The difference was not that they were summoned by a man or a woman, it was (within the narrative) supposed to be that there was some sort of hope/a plan.

The Last Jedi smartly burns that up, and says that Star Wars is going to chart a new path — one in which there are no Jedi and Sith

Only (3) could be considered any sort of “new direction” for the franchise.  (5) is the exact same thing as before; the Rebellion/Resistance was never 2 or people in a spaceship.

But in this case, it’s also a dig at its predecessor, a repudiation of Johnson’s attempt to break free of the past and take the narrative in a new direction

I wouldn’t call that a subplot, that was backstory for Pitt’s character. It establishes why he’s at a professional low ebb (which in turn is important for the relationship between Rick and Cliff, as Rick is the only one still trying to get him work), as well as his potential capacity for violence.  It’s supposed to…

The detail was stunning but in hindsight countless scenes had no real point.

Booksmart is probably my favourite film of the year so far, though that comes with the caveat of my not having had the opportunity to see a number of the year’s other acclaimed releases (e.g., Parasite) yet. Making a mainstream-style comedy that is both tightly-written and distinctive on a visual/aesthetic level has…

That doesn’t make much sense, though, Osterman didn’t make a choice to be the way he was.  His personality was shaped by his inhuman perspective on life as granted by his powers.

I mean, the questionableness of anyone having Doctor Manhattan’s power and trying to use it “for good” was one of the major themes of the source work.

On a plotting level, this all came together fairly neatly. Thematically, some of it feels a bit too tidy to me; especially Veidt getting arrested for his crimes after all these years. For a sequel to a comic that was famous for not giving tidy, happy endings, that felt a bit too good to be true.

On the issue of Spielberg having to work around the limitations of the mechanical shark and by many counts (his own included) having greater success in generating suspense, it’s interesting to contrast that with Jurassic Park (a movie we’ll be talking about several columns hence). Ebert complained in his review of the…

I was confused why Hiram thought revealing that Veronica was a successful small business owner was going to harm her college application prospects.

I think that slightly overstates it.  The HFPA does love its stars, but they’ve had more than a few obscure nominees over the years.  In the TV realm, especially, they’re always chasing the flashy and new, and they’re also, due to the small nominating pool, much easier to lobby than other awards bodies.  That’s why…

Luckily, Midge and Susie pulled out of the commercial for the terrible, racist politician.

A lot of that was unintentional, though, compared to here, where we’re clearly meant to think she lacked judgement.

It’s early 1960 at most, I believe, so Lenny lives another six years.

I kind of wish Luke Kirby was playing a character inspired by Lenny Bruce rather than the actual Lenny Bruce, because the possibility of Midge and his character would be so intriguing otherwise.  The actors have such great chemistry.

Minor anachronism: there’s no way that Susie would know who Peter O’Toole was in 1959/early 1960 (I’m not entirely clear on the time). He was at that point a West End stage actor who wouldn’t make his film debut for another year.

I was amused that Veronica’s interpretation of how to get away from her father was to “kill” him by entering into high-stakes business competition with him.

My only disappointment is that Hiram did not have a more comically appalled reaction when Veronica said she was going to Yale.