Chris Hardwick's Blog, page 1869

The JV Club #269: Tara Sands

Find out why this week’s guest Tara Sands‘ (Pokemon and a million other things) favorite quote from “Tootsie” is a hundred times better than JV’s; what really goes on inside (and after) the Jelly Belly factory tour; and how many words with double o’s can be jammed into one game of M.A.S.H!

Follow @janetvarney and @jvclubpodcast on Twitter!

Fan Made STAR WARS Time-lapse Film Chronicles the Death Star’s Construction

In the Star Wars universe, there is no more terrifying weapon of mass destruction than the Death Star. Darth Vader may not have been impressed with the original Death Star’s ability to destroy a planet, but its capabilities certainly struck fear within the heart of the Rebel Alliance.

We got a quick glimpse at the early stages of the moon-sized laser cannon at the end of Revenge of the Sith, but it wasn’t completed onscreen until the events of Rogue One. Now, two Star Wars fans have released a new CGI short that breaks down the major steps of the Death Star’s construction.

Via io9 and TheForce.net, the Death Star construction time-lapse was animated by Isaac Botkin, who used Lightwave 3D to create the visuals. Isaac’s brother, Ben Botkin, posted the video and provided its John Williams-esque score. On his YouTube page, Ben Botkin noted that he intentionally tried to maintain “the style and flavor” of Williams’ iconic music for the series.

This may be a fan film, but it does convey the incredibly complex construction that went into the Death Star. io9’s post argued that this time-lapse video proved that the Empire could not have built another Death Star so quickly after the first one was destroyed, and perhaps they’re right. If so, that would suggest that the Emperor had two Death Stars under construction at the same time—maybe as a backup in case the first was destroyed, or maybe the Emperor intended to have more than one Death Star operating at once to expand his control over the galaxy. Now that’s a scary thought.

What do you think about this video? Stay on target and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: Isaac and Ben Botkin

Everything Coming to Netflix, Amazon, and Hulu in January 2018

The days are running out for 2017, and we’re just under two weeks away from a brand new year. But before we dive into 2018, it’s time to take a look at what’s streaming on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime in January. There won’t be too many new TV series dropping next month on the big three, but there will be a handful of original movies and perhaps the wildest parade coverage that we’ve seen in a long time. To help you sort through it, we’ve got your breakdown right here.

Netflix

Everybody polka! Jack Black‘s newest film, The Polka King, is bypassing theaters and going directly to Netflix next month. Black is playing Pennsylvania polka legend Jan Lewan, a man who was infamously responsible for the first (and only) polka ponzi scheme in American history. We recently debuted one of Black’s songs from the movie, which you can find here.

If you’d rather spend these cold winter days in Gotham, Tim Burton‘s first two Batman movies and Christopher Nolan‘s Batman Begins are also coming in the new year. (Yes, the other non-Nolan, non-Burton Batman movies are going to be there too, if you must watch them.)

Also of note for next month: all four Lethal Weapon movies, The Godfather trilogy, King Kong, and more Bring It On films than anyone ever knew about.

Available on January 1

10,000 B.C.
30 Days of Night
Age Of Shadows
AlphaGo
America’s Sweethearts
Apollo 13
Batman
Batman & Robin
Batman Begins
Batman Forever
Batman Returns
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Bring It On
Bring It On Again
Bring It On: All or Nothing
Bring It On: Fight to the Finish
Bring It On: In It to Win It
Caddyshack
Chef & My Fridge: 2017
Defiance
Definitely, Maybe
Eastsiders: Season 3
Furry Vengeance
Glacé: Season 1
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never
King Kong
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon 3
Lethal Weapon 4
License to Wed
Like Water for Chocolate
Love Actually
Lovesick: Season 3
Maddman: The Steve Madden Story
Marie Antoinette
Martin Luther: The Idea that Changed the World
Midnight in Paris
Monsters vs. Aliens
National Treasure
Sharknado 5: Global Swarming
Stardust
Strictly Ballroom
The Dukes of Hazzard
The Exorcism of Emily Rose
The First Time
The Godfather
The Godfather: Part II
The Godfather: Part III
The Italian Job
The Lovely Bones
The Shawshank Redemption
The Truman Show
The Vault
Training Day
Treasures From The Wreck Of The Unbelievable
Troy
Wedding Crashers
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory

Available on January 2

Mustang Island
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales
Rent

Available on January 5

Before I Wake
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee
Devilman Crybaby: Season 1
Rotten

Available on January 6

Episodes: Seasons 1-5

Available on January 8

The Conjuring

Available on January 10

47 Meters Down
Alejandro Riaño Especial de stand up
Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie
In The Deep

Available on January 12

Colony: Season 2
Disjointed: Part 2
Somebody Feed Phil
The Man Who Would Be Polka King
The Polka King
Tom Segura: Disgraceful

Available on January 14

Wild Hogs

Available on January 15

2018 Olympic Winter Games Preview: Meet Team USA & Go for the Gold
Rehenes
Unrest

Available on January 16

Dallas Buyers Club
Katt Williams: Great America
Rita: Season 4

Available on January 17

Arango y Sanint: Ríase El Show
Friday Night Tykes: Season 4

Available on January 18

Bad Day for the Cut
Tiempos de guerra: Season 1

Available on January 19

Drug Lords: Season 1
Grace and Frankie: Season 4
The Open House
Trolls: The Beat Goes On!: Season 1

Available on January 23

Todd Glass: Act Happy

Available on January 24

Ricardo Quevedo: Hay gente así

Available on January 25

Acts of Vengeance

Available on January 26

A Futile and Stupid Gesture
Dirty Money
Kavin Jay: Everybody Calm Down!
Llama Llama: Season 1
One Day at a Time: Season 2
Sebastián Marcelo Wainraich
The Adventures of Puss in Boots: Season 6
Mau Nieto: Viviendo sobrio… desde el bar

Available on January 28

El Ministerio del Tiempo: Seasons 1-3

Available on January 29

The Force

Available on January 30

Babylon Berlin: Seasons 1-2
Death Race: Beyond Anarchy
Retribution: Season 1

Available on January 31

Cars 3

Hulu

If you missed Ingrid Goes West this past summer, Hulu is giving you a second chance to catch its hilarious (and often heartbreaking) updated take on Single White Female, with Aubrey Plaza as Ingrid, an unstable social media addict who upends her entire life to befriend and emulate an influencer named Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen).

We’re also excited to see all four of the original Karate Kid movies coming next month. On the television front, it’s midseason premiere time, and that means new episodes of several returning shows, including the next season of The X-Files. There’s also the third seasons for Fear the Walking Dead, and the Hulu original series, The Path.

Available on January 1

10 to Midnight
A League of Their Own
All Is Lost
American Ninja
American Pickers: Season 14
Ancient Impossible: Season 1
Anger Management
Art of the Prank
Assassination
Avenging Force
Babel


Baby Mama’s Club
Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics: Seasons 8 & 9
Beat Bobby Flay: Seasons 1 & 2
Best of Man v. Food: Season 1
Beyond the Sea


Big Driver


Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure


Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey


Black Rain
Bloodsport


Bolero
Breaking Borders: Season 1
Brothers
Brother vs. Brother: Seasons 1 & 2
Burning Blue


But I’m A Cheerleader
Capote
Cold Case Files (Reboot): Season 1
Cold Mountain
Coming Soon
Container Homes: Season 1
Cool World
Counting Cars: Season 6
Cross Bronx
Cube
Cube 2: Hypercube
Cube Zero
Cupcake Wars: Season 8
Cutthroat Kitchen: Season 7
Daddy Day Care
Dangerous Curves
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: Season 22
Down in the Delta
Drop Dead Sexy
Duck Dynasty: Seasons 10 & 11
Evolution
Excess Baggage
Flawless
Flea Market Flip: Season 3
Flip or Flop: Season 5
Food Network Star: Season 12
Frailty
Freedom Writers
Ghost Adventures: Season 11
Ghoulies 3: Ghoulies Go to College
Great Food Truck Race: Season 7
Green Street Hooligans Underground
Grizzly Man
Hamlet
Hercules in New York
Highway
Horsemen
Hot Rod
Hustle & Flow
I Spy
Invaders from Mars
Invasion U.S.A.
Ironweed
Kill the Irishman
Liz & Dick
Look Who’s Talking
Look Who’s Talking Now
Look Who’s Talking Too
Love & Death
Love Story
Missing in Action II: The Beginning
Mona Lisa Smile
Mountain Men: Seasons 1-6
Murphy’s Law
My Boss’s Daughter
Night of the Living Dead 3D
Night of the Living Dead: Resurrection
Ninja III: The Domination
P.O.W. The Escape
P2
Paper Heart
Platoon Leader
Pretty Bird
Primitive
Punch Drunk Love
Requiem for a Dream
Reservoir Dogs
Revenge of the Ninja
Revolutionary Road
Richard the Lionheart
Saturday Night Fever
Secretary
Shirley Valentine
Show of Force
Six Degrees of Separation
Sliding Doors
Songcatcher
Spaceballs
Step into Liquid
Street Smart
Subspecies
Subspecies 2
Subspecies 3
Subspecies 4
Subspecies 5
Sunshine Cleaning
The Parent Trap (1961)
The Parent Trap
The Fourth War
The Future
The Karate Kid
The Karate Kid: Part II
The Karate Kid III
The Next Karate Kid
The Perfect Weapon
The Phantom of the Opera
The Pom Pom Girls
The Presidio
The Wraith
Thelma & Louise
Total Recall
Two Family House
Uncommon Valor
War
Wild Things with Dominic Monaghan: Seasons 1 & 2
Witless Protection
Words and Pictures
Zodiac

Available on January 2

The Bachelor: Season 22 premiere (ABC)
Better Late Than Never: Season 2 premiere (NBC)
Cruel and Unusual
The Wall: Season 2 midseason premiere (NBC)\

Available on January 3

Chicago Med: Season 3 midseason premiere (NBC)
The Game Changer
LA to Vegas: series premiere (FOX)
Lethal Weapon: Season 2 midseason premiere (FOX)
The Mick: Season 2 midseason premiere (FOX)

Available on January 4

9-1-1: series premiere (FOX)
Chicago P.D.: Season 5 midseason premiere (NBC)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: Season 19 midseason premiere (NBC)
Match Game: Season 3 premiere (ABC)
The X-Files: Season 11 premiere (FOX)

Available on January 5

Chicago Fire: Season 6 midseason premiere (NBC)
The Detectorists: Season 2
The Devil’s Double
The Four: series premiere (FOX)
The Good Place: Season 2 midseason premiere (NBC)
Great News: Season 2 midseason premiere (NBC)
Nashville: Season 6 premiere (CMT)
Superstore: Season 3 midseason premiere (NBC)
Will & Grace: Season 9 midseason premiere (NBC)

Available on January 6

Child Support: series premiere (ABC)
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait

Available on January 7

Yakuza Apocalypse

Available on January 8

Bob’s Burgers: Season 8 midseason premiere (FOX)
Family Guy: Season 15 midseason premiere (FOX)
Frank
Ghosted: Season 1 midseason premiere (FOX)
The Last Man on Earth: Season 4 midseason premiere (FOX)
The Simpsons: Season 29 midseason premiere (FOX)

Available on January 9

The Brave: Season 1 midseason premiere (NBC)

Available on January 10

This Is Us: Season 2 midseason premiere (NBC)

Available on January 11

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Season 5 (Nickelodeon)
These Final Hours

Available on January 12

Blindspot: Season 3 midseason premiere (NBC)
False Flag: Season 1
Homeland: Season 5

Available on January 13

Taken: Season 2 premiere (NBC)
XXX: The Return of Xander Cage

Available on January 15

12 O’Clock Boys
The Alchemist Cookbook
Are We Done Yet?
Are We There Yet?
Advanced Style
Afterimage
Bending Steel
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Coherence
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Dogs on the Inside
Meek’s Cutoff
Polina
Polytechnique
The Queen
Sex Guaranteed
Soul on a String
We Need to Talk About Kevin
Wendy & Lucy

Available on January 17

The Path: Season 3 premiere

Available on January 18

Barista

Available on January 19

Grey’s Anatomy: Season 14 midseason premiere (ABC)
How to Get Away with Murder: Season 4 midseason premiere (ABC)
Scandal: Season 7 midseason premiere (ABC)
My Best Friend

Available on January 21

School Life

Available on January 22

Espionage Tonight
Ingrid Goes West
The Resident: series premiere (FOX)

Available on January 24

Detroit 

Available on January 25

Sword of Vengeance

Available on January 27

Crash Pad

Available on January 29

Beside Bowie
Halloween Pussy Trap Kill Kill

Available on January 30

Fear the Walking Dead: Season 3
Uncle Grandpa: Season 5

Available on January 31

All Dogs Go To Heaven
All Dogs Go To Heaven 2

Amazon Prime

Next month, Amazon will remind us that “the future is still human” as it takes us inside Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, a new sci-fi anthology series based upon the stories of Philip K. Dick. Bryan Cranston is producing the series and starring in one of the episodes as well.

Whovians will also be able to revisit Peter Capaldi‘s final adventures as the Doctor, when the 10th season of Doctor Who hits Amazon Prime. And is it weird that we’re looking forward to the Rose Parade this year? That’s because Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon are hosting Amazon’s coverage as fictional news personalities Cord Hosenbeck and Tish Cattigan. It’s gonna be weird, but we love it.

Available on January 1

The 2018 Rose Parade Hosted by Cord & Tish (Amazon original)
All is Lost
American Ninja
Assassination
Avenging Force
Babel
Baby Mama’s Club
Black Rain
Brothers
Burning Blue
But I’m a Cheerleader
Capote
Coming Soon
Cool World
Cross Bronx
Dangerous Curves
Drop Dead Sexy
Doctor Who: Season 10
Evolution
Flawless
Freedom Writers
Hamlet
Highway
Horsemen
Hustle & Flow
Invaders from Mars
Love and Death
Love Story
Murphy’s Law
Platoon Leader
Pretty Bird
Primitive
Requiem for a Dream
Reservoir Dogs
Revenge of the Ninja
Revolutionary Road
Richard the Lionheart
Show of Force
Six Degrees of Separation
Step Into Liquid
Street Smart
The Perfect Weapon
The Presidio
The Wraith
Thelma & Louise
Uncommon Valor
Words and Pictures
Zodiac

Available on January 5

The Devil’s Double

Available on January 6

Grimm: Season 6

Available on January 7

A Ghost Story

Available on January 9

Prime Suspect: Tennison: Season 1

Available on January 12

Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams: Season 1

Available on January 16

My Mother & Other Strangers

Available on January 17

The Midwife

Available on January 19

Just Add Magic: Season 2

Available on January 30

Grantchester: Season 3
Remember Me

Available on January 31

xXx: The Return of Xander Cage

Which shows and movies are you looking forward to watching in January? Share your picks in the comment section below!

Images: Amazon Prime/Netflix/Neon

Mark Hamill Played a Second Role in THE LAST JEDI!

Warning: spoilers follow for The Last Jedi. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, jump to hyperspace and away from this article.

Canto Bight, the opulent locale in The Last Jedi, brought us fathiers, Benicio del Toro‘s DJ, a bevy of fancy attire, and a little drunk alien trying to shove coins into BB-8. The guy that mistook our favorite spherical droid for a slot machine is Dobbu Scay, and though he’s a purely CG character, he was brought to life in a motion capture performance by none other than Mark Hamill.

The Last Jedi VFX supervisor Ben Morris told Nerdist, “Mark came to Rian [Johnson]. Mark’s done an awful lot of computer game voices for characters, but he’s never had the chance [to do mo-cap]. So, he said, ‘I want to put the dots on, man. I want to do that mo-cap thing.'”

The director obliged. “Rian made a little cameo for Mark,” Morris said. “We brought him after the main shoot to our ILM and performance capture stage in London. We spent an afternoon with him, staging those moments with Rian. That was quite bizarre.”

Morris continued, “We actually built the gigantic wire frame BB-8 that was a little to the right side so that Mark was the same height as the toad dude. So, we’ve got this enormous BB-8, like the Christmas bauble, that’s made out of wire. I think Mark had a great time. And we leave that as the basis for his performance ideas for the character.”

Creature shop head Neal Scanlan said they made a maquette of Dobbu Scay, who Morris affectionately calls “the toad dude” and combined Hamill’s mo-cap performance with puppeteers—Scanlan and Morris really work in tandem to bring the creatures to the galaxy.

Scanlan explained, “Digital made a very big version of BB-8, and so we performed it. Warwick [Davis] and Jimmy Vee played the real scale character with the real sized BB-8, and then the digital guys had a big BB-8 made and Mark played the character to the big BB-8. They motion captured his performance and then scanned in the characters and created it as a full digital character, which is great.”

So next time you watch The Last Jedi and see the little wobbly alien stuffing coins into BB-8, remember that’s Hamill in a mo-cap suit. If we’re lucky, Lucasfilm will share behind-the-scenes photos.

Did you have any idea Dobbu Scay was Mark Hamill? Tell me in the comments.

Images: Lucasfilm/Disney, DK Publishing

Amy Ratcliffe is an Associate Editor for Nerdist. She likes Star Wars a little. Follow her on Twitter.

Stay on topic with more The Last Jedi stories!

Rian Johnson hints at The Last Jedi deleted scenes.
A Rogue One easter egg in The Last Jedi.
The Last Jedi‘s best porg moments.

5 Obscure Superheroes That Time Forgot

Not every superhero manages to achieve the same level of fame as Batman, Wonder Woman, or Captain America, but that doesn’t mean they’re not worth your while. Take for example, the Society of Virtue, the hilarious YouTube series that features all manner of heroes you’ve never heard of but offers incredible insights into the comics we know and love. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg. On today’s episode of The Dan Cave, we’re gonna dive deep into superhero history to talk about those forgotten spandex-clad vigilantes worth unearthing.

Olga Mesmer

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Before there was Superman, there was Olga Mesmer, the Girl with the X-Ray Eyes, who, as you might intuit, had x-ray vision. She also had super strength because her mad scientist father exposed her to radiation, and her mom was from Venus but also ruled an underground kingdom from which she was deposed… because comics. Olga sadly only lasted from August 1937 to October 1938 in what may be the single greatest name for a comic ever: Spicy Mystery Stories. Honestly, though, she was pretty rad. She laid the smack-down on her creepy legal guardian when he got handsy; she saved a man’s life by giving him some of her super blood; and she even wound up preventing an interplanetary war. All in a little over a year. What have you done in a little over a year? Is it anywhere near as cool as any of that? I didn’t think so.

The Fighting Hobo

Image: Marvel

While The Fighting Hobo may not have been the first vagrant vigilante, he was the only one named Butch Brogan, and whose obsession with a copy of Hamlet he found in the city dump led to an irrepressible urge to fight crime. His one and only adventure in 1942’s USA Comics #5 saw Butch rescuing a stolen dog, bopping the kidnapper on the nose, and getting a sweet reward and a kiss on the cheek for his troubles. He was never heard from again. But if you close your eyes and rub trash on a copy of Hamlet three times, legend has it that he just might appear. But probably not.

The Blonde Phantom

Image: Marvel Comics

Before there was Black Widow, Marvel Comics’ premiere femme fatale was Louise Grant, a secretary to a private investigator by day, and a crimefighter adept in martial arts, marksmanship, and pulling off a seemingly impractical slinky red dress by night. She was the Blonde Phantom and she kicked ass without the aid of any superpowers apart from a superior sense of intuition. While she came back a couple times over the years—most notably to help She Hulk defeat Stilt-Man and, uh, date her dad—she never quite caught on in a major way, which is a damn shame because with Agent Carter out of the picture, a noir-style lady detective story would make the perfect addition to the MCU.

Stardust the Super Wizard

No, Stardust the Super Wizard isn’t just what I have written on my business cards; it’s also the name of a truly bonkers Golden Age hero. Created by Fletcher Hanks in 1939, Stardust the Super Wizard is an alien “whose vast knowledge of interplanetary science has made him the most remarkable man that ever lived.” Living on his private star, he monitors crime across the galaxy and has a no-nonsense approach to fighting evil. Case in point: he turned a mad scientist named Kaos into a worm and fed him to an army of giant vultures from Venus that the baddie sought to unleash on Earth, and he also hurled another scientist named Demon into a tidal wave, killing him, then used the dude’s disintegrating ray to destroy his body. Long story short: don’t be a scientist around Stardust the Super Wizard.

Jill Trent, Science Sleuth

Image: Nedor Comics

Speaking of science, there are few characters I wish would make a comeback more than Jill Trent, Science Sleuth. Using her elite detective skills and scientific smarts, Jill Trent kicked ass, took names, and used all manner of awesome inventions like. Plus Jill Trent may have made comic book history. Not only did Jill solve crime with her best friend Daisy Smythe, the two frequently shared a bed together, which means she might be one of if not the first queer heroes in comic book history. Now give her a Netflix original series and bring Jill back, damn it! Clearly the world is in dire need of science sleuthing.

And those are some of the greatest, wildest, and weirdest superheroes that time forgot. Which is your favorite? What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below!

Sources: Uproxx; Huffington Post; io9 

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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).

Editor’s note: Today’s episode of The Dan Cave is sponsored by the Society of Virtue.

STARGATE ORIGINS Sets a Premiere Date with New Teaser Trailer

Six years ago, the abrupt conclusion of Stargate Universe left fans of the Stargate franchise without a TV series to follow for the first time since 1997. Next year, that extended hiatus will come to an end with the premiere of Stargate Origins, an original series created for the Stargate Command streaming service.

The new show will place the focus on Catherine Langford, a young woman who played a key role in the discovery of the Stargate and its secrets after it was found in 1928. In the latest teaser trailer, Catherine and her father find themselves threatened by German soldiers over control of the Stargate before embarking on the adventure of a lifetime.

Ellie Gall plays Catherine, while Stargate Atlantis veteran Connor Trinneer is portraying her father, Professor Langford. Within the backstory established by the original Stargate film and Stargate: SG-1, Catherine never entered the Stargate while she was a young woman, although she did lose her fiancé to a Stargate experiment that left him trapped on the other side of the galaxy. It’s not clear if Stargate Origins represents a reboot of the franchise or if it will incorporate the previously laid out continuity.

Salome Azizi, Philip Alexander, Michelle Jubilee Gonzalez, Daniel Rashid, and Sarah Navratil co-star in Stargate Origins, which will make its debut on February 15, 2018. The first season will consist of 10 episodes, which will be approximately 10 minutes in length.

What do you think about the new teaser for Stargate Origins? Open the iris and share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Images: MGM

THE LAST JEDI and the Importance of Choosing Your Own Path

Warning: Spoilers for Star Wars: The Last Jedi follow!

Star Wars has long been a saga steeped in legacy and family, following the lives, loves, and losses of the Skywalkers and those who happen to cross their paths. What’s more, it’s a series that has made a tradition of exploring the ideas of destiny, preordained outcomes, and prophecy. Since the release of The Force Awakens two years ago, people (like me) have dived right into countless theories about the new characters and what their lineage may or may not mean for the greater Star Wars universe. But once I finally watched the The Last Jedi, I was blown away by the powerful character choices that the film made. I can’t stop thinking about what this means for the greater galaxy, the characters we love.

The Last Jedi implodes the themes that have long defined the franchise, opening up the world of Star Wars in an incredibly powerful way, and, most importantly, finally giving its characters agency in defining their own futures. From the very first time we meet Luke in A New Hope, he’s a young man defined by the decisions of others. From his father’s choice to turn to the Dark Side to Obi-Wan’s choice to deceive him, Luke never really has a choice of his own but to do what any adult in his life tells him. Anakin, a young man crushed by the expectations others and told that he was the one hope for the galaxy, suffered a similar fate. He became so indoctrinated into following stronger, older men that he never saw the way Palpatine was manipulating him, despite all of his strength.

Rian Johnson’s film breaks apart the constraints of the saga, committing to the idea that we are the ones who control our lives, no matter where we come from or what we’ve been through. From the first time I watched The Force Awakens, I’d hoped that Rey might just be the abandoned child of junkers, left to fight for her life for no better reason than parental selfishness and cruelty. It might sound bleak, but it’s actually hopeful, seeing as how Rey turned out. She now thrives since her kindness and willingness to help others has led her on a journey of discovery. But never in my life did I actually think that Johnson would take that leap. So as I sat in the theater and watched Rey finally admit the truth she’d always known, I found myself profoundly moved.

In accepted non-EU Star Wars canon, the only successful strong women with more than one scene apiece are usually princesses or aristocracy. Of course we know Leia is Vader’s daughter and Luke’s sister, but Leia was still raised by royalty, engaged in the political landscape. And we can’t forget Leia’s mother, Padmé Amidala, an elected queen and senator. Sure, Rogue One recently gave us Jyn, who from the little we see had a tough upbringing. But her agency is inherently lacking as her only story arc and necessity to the Rebellion are defined solely by her father’s actions and intent. The revelation about Rey’s parents shakes up the accepted order. Here she is, this young woman who seems integral to the fate of the galaxy and with an incredible connection to the Force, and that’s something which is wholly her own.

However, it’s not just Rey’s journey in The Last Jedi that defies expectations. We see time and time again that true power comes from making your own choices, despite the expectations of others or what fate has foretold of you. Finn’s choice to leave the First Order in The Force Awakens was a subtle piece of foreshadowing of what would clearly become a dominant theme in the new trilogy. Finn doesn’t just save himself with that decision, but also Poe, BB-8, and, in the end, the galaxy after forcing Phasma to lower the shields on Starkiller Base. Finn is essentially the spark that sets the fire for The Last Jedi. He’s the first to define his own destiny, but he’s certainly not the last.

On the same token, Kylo’s story is defined by what other people have wanted and expected from him. It began with his parents sending him to study with Luke. Luke saw Ben’s strength and considered him as a potential protégée, only to later fear that very strength as a threat and contribute to the creation of Kylo Ren, combined with Snoke’s manipulation. In fact, Kylo never really had a chance to explore the idea of who he is or what he wants until The Last Jedi. Kylo’s decision to kill Snoke is actually nothing short of revolutionary as it demolishes our expectations of who’s powerful in the galaxy, ultimately proving that true power comes from choosing our own paths. It might’ve seemed anticlimactic to some, but it all fits into The Last Jedi’s greater message.

In the end of The Last Jedi, even the original trilogy Chosen One at long last got to choose his own path; Luke made his decision to contend with Kylo Ren, finally becoming one with the Force and disappearing while staring into two suns just as he did as a young man on his home planet. It was an ending that perfectly summed up the message at the core of The Last Jedi. Ultimately, we determine who we are, how we live, and what we leave behind and the way things are. That’s a message we all need.

Images: Disney, Lucasfilm

You Made It Weird #395: Myq Kaplan Returns

Myq Kaplan (comedian!) returns to make it weird again!

Follow @peteholmes on Twitter and Like the show on Facebook! Buy YMIW shirts! 

Image: MyqKaplan.com

Bruce Lee Podcast #77: It’s Not About What Happens

“It’s not about what happens; it’s about your reaction to what happens that matters.”

This is a big Bruce Lee concept and a big concept for moving through life. Sometimes we use what happens in a situation as justification for our extreme reaction. How you react to anything says more about you and where you are in that moment than any of the events that led to your response. The truth is that it is never about the incident it is about the response.

Join Shannon and Sharon as they dive into why we overreact and how we can learn about ourselves from how we react in situations.

Share your #AAHAs, #BruceLeeMoments, and #TakeAction progress with us at hello@brucelee.com.

To read our full show notes for this episode go to BruceLee.com/Podcast

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Does GREMLINS Really Qualify as a Christmas Movie?

Some films are obviously Christmas movies, like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Santa Clause, but for others it’s not so clear cut. They may be set during the holiday season. They may even touch upon Christmas themes. But does that mean they truly qualify in the traditional sense? To find out, we’re putting these movies on trial and laying out all the evidence for and against them by asking a series of related questions, like we did with Die Hard.

And there’s no better movie to put to the test than the cult classic Gremlins.

Ladies and gentleman of the jury, ask yourself…

How much of the movie takes place at Christmastime?

All of it. From the get-go, the whole town is dressed up for the holiday, It’s A Wonderful Life is on TV, and people are shown singing and listening to Christmas songs, including actual door-to-door carolers (which I’m pretty sure don’t actually exist). The audience is well-aware at all times the holiday is close at hand.

Would the movie be fundamentally different if it were set at any other time of the year?

Not much, if at all. The plot isn’t connected to the setting of the season in any direct way, and not even in many indirect ways. Billy’s dad Randall could have bought him Gizmo for his birthday, or even just because he thought his son would love him. However, the dark, snowy aesthetic does lend a good deal to the film. But if you did away with all of the Christmas decorations and music, and instead set this in the snowy cold of February, for example, you’d have the exact same story. Sure, you would lose some funny visuals of the gremlins, but as Gremlins 2 proved, you can literally do anything with them and it’s amazing.

Are any of the major themes classic Christmas ones?

The only major theme that applies here is “family.” Greed and compassion are minor ones that are quickly abandoned, and could even be cut out of the movie entirely. (Sorry, but Judge Reinhold’s character has zero purpose in this movie). The other major themes of responsibility, bravery, and fearing others aren’t your typical classic Christmas messages.

Does watching it at Christmastime enhance the experience?

It makes it less weird to hear Christmas songs, but overall not all that much. It’s better to watch it around Halloween actually, because it has more to do with literal monsters than it does Christmas.

That said, while many people call this movie a horror comedy, it’s not that scary. The gremlins are hysterical; they do ridiculous things, die hilarious deaths, and kill in absurd ways. This is really a dark comedy, as evidenced by Kate’s all-time story about when she was a kid and her dad died on Christmas after he broke his neck in the chimney dressed like Santa. That’s one of the funniest, bleakest stories ever.

In fairness, that’s a great argument for why it’s much better being set at Christmas than any other time of the year. The juxtaposition of the season versus the darkness of the humor definitely makes it funnier.

Has it been accepted as a Christmas movie tradition?

No, and just because some people have made it a part of theirs doesn’t change that. The movie has not earned its place in the holiday movie rotation. It definitely has a cult-following, and rightfully so, but hasn’t crossed over into being a permanent and prominent part of the season on a macro scale.

Final Verdict

The last hour of Gremlins is laugh-out-loud perfection. It also still looks great over three decades later, thanks to some of the best practical effects ever. But its plot is not intimately tied to its setting and the movie’s major themes aren’t particularly Christmas-relevant ones. While you’ll always be able to find some theater showing it in December, it somehow has never crossed over into being a definitive part of the holiday season the way a movie like Die Hard has. As such, Gremlins does not officially qualify as a Christmas movie.

The good news is that means you shouldn’t wait another 12 months to watch it again. (But all math aside, I’m still going to watch this one every year at Christmastime.)

What do you think, though? Was this the right outcome, or are you filing an appeal? Tell us why in the comments below.

Images: Warner Bros.