For the month of May, I decided to go with the most obvious choice, starting from May The Fourth (Be With You), I will look at the rest of the Star Wars franchise through TV shows, movies and games I have not yet reviewed. Because of Disney there is plenty more to come, and well, just books and comics alone have already given us an extended universe that is... as big as the universe. So let us see, what is there to talk about?
I took a long time to see this. I was not interested in the project at all, and somehow I felt that it was not gonna be the home run that they think it will be. First, I really hated that they moved to a May screening instead of the usual December, which has become the biggest grossing season for any new Disney movie. That said, having now seen it, I decided not to tell you much about the plot, because I myself did not know a lot going in, and well, I think that is part of the magic of the movie. I definitely would recommend that you watch it and go in wanting to have fun, and trust me, you will.This is a blog that between 2011-2021 dealt with reviews, and from here on it is the home of all my projects. Posts are going to be more random, but the comment section is always open. Check out the links for how it begun, and see how I ended my ten year run on the right panel. Look around, leave a comment, and enjoy my content: I made it with all my heart!
Monday, May 24, 2021
What's Next On My List? Solo: A Star Wars Story
Tuesday, May 18, 2021
What's Next On My List? Star Wars: Rebels
For the month of May, I decided to go with the most obvious choice, starting from May The Fourth (Be With You), I will look at the rest of the Star Wars franchise through TV shows, movies and games I have not yet reviewed. Because of Disney there is plenty more to come, and well, just books and comics alone have already given us an extended universe that is... as big as the universe. So let us see, what is there to talk about?
Star Wars: Rebels [Season 1-4] (2014-2018)
My best friend showed me a scene from the end of the third season, and immediately I decided that I have to see this. At first, I was not a big fan of the animation, but I have to admit, that it grows on you. Not to mention that as more money was put into the project, the better the animation became. The first season was reminiscent of the episodic space tales of Firefly (2002), the second was truly an homage to all those who watched The Clone Wars, giving us cliffhangers but also a long awaited encounter between Ahsoka and her former master. Whiles season three and four brought us the most beloved and feared admiral in all of the Star Wars extended universe: Thrawn. Starring the wonderful cast of Ezra Bridger (Taylor Gray), Kanan Jarrus (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Hera Syndulla (Vanessa Marshall), Zeb Orrelios (Steve Blum), Sabine Wren (Tiya Sircar) and of course the best returning character, the lovable Rex (Dee Bradley Baker).
I have been thinking hard about what to write into this review because I don't want to and can't spoil things, I just really want people to see it. In regards to rumors about the future of The Mandalorian and the Ahsoka shows Dave Filoni said something about how Star Wars is not linear. And that stuck with me, because I watched this series before I saw The Clone Wars. So many characters returned, but they had a new face to them, a new approach through the eyes of the main characters of this show: the pirates, the clones, the Empire, all felt new but still familiar. And because they were all well established characters, they worked without Clone Wars too, and that is a testament to the writing of both this TV series as well as its predecessor.Tuesday, May 11, 2021
What's Next On My List? The Clone Wars
For the month of May, I decided to go with the most obvious choice, starting from May The Fourth (Be With You), I will look at the rest of the Star Wars franchise through TV shows, movies and games I have not yet reviewed. Because of Disney there is plenty more to come, and well, just books and comics alone have already given us an extended universe that is... as big as the universe. So let us see, what is there to talk about?
Before the seven season TV series begun that was aired over a run of ten years, there was a movie that begun the story of the relationship of Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) and his padawan Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein). Now, this movie on its own is not a big thing, I watched years after the TV series, and thank god that I did. This adventure, AGAIN, took us back to Tatooine. Now, I know for a fact that I would not have enjoyed this as much, right after Episode II Attack of the Clones, when it is supposed to be playing out, because we just had him be on Tatooine to avenge his mother. Seeing it years later made it a very interesting story, seeing someone like Anakin detest the desert, but someone like Ahsoka seeing the beauty of things, her inexperience, her pure heart. Ahsoka's story was beautifully developed in the series, and this is the star of it, but even without this movie (essentially a 3 episode chapter) is not a must watch. It is just the beginning of a wonderful series about the complicated and multilayered characters that live in this universe. I could tell you more about the plot, but I would much rather you went and checked it out for yourself, make your mind up about it. Honestly, the setting of the story was my biggest issue, but the characters delivered, as always.
The Clone Wars [Season 1-7] (2008-2020)
With that I want to move on to the series, because, after all, it's main character was Ahsoka Tano. For a character that did not even make it to live-action until 2020, she is probably the most famous Star Wars Jedi in existence after Yoda. And there is a good reason for it! The whole Clone Wars series was constructed by chapters of 3-4 episodes, which had a middle a beginning and an end, and sometimes characters would come back or cross-over to other chapters. It also included a lot of characters who were already introduced in live-action, or those who later would make it there. The series did suffer from two major issues: 1, it was not aired in order, which is not the fault of the creators, but it did not help its first three seasons; 2, it was originally aimed at more of a young audience, much younger than the hardcore SW fans or those who joined by having the prequel trilogy be the defining SW series of their childhood. However, up to season 3 I think they realized that everyone was watching this, no matter the age, so they decided to up the maturity of the stories. But if one starts to watch it, they might give up before the show gets good, due to the fact that the first two seasons do not have the same depth, it does however lay the ground work for one of the best series ever made in history, so I wish everyone would stick with it.
First, the voice actor for Obi-Wan Kenobi, James Arnold Taylor has to be mentioned among the greatest things in this series. We immediately think of Ewan McGregor now, or depending on your age, Alec Guinness when thinking of this iconis character, but making sure that his legacy is held up, this fantastic voice actor delivered some of the best lines uttered by the character. The friendship between Anakin and Obi-Wan, the one we just had to imagine in the movies, was so beautifully presented and in such depth ... I have re-watched and cried over several episodes. Second, of course, the wonderful story of Anakin having to train someone just as hard headed as he is, and learning through her, while jugling a forbidden marriage. Third, the story of Ahsoka, no longer a Jedi, because of the blinded judgement that fell on her from people she trusted. And fourth, most importantly, allow me to give all the awards to voice actor Dee Bradley Baker, for bringing to life the best clone troopers this war has ever seen. The amount of work this voice actor put in is through the rough, and every character he landed his talents to had his own personality, his own characters traits, his own story. These clones were the same, at first look, they were everything but in reality, and that is the most beautiful thing about this series: its humanity.
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
What's Next On My List? (Games) Lego Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens
For the month of May, I decided to go with the most obvious choice, starting from May The Fourth (Be With You), I will look at the rest of the Star Wars franchise through TV shows, movies and games I have not yet reviewed. Because of Disney there is plenty more to come, and well, just books and comics alone have already given us an extended universe that is... as big as the universe. So let us see, what is there to talk about?
The story: Starting from the Battle of Endor, the game replays the plot of Episode VII, Rey befriends a little droid by the name of BB-8 and helps him and Finn, an escaped stormtrooper, get him back to the Rebel Alliance, to help them stop the rise of the new threat to the galaxy: the First Order.
Game play: The game replays the story of the movie, but it offers sooooo much more. First, there are three bases where you can stop and just collect money and items. And it also has a series of extra mini-mini games. I adored unlocking all kinds of achievements, some I had no idea about, and finding all the canon characters. Actually, the best part was in fact collecting the frozen carbon boxes and revealing all the famous characters, Darth Maul, Obi-wan Kenobi, Leia Organa and so on... The gameplay is clean and beautiful, it is just as great as all Lego games.
What didn't work? Achieving 100% is almost impossible on many of the stages, even after unlocking all the characters necessary to collect all items. I did like replaying some stages, but others felt neverending, and I can tell you that I cut up everything destroyed all boxes, any piece that was movable, but I still fell short a lot of times. Being single player and having to chage among characters left and right was a bit tedious on certain stages. Next time I definitely want to replay it with someone by my side.
What worked? Literally everything. I bought this game a year ago on May the 4th, and boy am I happy I did! I wanted to be immersed in some more SW games after Jedi Fallen Order and this game with its humor, colors did just that for me. I really liked the first movie of the new trilogy, it was nothing extra, but I liked the planet and the characters it introduced. This game allowed for me to see more of it and have fun while I explored. And having some canon characters available really spoke to how well they actually know their audience when making these games.
So, if this May the 4th you find a sale I suggest you take it because it is simply an adorable game that makes for a lot of fun moments while playing. With this pandemic and with video games enjoying difficulty settings that make the game near impossible - and thus not enjoyable at all - I just really had fun playing something where I couldn't die for a change.
Until the next item on my list!
MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU!