• Inside Entertainment,  Media Rants

    Where does The Rise of Skywalker Go?

    Where does The Rise of Skywalker go? Given the New Trilogy’s slipshod construction, what can they offer us? A good friend, Tom, suggested the use of ‘Skywalker’ in the title will reference what the protagonists (I refuse to label them ‘our heroes’) call their new resistance. Because, yay, that’s so cool. Tom’s probably right. (If only you could use your power for good!) Possibly, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) wasn’t intended to be in this film, but given Carrie Fisher’s untimely passing, the filmmakers need some anchor to the Original Trilogy. We hear Luke’s narration in the teaser. We see Leia (Carrie Fisher) hug Rey (Daisy Ridley), which could be the…

  • Inside Entertainment,  Old vs New

    The Return of the Jedi vs The Rise of Skywalker

    The final movie in the Original Trilogy, Return of the Jedi (1983), is an unbalanced film. Harrison Ford had wanted George Lucas to kill off Han Solo; Ford thought that Solo no longer served a purpose in the story. He’s right. But nor did Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher), Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew), C3PO (Anthony Daniels), R2D2 (Kenny Baker), Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), and everybody other than Luke. Once Han is rescued, a plot is invented to keep the ensemble busy – taking down the shield generator so an assault can be launched on the new Death Star. Along the way, we meet some teddy bears who teach us about the…