The first season of ANDOR ends with sky and stone, plus a brick to the face of fascism
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Well there it is, the best season of live action Star Wars so far.
Episode 10 of ANDOR is a manifesto, not a statement
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
The tenth episode of Andor brings the themes of the season even more into focus as our main characters try to break out of their cages from the last two episodes.
Episodes 8 and 9 of ANDOR put characters into all manner of cages
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
The end game of this season isn’t clear just yet, but we continue to see the ripple effects of the Aldhani heist.
OBI-WAN KENOBI uses a character study to recontextualize the Skywalker Saga
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Sorry, Grogu, but this is the best Star Wars since The Last Jedi.
Master the high ground: 5 of the best Obi-Wan Kenobi books and comics
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring
Hello there!
STAR WARS reignited a generation's imagination
by Kevin Bresnahan, Contributor
“We’re going to the movies tonight,” my friend said, “and you’re coming. You got to see this thing.”
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK taps into our waking life and reminds us to dream
by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, The Red Herring
"It's like something out of a dream…”
Celebrating May the 4th with the women of the Star Wars' animated series
by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer
These are some of my favorite women, mainly from Clone Wars and a few from Rebels, whose stories made me remember why Star Wars is so important to me.
The Tyranny of Fandom
by Matthew Waldron
In December, upon the release of The Last Jedi, an individual asked me on Reddit if I was a Star Wars “fan." It wasn’t a casual inquiry, it was a challenge. I was active in a thread where “fans” were raging against Rian Johnson and the decisions he made as the film’s writer/director. Not a single person was criticizing the quality of the script. Or the performances. No one had anything critical to say about where Johnson put his camera. No one was aghast at blurry, out-of-focus shots or anything remotely unprofessional. But many people were pissed because they’d spent, by their own choice, the past three years speculating about who Rey’s parents were, and didn’t like the answer they’d been given. I brought up the inherent dilemma behind criticizing a filmmaker’s work, not because of its quality, but because of its non-alignment with what you feel, as a “fan," you were “owed." I made the argument that Johnson owed no one anything beyond a commitment to his personal version. This was the point at which my “fandom” was called into question.
Read MoreStar Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi
Directed by Rian Johnson (2017)
by Francis Friel, The Projectionist
Unpredictability is always a virtue of good storytelling. Paul Thomas Anderson has said that, while it’s always smart to stay one step ahead of your audience, you need to let the audience know they’re being guided by a steady hand. One step ahead is good. Twenty steps ahead is arrogance. On the other end of the spectrum, we might find someone like David Lynch - operating from the rarefied air (or ocean, as he may call it) of a man at home in his own subconscious. But they can’t all be Lynch, being the holy master of modern American surrealism. They can’t all be Anderson, for that matter, asking bigger questions than mainstream cinema has any rights to answer - all while groveling in the dirt with the rest of us. So. There’s unpredictability - never tipping your hand, keeping a few narrative tricks up your sleeve, loading your plot with clever misdirections and twists… and then there’s Rian Johnson’s The Last Jedi.
Read More“Trouble Til The Robins Come”: Lucasfilm, Marvel, Lynch, and The Serialization Issue
by Francis Friel, The Projectionist
Right up front, I’ll tell you the truth. This is not really a review of Twin Peaks. I will touch on Episode 7 at the end, but my agenda here is different that usual. This is about storytelling. It’s about all the ways modern serialization fails to live up to its own standards, and how Twin Peaks: The Return is absolutely just fucking crushing it week after week.
Read MoreThe Best Policy
by Judson Cade Pedigo
Sometimes you just gotta lie. I don’t follow sports, politics, or the news (it’s fake now I hear) so sometimes the only common ground I have with people is movies. I’ve been a certified movie snob since 1994 (I got my certificate after denouncing The Lion King for being too hollow and derivative). Sometimes it’s better not to reveal my true feelings while in casual conversation. Yeah, X-Men Origins: Wolverine wasn’t bad (It was. Adamantium bullet my ass), I should probably go see The Accountant (nope), Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem used excellent lighting techniques to allow us to easily follow the plot and action (ok, maybe I never actually said that one). I once argued with Johan, my arch nemesis from the dorm, that American Pie was just as important as any Hitchcock movie. (Another fib, I didn’t actually believe that but it was fun putting that bee in his bonnet.) You’ve got to bend the truth a little but you start to run into trouble when you lie to yourself. A lie is not a lie if no one can hear it, right? Since movies are all that matter, a trespass against the cinema can be the greatest offense. Yeah, I’ve lied about movies, I’m not proud, and the biggest whopper of them all started as I sat in a darkened theater on May 19th, 1999 and first saw the words "Episode I: The Phantom Menace."
Read MoreMy Growing Cynicism for Star Wars
by Justin Robert Torres
We are in the age of sequels, remakes, and adaptations running rampant throughout the marketplace of film. It cannot be ignored, and because Marvel has had so much success with their business model, every other studio is trying their hand at building cinematic universes. As much as I love catching smaller films at the theater like Barry Jenkins' Moonlight or Noah Baumbach's Frances Ha, I also can't deny the power of a great blockbuster. With so much to choose from in the current market, it's easy to find out what is for you and what isn't for you. I like the Marvel films, but I never find myself being too excited for them. I hated myself for sitting through Batman v. Superman, so I don't necessarily care for the future of the DCEU. Personally, I don't have a stake in any franchise. There's not much I look forward to other than some smaller films released theatrically throughout the year.
Read MoreRogue One: A Star Wars Story
Directed by Gareth Edwards (2016)
by Susan Panaway
It’s been about a year since Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens was released. When this movie was announced, most Star Wars fans were pumped for it, but also very anxious. Would it be any good? Would they rely too much on past characters? Who shot first? However, it lived up to the hype. Like every good action/adventure film, it was fun. It felt like the audience was a bunch of estranged high school buddies reunited. We laughed, cried, and got nerdy together. Nostalgia at its finest.
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Can't Care - Week of June 20, 2016
Welcome to this week’s installment of Can’t Care, Moviejawn’s weekly roundup of all the entertainment news we just can’t care about.
Francis Friel, The Projectionist
Well-met, friends. Wanna know what I can't care about?
Darth Vader. In any flavor.
Can't Care - Week of May 9, 2016
Welcome to this week’s installment of Can’t Care, Moviejawn’s weekly roundup of all the entertainment news we just can’t care about.
Francis Friel, The Projectionist
Friends. Disney made a billion dollars this year. Isn't that great? Aren't you so proud of them? Aren't you so happy that we've successfully evolved past being excited for movies to come out, going to see them, talking about them with our friends, maybe even, if we have such an outlet, writing about them? We don't need that old way of enjoying things anymore! Now we can get excited about when Giant Devil-Worshipping Conglomerates announce how much fuckin' money they made! And how they utterly FUCKED Universal on how fast they were able to do it! Aren't you excited?? Don't you just... CARE??
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