So I became a member of Letterboxd in early 2018, so there are a lot of movies that I didn’t log. I decided for fun I’m going through the tickets I saved and putting them in my diary so bare with the abundance of movies I’ve been logging.

As far as The Last Jedi I also decided to go through a forum that I gave my thoughts on the movie and copy and paste them here just cuz it’s fun reading my fresh thoughts and falling in love with the movie the more I thought and discussed it with others. Also it’s easier to access them and this is a diary after all. I watched the movie 7 times in theaters so I’m just splitting my thoughts as I log my viewings so sorry if it’s annoying lol.

🩸1st Viewing🩸

💭Initial Thoughts
Wow I adored this movie. My favorite of them all. I walked out of the theater and let out an obnoxious “WOOO!!” Because i couldn’t contain the energy I got from watching.

I really dont know where to start talking about this movie. It felt like it went on forever in the good way. There was so much in so many different places. So many amazing moments. basically all of luke. That fight scene on Crait was amazing. then only turning out to be him projecting himself there to buy time was one of the biggest holy shits in star wars and his death was so beautiful. I cried during the scene with Leia and Luke as I didnt think it would happen and was wonderful.

The whole throne scene might be the highlight of the movie. I was entranced in that room and the look. The fight sequence was my favorite of all Star Wars. The Kylo and Rey dynamic throughout the whole movie was something that sets this movie apart for me. It was so different and added a whole different dynamic with the story on why he turned on Luke and getting his perspective and then Luke's.

Luke Fighting Rey. The Yoda scene was another favorite moment.
Idk theres just so much. I get the gripes people have. They just didnt bother me that much.

Luke's initial dodge of Kylos attack where he almost slid on the ground made me audibly gasp and my friend laughed at me lol Luke's action in this was so satisfying. I do wish we couldve had Luke acutally use a lightsaber, but I think for his character this not only made more sense but gave me more satisfaction than any cool lightsaber fight wouldve.

Thank you both Rian and Mark for making Luke Skywalker even more of one of my favorite heros of all time

personally I liked Leia using the force. I wouldve hated that being her death. She got to not just sense stuff with the force she actually showed she can use it finally. I thought I actually saw Carrie in this and the OG trilogy Leia which I didnt see in TFA.

🔮Post about things I wanted before seeing the movie:

- A scene with Luke and Leia. Im sure I speak for everyone when i say i will be so bummed if we cant see them on screen one more time.

- Luke not just being grumpy and actually getting into the philosophy of the Force and wanting the Jedi to end because he believes they were false in their approach, which is why his training with Ben failed.

- Luke kicking ass and showing him do things weve never seen that definitely proves he is the most powerful Jedi ever.

 - Actually showing Snoke train Kylo Ren and teaching him how to use the dark side since weve never seen that in any of the movies.

- Force Ghost (hopefully puppet Yoda)

- Phasma kicking some major ass

1. Thank God. This really hit me hard especially Luke saying those we lose are never really gone. Talking about Han Solo and Carrie Fisher and I was in tears. and i am jsut writing this (god im a nerd)
2. Yup. Nailed it. Taoism. Balance. Loved it. Couldve used more and a reference to the journal of the whills wouldve been nice but im satisfied.
3. YUP. Luke vs. Rey. Luke vs. Kylo. Never seen before and proved his power. I was expecting him to do grandiose things but his finesse was something I didnt expect.
4.Nope. But it made sense with Snoke in the beginning saying he was wrong about him. Although why in TFA did he say he needs to finish his training? w/e.
5. YYYYYUUUUUUPPPPPP and in the best way. I loved that he being the grandmaster of the Jedi was the one to say the Jedi was over and burn the bridge.
6. Nope. Kind of bummed by Phasma honestly. Her and Holdo were let downs in my opinion. Im glad she at least handley beat Finn easily and only went out by a cheap shot. Im glad we got to see a bit of her face, but still a let down.

Still 4/6 for things I wanted to see is really awesome. Thanks Rian Johnson for being able to see the future when I wrote that comment and incorporating those things in the movie jsut for lil ol me

☯️Taoism

I love the lack of black and white in this movie. And its less about whats inside your mind and your intentions and the choices you make overall. Rey and Kylo have have so many similarities but what distinguishes them are their choices.

Both Kylo and Rey were shown in tints of dark and light. Theres a lot of bait and switches with where their paths go. The visions they see when they touch hands of both turning, even if planted by Snoke, was a great dynamic.

📸Moments

I loved TFA alot, but something that I missed was that there weren't many moments that I could say rivaled the OG Trilogy. There were not many moments where i "wowed".

I thought this movie had so many amazing moments that were as good as the OG trilogy. So many beautiful lines. So many beautiful shots. This has been said but TFA was more consistent and had a better flow and structure. This movie had much higher highs. Lower lows. And thats what happens when you take risks. The thing people desperately wanted. But only if it worked out. not how risks works.

Favorite Moments
1. Kylo and Rey fighting the Praetorian Guards
2. Luke vs. Kylo/Luke Reveal/Death
3. Hyperspace Kamizake
4.Yoda and Luke
5. Snoke talking to Rey/Kylo killing Snoke
6. Luke talking to Leia
7.Lukes 1st lesson explaining the Force
8. Rey not Joining Kylo/Lightsaber split
9. Sequence of Reys acid trip/Talking to Kylo about it and touching hands
10. Lukes lesson 2nd explaining why the Jedi Failed/his school failed/ his legend

Honorable Mention: Opening Battle/ Poes mutiny / Luke vs. Rey / Luke and R2/ Crait speeders attack with March of the Resistance theme playing / 1st time Kylo and rey connect / Chewy guilty about the Porgs.

and i feel like im missing some. Theres seriously too much!!!! Whats crazy is as much as I love TFA Id probably choose most of these over my favorite moments of that movie.

So as far as fight scenes, the Praetorian guards fight is my new favorite in Star Wars. No contest. It was so fun. So brutal and a lot I wouldnt expect form Disney. rey beheaded somebody on camera. Kylo quick on/off switch face stabbing. The guard getting mangled and spitting out pieces of him in the air.

📚Luke and Failures
I loved how indecisive and conflicted Luke was with him wanting to burn the books but not being able to. Its easy to say youre going to do somethign and have the impulse, but in the end youve spent your whole lifetime attached to a set of beliefs and spent years working on tat philosophy. That was the history of the Jedi. Yoda burning that was the ultimate sign of a true master of the force because he has no attachment to the religion of the Jedi anymore, which was the problem with the old Jedi in the first place probably why Luke failed. (Upon this  first watch I had not realized that he knew Rey took the books lol)

Lukes apprehension was natural. He showed his attachments and fear throughout the movie. He showed his human side still. If he wouldve done it and shown that much confidence I think it wouldve clashed just a little with the character in this movie personally. Otherwise he couldve just done it a long time ago. His failures ultimately made his finale and leaving with peace and purpose more impactful for me.

This was my favorite theme of the movie I get many people have problems with the plot holes and certain arcs being kind of meaningless or even more detrimental. Holdo not telling Poe. Finn and Rose basically trying so hard to save people that ended up almost ending the resistance.

But lets be real in life, not everything makes sense. Usually our plans never work out the way we want them to. Just watch any show of Scooby Doo lol Not everything in life is perfectly executed and wrapped in a bow. It wouldve been more unrealistic and less relatable if they ended up executing their plan perfectly to inflitrate Snokes ship and somehow not get caught, turn off that hyperdrive tracker, and they get away.

There was a lot of fucking up and mistakes by Finn and Rose. By Poe. By Holdo. All of their plans failed but they all had their moment to show who they truly are despite all the failure.

I do agree the execution of that message and those situation was somewhat sloppy, but it was powerful for me.

👿Thoughts on the Backlash
its okay to not like the art but I think a lot of the extreme people that are shitting on this movie and Rian and are being so dramatic about it need this movie the most. Its funny to me how people love star wars so much and then ignore the mythology and the messages in it and really exemplify the dark side of attachment.