Rise of Skywalker Wins Third Straight Weekend
In Star Wars lore, it seems, the Empire (and all its offshoots) and the Republic (and all its offshoots) swap the galactic cat seat with disturbing regularity. That’s got to be a little frustrating for the ruling parties. Why, presidents and emperors barely order their office curtains before someone comes in, picks them up and […]
Culture Clips: Fascism … on the Hallmark Channel?
It’s officially 2020, folks, and we all have our own hopes and dreams for what the new year might hold. But some of us have radically different hopes and dreams. For instance, I know that some folks may dream of watching Hallmark Christmas movies all year long. But Salon political writer Amanda Marcotte hopes that […]
Little Women Make Big Impact, But No Match for Rise of Skywalker
Like an Imperial-class Star Destroyer, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker glided unscathed to the top of the box office again, claiming an estimated 72 million galactic credi—er, dollars. While The Rise of Skywalker did see a sizable dip in its collections (losing nearly 60% of its weekend-over-weekend audience), it still doubled the take of […]
Pop Culture’s Top 10 Movers and Shakers (2019 Edition)
The year 2019 was a year of goodbyes. We said farewell to sitcoms (The Big Bang Theory) and television serials (Orange is the New Black); rappers (Juice WRLD) and Disney stars (Cameron Boyce); writers (Toni Morrison) and superheroes (no spoilers here) and even a Grouch (as in Oscar and the voice that brought him to […]
Culture Clips: Unwrapping a Streaming Service for Christmas?
Christmas Day is over, and some of us are still swimming through used wrapping paper in our living rooms. But we’re not the only ones who gave and/or got a few gifts in our stockings. Burgeoning streaming services did, too—even if they came at the expense of other streaming services. Take the upstart Disney+, for […]
Plugged In’s Christmas Eve Star Wars Showdown
Answer or answer not: There is no try. But that didn’t stop a couple of Plugged In’s intrepid members—Associate Editor Kristin Smith and Plugged In Director Adam Holz—from answering a few Star Wars-related questions for me. The catch: Adam’s a lifelong Star Wars aficionado, and Kristin … is not. And whether you lined up in […]
Star Wars Rises to the Top of the Box Office
The Empire lives! The empire of the mouse, that is. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker skipped through hyperspace all the way to No. 1 at the box office, surprising absolutely no one. It earned an estimated $175.5 million in North America en route—a figure that under most circumstances would be absolutely flabbergasting, but in […]
Top Television 2019: Plugged In’s Year-End Picks
Of all the entertainment media we write about here, television shows might be the most difficult for Plugged In to reliably define as “the best.” A song? It’s only four minutes long. A game? Sure, some seem to go on forever, but they still each have an endpoint. In other realms, most every entertainment product, […]
Culture Clips: Santa Feels Neglected
It’s pretty lonely up at the North Pole these days. Oh, sure, Santa has his elves and reindeer to keep him company. But not many kids actually mail the jolly old elf letters these days—just emails and, if they’ve got connections, maybe an occasional text. Even when St. Nick makes his annual December trek to […]
Jumanji Takes It to the Next Level
Elsa, that Disney maven of ice and snow, is a pretty powerful princess, to be sure. She and her chilly cohorts spent three whole weeks warding off all cinematic comers. But sometimes even the nicest of ice crystals can get knocked off its perch by a well-placed Rock. Jumanji: The Next Level ended Frozen II’s […]