ROUND-UP December 27-31, 2017

I had some opinions about Star Wars: The Last Jedi (which I didn't get to completely outline in this piece), and liked two films from the Washington (DC) Jewish Film Festival. That wraps it up for 2017 writing!

• "Loved the New Star Wars? Here’s a Jewish, Feminist Angle to Consider." Lilith Magazine, December 27, 2017.

"Aside from the very visually dynamic sequence where Rey descends into a sinister-looking grotto, hoping to learn more about her parents, and comes face-to-face with herself, Rey’s twinned stories basically have her trying to talk sense into Skywalker men. There surely must be an earlier, scrapped draft of the script that focused on Rey’s affinity for the Dark Side, an affinity that alarms Luke and would be refreshing to see a woman wrestle with on screen."

• "Two Movies To See At The Washington Jewish Film Festival (And On The Fest Circuit)." The Jewish Daily Forward, December 28, 2017.

"After leaving Austria and her own assimilated family in the late thirties, how might Lamarr have felt upon arriving in the American entertainment industry, where many Jews achieved positions of power and influence? Sadly, Bombshell chooses to focus less on these more complex intra-Jewish issues in favor of describing the interplay of what we might call the three Hedys—the spellbinding actress, the brainy, underestimated inventor, and the lonely, misunderstood Hedwig caught between the two."