Rogue One: Star Wars should Lean into its Stories

Recently I went back an watched Rogue One, the first of the Star Wars Stories movies. And after much thought and soul searching, I think it might be my favourite of the modern Star Wars movies. It feels like the one movie of the franchise that understands why the series was fleshed out as much as it was in what was once known as the expanded universe.

In my mind there are two kinds of “hardcore” Star Wars fan. There are the people like me who have spent the last few decades of their lives buying terribly written novels, collecting comic books and playing all of the games, simply enjoying spending time in the world and getting an increasingly complex sense of this fascinating setting.

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Detective Pikachu Movie seems to understand video game movies

A trailer dropped the other day for a live action Pokemon movie. Specifically, one based on the Detective Pikachu 3DS game. As expected the internet has been split asunder by this staggeringly weird trailer. Honestly though, I think it looks pretty good.

Here’s the thing, sure, live action Pokemon are kind of freaky looking. But of course they are, how else would they possibly look. I even think the people making the movie lean into this by showing a Jiggypuff and Mr. Mime so prominently in the trailer.

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Mission: Impossible – Fallout: Are Action Movies Growing up?

As a male, I have an unspoken affinity for the action movie genre. Those elaborate, high octane action set pieces to keep my blood pumping. Elaborate death scenes that have me cheering for them rather than being horrified by them. As I’ve grown though, so has the action genre. On their face, they’re still movies about being big, dumb and fun, but aspects such as their tone, their leads and tropes have altered our approach to these movies.

Mission: Impossible – Fallout is the sixth instalment in the long running franchise. And it just so happens to be one of the best. Looking back toward the older entires in the series, specifically Mission: Impossible 2, it’s not difficult to see that the genre has matured in some way. As much as a genre about car chases and explosions can anyway.

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