Star Wars Rumours: Episode Nine Title Leaks

We'll find out soon enough what the official title for Episode Nine of Star Wars will be.

Speculation is fun!

There is some speculation that there will be a Star Wars trailer before Mary Poppins Returns. Nothing big, just something dramatic. I hope it's Luke alive holding a lightsaber! 

There are a lot of commercials for Darth Vader's castle recently. I wonder if Darth Vader's castle will be in Episode Nine?

Will Kylo Ren live in Darth Vader's castle? Will Kylo Ren be visited by Ghost Anakin?

Will Finn be exposed as a Force User and the child of one of the legacy characters?

Will Luke be brought back from the dead? Will it go all Monkey's Paw?

It will be a year before we know anything but in the meantime, it's fun to speculate!

Star Wars Rumours: The New Trailer and Kylo Ren's Helmet

Rumours are rumours. 

Some may turn out to be true.

But no one will know until we go to the show next year.

In the meantime, let the speculation begin!

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/

More Thoughts About The Last Jedi and Disconnects

I'll likely make a few more The Last Jedi videos exploring what went wrong and right.

The reason I'm making so many videos is that I'm tired of hearing Disney execs saying it's only racist, white men who are angry with the movie.

As a woman who has been a fan since I first saw Star Wars on opening day in 1977, I feel it's  important to pipe up with why I personally was very disappointed in many parts. Especially after waiting forty years to see Luke, Leia and Han TOGETHER AGAIN, and we'll never ever get that now.

Now I'm disappointed in both The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi because they don't go together as a continuing story.

How hard would it have been to write a series where the three of them (Luke, Leia, and Han) have to battle some nightmare once more? The writers had decades to come up with something cool and interesting. They didn't need to do ANY reboots of the original trilogy. They could have made something brand new with the legacy characters and introduce new characters for the new generations. They could have still had Rey, Kylo, Finn, Poe, and BB8 very easily and still given us a fresh plot, and our three legacy characters plus Chewie, R2D2 and C-3P0.

I grew to like The Force Awakens when I grew excited about the mysteries and how they might be solved over the next two movies.

However, the writers for TFA and TLJ didn't care about proper storytelling devices and created their own frustrating ways to tell a three-part story. Basically, it's a round robin where everyone is making up stuff as they go along.

It isn't working.

Star Wars fans aren't hard to please as much as some of the Powers That Be might want to think. All we wanted was to see our three legacy characters fighting evil, and some cool lightsaber battles. A battle between good and evil. A clear plot.

The Force Awakens had a clear and simple plot. Find Luke. And they did.

I still am not sure what the plot to The Last Jedi was. There were several but at the end of the day, the only person who had character development in any manner at all was Kylo Ren. And even then, he only had a little bit as he still hasn't embraced the dark or the light side. We still don't know what his deal is. We don't know why he wants to go dark. We don't know what spell Snoke had over him and why it wasn't broken when Snoke died. We don't know why Snoke wanted Skywalker. We don't know what Snoke was training Kylo for. We don't know what Kylo himself wants! In The Force Awakens, we knew Kylo wanted to be like his grandfather, Darth Vader. He actually sat and prayed to him. I wanted more of that stuff and perhaps Vader coming to him as a Force ghost and telling him to be good or bad. Or maybe someone evil pretending to be a bad Vader ghost and manipulating Kylo to go even darker. But no, there's no reason or motivation for Kylo to be bad just to be bad. What does he want? To rule a planet? A galaxy? Which one? Why? Who is his team? Why doesn't Hux take him out and become Supreme Ruler? Kylo was way less scary in The Last Jedi and Johnson destroyed Hux's scary charcter into becoming an idiot cartoon character.

Anyway, when you have the eighth chapter of a series, it's usually a good idea to keep to basic plot points, not throw away points just to be clever. Character continuity is a good idea as well as keeping simple facts straight, such as how to use the Force.

Why would Yoda destroy a tree, a living thing that did nothing to him? Did we not learn over the previous seven movies and a bucket-load of books and cartoons that The Force is in and around every living thing?Are not trees a living thing? And if Rey or Yoda already put the books on the Falcon, what was the point of killing the oldest tree? Kill the past? Yoda is a murderer of the innocent now too?

Don't get me started on Mary Sue's big coincidences...especially at the end where she arrives just in time, somehow magically and conveniently parks the Falcon and gets to lift rocks just in time, the only way for the rebels to escape.

There are far too many Earth political statements and jokes. We go to Star Wars to see a galaxy long long ago and far far away. We don't want to hear about arms races or animals rights. Why was it important to free the doghorse things but not the children? Why were the children allowed to stay behind and be slaves? They never went back for those kids and helped them. They just let them be slaves forever. Even in Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, they went back for the misfit toys. Not in Star Wars where suddenly everyone is selfish instead of altruistic.

I know Johnson is likely setting up a whole children break free from their masters in his trilogy but why couldn't we finish our Skywalker story in a proper manner first?

There was ZERO reason for Luke to die. ZERO. He's a goddamn Jedi Master. He's not going to die force skyping. SOOOO stupid and painful. I hope JJ Abrams brings him back, and has him act properly like a hero, but I doubt that's going to happen.

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.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

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! 

Getting Excited for The Last Jedi

No spoilers for The Last Jedi as I know NOTHING!

Spoilers for The Force Awakens, of course!

So it's been a couple of years. I've watched The Force Awakens a couple of times and some scenes, namely Kylo Ren scenes, many times. 

My favourite scenes are:

Kylo Torturing Rey

Kylo reading Rey's mind and she ends up reading his. 

There is so much in that scene that could lead to so many directions in the plot.

First, there is a sexual tension. They each think the other is hot. Kylo doesn't want to hurt her or he'd be angrier.

They might be brother and sister, or cousins, or something else somehow related which follows the Luke and Leia twins’ plot line. And we all can agree that The Force Awkens is pretty much A New Hope so I’m sure originally they were very much related.  I’m sure that has changed over the past two years as fan theories about “Reylo” abound.

We see The Darkside in Rey as she spits out Kylo's most secret pain. 

Although some people scoff at the use of lighting, I love how lighting is used throughout the whole movie, especially when Kylo Ren kills Han Solo.

I've written before how delighted I was when Kylo Ren removed his mask and wasn't a robot or demon. He was a very nice-looking man. In soft focus, Adam Driver looks like a Disney Prince.  And Kylo Ren has my favourite kind of hair: dark, long, and wavy. I'm sure Rey was delighted as well. 

Rey and Kyo Ren in the Woods

Rey in the woods after she has The Vision and Kylo Ren appears like a velociraptor from Jurassic World. I'd just seen Jurassic World the previous summer so dinosaurs in the forest were on my mind. I love how he holds his lightsaber against her. It's rather erotic yet scary at the same time. It reinforces that Kylo Ren is a psychopath if we haven't figured it out yet. I love how he scoops her up and carries her back to his Bat Plane like a Universal Pictures Monster.

I love his arrogance when he calls off the hunt for BB8. He thinks that he has all the answers, but he screwed up badly. He didn’t realize that he’d actually like her when he mind probes her later on. Poor Kylo is having a bad day and it’s barely begun.

Rey's Vision

The first time I saw this scene, I immediately thought of Hellraiser movies when the walls split open to reveal the Cenobites. I still think of it every time. I love when Luke’s hand touches R2D2. The first time I saw that, I thought we’d see Luke very soon. Boy, was I wrong! I still say that’s the Millennium Falcon flying away from Jakku. Other people say it was a trash ship or another ship. I still say it’s the MF! So Rey may be Ben’s sister or Luke’s daughter and Leia hid her so that Ben wouldn’t find her since he was turning to Snope and the Dark Side.

The LightSaber Battle

I love this fight scene between Kylo Ren and Rey. I love the music swelling as she pulls out the lightsaber from the snowbank even though it’s so hokey and corny and unsurprising. I thought for SURE Luke would walk out from the woods and do battle with Kylo Ren. Nope.

I love when Kylo and Rey have the blue saber up and red down in the snow as they come to a standstill. It’s scary and sexy.

I love when he says, “You need a teacher.” The whole scene has erotic undertones upon frequent viewing.

I love her face when she’s turning to the Dark Side. On first viewing, I thought she was channeling the Light Side of the Force but now I believe she’s channeling the Dark Side. So possibly a Skywalker.

It’s great when she’s circling Kylo Ren who is dying in the snow from his blaster wound in the abdomen and everything else, and she could totally take him out. Her look is pure evil. She hates him but she also is attracted to him, curious and doesn’t want to kill him just yet. Does she feel the pull of a brother? A cousin? A romantic attraction? Does she want to torture him, slice him up piece by piece? He could really be Darth Vader with no legs and arms.

But Chewbacca flies up in the MF. Is Han Solo on board? Did Chewy save him? Was the HS death a set-up between Han and Kylo to fool Snope and somehow get Kylo trained to the Light Side? Is Kylo The Last Jedi and Rey the new Darth Vader? Will the Knights of Ren join the Rebellion?

The End Scene

This scene traumatized me. It sounds like it traumatized Mark Hamill as well when he read the script for the first time. I had waited nearly forty years to find out what happened to Luke and the movie ended just as we saw him for the first time. FFS! It was so frustrating!

The Last Jedi Thoughts

I’ve spent the past two years going back and forth about various theories about where I think the story will go. The thing is, whatever they present as The Last Jedi, may or may not be even close to what was pitched years before. The writers may have noticed fans expectations and theories and tweaked plots/characters to avoid any Jar Jar situations.

So when it comes to Kylo Ren, who knows what happened with his story arc over the years? At first, he wasn’t well received and now, he’s likely the most popular new personality in the franchise.

I go back to the idea that I am torn in half about if he goes dark or light. However, to go light, he has to get a ton of forgiveness as he’s murdered tons of people. It’s not plausible he could be The Last Jedi. Hopefully he’ll get dark and evil and twisted. I’ve seen many fan theories and artwork over the year. Some maybe true, some may not. However, like any soap opera, comic book villain, he has to lose his handsome looks. The face scar is the beginning. He’ll likely lose a hand to be in step with the rest of the family. And some legs will likely go, if not this movie, the next one.

I like the idea of a romance between Rey and Kylo. That would be so cool. I wish there could be a parallel universe where that happens for a few weeks and then one of them has to die. However, for the Last Jedi, I’m sure they continue to battle. Maybe Rey will lose a hand.

Han Solo may come back. He may not have died. Kylo Ren Ben might have Force Healed him as he fell. You never know. And Chewbacca was in on it which is why he only wounded Kylo instead of  killing him. Doubtful but you never know.

Will Kylo Ren and General Leia have a light saber battle? What will Leia do about Han’s death? Or is he dead? Will there be a funeral? Flashbacks? Are there any flashbacks with Han and Luke discussing Ben or Rey or anything else? Is Rey Han Solo’s daughter with Laura Dern?

I imagine Luke trains Rey and they go back to see Leia. There is a Plan to take down the First Order. Leia and Rey have to confront Kylo at some point. Kylo continues his training with Snope. He is conflicted but eventually grows darker with rage at himself and the galaxy. He has to face off against Luke but I don’t know if they will drag that out to the third movie.

Will Billy Lourd be used more in the second movie? Will she become more prominent in the third movie as they have to replace Leia’s iconic role with another similar type person unless that’s Laura Dern?

Is Finn born to the Force?

I’m not too invested in the other stories as you can tell.

Well, I’d better get back to work. I have a million theories and they change by the minute. I’ve tried to avoid the TV spots but I’ve seen bits and pieces by accident. Hopefully there are no real spoilers in the teasers.

I'll know all in just over a week. 

  

Upcoming Appearances for Horror Author Sephera Giron

I'm still smiling from seeing Mark Hamill. Yes, you are all sick of  hearing about it all by now!

One more round of thanks to Lance and the gang at Fan Expo for inviting me to be a Horror guest!

Heat Wave
Toronto is still having an insane End Times heat wave.

Although it's September, my apartment is 91 degrees F this morning although it's much cooler outside.

I've been working hard on Horror Writers Association Ontario chapter upcoming events.

S.O.R.A.N.
I've been working on Chapter Seven of my space opera romance adventure novel. You can read it as I write it. I also show my notes and have a couple of give-aways. When you join, you can go back and see all that you missed. You can also leave comments and tell me how you like or hate what I'm doing as I show you my drafts.

Kelly is a worker at an Edustation on a distant planet. He has a crush on his co-worker, Anita, who has been researching a secret project. When Anita is captured by a Dark Lord from another galaxy, Kelly is devastated. He also knows that it's up to him to find Anita before something bad happens. 

Public Appearances
You can check my public appearances on that appearances tab on my Blog.

The Word on the Street, Horror Writers Association, Booth WB-7, September 25, Toronto

Eriecon, Grand Island, New York, One Day Only: Saturday, October 1

Horror-Rama, Toronto, October 15, 16

Albert Campbell Branch Library, Horror Reading, October 19, 6:30 - 8:30

Chapters Guelph, October 22, Afternoon, Reading and Signing

Fan Expo, Mark Hamill, and Small Fish

Now that I've had a couple of days to try to get my head together, I have a couple of thoughts.

I'm exhausted from working all weekend; reading tarot for hundreds of people, giving three lectures, being on several panels, doing many media interviews, and in-between, not wanting to miss out on my only chance to ever see Mark Hamill in real life so running half a mile to his booth to look at him before running back to my own lines. It's a happy exhaustion!

I still get excited to see my name so close to Mark Hamill's in the program!

I Have No Gift to Bring
By Sunday, it occurred to me to give Mark Hamill one of my books. I wanted to do something to show him I'm a huge fan but I'm far too poor to get an autograph or photo. I had to borrow money just to buy the additional $15 ticket to see one of his live shows. And in fact, someone else had to buy me that ticket as I have no credit cards, and I paid back that person.

So, to give him $50 for an autograph or $200 for a photo was way out of my orbit. Again, I had to choose between groceries and buying The Force Awakens when it came out so I have zero luxury right now for autographs and such. I've been going through a really hard time for about six years now and I'm hopeful it will get better, but it wasn't in time for Fan Expo.

I figured if I gave him one of my books, he'd at least know "I care" even if he doesn't know who the hell I am or why someone would give him an erotic horror book when he's a comic book nerd. I have no idea if the handler gave him the book. I wasn't allowed to give it to him myself at that time. The handler told me to return at the end of the day but I had lineups for tarot readings and autographs of my own!!! And when I thought I might sprint over to check, yet another TV crew came by to  interview me, and it was one I'd been expecting so I couldn't exactly leave my own interview to go see if Mark Hamill might look at me. Then I had to choose between "Do I try to see if I can actually talk to him though I already gave the book to the handler so what the hell would I say anyway?" or "Do I run to where he's going to be giving his presentation to get a good seat?"  I chose the second and got the front row but then changed it to the second row since I felt too much like a stalker.

Rebel Pond Scum
As a small little fish in the horror pond, I have small privileges such as being able to grab a second row seat because I went half an hour early and was allowed in. At horror conventions, I can easily approach anyone from Peter Straub, Jonathan Maberry, Jack Ketchum, Brian Keene, and more, who I also count as my friends. I've met all kinds of famous people by walking up and saying hi. I met Daniel Knauf this year, the creator of Carnivale, and nearly had a heart attack, but I walked up to him in the hall in Las Vegas at Stokercon, shook his hand and took his picture and we joked and laughed and such. Later on, I sat at his table right across from him, for many hours of drinking while he shared Hollywood stories and his new wife/gf was there as well as many of us who also work in the horror field. But those horror writer conventions, they aren't Fan Expo.

At Fan Expo and other Comicons, you can't just walk up and talk to your peers as peers because the Hollywood "stars" are animals in a circus and you have to pay admission. And you know what, I say we're peers when we all work in the entertainment business with our goal to entertain other people. Some of us had massive good luck, some of us are still climbing the ladder and reaching for the star, some of us were  halfway up the ladder, fell down and are climbing back up...on it goes. I consider my peers as those of us who are working hard to entertain our fans. Again, I'm just a little fish but I'm still a fish.I'm also not slamming the cons, just observing the differences between the horror conventions I go to several times a year and how I am spoiled that if I go to a con, I can speak to and party with famous people and my idols as if we're all normal human beings. But the way the comic book/mass media conventions have evolved, there is no interaction except through lineups.

If there was a special room or BAR or party for guests like me to talk to Mark Hamill, Stan Lee, George Takei and so many others who were there this year, I was never told about it. So I can only observe what I experienced as a small fish "special guest." Which is basically, I did my work, and was left completely to my own devices to figure out whether I mattered or whether I could do anything extra like talk to Mark Hamill. The answer is "no."

We're Not Going to Take It
I saw a lot of backlash before Fan Expo and after about Hamill's prices. I think his were the highest ever in the history of Fan Expo. All the prices of the stars are insane these days. I remember we all used to think it was crass to charge $10 for an autographed photo. Now, $200 for a Mark Hamill picture and for the average working person that's a week's salary at a shitty job.  For Joe Average to get a momento for someone whom you've supported by buying their work for years or even decades, that is too much money. And it's so sad.

Fan Expo and other Comic/Cosplay Conventions ALWAYS reminds me of Tommy. Long before Mark Hamill. I've been a guest at Fan Expo many times over the years so I've had lots of time to observe. I'm not singling out Fan Expo. I mean, any of these comic conventions. They charge huge amounts of money to get in, more money for the big stars' presentations, and more money again for photos and autographs. The average person, especially these days, doesn't have a lot of disposable income. Many REAL fans can't even afford to get in the door, let alone pay the prices on top of the prices. Comic book conventions are for rich people. And that makes me sad sometimes. I myself am so grateful that I get to go as a special guest and get to see and do as much as I can while I'm working. I love these shows but they have certainly spiraled into a major expense beyond the grasp of many true hardcore fans. I am NOT slamming Fan Expo. I love Fan Expo. Thank you again for having me as a special guest. A very big thank you to Lance for bringing me back and having me do multiple presentations as myself, as Mistress Ariana, and for supporting my Horror Writers Association Ontario Chapter.

I say that I would never charge for photos and autographs. That I'm happy that people recognize me in movies or buy my books. But of course, I'm not at that level where people would pay for me (or I could afford to pay Mark Hamill!) so I don't honestly know the truth. When you've been starving and then hit stardom, I guess the lure is great to make as much money as possible while you're hot until the star fades again. Hollywood, fans, entertainment business is fickle.

Fan Girl
But I am not a fickle fan. When I become a fan, I'm one for life. My hardcore fan hit list has been the same my whole life. I've recently added two to the list, Adam and Finn.

Shirley Temple
Judy Blume
Roger Daltrey
The Who
Mark Hamill
Stephen King
Clive Barker
Adam Driver
Finn Wittrock

Teenage Wasteland
I was a Mark Hamill fan from the beginning when I saw Star Wars opening day when I was fifteen and never stopped being one. I had his pictures on my bedroom wall for years along with Roger Daltrey. I had my Daltrey wall, my Who wall, my Mark Hamill (note: not Star Wars but Mark Hamill) wall. I had a collection of news clippings and photos. I likely still have all of it, I'm not sure. I lost some of my boxes when I was trying to escape my second marriage. I've still not looked through all the boxes I still have to see what I have or not. I saw I had that Luke and C-3PO T-shirt from when I was fifteen. I remember when Hamill had his car crash and lost his starring role on Eight is Enough. He was always a huge comic book nerd and always talked about his favourite comic books. I read Howard the Duck and watched the movie when it was finally made because it was his favourite comic at the time in the seventies. I read many of his favourite comics that he'd mention in interviews. Let me tell you, hunting down some of his favourite comics wasn't terribly easy back in the seventies. He'd be in a magazine, so the news is already old, then to find comic books in square old London, Ontario was not easy at all and sometimes I'd have to travel to Toronto or send away or just not get to read them at all. And being a teenaged girl who liked Star Wars, comic books, horror comics, horror books, Logan's Run, and Stephen King, I was not popular at all. In those days, girls didn't like that stuff. So I kept a lot of my old nerd self hidden but I could play a lot of Star Wars music on my violin.

Modern Nerd Girls
This is one thing I totally embrace about modern times; girls can be nerds too! As we see on this blog and especially on my Instagram, I'm having huge fun embracing my inner child that I never got to embrace growing up and then being a mom and going through two broken marriages. Now I'm just playing because there's no reason I can see at all to be an "adult" and "serious" because it sure as hell didn't work for me when I gave it a shot. Now that I'm all alone, likely for the rest of my life since no one wants an old lady Star Wars loving horror writer nerd, why can't I play with toys and write more books and dream about the people who brought joy into my life?

Luke is My Home Boy
As I've said many times, I only went to see The Force Awakens to see what happened to "Luke," to see my Mark Hamill as "Luke" again. Which is why I was so fucked up when he wasn't in it. I'm still angry though it's great story-telling. I'll continue to be upset for the rest of my life that I waited decades to see Luke/Hamill and then still have to wait two years if I live that long. Well, one year has now passed and we're almost into Rogue One territory, but Mark Hamill won't be in it.

Anyway, all weekend, I tried to think about what I would actually say to him if I had a chance to talk to him.

What would I say that he hasn't heard a zillion times before?

Nothing new to say. Absolutely nothing original and unique.

So I don't feel like I missed any opportunities to stand at his table and cry.

Convention Connections
However, if Fan Expo was like a normal convention, I'd have a lot to say to him. Beginning with, "Let me buy you a drink," which would lead to us going to a bar and actually having a real conversation about real things and THAT would be cool.

THAT would be MYdream.

Not lining up at the circus to see the caged beast.

But to have conversation with a real man, not an icon, not a star, not a fictional intergalactic war hero, though perhaps we would touch on the forty year journey we shared as strangers.

I could thank him for the joy he has brought me as Luke and for all the recommendations for geeky reading. I'm really excited about his new nerd collections show and I could tell him that as well. In fact, on a show that I'm involved with, that is still under secret wraps, we too are having a nerd collection segment! I also play "Luke" in a small film homage we shot in the spring but it's not finished yet. But that's a story for another time.

I'm a Greedy Little Duck
I'm still thrilled about literally seeing Mark Hamill. I'm seriously content that I got to cross that off my bucket list. But being a greedy little duck, I just wish there was an opportunity to interact with him as a real person one day before I die! But that's not a bucket list wish, just a wish. And only because in real life, he actually seems like a really nice guy. Truly.

Another One Off the Bucket List! Fan Expo 2016

We all have our bucket lists. Some items are secret. Some are obvious. I got to strike off a bucket list item this weekend. After nearly forty years, I saw Mark Hamill in real life. Thank you very much, Fan Expo!

I'm still in outer space and likely will be for another day from being star struck and from reading tarot for so many people! I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it means I'm not recognizing people or making sense so we'll see how this blog goes!

Fan Expo 2016
When I arrived on Thursday, I set up my booth on the last row of the Horror aisle. I was across from Troma and a Walking Dead photo op display. I was happy. I need a better umbrella but this one worked. I hung some banners from it, circus style, as I was going for a freakshow feel to match my presentations.

Many people came by for tarot readings. It was non-stop every time I came back to the booth, which was fantastic. I enjoy being busy.

On Friday, I had three presentations so I wasn't at my booth much at all. Dorian, Brandon, and Kish held down the fort for me all weekend. They were great at helping people wait their turn.

Denis O'Hare

I was returning from the bathroom when I spotted Denis O'Hare chatting to Nancy Kilpatrick at her booth, which was back to back to mine. Of course, I yakked with them as well and took some pictures. I returned to my booth and read much tarot.

Cast of AHS: FreakShow

I was able to look at the cast of AHS all day from my booth. It was pretty cool. I went to their panel even though I should have been at my booth. How often do I see people from one of my all-time favourite seasons of favourite shows? I never did go over to speak with them, I was so very busy running between buildings.

Mark Hamill

Well, I am very happy with how the weekend went with regard to my inner fangirl. I was able to get up close to him and watch him like he was a caged animal at the circus for a few minutes every couple of hours. I hope I didn't creep him out but he's used to black-clad figures lurking a few feet away. I just was in awe to see him in real life. Yes, I meet tons of celebrities and shouldn't be starstruck, but I am. 

I attended both of his presentations. One was on Friday and one was Sunday. He must have been exhausted all weekend, likely from shooting schedule then into these tours.He was in Salt Lake City on Thursday for ten thousand fans. I think we had about three thousand at each presentation.

He's a great speaker, and the time went way too fast.

I'd take a peek at him when I'd hit the rest room as he was on the other side of the building from me. It was so cool knowing he was there.

Tara
The daily ritual reminded me of the week I stayed in Culver City to oversee the photo shoot for one of my books and walked past Tara every day. Gone with the Wind was one of my fave movies and books when I was a teen and to walk past Tara every day was so cool. I'd never been to Culver City before or since.

Walking past Mark Hamill every day gave me that same sense of, "How cool is this?" This whole resurrection of Star Wars over the past year has given me a re-connection to parts of my teenage self that I'd lost for many years because of life stuff, like everyone else. The Force Awakens awakened my interest in all kinds of stuff and of course, launched my new obsession with Kylo Ren's character.

Kylo Ren at Fan Expo 2016
I was reading tarot when a Kylo came by and told me to take his picture. Of course, I asked Kish to do it and I felt so bad for the client waiting for a reading but heck look at this young man. He's a great Kylo Ren. And hey, if you're this Kylo Ren, please let me know who you are so I can tag you on FB or tag yourself!

Then another Kylo Ren in a cool corset came by so three of us posed. However, I wasn't done with poses I wanted with the first Kylo Ren I had spotted days before. I needed to get a grip though and get back to my client. I hoped he'd come back on Sunday so we could take a couple more posed pictures but he never did, not that I blame him. haha

Someone has to keep these Knights of Ren in Order!

I had two panels on Sunday so was away from the booth a lot for a chunk of time. I also had several media interviews over the course of the weekend, which was great!

It was an amazing weekend. Thank you to Fan Expo staff, all the staff on every level, especially Lance. Everything went smoothly for me from set-up to my programming and so on. The celebrities were all nice from all accounts. Venders rocked as always.  And I got to see one of my teenage crushes. What's not to like?

The Horror Writers Association also had a booth and it rocked as well. There were also three panels. I was on one and the rest were with other members of the Horror Writers Association.

One thing about living so long is that I get to knock things off my bucket list. Some things I did years ago but others I'm still trying to get done. And of course, like everyone else, I add a few items to my bucket list as life chugs along.

Here Are a Couple of Items I've Crossed Off My Bucket List Over the Years
See Mark Hamill in Real Life (he's been married forever so that's as far as that wish goes! lol but...there's always A New Hope according to my inner fifteen year old)
Stay at Stanley Hotel (finally did it Oct. 2015)
Be in a movie that premieres in NYC (Slime City Massacre)
Be reviewed in Fangoria
Be interviewed in Fangoria
Be published by Leisure
Meet Peter Straub
See Stephen King speak in Real Life
Meet Shirley Temple (and I got her autograph on her autobiography)
Meet Judy Blume (I got to see her speak and got her autograph in 2015)
Go to England and see Shepherd's Bush ( 1976)