I just finished watching the last 45 minutes of The Empire Strikes Back, and it brought back a lot of memories. I was a huge Star Wars nut as a kid, and at six years old my Dad took me to see Empire. We got there early, and I peaked through a window on the theater door and saw R2D2 fix the hyperdrive on the 'Falcon.
After the movie, I was pretty shaken. Seeing Han, my favorite character, frozen in carbonite scared the beejeezus out of me, and I couldn't sleep under my normal SW blanket that night. I just couldn't stand looking at Han, and I remember looking up 'carbon' in the encyclopedia in the next few days to try to find out if he was in pain or not.
Add in the whole "I am your father" thing, which confused me (I asked my Dad if he thought Vader was lying) and it was a chaotic mess of a movie visit, but one I'll remember forever.
You know, I've long since ditched SW fandom. It's cool, but it's not the cat's meow it once was for me. Even so, Empire stands as a great movie in its own right, independent of the series as a whole. It is dark and full of pain, emotional and physical, and the good guys don't win - but there is hope, and friendship, and love. It's truly great.
[Plus Leia never looked better - yes, even in the golden bikini of Jedi - and the battle for Hoth ROCKED]
* * * *
In another bit of useless trivia, I have discarded a copy of Horrorween by Al Sarrantonio. Sarrantonio's got talent and a way with words, but when you're midway through a book and a character says (parprhrasing here) "Remember the genius robotic engineer who went insane after his son was murdered by the clown? He escaped from the hospital and is on the loose!" well, there's no going back.
'Twas a time I'd finish any book I'd started, but screw that. Life's too short to waste it wading through crud.
Published writer, compulsive reader, Old School Whovian, Match Game enthusiast, NKOTB fan, data hoarder, and - surprisingly, given that list - married with four kids. Welcome to my take on life, fatherhood, entertainment, and whatever strikes my fancy. Enjoy!
I used to love the SW series...but I haven't watched any of them in years. Nor have I watched any of the new additions to the series.
ReplyDeleteBut I TOTALLY agree with you about wading through crud when there are much better books to be reading. I've only done it a few times...including now. Killer Heat by Linda Fairstein. I just couldn't get into this book at all. I got about 3/4 of the way through it and she was STILL introducing new, boring, one-dimensional characters. It was driving me insane. I didn't even like the main characters.
So yea, that's my latest kill. :)