'Solo: A Star Wars Story' (2018) Movie Review

Did we need a standalone Han Solo movie in the Star Wars universe? No, no we didn’t. But no one asked me, and in the grand scheme of things, unnecessary as it is, we could have done much worse than Solo: A Star Wars Story. Granted, we also could have done much better. It’s a wildly mixed bag, but with the utter chaos behind the scenes—the ousting of directors Chris Lord and Phil Miller 2/3 of the way through production, the recasting, the rewrites, the reshoots—worse was always on the table as a very real possibility.

This 'Solo: A Star Wars Story' Trailer Assumes Everyone Will Betray You

When Lucasfilm first announced the Star WarsStory movies, I was down with the idea of standalone films that examine heretofore unexplored corners of that far, far away galaxy. There’s so much room to move and so many stories to tell, not just the tale of the Skywalker clan, their crew, and the Jedi. I’m not as into the idea of using them to rehash characters we already know (I sure as hell don’t want a Boba Fett movie). But despite what I want, we’re getting Solo: A Star Wars Story next month. And there’s another new trailer.

'The Lazarus Effect' Movie Review: This Resurrection Horror Should Have Stayed Dead

The Lazarus Effect is simultaneously the exact movie you expect and not what you envisioned at all. The film you see on screen is a generic, predictable one. Full of the usual horror tropes and clichés, it’s more concerned with quick jump scares than building lasting tension, and you see every new development coming from a mile away. That’s not to say it’s without certain charms, but only the most hardcore genre fans need to search this one out. From the trailers and the fact that this comes from Blumhouse Productions, most known for low-budget fare that turns a tidy profit, you get more or less what you anticipate.