George Lucas

A video essay about how Star Wars was saved in the edit inspired me to finally watch Harmy’s Despecialized Edition, which had been sitting on my hard drive for years. Not having seen the original practical effects in decades, I expected them to look a lot rougher than they did. Their toyetic artifice is definitely apparent, but knowing how much of a leap forward they were in 1977—the industry drafted behind this achievement for well… See more →

On the Web

• 10 Years of Zeldman: One of the most (deservedly) influential figures in web design celebrates a milestone.
• Even Better Than the Real Thing: Imrov Everywhere opens for U2… as U2.
• Goth, Metalhead Overcome Subcultural Differences to Find Love: “What’s gonna happen at their wedding when Danielle starts playing Sisters of Mercy or some shit like that?”
• Jeff Louella: Relaunches with his personal account of the Browser Wars.
• Week 5: The fifth installment… See more →

In light of the fact that—especially when it comes to Star Wars—opinions truly are like assholes, I’ll keep this relatively brief, but since my filmgoing has been shamefully infrequent so far this year, I thought I’d be remiss not to weigh in on what certainly must be, for better or worse, the cinematic event of the year.

My experiences with Star Wars have been, I’m sure, unremarkably similar to those of most Westerners in… See more →

It’s a three movie week.

Spiderman was pretty fun; it’s rare these days for a movie to have an acceptable excuse to be that hokey. Bruce Campbell and Randy “Macho Man” Savage cameos were the highlights for me. I do think people are getting a little too worked up over the movie, though.

Y Tu Mama Tambien was very well-done. Strong characters, interesting commentary on Mexico’s socio-economic innards, and a commendably frank and honest sexuality.… See more →