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The latest (and maybe final) instalment of Pixar's flagship film franchise, Toy Story, has just hit theatres and I wanted to put my thoughts on the film from mind to screen. The original Toy Story was released in November 1995, back when Pixar was an independent company, meaning that were are nearly 24 years between this sequel and the original feature film.

Toy Story 4 follows shortly after the events of Toy Story 3 with Bonnie, the new owner to Woody, Buss and the gang, having her first trial day at kindergarten. During the day their she creates a new toy from a spork, Forky, who becomes alive and self-aware. Without spoiling the events, the film follows Woody trying to make sure that Forky, Bonnie's new favourite toy, is there for his kid during one of the toughest times in her life.

Yeah? I mean, it was certainly no where near a bad film. IT was feel-good, funny and tense at times but it didn't stand out from the previous 3 instalments. I think it was a good, nice way to (hopefully) end the franchise on a bitter-sweet ending. I felt that Toy Story 3 was a nice end to the series with the end of Woody's relationship with Andy after he went off to college; this further sequel actually didn't taint that tidy ending but didn't add too much more onto Woody and Buzz' story.

Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele's Ducky and Bunny duo was by far my favourite aspect of the film. They offered a new style of adult-y comedy that we haven't seen in previous instalments. It seemed like the perfect coupling of both voice and personality. We had Christina Hendricks as Gabby Gabby the teatime doll and Keanu Reeves as Canadian stuntman Duke Caboom, a contribution that I didn't notice until I was reading through the cast list on the way home. As with a lot of sequels  *cough* Porgs *cough* there can be a risk of the introduction of characters that have no need in being present and are just they to sell a few toys but I can't really put my finger on a specific character from Toy Story 4 that fits that description, which is great from Pixar.

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It's a whirlwind star of the year for big film releases. Infinity War, Deadpool 2 and Black Panther being the most notable thus far. It's easy for a movie to be lost in the blockbuster releases and sadly that seems to be what happened to Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Spoilers As Usual

Howard had already experienced directing a space-set film after overseeing the production of docudrama Apollo 13 so when it was announced it was he that was going to complete the film I was pretty optimistic. I'm glad I was because this film was thoroughly enjoyable. Whether or not you were previously a fan of the franchise this film is still a great addition to the universe.

Notable Performances

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The film's lead character was portrayed by American 'Hail, Caesar!' actor, Alden Ehrenreich. He was the subject of another production issue report that claimed that Ehrenreich has to take acting lessons to improve his role as Han Solo. Looking back at the film you would either think "Eh, he didn't need those lessons." or "Wow those lessons really worked!".

Along with Donald Glover's appearance as Lando Calrissian, Ehrenreich was one of the stand-out performances throughout the whole film. The actor replicated Han Solo's mannerisms well all whilst making the role his own instead of doing a hard-copy of Harrison Ford's version.

The Story

Final Thoughts

It's official. It's finally official. Disney has confirmed what I've been waiting forever since they took over Lucas Film in a deal worth over $4 Billion in 2012. An Obi-Wan Kenobi standalone film will be happening. The film is in a very early stage at the moment. There is no script, no director and no cast. Seeing as I have been waiting 5 years for this to be announced, I thought I would give my ideas on what the film could entail.

First off, let me just say: If Ewan McGregor doesn't agree to sign on for the film then Disney should just scrap the film altogether. McGregor was one of the few decent parts of the prequel trilogy, it would be a disaster without him.

I believe the film should be set in the time that Kenobi spent living on Tattooine, watching over a young Luke Skywalker. We would be able to see how he lived and just how much impact he had on Luke's upbringing. We would get to see the people he met, see if he ever strayed from the path of a Jedi and fell in love. Maybe he fathered a child, who then went on to be the parent of a little girl named Rey? Who knows. I mean if Rey does turn out to be a Kenobi then there's no doubt in my mind that this film will centre around how that happened.

Maybe Kenobi had a previous run-in with Han Solo and that how he and Luke came to board the Falcon in Episode IV. Although, that does seem a bit far-fetched considering how they acted with each other in the original. But maybe Obi-Wan could help the rebel alliance in a small mission since Leia already knew of his existence.

A more plausible key plot feature would be Kenobi interacting with the force-ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn. We know that he was to be taught this power by Yoda after the events of Revenge of the Sith. Obi-Wan trained Anakin Skywalker, who then turned to the dark side and took the form of Darth Vader. Kenobi may have not trusted himself to do this again and sought the assistance of Qui-Gon who realised Anakin's potential in the first place.

The last thought I had when hearing the announcement was 'did Kenobi and Yoda ever contact/visit each other?'. We know that Yoda planned, and did take exile in the Dagobah system. But did the two Jedi ever visit each other? Or at least stay in contact. It could be possible that all 3 of Kenobi, Jinn and Yoda trained Luke together, whilst all communicating and discussing his next steps. 

Finally, I'd like to give some of my ideas about titles for the new film:

But seriously...

Anyway, these are just some of my thoughts. Do you have another of your own? Or just think mine are waffle? Let me know in the comments below.

I've seen a lot of theories going around saying "Oh my god Luke is gonna die" or even Rey, claiming that "Last Jedi" means that there can only be 1 remaining by the end of the film. Although this could be the case, in no way can this be true based on the title. Bare in mind that the plural of Jedi is indeed still Jedi. Jedi can be plural as well as singular as in "Luke and Rey are the last Jedi". The title is merely suggesting that the film will focus on the last of the Jedi, which we know so far only consists of Rey and Luke. If anyone ever tries to tell you that there must only be 1 Jedi left at the end of the film please correct them.

Every Star Wars saga film from The Phantom Menace to The Force Awakens has used the same golden-yellow colour of text in their posters so why have red been chosen for The Last Jedi? The man behind Finn, John Boyega, stated around a year ago that Episode VIII would be much darker than The Force Awakens so this may be a clue as to why the Red was chosen. It's also been rumoured that The First Order may become a lot stronger and more powerful than the resistance, similar to the original star wars sequel, The Empire Strikes Back. In my opinion this Red represents the upcoming bloodshed and dark times for the resistance since red typically represents the dark side of the force. Or the red text could just be a clever ploy by Disney to get people talking about the film from the off.

No matter what this logo could mean I am extremely excited for the next instalment since The Force Awakens was a masterpiece and Rouge One was even better. Let's hope director Rian Johnson and his writing carry the story of Star Wars on in the best way possible. 

Let me know your ideas down in the comments.