In the beginning, there was the Word…or a bunch of words, anyway. They began with, “It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.” Once seen, it was impossible to forget. Film historians will tell you the first blockbuster was Steven Spielberg’s Jaws in 1975. That’s true, but there’s a galaxy’s worth of difference between a blockbuster and a frickin’ phenomenon. On May 25, 1977, Star Wars changed everything. The brainchild of George Lucas erupted from theaters and soon laid claim to... Read More

I’m told that Star Wars  was the first movie I ever saw. My parents made the fairly questionable decision to take two-year-old me to a crowded theater, and my gut tells me it was probably my mother’s idea. At some point, Dad probably said, “It’s not like he’ll remember it.* What’s the point?” Mom probably insisted due to the principle of it, and now there’s a strain of George Lucas’ magnum opus winding its way through the DNA of my childhood. Hardly original, right? For most of us, that’s the reason Star Wars is inexorably tied up in feelings of nostalgia. The warm blanket.... Read More

I’m a father to a ten-year-old boy. Part of my job is to teach him to be a decent human being, to be kind to others, help whenever possible, and try to make things suck just a little bit less. I’m also white. My wife is white, so that makes our kid white. That whiteness gives us advantages, ones that we often take for granted but are nevertheless enormous. Here’s an example. Last weekend, my wife got busted for speeding. Was she really speeding, or was she targeted due to her race or gender? Oh, I guarantee she was legitimately speeding. She told me later that the entire interaction... Read More

I know all of you who clicked on this link are desperate to know about my morning routine leading up to the writing of this review. Happy to oblige! I got out of bed wearing 1 pair of red moose-print pajama bottoms and 1 Prefontaine t-shirt. Teeth were brushed thoroughly (47.2% of Americans suffer from periodontal disease!), and I gave my dog a brisk morning walk. Next, dog and cats were fed, I made breakfast for myself (Cheat day! Woo-hoo!), and checked Facebook (Friends bought a new home in Tacoma! Congratulations!) while I ate. I hung out a bit with my wife and son (Quality time is family time!)... Read More

Back in the old days of 2009, you might remember that J.J. Abrams rebooted the Star Trek franchise. Abrams took a series that had lain dormant and supercharged it. When we think of Star Trek, we think of sci-fi that’s a bit cerebral, that’s a little stately, and that’s focused more on exploration. “Screw that,” Abrams said. Instead, his Star Trek was filled with finely cast actors and rapid pacing (with some glaring plot holes). It had a breathless, gee-whiz sense of wonder. It didn’t want to screw around with long tracking shots of the starship Enterprise, it... Read More