‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ lifts our spirits just enough

“Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” – When “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” (2017) reached theatres two years ago, sharks chewed over the head scratching decisions that found their way on screen.  Well, some sharks anyway, or at a minimum, this one. Director Rian Johnson’s venture into the iconic series took some strange, nonsensical turns. For instance, why did Vice Admiral Holdo (Laura Dern) sacrifice herself by ramming her ship into a First Order Star Destroyer, when about 50 droids onboard could have done the job instead? Why did Luke…

‘Parasite’ wins the Phoenix Critics Circle’s Top Prize

The Phoenix Critics Circle hosted its annual awards party on Dec. 13 at the Phoenix Film Foundation office, and the critics and their friends and family enjoyed a festive night of food, drinks, movie conversations and debates, and of course, the awards! Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” won four PCC awards, including Best Picture! Adam Driver and Lupita Nyong’o won the top acting awards for “Marriage Story” and “Us”, respectively, and here is the complete list of winners. BEST PICTURE • 1917 • The Irishman • Jojo Rabbit • Marriage Story •…