Solo ISN'T Tanking Because of "Star Wars Fatigue" ...

Solo is tanking because Disney doesn't care about old Star Wars Fans, you know, the ones with money and one or two generations of children. 

Star Wars fans NEVER get fatigue. There could be a new Star Wars film every weekend and it would make millions every time 

IF

the writers cared about the fans.

But the Disney writers only care about themselves and how clever they can be in their own heads.

I've been watching it all from the sidelines. 

I saw people upset at the Force Awakens and how it was just a safe retread of The Last Hope. Some of us gave it a pass even though we were horribly disappointed about being lied to about seeing our three icons together again. 

I saw hundreds of negative reviews about Chuck Wendig's Aftermath trilogy because of his unique writing style and his immersion of United States politics into a galaxy far, far away. And he sure isn't helping himself or Star Wars franchise by calling fans, who were around long before he was born, names and that they are angry, racist, white men.

Sorry, not true. I'm a woman and Hispanic and I'm mad at the direction of the franchise as time goes on. 

Though I didn't read Chuck's Star Wars books, I saw hundreds of negative reviews. I saw hundreds of positive ones as well. It's still a best-seller. 

In Chuck's defense, he's an excellent author in horror and writing guides, but his unique style was jarring and unsettling for the Star Wars franchise. Some fan divide came there as some loved his quirky narrative and some hated it. The things that the fans didn't like from what I could discern included American politics, characters who some people call "social justice warriors," earth jargon, sexual orientation, and such. This is proving to be a theme in some of the other books and the new movie saga trilogy. And the spin-offs.

Disney is trying new things. Disney is testing a new direction. Disney has often been cutting edge and certainly was in its infancy, so it's not unexpected that Disney is trying to modernize Star Wars and taking a few risks. 

I went to The Force Awakens for only one reason. To see what happened to Luke Skywalker; what was he up to now? Was he married? Did he have kids? Was he a Captain or Governer or ruler of a Kingdom or teaching new Jedis? I didn't give a damn about Han Solo and was very curious about what happened to Leia. 

I wasn't the only one going to see Luke Skywalker. I was disappointed. So, I went along for the ride. It wasn't the movie I hoped for but I was going to be a good sport because I liked the character of Kylo Ren and some of the puzzles that were set up. Or at least, I thought there were puzzles set up waiting for eager fans to speculate about.

Thousands of us waited with bated breath for two years to see Luke's first words in something like thirty years. Quite frankly, I was in kind of a daze after the first time I saw The Force Awakens because I had fully expected the saga of Luke, Leia, and Han to continue with all three together from nearly the first frame. I expected them to be swept off on some kind of adventure that would NOT involve a Darth Vader type person nor a Death Star. I expected some of the catch phrases and lots of lightsaber battles. I expected lots of spaceships hurtling around and some newfangled alien designs. I also expected Han to die as I knew Harrison Ford wanted out of the series. 

But I accepted what we were given and played along.

In this age of social media, we all got swept up into the fun of theories and speculation. Dozens of questions were set up that we got excited about, so many teases, so many exciting ways the eighth movie could go.  So many of us spent two years writing articles, making videos, going to Star Wars Celebration, Comicons, buying toys, books, rewatching The Force Awakens to mine for clues about where the series would go. We thought Star Wars was an ongoing story, a connected universe with connected players and clues. A soap opera in space. A western in space. A simple fairy tale about good and evil with space wizards and an ancient religion. 

Star Wars is a comic book fun time. 

But those of us who were engaged, who bought toys, books, games, were in for a rude surprise in The Last Jedi.

Fans with certain expectations set up from the narrative structure of the previous seven movies were given the equivalent of a pie in the face. 

Yes, TLJ was beautiful to look at. 

There was some cool stuff.

But there were huge disconnects. It was more like a Saturday Night Live episode (jokes that don't work and all). 

And when we weren't subjected to thumb-on-nose plotlines, we were given ill-timed jokes and American politics. Free the animals but don't go back for the children. And how did the kid know to tell the story of Luke Skywalker as it happened and could move a broom? Am I allowed to think that he's a special force user related to someone in the universe or will I be mocked for thinking that? Now everyone can use the force and it's a galaxy of mind readers?

I'm all for experimental. I'm all for giving chances and that's why I'm being trying to be okay about The Last Jedi.

But fans are angry. Not because Luke was old and depressed but because of lazy storytelling. it's easy to toss a lightsaber away than to give an emotional moment to fans who have waited a long time to hear Luke speak. 

It was lazy to make him a child abuser instead of showing Snoke seducing Kylo and other interesting backstory stuff. Maybe show how the children who escaped the destruction of The Jedi Training Camp became the Knights of Ren. Maybe show Luke running off to kick Snoke's ass for luring little Ben to the Darkside.

And why was Kylo named Ben Solo? Leia and Han never knew Ben Kenobi. I never understood that unless Leia had visions of him since she has The Force?

We had to watch a lazy slow ass chase movie instead of cool stuff like Kylo talking to ghost Vader.

We were already depressed Carrie Fisher is dead and then to just kill off Luke for no reason...THAT is why Solo is tanking.

Some of the Disney people are mocking the fans. Fans that CARED about Luke for forty years, who were invested emotionally and financially in him and the franchise, who likely spent thousands on themselves and children on Star Wars merchandise over forty years. And now they are mocked for caring that the character they wanted to see have a cool story was just humiliated with the milk stuff, fallen from a hero to a child abuser, was a coward, did a Skype call and dropped dead. Meanwhile, Snoke made other people do Skype calls and didn't die. I don't believe Snoke nor Luke are dead anyway. Anymore. I suspect Abrams will bring Luke back. He sees the backlash and hopefully will be a hero and bring back Luke. 

If Disney brings back Luke, then maybe sales will pick up again. It's easy in a magical universe to make him not dead. Luke never saw Ben or Yoda or Anniken as he died though Luke saw Ben when he was dying in Empire Strikes Back, so it's very likely Luke's not dead at all. He could have just gone off to rejuvenate somewhere and come back stronger with a great plan to stop Kylo without killing him. Also Kylo hasn't seen his grandfather's ghost yet either. Why not?

These are the things fans want to see. More Luke. We just wanted a bit more time with him as new characters are introduced.

We are told all through The Last Jedi to Kill The Past and everything we loved about Star Wars was killed right in front of us, and then we're supposed to support a movie about a dead iconic character as a young man when we're not supposed to care about the past or history.

Star Wars fatigue, there is not.

How many times have the marathons been on TV in recent years? Almost every weekend and they are endlessly watched. 

Star Wars fans have no fatigue. They could watch a new Star Wars every day like a soap opera, which is originally was until recently. 

Star Wars is an addiction, a way of life for many people. Thousands of people. People with money.

I've been watching the unrest forming on YouTube for months now. I've seen channels like Geeks and Gamers who had less subscribers than I did in January when I first found them now grow to something like 50,000. All SW fans who love SW and are soo upset by the direction it's taking. Many in the comments sections are calling for boycotts and guess what, Disney?  THAT's why Solo is tanking.

Solo is a fine little movie. I had fun seeing it. But because of Johnson and his attitude in his movie towards the original fans and towards unhappy social media fans, the rage from SW fans is being shown towards Solo. SW fans won't see Solo in the theatres because they want Disney to listen to them. They want the basic premise to return and to have good storylines for Legacy characters.

Star Wars fans are voting with their wallets so that Disney will listen. They want the franchise to get back on track, for Luke to not be dead just yet, and to stop doing stupid stuff and lame jokes. 

That's all!

Han Solo Review WITH SPOILERS


Articles about Box Office:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/box-office-solo-star-wars-150247663.html


https://variety.com/2018/film/news/the-tanking-of-solo-is-a-force-of-darkness-for-star-wars-1202828835/

The Last Jedi SPOILERS and My Own Review

My FIRST The Last Jedi Review!

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Don't read any further if you've not seen The Last Jedi yet!
There are lots of spoilers in my comments. LOTS.

If you don't want the movie spoiled, don't read any further!!!!!!

SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

December 16, 2017

Okay, it’s been a couple of days. I’ve had some deep thoughts. I’ve allowed myself to look at dozens of reviews by critics and fans alike.

It seems people are as deeply conflicted about this movie as Kylo Ren is conflicted about his emotions.

I am conflicted.

First of all, I liked it a lot. I may even grow to love it as I grew to love The Force Awakens after multiple viewings, despite its obvious flaws. I was very entertained with The Last Jedi. I had fun. I laughed, cried, cheered, and all of that and so did the rest of the audience at 6 pm on Thursday December 14 at the very first public screening in Toronto.

Yes, there are some things I did not like.

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What's Next?

And weirdly, I have no excitement or expectation for the next installment of the saga. There was no cliff-hanger as all the other movies had with the obvious example that we may or may not know who Rey is and a couple of things like that. George Lucas himself said way back in the seventies when I used to hang on every interview that I could find that he had based Star Wars off the old westerns, the cliff-hangers, with the very obvious good guys and bad guys, and lots of action. All the movies left you wanting more. Sure, they blew up the Death Star back in 1977 but the movie ended with Darth Vader hurtling through space while the heroes were being recognized (well, except for Chewbacca). Was Vader going to live or die? Would he be back for more villainry? We didn’t know. (And there's a homage to that scene with Kylo Ren spinning around in his ship.)

In The Last Jedi ending, there’s no real sense of urgency or wonderment about what’s going to happen next and with whom? There are no questions we are waiting to hear the answers about. Rey and the gang ran away from Kylo Ren who was still having a bad day as this is still the same day for some reason, or at least, going into the next day. I believe it’s supposed to be about 18 hours later and the whole nearly three-hour movie takes place over about ten or so hours.So we know Kylo will follow them and likely get crushed by the rocks when then come down. Or perhaps he'll force-hold them up himself. But it's more of the same and perhaps less urgent for the audience. Hopefully, he'll turn around, go back to the ship, and do something else. 

Since I’ve only seen it once, I’m writing this review with that impression. I’m sure after I see it again, some things will become more clear to me, and others will be less clear.

Star Wars Fan Leaves His Own Mark

I will say, it’s obvious that Rian Johnson loves Star Wars. It’s also obvious that he’s chomping at the bit to create new ideas, new characters, and new sagas.

I’m not sure that he respected the icons that those of us who were teenagers lining up for Star Wars in 1977 really wanted to see and deal with.

I’m just going to mention a few impressions and they will likely be out of order.

Luke and the Lightsaber

I’ve spent two years crying and wondering what happened to Luke. I’ve spent two years wondering what his first words would be, and how he’d train Rey, and how much like Yoda and Obi Wan had he become? Was he still brash and impatient and whiney or was he a mature, wise old guy who’s all screwed up because his nephew is a psychopath like his dad.

We see Luke, Rey gives him the saber, and he throws it away.

I laughed. It was startling. It was funny and very unexpected. However, upon reflection, it was more like a Saturday Night Live gag (think Undercover Boss with Kylo Ren) than the Next Chapter of Star Wars. And so the wacky high jinks began.

We all know I love comedy. And Star Wars has always had corny comedic moments but they are usually from Laurel and Hardy or rather, C3P0 and R2D2 and their new pal, BB8. The droids are the comedic touchstones or at least used to be.

However, the movie opens with Poe crank calling Hux and again, it’s like an SNL skit, not a real SW movie. Yes, I laughed, but setting Hux up as a doofus doesn’t make the bad guys seem really bad.

Milk Does a Body Good

My number one complaint: I HATED how they had Luke milk a creature in her breasts for his drink. Yes, I get that they were riffing on the blue milk from the first movie, but YIKES. That scene was horrible and I'm an erotic horror writer! I bet once Mark Hamill saw what they CGId in there for him, he was horrified too. That was NOT Star Wars. Not for Luke’s character. Maybe a minor character or a droid collecting the milk but not our Luke.

It also reminded me of the milk bar scene in Clockwork Orange, when Alex gets milk from a boob. Although, I guess it foreshadows Luke's dark side.

What's Your Age Again?

I didn’t mind Luke being a crusty old man even though age wise, he and Leia are supposed to be younger than I am right now but they feel like my grandparents in this movie. They are very old for late forties, early fifties. 

And how old is Kylo Ren in THIS movie? He aged backwards. They make him look like a teenager now. In The Force Awakens, I thought he acted about 18/19 but I figured he was late twenties since Adam Driver is now in his thirties. I didn’t think he and Rey could be twins because they looked about ten years apart in age in The Force Awakens. In The Last Jedi, Rey is almost older looking than Ben though it’s just the next day and it felt like they were setting them up to be twins like Luke and Leia. 

But of course, Rian won’t let us have that joy or obvious plot point. He had Kylo Ren tell her that she’s a nobody. I hope that Kylo is lying and I don’t doubt when Abrams comes back for 9, he’ll make Rey be who he had in mind all along, whoever that is. It still felt like that she is Leia and Han’s daughter in this movie though Ben Ren says no.

The Money Shot

I am torn about the shirtless Adam Driver scene. Of course, I loved it since Kylo Ren is my favourite character but it didn’t feel Star Wars, it felt exploitive even though I'm the target audience for that lovely exploiting. Also, when Rey was disgusted by his hotness, that threw out any Reylo romance some of us were wondering about in the back of our minds, but of course, she might be protesting too much, it's hard to say since Daisy isn't the strongest of actors. There is still something between them and that will be played out in 9. 

I don’t think any Star Wars character has been shirtless like that, I don't think, ever. Or maybe I didn't pay attention. The only main character I can think of that comes close is Leia running around in that bikini for a whole movie. But in the seventies/eighties, all movie women ran around in bikinis, so it wasn’t like it was a strange idea. But Kylo in his muscular hotness, whoa! 

Was hoping the doctor would come in and check on that lower hip wound...

I loved the mind stuff between Kylo and Rey. Love it so much. It was totally Star Wars and what I was hoping for.

Snoke

I was confused about the Snoke stuff. I guess Rian hated the character and killed him off. We never got to see what training Kylo was supposed to get or even what Snoke wanted at all? So bizarre to toss away a villain like that. Not good story-telling in my book! Unless THAT Snoke was a hologram as well and he'll be back in 9!

We never saw Maize tell us about Luke’s saber or anything else that we thought we’d see. She just appears in a bubble for a minute. Maybe she’ll tell us stuff in 9 but we won’t care by then because everyone is dead.

Oh, My Darling Luke...

I’m torn about Luke’s storyline. I think that drama should have been saved for 9. Much of what was in 8 seemed like it should have been dragged out for 9 instead of dismissed or ignored. I hope Luke comes back as a Force Ghost at least. Who knows? Maybe he’s not dead at all? Maybe JJ Abrams will figure out how to make him Not Dead. Maybe that was the plan all along, that we think he dies  and spreads the Force out into the Universe, or maybe he's not dead at all and comes back stronger. 

I agree with many fans that this is not how Luke should have died. This is not how Luke should have evolved. But it’s Rian’s movie and he gets to do what he wants regardless of us emotional old people who loved Luke since we first saw him run out of his hut on Tatooine in 1977 and our expectations.

Like seriously, it was weird.

Gotta Keep Killing in the Family

Luke was facing off against his own nephew. He couldn’t kill him when he was a child or so the convoluted storyline went which may or may not have been lies by Snoke or Luke or Ben so why does he do it now when Kylo Ren is an adult and even stronger? And why wouldn’t Luke go and try to talk to Ben instead of trying to kill him? Why didn’t Luke at least go see his sister and comfort her over the death of Han?

I have soooo many questions about that motivation of Hologram Luke VS Kylo and the Bad Guys. Yes, I heard Luke say he couldn’t go by himself in person and do it, yet somehow he could do it as a distant hologram? I don’t get it at all. There was no indication that Yoda and Obi Wan and perhaps even Anakin were mists in his cells who helped him battle.

Maybe I’ll figure it out better when I see it again.

Porgs and Others

 I thought I’d hate the porgs but I didn’t. They were used wisely.

Captain Phasma was wasted. I had looked forward to seeing her climb out of the trash pit and perhaps facing off against Finn but nope.

I teared up every time Carrie Fisher was onscreen. I didn’t really like the superman bit but I’m sure it will grow on me.

I really liked the mother/son connection stuff.

I was pleased to see Billie Lourd in there quite a bit. I wonder if they’ll expand her in 9?

I could have totally done without the Finn and Rose subplot. There were too many stories. I like Finn and Rose but man, it was too much when we want to see what’s going down with Luke/Rey/Kylo.

3D Rocks

I saw it in 3D with AVX sound and it was fantastic! But I love 3D so can’t speak for people who don’t love it. I thought it was well done. Certainly this was an amazing spectacle with tons of action and creatures, planets and ships. Very cool!

I was thoroughly entertained although, like I said, a few moments of boredom or “man this is taking too long.” I went to the bathroom near what I thought was the end, around the time they got to the sandy place. Dorian filled me in after the movie and I hadn’t missed any plot.

Suspense

There was a spot where I thought for sure they were going to end it, and I was going to scream and cry like when Rey held the lightsaber out to Luke in TFA, but then it kept going. I was happy it kept going but then was on edge because I knew it wouldn’t be long before it was over. But like I said, no real cliff-hanger.

Mark Hamill Had Great Acting

I thought Mark Hamill was amazing with some of the best acting of his career though I will admit I laughed at one spot inappropriately because his acting was so over the top in one tiny shot and that with the 3D it was like he was the Joker having a meltdown. I’m sure on my TV and not in 3D, it won’t look so manic though he certainly portrayed going mad with excellence!

So, I was conflicted when I watched the ending. I need to see it again because I was so overwhelmed with emotion and spectacle and 3D and see how I feel. I wanted Luke to hang around longer. I wanted him to train Rey, see Leia, give Kylo shit and so on instead of just hanging out on the mountain and dying. 

Or was he dead all along? 

Instead of giving us a side plot that wasn’t necessary with Finn and Rose, Rian could have spent more time with us watching Luke unravel after he tried to kill his nephew. 

So Many Questions

When did Ben leave the Academy? What did Ben do? Did he get up right away after he saw Luke standing over him and burn the place down? Did Ben come into Carrie-like rage powers and things blew up around him? When did he become Kylo Ren? When did he get his helmet? Will we see the metamorphosis flashback in 9? Maybe we’ll never know. This is, after-all the second part of a three-part story so there will still be unanswered questions and more mysteries.

Adam Driver was amazing. I was worried he’d overact or be too sucky or something, but he was spot on as the spoiled son with anger issues of Leia and Han.

Mark Hamill and Adam Driver play my favourite characters in the saga so it might be bias but I think they did the best jobs in the whole movie. They were really immersed. I never felt like they were just sitting around the Craft table moments earlier before stepping into their scenes, though they could have been, I don’t know.

I totally get why Driver isolated himself from the rest of the cast during filming. It's still the same day/next day/day after so Kylo is still angry and humiliated and now he's without a teacher and only partly trained  (whatever THAT means!) so he can't be joking around the Craft table with Hamill who had tried to kill him and then who will try to kill him again in an uncle nephew standoff. Kylo has to keep his rage intact and it totally shows on the screen. So good job, Adam Driver for staying isolated, it paid off.

If the story had gone how I had hoped, which was Rey spending weeks training with Luke and Kylo spending weeks training with Snoke, then that would be different. But this was all intensive, still the same day story stuff.

I was disappointed that there were no Knights of Ren. I wanted to know what had happened, who Ben left with and why and how they formed the Knights of Ren. I guess we’ll discover that in 9 since it’s only the next day. I’m sure when Kylo gets to make some kind of pompous speech to Rey, he’ll tell her about the Knights and we’ll discover if they are part of the First Order or what?

Science and Stuff

I’m not really nerdy enough to care about all the bad science and massive plot holes and logistics of space stuff. However, even I raised my eyebrow at a couple of things.

I’m going to wrap this up for now. I could go on forever about what I loved and what I’m conflicted about in The Last Jedi.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, it’s a great movie but merely one person’s vision of how the saga continues. If I hadn’t been looking forward to some answers, I would have enjoyed it more. If I hadn’t been losing my mind about what happened with Luke for decades, I wouldn’t have that sense of disappointment I have right now. I bet they edit that breast milk scene and it will never be seen again. I guess they have to smack us in the head that Luke is still a whiny baby. Jeeze, then everyone wonders why Kylo Ren is a whiny baby. Look at his uncle and grandfather.

Why did Snoke demand Kylo Ren get the map to Skywalker in TFA? What business did they have that they didn’t do? Or did he just want to kill him? Why? It seems like Luke is just sitting around doing nothing for the past couple of years or however long it was since Ben ran away. I’ll have to look up these timelines. Maybe Snoke's kid was at the academy and was killed and now Snoke wants revenge on Luke. I'm not convinced that Snoke is dead.

  

 The more I think about it, the more I’m sure that Kylo Ren is lying to Rey about her parentage. He’s just trying to put her down like when he sneered, “You…A Scavenger…” in TFA. That was my first thought when he said it in the movie as well. He's lying. Why should he tell her the truth?

I know that Rian is trying to change our vision of what The Force is and tells us, in true Disney fashion, that anyone can use it, but in the end, I think Abrams will take the story back to Rey being a Skywalker and Jedis being trained how to master The Force in a proactive manner.

That’s tonight’s musings. I’m sure I’ll change my mind in an hour.               

May the Force Be With You! 

Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds Thoughts

I don't own copy right to any of these images. 

You may call them "Hollywood Royalty" but Debbie Reynolds was a real live working mom. If you've ever been on a film set, you know how long the days can be. Having your own kids on set must have been quite difficult yet glorious at the same time. Having your husband leave you for Liz Taylor...ouch!

Hard to believe how they were pretty much the same age when they starred in what would become popular beloved movies that would make them immortal or at least stars for several generations.

Debbie Reynolds had her hands full with that little bundle of energy, might as well wear her out with some dancing! Getting paid is even better! (Sound familiar?)

 They had an amazing bond. I've known a couple of other mother-child relationships that are similar. I can understand why Debbie had to continue to help Carrie even in the afterlife. They had interesting lives that were tragic, horrifying, happy, and amazing. No one can say that Aries and that Libra didn't grab life by the balls and live every day to the fullest, for better or worse.

 My heart aches for Billie Lourd who lost her mom and grandmom at the same time over Christmas. 

Billy Lourd is in The Force Awakens. You can see her standing behind General Organa in a few shots.

Billy Lourd has been working on her own rising star on Scream Queens where she plays Chanel #3 to Emma Roberts' Chanel #1.

For weeks I meant to write a blog about Billie Lourd and her ear muffs in Scream Queens and what a funny, quirky homage to her mom that is. I also was going to write about how cool it is that Billie is in The Force Awakens and the new untitled one with her mom, The Princess, The General! But I had a lot of work and kept putting it off and now, two ladies are dead.

It's been over a week yet I'm having difficulty getting motivated, difficulty doing much. But I'm getting there. After all, it's not like I ever met any of them. I never knew them or talked to them. However, like thousands of other people, both ladies played varied roles in the backdrop of my own life.

Pinball Wizard
One one level, I'm sad, devastated, torn apart. But on the other level, my brain is bouncing in a thousand directions, sad, mad, glad, excited, disappointed, like a giant pinball machine. My ADHD is really bad these past three months or so and these deaths are so bizarre, and sad, and yet not unexpected, but still...how short life is, and so suddenly we can just collapse when other times we wouldn't have. Like Bowie, Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Huston, Jimi Hendrix...and so on, and those are famous people we thought would be around much longer. Then there are our personal friends and family and pets who have left us.

As a writer, I need to pull myself back together and gather more motivation than ever to finish my space opera and other novels. All these people got shit done, which is why we mourn, if not them, the loss of their art forever. We remember what they had created that became a touchstone to various parts of our lives and personalities and realize there will never be any new touchstones from them on our path.

Carrie Fisher was only six years older than me, five really...I'm fifty-four, almost fifty-five. She was sixty on her death.

I loved Carrie, obviously. For Princess Leia, for being a feisty author and screenwriter, and for surviving so long.

Good Morning
I loved Debbie Reynolds which many might not know. I loved Singing in the Rain and the tap numbers. I used to sing that "Good Morning" song to my babies every day, still do, decades later. In learning more about her personal life, I share more in common with Debbie Reynolds that I imagined. Her horrible divorces sound like mine. Her eternal optimism is like mine. She had to wrangle Carrie Fisher and more. She's a role model for sure.

I had posted this meme of Princess Leia and R2D2 before Debbie Reynolds died. We lost Kenny Baker in August. Mark Hamill was pretty shaken up about it when he addressed Kenny's death in his talk at Fan Expo. I can't imagine how he is right now over Carrie and Debbie. He must be in pieces.

I was going to write a blog when Carrie Fisher died but was too upset. And then Debbie Reynolds died as well. So I was speechless, as was and is, everyone still.


My Facebook Live babble about Carrie Fisher's death

My Facebook post on December 26, 2016
I'm one year older than George Michael and five years younger than Carrie Fisher. I don't blame the year 2016, (which is a nine which represents endings, btw) as we are all getting older and so people will fall ill and die. The day Carrie Fisher had her heart attack on the plane, a 10-year-old girl was flying from Canada to Ireland on Air Canada and she had a heart attack on the plane and died. Even though "the future is now," we can see that heart failure is still a huge thing.

My dad "dropped dead" on a Friday the Thirteenth two years ago, much like Carrie Fisher. He "died" for many minutes until they were able to bring him back and then they "put him on ice" for twenty-four hours to rest his brain while they tried to figure out why he collapsed and only a day or two later did they diagnose heart attack. I imagined that they put Carrie Fisher on ice in the same way and by Wednesday, we'll know for sure if she's going to make it, much as the timeline was for my dad who ended up with a triple bypass and was back to the gym within a few weeks.

Carrie collapsed on a plane, dad collapsed at the gym and they were able to receive aggressive help and with modern technology, return from the dead.

George Michael, from what I understand so far, had his heart attack while he was asleep, so no one knew nor could help him. It was too late to perform aggressive treatment on him.

I'm not sure what my point is, just that I'm sad about all these heart attacks. They are scary things, how they strike out of nowhere. My dad was the picture of health, no symptoms, never smoked, never did drugs, doesn't drink, works out every day for eighty years, eats very healthy, and boom, down he went. Of course, at 85, something is going to get you but he survived the operation and is just as vibrant and energetic as always as he single-handedly takes care of my mom who has Alzheimer's. But he had NO symptoms, no warnings, nothing. He just remembered one minute he's in the shower after a swimming workout, the next, he's strapped to a bed days later with a million tubes coming out of him. I'm grateful my parents are still here and I was able to enjoy them for Christmas by playing games on the Wii and making them watch a huge portion of Star Wars: The Force Awakens while we waited for my older son and his girlfriend to arrive.

I'm very sorry for everyone who lost loved ones this year, any year, and had a sad Christmas.

I don't think there are any more celebrities dying than usual, it's just that there are more of them and we are all aging.

I suspect Carrie Fisher will pull through and survive a few more years, she's one crusty strong woman. It's a shame George Michael left us so soon, of course, I'm of the age, his peer, who always enjoyed his music and antics.
I feel sad about that little girl who died on the plane going to Ireland for Christmas.

We never know when our number is up. People sometimes wonder why I'm living what looks to be a rather crazy life right now, but really, I've learned over the past few years really hard lessons about not putting up with narcissistic assholes, not putting up with alcoholics who are hell bent on destroying every holiday (I don't think they start off wanting to destroy the day but alcohol is an ugly poison that brings out hate and irrational emotions), not working at shitty jobs for shitty pay so that others get rich off my back, and focussing on putting my efforts into jobs that help people learn about themselves and their own skills (editing, tarot reading, patient acting, proctoring) and volunteer work that helps and encourages other writers to reach for the stars.

If I drop dead of a heart attack, and no doubt I will, I don't want regrets about how I meant to "do that later" yet "later" never came.

Later is NOW. Live your life authentically. You never know when you're going to drop dead. You can have all the money in the world but it means nothing when you're dead. All you have is your legacy and any children you may have had to carry on your memory.

January 7, 2017
I'm sad at the wars, terrorism, the hatred for refugees which shit, any one of us is but one step away from being a refugee in these modern times. Doesn't it make sense to help others? Pay it forward? Same with health care? Healthy people make for healthy citizens, soldiers, educators, scientists, and artists. Education helps people be informed beyond their tunnel vision interests, and affordable education puts it within reach of all of us.

I'm sad at toddlers shooting people. What a horrible way to begin a life.

I'm sad at so much racism and hate. At the horrific names so-called American people flung at their own President for the past eight years, how many of those same people worship the Golden Calf and will wonder why the oceans will flood us and fires will consume the earth. Hey, it's all starting all ready and I'm not even a Christian or Jew or believe that the Bible is no more than a cool story to keep the kids in line. I'm scared, people. Why is there snow in New Orleans but we still have grass in Toronto, Canada in early January? Sure it's minus 11 today and we WILL get tons of snow, we have been dumped on a few times this year. But it gets so weirdly warm in between. The birds don't fly away anymore. It's unnerving.

Utopia and The MotherShip
When I was a kid, I thought by the time I was an adult, we'd have world peace, no more racism, no more sexism, the bombs would have been dismantled, people could afford to live in nice places with plenty left over to raise families and go on vacations, and so much more. I even named my first cat, Utopian Hope.  But we went backwards. Like in Planet of the Apes. Goddamit all to hell,  we went backwards.

I heard there were close to 200 beloved celebrity deaths in 2017 not to mention personal friends and families. I think a lot of those people, like Carrie and Debbie, rushed back to the MotherShip before shit got real down here. The astronaut from some plant, Bowie, kicked off the year with dropping dead out of nowhere. Carrie ended it, on that plane, where she really died. She left for that MotherShip where the cool kids are and mom knew the party there is way better than here. Yes, I know the "pastor from MASH" also died. Does that tell you anything?

There was a year where a ton of horror writers died.

A lot of psychics and metaphysical people died within a few months stretch a couple of years ago. I knew a few. Very weird, sudden, and one youngish death. I felt that year that those New Agey people were dying to prepare the way for the rest of us for whatever happens next. Utopia? A Mother Ship? Heaven? Hell? New World Order?

2016 is a nine. Endings. So much ended last year. That leaves new things to open up in 2017, a one year. New beginnings for those of us left behind, not quite ready for that ship yet.

Scientology
And I sure as hell don't mean that Scientology Ship either, but that rant is for another time. I always loved Leah Remini and I love her even more now with her new show on A and E. So what if she gets money doing this. She was gaslighted her entire life by everyone she loved and trusted. She has to rebuild her life, her mind, after it was fucked over for most of her life. Anyway, good luck to her and I hope she's with us for a long time and that those Scientology freaks get dismantled. I had run-ins in my late teens with them and knew as a teenager they were a scary, dangerous cult, so why did it take my entire life for someone to blow the whistle on these con artists? Good for you, Leah! Hell hath no fury!

2017 is a good year for squashing cults and recognizing liars and when people are gaslighting you! Wake up and SEE and then take action towards building a safe, strong world for all of us.

And the United States, you are welcome to your New World Order. I want no part of it. And it's too bad because, in my personal life plan, I should be moving to Manhattan this year. Nope. Never.

May the Force Be With You, Always
Let's all live life to the fullest, maybe not QUITE as full as Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, but having a sense of humour and trying to get along, somewhat, would serve us all well.

Star Wars: The Force Awakens

I’m ready to chime in on Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

I come from it as the fourteen year-old-kid who saw the very first Star Wars the day it opened and then proceeded to go see it 27 more times that year in various theatres, even in Banff, Alberta when our orchestra played in a festival.

It spoke to me on some level. I loved the sound; it was new for the times. I loved the crawling opening credits, new for its time. I lived for the jump into hyperspace every time. Also a new special effect. So yes, I adored the state of the art bells and whistles for the seventies.

I loved the story. I liked Luke’s story the best, the teenager longing for more somewhere else. A male Dorothy hoping to go over the rainbow. And he does.

The story was simple, the characters are fairy tale archetypes, it was a basic battle between good and evil, a bit of magic/religion/occult energy, and so on. It all appealed to me plus I was a huge science fiction geek. This was also around the time that Stephen King came on the scene. But I digress.

I bought the soundtrack, the music soundtrack, the word for word dialogue soundtrack, books, comics, bubble gum cards, watched the talk shows and followed the actors careers, even read Postcards from the Edge. I wrote an essay about Star Wars in high school for one of my classes. Ah, the seventies!

When the next couple of movies came out, I didn’t really care for how they were going. I don’t know what I expected, but I wasn’t as hypnotised by them. I think it was after the one with Jar Jar Binks that I stopped watching. I didn’t see the Annikin growing up years. The commercials and other media didn’t and still haven’t compelled me to watch. I preferred my imaginary theories about how Annikin embraced the Dark Side.

I saw the Force Awakens trailer and was weepy and excited yet cautious. Would my heart be broken again? Would I hate yet another Star Wars?

I saw the movie the day it opened at a full house midnight screening in 3D with superdedupersound and reserved seating.

I saw it again today at one in the afternoon because there was a Blue Monday Special. If you had 500 Scene Card points, you could see a free movie. A movie of any level. So I chose the moving chairs, 3D, superdeupersound version and it didn’t cost me a dime.

Yeah baby, that’s how you see Star Wars!

I love the opening credits, the music. I love the homages. The movie felt like a comfortable old shoe. Sure some things were forced and obvious but it’s sort of a Star Wars tradition, isn’t it?

At any rate, The Force Awakens does a competent job setting up a story that will continue for two more movies.

Why I Think Rey Is Luke’s Daughter

When I first saw SW:TFA, I thought Rey was Luke’s daughter. Then I made the mistake of reading endless theories on the interwebs about how in the books, Ren and Rey are twins so that means Luke is her uncle and Han is her father. And certainly there are many scenes that suggest a family connection.

I was led down the Yellow Brick Road and even entertained other more elaborate theories about Rey's parentage with other characters including Ben Kenobee. Then I remember the basic premise of Star Wars. It’s always easy and obvious. So Rey is Luke’s daughter.

Today, armed with an open mind I watched for clues about who Rey is. My first Luke impressions were magnified more on second viewing.

Rey is left on abandoned desert planet as Luke was with his aunt and uncle on Tatooine. Rey is likely watched over by the junkyard owner.

Luke had a bit of the Force before his adventures began. He could shoot things and drive really well. When he met the gang, he was taught properly by Obi Wan.

Luke’s music is often played under Rey’s scenes. She even dresses like he did in SW.

Han and Leia adore her and on second viewing, they just might know her and are keeping their mouths shut.

Seeing the flashback again, this time with a shaky seat, in 3D, did she see her father load R2D2 with the map (like Leia did in the first movie)? Kylo Ren destroyed the school and formed Knights of the First Order, Rey was left with ”someone” on Jackku. So that was a child watching it all. She may have been training with the school as well or privately with her dad. He hid her from Kylo Ren. Since everyone knows Kylo Ren can read minds, no one speaks of it or admits it to keep her safe. She may even have played with that very light saber as a tiny child but had her mind wiped when she was left behind.

Kylo Ren

On first viewing, I loved the spoiled baby almost a sociopath teenage angst. Sort of reminded me of a certain young ruler in another country on earth. He also reminded me of Dandy on American Horror Story, my last year psychopath crush. I don’t find Kylo Ren as sociopathic as most other evil dudes. I believe he truly does have empathy and a soft side and feels bad for killing his dad but he’s trying to be the best ruler of the universe he can be. Snape, oops, Snoke told him to kill Han and he believes that Snoke knows best. But sadly as Leia and others said, he’s going to get fucked over in the end. Poor Kylo. He’s going to end up like the Joker or someone where you actually feel sorry for him even though he’s a murdering psychopath.

After my first viewing, Emo Kylo Ren was invented on Twitter. I love that feed. Then I saw Kylo differently. A goth like me!

The SNL skit of Kylo Ren as UnderCover Boss rocked. It hit all the right notes for a Star Wars nerd.

Today I watched carefully and enjoyed Adam Driver's Kylo Ren even more than the first viewing. He does a great job delivering empathy for Kylo whether he deserves it or not. And liking characters, whether good or evil, makes for some great duels and storylines.

Some people have made comments about how they see or don’t see Kylo Ren because they’re familiar with some of Driver’s other work. I myself haven’t seen the other shows he’s been on, so he’s fresh to me and I’m pleased with how he’s playing Kylo Ren. Kylo is very human and confused.

Kylo’s slash across his face isn’t that bad so he’d better not be all covered up forever in the rest of the sequels. He’s a good-looking guy (as most evil dudes are) and a slash will make him even more sexy. So don’t fuck it up whoever is directing the next one!

Kylo sensed Finn at the battle. Did he sense him because Finn too has the Force? Or because he sensed Finn’s fear and weakness and thoughts about defecting?

Kylo knew about Rey and her power because they’re cousins.

I love how Kylo hero worships Vader. It works very well in our current cult of the celebrity society.

Rey Learned Too Fast

No, she did not. She has Luke, Vader, and who knows who else’s blood in her. She was likely trained by her dad before she was left at the junkyard. Her fight scene was set up when we first meet her. Her pilot skills, her ingenuity, and her fighting skills all were showcased before she acquired the force from battle of the kin.

The Force Awakens

Rey’s Force awakens

Kylo Ren’s Force awakens

R2D2’s Force awakens

Finn’s Force awakens (why else would he suddenly deflect?)

Luke’s has been woken up.

Han gets to go back to sleep.

Chewie got highlights.

C3P0 got a red arm.

I’m Awake Now

I like how this film sets a firm footing on where we’re going from here. It’s a rehash of the first one and that’s just fine by me. It’s familiar enough, just complicated enough to keep watching and it’s easy to follow.

After all, as a published author myself, I'm well aware there are no new stories. It's how you tell the same old stories that counts.  I’m happy to follow these characters through a few more stories. 

I’m dying to know where Kylo Ren is going, if he’ll have a moment of remorse that will be his fatal flaw, or if he’ll go full throttle psychopath?

Will Rey endure months of temple meditating with dad or will they hop back onto the ship and go on an adventure?

I have lots more to say and will write more blogs.

Let me know your thoughts or any theories you want to discuss in the comments.