Visual Index - The Force Awakens' "Best Shots"
Tuesday, May 24, 2016 at 9:30PM 
The Force Awakens may have dominated the world when it debuted at Christmas time but all our Christmas times are devoted to the Oscar race so we didn't truly give it its due here. And thus it's our pick this week for Hit Me With Your Best Shot (though we don't normally do movies this recent) to give us a chance to spend a little more time with Luke, Leia, Han, Finn, Rey, and the galaxy's new collective boyfriend Poe Dameron.
My own Force Awakens post is here if you missed it. I had been running late. Let's blame Thelma & Louise (I've been distracted). The power of the Dark Side or the Light are no match for the Force of Great Actressing in my galaxy right now and close close by.
Alright. Let's see what the Best Shot club chose...
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens
Director: JJ Abrams | Cinematographer: Daniel Mindel
Click on any of the 13 images to be taken to the 14 corresponding articles
A space tableaux so stark it’s almost monochrome minimalism...
-Magnificent Obsession
Her makeshift home, the rusty, run-down insides of a broken down Armored Transport, is given depth by showing us small, tangible details
-Nebel Without a Cause
Good enough to stand on its own, but dwarfed by what came before...
-Dancin Dan
One of the points where it most taps into the easy, pleasurable innocence of the original trilogy...
-Antagony & Ecstasy
Force Awakens is a pretty unnecessary movie except in seeing where Rian Johnson takes it for Episode 8
-Scopophiliac at the Movies
All of it. It's all true...
-Sorta That Guy
ultimately, I’m a big sucker for a great tracking shot.
-I/FWP
a reunion with telling distance, smoking wreckage surrounds them
-The Film Experience
Concept art come to life in the best way...
-Storyphile *first time participant!*
Nostalgia factors heavily in my thoughts about Star Wars these days and nostalgia is a huge part of The Force Awakens...
-I Want to Believe
The thrills get to breathe, both in the frame and in the editing.
-Film Mix Tape
I could have easily filled this post with only shots of Rey...
-Cinema Cities
It might be blasphemous to say but I think Force Awakens takes what I loved about New Hope and improved upon it."
-Rachel's Reviews
And tweeted entries to close us out...
For @nathanielr HMWYBS I like how John Boyega looks exasperated, exhausted and altogether over it. pic.twitter.com/4qOannxGW1
— Murtada (@ME_Says) May 24, 2016
"It looks better on you..." 😍 @nathanielr #hitmewithyourbestshot #hmwybs pic.twitter.com/NQD5JqONKH
— Ben Choo (@benchoo) May 24, 2016
When emojis speak the truth: Hearts for eyes is right!
Next Tuesday: It's a Josef von Sternberg / Marlene Dietrich Double Feature in glorious black and white. You can do Morocco (1930) OR Blonde Venus (1932) OR both.
Reader Comments (14)
Shit! I missed the deadline :-(
Not sure if you saw my tweet, but here's the link to mine just in case:
https://cinemacities.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-star-wars-the-force-awakens/
A bit late, here's my entry: http://magnificaobsessao.blogspot.pt/2016/05/hit-me-with-your-best-shot-star-wars.html
thanks. the post is updated
This episode would have been a letdown if no one picked one of Poe Dameron's MANY homosexual facial expressions/body language, so I'm glad Ben choo came through for us!
These being the best shots just proves how pathetic this film was compared to any previous episodes.
https://scopophiliacatthecinema.wordpress.com/2016/05/24/hmwybs-612-star-wars-episode-vii/
Except Tim beat me to it, kind of.
That bite of Poe's bottom lip gives me life.
My follow up tweet to the above was .. " That's kinda how I feel about Star Wars. I'm bringing the shade to this week's episod'.
Without having re-watched recently I'd say Finn's celebratory "woo!" after Rey awesomely navigated the ship's backflip. He was the audience surrogate: unsure of exactly what Rey was planning, enthusiastic to play along, and thrilled by how perfectly they were able to pull it off. Great moment commemorating the emergence of a heroic twosome.
I am LOVING reading all these. It's amazing how fully the film commits to Rey's arc visually, and I'm so glad so many of these articles focused on that.
HOWEVER, I honestly don't get the Poe/Finn angle. That lip bite only exists is slow-motion/freeze-frame. Isaac is playing him like one of the swashbucklers that the likes of Errol Flynn played in the 30s - or at least, that's what it felt like to me this time around - so there's a little fey-ness to him, but I just don't see the gay angle. Don't get me wrong, I desperately WANT to see it, but I just don't. Help a brother out, anyone?
Here's mine again :)
https://ifwp.wordpress.com/2016/05/22/star-wars-the-force-awakens-hit-me-with-your-best-shot/
i/fwp - added. and my own was added too.
everyone -- sorry i was late but that's the full list now i think ;May the force be with you.
FOR THE CHARACTERS SEEN IN STAR WARS EPISODE VII THE FORCE AWAKENS THERE ARE ONLY OF 42 OR 43 THAT I FOR SURE KNOW THE NAMES OF-AND OF THE ONES I DON'T FOR OF THE 110 OR MORE CHARACTERS-THAT MEANS THERE ARE 67 CHARACTERS WHO I DON'T KNOW OF
A MAJORITY OF THOSE BEING THE CHARACTERS OF TAKODANA AND DQAR AND THE RESISTANCE BASE AND STARKILLER BASE
ONE OF THE TAKODANA CHARACTERS I'VE SEEN THOUGH I'VE FOUND NO IDENTITY OF
IS THE GREEN ROUND LARGE FACE ALIEN