Alex Diaz-Granados

Released in 1999 as part of Hasbro's Power of the Force 2 Collection, this version not only includes the menacing little torture robot seen in Episode IV, but also comes with a "talking" Dark Lord of ...

After a six-year absence and one abortive attempt to return, classical music is back in South Florida's airwaves. Will it remain?

Not as detailed as the current 21st Centuty action figures, this 1998 action figure is still a nice Star Wars collectible.

Although Luke Skywalker only wore four outfits in Star Wars - Episode IV: A New Hope, it took Kenner Toys and Hasbro 19 years to release a 3.75-inch action figure depicting the Classic Trilogy's hero ...

Who says learning about world history has to be dull and uninspiring? This fourth version of Sid Meier's popular empire-building is not only fun and addictive, but it also "stealth-teaches" players ab...

Kenner unwittingly revolutionized the toy industry when it became one of the few licensees of Star Wars merchandise in 1977, but its original figures and playsets are eclipsed by more detailed version...

Kenner's initial Luke Skywalker figures were marred by lack of extras and blandness. Since the 1990s, however, Hasbro's toymakers have endeavored to capture Star Wars fans' hearts, minds, and wallets ...

One of the harsh realities of modern American society is that if you are a student-athlete in high school, particularly a star athlete, you can pretty much get away with a lot of things that non-jocks...

Although Kenner Toys rendered most of the original Star Wars Trilogy's Imperial characters as 3.75-inch action figures during their original production run of 1978-1985, the one glaring exception was ...

Hasbro's Star Wars Episode I Sebulba's Podracer is a reasonably well-designed reproduction of the villainous racing champion's speedy vehicle

Final Jedi Duel captures the essence of Return of the Jedi's final lightsaber clash extremely well,

Although it might be hard to find, collectors can search for this rare three-pack of action figures featuring Rystall, Greeata, and Lyn Me

Since 1978, the TIE Fighter and its variants has been an important part of any serious Star Wars collection; the TIE Bomber's rarity makes it a must-get item.

On a mild April morning nearly four years ago, the hard truth was no comfort to either me or my mom as we drove Mary Joe, our beloved eight-year-old yellow Labrador retriever to the vet for the last t...

Inspired by an "if-you-blink-you'll-miss-it" shot from The Phantom Menace, this three-figure pack is a nice "displayable collectible" for Star Wars fans.

Almost half of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope deals with Princess Leia's rescue from the Death Star, and this is the best three-packs based on that sequence.

Although it might be hard to find, collectors can search for this rare three-pack of action figures featuring Ben Kenobi, Dr. Evazan, and Ponda Baba

While the pain of losing one's country to a brutal regime is understandable, it doesn't excuse a Cuban exile group from stealing books from public school libraries in a blatant act of censorship.

Although Kenner/Hasbro has released several action figures depicting Luke Skywalker as he appears in the first 15 minutes or so of The Empire Strikes Back, this 2003 figure has better, more accurate d...

Even if you think U.S. history is not exciting, this book is very readable and funny. Highly recommended!

In the early '80s, Kenner Toys issued a ho-hum action figure based on the snow monster that attacks Luke Skywalker on Hoth. The 2003 Hasbro re-issue is more detailed and matches the 1997 Special Edit...

Whereas the writers and director of Airplane! got the formula for film parodies just right, Seltzer and Friedlander clearly go for cheap, easy laughs without being actually funny. Avoid this movie at ...

Even though this 1962 war drama is showing its age, it is still a powerful movie about a pivotal world event. The most expensive black and white movie for three decades, it is based on the 1959 best s...

Beggin' Strips look like bacon, smell like bacon, but aren't bacon. Instead, they are a popular doggie snack by Ralston Purina.

Schindler's List is not only a fine example of filmmaking at its best, but it also serves as a memorial to the six million victims of the Holocaust.

Of all the Star Trek feature films, the fifth entry in the series is considered by most fans to be the weakest and least satisfying.

Although Kenner and Hasbro have re-issued Darth Vader action figures since he first appeared as a 3.75-inch toy replica, this variant is rather uniquely detailed.

James Luceno's Dark Lord is one of the best literary adventures set "a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away." A must-read for Star Wars fans.

In company with Darth Vader: Bespin Duel, this figure of the Classic Trilogy's main hero is worth searching for.

Hasbro, like Kenner before it, has made many variants of the Dark Lord's action figure, but this is the only one that can be used to recreate Luke Skywalker's Force vision on Dagobah.

From roller skating waitress to TV talent show contestant, Kellie Pickler shows the world that adversity can't keep this Southern charmer down

The late, great Jerry Goldsmith composed many great movie themes in his 40-year-long Hollywood career. Here are five of his best.

For movie buffs and Star Wars fans alike, this 1998 re-issue of the screenplay for The Empire Strikes Back is definitely a must-get volume.

Though there are many Vader variants available, this figure's details make it worth scouring the galaxy for. Get the companion Luke Skywalker: Bespin Duel figure to complement it!

This is a highly readable and informative unauthorized biography that delves into the life and films of Star Wars creator George Lucas.

As a former dog owner and current dog-sitter, I have had to feed my canine charges different types of food; Ol' Roy is one of the best in-store canned foods for dogs.

Purina has been making fine pet foods for ages; Moist & Meaty Burger with Cheddar Cheese is one of their best products!

Considering that Billy Joel's album River of Dreams is one of his more thoughtful albums, Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel) certainly fits into the work's themes of reflection and "summing up."

The late, great Douglas Adams weaves a comical tapestry full of puns, zany characters and loopy situations in this sci fi satire. Don't Panic...read The Guide.

For fans of Star Wars and movie buffs alike, this book is a fascinating blueprint for A New Hope

This book about our country's first 42 Presidents is a great anecdotal antidote to all those boring and dry history classes we took in high school.

Although far better than Iron Eagle, this Tom Cruise vehicle is typical fare for the Reagan Era: nice visuals, but too jingoistic and simplistic

Even if you think the lead actor is acting bizarrely off-screen, War of the Worlds is a terrific sci-fi/horror film.

Steven Spielberg has been one of the best directors in Hollywood for over 30 years; these are his 10 best films.

Considering the success of this novel, I thought it would be at least a fun and entertaining read. Sadly, this overhyped best-seller is neither!

f you want to give your dog (or a neighbor's) a tasty treat, you can't go wrong with Pup-Peroni!

Although this will be used only sparingly, the DVD-L70 offers video and audio performance beyond what one imagines from such a small device. Highly recommended!

Got bugs? Don't want to hire a pest control company? Then Ortho Home Defense Perimeter & Indoor Insect Killer Pull-N-Spray might be the right weapon for you.

The ReflexPlus 6423 LC Electric Shaver carries on in the tradition of Philips/Norelco's of excellent shaving products. Highly recommended

Although no movie ever really surpasses its literary source, these are the 10 best movies based on popular works of fiction (or fictionalized fact, in one case).

Some of the best film themes ever have been around before the invention of the motion picture camera. Here are five famous classical pieces that have been featured in movies

Whether exploring the musical styles of the '50s and early '60s or giving the world one last original pop/rock album (for the time being, anyway), Billy Joel shows his musicianship and versatility in ...

If you liked the revised musical number in the Special Edition of Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, you'll love this single...if you don't have the soundtrack album, at least.

For owners of the various Billy Joel Greatest Hits collections, this 2-CD set might seem, well, superfluous, but in addition to obvious hits (Piano Man, Just the Way You Are) there are some rare gems,...

Pocket Books' Star Trek: The Lost Years project sought to fill in the blanks about the "missing years" between the TV show's final episode and the first movie, but the books are uneven at best, bad at...

Although fans know the ultimate fate of the films' major characters, Luceno's Revenge of the Sith novel is a suspenseful and exciting set-up for the final Star Wars movie.

This is how our lives are with this insidious illness my mom is enduring. Each of us is trying to cope in his or her way, but it's not easy.

Fans of real and alternative history willI find Harris' novel to be a true "can't put this down till I finish" book.

I've owned plenty of Star Wars-related albums, most of which I've enjoyed. This one by MECO is one of the rare ones I don't like.

One of the best classical guitarists tackles two of the most beautiful guitar-and-orchestra compositions written in the 20th Century. A must-hear recording!

Of the four versions of the John Williams/London Symphony Orchestra recordings of the "Empire" score, this is the least satisfying and the worst-conceived CD edition.

Details about the Clone Wars - one of the biggest, yet largely unseen, elements in the Star Wars mythology - and well-developed characters are the main draw of this excellently-written Prequel Era ...

If you've been stranded on a desert island since May of 1977 or are new to the Star Wars mythos, this how-to guide explains the chronology of the six-film saga.

Mozart may have died a penniless pauper at the age of 36, but his music enriched the Western artistic tradition. This 2-CD set is a wonderful sampler of music by Mozart and a few other Classical era c...

In this unassumingly packaged Sony Music Special Products offering, Mathis sings 10 standards written by such luminaries as Oscar Hammerstein, Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter.

Based on Mark (Black Hawk Down) Bowden's 2001 best-selling book of the same name, Killing Pablo is an engrossing documentary that chronicles the "hunt for the world's greatest outlaw."

Although several Expanded Universe novels give a different version of some events here, Star Wars - Clone Wars: Volume Two bridges the gap between Episodes II and III entertainingly.

Of all the albums of various genres and by different artists that I've ever owned, perhaps the one that has most shaped my taste in music is, without a doubt, the original two-disc soundtrack album fr...

This film is just plain awful. Want to learn about the Battle of Midway? Read Walter Lord's Incredible Victory instead.

The Second World War inspired many epic films that recreate major battles with some degree of accuracy. Battle of the Bulge isn't one of them.

So you think an actor's life is all fortune and glory? Easy? Fun? Waking Up in Astoria captures a different side of a struggling thespian's life as he strives to get parts in the New York area.

Matthew Stover has written an entertaining, insightful, and moving account of a hero's tragic fall from grace amidst the death of a galaxy-spanning democracy.

Like most sexually-themed teen comedies, this film depends on suspension of disbelief, but it does have a somewhat sweet core beneath its unabashedly naughty layers.

Pre-Sept. 11 film seeks to explore the ramifications of a terrorist campaign in NYC, namely the use of military force and declaring martial law, but suffers from cinematic schizophrenia.

The true horror in this film is not just that Paris Hilton is in this, but that Warner Bros. wants $20 for the DVD.

West Side Story, the 1961 film adaptation of one of the best American musical plays of all time, is one of the most acclaimed movies in Hollywood history.

As a horribly active hurricane season comes to an end, residents in Florida and other coastal states need to prepare for a 20-30 year "busy" cycle in the Atlantic.

If you are confused by the chronology of the Jack Ryan series, this guide's for you....

Perhaps one of the most disappointing war epics of the 1960s is French director Rene Clement's 1966 adaptation of Is Paris Burning?, a book about the liberation of the French capital in August of 1944...

Star Wars on radio? Don't laugh...it really works, and Return of the Jedi makes for a fine aural experience!

Fast Times at Ridgemont High is one of the rare teen-sex comedies that deserves its reputation as a classic of the genre. Worth a look!

Despite resistance from Hollywood, John Sturges was able to produce and direct one of the best war/escape films ever made.

Fail-Safe is perhaps one of the best Cold War-era films that dared to depict an accidental nuclear war brought on by the failure of technology and human frailties.

Bucking logic and expectations, Star Wars set box-office records and thrilled audiences with its mix of space fantasy and mythological archetypes, starting one of the most popular film series in movie...

While Wilma was no Andrew or Katrina, its effects expose weaknesses in South Florida's overdeveloped infrastructure.

In 1962, writer-producer Perry Wolff made a feature-length documentary about the Allied victory over Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime.

Amoral, perhaps psychotic, but somehow fascinating, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow come to life again in this classic 1960s film.

This book on the first Gulf War is well researched and detailed; it's very readable and vivid.

Just in time for Star Wars' 25th Anniversary, Attack of the Clones continues the tragic story of Anakin Skywalker's fall from grace and lays the foundations for Episode III.

Of the few films to actually depict the Vietnam War as it raged in the 1960s, The Green Berets is the worst.

Vain I may not be, but I like shaving. However, razors often irritate my skin, so this Nivea® For Men product is often necessary. It works great, though!

For general trivia lovers - or for people who habitually read in the bathroom! - the best books are the Uncle John's Bathroom Readers

Before Tom Clancy nuked the Super Bowl in a 1991 novel, Thomas Harris wrote the chiller Black Sunday

Although I normally avoid watching biopics, Taylor Hackford's film about musician Ray Charles is definitely worth seeing.

With the success of Star Wars: The Radio Drama, National Public Radio, Lucasfilm Ltd, John Madden and acclaimed SF author Brian Daley returned to create a second radio series based on "Empire"

Although, like most people, I prefer cheerful and upbeat music - say, John Williams' Raiders' March, Billy Joel's Uptown Girl, or The Beatles' Eight Days a Week, there are periods when all I'll list...

Rogue Squadron 3-D allows players to take the role of Luke Skywalker as a Rebel pilot against the Empire in an exciting arcade/sim style game.

Once again, composer John Williams provides Star Wars creator with a brillliant, enduring score, but Sony Classical could have done a better album. At least a bonus DVD was included, though.

Talky, full of political intrigue, and not warmly embraced by most fans, The Phantom Menace is still a good beginning to the six-Episode saga

Although it's fine as an example of WWII propaganda, Mrs Miniver is a somewhat cliched and dated melodrama.

As a native Miamian, I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of the city's growth into the Gateway of the Americas.

Can one of the most visually exciting films in history be adapted into a radio drama?

Although the film A Bridge Too Far flopped in 1977, it was well done, and one of the best things about it was Joh Addison's score.

Cable and satellite television subscribers who get the Cartoon Network - and now, DVD owners - have seen other engagements in the animated micro-series Star Wars: Clone Wars

Since the DVD format was introduced in the late 1990s, movie fans were anxious to get their hands on two Lucasfilm trilogies, Star Wars and the Indiana J