Category: Movie Analysis
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How do the movies in Star Wars stand up to the Bechdel test?
Do the characters in Star Wars — movies ostensibly depicting future lives and worlds — pass the Bechdel test? I was up too late one night and decided to think this through. What is the Bechdel test, you ask? It’s generally accepted as whether a work of fiction features at least two named women who…
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5 Older Movies We’d Love Remakes Of (And 5 That Are Perfect)
It is a truth universally acknowledged: a single movie in possession of a large following must be in want of a remake. At least, that’s how Hollywood executives seem to see things! Love ‘em or hate ‘em, the real truth is that remakes aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. And that’s even understandable, to some extent.…
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Watching Outbreak in the time of CoVid-19
I recently rewatched the 1994 disaster film Outbreak, because 1. I always loved that movie, 2. kind of dig diseases (I like science, okay?), and 3. there’s a real global pandemic happening right now. You’ve probably heard about that. Also, 4. I needed to get Peetimes for Outbreak, because I’m not the only person currently…
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Why Do Bad Guys Smoke in the Movies?
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Bad guys are smoking in the Movies It seems like smoking cigarettes is movie code for Villain Ahead. Why do the bad guys light up so much? It’s terrible for our lungs/longevity, but we’ve been brought up by the media to see smoking as cool and somewhat sexy (like a femme fatale), or miserably low-class…
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Movie Rant – Why I hated Underwater
I love Aliens and The Abyss; I’m a sucker for disaster and survival films, even if they aren’t wholly original. So, I was looking forward to watching Underwater. I caught it last night after rewatching Frozen 2 (and which I preferred to the original). But did I like Underwater? In a word, no. I almost…
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Is the girl from A Quiet Place deaf in real life?
Is the girl from A Quiet Place deaf in real life? In a word, yes. The girl, aptly played by Millicent Simmonds, is deaf and speaks American Sign Language. And she’ll definitely be in the follow-up film, but presumably older, wiser, and quieter. Representing Disability in A Quiet Place Actor-director John Krasinski pushed hard to…
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The Seven Droids We Love from Star Wars (and what exactly they do)
We love our Star Wars Droids, big and little, especially when they are funny or maybe cute. Moreso when they are funny AND cute — like R2-D2 and BB-8. Every live-action Star Wars movie (plus The Mandalorian) has at least one memorable Droid character tagging along with their human owners. (Yes, Droids are considered property.…
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Every Type of Star Wars Stormtrooper, Explained
So, I was making my own list of every type of Stormtrooper we see in Star Wars, and I found a definitive video explaining more types than I ever noticed. And I notice most things in science fiction films. One of the great things about Star Wars is the massive but oft-unmentioned world-building. The more…
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Star Wars – Death Stars and Planet Killers: Enough Already
Star Wars is stuck in a Death Star rut. Why is Lucasfilm so attached to Planet Killers? A New Hope opened with a super-weapon. They probably felt they had to up the stakes forever after. How many Star Wars movies feature a Death Star — or something like one? It’s been on my mind since…
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Star Wars Analysis – What does balance in the Force mean?
Since we first saw The Phantom Menace in 1999, audiences wondered what precisely it meant to bring balance to the Force. Anakin Skywalker was prophesied to “bring it” and at the time, we all assumed it meant to bring more Light Side and less Darkness. Which made no sense, since we all knew who Anakin…
