Tag: Star Wars

Why I’m Not Excited to See ‘The Rise of Skywalker’

Yesterday morning, Lucasfilms released the newest trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. The trailer has brought about quite a bit of excitement for the film, which is expected to be released December 20 of this year. I can’t say I fall into this same boat.

My disinterest in the newest episode, which will wrap up the new sequel trilogy, isn’t because the jedi is a woman, or there is “too much diversity”, whatever that means. It’s more the fact of just how disappointing the trilogy has been up until this point. The new trilogy, when first announced, had so much potential to be good and unique, and actually bring something new to the Star Wars series, but fell short on so many points.

The biggest problem I saw was just how copy-paste the story line for both Episodes 7 and 8 were. Episode 7, which which kicked off the new trilogy, was mostly taken straight from Episode 4, with a sprinkling of Episodes 5 and 6 in there. It was unoriginal, but the production value and potential that existed in each of characters made it forgivable.

Episode 8, however, was unforgivable. It was literally Episode 5 in reverse, with an attempt at an original plot line that had ultimately no purpose other than to build a half-baked “romantic” relationship between Finn and Rose. It was an unnecessary waste of an entire hour.

The other unforgivable aspect was how they turned Rey into a Mary Sue. For those of you who don’t know what that is, a Mary Sue is pretty much a basic female character that is insanely overly powerful, and is instantly an expert at whatever they do. Rey, who had the potential to become a really good jedi, was wasted as she practically became a master jedi in about two weeks, rather than the months and even years Luke spent training. The jedi, canonically throughout both the original and the prequel series, spend years mastering their jedi capabilities, but apparently that’s not actually necessary cause Rey is suddenly just became a master. It ignores everything that’s been established about the jedi until that point.

Episode 8 as a whole was a pain to watch, and the series is bad for wasting so much potential by being unoriginal in order to “appeal” to people and make money. And its not like it’s because they can’t make original plot lines that are good. They 100 percent can, and did, with Rogue One. It’s just pure laziness. They simply want to push out “canon” content that will make immediate money, and don’t quite care how its done.

How Science Fiction Works Better in TV

I began watching Westworld recently to celebrate turning in my essay, and quickly got invested in it. The world, character arcs, and dynamism of the hosts intrigues me, especially as more of how the whole thing works slowly gets more developed and explained. Seeing how the show introduced its dynamics got me thinking about other sci-fi TV shows, and how they compare to movies of the same genre. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that sci-fi as a genre does much better in the realm of TV than film.

Why is that? Well, sci-fi often involves complex world/story-building when done right, and needs to be set out in a way that doesn’t seem rushed or boring. In film, there is only a two-two and a half hour span to introduce and develop the story and the world. Often times, that means there are aspects that are underdeveloped, rushed, or simply never explained. Which, when portrayed in a particular, more natural way, can work out.

Think of Mad Max: Fury Road. There wasn’t much actual explanation of the post-apocalyptic world, but there was visual representation, paired with just the right amount of explanation where the audience could understand how things worked. Of course, there were aspects left out; but the most important aspects are understood.

Now, the case of Mad Max is a case of sci-fi in films done well. More often than not, however, it takes a film multiple movies in order to explain itself and the world, sometimes dragging out stories that aren’t interesting enough or good past film 1 or 2. Or, in the case where there is only one film, the world is not explained enough, or simply isn’t interesting. Other times the story line is so bad and rushed that the world suffers as a result, too. In any sense, something is missing.

In the case of TV, however, there is a lot more to work with. Worlds can be properly flushed out and can work as an element of intrigue for the audience as it slowly unravels (in good shows, of course). Shows usually have a minimum of eight episodes to work out their world and dynamics, providing much more time and space to develop everything. The added fact that it usually comes out one episode a week even adds more to the suspense, maintaining greater interest than if it came out once every 2+ years. Sci-fi is a large and infinitely creative genre, and needs plenty of space to exist as a valid genre.

Sci-fi has had a long history in both film and movies, but is notably more prolific in TV, and much more recognizable. In the last decade particularly, sci-fi has been on the rise, after a period of falling behind fantasy. Sci-fi in TV shows also has the luxury of existing for longer, as average great shows can have as many as 9 or 10 seasons without appearing old or run-out, a heavy contrast from film. Shows can take on many more story arcs, as well, adding greater levels of complexity that otherwise couldn’t or wouldn’t exist.

Sci-fi can exist in both film and television, and has phenomenal pieces in both sets of media (Star Wars, Star Trek, Stranger Things), paired alongside bad pieces. However, I tend to notice that TV overall has better sci-fi series than film, particularly in recent years, most likely as a result as the care and space provided through TV. TV has provided sci-fi a grander space, and has lent it greater popularity than film, causing the genre to have an overall better quality.

The Fun of “Geek” Makeup

Despite the fact that Geek culture has been in the mainstream for nearly a decade, it was only recently that I discovered Geek-inspired makeup. Maybe this is due to the fact that I didn’t like makeup all the much until around two years ago, but it was still strange that I had never heard of it. I’ve been to cons, I’ve involved myself in many fandoms, how did I not hear about it?

Well, this is excluding the main-stream geek culture collections. Of course I’ve seen Star Wars themed lines, and also Hunger Games collections from Cover Girl and L’Oreal. And of course I’ve seen the Disney-inspired makeup. But I had never seen stores purely devoted to producing Geek-inspired makeup.

I had only discovered the makeup by chance, stumbling upon Shiro Cosmetics as I was looking for cruelty-free makeup. Looking into their site, I found they had a series of collections based off of popular media and memes, having collections centered around Game of Thrones, Into the Unknown, and Avengers, particularly eye shadows. They have cute little drawings that they come with on top, and lots of funny designs. And the reviews seem to like them.

The discovery of this site led me to start looking around for other Geeky makeup, and I was able to find quite a bit of collections. I found Geek Chic, Espionage Cosmetics, Nerdastic, and Black Pheonix Alchemy Lab, all of which had many items based around pop culture. It was astonishing, especially with the fact that the most of the colors looked so pretty. And most of them were cruelty-free.

The makeup usually has fun names, with fun designs, although if you’re looking for eyeshadow, don’t expect to many pressed palettes. Most of them are loose powder, with a few pressed palettes, which can be a little off-putting for some.

Geek-inspired makeup really started blowing up around 2015, as bigger companies began pushing out lines for the new Star Wars (Force Awakens), inadvertently boosting smaller makeup companies that based their whole existence around Geek culture. While still being considered “underground” and definitely “artisan”, Geek makeup has found its place and audience, and will only continue to grow as more people discover them.

A Timeline of Alien Films

Aliens, or extra-terrestrials, have had a surprisingly long and interesting history in terms of film. Beginning as early as 1902’s A Trip to the Moon, aliens have made appearances in a variety of genres from horror/thriller to comedy (and even romance), ranging anywhere from mysterious blobs to almost human. I thought I would compile a few of the ones that have made a major impact on alien cinema.

Let’s start with A Trip to the Moon, or La Voyage Dans La Lune, released in 1902 by George Melies. While you may not have heard of it (as with most films from the silent era), it is important for being the first film centered around contact with aliens. Influenced by Jules Verne’s From the Earth to the Moon and Around the Moon, the French film is about a group of astronomers who go to the moon in a cannon-launched capsule. As they explore the moon, they are chased by a strange looking lunar people, or Selenites, one of which they eventually capture and bring back to Earth. Here the aliens look distinctly non-human, setting up the trend for other interpretations of aliens in film.

In the next film of importance, the Blob, released in 1958 by Irvin Yeaworth (note: Superman made his first film appearance in a 1948 serial, but I am skipping over him, as the film centers around his comic origins, rather than its own idea), the non-humanoid alien appearance continues, with the main creature being a mere blob. The Blob arrives in Pennsylvania from a meteorite crash, where it consumes and old man who pokes the meteorite open. The Blob continues to grow and consume everything in its path, only stopped by extreme cold. This film, like the ones that came before it, center around aliens coming to Earth, or are mostly centered around Earth.

Star Wars, however, breaks that trend, taking place in a “galaxy far, far away”. Episode IV, released in 1977 by George Lucas, centers around a young Luke Skywalker, who lives in Tatooine with his aunt and uncle during an intergalactic civil war. After his uncle buys C3PO and R2D2, he discovers a message from the captured Princess Leia, and embarks on a journey to find Obi Wan Kenobi. From there he goes on a journey with the renowned smuggler Han Solo to find and rescue Princess Leia. In this film, and in the trilogy, the aliens come anywhere from entirely human (most of the main cast) to giant monsters, meant to represent a whole galaxy of different species. Star Wars is incredibly well-known, and seems to remain so, with new films from the series coming out every year.

Star Wars was an interesting turn from the norm of alien movies, being action-filled and comical, rather than horror-filled and intense. But the next big film on our list makes a serious return to the horror-thriller genre, coming in the form of Alien in 1979. Directed by Ridley Scott, the film follows the crew of the ship Nostromo who receive a distress signal from the planet LV-426, to which they decide to investigate. On the planet they find a derelict ship, which contains large egg-like objects. When one of the crew members touches on, a creature comes out and attaches itself to his face. It eventually falls off on its own, and after which they return to their own ship. The man who was attacked chokes and dies, however, and a small alien bursts from his chest, disappearing into the ship. From then the crew must try and kill the creature, which quickly grows, and begins to kill and eat the crew. This film was the first in its eventual series, developing into an entire series based around Alien vs. Predator.

The next film, like Star Wars, takes another turn away from the horror-thriller genre, being the heartwarming E.T the Extra-Terrestrial. Released in 1982 by Steven Spielberg, this cult classic follows the tale of E.T, who gets left behind after his group of alien botanists flee from government agents. It hides in a suburban tool shed, where he is discovered and befriended by ten-year old Elliot. They form a connection with one another, working together to try and send a message to E.T’s home. They work against government agents who are trying to capture and study E.T. to try and get his people to come back for him. It’s a heartwarming tale that has retained its popularity throughout the decades, contrasting typical alien films in that the alien this time is a cute wrinkly creature.

While there are plenty more alien films of importance to talk about, I’m going to have to cut it short and focus on a more “recent” one (when I mean recent, I mean late 2000’s). This film is Avatar. Why did I decide to choose this film over anything else? Well, because it not only was a change in how aliens are portrayed, but also how film is made entirely. The film, which was made almost entirely through CGI (a feat almost unheard of), takes place through the perspective of Jake Sully, a paraplegic former marine who partakes on a mission to find an energy source for Earth, after all natural resources had been depleted. They find a valuable source called unobtanium on the planet Pandora, a heavily forested planet inhabited by the 10-foot tall Na’vi. He joins the Avatar program to try and gain access to the unobtanium, but eventually falls in love with the princess Neytiri, and begins to change tune. He works to protect the land of the Na’vi against the humans who want to destroy their environment for resources, becoming one of the Na’vi in the process. I want to point out this film because of the mark it left in film (despite the joke that no one can remember a single line from the film). It was remarkable for its insanely high-production and beautiful scenery and design, and with the amount of CGI that it used, was considered a feat.

D23: the World of Disney Fanaticism

With a convention for just about everything with a fan following, for a long time it seemed odd to me that there was no convention for Disney fans (especially growing up in LA, where it was impossible not to meet at least a few people who didn’t go to Disneyland practically every weekend). Disney fans always fascinated me, because there was always a certain quality that struck as almost cult worship. So it seemed odd that I had never heard of a convention devoted to Disney when so many other pop up conventions existed.

That was, until I was seventeen, when one of my old friends mentioned that she and her family had gone to D23.

“What’s that?” I had asked her. She had initially answered that it was a convention devoted to Disney, but when I looked into it, I found it was so much more than that. You see, in its most general form, is Disney’s “Official Fan Club” founded in 2009, which features articles about movie easter eggs, park history, along with character searches and other such Disney-related topics. There are multiple levels of membership for this club, the General membership being free, and the Gold membership being around $80, and the Gold Family membership being $105.

Gaining a membership seems to get you a series of discounts and offers to exclusive Disney items, including jewelry, clothes, toys, and hotel rooms at Disney resorts. Gold members also get early bird access and special prices to the biannual D23 expo. This convention, which happens in Anaheim (right next to the Disneyland Park), and Tokyo (at the Tokyo Disneyland Resort). What happens at this convention? Think of everything related to Disney ever and smash it into a convention (kind of like Comic-con). They have panels for movies, meetings with Disney legends, and plenty of vendors selling Disney items. Oftentimes as well, there will be “exclusive D23” Disney merch, sold only at the convention, making it practically invaluable to Disney fans (I will admit that I have a D23 Japan exclusive tsum tsum hat, but that was a by luck find on ebay). It’s the place to be if you are a part of the Disney-fever club.

And of course, as with any convention, there are plenty of cosplayers, or someone who dresses up as a fictional character. People get in costume as a character anywhere from Disney itself to Marvel and now Star Wars, as thousands of people want to dive fully into the atmosphere of the D23 expo.

I have never been to a D23 expo (nor do I plan on going to one), so I can’t say in great depth what exactly goes on at one of those conventions. But I could probably guess that its exactly what you would expect when you hear the words “Disney convention”.