Can't and won't argue that the storytelling couldn't be better — this was just the first of the many, many times they return to the Tatooine well. But I also want to defend the episodic nature of the films, old and new. Like the Flash Gordon serials, they were meant to jump boldly around from location to location…

I think Chewie's presence can be explained in terms of Luke needing all the allies he could get while in the midst of Jabba's entourage. Having Chewie 'get caught' was a way to ensure he'd be on that skiff (and help defend a largely defenseless Han when shit hit the fan).

I don't agree. Minor plot holes and tonal fumbles aside, the opening act of Jedi is meant to establish that Luke is now a badass Jedi. Which one wouldn't necessarily expect given the events of the previous film, and which has significant bearing on the movie's final act.

Jedi gets a lot of stuff right, and I never really had a problem with the ewoks, but when I rewatch it now it just seems so dull and incompetently directed compared to the first two. Like none of the actors other than Hamill and McDiarmid even seem to give a shit.

Chase was in his 30s when he started SNL, so McHale's age probably isn't far off from Vacation-era Chase. I can't quite see the resemblance, but I'm interested in seeing what McHale does with the role.

I read Patton's latest book a few weeks ago and found his stories about being a founding writer for Mad TV to be really interesting. I never realized he wrote the Gump Fiction sketch, but thinking about it, well yeah, of course he did.

You ain't lying. I recently watched Foxcatcher, a thoroughly mediocre and even arguably kinda bad movie, then came here to read Dowd's assessment of it from a year or so ago. If anything, I thought his C+ was a little generous. But the comments section was up in arms, saying he was being a snob and "going against the…

It's all about personality, dude. I mean, Steve Agee has dated hot chicks. And he probably doesn't even have a cool story about hanging out with Bruce Campbell.

I love how her reaction to that was, Yeah, I'm into that. Let's do it.

As do lots of working class people whose livelihoods have been affected by his government shutdowns/incessant, petulant threats thereof.

I tend to think that the "hate" vote is going Trump's way, while the "ignorant" vote is going Cruz's way. Anti-immigrants love Trump — and I mean, they REALLY love Trump — while people actually dumb (or intellectually lazy/dishonest) enough to believe that electing someone absolutely unwilling to compromise for the…

In the context of the explanation, though, if this is just a media analysis, the "he's a dick and nobody likes him" line refers to the media and why they don't want to talk about him. Clearly, the guy won, lots of people like him (or at least don't hate him), but the article isn't talking about that; it's talking…

Re the French thing, it really bugged me when Frasier disregarded Cheers continuity like that. And that's no minor character trait: of course Cheers' lovably pompous Frasier Crane speaks fluent French. It couldn't be any other way.

He told a story on the Comedy Bang Bang podcast last week about going on Roker's show, Today or whatever it is, with Scheer to promote their special. They set up a comedy bit with Roker, and he apparently immediately bailed on it, making them look stupid (as I understood it, they were supposed to feed Roker lines to…

that piece of shit, he left me high and dry!

THAT's the movie responsible for that fucking song?? Yeesh.

Kilborn's Daily Show wasn't the ratings powerhouse or cultural phenomenon that Stewart later achieved, but it was liked well enough at the time, and gained a not inconsiderable following during that initial two-year period. I certainly loved the show back then, and remember how big a deal it was when they scored Bill…

Looks like those clowns in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have done it again. What a bunch of clowns.

Yeah, I'm sure a deal with a theatrical distributor will be more profitable for them if they don't stream it right away. There's also probably a technical process involved in converting it (unless it was shot digitally). On the other hand, I'll watch it tonight if it's ready to go. I have the time, and I have the…

Can they make it streamable, like, right away? even before it hits theaters? It's neat to think that independent films can be made widely available to audiences right after or even during their festival debuts (if they're good enough to get bought of course).