You don’t have to be a professional literary critic to know this: A bona fide story is driven by an author’s vision of reality. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. A soap opera—on the other hand—is driven by the contract negotiations of its actors. It has a beginning, an implausible-stringing-along-until-the-ratings-give-out, and an end.

Forgive me for preferring the integrity of the former over the dishonesty of the latter and for coming to the conclusion that “Downton Abbey” has firmly ensconced itself in the latter category. I had high hopes that the elaborate drama would transcend, but the program is turning out to be nothing more than “Dallas” at tea.

I enjoyed this animated short from Disney.

Like most movie-goers, I was in eager anticipation when I first heard the news of Steven Spielberg’s new Lincoln movie. After the trailer was released, however, my enthusiasm was significantly dampened. That initial glimpse into the movie looked dull. But then after the movie came out, I read reactions from folks who saw the movie before I did. To a man, they all indicated that the movie was much better than the trailer. So my expectations for this movie went from high to low then back to high again. I was eager for the good reports I’d heard to be right.

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From honorflightthemovie.com: Continue Reading →

Ben Domenech has a fantastic commentary on the recent sale of the “Star Wars” franchise to Disney. In short, Domenech argues that George Lucas saved “Star Wars” by firing George Lucas. Perhaps it comes as news to some of you that Star Wars needed saving. But that’s only because you have very bad taste in movies. (Just kidding…sort of)

Seriously, though. Those of us who grew up with the first three movies were by and large really disappointed with the second three movies (i.e., the prequels). From Jar Jar Binks to the goopey love affair between Anakin and what’s-her-name, the story and the characterization were abysmal in the prequels. They simply could not hold a candle to the original movies.

Domenech’s article explains why Lucas did so well with the original movies and so badly with the prequels. In short, it’s a good thing that Lucas got himself out of the Star Wars franchise because he seems to have been the one chiefly responsible for its demise. Read Domenech’s piece here.

By the way, the Twitter hashtag #DisneyStarWars is alive with suggestions for a title for Episode 7, which is to be released in 2015. Here are my favorites so far: “When You Wish Upon a Death Star,” “Hoth School Musical” and “Song of the Sith.”

[A quick shout-out to my old friend Mitch. This one's for you!]