Month: July 2022

It’s been a minute since we last dropped a React Like You Know video, so you know we had to come back strong. Not only do we have a new panel featuring Uproxx cover star Coi Leray and fan favorites like ASAP Tyy, BIA, Kali, and Kidd Kenn, but we’ve given our millennials/Gen Zers an absolute classic video to rock with: Junior Mafia’s “Get Money” featuring The Notorious B.I.G. and Lil Kim.

For some readers, it might be mind-boggling to realize that many of today’s rappers weren’t even born yet when Biggie was shot to death in Los Angeles on March 9, 1997. But his impact still reverberates through their lives and music — even if some of them aren’t even aware of it. The same can be said of Lil Kim, whose influence is one of the common threads in the recent resurgence of female talent in the hip-hop world.

Coi even acknowledges as much, nodding to her own homage to one of Kim’s iconic outfits in her recent Uproxx cover shoot. Meanwhile, Lakeyah sums it up best: “She definitely opened doors for girls like me,” she explains. “She a tough rapper and she owns her sexuality. She knew she was a sexy bitch.” Of course, for a generation that wasn’t raised on the same MTV as the rappers whose videos they’re watching, some of the aesthetics are certainly eye-opening.

When Uproxx’s Cherise Johnson asks whether the rappers back then were raunchier than the ones today, Kidd Kenn wholeheartedly disagrees. “The girls today are disgusting,” he jokes. “I’m one of the girls.”

You can watch our panel react to the “Get Money” video above.

Disclaimer: While all of the products recommended here were chosen independently by our editorial staff, Uproxx may receive payment to direct readers to certain retail vendors who are offering these products for purchase.

Welcome to SNX DLX, your weekly roundup of the best sneakers to hit the internet. This week’s list has one foot in the past and one in the future. For every envelope-pushing design there is a revamped classic following close behind. It’s the first SNX we’ve put together that will appeal to both fans of futuristic footwear and people looking for yet another dope Dunk or Air Max to add to their collections.

Whether you’re looking for a sustainable sneaker ala Nike’s Space Hippie line or you want to add a forgotten classic to your collection like Social Status’ Air Max Penny 1, we’ve got you covered! This week’s highlight is hands down the Maison Château Rouge Jordan II and if the thought of a II being the best release leads you to assume this week must be lacking the good stuff, wake up — we’re living in the Air Jordan II renaissance. It’s a beautiful thing!

The last couple of weeks SNX has been a bit on the bloated side but we’re back with a tight eight this go-around. Here are this week’s best sneaker drops, let’s dive in!

Women’s Nike Space Hippie 04 Refresh Volt

Since Nike’s launch of the Space Hippie collection, we’ve been singing the praises of this creatively sustainable line but it’s been a minute since we’ve seen a notable drop in this series. That changes this week with this new Refresh Volt colorway of the 04.

The Refresh Volt 04 features a lightweight and stretchy upper made from Nike’s proprietary “Space Waste Yarn,” a material made from old plastic bottles, clothes, and yarn scraps. Rounding out the design is a speckled foam midsole and a heavy traction Grind outsole. It looks kind of like trash, admittedly, but it takes its wasteland origins and makes it a part of the design, and that’s cool!

The Women’s Space Hippie 04 Refresh Volt is set to drop on July 13th for a retail price of $130. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Women’s Nike Dunk Low Teal Zeal

It’s never a bad week to buy a pair of Dunks, especially when Nike is dropping something as fire as the Teal Zeal. Featuring washed teal and kumquat colorway atop a tumbled leather upper, this sneaker exudes warmth and retro 80s style. It’s in keeping with modern sneaker tastes, while still looking like something one of the kids from Stranger Things might’ve rocked.

The Women’s Nike Dunk Low Teal Zeal is set to drop on July 13th for a retail price of $110. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT and Flight Club.

Converse x DRKSHDW TURBODRK Chuck 70

In typical Rick Owens fashion, this Converse collaboration is a bit nuts. Taking reference from some of Owens DRKSHDW designs, this limited run of Chucks features an altered upper with distorted design lines, a tall tongue, DRKSHDW branding, and a shimmering colorway. It looks, like most Rick Owens designs, like something a vampire obsessed with clubbing in Hollywood would wear.

The high-top version features a glossy black colorway, while the low-top goes metallic. It’s weird, but if you’re a Rick Owens fan, this delivers exactly what you want it to.

The Converse x DRKSHDW TURBODRK Chuck 70 High and Low are set to drop on July 13th for a retail price of $170 and $110 respectively. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

Nike Jordan Series Mid x Maison Château Rouge Sail

Nike and Paris label Maison Château Rouge have teamed up for a two-sneaker collection and they’re both *chef’s kiss*. It’s not every day that a non-numbered Jordan makes SNX (in fact, it’s never happened) but it’s impossible to look at this Jordan Series Mid and not fall in love. Featuring a vintage basketball sneaker design, this drop features a mid-top silhouette with a textured leather upper, see-saw edging, and “United Youth International” branding on the heel.

The Nike Jordan Series Mid x Maison Château Rouge Sail is set to drop on July 14th for a retail price of $110. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app or aftermarket sites like GOAT.

Nike Air Jordan II x Maison Château Rouge Orange and Sail

Go ahead, scoop that jaw off the floor. As if the first Maison Château Rouge collaboration wasn’t enough, this take on the Jordan II is easily one of the best drops of the year. The detailing across the upper and the overall high-end aesthetic is sophisticated and luxurious, everything the Jordan II was conceptualized to be.

Is this a sneaker, or an art piece? Cop this if you can.

The NIKE AIR Jordan 2 x Maison Château Rouge Orange and Sail is set to drop on July 14th for a retail price of $225. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

NIKE AIR Max 97 Coconut Milk and Black

If the Maison Château feels too posh don’t worry, Nike is still dropping grungey dad shoes as well, like this week’s Coconut Milk and Black Air Max 97. Featuring a slightly yellowed upper and a worn aesthetic, the Coconut Milk and Black might not be the most exciting release of the week, but it captures the general vibe of the shoe excellently.

You want your Air Max 97s to look a little worse for wear, and the Coconut Milk and Black captures that look straight out of the box.

The NIKE AIR Max 97 Coconut Milk and Black is set to drop on July 15th for a retail price of $185. Pick up a pair via the Nike SNKRS app.

New Balance MADE in USA 990v3 Raw Amethyst

The Stray Rats collaboration that never was! Last year, Stray Rats and New Balanced teamed up and dropped a 991 in the brand’s typical colorway, a mix of purple and nauseating green tones. It was a dope release, but this week’s 990v3 is even better. Sure, it’s not actually a Stray Rats collaboration, the brand has nothing to do with it, but that mix of purple across the upper and the overall attention to detail recalls the brand in the best ways.

Featuring a hairy suede and mesh upper, the Raw Amethyst features pig suede and mesh accents, a synthetic suede sicklier, and an ENCAP midsole.

The New Balance MADE in USA 990v3 Raw Amethyst is set to drop on July 15th for a retail price of $199.99. Pick up a pair at the New Balance webstore.

Social Status x Nike Air Max Penny 1 Recess

In the brand’s best collaboration of the week, Nike has teamed up with Atlanta retailer Social Status for a revamp of the Air Max Penny 1. The Penny 1 is the latest silhouette to be reintroduced from the Nike archives, and Social Status has given the sneaker two new colorways with interchangeable velcro swooshes.

The concept is simple, like the School Lunch series, Social Status looks to youth for this design, serving as a celebration of your favorite recess activity, be it baseball, basketball, football, tennis, or golf (who is playing golf at recess?) with each sport getting its own special swoosh. One shoe, five swooshes!

Interchangeable swooshes might be an outplayed gimmick, but Social Status nails it. It might not be as great as the duo’s previous collaboration, but it’s a definite highlight of the week.

The Social Status x NIKE AIR Max Penny 1 Recess is set to drop on July 15th for a retail price of $190. Pick up a pair via the Social Status webstore or retail location.

Lately, it hasn’t been entirely clear where things stand with Migos. Rumors started in May that the group was breaking up, and later that month, Quavo And Takeoff teamed up for an Offset-less single, “Hotel Lobby.” Then, in June, Migos pulled out of a scheduled performance at Governors Ball.

The way Quavo tells it, though, Migos is going to be alright. In a new GQ interview, he explained that the group members’ solo activities outside of the group serve to make the trio stronger, both as individuals and as a unit.

Quavo said when it comes to the first decade of Migos, “It was all about Migos, Migos, Migos. The three of us.” He continued, “I feel like every group member has to establish themselves. Their own body of work. If not, you start losing members.” He also threw in a football metaphor, adding, “I’m a quarterback in life, but now that I want it, I’m just going to show you.”

The rapper also said he’s looking to really cultivate an acting career for himself, noting, “I kind of want to be like an Ice Cube when it comes to rapping and acting. I don’t think people realize what that man did. He did it culturally in the music and with the movies. I feel like that’s what the world’s missing right now.”

Check out the full feature here.

After delivering an epic and well-received third season of The Boys that saw Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy and Antony Starr’s Homelander deliver command performances, showrunner Eric Kripke has been opening up about making the wildly satirical series. In a wide-ranging interview that tackled everything from far-right fans only just now realizing Homelander is the bad guy to his days of dealing with an unwieldy fandom on Supernatural, Kripke fired off a profane shot at an annoying trend in the world of streaming shows.

While Kripke has a network TV background, a lot of filmmakers coming into the streaming space do not, which often leads to proclamations that they’re not making a show, they’re making an “8-10 hour movie. Kripke is not here for it. Via Vulture:

They’re more comfortable with the idea that they could give you ten hours where nothing happens until the eighth hour. That drives me fucking nuts, personally. As a network guy who had to get you people interested for 22 fucking hours a year, I didn’t get the benefit of, “Oh, just hang in there and don’t worry. The critics will tell you that by episode eight, shit really hits the fan.” Or anyone who says, “Well, what I’m really making is a ten-hour movie.” Fuck you! No you’re not! Make a TV show.

Of course, Kripke’s remarks could be read as a thinly-veiled barb at Stranger Things, which just delivered a fourth season with some crazy long episodes. However, expanding runtimes aside, that series has been careful to make each episode a distinct chapter in a longer story. The more likely culprit is over at Disney+ where shows like Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Marvel series have been touted by their creative teams as longer versions of their theatrical siblings. It’s made some for some uneven watching experiences that, as Kripke said, feel like someone just kept filling a two-hour movie with unnecessary padding. Show a little respect for your audience’s time, people!

(Via Vulture)

Ahead of her upcoming EP, Inhuman, Australian singer Gordi has dropped the project’s title track. Feeling burdened by the weight of the world, Gordi shares her feelings of exhaustion on her new track, over forlorn guitar loops, emulating the repetitive day-to-day routine, from which she grows weary.

When writing the song, Gordi took inspiration from her time as a healthcare worker.

“When I wrote ‘Inhuman,’ I was thinking about the blackened roadsides on my drive from Sydney to Lismore in 2019,” she said in a statement. “I had to turn back halfway because the fires were too out of control. I was supposed to start work in Lismore Hospital on the Monday where I would meet countless patients who couldn’t be discharged because their homes had been destroyed. Hearing one story after the next made me numb, and being numb to that sort of tragedy feels like forgetting to be human.”

The song’s video, directed by Triana Hernandez, takes us through a day in Gordi’s life, as she eats cereal in the morning with a jumbo-sized spoon, eats spaghetti in her work office, and gets followed by a giant lobster as she tries to go home.

“I pictured a giant red lobster — stalking me until eventually, I couldn’t ignore it anymore,” said Gordi of her conception for the video.

Check out “Inhuman” above.

Inhuman is out 8/19 via Jagujagwar. Pre-save it here.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is an ever-expanding canvas of storytelling, and that sense of expansion has never felt more tangible than it does right now. With shows like Ms. Marvel hitting Disney+, films like Blade on the horizon, and Kang the Conqueror building a presence as a major new villain, the phase of the MCU that’s followed The Infinity Saga has so far been built on near-constant growth and change. And that doesn’t seem to be letting up any time soon.

The good news there, of course, is that there’s no shortage of source material lying around at Marvel Comics. But some comics are better suited to the MCU than others, so which ones should make the leap next? There are plenty of possibilities, but we’ve narrowed it down to five stories that make a lot of sense on the MCU’s current trajectory, from new superteams to a promising continuation of a solo story.

“Solve Everything”
Fantastic Four #570-572

The Fantastic Four are on their way to the MCU, even if we don’t know exactly when they’ll turn up just yet. That means a search for the right way to introduce Marvel’s First Family to their new big-screen home, and while there are a lot of possibilities, the story that launched writer Jonathan Hickman’s legendary run with the team seems like a great place to start.

Rather than rehashing the origin story, “Solve Everything” picks up on the FF when they’re already an established superteam, and Reed Richards is troubled not by what they have achieved, but where they’ve come up short. In an effort to combat this, he uses a transdimensional bridge in his top-secret lab to discover The Council, a gathering of all the Reed Richards from across the multiverse who work together to…well, solve all the problems of every universe. But of course, you can never really fix everything without paying a price.

The intellectual angst and hubris of Mr. Fantastic is a centerpiece not just of some of the best Fantastic Four stories, but some of the best Marvel stories period. This arc is a great showcase for that, which could also serve as a launchpad for the entire team with a few tweaks in the right places. Plus, Hickman’s famous knack for plotting and grand-scale worldbuilding means there are plenty of sequel opportunities built right into the narrative.

The Order

In the wake of the Civil War comics event, Marvel introduced “The Initiative,” an overarching story conceit in which every state in America would get its own government-regulated superhero team, providing a superstructure for the hero community backed by an attempt at nationwide accountability. The Order, by writer Matt Fraction and artist Barry Kitson, presents California’s chosen superteam, backed by Stark Industries funding and a PR team constantly working overtime to hold things together.

Though its tenure at Marvel Comics was ultimately short, the premise at the core of The Order is fascinating, particularly in the context of a media landscape that includes satirical shows like The Boys. This is the story of a group of handpicked superheroes trying to live up to the impossible standards of the public, fighting personal battles alongside the ones that involve supervillains, and just trying to figure out what it means to be a new hero in a world that already includes Iron Man and Thor. A series built around that idea, perhaps with Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan around to supervise things, would be a blast.

Inhumans Vol. 2

In the late 1990s, Marvel launched the “Marvel Knights” imprint in an effort to reinvigorate sales through self-contained, prestige stories helmed by major creative teams. Among the stories to come out of the line, alongside groundbreaking new runs on Daredevil and Punisher, was Inhumans, a 12-issue series from writer Paul Jenkins and artist Jae Lee which aimed to re-introduce one of Marvel’s strangest super-teams.

Unfolding largely within the confines of their hidden city of Attilan, Inhumans navigates the strange political, genetic, and personal implications of life in the Inhuman royal family even as the larger world threatens to finally invade the isolationist space they’ve carved out for themselves. If you’ve never read an Inhumans comic before, it’s a great introduction that’s part Game of Thrones, part Dune, and all Marvel Comics.

The Inhumans have already received the live-action treatment in the form of a short-lived, poorly received ABC TV series, but the inclusion of Black Bolt in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness suggests they might be primed for an MCU comeback, and this remarkable series could be the story to help launch it.

Hawkeye Vol. 5

After Matt Fraction’s now-iconic Hawkeye run made her into a standalone star within Marvel Comics, Kate Bishop got her own volume of stories under the guidance of writer Kelly Thompson in 2016. Titled simply Hawkeye, the book followed Kate’s adventures as she attempted to get a foothold as a private investigator on her own in Los Angeles. What begins with a case of trying to track down a collegiate sex creep soon leads to a team-up with Jessica Jones, a run-in with Madame Masque, and much more mayhem in the City of Angels.

Now that Kate Bishop is established in the MCU via the Hawkeye TV show, it makes sense for her to find more story avenues, particularly as the non-superpowered, espionage-heavy side of the universe keeps growing. Sending her to the West Coast for a change of scenery could be just the thing to keep her story rolling, and this series’ blend of action, comedy, and heart sets the perfect tone for Kate’s next chapter.

“Style > Substance”
Young Avengers Vol. 2 #1-5

Speaking of Kate Bishop’s next chapter, it feels like Marvel fans can’t stop talking about the potential of a Young Avengers team forming up in the MCU somewhere in the near future. Many of the ingredients – including Kate, America Chavez, Kid Loki, and Elijah Bradley – have already been introduced to make the team eventually happen, and the idea of legacy heroes picking up after the current generation of Avengers feels like it has a ton of potential, especially after the success of shows like Hawkeye. So, how do you make that story work in the MCU?

Well, you could start with the first arc of Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s masterpiece Young Avengers run, which finds the team coming together for a new adventure and fighting a creature that has the ability to assume the identities of all of their parents with terrifying, shapeshifting fury. It’s a comic that feels anything but formulaic, and its tonal dexterity and focus on great character moments could turn it into a hit on the big or small screens for Marvel Studios.

In 1993, Steven Spielberg released Jurassic Park, which was briefly the highest-grossing movie of all-time, and Schindler’s List, which won Best Picture. Kevin Smith’s 2022 is kind of like that, if you replaced Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List with Clerks III and KillRoy Was Here. You’re probably familiar with the former, but the latter made some history: KillRoy Was Here is the first movie “minted” as an NFT.

“This horror anthology stars [Jason Mewes], [Chris Jericho], [Harley Quinn Smith], and more in twisted tales of a local legend who murders anyone who’d hurt a kid! [Robert Kurtzman MUFX] created KillRoy as well as all the bloody gags (like the fake blade in Harley’s face) in my homage to #creepshow and #talesfromthedarkside that I shot before and after my heart attack! KillRoy is making minor history today as the first film minted as an NFT!” Smith wrote on Instagram. It’s available on the KillRoy Was Here website.

The title character is based on this weird lil’ guy that’s been around since the 1940s. It’s been called the first meme in history (“From the holds of the ships to the sides of the trucks to the walls of bathrooms and in school cafeterias, this one iconic phrase attained its heights of popularity in seemingly every place across the globe,” Medium writes), and now the doodle is the first NFT film. What a legacy.

(Via Instagram/Kevin Smith)

Lauren Boebert is taking a page out of Tammy Wynette’s book by standing by her man, husband-of-15-years Jayson Boebert, by blaming her spouse’s 2007 arrest for public indecency and lewd behavior—after he allegedly whipped his dick out at a bowling alley—on one of the women who were subjected to it.

Boebert—who was just 17 years old at the time—was there, and gave a statement to police; she claimed to have not seen him expose herself.

As Raw Story reports, Boebert wrote about the now-infamous incident in her new book, the surely thrilling My American Life. But in Lauren’s retelling of the story, the blame for Jayson’s lewd act rests squarely on one of the women involved. All Jayson was doing was attempting to cozy up to Lauren’s stepfather. As any young man looking to go a-courtin’ does, Jayson invited Lauren’s stepdad to meet up at the local bowling alley, which Boebert—who was just a teen at the time—claims is where the trouble began:

The female bartender flirted with Jayson, having heard previously from his friends what a catch he’d be. They even teased her by saying he’d gotten a great tattoo in a private area, which made her curious, so she pressed Jayson to show it to her right there at the bar. He ignored her and was embarrassed she was doing it in front of my stepfather. She wouldn’t stop.

According to Boebert, her future husband was uncomfortable and felt harassed by the young woman. So he did what most guys in that situation would do and showed her his schlong. Jayson “decided he’d heard enough, stood up, and acted like he was going to unzip his pants,” Boebert wrote. “Before he got that far, the owner of the bowling alley intervened.”

The police were called and charged Jayson with public indecency and lewd behavior, to which he pleaded guilty, leading to a four-day jail sentence plus two years of probation. While Lauren is adamant that her husband was the victim in this assault on the eyes, two female witnesses who were questioned separately gave matching accounts of what went down before Jayson’s pants did, and there was no goading bartender in their tales.

According to the Washington Examiner, however, “A witness, one of the women mentioned as a victim in the 2004 sheriff’s report, said in a statement that Jayson Boebert ‘came up behind us and pulled his penis out of his pants’ after personally bragging to her and another woman about his intimate tattoo,” which sounds a bit more plausible.

It wasn’t the only brush with the law for either Boebert. Shortly thereafter the bowling alley incident, the New York Post reports that Jayson was arrested on a domestic violence charge, with a court clerk claiming that Jayson “did unlawfully strike, shove or kick [Lauren]… and subjected her to physical contact.” It’s possible she was pregnant at the time.

Lauren Boebert herself has a bit of a rap sheet; in June 2015, she was charged with disorderly conduct at a Colorado music festival. In December 2015, after missing two scheduled court appearances in connection with that incident, Lauren was arrested. Less than a year after that, in September 2015, the current Colorado congresswoman was arrested again when she drove her truck into a ditch. She was charged with careless driving and operating an unsafe vehicle, but again failed to appear in court. Probably because she believed it was the ditch’s fault.

(Via Raw Story)

A couple of weeks ago a few friends and I were playing bar trivia at our local New York City Irish pub and, after, the topic turned to our lists of classic movies we’ve never seen. (I’ve noticed more and more, since the pandemic started, people have literal written down lists they are making their way through – as opposed to just rattling off a few titles off the top of their head.) Anyway, it got to one of our players who we will call Melina (because that’s her name) and she listed off a few titles that are good movies, but not entirely surprising that a normal human being hasn’t seen. But then added an addendum at the end, “Oh, yeah, I’ve also never seen Star Wars.”

In 2022, it’s hard enough to find an adult human who has never seen Star Wars. But what’s especially difficult is finding an adult human who hasn’t seen Star Wars but is also willing to, and wants to, watch it. So let’s back up a bit. Because “having not seen Star Wars” isn’t entirely true. She said back in 1999, as a kid, she saw The Phantom Menace, decided, “these aren’t for me” (yeah, that’s fair), then went on with her life never wanting to watch more. Now, the other obstacle are the Special Editions. Enough people had told her the original three movies are great, but it also came with the caveat that she might want to seek out the original cuts of these movies, which, as you may know, is pretty difficult to do. Well, she was in luck on this front because I have the original cuts.

(It’s gotten to the point where this is infuriating that the original 1977 Star Wars isn’t available. It’s a gorgeous movie. And the model work looks so much better than the now bad-looking CGI from 1997. To me, it’s insane that Disney paid all that money for Lucasfilm and their crown jewel movie looks like an ugly cartoon from 1997. I’d be embarrassed to show the Special Edition to someone who has never seen Star Wars and try to pretend, “pretty good, right?” Anyway…)

Watching Star Wars with an adult who hasn’t seen it is an absolutely fascinating experience. I suspect this experience is different than watching it with a child who is seeing it for the first time. A child is kind of seeing everything for the first time. But an adult is already coming in with preconceived notions and a knowledge about how movies are supposed to work. As for myself, I couldn’t help but revert back to what it’s like to watch this movie for the first time because it’s impossible not to think about what the first timer is thinking. In a way, I had never seen Star Wars for the first time. I saw The Empire Strikes Back first in theaters when I was five years old, then in 1981 finally saw Star Wars when it was re-released into theaters. So, on this night, I tried to make my brain process the movie as new, to get into that mindset. And when you take a step back from the monolith that is the Star Wars brand and only focus on the first movie, Star Wars (you know, the one that was nominated for Best Picture and didn’t have a subtitle of A New Hope yet), it’s a remarkable movie for someone to watch for the first time for a few reasons.

(As an aside, speaking of the chapter title of A New Hope, it really was weird at the time when everyone showed up for The Empire Strikes Back and it said “Episode V.” There was no internet to go and check why we had all just jumped four movies ahead in the story. I remember in first grade this was a big debate. Was Star Wars the fourth episode? Or were there three movies in between Star Wars and Empire that we just hadn’t seen. None of this was cleared up for us until the 1981 re-release of Star Wars.)

If I were watching Star Wars for the first time in 2022, as an adult, I would not expect Star Wars. It’s impossible to not have heard about the lore by now. I’d be expecting a very dense movie crammed with a ton of exposition and a lot of big battles that are very difficult to follow. In reality, it is a surprisingly simple movie. I kept thinking, if this were made today, it would be one of the offshoot movies or maybe a Disney+ show. In that the story is so simple, no one would deem it worthy of making a full movie. “Wait, so this movie just focuses on a few characters as they get into a few jams?” Star Wars as an entity sounds so complicated. There’s Jedi and all these powers, the Force, the Sith and all this backstory – and the movie Star Wars has basically none of that. The actual Force is used, what, like three times? It’s a movie about two robots, an retired man, a princess, an ape alien, and two morons who keep screwing up.

Even the final assault on the Death Star is simple. The models move slowly compared to what we are used to (remember, this isn’t the CGI Special Edition), but this is a feature. At all times you, as a viewer, know what the objective is and you know what’s going on. It’s fantastic. Compare that to the assault on Starkiller Base in The Force Awakens, there are so many ships zipping in and out of frame, and, in comparison, the objective is so complicated, you just kind of give up, “Whatever, they are trying to blow it up.” In Star Wars you know there is a small opening at the end of a trench and someone needs to shoot some torpedoes into it. And the pilots try it over and over until Luke finally succeeds. (Han showing up at the last second still gives me an adrenaline rush.) It’s a trick Top Gun: Maverick used to great success this summer: make sure the audience knows what’s going on and can follow your special effects. It seems like a simple rule, but I’m always amazed how many movies don’t do this.

What was Melina’s reaction? Honestly, she seemed pretty stunned that she liked it as much as she did. She picked up right way that there’s very little exposition in the original Star Wars and it just keeps moving along. She admitted, even after agreeing to watch it, her expectations were rock bottom, but couldn’t believe how much she liked it and wants to finish the Original Trilogy.

(A week later, she watched The Empire Strikes Back for the first time. I was going to address that here, but it’s also such a bizarre experience to watch someone watch Empire for the first time, for completely different reasons, that I’m just going to make it a separate post for another day.)

You can contact Mike Ryan directly on Twitter.

Warning: Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of Better Call Saul.

Well, it happened: the final batch of Better Call Saul episodes began airing this week after the shocking death of the tragic hero with piercing blue eyes and a vanity license plate: Howard Hamlin. Hamlin’s death wasn’t much of a surprise–we knew something was coming for him, but the way it happened, and the jolting scenes after, left fans shaken.

Of course, that was nothing in comparison to Lalo Salamanca’s death after he finally meets Fring in the under-construction lab that will one day be a second home to Walter, Jesse, and that dang fly.

After an explosive (literally) shoot-out between Fring and Lalo, the former member of the cartel was killed. This was before they put bodies into barrels of acid, of course, so they had to dispose of the bodies the old-fashioned way: burying them in a makeshift grave to give the two men the most poetic goodbye in the show.

Obviously, fans were distraught, but Patrick Fabian took to Twitter to show that it’s all good between them! He posted a photo of him and Tony Dalton hanging out, presumably in an alternate reality where they both got really into hiking or something.

The boys are all smiles as their characters lay rotting beneath a laundromat for the rest of eternity. Maybe that’s how the fly got in, anyway? Let’s just hope there are no more bodies down there…please, for Kim Wexler’s sake.