This is movie week for me, the week before Christmas each year when I try to see as many of the hot movies of the year as I can. It’s part of slowing down, although not all that much. I work all day and hit a movie theater at night.  I love movies, and find few things are as  relaxing. Our Christmas Day movie will be La-La Land.

I saw two movies already this week, each as different from the other as it is possible to be.

Monday evening I saw Rogue One, billed as a Star Wars story, which it sort of is and isn’t, and tonight, Manchester By The Sea. Unlike the original Star Wars, the first of the epic, this is not a great movie. It is fun, entertaining, diverting, utterly predictable and almost indistinguishable from others in the series, except it has a powerful feminine hero – Felicity Jones as the very brave Jyn Erso, and a dashing love interest and fellow warrior, Diego Luna.

I enjoyed it, partly  because my expectations were in check. It has the Disney stamp on it, action and little real drama, great special effects, funny and light moments, wisecracks and stunning location shots and some glimpses into the evil Galactic Empire as it begins its conquest of the universe.

There are of course, way too many explosions and aerial battles to count or even keep track of, and I found the garbled plot too familiar. I’ve seen too many geeky Rebel pilots slam into those space shields in my life. The film’s stars, as always, are gorgeous.

And why does this seem so familiar? A giant Death Star capable of blowing whole planets to smithereens, a vibrant and fearsome Darth Vader, a desperate rush to find the Death Star’s structural weaknesses, a monumental space battle that does, like space, sometimes seems infinite.

And forgive me for asking, but why does the Empire need such a vast death start when they have countless troopers, destroyers and zippy fighter planes? I hate to think of their military budget, and those Death Stars always seem to have some flaw.

I’ve seen this movie before.

Having said that, I enjoyed it.  There is no better distraction from the pressures of life than a movie like this in the hands of studios like Disney. I am fond of bright colors, dazzling effects, bloodless violence, lots of laser beams and countless explosions.

And There is no new or amazing ground broken here, but I don’t think anyone will be disappointed, it is a spectacle, it does not brush the soul like the first movies in this series, but it is certainly entertaining and diverting.

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Tonight, Maria and I went to see Manchester By The Sea, which stars Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and Lucas Hedges. This is a movie about a tormented uncle forced to take care of his teenage nephew after the boy’s father dies suddenly. It is a wonderful movie, wrenching and relentless.

I think Affleck’s acting is some of the best and most affecting I have ever seen. Kenneth Lonergan never yields to Hollywood notions of romance, cheesy endings or sappy twists. The movie is about love, grief, hope and redemption. It is very powerful and very moving.

I ought to say that Maria thought it was  relentlessly and almost punishingly unforgiving and dark, and it’s fair to warn that this is, in many ways, true. It is not grisly or violent in any way, but it  is not a happy holiday,  movie, although I did find it uplifting and honest.

I think it’s about the things we accept in life, and about the nature of life itself.

It is also the best movie I have seen in many years. I greatly admire Lonergan for tossing aside the shallow conventions of so many Hollywood movies. This is a real movie about real life and every acting performance is stunning, as is the writing. The movie is already winning piles of awards and is certain to be an Oscar finalist.

I don’t want to give any of it away, unlike Rogue One, the plot actually does matter. I would very highly recommend it. I think it was neat to see these two very different movies back-to-back.  Sunday, off to the hot new movie musical La-La-Land, I am already in love with the trailers.