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Tolkien world experienced two huge events this month.
Amazon announced last week the diverse cast for its new Lord of the Rings series. Shortly thereafter, Christopher Tolkien, J. R. R. Tolkien’s editor and the guardian of his father’s legacy, died. (Hopefully, there was no connection between the events.) (more…)
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Ben Novak
Hitler and Abductive Logic: The Strategy of a Tyrant
Lanham, Md.: Lexington Books, 2014
“Search your feelings. You know it to be true.”
Ben Novak’s Hitler and Abductive Logic is one of the most exciting academic books I have ever read, a daring and imaginative synthesis of philosophy, history, biography, and literature. (more…)
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In memory of Raven.
Even I didn’t expect Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to be this bad. It is simply a terrible movie: derivative, incoherent, arbitrary, superficial, and deeply boring and uninvolving—despite, or maybe because of, the frenetic action sequences, dazzling duels, and effects so special they’ll leave carbon scoring on your eyeballs. (more…)
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“Help us, Dave Filoni. You’re our only hope.”
On December 20th, J. J. “Death Star” Abrams and Disney Corp. will complete the destruction of the Star Wars saga that many of us have loved since childhood, while raking in untold millions by cynically exploiting nostalgia for the mythos they are desecrating. So pass the popcorn, because I’ll be right there, dear readers, to review it for you. (more…)
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I had a bad feeling about this.
It wasn’t just Solo‘s cursed production history: the original directors were sacked near the end of shooting, and Ron Howard was brought in to finish the movie, reshooting 70 percent of it. (more…)
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Even as New Star Wars steps into the past of its original characters, it steps further from what originally defined it. (more…)
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If only! This film can be called entertaining, but certainly not “good.” Most of the time I was holding my hands out in laughing disbelief at the shockingly vulgar, transparent, and trite antics of the producers in this naked cash grab. (more…)
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Greg Johnson and John Morgan discuss Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Also, see Trevor Lynch’s review here. See also E;R’s “The Farce Engorges” video. (more…)
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The Last Jedi isn’t an awful film. Not Force Awakens awful. But it is pretty bad. Down there at the bottom of the scrap heap, with The Force Awakens and The Phantom Menace. The question on my mind was whether The Force Awakens was just a Phantom Menace moment, a rocky start to a trilogy that redeemed itself with two pretty good films. (Yes, I like Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. Fight me.) But no, it was not to be. It was not hard, of course, for The Last Jedi to improve upon The Force Awakens. (more…)
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Greg Johnson and John Morgan inaugurate a series of movie podcasts by discussing three recent science fiction movies: the thoughtful and suspenseful Arrival, plus Passengers (reviewed here), and Rogue One (reviewed here). (more…)
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Warning: a few minor spoilers
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Rogue One is quite simply one of the best Star Wars movies ever. It has an interesting plot, a tight script, good pacing, uniformly good acting, excellent special effects, amazing sets, spectacular new worlds, and dazzling battle scenes. I really loved this movie. (more…)
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Übersetzt von Deep Roots, English original here
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Der neue „Star Wars“-Film ist genau das, was ich mir darunter aufgrund der Vorschauen und der Tatsache vorgestellt hatte, daß J. J. Abrams der Regisseur war, ein so vulgärer und kunstloser Filmemacher, daß er Jerry Bruckheimer wie Ingmar Bergman aussehen läßt. (more…)
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German translation here
Video Version here. Audio Version: To listen to the audio in a player, click here. To download the mp3, right-click here and choose “save link as” or “save target as.” To subscribe to our podcasts, click here
The new Star Wars movie is exactly what I deduced it would be from the trailers and the fact that it was directed by J. J. Abrams, a filmmaker so vulgar and artless that he makes Jerry Bruckheimer seem like Ingmar Bergman. (more…)
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English original here
Wenn Science-Fiction typischerweise „progressiv“ und Fantasy-Literatur „rückwärtsgewandt“ ist, dann brauchen wir eine dritte Kategorie für die sechs Dune-Bücher von Frank Herbert (1920-1986) – gar nicht zu reden von George Lucas’ sechs Star Wars-Filmen –, die futuristische Sci-Fi-Elemente mit den archaischen Werten und magischen Welten der Fantasy verbinden.
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German translation here, Greek translation here
If science fiction is quintessentially “progressive” and fantasy literature is “reactionary,” then we need a third category for the six Dune books by Frank Herbert (1920–1986)—not to mention George Lucas’ six Star Wars movies—which combine futuristic, sci-fi elements with the archaic values and magical universes of fantasy.
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Do Imperial Stormtroopers have honor?
They are organized in fighting teams. They are expected to show strength and courage, and to demonstrate mastery of weaponry and fighting tactics. (more…)
time: 13:29