On of the key selling points of the Star Wars saga was the wide variety of characters it managed to pack in. The films showed characters from many walks of life, including farmboys, princesses, scoundrels, bounty hunters and warrior monks. However, we are rarely given a glimpse of how everyday people are affected by galactic politics. (more…)
The Lord of the Rings is the story of an epic quest to destroy the one ring, an evil artifact created by the dark lord Sauron that threatens to destroy the free world. It is a deeply touching story, focusing on themes such as bravery, friendship, determination, etc. One thing that many fail to notice, however, is the story’s strong environmentalist message. (more…)
The lightsaber. An elegant weapon for a more civilised age. We all remember the iconic weapon as the graceful energy sword used by the Jedi Order (and their Sith adversaries). It was beautifully simple. (more…)
One of the greatest failings of the Star Wars Prequel Trilogy is the fact that it serves as a terrible prequel to the original films. In fact, it almost seems like George Lucas didn’t intend for it to lead into the Original Trilogy at all, with a handful of half-assed explanations hastily whacked on to the end of Revenge of the Sith. (more…)
Ever since the horror that was Super Mario Bros. (1993), video games have increasingly become the target of filmmakers, who want to chime in on a games reputation and produce a poorly-made movie adaptation of that game. (more…)
We all know Hogwarts as that magical place of learning that we wish we’d been accepted into (I’m still waiting for my letter). The grand castle is a big step up from most muggle secondary schools, full of secret passageways, moving paintings and strange lessons (the nearest our school got to herbology was when someone started growing weed on the roof.) (more…)
When the Lord of the Rings first came out in 2003, many casual moviegoers complained at what seemed like a never-ending stream of extra endings – the screen fades to black, but just as you’re about to get up form your cinema seat, you’re subjected to yet another scene to further wrap things up. (more…)
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is full of magical items and useful artifacts, many of which appear in the films (and books). However, Potter and the gang seem to have developed amnesia regarding a few enchanted objects, as a number of items that appear in the films would have been incredibly useful to have during the final battle against Voldemort. It’s worth pointing out that I haven’t read the books so feel free to bombard me with threatening comments if you disagree. (more…)
When it was announced two years ago that Disney had started to develop standalone Star Wars films, I was strongly against the idea. Up until now, the Star Wars films have exclusively told the saga of the Skywalker family – the fall of Anakin Skywalker, and the rise of his son Luke, who would ultimately redeem his father and turn him back to the good side. (more…)
