Star Wars Question

In my childhood I was gifted a hardcover sci-fi short story anthology that featured an excerpt from the novelization of Star Wars by George Lucas/Alan Dean Foster. As I recall, it was from their time on the Death Star, and it was illustrated with sketches that were either drawn a) by someone who'd never seen the movie or b) by someone really careful to avoid recreating the movie designs for legal reasons.

I mention that the book was hardcover, but as I recall the dark cover was oddly glossy.  For some reason now lost to my subconscious, I think the book may have been published in England. 

Does anyone know what this collection was called? Does anyone know where I can find a list of collections that were authorized to excerpt the novelization? 

A Disturbance in the Force

A few days ago I saw a Facebook post advertising a unique event: a showing of the documentary "A Disturbance in the Force" as both the closing film of the Milwaukee Film Festival AND a celebration of May the 4th. 

I don't go out very often lately, but this was worth the effort. My friend Tre and I arrived at the Oriental, tickets in hand, to find a line that stretched down the block and around the corner. 

 

Once inside, a first: I got to sit in the balcony at the historic theater. And it is quite the beauty. 

 By the way, this was allegedly the first sell-out of the theater since Covid.

The documentary traces the creation of the infamous 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special, and the impact it had on fandom. I found the film funny, informative, and well worth the watch. 

Afterwards there was a Q &A with the director, and then Tre and I headed over to Axe Mke to catch up over a drink. 

A nice way to spend an evening!

Obi-Wan Kenobi

I finally finished watching the last episodes of Obi-Wan Kenobi, and my opinion is mixed. There were certainly highlights - heck, just seeing Ewan McGregor back playing Kenobi was a highlight - but I thought it was a bit too ramshackle a storyline overall. Too many ideas all tied together with a bit of shellac and a gum wrapper, and few of them even original. [spoiler] Even the much ballyhooed fight between Vader and Kenobi - which I thought was great - was just a remake of the Ahsoka duel from Rebels. [end spoiler]

This isn't a bad show, and all six episodes are fun. But Kenobi is the greatest Jedi of all time, IMO - bruh, he beat Maul 2x, Grievous, Anakin, etc. 

He deserved far better.

May the Fourth

May the 4th be with you? I prefer the 3rd or the 10th, but OK.

Star Wars From a Certain Point of View

I've finished reading my first book of 2021, a collection of stories told from the POV of minor Star Wars characters from the 1977 movie. A few tales were duds, but on the whole it's an entertaining and imaginative undertaking.
 

Well Done

THAT was a great episode of The Mandalorian, complete with not one but two big Clone Wars characters!!

Mandalorian Season 2 Episode 1

I watched the Season 2 premiere of Mandalorian. Yawn. Enough of Tatooine, enough of the Boba Fett nonsense, and oh, idk, maybe try spending a minute on the overall story arc of the series.

No that can't be right - oh snap!

The meme is right. Palpatine kinda won the whole 9 film arc. Essentially, Star Wars is about the failure of the Skywalker family.

Mind blown.

The Mandalorian

 The Mandalorian is every bit as good as the word of mouth suggests, and a whole heap of fun, which is what Star Wars should be, no? Proof positive you don't need Skywalkers to tell a good tale.

Rise of Skywalker

I just returned from a midnight showing of Rise Of Skywalker with Smiley . My verdict: I enjoyed it a lot, and thought it was a fun and action packed way to end the Skywalker saga. That doesn't mean it was a "great" movie. It was derivative and often predictable , esp in the paint by numbers third act. But I wasn't looking for innovation, and I'm happy they spent time retconning the crap out of TLJ. It's the best film of this trilogy and worth a trip to the theater.

Darth!

This massive metal sculpture is on display at a local jewelry store in Greenfield. 

Ironic

The Last Jedi

Smiley and I just saw Last Jedi. I thought it started out painfully hackneyed and chained to every SW cliche. 40 minutes in I went to the restroom, saw there were 90 minutes left, and felt a sense of dread. And then, surprisingly, it became a good movie - even great by the standards of the (non-Empire) series. The audience seemed rather let down, but I'd grade it a B.

Grrr. Spoilers

Some ahole just posted what I consider a huge spoiler for the new SW movie - smack in the middle of an unrelated, non-SW post! I may have to Greedo the stupid SOB.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I had the honor of repaying my Dad for taking me to Empire Strikes Back many moons ago by treating him to SW: The Force Awakens tonight. It was his first time at the Avalon in forty years, and from his reactions he liked both the theater and the film. Love you Pop!

That About Sums it Up Anakin

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

(3D) With Smiley  and his friend Evan. I saw Nancy Z there too!

My (spoiler-free) verdict? 1. It makes the Lucas prequels look just as bad as u remember. U suck George. 2. As a movie, it's not as good as Empire. But that's a high, high hurdle, innit? 3. Not impressed by the bad guy. Yawn. 4. Death Stars are to SW as Daleks are to DW: iconic but so overdone 5. It's a damn fine SW flick. I'd rank it only behind 4 & 5, and welcome the resurgence in the series!

Harsh

Smiley, walking into the living room this morning and seeing Star Wars Lego on TV: "[snorts in disgust] They managed to make Star Wars even lamer."

The New Star Wars

I just watched the new Star Wars teaser. While I'm not a SW fan I thought it looked great, far better than the Lucas prequels (at least visually). I'll go see it.

Obi Wan: "Only a Sith deals in absolutes." Yoda: "Do or do not, there is no try."