The Ewoks made their play for cutest creatures in the Star Wars galaxy in Return of the Jedi, but Star Wars: The Last Jedi will introduce a new species that gives the ferocious cub-like critters a run for their money. Porgs, the cuddly new penguin-esque creatures that are native to the island of Ahch-To, are the hot new shit in Star Wars-ville, and a cursory glance through social media shows that people are going nuts for these little things.
So here at /Film, we’ve taken on the Very Important Task of rounding up all of the porg-related merchandise that has emerged from Force Friday II, the day in which a ton of new Star Wars toys and products are unleashed upon the world. Wha–what’s that? Why, no, nothing else going on in the world right now could possibly be more crucial or relevant than this. I’m glad we agree on that!
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Tonight at midnight will officially begin the onslaught of Star Wars: The Last Jedi merchandise that is Force Friday II. The retail celebration brings the first toys, books, games, clothes, lunchboxes and more that are tied to the upcoming sci-fi sequel from director Rian Johnson. With so many items coming to shelves, we wanted to highlight some of the coolest stuff you’ll be able to get your hands on.
Just so you know, director Rian Johnson has said that he doesn’t think any of the toys being released for Force Friday II have any spoilers in them at all:
So that means you can peruse this story and Star Wars toy aisles to your heart’s content, and you won’t ruin the mysteries of Star Wars: The Last Jedi unless you’re trying to go into the movie without knowing anything at all.
Check out our favorite Star Wars The Last Jedi toys and collectibles below. Read More »
(Welcome to The Unpopular Opinion, a series where a writer goes to the defense of a much-maligned film or TV show, or sets their sights on something seemingly beloved by all. In this edition: Dead Silence is the first true James Wan movie and an unfairly maligned gem.)
It’s impossible to ignore James Wan’s impact on the horror genre over the last decade and change. Saw put both Wan and “torture porn” on the map, Insidious revamped haunted house architectures, The Conjuring scared up record-breaking box office numbers – and that’s to start. Tack on successful sequels (Insidious: Chapter 2 and The Conjuring 2), a respectful entry in the Fast and Furious saga (sending off Paul Walker), and him being handed the reins to a DC property in Aquaman. Wan is, undeniably, a Hollywood juggernaut who went from indie darling to household name by riding a wave of deserved praise for doing the impossible. Igniting franchises. Building cinematic universes. Redefining our nightmares. He is so very…wanderful Pulitzer, please.
Alas, some of his movies have been forgotten along the way. Travel back in time with me, won’t you? Let’s jump back a decade. Back to when James Wan was still trying to emerge from under the shadow of Saw. Back to when he made one of his best movies. Back when no one gave the terrific Dead Silence the time of day.
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(Welcome to Movie Mixtape, where we find cinematic relatives and seek out interesting connections between new releases and older movies that allow us to rethink and enjoy what’s in our theaters as well as the favorites on our shelf. In this edition: the re-release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind.)
Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, so it’s being re-released into select theaters this weekend. If you’re near one of the theaters, it offers a fantastic opportunity to see a movie worthy of the big screen as it was intended. If you’re not, you can still load it up on your own personal medium screen and fill your living room with blinking lights and familial angst.
That’s the brilliance of it, right? Like many Spielberg movies, Close Encounters delivers spectacle without relying on it. We get the big-think intrigue of the science fiction, and the thrill of making contact with aliens, but the heart of the story is the obsession that drives a wedge between Richard Dreyfuss’s Roy and his family.
Above all else, there’s a human cost to reaching for the stars.
So what should we watch with it?
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Posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2017 by Fred Topel
The second season finale of Narcos told viewers what season three was going to be about. Javier Pena (Pedro Pascal) was recruited to pursue the Cali Cartel. Narcos season 3 picks up the Cali Cartel story, who celebrated the demise of their rival (and seasons 1 and 2 lead) Escobar.
Narcos show runner Eric Newman spoke with /Film by phone about the show’s third season. Newman is also producer of the upcoming Netflix original movie Bright starring Will Smith and directed by David Ayer. He’s also attached to some high profile movies with directors Jon Favreau and Matt Reeves.
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Welcome to The Water Cooler, a weekly feature where the /Film staff is free to go off-topic and talk about everything except the movies and TV shows they normally write about. In this edition: Hoai-Tran talks about visiting the Pixar campus, Peter tries to memorize a deck of cards, Jacob implores you to donate to Houston relief, Ben watches La La Land on an L.A. rooftop, Brad recommends a great web series, and Jack talks about a boxing match no one watched.
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Game of Thrones season 7, the sometimes spellbinding and sometimes frustrating penultimate season of the most popular show on television, is over. If the rumors are to be believed, we may not see the final season until 2019, which means we have a long wait ahead of us. And a lot of time to bicker over silly questions like “Which character is currently winning the game of thrones?” Yep, it’s time for our annual Game of Thrones power ranking.
Jacob Hall and Ben Pearson, two of /Film’s resident Game of Thrones aficionados, decided to take this question to heart. Below, we have assembled a list of the major surviving characters (or at least the ones who matter), ranked from “doing quite poorly at the game of thrones” to “probably going to be sitting on the Iron Throne when all is said and done.” This list was devised via techniques mastered by the Maesters of the Citadel – it is completely and scientifically accurate.
Naturally, there are major spoilers throughout this article.
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Posted on Wednesday, August 30th, 2017 by Jacob Hall
George R.R. Martin‘s A Song of Ice and Fire novels are so dense and rich with detail that they’ve inspired hundreds of theories from fans over the years as they’ve scrutinized and re-scrutinized the text in the years between novels. HBO’s television adaptation is no different.
While Game of Thrones has dodged as many fan theories as it has embraced (where art thou, Cleganebowl?), this week’s season finale just quietly dropped something big on our laps. It turns out that one of the wackiest theories of all may be true. Or we’re just being trolled.
Naturally, spoilers for Game of Thrones season 7 begin right now.
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(Welcome to The Disney Discourse, a recurring feature where Josh Spiegel discusses the latest in Disney news. He goes deep on everything from the animated classics to the theme parks to live-action franchises. In this edition: why does Disney not know what to do with the Muppets?)
Earlier this week, a much-ballyhooed change to one of the most enduring characters in modern popular culture was unveiled, but you’d be forgiven for not noticing.
In their newest entry of the weekly series entitled “Muppet Thought of the Week,” the Muppets’ YouTube channel displayed a brand new Kermit the Frog. Kermit, of course, still looks the same, but if you watch the video and think he sounds a bit different – you’re right! The character, created and performed by Muppet honcho Jim Henson until his untimely passing in 1990, had been voiced and performed by Steve Whitmire for over 25 years. As of now, another longtime Muppet performer, Matt Vogel, portrays Kermit.
Earlier in the summer, this unexpected and abrupt passing of the torch was detailed at length online because of the mysterious nature of why Whitmire had been fired from the Jim Henson Company after performing as Kermit in multiple films, TV shows, and specials. (/Film wrote about some of these details last month, if you want further context.) It’s unfortunate, at best, to see the seeming in-fighting between Whitmire and the Jim Henson Company become so public. However, the unveiling of the new Kermit raises another, larger frustration. It would be easy to criticize Vogel’s performance as Kermit in that new video — he predictably doesn’t sound like the Kermit portrayed by either Henson or Whitmire, so it will at least take some getting used to — but it’s kind of hard to muster up a lot of commentary about a video that is literally less than 30 seconds long. This, in effect, speaks to the real problem: the Walt Disney Company has owned the Muppets for nearly 15 years, and this is how they decide to introduce a new Kermit the Frog? This is how they handle the Muppets?
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Every week in /Answers, we attempt to answer a new pop culture-related question. Tying in with the upcoming re-release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, this week’s edition asks “What is your favorite scene from a Steven Spielberg movie?”
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