Star Wars - My 42 Year Journey

Right before Christmas, we saw the end of a long journey, the nine movie spanning vision from George Lucas for his creation - Star Wars.

I jumped on this train at 13 years old back in 1977, and after 42 years, we've finally reached the end. (Of the main original concept, anyway!) :P

It's mind boggling, the way this universe and these characters have become so meaningful to so many of us over the years. Let's not forget the music, either, as I believe John Williams is a BIG part of Star Wars' success. Yes, not all of the films have been good, not all of it has been consistent, yet the plan (whether in its original form or not) has come to pass. It's a testament of how much it has affected so many, that it survived long enough to be completed. Science Fiction and Fantasy weren't considered as worthwhile in the movie biz back then. Star Wars opened the way for change.



1977 - Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope - The beginning! Super thrilling, exciting, a look at what Science Fiction could be. Thanks to John Williams, a deep love of background music began for me. It showed music could bring a new dimension to films that were as important as the special effects, the actors, the story.  Peter Cushing from the Hammer Films! (Awesome!)




1980 - Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back - This one is my all time favorite. We learned more about the Force and the Jedi. Leia and Han Solo fight against the attraction they feel for each other despite their very different backgrounds. We discover Luke's relationship with Darth Vader. (They published the book before the movie release. I still remember sitting at the couch reading the novelization and the utter shock at the revelation that Darth Vader was Luke's father!) I waited in line for hours on opening day to get to see it! Squee! (Super Awesome!)



1983 -  Star Wars Episode VI Return of the Jedi - The culmination of the trilogy (already the news of Lucas' vision for 9 films, 3 set before and 3 set after had everyone excited - even if the chances of them being made was slim.) Ewoks were introduced (So cute!), more awesome music by John Williams, Han and Leia reunited. The Emperor! Hardship and Victory!  (Awesome!)

Then we hit the long gap of waiting... Would we ever see the 6 films promised? (There were a lot of other Star Wars things in between - books, comic books, the never to be spoken of Ewok Christmas Special, games, and more. But the films...where were the films?!)



1999 - Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace - They were back! Yes! More John Williams music, woot! Awesome special effects, but something was lost, the realistic, gritty part so successful in the first three films had disappeared, giving way to CGI. The reinvention of the Force and the introduction of Midiclorians. Trying to turn the mystic into science - even though this is a prequel! What? But who cared, Star Wars was BACK! YAY!  Young Obi-Wan - woot! (And the introduction of Jar Jar Binks - I like him in this film, but so many people did not. Oh, the hate. Don't give in to the Dark Side!) (Pretty Good! Starwars is BACK!!!!!)



2002 - Star Wars Episode II Attack of the Clones - Build up, setting more things in place to bring us toward the future we learned of in Episodes IV to VI. Anakin and Padme, more Obi-Wan. Christopher Lee - squee! But hold on, who the heck thought putting Jar Jar into politics and have him help mold policy was a good idea? Nice guy, but 'hello?' are you all nuts? (Decently Good?)



2005 - Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith - WTF? You changed the fighting style after 5 previous films? WTF? Instead of the most glorious Anakin vs. Obi-wan battle we get "but I hold the higher ground?" WTF? You have the Force, higher ground means nothing! Yoda gets turned into Dragonball's Goku? (He even does the Kamehameha!) WTF? Unequivocally the WORST Star Wars film - EVER! I almost went to the Dark Side due to this one. I even rewatched it a few years later to make sure of the flaws - made me want to strike them down even harder! Ugh! I could rant on this one for hours, HOURS! (Though the lizard mount was super cool!) I waited 28 years for this? Bleah! (Horribly bad!)



2015 - Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens - Disney brought the franchise! They went back to having more physical objects, so the feel of the originals was back. Disney has money, Disney will pay someone to make a super awesome script and bring Star Wars back with a BANG! WRONG! :( Instead, someone mushed together pieces of the first three films somehow thinking that was the recipe needed for success. Think again! Luke was back, Leia was back, Han Solo was back - yay! But wait, Han reverted to a five year old. Kylo Ren is godlike in his abilities. He can bend light! Mess with time! What? (Plus, there's no way Darth Vader's helmet survived! Not the way that ship blew. Oh the humanity!) Plus the hints about Rey's parents? Totally ignored in the later films! Sigh. Oh, and a trash worker stormtrooper is part of an elite commando unit? Right... (Mostly garbage, but still better than Episode III!)



2017 - Star Wars Episode VIII The Last Jedi - It was Star Wars so I went, but expectations were low. So in some aspects, I was pleasantly surprised, others not as much. Kylo Ren still way overpowered. Hints from Episode VII were totally discarded as if they'd never been. Disney is still not using their might to find a decent scriptwriter (that or there were too many hands in the pot). (Mostly Decent?)



2019 - Star Wars Episode IX The Rise of Skywalker - Still no decent script, and loads of backpedaling, which made for a bigger mess. Tons of nostalgic moments. Several stupid ones. (If Rey can jump high enough to go over a super tie fighter, she should be able to leap around a shipwreck instead of tedious climbing it.) Rey is now showing godlike powers. Ugh. (How was there even a wreck? The whole facility exploded from the core!) (Oh and Force skills are NOT hereditary! Ugh.) A super secret Sith map - so make a dagger hilt in the shape of the wreck that is only about twenty years old but the map and knife are ancient? And the wreck has power? What? Oh and out of nowhere, let's make Leia a MASTER JEDI in her youth! Yeah, like she'd have the time to become a MASTER? Some training sure, but a MASTER? So glad I did not have high expectations. Still, I got teary eyed, nostalgic, pumped by the music. I have tried my best not to look at it too closely or who knows what will happen. Heh heh. I will not give in.  (Super nostalgic, but not good.)

The nine film journey is over. Huzzah!

Even with the crap, it is still an amazing achievement. I'm glad I survived in the world long enough to see it through. Though not all of those involved got to get to the finish.

I love the Star Wars universe, so, yeah, I'll keep watching. I am sure this cash cow will be milked for years to come. Who knows, eventually the Force might be with us, and some awesome films will come our way again. :P


There's always hope. May the Force be with you, always.

Movie Review - Rogue One

Rogue One

Starring: Felicity Jones, Diego Luna, Alan Tudyk, Donnie Yen, Wen Jiang, Ben Mendelsohn, Forest Whitaker, Riz Ahmed, Mads Mikkelsen, Jimmy Smits, Ben Daniels, Guy Henry, Ingvild Deila, and more.

Directed by: Gareth Edwards Story by: John Knoll and Gary Whitta Screenplay by: Chris Weitz and Tony Gilroy Based on Characters Created by: George Lucas Cinematography by: Greig Fraser Music by: Michael Giacchino

Premise: A cargo pilot defects from the Empire, claiming to have information about a weapon which can destroy worlds. The pilot falls into the hands of an ostracized militant faction of the Rebels. To try to get the information, the main group of Rebels track down the daughter of the man the information came from. She also happens to who knows the head of the faction holding the pilot. So the main group is hoping to use her for an introduction with the splinter faction and mend fences. Jyn has been hiding her true identity for most of her life, her father torn from her and her mentor leaving her behind years before. But when she does this one favor for the Rebellion, she starts seeing there is much out there she had no idea about. And that what the Empire is planning is bigger and more horrifying than she ever imagined.

Review:

1) Acting - Total Thumbs Up: The cast is a fun and quirky set of characters. At first, it seems they won't fit together, but they end up meshing very well. Felicity Jones was fun to watch as Jyn Erso. The character has built a thick, protective shell around herself. Felicity does a wonderful job of showing it slowly cracking and eventually falling away. Diego Luna as Cassian Andor also did a great job. Having done unspeakable things in the name of freedom, he too finds his shell cracking as he's made to deal with Jyn. Alan Tudyk was awesome as K-2SO. Not only for nice bits of levity but also for some truly poignant moments. Riz Ahmed brought a lot on as Bohdi Rook. The poor pilot goes through so much just to try to do the right thing. Donnie Yen and Wen Jiang as Chirrut Imwe and Baze Malbus were a fun duo that added some extra fun layers to the team.

2) Special Effects - Total Thumbs Up: The special effects team did a superb job. The devastation from just a small blast from the Death Star was jaw dropping. The multiple views of it from the ground and from space were amazing. 

They brought back all the old favorite ships and machines as well as several new ones. Loved seeing the main dish being placed on the Death Star - made for a nice backdrop to the conversation between Tarkin and Krennic.

But what was truly impressive work from the department, a lot of people won't even realize is happening. And that is the work they did with Guy Henry and Ingvild Deila to recreate the characters of Grand Moff Tarkin and Princess Leia. It was both eerie and amazing on how well the CGI and the new actors meshed together to bring back these characters of almost forty years ago from when the original Star Wars Episode IV first came out. (Peter Cushing passed in 1994 and Carrie Fisher is much older now than she was back then. :P)

A lot of the locations were recreated and made to look as we'd seen them before. Others were brand new. We even finally get an awesome tropical beach location! (Best outpost to be assigned as a trooper ever!) 

Darth Vader's Sith temple was also quite cool looking. The only planet location in the film they did not disclose. lol. 

Tons of shooting, explosions, pistols, rifles, bombs, and more! But for the first time ever - no lightsabers! *gasp*

3) Plot/Story - Thumbs Up: The Good - A lot better thought out than The Force Awakens! So, yay for that! Lots of good bits and homage/in-jokes in the film from other Star Wars films. They went to a lot of trouble to replicate places and things as we'd seen them in the original set of movies. Bringing in Tarkin and making him part of the whole thing was awesome. Adding K-2SO was genius. Mouthy robots are in lately. lol. 

Layered characters with thought out motivations. They pulled at the heart strings in several places. I thought it hilarious that after going through all the trouble to make it so Han Solo didn't shoot first, they turned around and gave us Cassian Andor. The first scene with him definitely left no doubts as to who did what.

Like Titanic, we pretty much know how this will end, but it was worth watching it happen. And the way they tie the end of the film to the beginning of Episode IV was great. (Aside from the nitpicks below.)

The Bad - There wasn't much. And for most people, it won't make a difference. But I must do my duty. :P (We watched Episode IV right after so I did a double check!) Mon Mothma did not make an appearance until Episode VI, but she was the main focus person at Yavin 4 in this prequel. They also had a character that sounded and looked like Admiral Ackbar, which didn't make sense particularly in the large battle. (*Warning - Spoilers!*) Worse, the transmission was not a beamed transmission to one location, but one sent wide to all ships in the area. So how is it that some of the rebel ships escaped but we still only had one copy of the data? What...? If I somehow missed something explaining this, let me know! 

One last nitpick. This is a big galaxy. There are bound to be wide variations in clothing styles and home architecture. But you'll note a lot of the costumes are familiar, pilfered from different areas of the first three films. While some are expected, especially since they are recreating some of the locations, it didn't make sense everywhere. Where it worked the least, in my opinion, was the humid planet where Jyn's father has hiding. Subterranean houses in this environment would be terribly risky. And do they not believe in rain gear in that world? 

One bit I thought cute and not cute was an obtuse bit of homage. In the original Star Wars, Lucas based the characters of R2D2 and 3CPO on two side characters in the Japanese film "The Hidden Fortress" by Akira Kurosawa with actor Toshiro Mifune. In turn, this new film has a scene with the character Baze Malbus that was very reminiscent of another Akira Kurosawa film. Heck, in the scene, you'd swear the actor Wen Jiang looked just like Toshiro Mifune! (Or I have too wild of an imagination? :P) But doing it didn't feel quite right?

Overall, though, it was a good film! Yay!

4) Stunts - Total Thumbs Up:  Tons of explosions also means loads of stunt work. Rebels and Storm troopers are blown about all over the place. Throw in some excellent staff combat by Chirrut Imwe and the stunt people were kept quite busy. :P 

5) Locations/Cinematography - Total Thumbs Up: I was very pleased to note they didn't use the same cheat they did with "The Force Awakens" concerning locations. They actually went out of their way to find a new look for several of the new worlds. For the planets already known, they did a great job bringing back the same look and feel as they'd had previously.  So yay for trying to prove all worlds in the vast galaxy aren't all the same!

6) Music - Total Thumbs Up: I've read that this is the first Star Wars film without a John William's score. Michael Giacchino took the reins of this one. And while creating several new tracks, they also kept some of the old ones. A nice way to mesh the two sets. Giacchino also kept the spirit of the style created for this franchise, so it was in good hands.

Conclusion: Rogue One has some minor flaws, but overall it beat the pants out of The Force Awakens. :P Great addition to the franchise!

Rating: 4 out of 5 (Hubby's Rating: Worth Full Price to See Again)

Picture Kaleidoscope - AllCon 2016

This past weekend we were at ALLCon 2016!

Energizer bunny!

New setup we tried out for AllCon. Have an extra side table to give us more room. :)

Not your typical caped crusaders. :P

Umbrella Corp Security - Japan branch. They mean business! :P

Who said skeletons can't be cool? :)

Clockwork woman! You can see her gears! Eek!

Steampunk Scottish Soldier. He looks swank!

They look serious! (Can't for the life of me remember the character's name. Wah!)

The Light and Dark sides of the Force.

She is so CUTE! 

Daughter came up with this during the con. Came out Fab! Deadpool Chainmail Dice Bag. :)

Xavier and Cerebro - sweet!

Mrs. Frizzle and friend! From the Magic School Bus!

We finally remembered the pixie lights to add to the chainmail sphere. I think it looks like the Deathstar now. :)

A gaggle of Disney Villains! No one is safe!

Have a great one!

Mind Sieve 12/7/15

It's MONDAY!

Fan Fun

Batman vs. Superman Trailer #3 - Oh yeah! Now we see what the heck is going on. Lex, you are so naughty! :P

Star Wars International Trailer 3 - shows a bit more than the one we had before! Tears me up. lol. 

Captain America: Civil War Trailer #1 - booyah! This is going to get messy. 

Social Media/Author Platform

Social Media, Branding & Owning 2016—Because EVERY Day is Game Day by Kristen Lamb.

Writing Advice

FiYoShiMo Day 3: Tone is not Mood by John Adamus - some nice info in here!

Well more of a post than I have done recently. Wheee!

Virtual Tourist - Star Wars The Old Republic 12/8/13

Morning! Really hoping the ice will melt today!

Star Wars The Old Republic
Jedi Consular
Makeb

I continue to one up my hubby on these Cartel Coin boxes. I got another vehicle! Bwahahaha. Isn't she a beaut?

Love the rock formations here.

There's been some trouble.

More local fauna. They decided we were tasty.

Yes, he's exactly what you think he is! Hope that forcefield holds.

Full view of the energy cage for the Rancor.

See through energy bridge. One of the local giant frogs in a pond. 

Direct TV, eat your heart out! lol. 

Secret work behind a forcefield sectioned area. Ooo!

Radiation hazard, anyone, anyone...

Mining operations by the Hutts. Truly this particular Hutt is a total nutter.

The scope of this is like the Arc, totally mind boggling.

Nonstop giant drilling into the planet's core. Not sure why anyone would think this was a good thing.

We have to go to many of these facilities and shut them down to buy time.

More local unfriendly fauna. Heh heh.

Stay warm!

Virtual Tourist 11/3/13

Been one busy week and weekend!

Star Wars The Old Republic
Jedi Consular
Makeb

Entrance to the Hurt underground area

The Hutts have really messed up his time

Exploiting the resources have the planet unstable.  This is how the Hutts plan to leave. Unbeknownst to them, a greedy builder has been stealing parts and if not for us trying to sterility

Energy bridges are so cool!

Sorry for the lack of commentary. Surface went belly up and typing with the Kindle is not conducive to typing. :(

Have great Sunday.