Sinister Conspiracy

I enjoyed the new Star Wars film but I am not enough of an enthusiast to notice the lack of left-handed Storm Troopers in the most recent instalment.

However as a lifelong left-handed individual I could not fail to notice this:

http://www.anythinglefthanded.co.uk/why-are-stormtroopers-no-longer-left-handed.html#sthash.bFEBpbQ6.dpbs

I've always thought that in history a troop of left-handed swordsmen could have been useful when invading a castle with right-handed spiral staircases.


 

Star Wars...

I'm old enough to remember the arrival of Star Wars first time round. I can remember some of the reviews that pointed out how much George Lucas had borrowed/ripped off (make your own choice) from classic science fiction, as well as the one that pointed out that doctor Who (in his Tom Baker incarnation) would have simply flown the Tardis into the Death Star and destroyed it in several episodes.

in subsequent years I'd picked up on the way Star Wars borrowed from other film genres, especially Casablanca, but the following article gives a much more comprehensive list:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/film/star-wars--a-new-hope/movies-influences-george-lucas/

However despite all this I'm still going to see the latest instalment when it arrives in the cinema....

I enjoyed Star Wars, but...

I enjoyed Star Wars and the two sequels in the original trilogy, but Doctor Who has always been my favourite sci-fi/fantasy saga - and the Doctor would have sorted out Darth Vader in two 45 minute episodes.

I'd  read about the influence of Kurosawa on the story in previous articles and had also clocked the Casablanca reference (although I'd also thought there was a little of The Restaurant at the End of the Universe in it), but this fascinating article lists ten films that influenced George Lucas:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/star-wars/10817059/10-films-that-influenced-Star-Wars.html

I particularly liked the weird parallels with The Wizard of Oz - although I preferred Zardoz.

Actors Laughing Between Takes

This is wonderful, especially the photos from the set of Harry Potter and [not sure which one] and Skyfall:

http://imgur.com/a/TpaJ2