Jasmine Hill Writes

I don't care for gory movies. I just don't. So, so often it contributes nothing to the story. You’re watching a movie, following along and [insert gory scene here]. Extra points for shock factor. It reminds me of the early days of CGI when you would have those “let’s show you what we can do with CGI” scenes. And everyone at the time would go around talking about how great the CGI was. Now you look back at it and yawn because that scene only exists to show you what CGI was capable of back in 2002. Who bloody cares? A good story is only interested in itself. It doesn’t exist to bolster a scene. Scenes should exist to bolster stories. This being my firm belief made me wonder why I liked Ready or Not so much. As is evident even by the trailer, it is quite gory. Again, if you didn't see SPOILERS in all caps in the title, I'm warning you again. So many spoilers will happen below this line. Ready or Not is about a young woman marrying into a wealthy family. They are ...

Jar Jar Binks is really stupid. He went down in instant infamy as one of the most unlikable, inane characters of all time. I'm certainly not here to argue about that opinion. For the most part, I held it myself when I first saw the movie in theaters back in 1999, although it didn't bug me as much as it did others. In the years since I have heard the theory that Jar Jar had been originally marked as a Sith, and that idea intrigued me. As a writer myself, I am always looking for interesting ways to believably present unlikely plot twists.  So, naturally, I did some intense research by rewatching the film tonight with my husband, dogs and leftover Christmas candy. What I discovered in watching The Phantom Menace with this Jar Jar = Sith theory in the forefront of my mind is that it really makes perfect sense.  In the very first scene with Jar Jar, Qui Gon asks him if he's brainless after having saved his life. It's uncharacteristic of the Jedi to essentially dis...