“Let the past die,” says Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) to Rey (Daisy Ridley) at a pivotal moment in The Last Jedi. It’s a surprising line to hear in the eighth episode of a 40-year-old saga. It also perfectly captures writer-director Rian Johnson’s approach to Star Wars. Unlike J.J. Abrams’ The Force Awakens, a showcase for […]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
I paid attention to the little things in The Force Awakens. Some of these were visual — the small creature with eyes set apart like a hammerhead shark poking its head out of the sand, the vulturous creature picking at the remains of a ship as if it were a carcass. Others were musical, like […]
Is Attack of the Clones Really That Bad?
Last week, Diego Crespo of The Waffle Press invited me to share my thoughts on one of the most maligned Star Wars films, Attack of the Clones. I dreaded suffering through the film again and anticipated a bloodbath of a conversation, but I have to say – even I was rather surprised at my reaction to revisiting one of the […]
Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 14
“Beyond the Wilds” marks a return to the main plot of Book 4: Balance after last week’s tangential clip show. Korra continues to work through her traumatic past with Zaheer. Meanwhile, the spirit vines in Republic City react violently to Kuvira’s assault on the swamp and the banyan grove tree. J and I begin our conversation speculating […]
Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 11
The Legend of Korra is back with the deeply plot-driven episode, “Enemy at the Gates.” Kuvira has arrived at Zaofu with her army and Korra is back in the picture as Suyin tries to decide how she’s going to deal with the incursion. Meanwhile, Bolin and Varrick discover Kuvira may skew more evil than they’d anticipated […]
Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 8
Book 4 of The Legend of Korra continues to impress with its second episode, “Korra Alone.” After missing the Avatar almost entirely last week, this episode catches us up on her goings-on since the showdown with the Red Lotus. J and I begin our conversation talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender, and speculate whether Zuko is […]
Ember Island Airwaves: Episode 6
Well, here we are. Perhaps the best season of The Legend of Korra to date has come to its inevitable conclusion. Josh and I were spectacularly wrong about most of our predictions, but the finale generated some fascinating speculation about Book 4. Will Korra ever be able to access her past lives again? Has Suyin finally esablished her allegiance to the […]
Summer Box Office Saturated with Explosions
A decorated gladiator steps out into the sun, brandishing two swords while donning finely detailed armor. Around him, hundreds of men and women line the seats of a massive arena, wildly screaming his name. He walks forward to address his opponent, a Roman slave whose character design is the product of meticulous behind-the-scenes scrutiny. After […]
On Abrams, Star Wars and Episode VII
After rumors started really picking up about the next director of the Star Wars franchise, Disney released a statement officially confirming that J.J. Abrams, director of the 2009 reboot of Star Trek and the more recent Super 8, will head up Episode VII. So the guy who successfully resurrected an old science fiction show has been assigned to another […]
A New Hope for Genre Designation
Since 1977, there has been an epic battle raging between two of the biggest franchises in popular culture. Fans of Star Trek fans and Star Wars have been at each other’s throats for years, periodically culminating in films like Kyle Newman’s farcical road trip flick Fanboys, but I have never understood why; from what I can tell, the only thing the […]
