Never Mind Pop Film

Viewer: Han, bubbe, you don't have to explain every small detail of your backstory that was mentioned in the original trilogy.
Han: I was named Solo by an Imperial recruiter.
V: Wait, didn't you detail your father's entire career building Millenium Falcons? How do you not know your last name?
H: ...
V: ...
H: There's a prequel cameo in the third act.
V: Yeah, I'm just going to go ahead and leave, alright?
H: I have a good feeling about this.

"Luke Skywalker has vanished." No mention of taxes or blockades to be found anywhere. While not a significant sentence, those four little words signal that the prequels are a thing of the past, and a wave of relief washes over the faces of spectators in the dark auditorium. It's been thirty years since the events of Return of the Jedi, but the Rebels haven't had much time to rest. While the Empire vanished with the death of the Emperor, power seeks a vacuum, and the void is filled by The First Order and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver).

The only whereabouts of Luke's location are inside a BB-8 droid that ends up in the possession of young Rey (Daisy Ridley). Rey yearns for more but is trapped living as a scavenger on the unforgiving desert landscape of Jakku. This droid tasked with finding a reclusive Jedi offers her new purpose. Sound familiar? References to the original trilogy are sprinkled heavily throughout the film, and while the consistent call-backs restrict The F…

I could barely contain my excitement. Star Wars, a film I had probably watched maybe 20 or 30 times was going to be re-released theatrically. My parents weren’t big movie fans, but my uncle had offered to take me and my best friend to see it. A fitting choice considering it had been my uncle who introduced me to the Star Wars universe. He gave me the trilogy box-set after I had watched his copy of Batman (1989) so many times that I could quote lines by heart. As much as I loved Batman, Star Wars completely overwhelmed my five year old self. I loved movies already at a young age, but this was a phenomenon that the entire world could tap into.

A New Hope was now dubbed the “The Special Edition” and the picture was rumored to have millions of dollars in special effects added following it’s 20th anniversary. The inspiration to re-release the trilogy came after George Lucas saw what Industrial Lights & Magic had done with computer-generated effects for Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.…

Variety published their top ten scores of all-time today. Well, ten isn't the real answer, but with any list of importance ten is rarely the final number. Unsurprisingly, Ennio Morricone, Bernard Herrmann, Jerry Goldsmith and John Williams all appear on the list twice. The Mission taking the top spot was definitely not the consensus I had assumed would win. I would have figured Jaws would have made the list as well.

1."The Mission" (Ennio Morricone, 1986)
2."E.T." (John Williams, 1982)
3."Psycho" (Bernard Herrmann, 1960)
4."The Shawshank Redemption" (Thomas Newman, 1994)
5."Star Wars" (John Williams, 1977)
6."Lawrence of Arabia" (Maurice Jarre, 1962)
6."Once Upon a Time in the West" (Ennio Morricone, 1968)
8."Chinatown" (Jerry Goldsmith, 1974)
9."The Empire Strikes Back" (John Williams, 1980)
9."Planet of the Apes" (Jerry Goldsmith, 1968)
9."Vertigo" (Bernard Herrmann, 195…

Well, I picked a terrible week to move. Disney made major news today in announcing the purchase of LucasArts and, more shocking, that Star Wars will have new features released every two to three years. Newly hired Kathleen Kennedy will act as executive producer on Episode VII and George Lucas will be creative consultant. George Lucas released a statement shortly thereafter today:

For the past 35 years, one of my greatest pleasures has been to see Star Wars passed from one generation to the next. It’s now time for me to pass Star Wars on to a new generation of filmmakers. I’ve always believed that Star Wars could live beyond me, and I thought it was important to set up the transition during my lifetime. I’m confident that with Lucasfilm under the leadership of Kathleen Kennedy, and having a new home within the Disney organization, Star Wars will certainly live on and flourish for many generations to come. Disney’s reach and experience give Lucasfilm the opportunity to blaze new trails …

Jar Jar Binks debuted in magnificent 3-D this week. Love it, hate it, or somewhere in between? Leave your take in the comments below!

Unmistakably the best of the series. A progressive society where good and evil is presented in black and white. Star Wars was a breath of fresh air to moviegoers in the 70's where society was only shades of gray. Taxi Driver presented Travis Bickle as a hero, albeit a demented one. Here, Luke, Han and Leia are all entirely good heroes. So it came as a sucker punch that after the feel-good 'New Hope' its sequel was so dark.

Star Wars ended with so much going for the Rebel Alliance. Luke finished off the Death Star with relative ease, and seemingly the Empire was back on its heels. But alas, this was not the case. Vader now commands the Empire and will cease at nothing to destroy the Rebels. Things are not looking good for underdogs. Hoth, the current base of the Alliance is fending off one attack after another. After escaping certain death Luke and R2-D2 head to the Dagobah system to learn the teachings of Yoda.

The Empire Strikes Back presents the largest challenge for man…

Darth Vader is a powerful opponent, but he doesn't stack up too well against comic book superheroes.

The trick about defeating Darth Vader is that, for those not impervious to its effect, you have to avoid the lightsaber.

Opponent
OutcomeSuperman
This one is no contest. Superman could literally eat Darth Vader. Superman has been shown surviving a nuclear blast, and flying through stars, so the lightsaber could not harm Superman.Batman



Batman is Earth's greatest martial artist. If you consider that many characters are Jedi Hunter's in the Star Wars expanded universe, and that there are even a few in the canon, it's not at all hard to see Batman as being an equal of Vader's. As such, it's entirely within the realm of possibility that Batman could be a match for a Jedi.Magneto

If they were to fight, Magneto would just pull out all of the metal parts that keep Darth Vader alive.Wolverine



The outcome of this battle would definitely be affected by whether or not a li…