Michael Arndt will join a select group when he writes “Star Wars: Episode VII,” slated for a 2015 release. Although there are four previous “Star Wars” movie writers among the six episodes, only two of them are recognized as having their work truly show up on screen — George Lucas, who wrote “A New Hope” […]
I’ve been doing occasional “Star Wars Flashback” entries, but I thought I’d take a break here and give a rundown of my top 10 “Star Wars” novelists. For geeks like me, it might provide a good debate; for newcomers, I outline the strengths of each author and select their best book.
Two stylized films recently released on DVD take unconventional approaches to love stories. In both cases, the ambition slightly outstrips the execution, but both “Safety Not Guaranteed” and “Moonrise Kingdom” held my attention and are worth a rental. The premise of “Safety Not Guaranteed” will make journalists laugh the same way doctors laugh at “Grey’s Anatomy.” A Seattle magazine […]
There are no spinoff TV series, movies or books, but almost nine years after “Angel” aired its final episode, the Buffyverse is thriving in comics. In fact, there are currently four titles going under the Season 9 banner: The regular titles “Buffy” and “Angel & Faith,” plus the miniseries “Spike: A Dark Place” and “Willow: Wonderland.”
TV review: Buffy’s little sister joins the cast, but “Buffy” avoids jumping the shark in its final WB season.
Drew Karpyshyn delivers a fun, fast-paced — and mostly forgettable — addition to “Star Wars” lore with the inexplicably titled “Annihilation” (November, hardcover), the fourth book overall, and Karpyshyn’s second, in the “Old Republic” series. Like most of his books, the plot and characters are simple and easy to follow. As makes sense for a franchise built […]
The situation “The Walking Dead” has set up this season, with the Woodbury camp versus the prison camp and all the conflicting allegiances and misunderstandings, provides almost inevitable thrills. And Sunday’s winter finale was no exception; in many ways, it gives us what we had been waiting for: A showdown between the two groups, Michonne meeting Andrea and […]
“Star Wars” has a limited yet rich history in the medium of full-cast audio dramas (which I’m distinguishing here from audiobooks, which have a single reader). I know I’m not alone among fans in saying that listening to the book-and-record audio dramas is how I spent a lot of my “Star Wars”-loving childhood. The recent […]
With the premise of a writer whose fictional dream girl magically comes to life, “Ruby Sparks” (now on DVD) seemed like a movie I would love. As it turns out, I merely liked it. Certainly, there is a lot of obvious fun to be had with the scenes where Calvin (Paul Dano) discovers Ruby (Zoe Kazan) lounging […]
Even though I’m an entertainment geek, and entertainment and technology often go hand-in-hand, I’m a technological laggard. There are problems with this, of course, but also some underrated perks, notably the ability to pick up entertainment products in outdated formats for chump change. For example, I recently acquired about 40 “Star Wars” audiobooks for about […]