Search

Search only in certain items:

IS
Imperfect Sword (The Lost Stars #3)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The third book in [a:Jack Campbell|55547|Jack Campbell|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1302415236p2/55547.jpg]'s (aka John Hemry) 'The Lost Stars', this continues the story of Gwen Iceni and Arrur Drakon from the star system Midway in the wake of their revolution against their former Syndicate rulers.

This also takes place mostly alongside the events of [b:Steadfast|576565|The Steadfast Tin Soldier|Hans Christian Andersen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348002883s/576565.jpg|2146970], with 'Balck Jack' Geary making a brief cameo about two-thirds of the way through, for reason explained in that other book.

The bulk of this novel concerns a preemptive attack on a neighbouring star system in which a former Syndic CEO has set up his own little Empire: an Empire that will, in time, threaten the security of Midway itself. As is usual, however, things are not as they seem ...

If you've read any of the other novels in this series, you will know pretty much what to expect: internal politicking, massive space battles (following Newtonian laws rather than the Space Opera of, say, Star Wars), and - especially in this book - ground battles,with Iceni and Drakon still just as unable as ever to admit their feelings to each other!
  
NO
Night of the Living Trekkies
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not as imaginative or funny as I'd hoped, <u>Night of the Living Trekkies</u> was still a fun read, some may even call it a brainless read. As far as zombie stories go, this doesn't cover any new territory, but that's where Star Trek helps the book out. Chock full of references, storyline parallels, and chapters named after episodes, it's clear this is devoted to Star Trek fans, whether they be Trekkies or Trekkers. The authors clearly know what they're writing about and lovingly poke fun at Star Trek and its fans. There's even some Star Wars love thrown in for good measure, and not with the usual rivalry between the two either.

In order to fully enjoy this book, I think it is essential that readers have a passable knowledge of the Star Trek universe, like zombies, and appreciate pulp, or at least have two of those three; otherwise, I can't imagine this would appeal to anyone outside of those factors. Overall, I had a good time with <u>Night of the Living Trekkies</u>, there were moments that made me laugh-out-loud (I especially liked the tale of the "Red Shirts") and though it's predictable, the story was well-told, and at around 250 pages, it's a very easy read. Readers could do worse than to pick up this book; what you see on the awesome cover is pretty much what you get on the inside: pure, pulpy entertainment that's well-envisioned and could easily be made into a movie.
3.5 Warp Speed

This has one of the best trailers I've ever seen, certainly the best book trailer:

Not part of the book at all but definitely goes along with it: http://molitorious.blogspot.com/2009/06/zombie-trek.html
  
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
One good twist! (0 more)
Acting (4 more)
CGI
Script
Predictable
Characters
A rushed ending to something special.
Well, this film has felt like a long time coming, but the disappointment took far less time.

Poor acting and poor CGI work make this film bad enough, but with a predictable plot and an awful script, it makes it in my opinion the worst Star Wars film ever made (so far), and made me wish I'd stayed at home and watched Attack of the Clones.

Daisy Ridley's acting was pretty poor in the more dramatic moments, and the CGI, particularly bad during large explosions, detracted from the feeling a Star Wars film usually brings. I'm talking Sharknado level CGI at some points, but at least that was supposed to be bad...

The characters, some of them turning out to be a completely pointless addition to the trilogy, learn absolutely nothing about themselves, with a couple of exceptions of course, but all of them with poorly written characteristics.

The ending is of course predictable, as it was always going to be realistically, but as for that, I'll let you guys judge for yourself!

The only redeeming feature is a nice little twist or two, but I'm obviously not going to tell you that!

Of course, some things are better the second time around, so maybe I'll watch again when the DVD is released and update my review...or not update it if that be the case.
  
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
John Williams Score. (0 more)
Asks more questions than it answers. (3 more)
Fails to recover from the damages of The Last Jedi.
No sense to the narrative.
Some acting is appalling.
Goodbye, Star Wars.
Almost six months from its release, I finally sat down and treated myself to Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker. Ever since Disney took over the Star Wars brand, I've been sceptical of their intentions with the property, and so far I've been massively disappointed. I enjoyed the Mandalorian, and still believe Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is easily as good as the original trilogy. Controversial, I know. But the newest trilogy has dropped my interest in Star Wars altogether, as they've so far been bogged down by awful writing, humongous plot holes, and the butchering of beloved characters to make way for wooden new ones. The Force Awakens was a step in the right direction, but the nostalgia factor was what drew me in. Eight years on, it hasn't aged well at all. The Last Jedi became my Stopping point in the Galaxy far, far away. Yes it has flair and popped visually, but the story was an insult to all the fans who had cherished Star Wars back in the days of the Original trilogy. After countless rewrites, multiple directors, and suspicions of actors within feeling disheartened with the over arc of their characters (looking at you, John Boyega), The Rise of Skywalker is finally here to cap of Disney's first trilogy.

What a disaster.

The Rise of Skywalker is an incoherent, messy and boring experience to chug through. Time and time again throughout the two and a half hours, I face palmed in absolute cringe and embarrassment at what Disney have done to this once celebrated franchise. The film feels rushed, on edge to get to the next destination for the newest plot point, without explaining or finishing the previous one, pointing even more towards those rewritten scripts. The film feels like multiple entries, crammed into one sprawling narrative that can't be resolved in the time given, this is especially the case with characters like Poe and Finn, who's arcs have been destroyed to make way for Rey, and that is the biggest issue. Rey has been written as the central moving force of this trilogy, but she never undergoes any development. Sure, she learns a few things about herself in this film, and challenges the idea of who she is for a brief moment, but she’s been made the perfect Jedi without trying. Its poor and lazy writing, and fans have began to feel an agenda is presenting itself. Whilst the women feel strong, wise, intelligent, the men are all morons, blundering their way through the story and often bickering with each other. Its an observation as a critic and fan, and its made me loath almost every character introduced since The Force Awakens. It became clear how little I cared about anything that was happening when a moment of embrace for the three main heroes once the final act ended. It should feel emotional, impactful, but it feels hollow, even forced. Much like most of the decision making of the film itself.

This brings me neatly onto the content of the film, if you can make any sense of it. If this is supposed to end the Skywalker saga once and for all, why add ridiculous plot threads and more pointless characters,that add no weight or purpose to the narrative? The ending is cut so quickly after the anti-climatic ending, that we don’t even have an idea of any characters finishing point. This is just one example of how badly things have spiralled into a mish mash of ideas from different writers and directors. If The Last Jedi was the franchise jumping into a well, this film is trying it's best to climb out. The two previous entries at least connected, but this feels a stand alone chapter, with no context or reason for what happens, and what does happen makes you scratch your head all the more.

I feel sorry for the hardcore fanbase, it genuinely feels like a slap in the face to history George Lucas has created. Once you lose the interest of your core audience, I feel its time to cut your losses. And yet again, another franchise has seen its demise. It feels like a symptomatic failure that the entertainment industry still don’t understand. You can buy any brand you want, but you can’t buy the fans love. Whatever direction Star Wars goes into next, I will not be tuning in.
  
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed
2008 | Action/Adventure
FORCE POWERS (0 more)
Not long enough (1 more)
Some of the bosses were hard
If you are a Star Wars fan, The Force Unleashed series might be the closest you ever come to being able to use The Force yourself.

My favorite part of this game was the eventual buildup of Force powers and being able to use them at will.


Choking stormtroopers, throwing them across the room or over a cliff, or chucking your lightsaber at their face was about as much fun as you can have in a video game. Also, being able to throw out Force lightning at a group of troopers all at once is amazing.


I loved just about everything in this game!
  
Mortal Engines (2018)
Mortal Engines (2018)
2018 | Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Surprising
I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The acting was good with interesting characters. The cinematography, imagery, effects were all very well done. The story unfolded ok but had a lot of very predictable parts. This was a "Steam Punk" future world with a lot of cool stuff in it but had just a bit of a "Star Wars-esque" feel to it. Not in a bad way, though. But the story, simplified, was that someone opened Pandora's box and the heroes had to shut it down. Anyway, if you enjoy a good sci-fi/action/adventure tale with just a smidge of love story thrown in, you'll really enjoy this movie. Worth a watch!
  
Star Wars: Queen&#039;s Shadow
Star Wars: Queen's Shadow
E.K. Johnston | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
4
5.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
What a disappointment. I'm so bummed out that the first novel in the new canon about Padme was so boring.
Firstly, they should have given Padme to Claudia Gray, who has proven she gets the Star Wars Universe; her characterization of Leia has been amazing. Secondly, this would have worked as a political novel, had it been written for adults, rather than for the Young Adult crowd. I didn't have a problem with Johnston's Ahsoka novel, because it was Ahsoka. This is Padme for Christ's sake. I'm just so fricken disappointed because I've been waiting for more about Padme for 20 flipping years. I'm so glad I borrowed this from the library.
  
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
2014 | Action, Sci-Fi
I get hooked on a multitude of feelings by Guardians Of The Galaxy (2014) #Review
Do you remember when summer SciFi blockbusters were unashamedly fun? Do you remember how you felt watching “Return Of The Jedi”? Before you got all old and cynical and ironic. Before your “Star Wars” heart was hardened by special edition vandalism and successive soulless prequels? Before the angry words and bitter sentiment of a million revisionist websites convinced you the Ewoks were irredeemably lame and that “Jedi” was when the rot started? Do you? Well, that’s what’s waiting for you on the other end of the tickets to Marvel’s “Guardians Of The Galaxy” that you’re going to buy...

FULL REVIEW: http://bit.ly/CraggusGuardiansOfTheGalaxy