July Anniversary

Let's take a moment to celebrate the birth of Harry James Potter. Oh, and these movies:

You'd Best Start Believin' in Ghost Stories...

As I mentioned in my Lone Ranger review, I saw a movie on my birthday ten years ago with the same star, director, and writing team as that one. It was a movie I didn't think would go anywhere, but it ended up becoming one of my favorites of all time.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl is ten years old this month.

Kemosabe

Have I really gotten so cynical about mainstream criticism that the second something is said to be a flop, I naturally assume it must be an underrated and misunderstood gem? This was the feeling I had when I decided my birthday film this year be the new "Lone Ranger" film. Everyone was saying it sucked, and I could only find one theatre still playing it, so naturally I said "Gotta get me some of that, make up my own damn mind."

Though I confess that as the lights dimmed, I got a sinking feeling that maybe there was a reason everyone hated it. Maybe the critics were right for a change. Did I just drag my family to a dud just because I no longer trust what I read online?

Hi-Yo, Spoilers, AWAYYYYYY!!!!!

Birthday 2013 Post-Mortem

I used to really look forward to my birthdays because everyone would go all-out on presents for me when I usually couldn't acquire things the rest of the year. As I've gotten older and money has gotten tighter from everywhere, I can't count on it like I used to. But that's okay, because when I do get something, no matter how small, it means all that much more.

Phantom Phinds: Anakin's Speedway

(With Apologies to The Phantom Menace: The Holiday)

So my Wife and I were at Savers yesterday, just looking around, and I saw this:

Thinking this looked hilarious and adorable, I went to show my wife how hilarious and adorable is was. Seeing as how it was $3.99 for this and another kids game she wanted to have for work, we decided to actually get it.

2 Happy 7 Birthday 2 to 7 Me...

Today is the 27th. Today, I turn 27.

This is not wholly the reason why 27 is my favorite number.

The phenomenon described at this site has more to do with it.

More B-Day news to come in the following days...

Celebrate - No Column?! Come on!!!

So my Jedi News editor, lucky duck, is at Celebration Europe, and as that news is dominating the page my column is getting pushed to next week, so stay tuned!

Every Angry Bird has a Beginning

(Originally Written for Jedi News)

Getting Places

So I didn't know until today that one could listen to a podcast without owning some form of pod. I feel like an idiot.

I'm also very humbled, since my esteemed Jedi News editor Mark Newbold was interviewed for a podcast called Bald Solo. The whole thing is very interesting listening, but I'm mentioning it here because at around the 23-24 minute mark, Mr. Newbold mentions me and my work by name, most favorably. Makes me guilty I haven't mentioned his prolific work here before.

Mark Newbold does a fantastic job, and I am thankful for the opportunity he has given me to write for Jedi News.

Some other Star Wars news broke today, but I'll save that for my JN article this week....

The Other Skywalker Children

(Originally written for Jedi News)

George Lucas is a huge fan of Akira Kurosawa, and one of his favorite Kurosawa films is The Hidden Fortress. There are several homages to this film in the Saga, but perhaps the most well-known is in the characters of C-3PO and R2-D2, whom Lucas specifically stated were meant to be the perspective from which the story of A New Hope is told. Just like the peasants Tahei and Matashichi.

50 Ways to Say Goodbye: The Geek Version

That's cool but if my friends ask where you are I'm gonna say...

Seven Reasons Why The Phantom Menace Matters

(Originally Written for Jedi News)

When I posted my May the 4^th review of The Phantom Menace, I was shocked – SHOCKED – to discover a comment saying that the film was unnecessary! That it didn’t serve the overarching story enough to justify its existence! That the events that mattered could fit easily into a ten-minute prologue! And this is from someone who claims to enjoy the movie!