Category: Media

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35th

I just finished watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan for the umpteenth time.

This time it was for the 35th anniversary of it’s theatrical release.

I wish I had know that it was going to be part of one of Cinemark’s Movie Classics program last Fall.  I haven’t seen this in the theatre in… 35 years.

Looking back on that day in 1982, when my classmates and I took MUNI down to the Regency I theatre on Van Ness Boulevard, I can’t recall everyone who was there.

Stupid aging.

And to this day, like every time before, I still cry when Spock dies.

It’s gotten worse since Leonard Nimoy passed away.

This remains my favorite Star Trek film.  Period.

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And, Scene…

This was recently posted on Facebook, as three of the best scenes in the DC Extended/Cinematic Universe.  I agree wholeheartedly.

First flight: I’m one of the folks who believe that Man of Steel is basically “Superman: Day One” where he’s still learning about his abilities, and watching him take flight for the first time is inspiring.  The tag line of the 1978 film was “You will believe a man can fly,” and here’s Clark, eventually believing in himself in order to fly.

Warehouse fight: Though it was an amazingly choreographed fight sequence, I  was actually playing the Batman ’66 fight music in my head while I watched it, and it WORKED.  I even imagined large onomatopoeia every time a punch or kick landed.

No Man’s Land: no spoilers, it was simply stunning in it’s execution, from the visuals to the music.  It’s the definitive introduction every super hero should be lucky to have when their story is told on the big screen.

From earlier DC movies, I can list a few similar moments:

  • Superman The Movie: the rooftop helicopter scene
  • Batman: Introducing the Batmobile
  • The Dark Knight: Batman rescuing hostages while subduing the Joker’s men
  • Superman Returns: shuttle/plane rescue

Here’s hoping we continue to get scenes like this in future films.

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All the World’s Waiting for You

Great movie.  Best of the Nolan/Snyder-verse DCCU films.

That said, I liked Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 better.

This movie has everything Man of Steel and Batman v Superman lacked.  I liked both of those films.  I like WW more than those two.  It had a touch of the grittiness of the previous DC films, but much more heroism and heart.

There were a couple of surprises, and her origin was properly explained.  Or was it?  Seemed like they merged the her classic and New 52 origins in this story, and that’s fine.

Overall, it was entertaining and more fun to watch than other recent DCCU films.

Which I still enjoyed.

Except for Suicide Squad.

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Tuesday

More ships for Attack Wing came in.  Yay!

I still have a few more ships coming in.  Yikes.

Also, update!

IKS Gr’oth repaint, D7-class
IRW Algeron, D7-class (Romulan)

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Sports gaming week overlapped into this week.  I knew a schedule wouldn’t work.

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Star Trek Attack Wing has me watching the Star Trek films again.  Not that that’s a bad thing, of course.

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Weird not having my usual shows on TV, until Fall.

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40

May 25th, 1977:

The day it all changed.

10 years ago I told the story of how it changed me, by making me a smarter kid.  How I didn’t want to see it because it wasn’t Star Trek.  How it became a cornerstone, if not THE cornerstone of all that was to happen to me over the next thirty years.

Things… changed in the ten years since then, and all for the better.

The biggest change was the acquisition of LucasFilm by the Walt Disney Company, and their subsequent announcement of a  new trilogy of films.

Everyone I knew, including myself, took in this news with trepidation; the prequels sucked (IMHO) and these new films couldn’t be any worse, right?

Depending on who you talk to, the answer is yes or no.

The Force Awakens is both loved and hated by Star Wars fans, including myself.  I love it for the return of on-screen stories in a universe that continues to shape and form my imagination, and I hate it for taking away Han Solo, one of my heroes from childhood, second only to Superman.

Okay, maybe third, after Spock.

Fourth, after Steve Austin, the Six Million Dollar Man?

But I digress.

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The popularity of Star Wars grew to a level that I would never imagine that it could, even in my wildest dreams.

Sports teams were having ‘Star Wars Day’ promotions during their regular season games.  More and more merchandise appeared, in places I never thought it would appear.  And a film came out that almost edges out the original from 1977 as my favorite of the franchise.

Who knew that this paragraph from the first film’s opening crawl could become a full length film?  A film that would actually give the original more meaning, as it became a sequel to this new film?

Rogue One became just that.  It was the ultimate fan film, made by a lifelong fan, for lifelong fans.  Director Gareth Edwards described this experience as similar to playing with Star Wars figures as a kid, but on a much larger scale.

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Another change in 10 years was the introduction of the Star Wars animated series on TV, which in one case changed the way fans would view the prequels.

The Clone Wars (2008) took place between Episodes II and III, mapping out the story of the main characters from the prequels, and their adventures between the films.  It also focused on the Clone Troopers, and the War itself against the Separatists.  They introduced Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex and others, who would become new favorite characters for fans.

But for me, the biggest thing that this series brought to the table was showing Anakin Skywalker as a hero of the Republic, and his friendship with Obi-Wan Kenobi, which made his fall in Revenge of the Sith that much more tragic.

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Following that series was Star Wars Rebels, which is about to start it’s fourth and final season.  It bridges the gap between Episodes III and IV, introducing us to yet more characters who become fan favorites, including Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren.  We see the beginning and the formation of the Rebel Alliance, meet characters who become more important in the Original Trilogy, and reunite with characters from previous series and novels.

I’m really gonna miss this series when it goes off the air.  But hopefully there’s something else coming down the pipe from Dave Filoni and the Animation Group.

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That brings us to now.  While we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the premiere of Star Wars, we also look forward to December of this year, with the release of Episode VIII The Last Jedi.

Vanity Fair has a special issue out today (5.25.2017) with a cover story on the new movie, and photos by Annie Leibowitz.  The one I shared here is the one that resonates the most with me.

It’s going to be VERY hard to keep it together while watching this movie later this year.

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All of this is due to today’s filmmakers being inspired by an indie film from the mind of George Lucas.

Happy 40th Anniversary/Birthday/Life Day, Star Wars, and thank you for everything.

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Supergirl Finale

S2 E22: “Nevertheless, She Persisted.”

This entire season was head and shoulders better than the 1st season.  There was the introduction of so many great characters, including the Man of Steel himself, Kara’s cousin Kal-El a.k.a. Superman/Clark Kent.  And Mon-El, who grew on me as the season went on.  Maggie Sawyer.  Lena Luthor.

This finale was great, with a real roller coaster of emotions for a DC fanboy like myself.  Winn’s reaction to Superman recognizing him, the fight between the Kryptonians, Cat Grant doing Cat Grant things, all of it was fun to watch.  It’s still a toss up on who is more my spirit animal in these CW DCU shows, Cisco or Winn.

They appear to be setting up something that I’ve been hoping to see, involving the future of the DC Universe.  Meanwhile, they’re setting up something more recent from the comics as well.

I’m looking forward to next season already.

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“Cestus III has been destroyed.”

I need to stay off eBay.

I just found and bought this:

It’s the prize pack for the “Arena” Organized Play event for Star Trek Attack Wing.

So that covers 3 of my all time favorite episodes.  Yikes.

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“Matt! We’re stronger with you than without you!”

So I check online to see if there’s a Doomsday Machine for Star Trek Attack Wing.

Apparently there was an Organized Play event featuring the Doomsday Machine last year.

The Planet Killer token
I’m gonna ram this thing right down it’s throat!

The prize was the planet killer token and cards/tokens for Commodore Decker and the Constellation, so you can recreate the episode or scenario.

And, thanks to eBay, the prize is on it’s way to me.  Yay!

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iPod Failure?

I’ve been fiddling with my iPod for the past few hours.  It doesn’t seem to want to respond to a proper sync with iTunes, so I deleted all the music and am currently reloading them.

One problem was that it said that it was 4GB over limit, even though I didn’t add anything.  On the contrary, I deleted a few playlists, that were still listed on the device after a couple of ‘successful’ syncs, but the playlist I wanted to add was not found in the list.

I even went in and marked a few apps for uninstall, and it still said I was over capacity.

Looks like it’s syncing now.  Arrgh.  I hope it’s not dying.