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Lots of Star Wars fans hate marketing-friendly Ewoks from Return of the Jedi with a passion (related: lots of Star Wars fans apparently hate everything that is good in life) and were likely holding out hope that Warwick Davis’ return in The Force Awakens didn’t necessarily mean that Ewoks would be back. But they’re about to be disappointed: new promotional materials indicate that Davis will reprise his role of Wicket the Ewok.

This list is in no particular order, and comes in various categories. Going back to the Civil War: GLORY GETTYSBURG For the World Wars: THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI. DAS BOOT. PATTON. THE GREAT ESCAPE. SCHINDLER’S LIST. THE DIRTY DOZEN. Vietnam War: FULL METAL JACKET

Accepting Emma Stone as an Asian-American in Aloha requires a certain suspension of disbelief and no small amount of magical thinking. In the Hawaii-set romantic comedy-drama, she portrays Allison Ng: an aggressively peppy Air Force fighter pilot of Chinese-Hawaiian-Swedish decent who falls for an existentially angst-y military contractor played by Bradley Cooper. But in order to process this idea of Stone as a bi-racial character, as someone whose genetic lineage can be traced back to the Middle Kingdom by way of Polynesia, you must first get past the obvious stumbling blocks: her alabaster skin and strawberry blond hair, her emerald...

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Since the official teaser trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice debuted online in April, fans and critics alike have been discussing the kind of Superman Zack Snyder is going to depict in his Man of Steel sequel. The controversy stems from Snyder's decision to cast Superman as a brooding, Dark Knight-like character, who cares more about beating up bad guys than saving people. The casting split has proved divisive among Superman fans: Some love the new incarnation, citing him as an edgier, more realistic version of the character. But Snyder's is a different Superman than the one fans...

There weren't as many fireworks at the Memorial Day weekend box office this year as newcomer "Tomorrowland" disappointed with a $32.2 million debut. The science-fiction adventure stars George Clooney and was directed by Brad Bird of "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol" renown. The Disney release is expected to pull in a lackluster $40.7 million for the four-day period. -snip- "Tomorrowland" had been expected to generate $40 million over the three-day period and $50 million over the four-day stretch. With a $180 million price tag, Disney faces an uphill climb to profitability. Not helping matters, overseas figures were an underwhelming $26.7...

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The dystopian images of Fury Road depart significantly from the Mad Max films of the 1970s and 1980s. Fury Road presents us with a world where motherhood is commodified to suit an elite class of males who wish to share their property and life ambitions only with other men. Women are hooked up to machines that pump milk from their breasts and held inside dismal barracks, gestating heirs for warlords who show no sexual interest in women. The men of this warrior ruling class derive all their ecstasy from the company of muscular young males eager to labor and soldier...

“Pitch Perfect 2” stopped the show at the box office this weekend, grossing an estimated $70.3 million in first place. That debut is about $5 million more than the entire domestic gross of the original film, and more than double the sequel’s $29 million budget. Heading into the weekend, analysts expected the sequel to premiere in the $40 million range. But not much about the “Pitch Perfect” franchise has made sense by traditional Hollywood rules. The original film, an acerbic comedy set in the low-stakes world of collegiate a capella singing, opened in September 2012—hardly a time of year known...

A well-known "men's rights activist" blog is calling for a boycott of the postapocalyptic film "Mad Max: Fury Road" for being a "feminist piece of propaganda posing as a guy flick." Author Aaron Clarey admits he has not seen the film yet, but his self-proclaimed "spidey sense" noticed that Charlize Theron "talked a lot during the trailers" for the film, and he said Tom Hardy only seemed to have cameo appearances. "Charlize Theron's character barked orders to Mad Max," writes Clarey on Return of Kings. "Nobody barks orders to Mad Max." Clarey did not like reading reviews commending Theron for...

You might want to hold onto your money until you read some reviews. I am reading internet scuttlebutt that the new Mad Max movie is a feminist movie disguised as an action flick. Information is still sketchy as the movie has not yet been released. One DUmmie saw a full screening and posted how delighted he/she was that the movie was feminist as well as blamed men and the 1% for the collapse of society. (I won't post the link but you can find it easily enough. It is a newer post.) I read elsewhere that the director or producer...

The final episode of AMC’s “Mad Men” this Sunday heralds the end of a TV era. The show’s seven seasons covered the turbulent decade from 1960 until 1970, dramatizing changing styles and social mores in the lives of “Mad Men” and women, or professionals in the Madison Avenue advertising industry. For those who aren’t regular watchers: A lot of the show’s male characters spent their time chasing young women around the office and a lot of the female characters spent their time trying to land or keep a husband. Critics have consistently lauded the series, not just for its entertainment...

As a huge television buff, I'm uniquely qualified to render this opinion: "Turn" is the best show currently playing on any network.It's the story of young father caught up in the American Revolution, who, trying to keep his head down and nose clean, ultimately decides to become a spy for the Continental Army. Based upon a book I'd neither read nor even heard of, Alexander Rose’s "Washington's Spies: The Story of America's First Spy Ring,” it adroitly weaves in the exploits of Abraham Woodhull with the better-known stories and events of the war.I was first drawn to it due its...

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$212.46. That is what the average family of four spent at a major league ballgame last year. For the budget-conscious, that price tag makes it mighty tempting to stay home and enjoy the boys of summer on TV—either a live game or a classic baseball movie. But watching some of the most fondly remembered films about the national passtime suggest that maybe both the game’s time and what made America great are passing. Here are five films that make the case.5. Moneyball (2011) Brad Pitt and Jonah Hill take the Oakland Athletics from a mediocre, going-broke franchise to a cash-cow...

Alejandro Monteverde and Eduardo Verastegui have produced and directed another great Catholic and family centered movie. This movie should be watched and enjoyed by all families. Little Boy is a movie about Pepper Flynt Busbee "Little Boy" (Jakob Salvati) who is often harassed and bullied by most of his peers, and which the whole town is soon harassing as well, based on his petite nature. It is only his father, James Busbee (Michael Rapaport) who is his only real companion and friend. James Busbee is however soon drafted to the military to fight in the Second World War, as London...

J.J. Abrams, the director tasked with bringing Star Wars back to the top of the crowded franchise heap, has always been happy to borrow. When he set out to make a new Star Trek and drag that moribund cinematic franchise back into blockbuster territory, he cheerfully swapped in some very familiar visual language to help it over the hill. Early on in the film, James Kirk (Chris Pine), nursing a desire to transcend his farmboy life, rides a motorcycle to see the U.S.S. Enterprise being built at a shipyard, and gazes up at it longingly. Star Wars fans would connect...

There are classic films, like the ones on TCM and AMC, and there are modern films. There are few modern classics. "Little Boy," in theaters April 24, could be a modern classic. The film is set in a Southern California town during World War II. A couple's oldest son, London Busbee (David Henrie), is drafted, but is barred from service because of his flat feet. The father, James Busbee (Michael Rapaport), goes instead and his youngest son, Pepper Flynt Busbee, 8, beautifully played by Jakob Salvati, is devastated. Pepper and his father have a very close relationship (they call...

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