I thought Darth Maul was the coolest thing ever despite him having about ten lines of dialogue. Children are remarkably easy to impress. Give someone a double-bladed lightsaber and suddenly they're Shakespeare.

What surprises me now is how much more I appreciate the political side of those films as an adult.

The prequels are fundamentally about the collapse of democracy. They're about institutions becoming complacent, corruption spreading slowly through bureaucratic systems, and a population willingly trading freedom for security during a crisis. Those themes resonate far more strongly with me now than they did when I was ten years old and mainly cared whether Obi-Wan would win a lightsaber duel.

When you revisit the trilogy with adult eyes, you realize that Palpatine's rise is actually one of the most fascinating political stories in blockbuster cinema. He doesn't conquer the Republic through military force. He manipulates legal systems, public fear, political gridlock, and institutional weakness. The Republic essentially destroys itself from within while believing it's protecting itself.

That idea has arguably become more relevant with age, not less.

The Jedi Order also becomes far more interesting as an adult viewer. As a child, they seemed like obvious heroes. As an adult, you start noticing their flaws. They're arrogant. They're detached from ordinary people. They're trapped by tradition. They become servants of a political system they barely understand. Their downfall isn't simply that Palpatine is clever; it's that the Jedi have become incapable of recognizing how vulnerable they've become.

Even Anakin's story hits differently.

When I was younger, I mostly saw him as a powerful hero who became a villain. Today, I see a deeply unstable individual whose fears, insecurities, attachments, and need for control gradually consume him. His fall isn't a sudden betrayal. It's a slow psychological deterioration that spans years. The execution isn't always perfect, but the ambition behind it is far greater than many critics initially gave it credit for.

That's another reason the prequels have aged well for me. They attempt something larger than a traditional adventure story. They aren't just telling us how Darth Vader became Darth Vader. They're explaining how an entire civilization collapsed.

Ironically, I think the original trilogy excels at execution while the prequels excel at ideas.

The originals are tighter films. The dialogue is generally stronger. The pacing is better. The character interactions are more natural. If someone asked me which trilogy is objectively better made, I'd probably still say the original trilogy.

But if someone asked me which trilogy gives me more to think about as an adult, I'd choose the prequels.

The original trilogy is a timeless fairy tale about defeating evil.

The prequels are a tragedy about how evil wins.

One is emotionally satisfying. The other is intellectually fascinating.

That's why, despite respecting everything the original trilogy accomplished, I often find myself more engaged when revisiting the prequels. The politics, institutional failures, moral compromises, and slow collapse of democracy reveal new layers every time I watch them. Meanwhile, the originals largely remain what they've always been: exceptionally well-made adventure films aimed at younger audiences.

Neither approach is wrong. In fact, they're complementary. The original trilogy tells us why the galaxy needs heroes. The prequels explain why the galaxy needed saving in the first place.

For me, that's why the prequels have aged better. As a child, I enjoyed them for the spectacle. As an adult, I appreciate them for the ideas. The original trilogy still deserves every bit of respect it gets, but when it comes to rewatching, I find myself drawn to the trilogy that grows with me rather than the one that reminds me of who I was at eight years old.

EDIT: I will not read any other comments because my lunchbreak is over and I have a job / life to get back to but I hope everyone who agrees with me found some enjoyment in this post, and the ones who disagree with me: stay respectful and enjoy discussing! Byeee!

Like many of you, my expectations were below zero. I've enjoyed the first two seasons of the show, but Boba Fett / Season 3 were just "okay" to me, it felt a bit too convuluted and Ahsoka didn't help. It all felt like one large show spread over way too many different shows and at that point I kinda tapped out.

Then came the trailers... it didn't made my excited at all. The marketing just didn't do it for me, including the strange font they used for the logo. I felt like I was watching Baby Star Wars.

So I watched the film this morning, and I enjoyed it way more than I thought. The common criticism seems to be that it feels like a couple of episodes of The Mandalorian stitched together to make it a film. And while at points it feels like that, it also brings back something the franchise has been missing: fun and solid entertainment. It didn't need to be anything more than to entertain me for 2 hours, and it did it's job in that regard.
For the entire movie I was thinking "I wish I could see the TV show on a big screen", because it makes a world of difference.

From the minute i saw people with their Grogu popcorn bucket entering the theatre, and the Mandalorian theme music started playing in full surround, it hit me how much I missed the world of the show. And it made it so much better in a cinema.

The last time I felt like that with this franchise was with Solo. So if you are one of the few who really liked that film, you are going to enjoy this one as well. These two films reminded me of when you would discover an old VHS tape in the attic and discover a new adventure for couple of hours. This is how I discovered Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones, and the original Star Wars.

For me, it doesn't need to be anything more than what it was.
Don't let the marketing fool you, it's way better than I thought it was going to be.

Listen, I have enough shit in my life to deal with. So the fact that this film could distract me for 2 hours straight without thinking of any of my problems is a huge win.