It’s remarkable the effect an ending can have on a story. A really good ending leaves you feeling fulfilled. Consider Casablanca, where Rick’s last-minute change of heart is the culmination of his character throughout the film as his cynicism fades. Or Inception, where the uncertain top drives home the question of reality that has permeated… Continue reading Endings Are Hard
Tag: Movies
Dark Troopers (And Reality)
The Dark Troopers first showed up in Star Wars: Dark Forces, a computer game released in 1995. They were a secret project by the Empire, a new generation of Stormtroopers: ones that were droid and not human, lethal and dangerous. Dashing rogue Kyle Katarn put a stop to that and on the adventures go. My… Continue reading Dark Troopers (And Reality)
Story Language
A while ago, Merriam Webster (y’know, the dictionary) published an article that I found fascinating. It was about language as it’s used in Star Wars and it’s a short and interesting read. The gist of it is this: In Star Wars, George Lucas used a lot of plain, English words to create his world. There’s… Continue reading Story Language
The Speech of The Colonizer
Around the lead up to Captain America: Civil War and again when Black Panther came out, there was some discussion online about T’Challa’s accent. The big question was how would the king speak? Popular thought posits that regality sounds 'proper,' and that 'proper' would be an English-tinged accent. When we, in pop-culture, think of kings… Continue reading The Speech of The Colonizer
Discussing Invasions in Committees
When you think Star Wars you don’t really think about the nitty-gritty of politics. Sure, you’ve got the admirals aboard the Death Star in A New Hope talking about dissolving the Senate and all that, but honestly, that’s about it. This is a space Western, we’re not dealing with boring politics here. Unless, of course,… Continue reading Discussing Invasions in Committees
Anti-Climatic
I’m still thinking about Pacific Rim, because, man, what a movie. The obvious awesome moment of it all comes during the Hong Kong battle. Two Kaiju attack the city, an unprecedented event. They take out two of the Jaegers defending the city and incapacitate Striker Eureka, the strongest of the lot. The task of saving… Continue reading Anti-Climatic
Pacific Rim (During an Apocalypse)
Today is a good day to rewatch Pacific Rim. But then, honestly, aren’t most days? For the past few months, I’ve been ruminating on the apocalypse in the back of my mind, owing to the whole, y’know, everything going on around us. While replaying The Last of Us, part of the game rung hollow, as… Continue reading Pacific Rim (During an Apocalypse)
Lightsabers
Hi. I’m twenty-nine years old, and when my mind wanders, it starts to think about lightsabers. One of the many many things that make Star Wars so cool is the lightsaber: in a world with laser guns and space ships, there are a select group of people who forego all of that in favor of… Continue reading Lightsabers
Defeat
I’ve had Star Wars on my mind as of late, partially because I just binged the entire final season of Clone Wars, and partially because thinking about Star Wars is more or less my default state. Anyway, I’d like to point out that Empire Strikes Back is a movie about failure and defeat. It’s an… Continue reading Defeat
Parasite Won
Like many people who claim to not care about award shows, I do begrudgingly give a crap about the Oscars. There’s a reason; it’s effectively a barometer for what is considered a Good Movie for a given year, and even if it’s a horribly skewed system that prefers a certain type of film, it remains… Continue reading Parasite Won
Essays, Not Rants! 