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Paul Smedley (141 KP) rated Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018) in Movies
Jun 1, 2018
Another side story winner!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Wow. Just wow. I was so worried for this being bad after so many reviews saying it was a let down but how wrong they were.
A lot of nods to other characters and story arcs as well as a string link to Star Wars Rebels (the animated series) of which I also loved.
It was good to see how the Millennium Falcon got its iconic shape and how it was won.
Oh and of course the origin of the 12 parsecs run!
Go watch it now!!
A lot of nods to other characters and story arcs as well as a string link to Star Wars Rebels (the animated series) of which I also loved.
It was good to see how the Millennium Falcon got its iconic shape and how it was won.
Oh and of course the origin of the 12 parsecs run!
Go watch it now!!
David McK (3251 KP) rated Isard's Revenge (Star Wars: X-Wing, #8) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
If, by and large, books can be compared to food - the classics being haute cuisine; the terrible books being dog-food - then the X-Wing series of Star Wars books (all written pre-Episode One, and based on the popular LucasArts games) could probably be best described as fast food: enjoyable enough in small doses but you wouldn't want to live on them and not always that memorable.
With regard to this book, which picks up from the end of Timothy Zahn's "The Last Command" (with the ending of that novel shown from a different perspective), it's also more than half way through before the jacket blurb begins to make sense.
With regard to this book, which picks up from the end of Timothy Zahn's "The Last Command" (with the ending of that novel shown from a different perspective), it's also more than half way through before the jacket blurb begins to make sense.
I Don't Want Curly Hair!
Book
NO! I do not want this BIG CURLY HAIR! It's messy and silly and just plain unfair. All Curly Haired...
Darth Vader and Friends
Book
In this funny and sweet new book in the bestselling Darth Vader(t) series, Eisner Award--winning...
Dean (6925 KP) rated The Mandalorian - Season 1 in TV
Jun 14, 2022
Looks great and some familiar settings (1 more)
Some good action scenes
This is the way
Finally got round to this as started Disney+ recently. Good to see something different set in the Star Wars universe. Set around 5 years after Return of the Jedi. The settings are familiar but not with any particular characters from any of the films. It's well shot and the SFX are good for a short series. Only downside some episodes were a bit slow and general quite short in length. One is under 30 minutes and generally only around 35-40 minutes long. It's enjoyable if not something that will blow your mind.
LeftSideCut (3778 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) in Movies
Oct 13, 2019 (Updated Dec 20, 2019)
A great but flawed entry into a groundbreaking trilogy
Return of the Jedi is a good enough closing episode of the original Star Wars trilogy.
A lot of the great things about the previous two films are carried over - the awesome settings and location, the unbeatable John Williams score, and the epic sci-fi vision that started in 1977.
By this point, everyone is familiar with all of the characters. Luke, Leia, and Han all return, and aren't really in any need of any further character development at this point. Not necessarily a bad thing as ROTJ can concentrate on rounding off the story.
The most divisive element of this entry amongst Star Wars fans are of course the Ewoks. Their inclusion is certainly a hammier direction for the series. Some people loved it, some absolutely hated it, and how big of a part they play during the films climax.
I personally am indifferent. I don't hate the Ewoks, but they're partly what makes ROTJ inferior to the first two. Still, not a scratch on what's to come *cough* Jar Jar *cough*.
We're still treated to some iconic moments - Jabba the Hutt and the Rancor pit. Vader and Luke finally squaring off. The speeder bike chase.
This shows just how much Star Wars still delivers three films in.
All in all, ROTJ is still an integral part of one of the most beloved film franchises of all time, and will always be important to me!
A lot of the great things about the previous two films are carried over - the awesome settings and location, the unbeatable John Williams score, and the epic sci-fi vision that started in 1977.
By this point, everyone is familiar with all of the characters. Luke, Leia, and Han all return, and aren't really in any need of any further character development at this point. Not necessarily a bad thing as ROTJ can concentrate on rounding off the story.
The most divisive element of this entry amongst Star Wars fans are of course the Ewoks. Their inclusion is certainly a hammier direction for the series. Some people loved it, some absolutely hated it, and how big of a part they play during the films climax.
I personally am indifferent. I don't hate the Ewoks, but they're partly what makes ROTJ inferior to the first two. Still, not a scratch on what's to come *cough* Jar Jar *cough*.
We're still treated to some iconic moments - Jabba the Hutt and the Rancor pit. Vader and Luke finally squaring off. The speeder bike chase.
This shows just how much Star Wars still delivers three films in.
All in all, ROTJ is still an integral part of one of the most beloved film franchises of all time, and will always be important to me!
David McK (3251 KP) rated Rebellion (Matthew Hawkwood, #4) in Books
Jan 30, 2019
The fourth book in James McGee's Matthew Hawkwood series of books, and over the course of the last two (in particular), the eponymous Bow Street Runner is getting further and further away from his usual haunts!
In this installment, Hawkwood actually spends the vast majority of it in the heart of Imperial France: in Paris itself, while Napoleon is away on his ill-fated Russian campaign. Again taking real historical facts as its basis, this novel concerns itself primarily with a conspiracy attempt to over-throw the regime: an event which, obviously, did not succeed.
If I'm honest, and to draw an anology between these books and the Star Wars films (which might seem strange, but bear with me!), the first couple of books in the series are like the original couple of films: full of danger, action and excitement. This one, unfortunately, is more like Episode I: seeming to be setting itself up for a broader story arc, and more concerned with politics than with action and excitement.
Worth a read? Yes, but if this was my introduction to the series as a whole - which can, by and large, be read independently as they only occassionally refer to earlier events - I wouldn't be going out of my way to look for any others in thes series, unlike if I had read any of the others first.
In this installment, Hawkwood actually spends the vast majority of it in the heart of Imperial France: in Paris itself, while Napoleon is away on his ill-fated Russian campaign. Again taking real historical facts as its basis, this novel concerns itself primarily with a conspiracy attempt to over-throw the regime: an event which, obviously, did not succeed.
If I'm honest, and to draw an anology between these books and the Star Wars films (which might seem strange, but bear with me!), the first couple of books in the series are like the original couple of films: full of danger, action and excitement. This one, unfortunately, is more like Episode I: seeming to be setting itself up for a broader story arc, and more concerned with politics than with action and excitement.
Worth a read? Yes, but if this was my introduction to the series as a whole - which can, by and large, be read independently as they only occassionally refer to earlier events - I wouldn't be going out of my way to look for any others in thes series, unlike if I had read any of the others first.
David McK (3251 KP) rated Star Wars Omnibus: X-Wing Rogue Squadron, Vol. 1 in Books
Jan 30, 2019
Generally speaking, I'm not really a comic-book guy kinda person.
However, I have read (and actually quite enjoyed) the Star Wars: X-Wing series of books, and was aware that these were also (pre Prequel trilogy) comics. However, I was unaware (until relatively recently) that the comics were not just visualizations of the novels, but were rather stories in their own right.
When I found this out, and when I came across the digital version of this Omnibus - which collects the first 3 stories in the X-Wing series [so Goodreads, should count as 3 towards my yearly challenge!] , I thought I would give it a try.
Of the 3 stories contained - Rogue Leader, the Rebel Opposition and The Phantom Affair - the second and third of these were co-written by Michael Stackpole, who also wrote the first X-Wing novels. Personally, while the story may be better in those two than in the first, I preferred the art of the first story, finding the panes easier to follow.
I haven't yet decided, but I may also pick up the next volume(s) in the series.
However, I have read (and actually quite enjoyed) the Star Wars: X-Wing series of books, and was aware that these were also (pre Prequel trilogy) comics. However, I was unaware (until relatively recently) that the comics were not just visualizations of the novels, but were rather stories in their own right.
When I found this out, and when I came across the digital version of this Omnibus - which collects the first 3 stories in the X-Wing series [so Goodreads, should count as 3 towards my yearly challenge!] , I thought I would give it a try.
Of the 3 stories contained - Rogue Leader, the Rebel Opposition and The Phantom Affair - the second and third of these were co-written by Michael Stackpole, who also wrote the first X-Wing novels. Personally, while the story may be better in those two than in the first, I preferred the art of the first story, finding the panes easier to follow.
I haven't yet decided, but I may also pick up the next volume(s) in the series.
David McK (3251 KP) rated Star Wars: Outbound Flight in Books
Jan 30, 2019
If I was asked which author is most associuated with kick-starting the whole Star Wars Expanded Universe (EU), I would have to choose Timothy Zahn, with his 'Heir to the Empire' trilogy. From that trilogy, two of his main protaganists would have to be the Jedi Master Joruus C'Baoth (a clone of the dead Jedi Jorus C'Baoth), and Grand Admiral Thrawn.
In this particular novel in that universe - set between the events of Episode I and Episode II - Zahn returns to those two particular characters, as well as to the fate of the eponymous 'Outbound Flight'. Slightly misleadingly, I felt, the main story does not detail how Thrawn joined the Empire (although there is a short story in the back of my edition that does just that), but instead fleshes out a previously hinted at backstory from his <i>Heir to the Empire</i> series. Set in an earlier peirod, I found it also interesting that it also foreshadows some of the event of the later <i>New Jedi Order</i> series of books - a series that, if I'm honest, I never really took to, preferring instead to primarily remain in or around the Rebellion era.
In this particular novel in that universe - set between the events of Episode I and Episode II - Zahn returns to those two particular characters, as well as to the fate of the eponymous 'Outbound Flight'. Slightly misleadingly, I felt, the main story does not detail how Thrawn joined the Empire (although there is a short story in the back of my edition that does just that), but instead fleshes out a previously hinted at backstory from his <i>Heir to the Empire</i> series. Set in an earlier peirod, I found it also interesting that it also foreshadows some of the event of the later <i>New Jedi Order</i> series of books - a series that, if I'm honest, I never really took to, preferring instead to primarily remain in or around the Rebellion era.
Captain Alatriste: The Adventures of Captain Alatriste
Book
A swashbuckling new adventure series starring the Spanish D'Artagnan - from international bestseller...