My Entertainment Weekend Update

Hello friends, and happy weekend!

I’m continuing my slow reading of the original Thrawn trilogy, and am currently about a third of the way through Dark Force Rising. I usually read the Kindle at work, during breaks or slow moments, but it’s been pretty busy lately. Seriously cutting into my reading time! Lol.

At home, I’m reading Queen’s Hope, the third in the Padme series by E.K. Johnston. I really liked its predecessors, and have been enjoying this one. I did think it would cover a larger time period and maybe get into Revenge of the Sith territory, but it only covers a sliver of time just after Attack of the Clones. Oh well, still worth the read.

My Rebels rewatch continues with Season 4, and I just recently watched Episode 12, “Jedi Knight.” If you’re a Rebels fan, you know what I’m talking about. 😦 And even though it’s my third rewatch, tears were still shed. This show is some of the best Star Wars ever.

Recently saw this, a cover reveal for the next Phase of The High Republic, a YA novel called Path of Deceit:

I love this cover! No idea who those people are, but it looks great.

There’s also new concept art for a new character, a relation to the Nihil villain Marchion Ro:

I’ll be on the lookout for more cover reveals for Phase Two of the High Republic, which begins coming out later this year.

I also heard a rumor that we’ll be getting more Visions sometime this year. I have no idea if it’s true or not, but I wouldn’t be averse to it at all. I liked almost all of the anime shorts, but I had a few favorites (The Elder, The Ninth Jedi, and The Duel being my top three). I’d love to see some sequels to these stories; but if not, new stories will be just as welcome. We’ll see if the rumors are true.

Moon Knight Episode Three (“The Friendly Type”) was a fun ride on Wednesday. I just love how weird this show is, lol. And I love the Egyptian mythology it’s taking inspiration from. I’m definitely getting “Layla is going to fall for Steven” vibes, and I’m on board for that, lol.

That’s it this week. What’s been entertaining you? 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!

My thoughts on Star Wars: Visions

When I heard about Star Wars Visions way back when all the new shows coming up were announced, it was pretty much last on my list concerning my interest level. I’m not an anime fan and don’t know much about it. But even with it at the bottom of my list, I knew I’d at least check it out when it released, out of curiosity if anything.

I’m pleasantly surprised to report that I enjoyed it, for the most part. It’s visually beautiful and looks at Star Wars from a different perspective, one that I found intriguing, for the most part. As I suspected, there were shorts that I really liked, even loved, while others were a little too “out there” for me, lol. Here’s a list of my personal ranking from best to worst, with some brief thoughts on each:

The Elder. I have to admit, I think this is my favorite because of the familiar Star Wars elements, mainly the Jedi Master/Padawan relationship. It looks like it could be right out of the Republic era. Master Taijin reminds me of Qui Gon Jinn (and I think maybe that was intentional), and so of course I loved him. I love that Taijin was voiced by David Harbour, from Stranger Things and Black Widow.
The Duel. I loved the look of this one, and the story was pretty intriguing, too (that’s why I ordered the novel based on it, called Ronin). I want to know this man’s story, and to learn about the alternate Jedi and Sith history.
The Ninth Jedi. I think everyone universally loved this one, and I thought it was great, too. I love the idea of lightsabers changing colors based on who wields it. And it’s ripe for continuation in either more shorts or books or whatever they want to do with it.
The Village Bride. I thought this one was lovely. I recognized the groom’s voice as Christopher Sean, who voiced Kazuda in Star Wars Resistance, which immediately endeared me.
Lop and Ocho. Despite the bunny (not a fan of the cutesy stuff), this one was pretty good. I liked the strained family dynamics, the very cool lightsaber, the adopted kid becoming the father’s heir.
Akakiri. This one committed the ultimate sin of being kind of boring, lol. The main character reminded me of Diego Luna, who plays Cassian Andor, which I thought was interesting even though there’s absolutely no connection, lol.
T0-B1. An obvious Pinocchio allusion, this one was a bit too cutesy for me. I’m intrigued by a droid training as a Jedi, though.
The Twins. Although this one looked cool and the story sounded promising, it was just too much for me. Fighting in the vacuum of space? Riding on top of a ship during hyperspace? The female sibling screaming dramatically and incoherently? No thanks.
Tatooine Rhapsody. Maybe I’m being too harsh on this one, I know some people loved it, but it just didn’t work for me. The singing didn’t interest me, but I could have tolerated it if the Padawan singer actually did some Jedi stuff with his lightsaber microphone. But he didn’t. He just sang. That’s fine, but not enough for me, lol.

All in all, I enjoyed watching these shorts and I’m glad Star Wars was explored through this perspective. Despite looking a little different, they focused on what Star Wars, to me, is all about: Jedi and Sith, The Force, lightsabers (I especially loved the variations on lightsabers–even the microphone one, lol), family, good against evil, dreams and longing, wonder and hope. I’m even up for a Season Two, if it happens.

Let me know what you thought about Star Wars Visions, 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!