#fire Kathleen Kennedy

[leih-dupont]

After seeing so much on here and Twitter about #SaveTheAcolyte and all the nonsense going on within. I felt that, as a lifelong fan of Star Wars, enough was enough. To all publications that pander to the loud minority in this fan base, I present my short counterargument.

Attack my opinion all you want. I know where I stand. And that is with those in this fanbase who are tired of being ignored and disregarded. Cast aside and overlooked. We were here first. Our voices matter, too. #CancelTheAcolyte #fireKathleenKennedy #saveStarWars

I want to make something absolutely unequivocally clear. The Acolyte failed (and yes, it did fail) because of a very definitive, very decisive reason.

Disney, after purchasing Lucas Films and Star Wars, chose to spit in the face and no longer regard the older/”legends” fan base as a viable audience, or take into consideration their ideas, opinions, or viewership in favor of a new untapped market-because they know that the previous fan base was not going to agree with the changes that they were going to make. And, by pandering to a new, oblivious audience-they could get away with more destruction.

After the purchase, Disney and Kathleen Kennedy chose to “erase” decades of extended universe content that was deeply loved and cherished by the older fan base. Yet, not long after, the bad reception of some of their early projects was met with harsh criticism. Criticism that was met with asinine claims that there was nothing to work with and that Star Wars was creatively difficult to expand upon. It is thanks to the older fan base that this beloved franchise has survived as long as it did. And it is that very same fan base that Disney offensively chooses to ignore in favor of a new audience that has very little knowledge or understanding of the franchise as a whole, which they can now pandering towards with little push back.

To Disney, “our version” Star Wars no longer exists. It was killed and made obscure. Obsolete. Completely irrelevant as only their version of Star Wars is allowed to exist now. A version that they can control, twist, manipulate, and market to a generation of fans that will never know about the magnificent, beautiful, and masterfully crafted world that has been our escape for 40+ years. Stories that have given life to the Galaxy we wanted to be a part of.

I will admit that Disney; while in control of Star Wars, has done an acceptable job at creating wonderful new content and shows like the Bad Batch, Rebels, Rogue One, Season 7 of The Clone Wars, the Mandalorian (S1+2), and Andor. However, that does not mean we can overlook, nor does it justify the existence of other projects that have been routinely seen as critical failures amongst a majority of the fan base. Projects that have attempted to return ideas, concepts, and storylines from past extended universe properties and instead twist them into a crude and shameful attempt at pandering towards the older audience. Attempts that has left members of the older extended universe fan base enraged as beloved storylines, characters, concepts, plot points and themes we all have cherished for decades have become bastardized and pathetically interpreted in a lazy attempt to make us feel heard. THAT is why the Acolyte failed.

I worry that if Disney continues down this path of negligence and ignorance towards the older members of this fan base-it will only lead to further and further critical failures that will even further tarnish the reputation of Star Wars in the pop-culture zeitgeist. We are not some “loud minority” that kicks and screams when we see a “strong powerful LGBTQ+ woman of color” on screen. We ARE the VERY foundation of this franchise. And we are exhausted from seeing what is becoming of our childhood under the umbrella of a multi-billion dollar corporation’s need to further satiate its unquenchable greed. We are scared that Star Wars will no longer become this incredibly important and innovative piece of cinema history, but that it will soon become a shell of a once great franchise that brought millions of people together in a galaxy far, far away…

[almdragonrend]

Analyzing Evil: Kathleen Kennedy From Disney Lucasfilm

She is a real life Villain, who has destroyed what many loved and defends her Actions by denouncing and slandering the fans.

[sailforvalinor]

Alas, they've found me (the Ahsoka haters found my posts)

[licorishh]

This right after the season 2 trailer for Boba Fett I'm jumping off a roof

has it ever been more over

[jasper-rolls]

Leftist critique of Star Wars: the story of bumblo wexler ends up being a story stunningly prescient about the issues with war technology that we struggle with today, while simultaneously being the most racist thing I’ve seen in the last 10 years, and yes that does include the Japanese aliens from episode 1

Liberal critique of Star Wars: the mixed reaction to the last jedi is empirical, irrefutable proof that Russia has been interfering in the [insert year here] elections. Rise of Skywalker was fun, I liked it

Right wing critique of Star Wars: fire??? In space???? Don’t you know space has no oxygen? I expect complete realism in my science fantasy series. Typical woke woman writer fail. I hope Kathleen Kennedy gets fired and then ritualistically tortured for this fucking blunder

George Lucas: boy those laser swords sure are cool, huh?

[paulovieorq]

Queer shipps that sould've Been Canon

These are the ones that were very hinted on the show but never became Canon

JOHNLOCK

HANNIGRAM

Bryan fueller confirmed the shipp is Canon... But It was never shown in an explicit way in the show

SUPERCORP

Do i really need to say something about these Two ?

KLANCE

This one Hurts DEEP

DESTIEL

This one Hurts even DEEPER

BUDDIE

Kristen reidel i Hope you get fired

BECCA AND CHLOE

The queerbait was also strong in this one

FINN and POE

Even the actors shipped It and Kathleen Kennedy ( president of Lucasfilm) Said that they thought about the possibility... But It was put away

JEDEDIAH and OCTAVIUS from a night in the museum... I mean C'mon

Now some shipps that were not hinted at but had a Lot of chemistry to become Canon If the writers wanted to:

STEDDIE: stranger things

I Mean... C'mon their chemistry was undeniable...

WENCLAIR: wednesy

I unfortunately don't think It is going to happen for obvious reasons... But i think they're so cute together

JJPOPE: outer banks

It would be amazing... But the writers preferred to stick with another generic straight shipp Just like 100000 others

Now this one i still have Hope to Go Canon ( and in my opinion is going to happen )

BYLER: stranger things

After seeing some analysis on YouTube and tiktok It makes A LOT of sense of them being endgame... And honestly... It would be the only way possible to end the show

And no one can Tell me that the final scene from Season 4 was not a foreshadowing that they're going to be endgame... These are literally the endgame couples behind eleven

[lol-jackles]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/gina-carano-sues-disney-mandalorian-firing-lawsuit-elon-musk-1235817466/

I used to love her character and thought she had a great dynamic with the Mandalorian

But she has always been extremely wrong in all of this and now she is even accusing Pedro

I don't understand much about these things and I wonder where this is going, what do you think?

Link. This is about discrimination and defamation I think she has a case. Here is the document submitted to court.

First, Gina was treated differently from her co-stars by Lucasfilm. If Mark Hamill is allowed to run his mouth with left-leaning ideological opinions for years without getting fired, then why not Gina with her right-leaning opinions? Even male co-stars expressing similar beliefs as Gina were not targeted by Disney for discipline or harassment. Gina was not "accusing" Pedro nor the other male co-stars mentioned in the document, but to point out the difference in treatment between her and others that was based on her sex and ideologies. So much for Kathleen Kennedy's claim that "Force is Female".

Second, Lucasfilms didn't just fired her, they defamed her publicly on her way out. In the good old days, producers quietly blacklist actors and rarely publicly dissed them. So Lucasfilm and Disney messed up by saying the cause of her firing. Had they just moved on without stating the unneeded reason, they could have been fine. But apparently Lucasfilm and Disney wanted the approval of only one side of the isle.

Third, discovery will be a real concern for Lucasfilm/Disney, especially if emails showed that Gina was targeted for harassment by Lucasfilm employees and producers, especially from Kathleen Kennedy. In one case, Gina was accidentally sent an email from a Lucasfilm employee advising Disney on how to use Gina as a scapegoat as a deflection from their own questionable business dealings in China by mentioning the January 6th event in DC and Gina in the same sentence.

Wow. Just....Gina, I hope you get $10 million-after-tax.

Side note: Emily Swallows aka Darkness aka Chuck's sister had come to Gina's defense against the woke mob madness.

[fanficfanattic]

Will you share your Jamie Tartt playlist? 👀

Buckle up boys! Hold on to your butts! Other ways to say brace yourselves!

To Build a Home (feat. Patrick Watson) by The Cinematic Orchestra

I'll Be Good by Jaymes Young

Sorrow by Bad Religion

The Greatest by Sia

Love I'm Given by Ellie Goulding

Runaway by AURORA

Achilles Come Down by Gang of Youths

Move by Oliver Tree

High Hopes by Panic! At the Disco

Outrunning Karma by Alec Benjamin

Home by Cavetown

The Perfect Space by The Avett Brothers

A Better Son/Daughter by Rilo Kiley

False Confidence by Noah Kahan

Legend by The Score

The Competition by Kimya Dawson

In the Blood by John Mayer

Winner by Walgrove

Icarus by Bastille

Sympathy by The Goo Goo Dolls

Take Yours, I’ll Take Mine by Matthew Mole

People Help the People by Birdy

Daylight by David Kushner

Cough it Out by The Front Bottoms

Sober by P!nk

The Cave by Mumford & Sons

Tear It Up by Queen

Waves by Dean Lewis

Soldier by Ingrid Michaelson

We Don't Believe What's On TV by Twenty One Pilots

Blood In the Cut by K.Flay

Chameleon/Comedian by Kathleen Edwards

Water (feat. Rostam) by Ra Ra Riot

All is Soft Inside by AURORA

Pieces (feat. Noah Kahan) by Matoma

Dog Days Are Over by Florence + the Machine

Rise up With Fists!! by Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins

Gone, Gone, Gone by Phillip Phillips

HandClap by Fitz and The Tantrums

Hi Ren by Ren

I Don't Belong In This Club by Why Don't We & Macklemore

Skinny Love by Birdy

Raising Hell (feat. Big Freedia) by Kesha

Go Places by The New Pornographers

The Night Starts Here by Stars

Ghost by Ella Henderson

Here We Go by WILD

If I Be Wrong by Wolf Larsen

Part of Me by Noah Kahan

We're Going to Be Friends

The White Stripes

Bitch by Meredith Brooks

Samson by Regina Spektor

Let's go to Hell by Tai Verdes

Raise Hell by Brandi Carlile

Power Over Me by Dermot Kennedy

Don't Tell the Boys by Petey

Sober Up (feat. Rivers Cuomo) by AJR

O.N.E. By Yeasayer

Locked Up by Ingrid Michaelson

Like a Stone by Audioslave

Leave the Light On by Overcoats

Tough (feat. Noah Kahan) by Quinn XCII

touch tank by quinnie

Warrior by AURORA

Too Sweet by Hozier

I'Il Think of You by Kurt Hugo Schneider

Into the Ocean by Blue October

Star Fire by Sleeping Wolf

Happier (Stripped) by Marshmello & Bastille

Knievel by Tommy Lefroy

Walk Me Home by P!nk

Brat (Humor Me) by Deore

Am I Wrong by Love Spit Love

Someday by One Republic

7 Years by Lukas Graham

Stick Season by Noah Kahan

Like a Prayer by Madonna

Little Bit by Lykke Li

Bruises by Lewis Capaldi

Don't Carry It All by The Decemberists

Freaking Out by The Wrecks

Will Do by TV on the Radio

The Dirt by Tor Miller

Hope of Morning by Icon for Hire

Smile by Mikky Ekko

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight by The Postal Service

Blood Brothers by Ingrid Michaelson

All My Friends by The Revivalists

Fuck Authority by Pennywise

Crazier Things by Chelsea Cutler & Noah Kahan

Kiss With a Fist by Florence + the Machine

Unstoppable by Sia

Can't Go to Hell by Sin Shake Sin

World's Smallest Violin by AJR

All I Know So Far by P!nk

Knocking at the Door by Arkells

Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons

The Seed by AURORA

Wine, Women and Song by Harvey Danger

The Cult of Dionysus by The Orion Experience

All You Wanted by Michelle Branch

Young Blood by The Naked and Famous

Truth No. 2 by The Chicks

Homesick by Noah Kahan

Family Line by Conan Gray

The Moon Will Sing by The Crane Wives

Heroes Never Die by NateWantsToBattle

My Number Tegan and Sara

Masterpiece by Big Thief

Til It Happens To You by Lady Gaga

I Don't Wanna Live Forever (Cups Version) by Kurt Hugo Schneider

Sit Down by James

Robots by Dan Mangan

Windowsill by Arcade Fire

Be OK by Ingrid Michaelson

Bite the Hand by boygenius

The Top (Bonus Track) by Primo the Alien

MEAN! (Remix) [feat. Noah Kahan] by Madeline The Person

Home We'll Go (Take My Hand) by Steve Aoki & Walk Off the Earth

From The Bottom Of My Heart by The Wallflowers

FourFiveSeconds by Rihanna and Kanye West and Paul McCartney

I Am the Resurrection by The Stone Roses

Chrome Plated Heart by Melissa Etheridge

Precious Love by James Morrison

Bones (feat. One Republic) by Galantis

Let's Go (feat. Icona Pop) by Tiesto

Unbelievers by Vampire Weekend

So What by P!nk

I Don't Feel Like Dancin' by Scissor Sisters

Creature Fear by Bon Iver

Brother by The Rural Alberta Advantage

Save Me by Noah Kahan

High and Dry by Radiohead

Power by Little Mix

Dirty Paws by Of Monsters and Men

The Boy Does Nothing by Alesha Dixon

Set You Free (Edit) by N-Trance

Stronger by Britney Spears

First Things First by Neon Trees

Kings & Queens by Ava Max

Welcome Home, Son by Radical Face

Capsize by FRENSHIP & Emily Warren

We Were Kings by Ryan Star

Come Undone by Duran Duran

Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John

Pride by Noah Kahan & mxmtoon

Everywhere by Michelle Branch

Blow Me (One Last Kiss) by P!nk

Dust Bowl Dance by Mumford & Sons

Bad Blood by Bastille

Blue Monday by New Order

Make Believe by The FAIM

Midnight Show by The Killers

Can't Fight the Moonlight by LeAnn Rimes

Ophelia by The Lumineers

Shaky Ground by Freedom Fry

Grounds for Divorce by Elbow

Heaven and Hell by Let's Play Dead

Survivor by The Score

Ready Now by dodie

Young Blood by Noah Kahan

Ain’t No Reason by Brett Dennen

King by Years & Years

Bulletproof by La Roux

Beating Heart Cadavers by Acollective

How to Rest by The Crane Wives

Santa Monica by Everclear

Beds Are Burning by Midnight Oil

Get Some by Lykke Li

Sky Full of Song by Florence + the Machine

Beautiful Trauma by P!nk

Parachute (Serban Ghenea Mix) by Ingrid Michaelson

Down to the Bottom by Dorothy

YES MOM by Tessa Violet

Numb Little Bug by Em Beihold

Rise Up by Andra Day

Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Hurt Somebody by Noah Kahan

[justforbooks]

Ethel Kennedy

Widow of Bobby Kennedy who brought up 11 children after his 1968 assassination and later devoted herself to social causes

Ethel Kennedy, who has died aged 96, was one of the most active and best-known US political wives of the 20th century. As her husband, Robert F Kennedy, campaigned first for the Senate and then for the presidency, she supported him while also bringing up their children. The 11th and last of them, her daughter Rory, was born after Bobby was assassinated in 1968. From the 1970s onwards, Ethel devoted herself to social causes and was latterly co-chair of the Coalition of Gun Control.

Her life had been touched by tragedy earlier, when her parents died in a plane crash in 1955. Her brother-in-law, President John F Kennedy, was assassinated in 1963. Two of her children died prematurely – David of a drug overdose at the age of 28 in 1984 and Michael in a skiing accident in 1997, when he was 39. Her husband was shot at the Ambassador hotel in Los Angeles following his victory in the California primary for the US presidential race.

Sustained by a strong Catholic faith, she remained, in the view of writer Hays Gorey, “an incorrigibly cheerful widow”, never permitting gloom to descend on the frenetic lifestyle that had always been found at Hickory Hill, the family home in McLean, Virginia. The place was strewn with footballs and tennis rackets, and no one was allowed to sit around and mope.

Ethel used sport to promote her husband’s legacy and raise money for the wide variety of charities that fell under the umbrella of the Robert Kennedy Foundation, which also administered what is now Robert F Kennedy Human Rights. This led to the creation of a memorial tennis tournament at Forest Hills, New York, a pro-celebrity event that for several years in the 1970s was played on the eve of the US Open.

Born in Chicago, Ethel was the sixth of seven children of Ann (nee Brannack), a devout Catholic, and George Skakel, who went from an $8 a week job as a railway clerk to selling coal and founding a company called Great Lakes Coal & Coke. When Ethel was five the family moved east, eventually settling in Connecticut, where she attended Greenwich academy. She became friends with Jean Kennedy, Bobby’s sister, while they were both studying at Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart in New York City. Meanwhile, Bobby – whom Ethel first met on a skiing trip in Quebec in 1945 – was dating Ethel’s sister, Patricia. When they broke up, Ethel began the partnership that would define her life.

Ethel campaigned for John F Kennedy when he ran for Congress in Massachusetts in 1946. She married his younger brother in 1950, and the following year their first child, Kathleen, was born.

“They had a wonderful relationship, full of banter and repartee,” recalled Donald Dell, a US Davis Cup captain in the 60s, who played tennis with the couple and became a family friend. “Ethel used to needle Bobby all the time and he gave as good as he got. But he was always very protective of her and she was fiercely loyal to him.”

When JFK ran for the Senate in 1952, Bobby managed the campaign. Throughout the rest of the 50s, Ethel supported Bobby as he climbed the political ladder, and when JFK went to the White House in 1960, Bobby was appointed attorney general.

The assassination of JFK in 1963 changed Bobby and Ethel’s lives abruptly. Bobby continued the Kennedy story by successfully running for the Senate in 1964 and then decided to join the 1968 presidential race himself.

Early in the campaign, that March, came the stunning news that President Lyndon B Johnson had decided not to run for a second term. It immediately made Bobby Kennedy a hot favourite to win the Democratic nomination and, in many people’s minds, the presidency. But that dream died after shots were fired in the kitchen of the Los Angeles hotel in June.

Dealing steadfastly with her bereavement, Ethel drew on a wide and diverse array of “pals”, as she used to call them, to boost her charitable work. Sidney Poitier, Sammy Davis Jnr and Charlton Heston were among the celebrities who were always available when she called. A friend remembers her phoning Heston, whom she always referred to as Chuckles, in an attempt to get him to persuade Roy Emerson, the Wimbledon champion, to play in her tournament. “In return I’ll take a part in one of your movies,” she joked. “But I don’t want a maid’s part – I want some love interest!”

There was some speculation about possible “love interest” between Ethel and the singer Andy Williams during the years following her husband’s death. This gossip continued until, citing her Catholic views, she announced a decision never to re-marry.

In a later age, a new generation was swept up in the Kennedy lifestyle. Taylor Swift, the country music star, was 23 when she spent some time with the then 84-year-old widow at the family compound at Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, in 2012. Swift declined to go swimming because a couple of her friends had not brought their swimsuits. “Being that thoughtful, you’ll run the risk of being boring,” said Ethel. “Go on, get in the water!”

“So I jumped in,” said Swift. “I took it as a metaphor for life. You have to jump in; you have to take your chances. Ethel taught me that.”

In May 2014, the Benning Road Bridge, which links Washington DC to Anacostia in Maryland, was renamed the Ethel Kennedy Bridge in recognition of the decades of work she had put in to improve the lives of young people living alongside the Anacostia River, reportedly one of the most polluted in America. To kick start the project in 1992, Ethel had waded in to pluck old tyres and debris from the water.

The family member most in the news recently has been her son Robert Jr, who abandoned presidential runs first as a Democrat, and then as an independent. Ethel is survived by him, four other sons, Joseph, Christopher, Max and Douglas, and four daughters, Kathleen, Courtney, Kerry and Rory.

🔔 Ethel Skakel Kennedy, socialite and campaigner, born 11 April 1928; died 10 October 2024

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at Just for Books…?

[musings-of-a-rose]

I can't find anything else to verify this but this guy is usually pretty good with his resources. And I fucking KNEW there was something going on solely judging by Pedro's body language. He was fired from Skeleton Crew AND Kathleen is going to replace him for this show only. Its..It's... guys just listen. 

If you’re wondering why season 3 was, to put it kindly, really fucking off? It’s her. All the bad choices that have been made (and I could go ON) since the sequals? It’s her. Disney literally had to step in and tell her that no, she can’t OFF Din Djarin and no, she can’t replace him as Din Djarin on all of the shows.

I have been a Star Wars fan since I was wee. WEE. And I have NEVER said “I won’t be watching that Star Wars thing.” So, congratulations Kathleen Kennedy - you’ve officially made me say “I absolutely refuse to watch this Star Wars story.”

Kathleen Kennedy was the WORST thing to ever happen to star wars. EVER.

[nikibogwater]

Genuinely the best thing I think Lucasfilm could do for themselves at this point is to craft this new Mando & Grogu movie in such a way that you don't have to watch seasons 2 or 3 of The Mandalorian in order to seamlessly transition from show to movie. I mean, short of retconning the entire Book of Boba Fett series, there's nothing they can do to salvage the lost impact of Din and Grogu's separation at the end of the second season. But if they make a good movie (emphasis on good--don't let Kathleen Kennedy anywhere near the screenplay) that just sort of....doesn't mention anything that happened after season 1, they might be able to win back the audiences they lost after the dumpster fire that was BoBF and season 3. Yeah, it'd leave some loose ends if you jump from season 1 straight into the movie, but honestly? Loose ends would be an improvement over the answers we've gotten in canon (RIP Moff Gideon. You were a serviceable antagonist before you suddenly became staggeringly incompetent at your job).

Ideally, they'd go back to a story that is almost completely disconnected from the Skywalker saga. I'm so sick of everything in Star Wars having to somehow link back to the main theatrical films. Take some time off to explore more of traditional Mandalorian culture, introduce an entertaining one-off antagonist, and really lean back into the novelty of a lone Mandalorian bounty hunter raising a Jedi youngling as his own. Like, how does Din reconcile his adherence to The Way with Grogu's Jedi origins? Mandalorian culture is built on forging strong family bonds, but what happens if the bond between them pushes Grogu to use the powers of the Dark Side? It's a question they asked in season 2, and then never really answered. Is it even possible for Din to raise Grogu in a way that both honors his Creed and safeguards against the dangerous potential of a Force user? Could they end up creating a new Way that embraces both of these seemingly incompatible cultures? I digress. The point is that I personally have zero interest in coming back for these two characters if the writers just keep ignoring everything that makes them unique and interesting in favor of cramming them into place somewhere within the Larger Generic Plot.

Of course, that's also assuming that they don't just make the movie all about Bo Katan instead. Which, let's face it, is a highly likely possibility. 😑

[merrysithmas]

disney - please fire jon favreau he cannot write. filoni is too obsessed with his OCs. fire kathleen kennedy bc EVERY SINGLE sw project under her direction has failed except Andor (sorry girl).

and PLEASE cancel the (shudder) "Mandoverse" 🤮. no one and i repeat NO ONE wants this.

i hope bob iger is paying attention to all this. the only two creatives directing with an ounce of care are Gilroy and Deborah Chow.

like please - you've ruined Mando now. he "isnt the main character" of his OWN SHOW? no one is going to watch the Bo Katan show bro. the bait and switch was sour af and you did everyone's two favs (Din and Grogu) SO dirty.

literally what more is left?????

[cantsayidont]

Some movies, considered chronologically:

THE FLAMINGO KID (1984): Nostalgia-burdened period piece, set in 1963, about working-class kid Jeffrey (Matt Dillon), who gets a summer job parking cars at an exclusive beach club called El Flamingo, starts dating a rich girl (Carole R. Davis), and becomes fascinated by her father (Richard Crenna), a self-made sports car dealer and local card sharp who thinks college is sucker's game. This alienates Jeffrey's own father (Hector Elizondo), a stalwart plumber who doesn't want to see Jeffrey squander his chances of bettering himself. The story is thus a sort of YA prototype of Oliver Stone's later WALL STREET — a Reagan-era morality play about a young man caught between two father figures, one representing the Lure of Easy Money and the other a paragon of Honest Hard Work — badly undermined by its absurdly idealized longing for the alleged innocence of the Kennedy era (underlined by an obnoxious oldies soundtrack). It offers a meaty role for Crenna, but as a drama, it has less substance than FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF. Davis's character is such a nonentity that you keep forgetting she's there, and the way she ends up functioning as a proxy for Jeffrey's obsession with her dad is awkward. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Nope. VERDICT: A simple-minded story blinded by its rose-colored glasses.

THE JOY LUCK CLUB (1993): Sudsy but affecting episodic adaptation of Amy Tan's novel about four middle-aged Chinese women and their strained relationships with their Chinese-American daughters, starring Ming-Na Wen and nearly every other Chinese actress working in the U.S. at the time. The way the script segues between the characters' respective stories is clunky, and it often teeters on the brink of schmaltz, but there are moments of real dramatic power amongst the more superficial tearjerker moments, and you'd have to have a stonier heart than I to not sob at the bittersweet ending. Strong acting helps, with Tsai Chin particularly good as Auntie Lindo. CONTAINS LESBIANS? It seems like it should, but alas. VERDICT: Heavy-handed at times, but undeniably moving.

COLD COMFORT FARM (1996): Before she became an action star, Kate Beckinsale starred in this hilarious adaptation of Stella Gibbons' 1932 satiric novel about glib orphan Flora Poste, who makes it her project to fix all the problems of the titular farm and its eccentric denizens — distant cousins who feel obligated to Flora (whom they will only address as "Robert Poste's child") because of some unspecified wrong they once did her late father. Among the inmates of Cold Comfort are Cousin Judith (Eileen Atkins), a hysterically morose creature straight out of a gothic novel; Cousin Amos (Ian McKellen), a fire-and-brimstone preacher who warns his brethren, "There'll be no butter in Hell!"; Amos and Judith's oversexed son Seth (Rufus Sewell), a local stud who dreams of being in the talkies; and of course Aunt Ada Doom (Sheila Burrell), who rules the family with an iron fist and won't let anyone forget that she once saw something nasty in the woodshed. A delightfully silly spoof of a particular category of once-popular English literature, as the farm's assorted grim melodramas prove no match for the implacable (if somewhat snobbish) modern sensibilities of its plucky heroine. CONTAINS LESBIANS? Nope. VERDICT: Great fun throughout, although Stephen Fry irritates as a boorish "Laurentian person" who keeps hitting on Flora despite her obvious disinterest.

BREAKDOWN (1997): Competent but underwhelming Jonathan Mostow thriller starring Kurt Russell and Kathleen Quinlan as Jeff and Amy Taylor, a couple of Yuppies whose fancy Jeep breaks down on the highway on a trip from Massachusetts to California. A passing trucker (J.T. Walsh) gives Amy a ride into the nearest town to find them a tow truck, but when Jeff gets their Jeep running again and follows her into town, he finds that Amy has disappeared, and no one, including the trucker, will admit to having seen her. It has a great premise, and Russell is credible enough in the lead, but it's pretty ordinary, and, once you know what's going on (which is revealed a little over a half-hour in), pretty superficial — there's no psychological depth, and I kept waiting for some other story twist that never came. CONTAINS LESBIANS? It barely contains women (Amy is absent for 80 percent of the running time). VERDICT: Not bad, but nothing special, and you'll forget it 10 minutes after it ends.

MY TWO HUSBANDS (2024): Okay Lifetime thriller about a young woman named Eliza (Isabelle Almoyan), still reeling from the recent murder of her mother (Joanie Geiger), who becomes deeply suspicious of her father's young new wife, a flight attendant named Brooke (Kabby Borders) who's no older than Eliza — and, as the title alludes, is secretly married to another man (Britton Webb, who looks like a lesser Baldwin brother) and up to no good. Despite the cheesy title (which is really also a spoiler) and awkward marketing (which misleadingly suggests a comedy-drama with Brooke rather than Eliza as the main character), it has a surprisingly decent, reasonably credible script, hamstrung by very weak performances. The story is still interesting enough to make it a not-bad little thriller, although it would have been better with a stronger cast and less somnabulistic direction. CONTAINS LESBIANS: It sometimes seems like Eliza's friend Star (Kristen Grace Gonzalez) might be her girlfriend, but the script is noncommittal on this point. VERDICT: A B+ script burdened with D+ acting and C- direction.

[myriadmidnightmusings]

I can't believe Disney would put fire in space. How does that even work? Fire needs AIR. Space doesn't have air! Checkmate, Kathleen Kennedy. I guess if I did have to say something positive about this crappy new era of "star wars" is that the blaster sound effects are really pretty good.

[groundrunner100]

HEY! DISNEY! IF YOU’RE LOSING MONEY, HERE’S AN IDEA FOR YOU!

You should cut your Left-leaning losses, & FIRE Kathleen Kennedy’s stupid, worthless ass!