My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy Weekend my friends!

Last week, I wrote of my struggles to get through Ronin: A Star Wars Visions novel. I’m sad to report I haven’t made much progress on that book, but I still have hope I will finish it…someday.

In the meantime, I picked up Master & Apprentice, by Claudia Gray. It’s a re-read, but it’s one of my favorite SW canon books by one of my favorite SW authors. With the recent news that Hayden Christiansen will be in the Ahsoka series (OMG, yay!), it got me thinking about the upcoming Obi-Wan series, which naturally got me thinking about Obi-Wan himself, which led me to picking up this book. It’s a book about Padawan Obi-Wan and his relationship with Qui Gon Jinn, and an important mission, of course. I wrote about my thoughts on this book on my other blog The Star Wars Reader (which I’ve been shamefully neglecting lately), and you can read it here if you’d like.

This contains: Master & Apprentice (Star Wars) — This one’s definitely worth a reread.

On my Kindle, I’m still reading the middle-grade book Moving Target by Jason Fry and Cecil Castellucci, a story about Leia between Empire and Return of the Jedi. I’m enjoying it and will probably finish it this coming week and share more of my thoughts on it then.

In movies, continuing with the train of thought above with Obi-Wan, in reading Master & Apprentice I thought about The Phantom Menace, and so decided to watch it. Which naturally led to Attack of the Clones and then of course Revenge of the Sith. So there was an unplanned prequel marathon this week, and I keep thinking, How could I have not loved these back in the day? Lol. I was young and ignorant, prejudiced against anything new in Star Wars. I’m so glad I’ve seen the error of my ways. 🙂 I’ve learned, in my dotage, that I’m so happy with any kind of Star Wars that is offered, that they are gifts, and I am grateful, lol.

I will do what I must, and rewatch the prequels.

Anyway, in Marvel: I watched the 2015 version of Fantastic Four. I thought I’d check out this updated version, but I had a feeling I wouldn’t like it as much. And I was right. I guess this is supposed to be a more “woke” version, and Michael B. Jordan does add diversity to the group, while Sue Storm isn’t Reed’s romantic interest here, or as sexualized as Jessica Alba’s Sue was (yeah, I admit that was kind of cringy). But here’s the thing: the fun factor is absolute zero. There’s no chemistry whatsoever between the characters. And Dr. Doom’s madness stems more from a hatred of the world rather than a personal hatred of the F4, which makes him a bit…dull. The whole thing was dull, in fact, lol. I don’t see why it even had to be remade. I’m assuming it was kind of a flop, because there’s been no more movies with this crew, and I’m glad. I want a reunion with the original cast–now that would be fun!

This contains an image of: {{ pinTitle }} — Not very fantastic.

That’s it this week. What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello friends, and happy weekend!

In books this week, I finished three different novels; one was a big tome, and the other two were short YA or middle grade books. The big book was The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.A. Schwabb, and it was fantastic. This book held me in thrall, and I highly recommend it if you like Faustian bargain-type stories.

I also finished The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton. My daughter and her class finished it, and I was reading along with her. I’d read it when I was a kid and wanted to discuss it with her. It’s a pretty good book, considering it was written when the author was sixteen years old! Now we just have to watch the movie, lol.

The last one I finished was The Weapon of a Jedi, a middle-grade book by Jason Fry. It takes place between A New Hope and Empire, with Luke on a mission for the Alliance. But he ends up on a planet with an old Jedi Temple, and it’s here he learns more about how to use the Force and become more proficient with his lightsaber. Apparently it’s addressing some questions fans had about how Luke learned these things between the two films. It did a pretty good job, I think, but it was never a pressing question for me.

Soon we’ll choose our new book club book, but until then I needed something on my Kindle to read, so I chose Moving Target: A Princess Leia Adventure, by Jason Fry and Cecil Castellucci. This is also a middle-grade book, and also a “Journey to the Force Awakens” book like Weapon of a Jedi. This one takes place between Empire and Return of the Jedi, while Han is still in carbonite. I’m really enjoying the Leia-centered canon books, like this one, Leia: Princess of Alderaan, and Bloodline. I like these short little middle grade books, too, because they’re fun, quick Star Wars reads when I need one, but don’t want to get into a big adult one yet.

That’s because I’m still trying to get through Ronin: A Star Wars Visions novel. I was really looking forward to this novel, as something new and different in Star Wars. And it is, but it’s not the story that’s making it slow-going for me reading this book. The story intrigues me; it’s the style it’s written in that bothers me. Most Star Wars books are pretty easy reads, and that’s great; that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy more challenging styles (I’m thinking of James Luceno, for example). But there’s something about this one that makes it hard to read. Most of the time, I have no idea what the hell’s going on, lol. I have to read and re-read sentences over and over to figure out what’s happening. And that’s just too distracting.

I’m sure Emma Mieko Candon is a fine writer, and perhaps Visions is something so completely different that she doesn’t feel beholden to the usual Star Wars writing style. And that’s fine, too. But it’s hard work reading this book, lol. And I’m a capable reader: I’ve read and loved Jane Austen, Tolstoy, Henry James, and any other number of classic authors whose style is, to say the least, challenging. But I don’t want it in my Star Wars books, lol. I’m going to keep at it, though, because I like the story I saw in The Duel and I want to know more. I’ll let you know how it’s going next week.

Anyway, in Marvel movie news, I watched Spiderman: Homecoming and loved it. The Spiderman movies are not on Disney+ as you may know, because of licensing stuff, so I have to watch it on Youtube to catch up. I’d watched the Tobey Maguire Spiderman movies back in the day, and really liked him in the role, but I have to say that Tom Holland really captures the young naivete of Peter Parker perfectly. At first I thought I watched the wrong movie first, that No Way Home must have been the first one (even though I checked) because there’s no origin story here. He already has his Spidey powers. Unless I missed something? But it kind of makes sense, because we already know how he got the powers from the other movies. We don’t need to see it again. Anyway, I loved seeing Tony Stark taking him under his wing. Next week I’ll watch No Way Home, and then I should be ready for Far From Home (that’s not confusing, right?).

And because I can’t seem to get enough superhero movies lately, I watched The Fantastic Four and Fantastic Four: the Silver Surfer. I think I had seen the first one way back when, but not the second. They’re super fun with simple plots, and not much else, lol. I wish there were a few more with the original cast. There’s an updated one from 2015 with a new cast, and maybe I’ll check that out next week, too, but I’m partial to the originals. Oh, and it was a gas seeing a younger Chris Evans playing the wild ladies man Johnny Storm, the complete opposite of good-boy Steve Rogers. Flame on!

That’s it this week. What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend friends!

This week in books:

I’m still working through The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V. E. Schwab. It’s a big book, and I’m sinking my teeth into it and savoring every page. It’s a fascinating read about a woman who makes a bad deal for eternal life, but at the price of never being remembered. By anyone. Ever. How she makes it through life this way as she witnesses history is an amazing read.

Still working on The Outsiders, but it’s a small book and my daughter’s class is almost done. I won’t mention it again until I’ve actually finished it, lol.

I’m excited to report that I received the Star Wars book Ronin, by Emma Mieko Candon. It’s based on the Visions short The Duel, with the mysterious Ronin and his faithful straw-hatted droid by his side. I’ve only just finished the chapters that deal with what we see in the short, so from here on will be new material. I can’t wait to see what he’s all about.

I’ve also been reading The Weapon of a Jedi, by Jason Fry, a middle-grade Star Wars book about Luke Skywalker that takes place between A New Hope and Empire. This is also a short book, and I’m about halfway done. It deals with Luke on a mission for the Alliance, but he gets sidetracked into exploring a destroyed Jedi Temple on an Outer Rim planet. Fun. I don’t normally read middle-grade, but I wanted something short and sweet on the Kindle to read on break at work, lol (I hate dragging around big hardcovers).

In Marvel news: I’m saddened that there’s no more What If? episodes to watch. 😦 But, I did watch the movie Black Widow, which is now available to basic Disney+ subscribers like myself. It was good; I enjoyed it. I think it takes place between Avengers: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War, when Natasha is on the run and hiding from some government dude after the Sekovia Accords. I’ve only watched those movies once so far, so I’m a little fuzzy about the timeline and events, lol. I’ll have to do a rewatch.

Speaking of rewatches, every now and then I rewatch a favorite Marvel movie or show: this week it was Guardians of the Galaxy. Before my Marvel revelation and conversion, when I saw the previews for this movie when it came out I thought, “Boy, that looks so dumb.” Never in a million years did I think it would be one of my favorites! But it’s so fun, and the soundtrack helps a lot, too. I’m a sucker for 70s easy-listening, and my joy in it is validated in this movie, lol. But I love the characters (I never thought I’d love a gun-toting racoon so much), it’s hilarious, and ties in nicely with the upcoming Infinity War arc.

That’s really about it. The next big thing, I think, is the Hawkeye series premiering on November 24th, with two episodes. I’ve always been a Hawkeye fan, so I’m looking forward to this.

What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Brief thoughts on my X-Men Movie Marathon

I’ve been casting around for something else to watch that fits my mood lately, and it suddenly struck me that I haven’t seen all of the X-Men movies. I did see the first one when it first came out (in 2000–wow!) and maybe the second one, but that’s about it. I remember liking it, of how it shone a light on those who are born differently and are discriminated against because of it. So I went to Disney+ and scrolled down to “Marvel Legacy Movies,” and started in. Here’s my brief opinions on the films:

X-Men (2000). A solid first entry, setting up the world and the characters. The history between Charles and Eric, the love triangle between Logan, Jean, and Scott, the mysterious past of Wolverine, and the political climate surrounding the Mutants. My favorite Mutant? Mystique, baby! She’s bad, but she’s SO cool.

X-Men 2/X2: X-Men United (2003) A worthy follow-up. The X-Men and Magneto unite to defeat Stryker, a man bent on annihilating all mutants; he also seems to know the particulars of Wolverine’s past. I liked Nightcrawler–he’s very sweet and his faith keeps him from being bitter. Jean Gray’s death was sad, but I feel like we haven’t seen the last of her.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) This was a fairly enjoyable movie, but there was something about it that was unsatisfactory. Bringing Jean Gray back from the dead as a ruthless monster? Well, okay. Not using that beautiful bald kid to stop her at the end? It didn’t make sense to me. Of course, it forced Wolverine to kill the woman he loves, and endure losing her a second time, a love that I never got invested in anyway. Not perfect, but a decent popcorn movie.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) Now this was a great movie. We get Logan’s mysterious past explained, and why he can’t remember any of it. Interesting that he crossed paths with Scott (who was blind at the time, and so wouldn’t recognize him later). Another tragic love story for Logan. I was going to skip the Deadpool movies, as I wasn’t sure how they fit into X-Men, but of course I get it now, so they’re on the list, lol.

X-Men: First Class (2011) I loved this movie. I loved learning how the X-Men began, and seeing the young Charles and Eric forming their friendship and then diverging onto different paths. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are perfect for the roles. My favorite out of all of them, I think.

The Wolverine (2013) I’ll watch this one at a later date and post my thoughts.

X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) This one was….strange, lol. Dark and weird and a little confusing, but I think I got the gist. I think. It was cool seeing the older Xavier and Magneto and the younger in the same movie, but the plot was kind of absurd. Even so, it changed the timeline, and everything going forward is different. I was a bit startled to see Peter Maximoff–hey, that’s the guy from Wandavision, who was pretending to be Wanda’s brother!–and it just kind of confused me. But I’m going with the flow, lol.

Deadpool (2016) I’ll watch this one at a later date and post my thoughts.

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) At first I thought this one was going to be absurd, too, lol, but it turned out pretty good. Poor Eric just can’t catch a break, and my heart breaks for him. I kind of understand why he wants to destroy humanity, the jerks. Also, Peter Maximoff is his son???? I’m happy to see (younger) Nightcrawler back. And what’s up with the new Storm? At the end of Future Past, Halle Berry is there as Storm. More inconsistencies, but oh well. But most importantly, we see how Charles loses his hair.

Logan (2017) I’ll watch this one at a later date and post my thoughts.

Deadpool 2 (2018) I’ll watch this one at a later date and post my thoughts.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) Finally, aliens! This was a good new spin on Jean Gray. I was kind of hoping to see more of Peter Maximoff and maybe Eric finding out he’s his son, but I guess not. Interesting how Mystique became more Raven with these new films, a hero rather than a villain, but she kind of annoyed me. I preferred her as a villain, to be honest.

The New Mutants (2020) I have zero interest in this movie right now. It looks more like a horror film than an X-Men movie, which is fine but not what I want right now.

All in all, I really enjoyed this marathon. It’s fun to see the various mutants, and I love the complicated relationship between Charles and Eric. My favorite character (besides villain Mystique) is Magneto played by Michael Fassbender. My only criticism is that the films lack consistency and are kind of all over the place. I feel like the X-Men arc is kind of Marvel’s warm-up to its Avengers arc, which is superior in a lot of ways.

As I noted, I’ll watch the Wolverine and Deadpool movies later, and do a catch-up post on those.

Have you watched the X-Men movies? What are your thoughts? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Loki Fan Art

I haven’t done a fan art post for awhile, and considering my interests lately it seemed logical to put together some great images of our favorite God of Mischief, Loki Laufeyson (or Odinson, if you prefer):

A collection of images wouldn’t be complete without Loki in the Horns (although they’re kind of cropped out here). I like his magisterial, slightly condescending look in this one.

The Jotun within wants out!

I’m not sure what’s going on here, but it’s a striking portrait of Jotun Loki.

The King of Jotunheim is magnificent.

Love is a dagger…

There’s something about TVA Loki that I just adore–maybe it’s the fact that he can make those boring suits look fabulous, lol.

I love every incarnation of Loki, no matter what universe he’s in, and these artists captured some of my favorite aspects of him. What do you think of these images? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend my friends!

In books this week, I’ve finished Loki: Where Mischief Lies on my Kindle. I’ve since ordered the sequel called Loki: Where Mischief Ends, and since it’s only available in paperback, I ordered the first book in paperback, too, for a matching set, lol. Can’t wait to start the second book.

I’m about two-thirds done with The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. I love this book; it’s lovely and strange and keeps you wondering “What is the truth?” I’ll probably finish it by Monday, when we have our first book club meeting about it.

Well, unfortunately I’ve set Revan aside for now. I’m just not into it right now. It’s the first time in over a year and a half I’m not reading a Star Wars book. I’d been looking forward to Queen’s Hope, by E.K. Johnston, the third in a Padme Amidala trilogy. It was originally set to come out this November, but it’s been pushed up to April 2022. 😦 So now I’m not sure what’s next for Star Wars reading. Stay tuned.

Why Tajin From Star Wars: Visions Sounds So Familiar — The Elder was one my favorite shorts from Visions. I love this Jedi Master (whose name I can’t remember, lol). He reminds me of Qui Gon Jinn, who is one of my favorite Jedi.

So I’ve just finished watching Visions, and it was…interesting. As I’ve said before, I’m not an anime fan, so it was mostly out of curiosity that I watched. And as I suspected, it was hit or miss with me. There were a few that were quite good and that I enjoyed: The Duel, The Ninth Jedi, and The Elder were my particular favorites. Only one was painful to watch, and that was Tatooine Rhapsody. Unbearable, lol. The rest were fine, but didn’t wow me overmuch. I know there’s a novel called Ronin that will continue the story began in The Duel, and it may end up on my Star Wars reading list. We’ll see. I’m probably going to do a brief post of my thoughts on each short sometime soon.

So, Marvel: I absolutely loved the latest What If? episode, about party boy Thor. It was light and funny, and Frost Giant Loki is probably the best thing ever, lol. But it really punctuates how relationships have a huge impact on who we become. Without Loki as a mischievous brother competing with him for their father’s attention, it was Thor who became the mischievous, irresponsible one. And his relationship with Frost Giant Loki, his “brother from another mother” is swell. And Loki actually seems happy for once (thank you, Marvel!). I got a hoot out of Captain Marvel’s “Hey Whitesnake!” which you probably won’t get unless you’re familiar with 80’s hair bands. It was just a fun romp, the total opposite of the tragic Dr. Strange episode (which I also loved). This show can really do anything, and it’s gold, lol. Oh, and I have no idea what those robots at the end were. Even the Watcher was surprised.

How Did Thor Grow Up Without Loki on Marvel's What If..? Episode 7 — This made my heart happy.

So my X-Men marathon isn’t quite complete, but I’ve watched all the major X-Men-centric movies, up through Dark Phoenix. I haven’t watched The Wolverine, Logan, or the Deadpool movies yet. Since they’re not on Disney+ I have to pay for them individually on Youtube, which is fine, but I’ll space those out more. Really enjoying these movies, no matter how corny some may be. I’ll watch anything with Fassbender in it, lol.

Finally, I just want to do a shout-out to our lovely Ewan McGregor for winning the Emmy for Halston. The series isn’t for everyone, but I loved it, and there’s no denying he fully deserved the award for his amazing performance.

That’s it for this week. What’s been entertaining you lately? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my friends!

So my book club picked a new book to read this coming month, and it’s The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey (and yes, she was named after the Tolkien character). It was a finalist for the Pulitzer in Fiction, and it’s about a childless homesteading couple in Alaska in 1920. Life is hard, but in a moment of levity they build a snow child during a snowstorm. The next day, the snow child is gone, but a real child appears seemingly out of nowhere to enter their lives. It just sounded intriguing and magical to me, and I’m a few chapters in and I like it already. I can’t wait to dig deeper into this story and find out what happens.

I’m sad to say I haven’t gotten very far in the Star Wars book Revan. It just hasn’t captured me, at least not yet. I’m going to continue trying to get through it, just out of pure stubbornness, but we’ll see how it goes.

Another book that I’ve been reading that definitely captures me is Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by Mackenzie Lee. I read it a few months back and really enjoyed it. I’ve since read a few other Loki books and want to write a post about them, but wanted to refresh my memory on this one. I’d also like to read the sequel soon, called Loki: Where Mischief Ends. These are books about Marvel Loki, who we all know and love, and really is my favorite version of Loki, though he’s only very loosely based on mythological Loki (who is also quite fun and naughty, of course).

In other Marvel news, the latest What If? episode concerns Killmonger. I never liked Killmonger at all, and I still don’t. What a jerk, lol. Like every episode, it was still quite good, but the only question I have is….then what? Pepper and Shuri are on to Killmonger, and that’s great, but I want to know what happens. And because Tony is dead (again) does that mean they’re doomed by Thanos? Probably, like all the other timelines. We need Tony to snap his fingers.

In my X-Men marathon (in release date order), I just finished X-Men: First Class, the first one with the young Charles Xavier and Magneto, played by the lovelies James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. I loved it, though it introduced a few inconsistencies with the original movies; I can live with them, though. Next is The Wolverine (not to be confused with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which came just before this–also great). I’m really enjoying this marathon!

Lastly, I want to mention the Hawkeye trailer. I’m so happy that Hawkeye is getting his own show, he’s one of my favorites. I think it takes place when Clint absents himself from the Avengers during Infinity War to be with his family. But of course, it’s not all domestic bliss, as he seems to be pulled away from them by more bad guys. And he’s training someone new to take his place. I love the Christmas vibes; and is that an Avengers musical I see? Lol. Awesome. I think this one will be somewhere below Loki and Wandavision, but above The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Can’t wait!

That’s it this week. What’s been entertaining you? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my Star Wars friends!

Since I finished four books last week, I had some decisions to make on what I wanted to read next. With all the hype about the rebooted KOTOR game coming out, I decided it was time for me to delve into that era of Star Wars. So I ordered the book Revan, and I’m a few chapters in. Too soon to really make any pronouncements, but people keep telling me I’ll love it. I hope so! I’m not a gamer, so I’ve never played the game and don’t know much about that period; the book will be my source for the story.

This contains: Revan: Star Wars Legends (the Old Republic) by Karpyshyn, Drew

I also started and finished the second book in Lyra Wolf’s Loki series called The Order of Chaos. I’m really enjoying this series, and this second installment had me ripping through the chapters, much more quickly than the first book (although that was quite good, too). This one sees Loki escaping from his 500-year torment of dripping snake venom, bent on getting revenge on the gods through Ragnorok–until he finds out Sigyn is still alive. Then he must work to stop what’s already in motion, meeting up with his children along the way–Hel in the Underworld, Fenrir the Wolf, and Jormangandr the Snake; all the while trying to win Sigyn back from an Elf named Falael (who Loki calls “Falafel”). For me it was a real page-turner.

In Marvel, the What If? episode with Stephen Strange was so good I had to rewatch Dr. Strange. It really is quite wonderful, and I can’t wait for the next Dr. Strange movie (next March, I think?). He shows up in the Spiderman movie in November, too, but there’s something afoot there, lol. Can’t wait to find out what it is.

The latest What If? was….interesting. I suppose it had to happen sometime–zombies. I was a Walking Dead fan for awhile, and have nothing against zombies, but it just seems like a cliched sort of subject these days. But after I rolled my eyes, I settled in to watch and enjoyed it nonetheless. I especially loved Scott Lange’s head with Dr. Strange’s cape, lol. This is really turning out to be a fun show.

So I was casting around for another show to watch that fit my mood and was scrolling through Disney+ (the only streaming service I have) and decided to do another Marvel movie marathon but this time with X-Men. I had seen the first X-Men movie in 2000 (wow–21 years ago!) and it was one of the very few “comic book” movies I’d ever watched. I remember really liking it; I loved how it showcased people who are born differently and the discrimination they face because of it. I might have seen the second one, but not many more after that. But now I want to watch all of them! I watched the first one the other night, and really enjoyed it. It helped that there are some fabulous actors involved that I just love (Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellan, and Hugh Jackman, just to name a few). So really looking forward to getting these Marvel “Legacy” movies under my belt! Not sure about the Fantastic Four yet–we’ll see, lol. But once I’m done with watching X-Men, I’ll do a post on what I thought of each film (briefly), similar to what I did with my last Marvel movie marathon.

Looking ahead to some Star Wars shows, I’ll probably check out the Lego Halloween special Terrifying Tales. I’m not a huge Lego fan, but I loved the Holiday Special last year, and if this one is anything like that, it’ll be great. It centers around Poe Dameron, who I had wanted more of in the Holiday one, he was so funny. And of course, there’s Visions. Again, not a huge anime fan, but I’ll be tuning in out of curiosity.

So that’s it for now. Hope you have a great weekend and see you next time!

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend, my Star Wars friends!

Still trying to settle on the title of these weekly postings, which includes Star Wars, and lots of other things, too. It’s probably going to be a work in progress, lol.

And by the way, I’m going to be expanding the blog to cover the other stuff that I obsess about, in books, movies, and TV, as these posts have illustrated. So I’ll probably be changing the name of the blog, and just adding more categories. Nothing too drastic. I love Star Wars, but I just can’t keep quiet about all the other great stuff I love, too. I’m thinking of calling it Star Wars and Other Obsessions: All the Stuff I Love. What do you think?

Not much in book news today; I’m still reading the High Republic YA novel Out of the Shadows by Justina Ireland, and my book club novel I Was Anastasia, by Ariel Lawhon. Both excellent.

I’ve just watched the new trailer for Star Wars: Visions, and it looks really interesting. I’m totally not a Manga person, but I’ve got nothing against it, either, so I can guarantee you I’ll be checking these out. It will be nice to have some new Star Wars content to look forward to every week again, now that The Bad Batch is done.

Oh, and by the way, next week Disney+ is releasing a special about the Season 2 finale of The Mandalorian, specifically how Mark Hamill participated in bringing Luke Skywalker in for that awesome appearance to rescue Grogu. I can’t wait to see it, and I’ll report my thoughts on next week’s post.

In Marvel news, I’ve watched the second What If? episode, when T’Challa is Starlord instead of Peter Quill. I just have to say these shows are super cool and fun. To have T’Challa convince the Ravagers to do good in the universe is just awesome (seeing a “good” Thanos, and a super-sexy, benevolent Nebula is amazing!). It was a wonderful homage to Chadwick Boseman, and I got a little choked up at the end with their tribute. I think Loki is the next What If? character, and then Dr. Strange, and I can’t tell you how excited I am about that!

Also in Marvel, when I heard of the new Marvel superheroes The Eternals, I thought, meh. I’m really attached to the old crew, and who are these guys anywa–wait, is that Bucky?!? Oh nope, my mistake, I thought it was Sebastian Stan, lol, but it’s Richard Madden from Game of Thrones (another of my favorites) along with his costar, Kit Harington. Alrighty then, I’m sold! Actually, it looks really cool, so I’ll be there to watch.

Finally, I was in the mood for a movie the other night, but I also felt the urge to watch Loki again (because I can’t get enough of it, lol), but compromised with a movie with Tom Hiddleston in it. Hard to believe, but the man does act in other films. So out of what was available to me, I chose Crimson Peak, because I love period piece horror flicks.

This movie was directed by Guillermo del Toro, so it was guaranteed to be weird and creepy, and it was. But not so “out there” as Pan’s Labyrinth was. Oh, it had ghosts and a creepy, dilapidated English mansion, and blood and lots of stabbings, and incest, and all. Tom H’s character, Thomas Sharpe, was bad, but also kind of sweet and tragic. Sort of like Loki, but without the sass. I absolutely loved it.

So that’s it on my entertainment radar this week. What have you been up to? Let me know in the comments and we’ll talk about it!

I missed a Marvel show? And can you really have too many Lokis?

Okay, so I just finished my second viewing of Loki (bravo!), and I thought, well, that’s it until something new comes up. And then I go back to the Disney+ home page, and what do I see?

Agent Carter. Two seasons. A Marvel show I (apparently?) missed. How come I didn’t see this? How come it wasn’t in the Marvel timeline? Okay, so it’s not a direct storyline for the Endgame universe, but it concerns Cap’s love interest. I had no idea it existed, lol.

So I guess I’m watching another Marvel show. I also saw one called “Inhuman” but I don’t think it has anything to do with our heroes (please let me know if I’m wrong!).

Anyway, speaking of Loki, I’ve discovered there’s tons of novels out there about him. I’ve already read and written briefly about one, called Loki: Where Mischief Lies, by Mackenzie Lee. This one’s put out by Marvel, and deals with our Marvel Loki at a different point in his life. I loved it. I’ve just found out there’s a new one, a sequel called Loki: Where Mischief Ends, by the same author, and I so want to read it! I just see it in paperback, so I’ll wait and see if it goes to Kindle anytime soon (since I read the first one on Kindle. If I buy the paperback, then of course I must have the paperback of the first one, too, lol.)

However, there are other novels about Loki–not the Marvel version, but a version based on the Norse myth. I’ve recently downloaded one to my Kindle called Mischief Maker, by Bruce Nesmith, and it sounds pretty neat (Loki is blonde in this one, which is a little weird to picture). There’s also a trilogy about mythological Loki called The Nine Worlds Rising Trilogy, by Lyra Wolf, which I’d also love to check out. (Truth and Other Lies, The Order of Chaos, and That Good Mischief). OMG, so many, many more! The God of Mischief is quite the thing right now, lol, and I totally get it.

Mischief Maker: A Norse Mythology Contemporary Fantasy by [Bruce Nesmith]

This blog seems to be turning into a Marvel/Loki blog, lol. Maybe I need to do some remodeling, to encompass my expanding interests and obsessions. It’s either that, or start a new blog about Marvel and/or Loki, but if I keep doing that–starting new blogs about new passions–I’ll have dozens of blogs, lol. Maybe that will be part of my new Fall plan–reworking the blog. We’ll see.

Anyway, just thought I’d riff on these new discoveries. Have you watched Agent Carter? Is it any good? Read any Loki books? Any advice on the structure of the blog? I’d be happy to hear it. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!