Science Fiction

Star Wars #19

/ / Comics

Star Wars #19The first-half of the series finale brings Han, Luke, Leia, and Chewbacca together for one final adventure before Dark Horse looses the rights to the Star Wars universe to Marvel. Introducing a character from Leia’s childhood as a deep-cover agent with whom she hasn’t spoken in years, Star Wars #19 puts the core characters on board the Millennium Falcon for an unusual rescue mission of an operative who may haven intelligence vital to the continued survival of the Rebellion.

Offering a cameo from everyone’s favorite robotic bounty hunter IG-88 while teasing us as to Leia’s relationship with the young woman, writer Brian Wood sells a story which, like the series, will be truncated despite the quality of the work.

Much like Boom Studio’s terrific Darkwing Duck series, another Disney property doing well is forced to end to be gobbled up by Marvel. No doubt Marvel will be more interested in putting out a Star Wars comic, but will they find a creative team as invested in these characters? I have my doubts. Worth a look.

[Dark Horse, $3.50]

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Guardians of the Galaxy

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Guardians of the Galaxy
  • IMDb: link

“What a bunch of a-holes.”

Guardians of the GalaxyChoosing to go where no Marvel film has gone before, Guardians of the Galaxy not only opens the door to the wider Marvel Universe among the stars but also introduces some of Marvel Studios most memorable characters. I’ve been a fan of the current team since they got together back in 2008, but I had serious doubts about how well Marvel could incorporate a group of space misfits who include thieves, killers, a genetically-enhanced raccoon, and talking tree into a mainstream sci-fi/action film.

I’ve been less impressed by James Gunn‘s body of work up until this point than most (sorry, I’m just not a fan of Slither), but the co-writer/director proves to be the right choice to juggle the various bizarre elements of the script while infusing it with an offbeat sense of humor which fits the characters and cast well. There are some groanworthy moments here or there, such as having Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) dance for the film’s baddie Ronan (Lee Pace), but thankfully they are few and far between as Gunn makes most of the right calls in dealing the team of oddball heroes.

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Lucy

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Lucy
  • IMDb: link

LucyFalling back on a long debunked myth Hollywood fell in love with years ago that somehow a person only uses 10% of their brain, the latest movie from writer/director Luc Besson casts Scarlett Johansson as a completely unexceptional young woman whose mind is opened up by a designer drug allowing her to access more and more of her “unused” brain. The result feels very much like a script where only a fraction of 10% of a person’s brain power was used to write it.

Unapologetically becoming more and more like The Matrix as Lucy’s intelligence grows and gives her access to the hidden code of the world (which is never adequately explained despite the narration by Morgan Freeman‘s character) and various super powers, Besson’s story never differentiates between the ability to absorb knowledge and knowledge itself. Just because Lucy suddenly has a bigger brain doesn’t mean she still wouldn’t have to learn the knowledge or skills (including advanced computer coding and foreign languages) to properly use them.

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