'The Phantom Menace' Showed Hollywood How to Love the Prequel

There were prequels before The Phantom Menace, which is being re-released this weekend to celebrate its 25th anniversary. But George Lucas saw the future of franchises, which was going back in time rather than forward. Was that a good or bad thing for the industry? My thoughts are here.

Is 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' Great or Goofy?

With Dial of Destiny arriving on Friday, I spent a little time thinking about the 1989 film that people thought was going to be the final Indiana Jones movie. It was more of a buddy comedy than the previous two films, and it featured Sean Connery. So how does it hold up? My answer is here.

Why Does Hollywood Cast Non-Teens to Play Teenagers?

Inspired by Dear Evan Hansen, which has received a lot of criticism for casting Ben Platt to play the title teen, I did a deep dive into other teen movies that had older actors in the lead roles. I found out a lot of interesting stuff for this MEL piece.

'Revenge of the Sith' and the End of George Lucas' Reign

When I was doing research for my piece on the anniversary of Revenge of the Sith's release, I found this quote from an anonymous studio executive back when the prequels were first announced: "Somebody else doing Star Wars means nothing; George Lucas doing it means everything." And then I knew I had my in to talk about Lucas' legacy. My piece is up at SyFy.

Looking Back at 'The Clone Wars,' the Movie That Ruined and Saved 'Star Wars'

In the summer of 2008, Lucasfilm put out an animated Star Wars movie that no one was particularly enthused about. But it turns out, The Clone Wars was massively important to a new generation of fans. I reconsider the film for MEL.

The Grierson & Leitch Podcast: 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' 'Good Bye, Lenin!' and Looking Back at 1977

There were many great films in 1977, but our conversation inevitably focuses on two -- Star Wars and Annie Hall -- and how the culture's impression of them has shifted over time. Then, we segue to our Reboot section. We rhapsodize about Raiders of the Lost Ark and Daniel Bruhl's breakout hit, the German-language Good Bye, Lenin! The whole thing is down below.

A Salute to Cinema's Best Families (Genre Edition)

Over at SyFy, we're getting into the Thanksgiving spirit by toasting some of science-fiction and horror's best families. Welcome to this week's edition of Debate Club.

What's John Williams' Best Film Score?

Narrowing down the multiple-Oscar-winner to his five best soundtracks was very difficult. But over at SyFy, we do our best to accomplish that impossible mission. Take a look.

What's Better: 'Star Wars' or 'The Empire Strikes Back'?

For SyFy, Will and I are going to do a limited-run series called Debate Club, where we come up with definitive answers to some of the greatest long-running arguments among sci-fi fans. Our first installment is a big one, as we weigh Star Wars against The Empire Strikes Back. Which one comes out on top? Check out our piece here.

Let's Rank Harrison Ford Movies

For Vulture, Will and I gave ourselves the challenge of ranking all of Harrison Ford's performances. The real question: Did Han Solo or Indiana Jones come out on top? The answer is here.

Misleading Men: Richard Dreyfuss

Close Encounters of the Third Kind was re-released this weekend. For MEL, I took the opportunity to devote my latest Misleading Men column to Richard Dreyfuss, the star of that movie and several other notable 1970s flicks. What happened afterward? I'm here to talk about that.

What's the Greatest 'Star Wars' Character?

I didn't have anything to do with the rankings, but over at Rolling Stone I helped contribute to their massive list of the 50 Best Star Wars Characters. Very, very fun. (And, no, Jar Jar didn't make the cut.)

'Strange Magic' Review

First, an anecdote. I pride myself on being early to screenings. I hate being late for anything, but especially when it comes to my job, I don't like to make others wait for me. (Even worse, I don't want to miss the start of the movie if the publicists decide to start without me.) Last night, though, I was stuck in absolutely horrible traffic -- which was even more annoying because I had planned for that by leaving my home earlier than normal. I got to the screening of Strange Magic about 10 minutes late, but the very nice folks at Disney held it for me, which I so appreciate. (And maybe they didn't hold it just for me -- I don't have that kind of power, believe me -- but it was a nice reminder that, sometimes, stuff happens, and we need other folks to help us out.)

I say all that as a preface to my review of Strange Magic. The movie is terrible, and a reminder that any film billed as "from the mind of George Lucas" should be treated with suspicion. I didn't want to dislike Strange Magic as much as I did considering everything that led up to me seeing it but, hey, part of the job is to call like I see it.

My review is up at Screen International.

2015's Must-See Movies

Happy New Year: It's time to start thinking about the films in 2015 we're all excited to see. Will and I put together a list of our 20 most-anticipated titles for Deadspin -- and should you require more words on the subject, I contributed to Rolling Stone's massive 2015 preview, which features movies as well as TV shows and music.

'Red Tails' review

George Lucas spent more than two decades trying to bring the story of the Tuskegee Airmen to the big screen. And now he has ... and it's Red Tails, and it's not very good. Sure, Lucas is simply the executive producer of this World War II drama, but the movie will remind you of all the worst qualities of his Star Wars prequels: wooden performances, on-the-nose dialogue.... Just be glad there's no Jar-Jar Binks. My review is up at Screen International.