On this latest episode, the Substandard discusses Halloween and the blockbuster horror genre. JVL goes on a babymoon with his ... best friend? Sonny investigates a strange-looking swing set at a playground. And Vic enjoys the symphony—while watching The Empire Strikes Back. Plus JVL's decibel war…
Actually, yes.
The changing of the guard continues in the league's best conference, but Drew Brees and the Saints may have one last run left. Plus: More generous catch rules in 2018, but not as generous as the "rules" for cosmic travel in sci-fi.
In this latest episode, the Substandard continues discussing Solo: A Star Wars Story—a story of a box office disaster. JVL explains exit velocity and Sonny's chair flips over. Vic gets saluted by the Swiss Guard. JVL and Vic explain confession to Sonny. Sonny explains 1337. (There's a lot of…
The real reasons the latest Star Wars movie flopped.
With Vic sailing the Holy See, Sonny and JVL welcome a very special guest to unpack the disaster that is Disney's Solo: A Star Wars Story.
On this latest micro episode, the Substandard discusses the second trailer for Solo: A Star Wars Story. It's actually pretty good (JVL wants more Donald Glover!). Sonny calls Emilia Clarke "a nothing." Vic uses the word "luscious." Plus a discussion of fonts!
[Spoilers]
Tuesday Morning Quarterback’s Authentic Games metric tracks quality victories in high-pressure situations, and has a decent track record at predicting Super Bowl pairings. During the regular season, I employ a super-sophisticated proprietary algorithm to determine what counts as an Authentic game.
As we prepare for 2018—which absolutely, positively, has to be better than 2017—we’ve followed the example of the great Chris Wallace and asked the TWS staff for predictions for next year along four vectors: politics, sports, entertainment, and foreign policy.
Enough with the whiny movie critics complaining about the new Star Wars movie. Like them, I was fully prepared to hate the thing when I arrived at the screening, but that prejudice was overcome by the movie’s wondrous look and by its fascinating, multilayered plot.
Enough with the whiny movie critics complaining about the new Star Wars movie. Like them, I was fully prepared to hate the thing when I arrived at the screening, but that prejudice was overcome by the movie’s wondrous look and by its fascinating, multilayered plot.
On this special year-end episode, the Substandard reviews (criticizes), dissects (tears limb from limb), and discusses (goes off on) Star Wars: The Last Jedi. JVL shares his thoughts on missed payoffs. Sonny tries to explain astral projection. Vic wonders why Snoke is wearing a gold lamé tunic.…
Santa hasn’t even begun to pack his sleigh and already an NFL head coach, two general managers, and three coordinators have been shown the door, along with numerous head coaches and athletic directors cashiered at Power Five football programs. Plus an NFL owner just agreed to give himself the boot…
In its early, scrappy days, Twitter captured the hearts of Americans with a seductive promise: famous celebrities tweet, you can tweet back at them, and if you’re lucky, they might read your tweet. Such interactions seemed to offer a peek behind the curtain into the world of Hollywood spangle. We…
In this latest micro episode, the Substandard gets ready to watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi. JVL hasn’t been this excited since Revenge of the Sith. Vic wonders if Luke will drive a Nissan. Sonny has already seen it—and what he reveals will leave you stunned. Set for stun!
The new Star Wars movie is here. Or almost here. I don’t really know and I really don’t care. Do you?
Richard Rushfield is a maverick.
“The best defense is a good offense,” as the old saw goes. The nature of that “good offense” matters, though. Too often, American officials mistake “any offense” for a “good offense.” As tensions between North Korea and the United States continue to escalate, it is apparent that American…
In this latest micro episode, the Substandard searches for meaning in the newest trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The music still soars, says Sonny. Who’s the adorable little furball next to the CGI’d Chewbacca, asks Vic? When will we stop paying money for this dross, asks JVL?
Has there been an administration in the modern era where the internal debates are hashed out in so public a manner? Consider Tuesday, when two members of Donald Trump’s cabinet spoke out forcefully on unresolved policy questions.
Reviews and News:
In this bonus episode, the Substandard analyzes the new teaser trailer for The Last Jedi. You won't believe the things they discovered!
The following is an excerpt from the Kristol Clear newsletter. Sign up for the weekly newsletter here.
How is the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One? How the hell should I know? Does it even matter what you or I think of it? Will any negative feelings we have prevent us and our children and our children’s children from seeing the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that—and on and on…
How is the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One? How the hell should I know? Does it even matter what you or I think of it? Will any negative feelings we have prevent us and our children and our children’s children from seeing the next one, and the one after that, and the one after that—and on and on…
Some endnotes and digressions from the latest show:
On this week's mega-episode, the Substandard reviews Rogue One: A Star Wars Story—and then some. Jonathan V. Last can't stop thinking about it! Victorino Matus explains the importance of Dunkirk (but from which side?). And Sonny compares David Foster Wallace to Leo Tolstoy. Plus year-end…
Editor's note: The piece below first ran on THE WEEKLY STANDARD's website in May 2002, upon the release of Star Wars: Episode II — Attack of the Clones. It is reprinted here to commemorate Friday's release of the latest Star Wars movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which serves as a standalone…
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story comes to theaters December 16, and in this episode of the Weekly Substandard Podcast, Vic and Jonathan discuss their favorite Star Wars toys (only one of them owned an AT-AT). Meanwhile, Jonathan and Sonny compare Alderaan to...Hiroshima? Help us, Bill Kristol, you're…
Are these the droids I'm looking for?
While Washington elites spent Monday fussing about the merits of Mike Flynn versus Mike Pence, real America was rocked by leaked pictures of Lego's newest super set, the 71040 Disney Castle.
There’s no upside for me in reviewing Star Wars: The Force Awakens. If I say anything interesting about its plot, I'll be criticized for publishing spoilers. If I say anything critical, I'll be accused of raining on everybody's parade. If I praise it, I'll be attacked for excessive kindness and…
This review deals largely in spoilers concerning The Force Awakens. Normally, I don't think spoilers actually spoil much, but for this case the viewing experience is greatly enhanced by coming to the movie cold. So I'd suggest you really not read this until after you've seen it.
This story originally appeared at the Washington Free Beacon.
The latest theatrical installment in the Star Wars franchise, The Force Awakens, hit theaters nationwide Friday. There's plenty of good reading on the Star Wars universe for everyone from the die-hard fan to the casual viewer. Here are a few recommendations while you're waiting in line at the…
Star Wars: The Force Awakens opens wide at midnight tonight and I don't want to get out over my skis here, but it's pretty much the most important movie in the history of cinema.
The WEEKLY STANDARD Podcast with senior writer Jonathan V. Last on the upcoming STAR WARS movie, and his new book, The Christmas Virtues: A Treasury of Conservative Tales for the Holidays.
Texas senator Ted Cruz said the Rebel Alliance in George Lucas's Star Wars films are "unequivocally" the good guys. The Republican presidential candidate told THE WEEKLY STANDARD Tuesday evening the question over which side in the original three movies, the Rebels and the all-powerful Galactic…
Editor's note: As the new Star Wars film "Rogue One" approaches, we're looking back at senior writer Jonathan V. Last's "Case for the Empire." The following is an excerpt of a follow up case for the Empire at The Federalist.
Ben Domenech gets right to the heart of what we see in the new Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer:
The Associated Press reports that President Barack Obama opposes the "Death Star":
The Scrapbook notes, with some amusement, that George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars franchise, sold his lucrative Lucasfilm enterprise last week to the Disney Company, which announced in turn that it intends to revive and extend the Star Wars saga. We leave it to the experts to judge whether this…
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NuteGunray.jpg Nute Gunray
IT IS NOW SAFE to declare the Star Wars prequels a failure. Whatever their merits as films, the three panels of George Lucas's new triptych, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, and Revenge of the Sith have failed to add permanently to the Star Wars mythology. Try to name one character or…
THERE MUST BE A NAME for people like me, people who are caught in a terrible, interminable inbetween. We were too young to see the original Star Wars trilogy when it first came out in movie theaters, but not quite old enough to escape its spell. I didn't exist when Star Wars opened in 1977, nor…
STAR WARS RETURNS today with its fifth installment, Attack of the Clones. There will be talk of the Force and the Dark Side and the epic morality of George Lucas's series. But the truth is that from the beginning, Lucas confused the good guys with the bad. The deep lesson of Star Wars is that the…
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