lunes, 21 de enero de 2013

Eminence Review

Play time is over, friends. The shroud of the dark side has fallen.

Seriously, though, besides the fact that I just quoted Yoda, this episode came down to be one of the darkest in the Clone Wars. The allegiance between Darth Maul and Pre Vizsla comes down to be one of mistrust and betrayal, since their only common goal is to exact vengeance on the Jedi, in particular Obi-Wan. Vizsla doesn't understand exactly what Maul's plans are. And why should he? He only cares about taking back Mandalore, and a Sith would be useful in order to get him rid of the Jedi who could prevent his wish from coming true, in particular Obi-Wan. On the other hand, Maul is a Sith- a villain who is always unhappy and only wants to get more and more stuff because he can never be satiated. He wants to not only kill Kenobi, but also create an army of the criminal underworld and take control of Mandalore in order to have himself control of the Neutral Council of Systems, in order to have a third party that can rival the Republic and the Separatists, and compete with his old Master in the game of galactic domination. Brilliant plan, isn't it?

One thing that does come to mind is, how and why did Death Watch find Maul's escape pod and decide to open it to see what was in their? The only logical explanation(s) are the following: 1, it was pure coincidence., or 2 the much more logical one, this was a setup by Mother Talzin. How she managed to trace the Death Watch into Darth Maul is anyone's guess, but it would make sense given the interest Talzin has with the Sith Lord.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that Savage acts too much like a moron. I mean, seriously. At least Darth Maul can control his anger and not beat up and destroy the droids that are repairing you in the first place!!!

Jabba was also kind of laughing when he was forced to join with Maul (like he always does). Bo-Katan is pretty skeptical about the Sith, and the fight between Embo and Savage was freakin awesome. I wonder how many times the Black Sun will be forced to replace its own members. It was also interesting to see the new concept of the Pykes.

Duchess Satine is in for an unpleasant surprise.

domingo, 20 de enero de 2013

Point of No Return Review

Sorry that the review comes in so late friends, but it's been a pretty busy week. Now that their is at least some time to talk about Star Wars, I can now say that the fourth episode of the Droid arc, was probably the best. R2-D2 was the brave hero of the story, which should be no surprise, and their was more action in this episode than anyone would even expect. The explosion of the Republic cruiser was quite a show, and it leaves me wondering why didn't the Death Star explode that nicely in Episodes IV and VI. I guess it's all attributed that neither had the amount of Raydonium Ore the cruiser had when it exploded.

Another important, yet minor part of the show, was the appearance of Wilhuff Tarkin now as an Admiral. Earlier in the show we were aware of the fact that Tarkin was simply a Captain, and now that he is ranking higher in the military, it brings to question how much the role of the Jedi is being reduced in the war, and how much closer we are getting to Episode III.

However, one question does come to mind. Why did the Separatists launch a cruiser to murder Republic officers when both Tarkin and Anakin where at the conference? I think Sidious is going to get angry at Dooku.

And another thing-to all the people who haven't liked a single episode of Clone Wars since ''Revival''- You people need to get out of the fantasy that Star Wars is somehow pure action and dark side plots, because the innocent part of Star Wars is their, and it will be a part of it whether you like it or not.

viernes, 11 de enero de 2013

Romance in the Next Star Wars films

One of the minor, but perhaps important themes that make up part of the Star Wars saga, is the part of romance. Episodes I-III focus on the forbidden romance between Anakin Skywalker and Senator of Naboo, Padme Amidala. It's one of the most unfairly criticized parts of Star Wars, mostly done by some film critics and moronic hateboys, whom apparently don't understand that some people (including myself) connect themselves with the love of Anakin and Padme, more than with Han and Leia. I even remember a few years back, how the stupid Semana magazine of my home country talked in a section of their magazine about how Padme and Anakin had ''little chemistry'' in their relationship. What kind of idiots are these people?

Their love is mostly used as the catalyst that will result in the transformation of Anakin Skywalker into Darth Vader. It ends up in tragedy as pretty much both characters end up dead and their love for each other is never allowed to flourish. By the time we get to Episodes IV-VI, the romance is seen mostly between Han Solo and Princess Leia, which I also like by the way, just not as much as Anakin and Padme. Theirs is meant to protray a love that eventually triumphs with the victory of the Rebel Alliance, on contrary to that of the previous generation.

But, the question is, what kind of love will we see in the next generation?

The obvious answer is that if we see love in the next set of Star Wars films, it will likely involve either the children of Han and Leia, or the children of Luke and someone else (possibly Mara Jade). However, all of that is pretty much anyone's guess. George at one point said that in his vision Luke didn't get married, so that might throw Mara Jade and that part of the EU out the window or into an alternative timeline. As far as Han and Leia are concerned, their children might have different names from the ones they have in the EU, and their fates will be undeniably different. So, besides the fact that the EU will likely soon be cleared out of the way like a bulldozer, we don't really know what romance will happen, or if it will even show up in Episode VII. They might hint it, though. We will have to wait and see, as I have said millions of times on this blog.

ABC considering a Star Wars live-action series

Well, my friends, now that Disney owns Star Wars, the prospects of the live-action show have moved from HBO to ABC. ABC is apparently interested in making a Star Wars show, whether it's the live-action show currently on hold because of budget costs or another live-action show involving the Star Wars universe.

The show is undeniably going to get a bigger audience now that it's going to be possibly broadcasted on ABC, but still, I'm not sure what those 50 scripts that are already written will be exactly about. The show is meant to portray the Star Wars Underworld, since I believe that is even the title of the show, and is set to take place between Episodes III and IV. The only character confirmed to be on the show for now will be Boba Fett, and apparently the Main characters won't be the focus of the show. They might go on and explore characters like Cad Bane, Aurra Sing, Hondo or even Bossk in this show, so it might turn out to be quite interesting. For that we will have to wait and see.

Missing in Action Review

The hatedom from hateboy nation and some casual Star Wars fans managed to lower down once we got to see the episode of the Clone Commando, Gregor.

The episode was great in its dynamic effort to bring a clone who had suffered from amnesia and was working as a dishwasher, into eventually, with the help of R2 and Colonel Gascon, bring back his memory and make him a fantastic soldier. I mean, the guy did the work of like 14 soldiers and managed to help the D-Squad escape from Abafar.

Dave Filoni hinted in the commentary of the episode that Gregor might have survived, so we will have to wait and see for tomorrow's episode to find out what exactly happened. Still, even if he didn't survive, Gregor will come down as one of my favorite clone troopers from this season, and this episode will come down as one of the best in the season.

jueves, 10 de enero de 2013

Adressing the Hateboy Nation


One of the main reasons I founded this site was due to an inspiration I saw within a series of fellow Star Wars fans, particularly owners of certain Star Wars fan blogs, into defending Star Wars from the hateboy nation, who have done nothing but ruin the fun of Star Wars for the rest of the fans who like it. Their hatred for anything George Lucas has done ever since 1997 is something unparalleled in movie history, which is rather sad considering the fact that the Star Wars Saga is arguably the greatest film saga ever made. It's sad considering the fact that Star Wars was the pursuit of one man's dream into creating a film without the influence of movie corporations thumbing over every decision he made.

Now that where getting a new set of Star Wars films over the next decade, speculation has been gone wild ever since October 30th. One of the most famous hateboys, or hategirls in this case of the Internet,  Alyssa Rosenberg, apparently was pretty dismissive of Steven Spielberg directing the next Star Wars film (which he isn't going to by the way):

 "After George Lucas, Spielberg is probably the most 'Star Wars'-knowledgeable filmmaker out there. I imagine that few others have as much insight into what Lucas originally conceived for 'Star Wars' than Spielberg. That's not good. The most exciting thing about Disney purchasing Lucasfilm is the prospect of evolving the 'Star Wars' franchise with some new creative energy, and Spielberg doesn't bring that."

So, Miss Rosenberg, please tell us what would you consider as ''new creative energy''? Perhaps a peak at her own website will allow us to see what she means:

While this opens up a new chapter in the cinematic development of the Star Wars universe, that doesn’t mean Disney will be flying off into uncharted territory. The Star Wars Expanded Universe includes a huge number of licensed books (not to mention video games, comic books, graphic novels, and animated television series) that lay out the story of the franchise’s main characters, and in some cases, their distant descendants. Given that Disney will need to woo legions of long-term fans who love the larger Star Wars universe and were burned to greater or lesser extents by the awfulness of the prequels, and will certainly want to keep monetizing the expanded universe, I expect they’ll preserve that continuity. The question is just which stories they decide to use as source material.

Oooh, how surprising. So, according to Miss Rosenberg, the ''new creative energy'' should be adapting an EU novel into a film? Tell ya what: IT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.Here's the reason(s) why: 

It has been confirmed by Disney and Lucasfilm that Episode VII will be an ''Original Story''.

 ''And now there have been novels about the events after Episode VI, which isn't at all what I would have done with it. The Star Wars story is really the tragedy of Darth Vader. That is the story. Once Vader dies, he doesn't come back to life, the Emperor doesn't get cloned and Luke doesn't get married..."-George Lucas




The good news, is that contrary to what hateboy nation wants, the next set of Star Wars films, will be made according to the vision of George Lucas and his story treatments, and they might not fit into the picture of what everyone thinks it should be. As hategirl Alyssa pointed out, Spielberg knows very well what vision George has for the next film, and sadly he won't be involved. It is only just for the man who created the whole thing to pass on the next set of films to a person(s) who will stay true to his vision, just like how Dave Filoni has stayed true to George's vision of the Clone Wars . Even Timothy Zahn, the writer of much of the bulk of the EU post-ROTJ, has said that if George gets the EU out of the way in order to make the next set of films, he is fine with it. I accept the next treatment of Star Wars films for what they will be, even if I don't agree 100% with everything. 

Oh, and another thing, why do you generalize about how the fans were supposedly ''burned'' by the ''awfullness of the prequels''? If so many people hated those films, then why did Episode I as it got released in 3D, make 103 million dollars? 

The Clone Wars: 100 Episodes

I honestly don't think that anybody even imagined- let alone dreamed off.-the kinds of things we have seen in the 100 Episodes of the Clone Wars,way back in August of 2008, when the Clone Wars film was released. The movie received mostly negative reviews from movie critics, for mostly unfair reasons, and few people thought the show would be much of anything or that it would ever take off. Ahsoka's character was hated by a lot people, (something the actress who portrayed her, Ashley Eckstein was aware off) and the hateboy nation criticized George Lucas for supposedly, exploiting the franchise. It was a dark time for Star Wars, indeed. But I kept my faith in George. I was one of the few who thought the movie had been great, and was looking forward to when the series would air.

After seeing the past four seasons, and the first half of the second season, I can honestly say that I have seen one of the best shows on TV that I have seen in my life.Every season has gotten better and better in visuals, in storytelling, in the inclusion of new characters that are now fan favorites, etc. Dave Filoni has done a tremendous job at portraying Star Wars for a whole new generation of kids, while at the same time staying true to the vision of the man himself, George Lucas. I look forward to seeing the rest of the show, and to see how this will eventually fit in to the events of Revenge of the Sith.

On an ending note, besides the fact that I want to congratulate everyone who has made the show possible: From George, Dave, the amazing crew of actors, the designers, and everyone else in Lucasfilm involved in the story, I also want to share a quote said by Dave Filoni a couple of days ago:

"These characters are meant to go along with these movies … who knows if it will show up in future movies" 

A couple of things we can infer from this statement: 1. The next set of Star Wars films probably won't be directed by Dave Filoni, which, saddens me. 2. He isn't aware of the story, so almost no one knows it. 3.Ahsoka might show up in the next Star Wars film, or some other Star Wars character introduced in TCW. Keep your fingers crossed people!!!!!