Anchorhead

No doubt the Disney era is more female friendly, but I’d stop short of saying they’re catering to girls. Including is more how I see it. There is a character for everyone now and I think that’s great. No reason why all cant be part of our nerddom.

If they were truly catering to girls, they’d be doing a Mara Jade anthology film or series and sticking to the way Zahn wrote her. Which, by the way, I would love to see.

😃

A long time friend of mine runs a pop culture site: Pop Culture Rewind. His podcast this month is his review of Solo. http://popculturerewind.com/e/pcr-92-so-so-for-solo/

He gave us a shoutout and has been a bit of a lurker on here. Several years of pop culture thoughts and casts to go through on his site if you have the time or inclination.

His Solo review is on par with the thoughts around here.

pittrek said:

The “dumb Asian woman” comment was pretty rude from me, I agree, but it was about the character, NOT about the actress.

I suspect that your inability to see the problem is the reason you are part of it.

The Autistic Asexual said:

I’m gonna have to leave this forum because of the goddamn stupidity that you assholes spew from your shit-holes!!

Another post like that and I’ll make sure of it. Consider this a warning.

Regarding Alden as Solo;
I didn’t have a problem making the jump. He felt like Han to me, particularly as a younger man making his way. To use a backward example; Just after the cantina conversation in Star Wars when Han sort of finds humor in his good fortune, his demeanor when he says ”17,000?..those guys must really be desperate” sounds like something Alden-Solo would say and how he’d say it.

Alden really comes across as Solo as we first ever met him on Tatooine: A smug, but very capable, bullshitter. His call out of Beckett when he says ”either you heal really fast or…” also feels like Cantina Solo to me.

Quick thoughts, more after I let it simmer.

Overall, I enjoyed it. I particularly liked that it’s visually different from the rest of the franchise. The harsh grey monotone of Vandor was a welcome change. The ugliness of Cornelia and wherever Lando was were also nice changes visually.

I had no problem with any of the acting, well done Alden and Donald. For me, definitely nice to see Ms Clarke in anything other than GoT. Well done as a sort of GFFA Bond girl (not terribly trustworthy, but not inherently bad).

Maul bothered me only because it was so unnecessary. That felt like a way to keep him relative as a marketing and merchandise tie-in. It also kept the film from stepping out fully as a stand-alone. I felt the same way about 3PO and Walrus Man in Rogue One.

On that subject; I’ve never made any secret of my dislike of Phantom, but honestly, having seen it once back in ‘99 I’ve largely forgotten all of it. I saw a Solo review, maybe here, where someone said they knew it was him as soon as they heard his voice. Truth be told, I didn’t know he spoke in Phantom. He bothers me for what he represents much more than he does as a one dimensional hologram bad guy. She could have been talking to anyone. Maul felt like a Lucas-style gimmick to me.

No strong thoughts on L3 or any other supporting characters. The deaths were fitting for the in-universe story. Han, Chewie, and Lando live in a tough world.

Regarding the weird to-do about some sort of Lando sexuality issues: Didn’t see it. Seems like controversy for the sake of controversy. ?

Standouts as I was walking back to the car:

1. LOVED Enfys and all she was as a story and character, as well as the actress. I hope we see more of her someday. In fact, all of Savareen was probably my favorite portion of the movie. I really wanted it to end as they said goodbye to Enfys as they all went their separate ways. The end game of winning the Falcon felt tacked-on and very rushed. That could have been saved for a second film.

2. As Ive long suspected 😉 Chewie is my favorite part of Star Wars. Great to see him as a major player in this.

3. I like that the film was made at all and such a nice departure from the main saga.

Xim the Despot!

Putting on my socks, grabbing my keys and I’m on my way in 3…2…
Review to follow.

SilverWook said:

Also, nice little Easter egg if you know your Brian Daley books.

Dammit! I’m still two days out.
😉

Mielr said:

GZK8000 said:
And this seems to be Boba Fett’s first public appearance:

^^^ For anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, there’s footage of that parade: https://youtu.be/s_Z41PUzHW8

About two months before The Holiday Special. Interesting. I didn’t know they had him so complete as a character before the cartoon.

TV’s Frink said:

Collipso said:

i pronounce ric olie as “rick olly (as in oliver)”

I mean, that’s how it’s pronounced, so…

JEDIT: You pronounce “oliver” as “ollyver”?

https://youtu.be/bfTpbkpLouU

I realize I’m probably the only one old enough to remember this, but in my defense, it was already in after-school reruns when I was a little kid.

GZK8000 said:
I knew the reaction would be hostile and negative.

Yet you posted your comments anyway. Back off sooner next time and leave people’s family out of the baiting. These last four pages are a perfect example of the noise that has made this discussion such a mess.

If what I’ve stumbled upon (and assumed was BS trolling) is that same cameo, it far outweighs Ponda Boba in Rogue One for completely unnecessary.

My CrossFit coach recommended it and she hasnt steered my wrong yet. Now with this write-up and discussion, it looks like something I need to look into. To be honest, not sure why it’s not been on my radar. It certainly seems like something I’d dig. Better give it a look.

.

Just gave the linked trailer a look. Jeffrey Wright and Ed Harris are two of my favorites. A definite plus.

Jay said:

I’m up to episode 6. Parker Posey is brilliant in this. Master manipulator, criminally insane.

I agree. Brilliant is a perfect description. There is nothing redeeming about her character. Truly terrible to the core.

https://twitter.com/starwars/status/995467952383119360

Pretty nice for Alden to get such an open show of support. Ford still seems more engaged in Star Wars than he ever was in decades past, even not being in the film. If the creator of the character is on board with Alden and feels the torch has been passed, who am I to argue?

There was an issue, at least for me, with it not displaying the full-size version. I’m putting the smaller just in case. Way too cool a pic to miss.

canofhumdingers said:

Hmm,those imax posters sure look familiar…

No doubt an homage. Really nice to see McQuarrie continue to get so much respect in the Disney films.

I wonder if I can get them in time to wear to the movie.
https://www.stance.com/kessel-run-grey-l/190107214179.html

SilverWook said:

I wonder how the surviving original cast feels about this new version. Billy Mumy won’t even discuss the 1998 film…

Mumy is fine with this version.
😉

And in answer to Jay’s question, no camp. This is played serious.

After I wrote all that I spent the day pondering how to better categorize the tone. I think the best way to describe it tone-wise is Doctor Who. Safe for a family in general, but there are several areas that might bother or scare children.

https://www.netflix.com/title/80104198

No spoilers.
It’s fairly rare that I try a new TV show without having been prodded by someone who knows me well. Truth be told, I’m not someone who sits around watching a ton of TV anyway. When I do, it’s a small set of favorites and\or a few old standbys when I’m trying to unwind after a long day. Films are an exception, but they’re scheduled events.

Last week, while I was logged into Netflix to watch an episode or two of He-Man (shut up) 😃 the trailer for Lost In Space ran on the home screen. It looked interesting enough, clearly had a craaazy production budget, plus a few known stars. I made a mental note to give it a look and moved on.

A few days later I gave the first episode a watch. I should point out that I know virtually nothing about the 1960s show. I was two years old, so obviously not something I ever watched, not even in reruns years later. If I did ever see any episodes, all I’ve retained is a vague memory of the robot and “Danger!”. I only remember or know the basics; character names, ship name, basic structure.

I enjoyed the first episode and took some time to let it simmer. It’s geared to family viewing to a large extent, so while it’s gritty and sometimes tense it’s not R-rated gritty or tense. It would probably be PG-13 if it were a film, possibly PG. There is a character for which everyone in the family can identify and their arcs are written accordingly; Adults, older kid, middle kid, and the youngest kid.

Overall it has a sort of Spielberg family feel but not in the cloned ways of Super 8 or Stranger Things (both of which I like). Lost In Space is its own thing. Very much a modern adaptation of the original show. It also has what I thought was a very clever and subtle nod to the original 1812 novel.

This past Saturday I gave the second episode a watch. I was surprised at how comfortable I felt being back in their world. In fact, I’d actually been looking forward to it. It left me feeling refreshed. I’m glad I stepped out of my usual sci-fi safe places. New world, new characters, new ships, new scenarios (even if they are storytelling go-tos).

I ended up binging the remainder of the series over the course of two days. Each episode is an hour, so it was five hours Saturday, four hours Sunday. The article linked below sums up my thoughts on the show perfectly. I’ll be spot-watching episodes the rest of the summer and hoping they green-light a second season.

Mild spoilers if you want to go in clean.
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/lost-space-review-1100276

Foo Fighters. Concrete and Gold

They opened the current tour in Austin. Fantastic show. One of the best I’ve ever seen. Thinking about taking a few days off later in the year to fly up to Seattle and catch that show.

https://youtu.be/TRqiFPpw2fY

I’m fine with her building herself. That fits in the GFFA (to me). I don’t have an issue with a kid building a droid either. That also fits in the GFFA. My issue with a kid building a droid in Phantom was it was that kid and that droid. More than completely unnecessary, it was possibly the worst case of universe-shrinking Lucas ever inflicted upon the franchise. Terrible idea.

ZkinandBonez said:

https://www.starwarsnewsnet.com/2018/04/ew-being-self-made-the-unifying-trait-connecting-the-outlaws-in-solo-a-star-wars-story.html

That certainly looks like Han Solo to me. Enough with the one-sheets, trailers, and TV spots. I’m ready to get to the theater.