• Inside Entertainment,  Media Rants

    Embracing the Mess

    An interesting criticism of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) is that it’s ‘fan service’. I wasn’t aware that fans desired plot holes, shallow characterisations, contrived narrative, an incomprehensible edit, and the return of a villain long dead. They were never on my wish list. I don’t think they were on anybody’s. The Rise of Skywalker isn’t fan service. It’s damage control. It’s Disney backtracking from what they’ve given us and trying to find the Star Wars in their Star Wars. And they accomplish that in the tiniest and briefest ways. The Rise of Skywalker puts the trio of main characters in an adventure together. It gives Rey an…

  • Inside Entertainment,  Media Rants

    Relating to Characters: Part II

    Last week, I looked at the first six of twelve characters that I felt I could relate to. I should clarify that the twelve characters aren’t the only characters I feel I can relate to But for the purposes of these blogs, I’ve tried to make my selections eclectic, and also focused on more extraordinary stories to illustrate that you can create relatability anywhere and with anybody if you put enough thought into how that character is portrayed, the journey they’re going to take, and how they’re going to deal with the obstacles they face. So, continuing on from last week …   Buffy Summers – Buffy: The Vampire Slayer…