Tag Archives: star-wars

Sunday Morning Sidewalk #29

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“Whitey’s On the Moon”

I really enjoyed episode one last week for the Sunday Morning Sidewalk featuring Lovecraft Country. Unfortunately, this week’s episode felt like I was watching the show in fast forward. So much happened and there was a super ton of exposition and it felt like the flow of this was way off whack.

I am not sure exactly was was real and what had happened. There is a secret society based on Adam from the Garden of Eden. Leti died, but comes back. Atticus turned out to be a descendent of the founder of this secret society. Leti and George forgot everything about the night before and then a little bit later, remembered everything that had happened. They all had weird delusions in their rooms with people from their past although Leti’s delusion was having sex with Atticus who turned out to have a snake as his penis. Tony Goldwyn showed up having what looked like parts of his liver removed to serve for dinner. Then he turned to stone and got crushed in the last act of the episode. The castle collapsed into the ground. They found Montrose but the episode ended with George succumbing to his gunshot wound he got from Tony Goldwyn.

As I said, this was insane.

It all felt so rushed that it diluted what should have been a powerful moment at the end of the episode… the death of George. I am not sure if this is a final death or if he will be coming back like Leti did. Montrose’s arrival was also bizarre as he just dragged himself out of the ground in handcuffs.

Oh and it kicked off with the theme song from The Jeffersons.

I found this episodes too packed with stuff that could have been spread out over several episodes. I am not sure what is coming next, but the pacing was just such a problem for me. I do like the characters and the setting, but everything was just flying at such a pace that I was not able to engage as much as I would have liked.

Andor S2 E4, E5, E6

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May the 4th be with you!

It was not intentional that I watched the three Andor episodes on Star Wars Day. It is merely a coincidence. The second season of Andor releases three episodes every Tuesday night at 8 PM my time. That does not give me much time to watch on Tuesdays so I have been pushing it off to the weekend. For the second week in a row, I watched them on Sunday, which just happened to be Star Wars Day.

It’s nice when things work out like they should.

Leia’s adopted father, Senator Organa made a cameo walk through in episode six, but, surprise, surprise, he has been recast. Benjamin Bratt is now playing the role instead of Jimmy Smits. Reportedly, Smits could not shoot the role because of scheduling conflicts. Organa does not make much in the episode four, so I can only assume that the character is more vital as the season continues, otherwise, this cameo would be easily removed, I would think.

Saw Gerrera made an appearance in these episodes as well, and I have to say, Forest Whitaker is downright creepy in the role.

These episodes have been fine to me. I have not absolutely loved these episodes, but there are some really strong points. I thought that every scene involving Diego Luna was perfect. The tension of episode six was palatable.

It seems as if every block of episodes has some tragic occurrence going down. Episode six had one of those as Cinta was shot accidentally by Samm, who was not supposed to have a blaster. This was just after Cinta and Vel reunited, which should have tipped me off that something bad was going to happen to one of them. It was the old LOST thing about when someone is happy, that is when everything goes to hell.

Oh, and when Bix (Adria Arjona) got some vengeance on Dr. Gorst, who tortured her in season one, that was epic. Really bad ass and how she and Cassian walked away together after… loved it.

Light & Magic S2 E2

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“There Must Be A Better Way…”

The second episode of the second season of Light & Magic on Disney + featured heavily on the transition from practical effects to that of digital recording and the way in which ILM lead the way in the field of digital special effects.

It started out talking about the elephant in the room, Jar Jar Binks.

Jar Jar is one of the most hated of Star Wars characters among a certain section of the fandom, but the doc looked at the creation of the character. They spoke to Jar Jar actor, Ahmed Best, who was not taking the criticism and anger of the character well. The comments of Jar Jar being a racist character or filled of racist tropes was difficult for him to hear. It got so bad that he told a story about him going on a bridge in New York with the intent of “showing them” how much it affected him. This story of a man having suicidal thoughts over the creation of a movie character was very powerful as was the resolution of the story. It made me think about my own feelings toward Jar Jar.

I was impressed with how much of the negative thoughts and criticisms this doc dealt with. They could have easily brushed that under the rug, but the doc still showed the push back ILM received for its motion capture and digital film from the movie society in general.

The doc spent some time showing how they were involved in the creation of digital tornados for films such as Jumanji and Twister as well as the massive wave from A Perfect Storm.

They spent a good deal of time telling about how they transitioned from Yoda being a puppet as he was in the original trilogy to more of a digital character and then eventually to a point where Yoda could have a lightsaber fight with Count Dooku in Attack of the Clones. One of the more fascinating parts of that section of the show was seeing how Frank Oz, who was puppeteering and voice Yoda, went through so much trouble and challenges with this extremely heavy puppet that he had to hold up with his right arm.

There is one more episode of season two to go. My guess is that it will focus in on Revenge of the Sith.

Skeleton Crew S1 E8

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“The Real Good Guys”

Skeleton Crew came to a rip-roaring conclusion with the eighth episode of the first season that saw a big time happy ending and some very stressful moments.

Skeleton Crew has been a joy all season long, and the last few episodes have been filled with action and tense drama. Jod showed his true stripes and took up the mantel of the real villain of this season. Jude Law was sensational in this role, creating a real horrendous human being while still being charming and enthralling enough to wish he would make the right decisions. His past was driving him to this grand theft attempt and, for me, his actions were irredeemable, but when everything was obviously over, he threw aside his blaster.

What a great episode for Wim, who had been having so many troubles all season long. He had his dreams shaken by the realities of the galaxy, but he never completely gave up his hope. Wim was an absolute standout in this episode and the image of Wim standing with the lightsaber was epic.

It was nice when Wim’s father finally began listening to him. The parents played a huge piece in the story with Wim and Fern.

Our young heroes truly stepped it up. KB was awesome as she was able to pilot the Onyx Cinder back up past the barrier to get a message to Khym to send help… it the form of X-Wing fighters.

Oh, and by the way… was that Luke Skywalker????

I never once believed that KB had crashed the Onyx Cinder and had died though. That beat of the story was clearly not in the cards.

I am a little underwhelmed with the final few moments. I wanted more and I needed to know what the kids were going to do, what Jod was going to do etc. I needed more falling action after the huge climax. That is a minor complaint, but I just wanted to know what was next for these characters that have been such a wonderful group for the past eight episodes.

Skeleton Crew delivered some exceptional Goonies in Star Wars action and was one of the best Star Wars Disney + shows, right up their with Andor.

Skeleton Crew S1 E7

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“We’re Gonna Be in So Much Trouble”

Whoa. Skeleton Crew went hard this week in the penultimate episode. Jod is a downright horrendous person and the kids make it back to At Attin. But that final shot was frightening.

The final shot of the episode was Jod extending a lightsaber out in front of the four kids and their parents seconds after their reunion. The way he extended the lightsaber was reminiscent of the way Anakin extended his lightsaber when he slaughtered the younglings during Order 66 in Revenge of the Sith. This was after Jod had threatened to slice the kids’ parents up earlier in the episode if they did not behave.

What an a-hole. He decapitated 33 a little while after the droid had turned on him and went to aid the kids in regaining control of their ship (as he expectantly hit Jod in the face in one of the biggest cheer moments of the series).

There was so much drama on this episode and Jod had become such a bad guy that you have to admire the skill of Jude Law. At one point, Jod seemed like a bad guy with a heart of gold. I am not sure you could say that any longer.

This was one of the most exciting episodes of the series and I was glued to the screen the whole time. One final episode which I hope brings this story to a satisfying conclusion.

Skeleton Crew S1 E6

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“Zero Friends Again”

Happy New Year!

I paused my annual tradition of watching Infinity War and Endgame New Years Eve until midnight to watch tonight new episode of Skeleton Crew. That should tell you how much I have been enjoying this show. It was a nice little break between the big Avengers movie (as of right now, Endgame has just started)

Our four young heroes went down a chute and slid away from Jod, who was in the process of betraying them last episode. This put Wim, Neel, Fern and KB tried to decide what they were going to do now. It led to them splitting apart into pairs after a bit of a childish argument. The show does a tremendous job of reminding us how these characters are kids.

Meanwhile, Jod is trying to avoid being sentenced and sent out the air lock by telling the story of At Attin. He tried to encourage the other pirates that he could provide an unending treasure.

The group of kids got back together and there was an exciting action scene to end the show as they flew their ship off the planet, with KB having the coordinates to At Attin in her head.

Skeleton Crew has been a great show with a ton of fun to it since episode one. We have our protagonists clearly shown for now and Jod is absolutely the antagonist. Two more episodes remain as they are on their way home.

Skeleton Crew S1 E5

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“You Have a lot to Learn about Pirates”

With Christmas in the middle of the week and no school because of Christmas break, my mind gets mixed up. I was focused on a lot of different things, and I did not think about Skeleton Crew having a new episode last night. In fact, with Doctor Who coming up and a list of other things I wanted to watch, I would not have thought about Skeleton Crew had I not seen mktoon (aka Michael Vogel of the Geek Buddies) post a message on X about how Skeleton Crew is always great.

Once I saw this Tweet (or whatever they are called now), this show jumped to the head of the list for the day.

What a great episode. Things are really moving forward quickly, including the ultimate betrayal of Jod.

This show does a great job of keeping these characters kids and showing us that they are still kids. The scene of the pillow fight on the bed was a perfect example of showing these characters as children. Many times children characters do not act like children characters. In Skeleton Crew, these kids are kids.

Jod taking over the captain’s role was a huge betrayal to the kids, who were as brave as they could be, but were in way over their heads. When Wim stepped up with a lightsaber, I believed that we were going to get something magical, but with him holding the lightsaber in the wrong direction, things did not go well. I guess Wim was lucky he did not cut off part of his body.

Jod and SM-33 are together now, as the kids escaped from Jod through a specific tunnel. This scene was right out of Goonies, with the kids finding the treasure of One-Eyed Willy. There are also booty traps (Boobie traps… that’s what I said, booty traps).

Skeleton Crew is one of the most entertaining Star Wars shows in a long time and it really had that Star Wars vibe to it this week. With the two groups now separated, and people chasing after Jod, who continues to be called by different names, the show is flying into the second half of the season in a positive way.

Skeleton Crew S1 E4

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“Can’t Say I Remember No At Attin”

The fun adventures of the Skeleton Crew moved on as the crew arrived at the coordinates given to them last week by Kh’ymm, only to discover that they had not arrived at At Attin.

Turned out that this was one of the other planets that was spoken about as the Jewels of the Old Republic. According to Kh’ymm last week, the Jewels of the Old Republic was a “group of planets of wonder kept hidden for their protection.” Apparently, At Attin was the only one that was saved and remained hidden.

The planet they landed on was very much like At Attin, only war torn and devastated, with the battling factions on the land.

Honestly, this felt a little rushed. I did like the use of Neel in this episode with Hayna, the daughter of the rebel force’s leader Beef. This did feel like it could have been two episodes and really mined this setting as a source.

However, we did find out much more about SM 33 and his backstory, and why he couldn’t “say I remember At Attin.” He repeated that several times through the episode and when he nearly went crazy, that scene was quite intense and scary.

This was Neel’s episode though as he came through big time in several moments. Fern was having a crisis of confidence as their attempts to find coordinates to At Attin.

The end of the episode came very suddenly and felt odd. Overall, I thought it was an entertaining thirty plus minutes, but it did seem cramped into the time frame. I would have liked more of an expansion of what we got.

Skeleton Crew S1 E3

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“Very Interesting, As An Astrogration Problem”

Crimson Jack?

Okay, this was another episode that was a lot of fun. Throwing these kids into a Star Wars universe was a great idea and bringing in Jude Law to be the scallywag “helping” them find their way back to the hidden planet of At Attin works on so many different levels.

Can Jude Law be trusted? As Jod Na Nawood, he was not the Jedi as Wim thought he was. His response of “I never said I was” is a masterful manipulation. I do like how the kids were not completely taken in by this guy. Sure Wim was full on hero worshipping him, but the others all had their doubts. I do like how they seemingly forced him to come with the truth. But did he? I’m not sure.

Loved the Kim owl-ish creature that Jod Na took the kids too as a way to try and find the coordinates of At Attin. Retrieving Sm-33 was great too, and this droid is one of my favorite parts of the show so far. His scenes with Jod were funny and revealing for both characters.

We got some back story on At Attin too, although, again, as with much of this show so far, what is believable and what is true?

Episode three was a lot of fun and I am looking forward to next week.

Skeleton Crew S1 E1, E2

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“This Could Be a Real Adventure”

“Way, Way Out Past the Barrier”

I usually do not do write ups on the Star Wars Disney + shows. The main reason is that I do not like that many of these shows. I do consider myself a Star Wars fan, but I have not been a fan of several of these shows, and a few I have not even watched (such as Ahsoka). However, the 1980s Goonies/Amblin feel this show provided made me intrigued.

Disney + dropped the first two episodes of this new series last night and I loved it. This was such a fun series and it absolutely captured that 1980s kid adventure movies.

In fact, one of the first things I noticed was the great music used. That music completely made me feel like we were watching an Amblin movie, but it also gave me the feel of Star Wars. The music was a wonderful blend between the two types of films.

I thought all of the kids did a great job. I was a big fan of Wim (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) as our main protagonist, and I enjoyed Fern (Ryan Kiera Armstrong) a ton as well. The little elephant character, Neel (Robert Timothy Smith) was fun too. I liked him very much. He made a great companion to Wim.

Jude Law showed up at the last scene of the second episode, bringing an interesting storyline with him.

I loved the mystery circulating around the kids’ home planet, At Attin, a planet that it seemed that the rest of the Star Wars universe believed this planet was just a myth. What is this central mystery? It has me intrigued for sure.

I am excited about the Skeleton Crew. I can’t wait to continue watching this series next Tuesday.

A Disturbance in the Force (2023)

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June 24, 2024

A Long, Long Time Ago… in a Galaxy far away… Well, maybe not that far away.

Few fandoms are as currently as toxic as the Star Wars fandom. Not to put down the entire group of people for the divisiveness of some, but there is no denying that Star Wars fans lean towards hyperbole. One only needs to look at the discourse surrounding the new Disney + series, The Acolyte, to understand it.

However, the Star Wars universe had something once that is both beloved and reviled unlike anything else. It was something that George Lucas himself wanted to see banished from the canon of his creation. It was something that Star Wars fans desperately tried to see for decades… a badge of honor among those who truly called themselves Star Wars aficionados.

The Star Wars Holiday Special.

So today’s June Swoon focused in on a documentary from Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak all about the creation of and response to on of the most infamous TV specials of all fandom.

Between the release of Star Wars and Empire Strikes back, the CBS network wanted a Star Wars special to broadcast over the holiday season and they turned it into a variety show, featuring Chewbacca’s family as well as Bea Arthur, Harvey Korman and Art Carney. It aired once and then disappeared, only to be seen by those who could find a bootleg copy.

This documentary included clips of all of the Star Wars performers, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher with their thoughts on the special. Harrison Ford’s responses are always the most entertaining as he is clearly hoping the special would disappear forever.

There were also interviews of a ton of famous people in the geek community giving their comments and thoughts on the special including such notable stars as Kevin Smith, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Bobcat Goldthwait, Seth Green, Paul Scheer, Donny Osmond, Gilbert Gottfried, and Patton Oswalt. There were a lot of interviews with people involved in the creation of the special including Bruce Vilanch, Mick Garris, Bob Mackie among others.

Though the doc certainly says that this special was bad, there was items included that show how some people, particular those who may have seen the special as a child, loved the show. Jon Favreau is an unapologetic fan of the special and they showed how he included Easter eggs from it in The Mandalorian. The clips from the animated section of the special was shown as the first place we saw Boba Fett.

The documentary was very funny and gave real opinions of people who were desperate at the time for content in the Star Wars community. One wonders what the fandom today would do if something like the Star Wars Holiday Special were to be released on Disney +. The review bombing that would happen would be generational.

All Star Wars fans should be looking for this documentary, which I rented on Amazon Prime. If you are interested in how something like this able to be created, you should check this out. It was highly entertaining and an easy watch.

EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week

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Week of February 5

It is NEW COMIC BOOK DAY and that means we have the new winner of the EYG Favorite Comic Cover of the Week. Once again, I narrowed it down to about six choices before I decided on the medal winners.

Here we go…

Bronze Medalist

The Cull #5

Cover Art by Mattia De Iulis

The final issue of the five-issue mini series from Image. 

Silver Medalist

Fantastic Four #17

Cover Art by Alex Ross

Another great cover by Alex Ross, but what really is what earned the silver medal was the cameo in the upper right hand corner of the cover from Indiana Jones himself! I was surprised when I saw him there. It also looks like Short Round’s hat there.

Gold Medalist

Star Wars: Mace Windu #1

Cover Art by Mateus Manhanini

Here is how I know this is the cover of the week. I do not collect any Star Wars titles. I like Star Wars but I am not interested in reading them. I saw this issue on the wall at Comic World and I saw the cover and I was immediately attracted to it. 

I kept looking at it and finally moved over to look at it closer. I saw it was written by Marc Bernardin so that helped even more. The cover brought me in and helped me decide to buy this #1.