If you're reading this and not some rogue, jump-the-gun review of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," it means you and I are friends forever. This is the day — 24 hours before the opening of the latest chapter in the "Star Wars" franchise — when other movies currently screening in theaters are destined to be ignored altogether.
I know someone who hasn't been outside in six months and yet he is heading out the door as I write so he can get in line for the Tokyo premiere of "The Force Awakens," which involves a 1½-hour train ride preceded by a 20-minute trek to the station. Such is the power of the Force.
And as much as I understand all the hype, I feel like it's my solemn duty to inform the moviegoing public of other films that are deserving of our undivided attention. Exhibit A: "Life," which is directed by Anton Corbijn ("Control") and stars Robert Pattinson, who has become a force to be reckoned with in his own right since appearing in the "Twilight" series not so long ago.