The “Star Wars” fanbase has never been short on strong opinions and impassioned points of view. Sometimes that can be a wonderful thing. Other times, not so much. That has never been more true than with Rian Johnson’s “The Last Jedi” and more specifically its handling of the iconic Luke Skywalker character. And with the Johnson-less “The Rise of Skywalker” about to hit theaters and Last Jedi apologists already sharpening their blades, what better time to look back at one of the film’s biggest stirs.

“The Last Jedi” has been criticized for a number of issues, and in many cases deservedly so. But no issue has infuriated a portion of the fan base as much as the film’s portrayal of Luke. The meat of the argument revolves around how different Luke is in TLJ compared to where he was at the end of the original trilogy. Many feel it completely butchered the character and killed any semblance of the Luke they grew up with. I actually see it a little differently.

“Star Wars” was a huge part of my childhood and my passion goes back to 1977 with the release of the original film. So I’m not some “lightweight” or “casual” fan. While I respect those who feel differently, personally I had no problem with how Luke was handled and here’s why. First of all it treats Luke like a human being who despite having immense powers still has genuine and relatable feelings. It’s tempting to look at him as an unshakable superhero of sorts and I suppose Johnson could have made him a dry old sage spouting the same Jedi wisdom. But clearly a lot has happened in his life since the end of “Return of the Jedi” and his bitterness and frustration is a very human reaction.

And remember, the Jedi’s track record isn’t exactly spotless. It was the Jedi who allowed (among other things) the rise of Anakin (a.k.a. Darth Vader) right under their noses. Yes I know he was eventually instrumental in bringing balance, etc., but the Jedi made some pretty bad calls that carried some hefty consequences. Now combine that with Luke’s own tendency to be both emotional and impulsive. Once again, you can imagine a scenario where frustration and bitterness could set in.

Then you have the big revelation. Let me go ahead and say right here [SPOILERS ARE AHEAD]. Many people hate the very notion that Luke would strike down a young Kylo in cold blood. I get that but that perspective overlooks something critical – the revelation is told twice through two very different perspectives. In Kylo’s version we see a cold and determined Luke who is only stopped by Kylo’s quick reaction. But in Luke’s telling we learn that he stopped before going through with it. He caught himself and you can instantly see the shame and remorse on his face. As he himself said “It passed like a fleeting shadow.” And remember what I said above – he has a history of being impulsive. He did the same thing with Vader on the Death Star, coming mere inches from destroying his father in a rage only to catch himself and come to his senses.

I do agree there are some things about Luke in TLJ that confuses and other things that deserve more satisfying answers. TLJ throws out some ideas but doesn’t exactly go far enough with them. Yet ultimately I liked the complexity TLJ brought to Luke’s character. He isn’t a one-dimensional carbon copy of other Jedi who have come before him. He’s still passionate, at times borderline impetuous, but steadily moral and upright. He’s no coward. He has simply lost faith in the Jedi way and one could argue for good reason. But as the wonderfully wise Yoda reveals, even the best of us can still learn and grow. It’s part of being human.

But what would I know. I always was a Han guy.

Now what say you?

While she has received a fair amount of critical acclaim over her 15 year career, I still feel Carey Mulligan is an often underappreciated actress. A quick look over her filmography reveals a fairly diverse selection of roles. But her new film “Promising Young Woman” sees her tackling something unlike anything she has played before and I’m pretty excited.

The first trailer for the film dropped recently and it leaves quite the impression. It looks to be putting a unique spin on the revenge thriller genre and it comes from first time writer/director Emerald Fennell. Mulligan seems to be exploring some pretty dark territory but there also seems to be a touch of pitch black humor as well. I’m really anxious to see how this thing turns out.

“Promising Young Women” is set to debut at Sundance in January. Then look for it to hit theaters April 17, 2020. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Oh how my house has been buzzing since the new trailer for “Wonder Woman 1984” trailer dropped over the weekend. Director Patty Jenkins and star Gal Gadot gave a much needed feminine jolt to the superhero genre with 2017’s fantastic “Wonder Woman”. I absolutely loved the movie, but my wife and daughter REALLY loved it.

With its catchy “WW84” moniker and Gadot once again leading the charge, this stylish and energetic first look has me really excited. It’s set (obviously) in 1984 which puts Diana right in the middle of the Cold War. But the trailer doesn’t focus on that. Instead it’s funky and playful in a way I wasn’t expecting. I don’t quite know what to make of it but I know I like it. And it has definitely left me wanting to see more.

“Wonder Woman 1984” hits theaters June 5, 2020. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you will be seeing it or taking a pass.

And just like that it’s awards season again this morning the Hollywood Foreign Press announced the nominees for the 2020 Golden Globes. As expected there are plenty of surprises, frustrations, and plain old headscratchers. But that’s part of what makes these fun – taking the good with the bad and then talking about it. So here we go, a few random thoughts on this year’s batch.

• What a showing for Netflix! “Marriage Story”, “The Irishman”, and “The Two Popes” all scored big this morning proving the streaming platform has become a force (sorry Mr. Spielberg).
• Let me go ahead and get this out of the way: WHERE ON EARTH IS LUPITA NYONG’O? “Us” was considerably better than “Get Out” in large part due to her fabulous lead work. This is a big miss.
• “Joker” had a huge morning and I absolutely love it. Yes, I know it’s somewhat en vogue to dislike the movie but I firmly believe it’s one of the year’s best. Great job HFP!
• Speaking of “Joker”, it received a total of four nominations. The biggest being Best Picture: Drama, Best Director, and Best Actor.
• Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score for “Joker” was phenomenal. It’s eerie, forboding and such a big part of the movie. It was great to see her nominated.
• And Joaquin Phoenix for Best Actor. I’m not sure how anyone can dismiss his performance. There is far more to it than weight loss and weird laughing fits. It’s a very complex role and Phoenix brings a ton of menace. I wouldn’t be a bit upset if he took home the win.
• I also wouldn’t be a bit upset if Adam Driver took home the win. He has to be considered among the most deserving for his intensely authentic performance in “Marriage Story”. He deserves all the praise he is getting.
•  Huge props to the HFP for not forgetting either “Jojo Rabbit” or “Knives Out”. Both were really good last quarter movies that I was worried would be left out come awards time.
• Speaking of “Jojo Rabbit”, wasn’t it cool seeing young Roman Griffin Davis nominated. He’s such an integral part of that movie (pretty adorable too).
• On the hand it wasn’t cool leaving Thomasin McKenzie off the Supporting Actress list. Granted, there wasn’t a lot of awards buzz going in but I thought she was amazing.
• As for “Knives Out”, so good to see both Daniel Craig and Ana de Armas nominated. He is a ton of fun and she gives an eye-opening performance.
• And NOTHING for “A Hidden Life”? Talk about a travesty. Terrance Malick’s is nothing short of brilliant. And that score…wow!
• It looks like both “Parasite” and “The Farewell” are destined to be stuck in the Foreign Language category. Technically that is where they qualify but it would be nice to see both nominated for the big prizes.
• But to be fair Bong Joon Ho did get nominated for Best Director and Awkwafina for Best Actress. That makes me happy.
• Sadly “Transit” seems to be the forgotten foreign language film. More people need to see it.
• But seeing “Ad Astra” shut out makes me sad. I get that it may be too slow and ruminative for some. I thought it was tremendous and easily among my favorite films of the year. Hopefully Oscar will see things my way (though I doubt it).
• At one time I thought this might be a year where Brad Pitt was nominated for two films. It’s not happening for “Ad Astra” but at least they got it right by giving him a Supporting Actor nod for “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”. Leaving him off the list would have been criminal.
• Quentin Tarantino and his 9th film got plenty of love earning nominations for Best Picture: Musical or Comedy, Actor, Supporting Actor, Director, and screenplay. As someone who thinks this is some of QT’s best work, well done HFP.
• It’s really cool seeing “1917” getting nominations even though it looks like most of us won’t get to see it until next year. I’m still holding out hope for a screener but time is running out. It looks excellent.
• Nothing for “Avengers: Endgame”. I mean I didn’t expect there to be but I did hope they would do the right thing and show it some kind of appreciation.
• One of the most interesting categories is Best Actress: Musical or Comedy. It’s a fascinating mashup of nominees. I love seeing Awkwafina and Ana de Armas there. I’m sure Cate Blanchett will take some snarky shots but she was really good in “Where’d You Go Bernadette?”. But Beanie Feldstein? She was fine but nothing that screams award-worthy.
• By the way, Rebecca Ferguson for “Doctor Sleep”. I would include her over most nominated for Supporting Actress. And how about Florence Pugh? I’m hoping to see “Little Women” this week but from all accounts she is tremendous. That category is a headscratcher.
• Perhaps the biggest snub of all is no Best Actor nomination for Robert De Niro. Both Joe Pesci and Al Pacino get supporting nods for “The Irishman” but nothing for the film’s star? That’s a huge surprise.
• Much is already being made about the absence of women in the Best Director category and it certainly stands out. As mentioned I’m seeing “Little Women” this week so I can’t comment on Gerwig. But unlike last year there are no glaring female omissions especially considering the . I loved “The Farewell” and really liked “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”, but it wasn’t the direction that stood out in those films. And “Hustlers”, not a great film. “Booksmart”? No way. Thankfully there is progress being made by the studios but not nearly enough.
• And the category is so stacked even Noah Baumbach was left out for “Marriage Story”. That’s really hard to imagine.
• I’m more annoyed at the lack of women in the screenplay category. Lulu Wang absolutely should have been nominated. Gerwig again is left out for “Little Women” and I think Julia Hart should be considered for “Fast Color”, one of the most overlooked movies of the year.
• Eddie Murphy nominated for “Dolemite Is My Name”? I gotta admit I didn’t see that coming. Also another win for Netflix.
• I wasn’t too high on “The Lighthouse” but I expected it to get a little something. Turns out…nope.

And those are a few random thoughts on this year’s Golden Globes nominations. What do you think of the choices and my take on them? And if you missed it, below is a full list of all of this year’s nominees.

Best Motion Picture – Drama
1917
The Irishman
Joker
Marriage Story
The Two Popes

Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Dolemite Is My Name
Jojo Rabbit
Knives Out
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Rocketman

Best Director – Motion Picture
Bong Joon Ho (Parasite)
Sam Mendes (1917)
Todd Phillips (Joker)
Martin Scorsese (The Irishman)
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

Best Motion Picture – Foreign Language
The Farewell
Les Miserables
Pain and Glory
Parasite
Portrait of a Lady on Fire

Best Original Score – Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat (Little Women)
Hildur Guðnadóttir (Joker)
Randy Newman (Marriage Story)
Thomas Newman (1917)
Daniel Pemberton (Motherless Brooklyn)

Best Screenplay – Motion Picture
Noah Baumbach (Marriage Story)
Bong Joon Ho & Jin Won Han (Parasite)
Anthony McCarten (The Two Popes)
Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Steven Zaillian (The Irishman)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood)
Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes)
Al Pacino (The Irishman)
Joe Pesci (The Irishman)
Brad Pitt (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture
Kathy Bates (Richard Jewell)
Annette Bening (The Report)
Laura Dern (Marriage Story)
Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers)
Margot Robbie (Bombshell)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Daniel Craig (Knives Out)
Leonardo DiCaprio (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood)
Taron Egerton (Rocketman)
Roman Griffin Davis (Jojo Rabbit)
Eddie Murphy (Dolemite Is My Name)

Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama
Christian Bale (Ford v Ferrari)
Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory)
Adam Driver (Marriage Story)
Joaquin Phoenix (Joker)
Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy
Ana de Armas (Knives Out)
Cate Blanchett (Where’d You Go Bernadette?)
Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart)
Emma Thompson (Late Night)
Awkwafina (The Farewell)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama
Cynthia Erivo (Harriet)
Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story)
Saoirse Ronan (Little Women)
Charlize Theron (Bombshell)
Renee Zellweger (Judy)

Best Motion Picture – Animated
Frozen 2
How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
Missing Link
Toy Story 4
Lion King

Best Original Song – Motion Picture (alpha by song title last year)
“Beautiful Ghosts” (Cats) — Taylor Swift & Andrew Lloyd Webber
“I’m Gonna Love Me Again” (Rocketman) — Elton John & Bernie Taupin
“Into the Unknown” (Frozen 2) — Robert Lopez & Kristen Anderson-Lopez
“Spirit” (The Lion King) — Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Timothy McKenzie & Ilya Salmanzadeh
“Stand Up” (Harriet) — Joshuah Brian Campbell & Cynthia Erivo

In “The Last Full Measure” writer and director Todd Robinson digs into the inspiring true story of U.S. Air Force medic William H. Pitsenbarger, Jr. He was a Vietnam veteran who is credited with saving the lives of over sixty men during one of the war’s bloodiest battles. When given the chance to take the last helicopter out, Pitsenbarger stayed behind to help the soldiers who remained.

Years later an officer at the Pentagon Scott Huffman (played by Sebastian Stan) is investigating Pitsenbarger’s service for the Congressional Medal of Honor. According to the new trailer Huffman uncovers a high-level military cover-up that puts his own distinguished reputation on the line. Some great names round out the cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Christopher Plummer, William Hurt, Ed Harris, Diane Ladd, and Peter Fonda among others.

“The Last Full Measure” is set to hit theaters January 17, 2020. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.

Destin Daniel Cretton made quite an indie splash with his 2013 drama “Short Term 12”. His 2017 followup “The Glass Castle” was an ambitious film with impressive flashes but ultimately was too uneven in its character work. In 2021 he’ll be moving from the indie scene to the mammoth Marvel Universe as director of “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”. But before venturing into the MCU haze Cretton has an eye-catching legal drama coming in January.

The second trailer for “Just Mercy” is out and it leaves a powerful impression. The film is based on the memoir of Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan), a young attorney who defended Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx), a black man from Monroeville, Alabama wrongfully accused and convicted of murdering a white man. While it does seem like we are currently getting many variations of this story from Hollywood, this looks like it could pack quite the punch.

“Just Mercy” lands in theaters January 10th. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.