Science Fiction

Star Wars #1

/ / Comics

Star Wars #1 comic reviewMarvel Comics launches a new Star Wars title with Star Wars #1 set immediately after the events of The Empire Strikes Back and the Millennium Falcon‘s escape from Cloud City on Bespin. Much of the issue focuses on the internal struggle with Luke Skywalker following his defeat at the hands of Darth Vader and the realization that the Vader is his father. The comic breaks with tradition a bit here by hinting at Luke embracing some darker aspects at the Force (perhaps unintentionally… or at least not fully aware of what he was doing).

Star Wars #1 does delivering some back-and-forth between Leia and Lando, offering us a look at the process of Lando earning back some trust from those he betrayed in Cloud City. We also see the Empire doing quite a bit of damage to the rag-tag Rebel fleet which survives thanks to a little help by one who is not yet a Jedi.

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Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

/ / Movie Reviews
  • Title: Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker
  • IMDb: link

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker movie reviewWith The Rise of Skywalker J.J. Abrams returns to close-out the sequel trilogy which began with Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi. Not content to end just this series, Abrams intends the film to work as the climax to all nine of the Star Wars films featuring mentions, Easter Eggs, and callbacks from every film (and even some of the various animated TV series). The shift also forces a change in the tone of the arc of the series as Rian Johnson‘s look to the future is replaced with a story tied very much to the past.

One of the complaints some had to The Last Jedi was the film wasn’t fan friendly enough. The Rise of Skywalker goes a bit overboard in attempting fix a problem which in my opinion didn’t exist in the first place. The result is a final entry to the franchise that feels like an attempt to placate more vocal fans by asking less of them the final time around and offering up a heaping of nostalgia and fan service instead. It’s more Return of the Jedi than Star Wars. On an emotional level, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker works. It’s a cathartic farewell to these characters. Story wise, however, it’s the weakest of the three sequel films.

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The Mandalorian – Chapter 1

/ / Television Reviews
  • Title: The Mandalorian – Chapter 1
  • wiki: link

The Mandalorian - Chapter 1 TV review

The first episode of the Disney+ series introduces us to a nameless Mandalorian bounty hunter (Pedro Pascal) first through a rather routine bounty and second through a new job off-the-books that raises several red flags for our protagonist but whose payout cannot be ignored. Series creator Jon Favreau, who also wrote the first episode aims for a tone reminiscent of the Mos Eisley Cantina found in the original Star Wars. The early bar fight to open the episode and the later attack on a heavily-armed compound both show off the character’s skill-set, while the final scene of the episode offers a glimpse into the character’s emotional state.

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Far Sector #1

/ / Comics

Far Sector #1 comic reviewOn the far edge of the known universe a new Green Lantern looks to solve the first major crime in the City Enduring in the last 500 years. Far Sector #1 introduces readers to rookie Lantern Sojourner Mullein who although green (forgive the pun) is the metropolis’ best chance of solving a crime they have no experience with.

The story has a strong sci-fi premise with more than a whiff of Isaac Asimov. The setting is a vast metropolis that houses three separate races of aliens who have removed emotion from the equation (after tempers last led to the destruction of several worlds).

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Aniara

/ / Home Video
  • Title: Aniara
  • IMDb: link

Aniara Blu-ray reviewWith Aniara the writing and directing team of Pella Kagerman and Hugo Lilja deliver an increasingly depressing sci-fi odyssey of the show breakdown of human civilization aboard a transport ship that becomes lost on its way from Earth to Mars. The ship itself is a combination of a cruise ship and giant mall where the crew’s main purpose, even before the mechanical issue that forces it further and further from their destination, seems mainly to distract the passengers from what is actually happening to them.

Inspired by the poem of the same name, the bleak tale centers mostly on a holodeck operator (Emelie Jonsson) and the events she witnesses when the three-week journey extends indefinitely.

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