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Critics screened the film earlier this week, and with the reviews rolling in, we've compiled a roundup of what they're saying, and in an effort to be as spoiler-free as possible, we only included parts that don't specifically talk about the plot. "Reinvigorating the franchise with a welcome surge of energy, warmth and excitement after the misbegotten cycle of prequels released between 1999 and 2005, incoming writer-director J.J. Abrams seems to have had the original three films firmly in mind when he embarked on this monumental new undertaking, structured as a series of clever if sometimes wobbly callbacks to a...

There were “smiling faces” from the crowds exiting the Los Angeles premiere of The Force Awakens on Monday night. Amongst these, presumably, were Disney executives ecstatic that the $4bn they paid George Lucas for franchise rights looks to have been a sound investment. Initial reactions from all three screening rooms where the film was shown for the first time – as well as from social media – suggest that JJ Abrams has the chops to please both critics and fans, and that The Force Awakens may well recoup at least half the $4bn by itself. A journalist for the Hollywood...

Suzanne and I went to see The Peanuts Movie. (Yes, we like kids’ movies. They often contain metaphysics. I have long said that one of my very favorite metaphysical movies is the 1971 Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.) I love Peanuts, so this movie appealed to me. The Peanuts Movie centers around Charlie Brown’s pursuit of The Little Red-Haired Girl, with a delightful subplot regarding Snoopy’s latest novel, in which he, as The World War One Flying Ace, is chasing a female canine flying ace named Fifi. Fifi gets shot down by the Red Baron and Snoopy, of course,...

I just finished watching the Amazin series The Man in the High Castle. I have not read the book, but if anyone has seen the show I have a question. Is the end of the tenth show the end of the book/story? I've not seen there being a second season do did the book end w the Trade Minister waking up you-know-where? (I'm trying to avoid spoiling it for anyone who hasn't seen it). How important a are the films? Was J.Blake a spy or a member of the resistance?

The spy/espionage sub-genre of movies is in no danger of petering out. This year alone brought us big films like The Man From U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Spectre, the latest James Bond adventure; not to mention news that another big spy franchise (Jason Bourne) will be continuing, as well. With so many spies out there playing cloak and dagger games across the silver screen, it’s not surprising that there could be some creative bleed-over between franchises. Mission: Impossible 5 and James Bond 24 were especially similar: both featured stories where the franchise hero had to uncover a...

It’s okay to feel a little trepidation before going to see The Peanuts Movie. After all, it was only a couple of months ago that the powers that be decided what the world really needed was a Muppets television show full of penis jokes and pessimistic cruelty. If the folks entrusted with Jim Henson’s creations were willing to submit Kermit and Fozzy to that kind of butchery, why should Charlie Brown and Snoopy be any safer? Well, let those trepidations slide away, because, to paraphrase Charles M. Schulz, happiness is a film about a warm puppy. The best way...

A license to kill is also a license to not kill,” M lectures his new boss in the 24th James Bond film, “Spectre.” Well, it’s not a license to bore as much as this bloated drag manages to do. After a smashing opening sequence with a rooftop chase set against Day of the Dead observances in Mexico City, we’re plunged into a patchy plot (basically the same as the last “Mission: Impossible” outing) that’s little more than an excuse for random homages to the series’ illustrious past — reminding us how utterly mediocre this one is.

Texas senator Ted Cruz said the Rebel Alliance in George Lucas's Star Wars films are "unequivocally" the good guys. The Republican presidential candidate told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Tuesday evening the question over which side in the original three movies, the Rebels and the all-powerful Galactic Empire, was good and bad, was "not even close." Cruz's stance goes against strong evidence that the Empire helped solve a crisis of security and order following the fall of the Old Republic sometime long ago in a galaxy far, far away. The Tea Party favorite also dismissed arguments that the Empire's destruction of Alderaan,...

Allegory Examples in Literature Below are some famous examples of Allegory in Literature: 1. “Animal Farm”, written by George Orwell, is an allegory that uses animals on a farm to describe the overthrow of the last of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II and the Communist Revolution of Russia before WW II. The actions of the animals on the farm are used to expose the greed and corruption of the revolution. It also describes how powerful people can change the ideology of a society. One of the cardinal rules on the farm for the animals is: “All animals are equal but...

Here’s a fun little secret about Politics Twitter, a very narrow, very coastal, very annoying corner of the Internet of which I am regrettably a part: Every time news about the Star Wars franchise has flared up over the past few years, Politics Twitter takes the opportunity to debate whether or not the Galactic Empire is evil. I am being serious. This is how we journalists spend our time, usually during work hours. Anyway, the Star Wars news this time around was the new trailer that dropped on Monday for Star Wars: Episode VII —The Force Awakens.

The internet is full of impressive amounts of very important news today, as per usual – Joe Biden’s “will he or won’t he” crescendo is reaching its apex, Canada elected its Obama, the CIA director’s personal email account was hacked, Gilmore Girls is coming back… but there is nothing, NOTHING, more important than Star Wars, so today let’s talk about the new trailer for The Force Awakens, less than two months away from release, which dropped during an edition of Monday Night Football featuring frequent Manningface. You have already seen it, so watch it again. And prepare for some analysis...

I'm wondering if anyone else on FRee Republic has seen Bridge of Spies, the new Spielberg movie? I don't see a review here, so I'll start with mine. However, I'm really interested in other opinions. The movie was a little slow moving, but gripping and attention-holding to the very end. My concern is its accuracy. It says in the disclaimer right up front that it is "inspired by true events". Yet, the tale is spun as if it is all Gospel. Somehow, I doubt some of it, so I'm rushing to Google this AM to find out what is true...

There's much to sadly shake your head at in Pan, a sort of Peter Pan Begins that manages the unlikely feat of making battles between flying pirate ships a crushing bore. Most miserably, there's the great heap of action set pieces that are easier to wait out than to track with an instrument so primitive as the human eye—perhaps the singularity is nearing, and director Joe Wright's computers are whipping these scenes up exclusively for the enjoyment of advanced artificial intelligences ... But here's perhaps the most egregious betrayal of audience intelligence in this latest go at monetizing those aspects...

***Episode 002 of Uncertain Tomorrow is now in motion. Our goal for Episode 002 is to expand on this storyline, but with several enhancements!

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...But viewers have criticized the rap biopic for glossing over Dr. Dre’s history of violence against women, particularly the 1991 attack against journalist Dee Barnes.... “That must have been how it looked as Dr. Dre straddled me and beat me mercilessly on the floor of the women’s restroom at the Po Na Na Souk nightclub in 1991".... While the director may have been right to not show the incident, Barnes says it should have been mentioned. “When I was sitting there in the theater, and the movie’s timeline skipped by my attack without a glance, I was like, “Uhhh, what...

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...I stayed up to watch the end and now I'm going to sleep. I enjoyed this, I think you will too. "The Battle of Vienna"...historical drama, the Catholic Church and Renaissance Europe are threatened and outnumbered by the armies of Islamic jihad. Ran across it browsing, never seen it before. Pretty good.