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The Acolyte: all the right ingredients with the wrong recipe

By Sophie Montecalvo July 28, 2024Star Wars Sunday

Consider the ingredients of The Acolyte to be its characters, premise, initial relationships, and lightsaber duels. The oven is its execution and its glaze is the finale. In our case,…

The Acolyte episode 8: heartbreaking in all the wrong ways

By Sophie Montecalvo July 21, 2024Star Wars Sunday

Here we are! The season finale, the culmination of everything The Acolyte has been building up to… And how do you say “faceplant” in Aurebesh? (Just kidding. I already know…

The Acolyte episode 7: return of the unexpected

By Sophie Montecalvo July 14, 2024Star Wars Sunday

This series is such a roller coaster of suspense. Sometimes, you roll your eyes at the predictability of an exchange or the results of a battle, and then you’re watching…

The Acolyte episode 6: what you expect is what you get

By Sophie Montecalvo July 7, 2024Star Wars Sunday

Episode 5 was a paradigm shift for The Acolyte. In just 35 minutes, it recontextualized the entire past of the show and left multiple bodies in its wake. In its…

The Acolyte episode 5: powerful in so many ways

By Sophie Montecalvo June 30, 2024Star Wars Sunday

Where to start? We’re now more than halfway through The Acolyte. I’ve enjoyed the show, but it hadn’t yet wowed me. And episode 5… okay, you win. I’m wowed, I’m…

The Acolyte episode 4: character development speedrun

By Sophie Montecalvo June 23, 2024Star Wars Sunday

It’s always the midpoint where SW shows tend to slip. With the character and plotline already introduced, these episodes can feel drawn out, as if they’re just a vehicle to…

The Acolyte episode 3 fumbles its crucial backstory

By Sophie Montecalvo June 16, 2024Star Wars Sunday

I don’t know if I was surprised or disappointed by episode 3 of The Acolyte being a full backstory. Part of me thought the show would draw out the mystery…

The Acolyte episodes 1-2: off to an emotional (if mysterious) start

By Sophie Montecalvo June 9, 2024Star Wars Sunday

As someone who doesn’t watch SW trailers, I only loosely heard about the backlash on The Acolyte’s first trailer. When I saw the cast for this show, my first thought…

Tales of the Empire: revealing, not too dark, and hopeful

By Sophie Montecalvo June 2, 2024Star Wars Sunday

When I readied myself to watch Tales of the Empire, I realized I’d made a crucial error. Last year, when I watched Tales of the Jedi, it had been in…

Does <i>Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes</i> live up to its predecessors?

Does Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes live up to its predecessors?

By Sophie Montecalvo May 20, 2024Movie Monday

Ah, Planet of the Apes. We’ve come from latex masks and low(er) budgets to seamlessly CGI’ed chimpanzees and gorgeous, transporting settings. But has the quality of storytelling remained the same?…