At my local multiplex, I find the row behind the “extra leg room” seating also has extra leg room, at no additional cost (unless “extra leg room” has always actually been about the row behind you, with the benefit being that you don’t get kicked in the back of the chair as often).

Isn’t it though? Most of my university friends were of Indian descent, and they introduced me to some Bollywood stuff back in the early 00s. I liked a fair bit of it, but there was always a level of cheese and an amateurish feel that you just had to accept. But then I discovered Omkara and... wow!

If you can track down a copy, Omkara (an adaptation of Othello) is phenomenal. It’s got all the bells and whistles of mainstream Indian cinema (i.e. it’s full of songs), but the filmmaking is much more... uh... let’s call it sophisticated. The director, Vishal Bhardwaj (who also co-wrote the script and composed the…

“intentionally inscrutable”

Not so. Babylon 5 was specifically shot with both ratios in mind in an attempt at future proofing. The problem is that WB refused to pay (a miniscule amount) to have the effects produced in widescreen too.

I’d expect 4:3.

Apples and oranges. The Silmarillion was effectively a prequel, and published after the two novels.

I was actually thinking you meant a “previously on...” style segment at the start of the first episode that recaps the essential parts of the animated shows.

I would think Rebels is much more important for the backstory of Thrawn and the Ghost’s crew. With Ahsoka herself, I’d expect her Mandalorian appearances to be enough to jump into this show.

he’ll figure out a way of having the characters very slowly and deliberately tell you how they got where they are

I’m guessing there will be some sort of extended teaser

Do you really think that Eckstein would know, one way or the other? I don’t believe she’s directly involved in Ahsoka.

No, she saved Ethan and Grace from the last falling car (grabbing them at the bar just after the piano dropped), and then, up in a stable car, was able to give up a little of what she knew — it was about the only time she spoke in the film.

Ah... I don’t think she's dead.

As a slight aside (or to bring it back on topic) on the de-aging front, it’s interesting that McQuarrie specifically decided against it for the flashbacks in Dead Reckoning, largely because he thought the audience would instantly start critiquing it, regardless of quality, and that would take them out of the moment…

“If they can recognize a trope, trope bad.”

HBO’s position is likely that there’s no point halting production when 95% of the writing will be fine. It’s a long shoot and if anything absolutely needs changing, chances are high that they’ll still be in production and be able to do the necessary reshoots at minimal additional cost after the strike is over.

No. Oppenheimer is not in the same situation. It (as far as I know) was a SAG production, so those actors were expected to stop working.

I recently saw someone complaining about how the third movie’s “rabbit’s foot” was Abrams’ mystery box bullshit at its worst.

3-for-3? There’s Marie and Ilsa, but who’s the third?