The Mandalorian, “Chapter 4: Sanctuary”, Review!

After the showdown with what seems like every bounty hunter, Chapter Four, directed by Bryce Dallas Howard, opens with a crustaceans swimming in a serene pond.  The story is again by Jon Favreau.  Villagers sweep them up in a wicker baskets.  A mother, Omera (Julia Jones) watches her daughter, Winta (Isla Farris), chase after a frog.  They are all disturbed by a rumbling that scatters birds.  Winta screams for her mother as blaster bolts rain down!  Alien raiders, Klatooinians, attack the village while Omera cleverly uses the basket to cover herself and her daughter in the water.  Klatooinians are dog-faced, green aliens who were seen in Return of the Jedi (1983). 

It reminds me of the Marauders attacking the Ewok village in Ewoks: Battle for Endor (1985) except no Teek!  The leader of the raiders is played by Sala Baker who played Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).  The raiders take the bowls of blue crustaceans and head back to the mist.  Omera pulls off the basket when they are gone and sees the destruction to the village.  I sense a Seven Samurai Situation!  I get the raiders, but why attack a remote village?, the shrimp don't look difficult to catch, the raiders are so lazy they can't get baskets and pluck them out?  The Mandalorian’s Razorcrest bursts from hyperspace and we have inside The Mandalorian and Cub.  Baby Yoda starts hitting buttons, a little Baby Groot, so the former bounty hunter takes him on his lap.  He scans and finds the planet Sorgan, the first planet identified on the show.  The Razorcrest descends and streaks past Omera and the village.  It soars over forests and the rivers before landing.   

The Mandalorian sets Baby Yoda in a seat while he goes out to check the area.  The hatch drops and Baby Yoda is at his side!  They reach the village where food is served, a bowl of noodles, I would like to visit this place more than Galaxy’s Edge.  Baby Yoda shuffles along and a Loth-cat growls at him.  The cats, native to Lothal of course, first appeared in the Star Wars: Rebels episode, “Rise of the Old Masters” (2014).  Then, we get a woman in armor, Cara Dune (Gina Carrano) watching him.  He orders a broth for Baby Yoda and asks about the woman’s business.  The Mandalorian is told by the waitress she has been there for a week.  He finds the woman is gone and heads to track her, using his visor to check the heat of her footprints.  

The tracks suddenly end and The Mandalorian is caught in a fight.  I’m not certain how she can beat someone in beskar steel armor, her face is not protected, I get that it is Gina Carrano, but still the effectiveness of fighting someone in full armor is questionable.  They find themselves with blasters at each other as Baby Yoda watches sipping his drink!  He offers her soup and later she explains that she is an ex-Rebel shock trooper hunting Imperial warlords after Endor.  Cara was given peace keeping jobs, but decided to retire to Sorgan.  She doesn’t want The Mandalorian there.  I was expecting Cara to be a favorite, but she is overpowered, punching a metal helmet?, but she may develop as a character later on.  

Night, villagers look at the Razorcrest with The Mandalorian working on it, they go up to him telling about the raiders.  The villagers recognize The Mandalorian, Stoke (Eugene Cordero) and offer all of their money to take on the raiders, exactly like Seven Samurai (1954).  The classic by Akira Kurosawa is a brilliant piece of cinema with veteran samurai, Kambei (Takashi Shimura) assemble a group of samurai including Toshiro Mifune’s Kikuchiyo to defend a village from bandits.  When the villagers mention the farm “in the middle of nowhere”, they traveled a day to get there, he accepts their credits.  Cara is alone in the forest with a fire going when The Mandalorian asks about round two and gives her all of the credits.  They go along on a boat and by morning reach the village.  The village kids all gather around Baby Yoda.  

The mother is setting up The Mandalorian’s hut when he enters.  He whirls and draws when the daughter walks up.  They give him some space and later bring food.  Winta goes out with Baby Yoda to play.  He explains that he never removed his helmet in front of anyone since he was a foundling.  She leaves and he removes his helmet to eat the tray of food while watching Baby Yoda and villagers.  Night starts to fall and Cara with The Mandalorian walk into the forest.  He is using heat vision to track the raiders.  The Mandalorian spots “something big”, the track Cara identifies as an AT-ST!  The All Terrain Scout Transport first appeared on Hoth in Empire Strikes Back (1980), but was effective in the Moon of Endor forests in Return of the Jedi (1983). It is mysterious and deadly unlike the appearances of trilogy vehicles in Star Wars: Rebels.  

Cara Dume's costume at D23 Expo, photo by the author.

The Mandalorian tells the village that they have to leave.  Cara argues with the villagers that the AT-ST and The Mandalorian says they can train the villagers.  Two Samurai!  Cara lays out the plan with a pit to trap the walker and barricades from trees to draw it in.  Omera raises her hand to The Mandalorian’s question of who knows how to use a blaster.  They hand out blasters and blaster rifles.  Cara trains a line-up of villagers with staves.  The Mandalorian tells Omera that they are leaving to draw out the raiders.  Night, they sneak over to the raider’s camp and take down two of them drinking day glow blue juice.  They enter an empty tent filled with two tanks (of the crustaceans?) and The Mandalorian sets a charge.  Cara warns about two raiders entering, then they face more raiders until escaping with the charge set off.  Then they see the red eyes of the Scout Walker!  Very threatening and not a chicken walker at all.  The hints of the AT-ST works like Jaws (1975); the sound, the tracks, and then just the viewports.  

They start to run as the AT-ST lumbers after them firing.  It doesn’t seem like there would be operators in the AT-ST night and day.  The villagers ready their weapons as Baby Yoda waits with the children in hiding.  The AT-ST like a Troll from Lord of the Rings bursts from the forest, but hesistates at the edge of the trap.  It activates a searchlight and scans the barricades.  The scout walker fires on the village, but Omera and Cara tell the villagers to stay.  Then, the raiders come running from under the legs of the AT-ST!  They have to face the raiders and The Mandalorian hopes to settle Baby Yoda there, but there is a greater threat.  This is a good episode, but I’ve seen it more effectively told in the Clone Wars episode, “Bounty Hunters” (2010) which had Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka team up with four bounty hunters, seven, to protect farmers from Hondo Ohnaka. The addition of the monstrous AT-ST and of course Baby Yoda is great, but it is just a shade from a perfect episode.   

Four Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five! 

#TheMandalorian, #Sanctuary, #GinaCarrano, #JuliaJones.

Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary Review!

Screen Junkies under Fandom Entertainment has released several documentaries based on Twilight and Dungeons and Dragons through their You Tube channel.  Their latest focuses on Galaxy Quest (1999), the sci fi comedy which is really a satire guiding by an honest adventure.  Never Surrender screened on November 26th as part of Fathom events.  The film was obviously having fun with Star Trek and its cast.  I do recall a Star Trek anthology story, “Visit to a Weird Planet Revisited” (1970) by Ruth Berman in the Star Trek: The New Voyages (1985). The story had William Shatner and the cast filming the show and then beamed aboard the Enterprise to meet their fictional counterparts.  It did not have the humor, the Thermians, Galaxy Quest fans, and the absurd, fun sci fi tropes.  

The Screen Junkies crew introduce the documentary with Dan Murrell trying to come up with a list of the best Star Trek films and Galaxy Quest’s place in them, very funny.  By the way, I know Voyage Home has general appeal, but it still require prior knowledge of what happened to the Enterprise and Spock’s death.  The ST film that I find is the most accessible and fun is First Contact.  You don’t have to know about Star Fleet, warp drive, the Borg, or Picard and his crew.  You can go in cold and enjoy the movie.   Which reminds me that Will Wheaton, from the Next Gen cast, is also there to comment.  Brent Spiner is also interviewed.  

Galaxy Quest is meta on the level of the Berman Star Trek story, actors who find themselves on the real starship, but takes it to a new level when they have to become their characters IRL.  It is the fulfillment of fan boy fantasies.  This feels like Then, it also brings in the innocent, strange Thermians, a brilliant, but naive alien race.  They duplicate the Protector, NTE-3120, from the television show which they believe to be real. The interesing part of it is that the ship’s profile looks like an insignia which would be clever to put on the badges of the NSEA (National Space Exploration Administration).  Then, there is the GalaxyCon which parodies fan conventions, but again with respect.  

There are fans cosplaying and repeating lines ad nauseum.  This is all embodied in Brandon, the character played by Justin Long in his first movie, who has accidentally a Thermian communicator and a fanboy think tank to help save the day!  Movie documentaries are interesting to hear the stories about making the film and the problems along the way.  It starts with the studio, Dreamworks, looking for a hit.  This is explained by the film’s producer, Mark Johnson, and executive producer, Elizabeth Cantillon.  There is also commentary on the effect on the film on The Flash and Arrow series creator, Greg Berlanti, and the producer of the J.J. Abarms’ Star Trek (2009), Damon Lindelof.   

The film started out with the idea turned into a script by Bob Gordon who is also interviewed.  We also have commentary by production designer, Linda DeScenna, who is very funny about the movie’s tone.  She worked on Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) and Blade Runner (1982).  There is movement on the film with the hiring of director Harold Ramis, who wrote Ghostbusters (1984) and directed Caddyshack (1980).  Still, he didn’t seem to work with what was intended for the movie and left.  We also have the choices for lead actor which of course ends with Tim Allen whom the documentary notes is just coming off a hit show, Home Improvement.  Next, was the conflict of casting Sigourney Weaver since the production was looking for actors with no previous sci fi experience. It may have been Ramis who worked with her on Ghostbusters that gave some star power to the film.  

There is the sudden search for a director and then we get Dean Parisot who has the underlying sci fi story and fan interaction.  He directed the comedy, Home Fries, and casted one of the characters, Tommy Webber, from his previous movie with Daryl Mitchell.    Most of the cast is interviewed.  There is also the addition of Alan Rickman whom the documentary sidesteps was the classic villain, Hans Gruber, in Die Hard (1988).  Rickman has conflict with the comedy of Tim Allen in the production.  The production is covered, but it is unclear if the documentary covers day one to last day of shooting or uses the film’s narrative to construct the filming story.  The movie wasn’t a hit at theaters, The Matrix stole some of its thunder, and there were talks of a television series.  There were a number of laughs and insights in this documentary.  Never Surrender: A Galaxy Quest Documentary can be ordered on iTunes on December 17th!  

#NeverSurrender, #GalaxyQuest, #ScreenJunkies, #DeanPariscot, #TimAllen

Happy Birthday Karen Gillan!

Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Birthday Karen Gillan!  Of course Gillan started in British television and really took the notice of everyone with the role of Amy Pond in Doctor Who (2008-2013).  In 2010, she was in the horror movie Outcast (2010). Then, she played Kaylie Russell in a supernatural mystery Oculus (2013). Gillan entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe playing Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). One of my favorite roles where she also showed her comedic skills was as Eliza Dooley in the sitcom Selfie (2014).  She starred in the biographical drama The Big Short (2015) directed by Adam McKay. 

Next, she was in the western In a Valley of Violence (2016). Gillan returned as Nebula in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017). She was caught in the web of a social media life in The Circle (2017) based on the Dave Eggers novel. Gillan again showed her talent for comedy and action as Martha in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (2017).  She directed, wrote, and starred in her own comedy, The Party’s Just Beginning, was released in April of last year.  Also in 2018, she also faced Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War. This year, she returned as Nebula in Avengers: Endgame.  Then, played a police office, Sara Morris, in the comedy Stuber. Gillan has upcoming, Jumanji: The Next Level, out in theaters on December 13th. Happy Birthday Karen Gillan!

#KarenGillan, #DoctorWho, #GuardiansoftheGalaxy, #Selfie, #ThePartysJustBeginning, #JumanjiTheNextLevel 

Re:tro Re:view - Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time!

Prince of Persia is a fantasy adventure movie with themes of family, consequences with enough action and romance to fill a thousand and one nights! Prince of Persia was a 1989 computer game designed by Jordan Mechner with the prince braving dungeons to save a princess. A new series was launched in 2003, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, with the prince finding the Dagger of Time and adventuring with princess Farah. Prince of Persia: Escape is a mobile game released in 2018. The film is written by Jordan Mechner. The director is Mike Newell who also directed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), my favorite of the Potter films. I have a great love of Arabian sword and sorcery movies like The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) and Thief of Bagdad (1940). Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is in that mold.

It is not a depiction of actual Arabian myths or people, the movie is a complete fantasy, like the earlier Arabian fantasy films. There is no Prince Dastan, also, there is no Sands of Time, it is all fiction. If you can get past that hang-up, the movie is fun, great characters with a theme that is still compelling to me, a romance, plus all of the acrobatic, princely moves of the video game! The movie opens with the setting sun on the desert as we are told that some lives are connected “across time” by destiny. The narrator, Sir Ben Kingsley, explains that “Long ago” there was the Persian Empire which stretched from the edge of China to the Mediterranean. Then, we get the Royal City of Nasaf, ruled by King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup) with his brother, Nizam (played by Sir Ben Kingsley). Sir Ben is an award winning actor known for such movies as Gandhi (1982) and many genre films like Iron Man 3 (2013).   

He had two sons, but then we get the Nasaf marketplace, this where we see the orphan boy Dastan (William Foster). Orphans are of course the heroes of myth and we finally get a name for the prince. Another boy, young Bis (Elliot James Neale) disturbs a rider who starts to whip the boy, and he pleads for the rider to stop. The king watches as Dastan throws an apple at the rider and then escapes with Bis. Dastan races and leaps across the rooftops with the guards after him. He is captured by a mass of guards as the king rides up with Nizam. The king throws an apple to Dastan and Nizam takes him to the palace to be adopted by the royal family. It is 15 years later, in a sandstorm with camels and horses bringing an army to the Persian Borderlands.  

They have reached the cliffs above the Holy City of Alamut bathed in sunlight. Nizam is there with the two sons, Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell). Coyle is currently starring in the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. Kebbell was in Alexander (2004) and also Wrath of the Titans (2012). Tus says that their father forbids attacking the city, but decides on a council with his uncle and brothers. Then, we get Dastan (Jake Gyllenhaal) reeling from a punch!, the older Bis (Reece Ritchie) throws him back into the fight. Gyllenhaal has been in such films as the brilliant Day After Tomorrow (2004) and of course this year's Spider-Man: Far From Home. Dastan is a survivor hardened by the streets, but beginning as a warrior, Gyllenhaal can hand

le the action, clever, but he has to work out situations that become complex. He is on the ground in a headlock as a rider announces there is a war council. Swords spill from a chest as Nizam explains that a spy has found them at a caravan from Alamut. There is a note from the warlord Kos, enemy of Nasaf, and Dastan says they were sent to attack Koskam not Alamut. Tus announces that they will strike at dawn. Dastan offers to be the lead element and Garsiv is angry that his riders should have the lead. He calls his brother’s soldiers “street rabble.” So Dastan must have assembled the commoners for his army. Tus speaks about the beauty of the princess.  

Then, we get close-ups of feet painted in gold, then the face of Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton).  The actress was in Quantum of Solace (2008) and also had the co-lead in Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters (2013).  The dresses for Tamina are stunning, all thanks to costume designer Penny Rose.  The princess is told that the Nasaf army is still outside their walls so she says that she will be in the high temple.  Night, away from the fiery siege, Dastan and Bis are sneaking through the grass at the rear of the palace.  He explains that a front assault by Garsiv will cause a massacre.  Dastan’s men silently carry crossbows and a pole.  They lift the pole with Dastan to the wall, and then crossbow bolt flies and pierces the wall, great camera shot.  

The bolts give Dastan handholds to climb up the rest of the way. Very clever. Dastan takes care of a guard and then drops a rope for his soldiers to climb the wall. It starts to dawn and Dastan has Bis work on the outer gate while he handles the “impossible” inner gate. A guard sounds the horn that alerts the rest of the palace. Dastan leaps and fights with guards opening the gate. Bis opens the outer gate and uses a torch to signal the rest of the army. The soldiers of Alamut march to reinforce the open gate while the Nasaf army roars in a charge. Dastan works out a way to block the Alamut army. Princess Tamina orders a passage to the chamber to be blocked and then prays. Dastan reaches the top of the eastern gate.  He overlooks the city and then makes a daring leap.  

Dastan has tied a rope to the overhanging block holding a vat of boiling oil, he cuts through the rope with his sword, and then tosses a torch igniting the falling oil! The action has the scope of video games, modern like parkour, and cinematic. The stunt coordinator, G.A. Aguilar, has worked on this year's The Irishman and Joker. The wooden structure falls causing a fiery explosion throwing the defending army into chaos. The Nasaf cavalry rides in cutting down soldiers. Princess Tamina opens the white dresser bathed in light and removes an object in cloth. She gives it to her loyal soldier, Asoka (Darwin Shaw). Dastan is fighting on the ground level with his two swords.  He hears a rider charge with a spear. Dastan runs in a passageway, leaps back and pulls down the rider! This is Asoka and they duel.  

Dastan cuts free the cloth bag and kicks down Asoka. He removes from the bag a dagger with a see-through pommell and writing along the blade, the Dagger of Time! Trumpets sound as the army is triumphant. The prince brothers break into the High Temple with Princess Tamina lying down in prayer. She draws a dagger and is about to cut Garsiv’s throat, but her hand is held by Nizam who asks her about the forges. Tamina says they do not exist. Tus offers a marriage alliance, but Tamina refuses. Then, she sees Dastan enter with the Dagger of Time on his belt. Later, as Dastan is cheered as the “Lion of Persia”, he speaks with Tus. The film makes an interesting point about war and victories also a poignant comment that even with time traveling there are things you can't take back.  

His older brother asks for a gift for taking first assault, he looks at the Dagger of Time, but Nizam says the winning the city is Tus’ gift. He gives Tus the message that his father is arriving at the city.  King Sharaman is furious that Tus attacked based on a report and didn’t consider their allies. He tells Tus he is not ready to wear the crown. Tus later rides up as Dastan is trying to do a complete flip off a wall and falling. He has forgotten a gift for father and Tus brings in the prayer robe of Alamut. Tamina finds herself escorted by Dastan to be presented to the king. The king says to his son, “The bond between brothers is the sword that defends our empire.” He explains his action to save lives, but a great man would have stopped the attack. This is central to the film's story, the consequences of war, very topical for a fantasy adventure movie.  

Dastan has Bis present his father a gift, the prayer robe is placed on the king, and Princess Tamina is brought before King Sharaman before she marries Tus. He decides instead to have her wed Dastan. His son is stunned. King Sharaman begins to burn and those trying to help take the robe off are burned by the poison! Dastan pleads for help, but Garsiv calls for the guards to take the murderer, his brother! Bis tries to protect Dastan’s retreat and is killed. Tamina takes Dastan away and they leap off the balcony into a fountain. Dastan hops along the horse posts and slices them free. He flips over the last horse and then mounts another taking Tamina with him. They race past horses and arrows from archers.  

Dagger of Time prop, El Capitan, 2010, photo by the author.

Night, Tus writes about the killing of the king. We have the encampment where Dastan tries to explain things to Tamina. She gets closer and tries to take the Dagger of Time. Then, Tamina takes a sword and slashes at Dastan. He picks up the dagger and presses on its handle, the blade flares gold and time slows. The glow covers Dastan’s arm and he finds himself a ghostly figure watching time wind back. This is an impressive effect and interesting time travel device. Dastan covers his horse’s hooves and plans on traveling through the Valley of Slaves to reach his father’s funeral.  Tamina questions Dastan’s honor leaving her alone and he reluctantly takes her along.  

Garsiv is pursuing his brother with his cavalry. Dastan tries to reload the sand in the dagger, but it needs a special sand. Tamina thinks he walks arrogantly and he tells her that he was born a commoner. They reach a wall with skeleton remains. Tamina pleads for water. Dastan takes the horse on and happily doesn’t hear Tamina. He finds her collapsed. Dastan reaches for her and is struck by a bone that knocks him out. He wakes up with riders circling him. A knife plunges in the ground before him. Sheik Amar (Alfred Molina) explains about his warrior, Seso (Steven Touissant) of the M’Baka tribe. Molina is a great genre actor, providing a voice role in Frozen 2 and also starring as Doctor Octopus in Spider-Man 2 (2004). Touissant stars in the drama Deep Water and appeared in the Sylvester Stallone sci fi movie Judge Dredd (1995).  

The duo give a much needed lightness to the film. Sheik Amar is hilarious as a con man who wants to avoid government taxes. Seso is the silent, for the beginning, loyal warrior who adds to this perfect cast. They are all taken to Sheik Amar’s latest con, Dastan sees it from out of a cave, a race with ostriches! Dastan has been eying Tamina and finds she has a locket of the sands of time to refill the dagger. He has to somehow find the truth of the dagger, his father’s killer, and of course gets closer to Tamina.  She in turn is driven by destiny to fulfill her role and finds herself charmed by Dastan.They have to face the dangerous and mysterious Hassassins and their leader (Gísli Örn Garðarsson). Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time is a fresh adventure movie with touches of fantasy, romance, and a strong story!  

Five Daggers of Time out of Five!  

#PrinceofPersiaTheSandsofTime, #MikeNewell, #JordanMechner, #JakeGyllenhaal, #GemmaArterton, #BenKingsley, #AlfredMolina, #StevenTouissant 

The Mandalorian, “Chapter Three: The Sin”, Review!

This episode is written by Jon Favreau and directed by Deborah Chow who directed an episode of American Gods and is the director for the upcoming Obi-Wan Kenobi series.  The Mandalorian has won the battles through a hacienda of gunmen to reach the Asset, also known as Baby Yoda, and then had to deal with Jawas that scavenged his ship.  Finally, the Razorcrest has been restored and he travels from Arvala-7 to bring Baby Yoda back to the Client.  The Razorcrest appears from hyperspace and heads down to the planet.  Baby Yoda appears, again stealing the show!, and crawls outside of his sphere.  A hologram of Greef Carga informs Mando that Baby Yoda needs to be directly delievered to the Client.  The bounty hunter plucks Baby Yoda back to the sphere.  The Razorcrest descends to the planet and lands at a docking area.  The Mandalorian descends the ramp and appears with the open sphere.  Baby Yoda watches all of the marketplace activity.  He watches as the Mandalorian knocks and shows his card to the droid doorkeeper.  Two stormtroopers appear and look at the Asset before everyone enters. 

A stormtrooper takes hold of the sphere and the Client is excited to see the child.  He and Dr. Pershing scan Baby Yoda.  The doctor says the child is “Very healthy.”  The Client at his desk takes out a container filled with stacks of beskar steel!  The Mandalorian examines the bars as the sphere is taken away by Dr. Pershing with the mewling Baby Yoda!   He wonders what will happen to the child as two more stormtroopers enter.  The Client says his interest is “uncharacteristic” with commission and payment.  He says the Bounty Hunter Code should have him forget the Asset.  The Mandalorian returns the bars and picks ip the container.  The bounty hunter returns to the Mandalorian refuge, down the steps, past other Mandalorians in armor.  He places the container in front of the Armorer and reveals the bars of beskar steel.  A few Mandalorians walk up behind him as the Armorer explains she can make a full curiass, the armor that covers the torso.  One Mandalorian, Paz Vizsla (Taut Fletcher) picks up a bar, sees the Imperial insignia, and says they were made in the Great Purge.  Clan Vizsla has been troublesome with Pre Vizsla leading the Death Watch.  He first appeared in “The Mandalore Plot” (2010) of Clone Wars.  I hope everyone uses Disney+ to catch up with Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels because this show is deep diving into Mandalorian culture.   

He struggles with Paz Vizsla and slashes him with a blade.  They are at a standoff with blades close to each other.  The Armorer says the beskar has returned.  She asks the bounty hunter if his helmet has been removed and he says no.  The Armorer says, “This is the Way” which the others repeat and the blades are lowered.  She asks him about the cause of his armor’s damage.  The Mandalorian says a Mudhorn which the Armorer says will be his signet.  He says he was helped by an “enemy”, Baby Yoda?, so the Armorer will instead use “whistling birds.”  She places several bars into the forge and brings whistling birds, armaments, to his gauntlet.  The Armorer slams down the forge and flashbacks appear as a foundling with an attack on a village.  His parents try to run as a super battle droid blasts innocents.  They hide him in a shelter, there is an explosion, then the super battle droid appears!  The armor is forged.  At the cantina, Greef Carga sends away a bounty hunter for his failure.  The Mandalorian enters with his new armor.  He asks about the tracking fobs and Greef shouts that all of them had tracking fobs.  

The Mandalorian's armor, D23 Expo,  photo by the author.

The bounty hunter sits and Greef shows him payment of two bars of beskar steel.  He wants his next job, but Greef says he should relax.  The Mandalorian checks one that projects a hologram of a Mon Calamari.  Greef says he is a nobleman’s son at “the ocean dunes of Carnac.”  The bounty hunter asks about the child and the former Imperials.  Greef says he can report them to the New Republic in the Core. The Mandalorian returns to his ship, but hesitates to launch, a connection with the child since he himself was a foundling?  He shuts down his ship and returns to door.  Is this defiance of the Bounty Hunter Guild?  He sees a refuse bin and finds the discarded sphere.  The Mandalorian uses his rifle and scans from the rooftop.  He hears the Client saying to “extract the necessary material.”  I’ve read hints that this might be midichlorians, but even if so the material would be useless for a non-Force user.  The Mandalorian knocks on the door and then rips off the orb of the droid doorkeeper!   He walks away as stormtroopers check on the disturbance.  The bounty hunter places an explosive that tears away a wall.  He brutally takes care of several stormtroopers.  Then, blasts his way to the examining room.  

Dr. Pershing pleads for his life as Baby Yoda is being scanned.  The Mandalorian blasts an IT-O Interrogator Droid, the same black sphere that tortured Princess Leia in ANH.  Dr. Pershing says that he protected the child.  The bounty hunter has left with the child in blankets, Lone Wolf and Cub-style.  Stormtroopers try to corner him in a dark room, but they haven’t dealt with a Mandalorian before!  He uses his flame thrower to cook a Stormtrooper in his armor!  Stormtroopers have him surrounded so The Mandalorian sets down Baby Yoda, but has another trick up his gauntlet!  He walks out with the baby.  The tracking fobs of all of the bounty hunters in the cantina all activate!  Greef Carga looks at his tracking fob, he knows it is The Mandalorian.  A bounty hunter with dreadlocks follows behind, then all of the bounty hunters surround him with Greef Carga telling him to “put down the Package”!  It looks like every bounty hunter has The Mandalorian under fire.   He is not invincible even in his beskar steel armor.  The three episodes seem to be all one story or a single movie with three directors.  This show ramps up the action as now The Mandalorian is on the run.  

Five Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five!  

#TheMandalorian, #TheSin, #BabyYoda, #GreefCarga.  

Frozen 2 Review!

Frozen (2013) was a phenomenon and now six years later the sequel expands into new territory with the same beloved characters and new, maybe less memorable songs!  It features the return of Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, who co-directed the original and also worked on the story.  Marc Smith also returns for the story as well as songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.  The story structure for the first Frozen was based on musicals, but Frozen 2 opens with a flashback.  Young Elsa (Mattea Conforti) and Anna (Hadley Gannaway) are playing Enchanted Forest with Elsa’s ice figures (wait for Frozen 2 playset).  King Agnarr (Alfred Molina) tells Elsa and Anna a bedtime story.  The voices are recast for the sequel with Molina bringing some cache also voicing Double Dan in Ralph Breas the Internet (2018).  Anna and Elsa are told the story of the Enchanted Forest to the north when elemental spirits (air, fire, water, and earth) were in that land (shades of Princess Mononoke).  Young Agnarr was there with his father, King Runeard (Jeremy Sisto).  

Agnarr explains that a dam was built and then the Northuldran people and Runeard and his Arendelle people met, but it broke into a battle between them.  The spirits left and set up a wall of mist to seal away the world.  Young Agnarr fell and was struck in the head.  Then, we get their mother, Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood) sing her daughters a lullaby, “All is Found” about the river Ahtohallan which has all of the answers.  Of course, Wood is known for the Westworld series, but I remember her from the musical Across the Universe (2007).  It is autumn in Arendelle, we have the older Anna (Kristen Bell) and Queen Elsa (Idina Menzel) spend time with Olaf (Josh Gad), the animated snowman.  Anna, of course, supports her sister, but finds her own strength.  Elsa finds that a voice is calling her (Norwegian singer Aurora) and has to follow it to answer questions from the past.  Olaf is full of trivia facts, a funny nod to the adults in the audience.  We do have Kristoff (Jonathan Groff) struggling to propose to Anna speaking for his reindeer pal, Sven.  Goff also returns to voice Kristoff, has some character development, and a solo song.  The beginning here feels like a direct to home video title like Olaf’s Frozen Adventure (2017).

They all play charades, but the voice is too strong for Elsa to ignore.  She uses her powers to answer the voice, which is the setting for her ballad, “Into the Unknown”, and awakens the spirits!  The spirits include the fires that are all extinguished around Arendelle, a wind storm that pulls everyone out of the city, including the earth spirit that rolls through the pavement keeping all of the Arendelle citizens to the hills.  The trolls join them, Grand Pappie (Ciarán Hinds) explains that Elsa must learn the truth to save them.  He has reprised his role after appearing in such dramas as First Man (2018).  The friends head north with Sven pulling the sleigh and Olaf telling them all that he has learned.  They reach the wall of mist, but are repelled by it, then Elsa uses her powers and pierces the wall with the others.  They encounter survivors from King Runeard’s time led by Lieutenant Mattias (Sterling K. Brown).  He of course is known for This is Us, but has voiced Garry in The Angry Birds Movie 2 and was N’Jobu in the flashback scene of Black Panther (2018).  Anna recognizes him from his portrait.  Mattias is loyal to Arendelle and hopes to return.  

They are met by the rival Northuldrans, a tribe of the sun, led by Yelana (Martha Plimpton). She stars in the comedy Brockmire and of course recognized for her part in The Goonies (1985).  The wind spirit sweeps them up and Elsa again uses her power which forms into ice sculptures.  They name the playful wind spirit Gale.  Then, the forest ignites with the appearance of the fire spirit, Bruni.  The cute salamander is tamed by Elsa’s ice powers.  They settle in with the Northuldrans and Kristoff gets a solo, 80’s power ballad, “Lost in the Woods”, nice song about his relatiosnhip with Anna, very funny, but breaks the setting.  He does make friends with Northuldran Ryder (Jason Ritter) who also talks for his reindeers.  Ritter is currently in the Netflix superhero series Raising Dion, but I remember him as Kevin Finn in the brilliant and short lived Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.  Ryder’s sister is Honeymaren played by Rachel Matthews.  She reprised her role in Happy Death Day 2U this year.  They are all in fear of the towering, lumbering earth spirits.  Elsa gets closer to revealing the past and faces massive waves to reach her destiny to restore the balance.  She manages to ally with the water spirit, Nokk, in the form of a watery stallion.  There is a scene at the very end of the end credits!  Frozen 2 is a worthy sequel, taking characters to the next step, and bringing in new friends! 

Three Salamanders out of Five!   

#Frozen2, #JenniferLee, #ChrisBuck, #IdinaMenzel, #KristenBell, #JoshGad, #JonathanGroff

Star Wars: Resistance, “The Engineer”, Review!

On Colossus Base, in the control room, Captain Doza brings his worry to Yeager.  The base’s scanners are down and may not detect a First Order attack.  Yeager’s faith is in Neeku who is busy working on a console with Kaz.  He needs a tool to weld a part and struggles to reach over for it.  Kaz’s work malfunctions and the droid, 4D-M1N (Mary Elizabeth McGlynn), reports that the scanners are now working.  Neeku checks on Kaz’s console, he finds an emergency hologram recording of a female pilot.  It is distorted, but they can hear her audio.  Kaz volunteers to fly the rescue mission.  Yeager tells him to find someone who knows how to use a blaster.  A shuttle heads off with Kaz taking Synara San.   It docks with a large freighter.  Steam fills the room with the opened air lock, Kaz and Synara have blasters out, then the blue-faced alien pilot comes out.  She says her name is Nena (Meghan Falcone), a computer engineer trying to escape the First Order.  Kaz offers to help her ship so she can help work on the base’s systems.  Her suggestion to Neeku gets the controls operational.  In the engine room, she quickly gets things running with Neeku.  

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE -- “The Engineer” -- Disney/Lucasfilm.

They end up at Aunt Z’s bar, but Nena is suspicious about pirates.  She has detected the pirates are draining power to their ship.  Kragan Gorr, the pirate leader doesn’t like the accusation, but Nena doesn’t back down.  For some reason, I’m suddenly had the feeling that somehow Star Wars: Rebels will be tied to this series.  At the finale of that show Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano were off to search for Ezra Bridger.  He was lost in hyperspace with Thrawn and the space whales called purrgil.  Filoni tied in Clone Wars with Rebels bringing in Ahsoka Tano and Captain Rex.  The Colossus Base has also been lost.  I think the two groups will somehow run into each other.  The power suddenly goes out and Nena runs away with Neku.  They report the pirates’ activity to Captain Doza and Yeager.   Kaz sneaks into the pirate lair with a mask, but is caught by Synara.  Neku has power regulators working so no power can be stolen.  Nena asks him about his parents whom Neku says are bantha herders.  She tells her story of being sold by pirates to a Hutt clan when she escaped.  A very dark story for a Disney animated series.  Kaz discusses the power loss with Synara who blames Nena.  Synara is suspicous that she could fix her ship.  She wants to check the ship.

STAR WARS: RESISTANCE -- “The Engineer” -- Disney/Lucasfilm.

They enter Nena’s ship and find encrypted data for the ship.  They find that Nena was tracking the base for the First Order.  Synara stays with the ship and Kaz heads off to warn others.  Nena is laughing with Neeku and Kaz pulls his friend away.  He tells Neeku that Nena is working with the First Order.  They run towards Nena’s hip she blasts at them.  She wants Neku to join her.  CB-23 knocks her blaster away.  4D-M1N reports that the First Order has arrived.  Synara fights with Nena who manages to run away and escape in her ship.  Captain Doza needs Kaz and Neku to repair Nena’s sabotage.  Kaz heads off to stop the regulators.  Nena reports to Commander Pyre who sends credits to her account.  The sabotage plot was planned by Agent Tierny.  TIE fighters fire on Colossus Base as Kaz runs to bring the power back to the station.  Kaz reaches the pirates and needs their help.  Captain Kragan shut down power.  Neku restores power and they jump into hyperspace.  The failure has Commander Pyre given the order to take care of Nena.   The two friends head down the market.  

Three Lightsabers out of Five! 

#StarWarsResistance, #TheEngineer, #Nena, #4DM1N 

The Mandalorian, Chapter 2 “The Child”, Review!

The Mandalorian continues with the second episode written by Jon Favreau and directed by Rick Famuyiwa who also directed and wrote the drama Dope (2015).  The Mandalorian has taken a high stakes bounty from a former Imperial official.  He flies to a desert planet, Arvala-7, in his Razorcrest ship.  He has help in the form of Ugnaght Kuiil and also the droid bounty hunter, IG-11.  After taking on a hacienda of blastermen, he has discovered his bounty, a child!  Sorry, I’m still not spoiling the identity of the child who has not be identified, but he is cute and alien.  In the rocky canyons, is a strange lizard creature that scurries away from the bounty hunter and the floating sphere containing the child.  The lil’ alien looks at the lizards.  By the way if they don’t sell a stuffie of the child, there will be riots at Galaxy’s Edge!  Sorry Baby Groot, but you are yesterday’s baby!  The Mandalorian senses something and unholsters his blaster.  

Two Trandoshans leap at him with vibro axes!  They are the reptilian hunters of Wookies whom we first saw in the form of Bossk in Empire Strikes Back (1980).  The Trandoshans are no match for the bounty hunter.  He sees their bounty hunting puck.  Later at sunset, he is using a tool to seal the wound on his arm.  The Child walks over to The Mandalorian and reaches out for the wound, but the bounty hunter picks him up to put him back in the sphere.  Sunrise, The Mandalorian has returned to his ship and found that it is nearly disassembled by Jawas who arrived in their sandcrawler!  This of course is a throwback to A New Hope (1977), but we have only seen Jawas on Tatooine and the planet last episode.  The bounty hunter scopes out the Jawas and then takes out his rifle.  He blasts them into empty robes and reloads.  The Sandcrawler closes up and The Mandalorian chases after it with the sphere behind him.

It has camp items hanging on its roof.  The bounty hunter catches hold of the Sandcrawler’s tread while there are numerous hatches with Jawas popping out.  They have red eyes instead of the pale yellow that we saw on Tatooine.  A spotter Jawa has the driver throw the Sandcrawler towards a rocky outcrop very similar to Indy and the tank in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).  He lies across the treads and then uses his grapnel to ascend the sandcrawler’s side while being pelted with scrap from the Jawas.  The Mandalorian makes it to the top, but has to face a group of Jawas!  Can I play any Dusty Jawas songs after seeing the red-eyed Jawas?  He regains consciousness and heads with the sphere to see the tattered remains of the Razorcrest.   Then, he makes the long walk back to the farm of Kuiil.  He sees the child who chases after a frog.  Kuiil offers to take him to the Jawas. In the night rain, Kuiil rides his Blurrg dragging along The Mandalorian on a platform.  It is apparent that Kuiil would have more than a cameo last episode.  

They reach the sandcrawler parked in a canyon with the Jawas setting up a camp.  Kuiil greets them in the Jawa language.  The Jawas take out their ion blasters as the bounty hunter approaches with his rifle.  Kuiil tells him to disarm and The Mandalorian says “weapons are part of my religion.”  He does accept to trade with the Jawas.  They all sit to negotiate, the bounty hunter tries to speak Jawa, but he does so poorly.  The Jawas want his armor, then the child, before agreeing on The Egg.  Kuiil sighs as the Jawas chant, “The Egg!”  The Sandcrawler heads through the canyons.  It is interesting to see the bounty hunter in the cockpit of the Jawa vehicle.  The rear hatch of the Sandcrawler opens when they reach their destination and The Mandalorian walks out with the sphere.  

He reaches a dark cave in the rocky hills.  This is great because we get the classic Quest with the hero facing the beastie.  Kuiil of course is the mentor and guide.  He checks his armor and blaster before entering.  In the dark cave, he uses his helmet light, revealing bones.  Then, there is a growling before the child watches blasterfire in the cave.  The Mandalorian is tossed in the mud outside of the cave.  The beast has a massive horn with fur something like the Reek in Attack of the Clones, but more like a prehistoric Woolly Rhinoceros.  He finds himself matched without effective weapons against the creature, but somehow he must defeat it to restore his ship.  A strong episode, love the myth part, and a shorter run time, but a complete story.  Still, we have to find out the fate of the Child!   

Five Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five!  

#TheMandalorian, #TheChild, #Kuiil, #Jawas 

Disney+, Should You Add Another Streaming Service?

Disney+ has entered the streaming arena with Netflix and Amazon Prime all competing for viewers.  It is priced at $6.99 a month with 7 days free.  There is also a package with Hulu and ESPN+ for $12.99 a month.  Competitive pricing.  Disney+ features content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic.  The brands all under the Disney banner.  This is an incredible consolidation of entertainment and informative content that was spearheaded by Bob Iger and the Disney team.  This is the vision that has brought in a record $8 billion at the box office.  It is no longer an animation studio with a theme park.  I remember the days of the Apple Dumpling Gang (1975) when Disney was very tame with family content.  

Tron (1982) and then Touchstone Pictures expanded the Disney entertainment value.  Then, Disney bought Pixar in 2006 for $7.4 billion.  2009, the company purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion, I do remember the days when Marvel almost went bankrupt.  This of course opened the content to cover young viewers and some adults.  Then, Lucasfilm was bought by Disney for $4 billion in 2012.  Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in March of this year adding National Geographic.  The brilliance of this is covering the four quadrants.  When audiences think Disney they know it is not in the family niche, but entertainment in its entirety.  Disney+ is the fulfillment of all of these maneuvers that may carry the company in its next phase.  

So the question is should everyone, anyone, add yet another streaming service?  My answer is if you only like a show like The Mandalorian, no.   The days of three networks looking for that must-see show is over.  Viewers now watch multiple programs looking for something fresh that works with their particular tastes.  I’ve subscribed to a number of streaming services and I have to say you need a service where a majority of its content appeals to you.  I was heavily watching one or two shows in other services and then lost interest.  Hopefully, there will be new content added regularly.  Disney+ features a banner running their latest shows; The Mandalorian, Encore!, original films like Lady and the Tramp, and movies like Captain Marvel.  Then, it has icons for the brands before you get selections like Originals, Recommended For You, and Hit Movies.  

The search leads you to Explore selections like National Geographic Exploring Our World, The Muppets, and Marvel Animation Collection.  It also has the search tab so you can look on your own through the extensive library.  The downside is that if you do make a search, say “Spider-Man”, then you return to the home screen and can’t continue searching titles.  The page of the title you choose has a + button to add it to your Watch List and also has Suggested, Extras (a few home video extras, but basically trailers and deleted scenes for now), and Details.  In some of the descriptions, there is “It may contain outdated cultural depictions.”  This is great since there is some classics that don’t need to be edited.  Parents have to aware and explain to their children, if not, pass on the title.  I get the sensitivity, but I’m a major proponent of keeping work intact.  

There are a few titles that have “Coming soon to Disney+.  Due to existing agreements this title will be available on…”. These films are pending, but I like the tag and the expected release date.  So, the first day it was up, I was trying to play The Mandalorian.  No luck, and also with other titles.  I ended up playing The Imagineering Story, a very comprehensive documentary by Leslie Iwerks.  It focuses on building Disneyland and its years up to Walt Disney’s death.  There isn’t a run time, but it is about an hour long  documentary.  Then, it was filling up my Watchlist; cartoon series and films, Tron Uprising which I missed, it is nice to have all of the Clone Wars in one place, and classic movies like Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959).   This is good diversity of content needed for a streaming service.  

I would actually like a host introducing the various areas of Disney+, suggesting titles, Disney could have Kristen Bell, Pixar, John Ratzenberger, Marvel, Brie Larson,  Star Wars, Mark Hamill, and National Geographic, Jeff Goldblum.  This would give a personal touch to the streaming service.  The Extras features are lacking for all of them.   I would like introductions to some of the titles.  Possibly commentary tracks (my favorite), production artwork (a great early home video feature that has been missing lately), music videos (which was big for Disney), panels at D23 Expo, and any documentaries.  The docs could be attached under the Suggested button.  I would like to see a show on the Disney Legends with the D23 Expo ceremonies.  New episodes drop tomorrow!   

#DisneyPlus, #TheMandalorian, #TheImagineeringStory, #Encore, #LadyandtheTramp