Tag: Star Wars Lego Specials

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello friends, and happy weekend!

Last week, I forgot to mention that I finished Black Spire by Delilah S. Dawson. I was a little wary at first, considering it’s a tie-in to an amusement park; but besides an introduction to the Outpost at the beginning that seemed like a tour at Galaxy’s Edge, I have to say it was a really good book. Vi Moradi, a Resistance spy, and Archex (aka Cardinal), both of whom were in Dawson’s excellent book Phasma, are sent by General Organa to Batuu to set up a Resistance base. Of course, everything goes wrong immediately, and Vi must somehow get back her equipment (which was stolen after they crashed), find and set up a Resistance base, recruit the locals to the cause, and stay out of the First Order’s clutches, who have recently landed. Vi has become one of my favorite Star Wars characters, by the way; she’s tough but compassionate, funny but one hundred percent committed. This poor woman was not only tortured in Phasma, but is beaten and tortured several times in this book as well. As a spy, she’s been trained to deal with torture (which seems kind of appalling to me, but makes sense); she tells another character at one point, “Spy school was fun,” with tongue firmly in cheek. She’s even got a poisoned tooth to get her out of unbearable situations, but she’s never used it. Atta girl.

I also finished Padawan by Kiersten White, about a young Obi-Wan Kenobi. I talked a little bit about in last week’s post, before I finished it. It’s a good book, a great coming-of-age story for Obi-Wan, who learns to trust not only himself, but the Force; and I liked its theme of how those with power must learn how to responsibly wield it. A very fun but also thoughtful book.

I debated on whether or not I wanted to get into the whole “Obi-Wan’s sexuality” controversy brought on by this book, and I just want to say: who cares? A few lines in a book (in which he isn’t explicitly attracted to another male, he’s simply wondering about kissing, well, anyone) isn’t a big deal. Yes, he fell in love with Satine, but the point is, he never acted on any sexual attraction he might have had for anyone during his entire life, as he’s committed to the Jedi Order above anything else. So the argument is moot, in my opinion. People love making mountains out of molehills, and it’s annoying, lol.

Lando: I hate you. Han: I know.

Anyway, I’ve been reading the novelization of Solo: A Star Wars Story on my Kindle just for the fun of it, and it made me want to watch the movie again. So I did the other night, and I’m just reminded how much I love this story. Because it is SO much damn fun! And the book delves into a lot of details that the movie leaves out, like what, exactly, happened to Qi’ra after Han escaped Corellia but she didn’t. There’s more about Lando and his delightful idiosyncrasies. And a whole lot more about L3-37, Lando’s revolutionary droid–about how she became who she is, and how she integrated with the Millenium Falcon. Just really cool, neat stuff.

I also watched the Star Wars LEGO Summer Vacation, and as usual, it was fun and delightful. I still think the Holiday Special reigns supreme, but these specials never disappoint. I still think the Emperor steals the show, though, as always, lol. Got a little misty-eyed at the end of the third one when Han tells Ben “I love you,” and Ben says, “I know.” Some high points are Obi-Wan singing “Gamorrean Girls” in Jabba’s palace, and Anakin’s Force ghost showing up in scuba gear, of all things. I’m hoping we someday get to see the sequel crew doing their things–Finn looking for Force-sensitives, Rey searching for Jedi Temples, Poe training X-Wing pilots, and Rose going on relief missions. I want to see ALL of this, okay LF/Disney? Please?

Just some Sith catching some rays.

In Marvel news, I heard that there may be a second season of Moon Knight! I hope this is true, because I loved that series. I’m disappointed that in a long list of Emmy nominations, Oscar Isaac did not get an acting nomination. This is criminal, in my opinion. So it’s fantasy, who cares? His performance was phenomenal, I don’t care what anyone says. These kinds of shows always do great in the technical categories (as they should), but for some reason the actors get passed over. And that’s too bad, because they often pour their heart and souls into these roles, and should be taken as seriously as anyone else. Anyway, that’s my rant for the day, lol. Ooh, and I hear he’s not against coming back as Poe Dameron. Whaa??? Don’t get my hopes up, Oscar!

I’m now patiently awaiting The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis, which comes out on August 16th, but I probably won’t receive it until the next week. That leaves me some time to read another book. I was browsing around my local bookstore when The Fifth Season, by N.K. Jemisin caught my eye. This one’s been on my someday list for a long while, so I finally bought it. I just started it, but I can tell it’s going to be a really different, interesting read. It’s the first non-Star Wars book I’ve picked up in probably over a year, lol, so it will be a nice change of pace.

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

My Entertainment Weekend Update

Happy weekend my friends!

In books this past week, I finished The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey, about a childless couple in 1920 Alaska, who create a snow child that seemingly comes to life. It’s a lovely, moving book about grief and loss, but also joy and love; and about the forces of nature and how we try to tame it. I highly recommend it, especially if you enjoy magical realism, which this novel flirts with.

I’ve started reading The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton, because my 12 year old daughter is reading it in school and I wanted to read it along with her so we can talk about it. Now that she’s older she’s reading more interesting books in school, and I relish the idea of discussing them with her. I read The Outsiders way back when I was a teen (35 years ago!) and remember liking it, though not exactly what it was about. I have to admit, it reads differently now that I’m a mom–such violence! smoking! chasing “broads”!–is this what I want my daughter to be reading?? Then again, I read it at her age or thereabouts, and it didn’t scar me or anything, lol. Kids can handle more than we give them credit for. And it’s about so much more than rowdy boys in the 60’s. The only problem is that now that I’m reading it, I want to keep going and finish it, but I also want to read it along with her at her class’s pace–which is pretty slow, lol.

A blast from my 80’s past: Two-Bit, Soda Pop, Ponyboy, Dallas, Johnny, Darry, and Steve.

Luckily I’ve got another book I’m reading called The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab, and I’m loving it. It’s about a young woman in the 1700’s who prays to the gods for a different life, one where she is free and belongs to no one–but oops, she prays to “the gods who answer after dark” and gets her wish, but at a price. The price is that no one remembers her–not her parents, her best friend, not even the old witch who told her about the old gods. No one over the next 300 years ever remembers her. She is free to wander the world for as long as she likes, but it’s an unbearably lonely journey. I’m only several chapters in and I love it.

Never pray to the gods who answer after dark.

After watching Star Wars Visions, I decided I wanted to know more about the Ronin in The Duel, and so ordered Ronin, by Emma Mieko Candon. It comes out on October 12th, and I’m looking forward to it. I think it will be a unique Star Wars read–containing familiar Star Wars elements like lightsabers, the Force, droids, etc. but also things we’ve never seen before. I’d been trying to decide what Star Wars book I wanted to read next, but nothing called to me in particular; but once I heard about Ronin, I thought “Yes!” Can’t wait.

And speaking of Visions, I saw this custom poster for The Elder (my favorite Visions short) by TRIGGER on social media. It’s awesome!

May be a cartoon of text

Speaking of Star Wars, I discovered a new special on Disney+ called A Galaxy of Sounds. It’s a tribute to the sound and visual technicians of Star Wars, and it’s really cool to listen to parts of the movies without the John Williams soundtrack (which is fantastic, of course, but sometimes masks the other sounds we might not notice). It’s got 5 to 10 minute shorts with titles like “Wonder,” “Excitement,” “The Light Side,” “The Dark Side,” “Beeps,” etc. It’s put together quite well, and I enjoyed it. Made me want to watch all the movies again!

I also watched Lego’s Terrifying Tales, since I enjoyed last year’s Holiday Special so much. This wasn’t as funny or entertaining to me, but it had its moments. I especially liked the story “The Wookie’s Paw” where Luke joins the Empire instead of the Rebellion and is trained in the Force by Vader. When they swing across the chasm on the rope and Vader kisses him and says “For luck,” I lost it, lol.

In Marvel, the penultimate episode of What If? (Ultron Won) was just fantastic. When this whole thing started, I wondered about the Watcher, but never imagined he’d become an active character in his own right. Now he’s fighting for the fate of the multiverse, and actually asks for help from dark Dr. Strange. It just boggled my expectations, and I love it! Can’t wait to see how it ends next week.

What If… “Ultron Won”? Gives Us Peace in Our Time | Tor.com
How we gettin outta this one?

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