Star Wars: The Force Awakens (FULLY-SPOILED)

Doug: Time it is. Spoil you must.

Karen: Howdy folks. While Doug and his boys are going to see it today, and we'll hear from him soon, I've seen it twice now, and I want to chime in with some thoughts. 

First, I did enjoy it. I felt it was in the spirit of the original trilogy and was visually stunning, and thankfully did not have the synthetic, over-CGI look of the prequels. I am so glad they decided to film in real locations, and use film stock. The story also is much more personal and relatable than the whole trade guild mess from the prequels -as soon as the beginning crawl said, "Luke Skywalker has vanished" I felt like the story would be focused in the right direction.

The new young protagonists were interesting and likable, if still somewhat mysterious, I am assuming we will learn more about Rey's parentage in the next film. I am still wondering what made Finn break his conditioning and rebel -is there something going on here that will also be revealed?

I have to be honest and admit that the moments that brought me the greatest joy were those with cranky old Han Solo and Chewbacca. Seeing those two together again, and seeing the Millennium Falcon soaring across the screen, were enough to make me go home with warm fuzzies. I've been asking myself how much of my good will towards the film is due to nostalgia, and I'm sure that is a nice chunk of it. Perhaps with some time it will be more clear to me if I like The Force Awakens on its own merits or just because I get to see my childhood heroes in it. I think there's enough in the film to like it beyond the nostalgia factor -but let's not kid ourselves: it's a heavy factor.

Not that everything was perfect (none of the Star Wars films are). I felt there were too many call backs to the original films. Another Deathstar? Why? Even the movie seems to poke fun at this, when the Rebels are planning their attack and Han sort of sarcastically says something along the lines of "There's usually a way to blow these things up." We have a youngster on a desert planet who has a greater destiny. A robot carrying secret plans. A cantina with a bunch of strange-looking aliens. A character who leaves winds up coming back to help. The mentor to the younger characters dies...it just felt like there were too many parallels. It's obvious it was intentional but much like Superman Returns, it felt like overkill to me. 

I also have mixed feelings about Kylo Ren. Obviously he's not meant to be Darth Vader; by the time we first saw Vader, he had been in his position for a couple of decades and was largely in control of himself -his was a simmering anger that he was able to direct with a laser-like focus. Ren on the other hand is all angst and fury, confused as hell and perhaps even psychotic. While this comes across there are also some odd moments of humor, when he throws his tantrums, that make him far less menacing and more pathetic. I suppose the true villain here is the Emperor stand-in (another call back), Supreme Leader Snoke -a terrible name - who seems to be manipulating Ren. I wasn't surprised by the revelation that he was Han and Leia's son, but I do wish we'd had a little more build up to it. The way it was revealed seemed rather off-handed. 

I suppose Harrison Ford finally got the death scene he's been wanting since The Empire Strikes Back. No wonder he's been so happy to do all these TV shows and press junkets -he's finally free! Maybe I'm too hard on him. He seems like a decent guy, just not enamored with the whole 'Star Wars' life. In any case, I thought he did a great job in the film. He really brought back Han Solo -all the ego, the humor, and the subtlety too, he pulled it off. I was very happy to see Chewie get featured quite a bit. I just wish he'd had a scene with Leia after Han's death. I also wish Ford and Mark Hamill had gotten a scene together, but barring flashbacks, this appears unlikely.

Carrie Fisher didn't get a lot to do this time around -and Hamill even less! - but I'm sure we'll see more of them next time. There are still so many unanswered questions about what has happened between Return of the Jedi and this film. And why the heck do jedi always run off and go into hiding when they have a problem? Yoda and Obi-Wan did it, and now Luke is too? Geez guys, how about dealing with your problems?!

Despite any quibbles, I am excited to see where the story is going.

Super-Blog Team-Up -- Star Wars: Season of the Force

Karen: It's time for another internet-shattering Super-Blog Team Up! This time, the theme is (surprise) Star Wars! All things Star Wars are up for discussion and dissection by the various members of this coalition. For our part, we'll be sharing my trip a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...or maybe it was just last month in Anaheim,

Karen: The week before Thanksgiving, my husband and I traveled to Disneyland and met up with an old friend there to take in the pleasures of the park all decorated for the holidays. Ah, who am I kidding: we all wanted to see what Disney was doing in the park to tie in to the new Star Wars film, Star Wars: The Force Awakens! 

Karen: As is turns out, they had basically given Tomorrowland a Star Wars facelift, proclaiming "Star Wars: Season of the Force" in big banners throughout that area. Music from the different films played constantly throughout Tomorrowland and Star Wars themed treats and toys were everywhere. Of course, there will actually be a Star Wars Land in Disneyland eventually - construction on the area, north of Tom Sawyer Island, will begin in January - but this temporary change really affects only a few attractions.

Karen: Star Tours, which has been a mainstay of Tomorrowland since 1987, got revamped in 2011 to allow a random sequence of different planets that guests could experience with each ride. The ride has been updated again to include a segment that is directly connected to the new film and it's a lot of fun. I won't spoil it (if you really want to know, you can find it out there in other articles online).  The new segment is always included with each ride.

Karen: Venerable Space Mountain became Hyperspace Mountain for the foreseeable future, and I heard it was great -but sadly, I can't tell you first hand, as that's one ride that's always left my head spinning!

Karen: The old Carousel of Progress has been transformed into the Star Wars Launch Bay. This served as a large theater/showroom/meet and greet/giftshop area. There were tons of models and props from all of the Star Wars films. Honestly I don't know if these were props used in the films or replicas, but they were all quite detailed and impressive. One part of the building was showing a documentary about the making of the new film. I only watched a little -I still want to be surprised! - but it sounded very interesting, and I am hoping this might be an extra on the eventual blu-ray. 

Karen: Two character meet and greets were available:if you were looking for a good guy, then you were able to go into what looked like the Rebel base on Yavin (the planet at the end of the original Star Wars) and get a big hug from Chewbacca! Chewie was very friendly, although I couldn't understand anything he said -and he did make all those wookiee sounds just like in the movies. My husband and I got a picture with him. 

Karen: If you're feeling more on the dark side, you could go see the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Vader. Boy, that guy didn't let up. He kept telling us we didn't know the power of the dark side, and we would wind up joining him. He was not a hugger...at all. 

Karen: The old Captain EO theater was converted to show Path of the Jedi, a ten minute film that included highlights from all of the previous films, and a short clip from the new film, with some extra effects included, like lights and wind. Some folks scoffed at this, but I have to say, I enjoyed seeing moments from the original trilogy up on a big screen again, in a beautiful, sharp picture. If anything, it got me excited for the new film, which obviously was the point of all of this! In that respect, Disney did a great job -probably every fifth person I saw in the park was wearing a Star Wars t-shirt or hat, and you could feel the enthusiasm for the new film. If there was anything that didn't go over well, it was the wretched food offerings at the revamped Tomorrowland Terrace. The chicken sandwich reminded me of the nasty frog-creatures Jabba gulped down in Return of the Jedi, and I was told the burgers were equally awful. Do yourself a favor and go have lunch over at Cafe Orleans instead.

Karen: All in all, we really enjoyed this taste of Star Wars at Disneyland and can't wait to see what the Star Wars Land will be like in a couple of years. I'm sure it will be fantastic. More than that, I can't wait to see The Force Awakens in a couple of days! May the Force be with all of you!

Bronze Age Babies Extra:

I couldn't end the post without giving you a look at the Super-Hero HQ that sits right above the Star Wars Launch Bay. It seems a little empty at this point, but there's a whole section of Iron Man armors, and we also saw an Ant-Man costume among other things. Didn't do the meet and greet with Spider-Man or Thor though. Maybe next time!

Longbox Graveyard: Star Wars Card Trader

The Retroist: Star Wars Book and Record

Between The Pages: A long time ago in a bookstore far, far away…

Son of Crapbox Of Cthullu: Growing up Star Wars

 

Mystery V-Log: My Personal Star Wars History

Superhero Satellite: Star Wars Episode 7: The Toys Awaken

In My Not So Humble Opinion: Star Wars Sketch Book
 

Weird Wednesdays: Bigfoot on the Big Screen

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It’s safe to say that Bigfoot (or Sasquatch, if you prefer) was ubiquitous in the 1970s. Sightings of the supposed beast began decades prior, and the ‘Bigfoot’ name was coined in 1958 to describe the unusually large, human-like footprints found in logging areas in northern California. As a kid growing up in California in the 70s, I couldn’t remember a time when I hadn’t heard of Bigfoot. The legendary creature fueled many a nightmare, and made camping a real adventure! But the shaggy one’s popularity was never higher than in the 70s, when he was not only still sighted in the wilderness occasionally, but even more frequently on TV and movie screens around the country.

A number of documentaries were made on Bigfoot; the one that most readily springs to my mind was The Mysterious Monsters, hosted by actor Peter Graves, of the ultra-cool TV show Mission : Impossible. I actually saw this in a theater, and at the time, was quite terrified by it. Looking back now at clips of the film, courtesy of YouTube, I realize just how low-budget and schlocky it really was! How the seemingly-distinguished Mr. Graves got involved with this thing is the real mystery. Still, the flick had some great moments, like when our pal Bigfoot decides he’d like to hang out with a local cutie, and sends his hairy paw through a window for her!

Another Bigfoot film I saw in a theater was The Legend of Boggy Creek. OK, technically the creature in the film was not called “Bigfoot”, but it’s still about a big hairy weirdo who terrifies people, only these people live in the swamps of Arkansas (that’s kind of terrifying all by itself). My recollections are hazy, but I do know there were some young kids in this docu-drama (the littlest one was named T-Fish, which might make sense in Arkansas) and I know I empathized with them a lot, which is why I still remember this pathetic film. You really have to see this thing; it looked like it was made for about $3. I mean, was there no one with any money in the film industry who wanted to make a primo Bigfoot movie? Apparently, the answer is ‘no’.

In my judgment, TV probably did a slightly better job by Bigfoot than film. Of course, the most famous Bigfoot on TV has got to be the one from The Six Million Dollar Man. Well-known wrestler Andre the Giant, and later Ted Cassidy (aka Lurch from The Addams Family) both appeared as our hairy friend. Bigfoot’s story in the show was quite convoluted: he was a cyborg (or android) built by aliens! Of course, after initially fighting Steve Austin, Bigfoot became a good guy – well, most of the time. There were five episodes that featured Bigfoot in 1976-1977. Although both actors were impressively large, I always felt that facially, Bigfoot looked more like a freaky hippie than an ape-man.

Around the same time that ol’ BF was appearing in prime time, he was also stomping through the Saturday morning line up. Bigfoot and Wildboy was a segment of the Sid and Marty Kroft Supershow presented on ABC in 1976. It went off to become its own show in 1979. I’ll admit that I have no memory of seeing this show as a kid; but from what I’ve seen on YouTube and other places, I don’t think I missed anything. This Bigfoot seemed to have a very human-looking face – probably because they couldn’t afford any make-up or prosthetic appliances! Bigfoot finds and raises a young boy (‘Wildboy’) – I don’t even want to go any further with that. Actually, it sort of sounds like something Jack Kirby might have done; he did have Kamandi, and Devil Dinosaur and Moonboy. What a team-up that might have been –Bigfoot, Devil Dinosaur, Wildboy, and Moonboy. Get your popcorn ready!

Of course, any discussion of Bigfoot in the 70s would be incomplete if I did not bring up the most famous pseudo-Bigfoot of all time, Chewbacca. Sure, he’s a wookiee, and his face looks more like a dog than an ape, but come on: is there any doubt that Lucas wasn’t at least influenced by BF when he created Chewbacca? (Hmm, we could do a huge post on all the things that Lucas stole was influenced by when making Star Wars.) Chewie is a big, hairy powerful creature -sounds a lot like Bigfoot to me. Although I haven’t heard of many Bigfoots piloting spaceships. Then again, maybe that’s why no one can find them. I thought it was both appropriate and hilarious when I read that Peter Mayhew, the actor who plays Chewbacca, was worried that he would be mistaken for Bigfoot and shot while filming Return of the Jedi in the forests of northern California. That sort of brings it full circle!