Happy Two Thousand and Ben…

And so here we all are in crisp cold blueness of the future, struggling to re-engage brains still fuzzy with festive coziness and ticking off our list of resolutions as they shatter around us like writing deadlines.

I thought I’d kick off the new decade with the following little film about why the Phantom Menace is rubbish. If you’ve not seen this video review of the first Star Wars prequel then it’s worth watching for its warped hilarity alone. However I’m offering it to you less because it’s funny to laugh at how bad the Menace was and more because beneath a layer of Family Guyish comedy schtick this is actually a rather fine little seminar on the narrative role of the protagonist and the basic rules of the “Heroes Quest”.

Or at least part is 1. By part 7 it has gone quite odd. But yeah, laugh and learn…