Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Eight: The Redemption of Anakin Skywalker (Or: Look for the Hayden Christensen Cameo and Wonder Why Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson Aren’t with Him)

01:45:01 – THE END Welcome to the final chapter of the Jedi Edition of the 15-Minute Force. This will conclude our annotated synopses of the prequel trilogy, the standalone Rogue One, and the original trilogy. From here, we’re moving on to The Force Awakens, which I’ve seen only twice so far, and then The […]

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Seven: Luke’s Kamikaze Mission (Or: Soon I’ll Be Dead . . . And You With Me)

01:30:01 – 01:45:00 The Jedi Edition of the 15-Minute Force hasn’t exactly been action-packed for the last couple of chapters. Everything seemed to slow to a crawl as we came to the Teddy Bear Village. Plus, Luke Skywalker had to share some information about genealogy with his sister, Leia Organa, just prior to turning himself […]

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Five: Introducing Wicket W. Warrik, Esquire (Or: An Invitation to an Ewok Barbeque)

01:00:01 – 01:15:00 We’re still in the speederbike sequence as this chapter begins. Leia is is trading shots with one of the speederbike scouts until she falls off her bike and lands in the undergrowth. Her opponent’s victory is short-lived since he is immolated in a head-on crash with what looks like a downed tree. […]

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Four: Exposition is Exciting (From a Certain Point of View)

00:45:01 – 01:00:00 We are now past the 45-minute mark of the Jedi Edition of 15-Minute Force. As we rejoin our hero, Luke Skywalker, we are still on Dagobah. Luke’s Jedi mentor Yoda is now dead, and as this chapter begins, his body fades away to nothingness. There’s nothing keeping Luke in the swamp any […]

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Three: The Rescue of Han Solo

00:30:01 – 00:45:00 It’s common knowledge here in the bullpen of 15-Minute Force that this is my least favorite movie in the original “trilogy.” I have my reasons, and I intend to share them with you as we continue this project. But . . . none of these reasons have anything to do with […]

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Two: Slave Leia Makes Her Debut (Or: I Know Why the Rancor Keeper Cries)

00:15:01 – 00:30:00 We here at the 15-Minute Force studios take this all seriously. As we left our stalwart Star Wars heroes, we were in Jabba’s palace. Artoo and Threepio just delivered themselves as gifts from the self-proclaimed Jedi Knight, Luke Skywalker, who is the offspring of Darth Vader, even though he doesn’t say that. […]

Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter One: Getting the Band Back Together (Or: Jedi Plans Are Always Complicated)

00:00:00 – 00:15:00 Lots of things were happening when Return of the Jedi premiered in the theaters on May 25, 1983. Ronald Reagan was still our president in the US, and would not be elevated to god-status until years later. That song from Flashdance was being hummed in America, while Spandau Ballet was belting out […]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Seven: Lando Double-Crosses Everybody (Or: We Should All Have a Lobot)

01:30:01 – 01:45:01 Wow. We’re already on Chapter Seven of the Empire Edition of the 15-Minute Force. Time flies when you’re having fun. It is likely that this is our penultimate chapter of this edition. According to the counter on my DVD player, this movie clocks in at 2 hours, 7 minutes and change. […]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Six: Floating Away With The Rest of The Garbage (Or: Two Hamlet References Too Many)

01:15:01 – 01:30:00 So, we’ve already arrived at the sixth installment of the Empire Edition of the 15-Minute Force, in which we are talking about the movie Star Wars fans commonly refer to as just Empire fifteen minutes at a time. When I’ve been asked to rank the movies in the past, or when […]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Five: In Which Yoda Fully Explains Everything About the Force (Or: Luke Cosplays With Himself)

01:00:01 – 01:15:00 As we left Chapter Four of the Empire Edition of the 15-Minute Force, Jedi Master Yoda was trying to feed us a stew that we didn’t find palatable and was telling us that we would soon be afraid. Also, we were trying to clean flying sucker-face birds called Mynocks off of […]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Four: Swamp Planets and Asteroid Caverns (Or: Unexpected Master Jedi Knights and Sucker-Faced Mynocks)

00:45:01 – 01:00:00 As we begin this chapter of the Empire Edition of the 15-Minute Force, I’m inclined to believe that we’ve crossed over into Act 2. Or, more precisely, we’re about to. The Battle of Hoth is over, the rebels were successful in making their escape, and our heroes are transitioning to new settings. […]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Three: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Asteroid Field (Or: Never Loan Luke Your Car)

00:30:01 – 00:45:00 Those of us here at the 15-Minute Force studios are happy to rejoin Empire with a snowy battle already in progress. The firmly entrenched rebel force is facing off against several Imperial Walkers, also known as AT-ATs, protecting the generators that power the rebel base’s energy shield until the last of […]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter Two: Did I Hear “Roxanne” Playing In An Imperial Walker Cockpit? (Or: Wedge Antilles Does Something Right For A Change)

00:15:01 – 00:30:00 When we last saw our heroes, Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, at the end of Chapter 1 of the Empire Edition of 15-Minute Force, Han had placed Luke in the steaming guts of a dead tauntaun while he set about putting up a shelter. Luke, before losing consciousness, had received a […]

Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (a 15-Minute Force production): Chapter One: Meet the New Base (Same As the Old Base, Only Colder and Whiter)

00:00:00 – 00:15:00 At long last, we arrive at the Empire Edition of 15-Minute Force. Not to be a nerd-lemming, this movie has always been my favorite of all the Star Wars movies, and as we begin this, my umpteenth viewing of the movie, I believe that this assessment still holds true. Yes, I like […]

Stranger Things: Season 2 Premiere “MADMAX” — a review

I’ll let you in on a secret. I’m not a binge-watcher. That’s not the secret. My secret is that I’m having to force myself to not binge-watch the second season of Stranger Things, the Netflix original written and directed by The Duffer Brothers that took streaming America by storm last year. As of […]

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