The Mandalorian, Chapter Thirteen: The Jedi”, Review!

Last episode, The Mandalorian was given a clue by Bo-Katan to go to “the city of Calodan on the forest planet of Corvus.” This episode is written and directed by Dave Filoni because of course, he is closely connected to a character he created.  The first episode he has done so without Favreau’s script.  We open to a city with industrial stacks spewing smoke.  There is an alarm gong ringing and soldiers running out with blaster rifles.  They are aliens and wear breath masks, but we never get to see their faces.  They scramble to the battlements where there is blasterfire in the forest of barren trees, the desolate landscape is a very ecological message.  Also, fighting is someone with twin white lightsaber blades!  We see under her hood that it is Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson)!  She is an incredible genre actress, Dawson played Nevada in Zombieland: Double Tap (2019).  The character was introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008), she was an apprentice to Anakin Skywalker, and she was voiced by Ashley Eckstein.  We last saw Ahsoka, chronologically, in the Star Wars: Rebels episode, “Family Reunion - and Farewell” (2018), co-directed and co-written by Dave Filoni.  The last time we saw Ahsoka was in the Clone Wars episode, “Victory and Death”, written by Filoni, which was out on May 4th. 

 The battle with Ahsoka is good, but there isn’t context in what is happening.  Jedi is usually more subtle, breaking out the lightsabers are usually last resort so what is the threat that she couldn’t get past the guards?  A gunfighter, Lang (Michael Biehn) watches from the battlement and he is joined by a woman magistrate (Diana Lee Inosanto).  It is absolutely a treasure to have Biehn in the SW universe.  He is well known as Corporal Hicks in Aliens (1986) and thankfully left out of the Avatar movies to be here!  Inosanto is known as a stunt person, she starred in, directed, and wrote the action movie The Sensei (2008).  Lang as a gunfighter makes me think of another one, Gallandro, in Han Solo and the Lost Legacy (1980).  The Magistrate dares her to reveal herself.  Ahsoka walks out with her lightsabers.  The Magistrate says that she won’t give her some form of knowledge.  She has a citizen taken to the edge of the battlement by the guards.  Ahsoka gives the Magistrate one day to surrender.  The Razorcrest appears from hyperspace.  The Mandalorian is piloting the ship to Corvus, which looks like cloudy planet, and says to Baby Yoda he found a beacon. He has to remind Baby Yoda to get in his seat for the landing. At his seat, Baby Yoda reaches out with the Force to the ball socket on his favorite switch.  The Razorcrest flies over Calodan with its guards standing watch.  There are some tall beasties eating tree branches when the Razorcrest has landed.  Mando takes the ball socket and Baby Yoda to the city.  

At the city walls, the leader asks The Mandalorian if he is a “hunter”, bounty hunter, and still with the Guild.  Mando tells him “last I checked” and the gate is opened.  Baby Yoda is hidden in a pouch underneath his cloak.  He tries to talk to citizen (Wing Tao Chao), but is taken to the Magistrate by some guards.  Prisoners are locked in poles along the path to the Magistrate.  The gates open to what looks like a Japanese garden with some ponds around it.  The Magistrate sprinkles red powder to the water.  She mentions to The Mandalorian that a Jedi is after her.  He stresses that his price is high.  The Magistrate is given a metal spear by a droid.  She hands it to him and he realizes it is made of Beskar steel.  Lang takes Mando outside of the city gates.  He sees Baby Yoda in The Mandalorian’s pouch and he says it’s for luck.  Mando reaches the coordinates in the blasted forest.  He carries his rifle and is doing a thermal scan.  The Mandalorian uses his macrobinocular scope to see the beasties in the distance.  He is suddenly struck by Ahsoka Tano’s lightsabers which he deflects with his gauntlets.  She flips away with Mando’s flamethrower igniting her cloak.  He catches her with his grappling rope, but she leaps up over a tree branch to bring him up on the other side.  She notices Baby Yoda.  Her clothing now has the tunic with short skirt, but she has added trousers and dark boots.  Also her montral, the horns, her head tails do not look as large as in Clone Wars and Rebels.  

Mando paces as Ahsoka sits quietly with Baby Yoda under the moon.  She sets Baby Yoda on a rock next to Mando and explains that they can communicate through thoughts.  Also, she tells him The Child’s name!  Won’t spoil it, you have to see the episode!  I will say the name of the child in Lone Wolf and Cub is Daigorō.  Also, the name sounds vaguely like the Saiyan in the Dragon Ball anime.  Ahsoka continues that he was raised on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple.  So Baby Yoda was at the Jedi Temple at the time when Yoda was in the Jedi Council!   We of course did not see The Child in the Clone Wars.  He was taken from the temple at the end of the Clone Wars by an unknown person and hidden.  The Mandalorian’s task is to take Baby Yoda to his people, but the Jedi are gone, and Ahsoka is no Jedi.  She left the order one year before the Emperor took power and never became a Jedi Knight.  This was in the Clone Wars episode, “The Wrong Jedi” (2013).  In the morning, Ahsoka tests the Child for his ability in the Force.  Mando sets Baby Yoda on a rock and Ahsoka sends a pebble out to him with The Force.  She asks for him to return the stone, but he drops it.  Ahsoka detects the fear in Baby Yoda and says he has hidden his powers to survive.  She realizes that she has not earned the trust of The Child.  

Ahsoka has Mando hold up the stone and use Baby Yoda’s name to compel him to move the stone.  He takes out the ball socket and Baby Yoda yanks it over to him with the Force!  Ahsoka knows that Baby Yoda’s attachment to Mando makes it dangerous for her to train him.  She starts to leave for the city when The Mandalorian says the Magistrate sent him to kill her.  He offers to help in excahnge for training Baby Yoda.  He says there is a small army, two assassin droids, and a gunfighter, Lang, whom he says is ex-military, Imperial.  It looks like an Old West shootout.  Ahsoka explains that the Magistrate is Morgan Elspeth, her people were killed in the Clone Wars, and she turned to help build the Imperial Starfleet. Ahsoka says they have to free the three prisoners he saw before the inner gate.  He says, “they’ll never see it coming.”!  Honestly, I would not mind if Ahsoka does not return later in The Mandalorian, if she does great, but a single appearance would make her unique.  This chapter offers some great battles, back story to Baby Yoda, and surprises, but it is a missing a tight story like the other episodes.   

Four Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five!  

 

#TheMandlorian, #TheJedi, #RosarioDawson, #MichaelBiehn, #DianaLeeInosanto

Re:tro Re:view - Masters of the Universe!

Masters of the Universe (1987) is the best version of Jack Kirby’s New Gods until we get the new Ava DuVernay film!  The movie is directed by Gary Goddard, he co-created the series Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, and then worked on theme parks rides.  The screenplay is by David Odell who wrote the screenplay for The Dark Crystal (1982) and also Supergirl (1984).  As a kid, I didn't buy a single figure, but was an avid viewer of the Filmation show.  It opens with a painting of Castle Greyskull, the narrator, Peter Brooks, explains that the castle has kept the peace in the universe.  Then, we glimpse the crystal headdress of the Sorceress (Christina Pickles).  She played Monica Gellar’s mother in Friends.  The credit sequence attempts to be heroic with music by Bill Conti like the Superman titles.  An explosion brings us to the rocky, desert land outside of Castle Greyskull, a very good matte.  Inside the castle is the black-suited soldiers carrying rifles heralding the appearance of Skeletor.  He is played by Frank Langella, a veteran actor, who played the title role in Dracula (1979), and Perry White in Superman Returns (2006).  Langella perfectly captures the power mad villain and has fun with the part so it would be a disappointing movie without a good Skeletor.  He is the Darkseid counterpart in this film.  

This also extends to the make-up effects, the make-up supervisor was Michael Westmore, who is known for designing the make-up for Star Trek series and movies.  The cartoon was basically a talking skull, but the design had the eye sockets revealing Langella’s eyes and wrinkled mouth that was skull-like, but allowed Langella to emote.  This extends to the work of costume designer, Julie Weiss.  She moved away from the purple and blue gladiator outfit of the toy to a sinister black hood and cloak with armor.  The designs are also a credit to production designer, William Stout, he also worked on Conan the Barbarian (1982) as a production artist.  Skeletor walks with his skull staff to the throne room of Castle Greyskull.  Another great matte painting with statues, skull fixtures, and labyrinth passages below the throne room.  Evil-Lyn (Meg Foster) reports that they have sealed off the castle.  Foster also starred in They Live (1988).  The female lieutenant of Darkseid would be Granny Goodness.  The evil forces of Skeletor come from Snake Mountain which we do not see here.  

Skeletor has imprisoned the Sorceress who is in a sheathe of light.  Her cartoon counterpart had a falcon headdress with a feathered, white swimsuit and orange feathered cloak, the film has her with simple, white robes and a crystal headdress.  He has Evil-Lyn broadcast his message to Eternia through a holo sphere.  Skeletor demands total allegiance as we see the red-cloaked figure of He-Man (Dolph Lundgren) watching the message in the sky.  Lundgren was moving from Ivan Drago in Rocky IV (1985) and of course returned to the role in Creed II (2018).  He is dressed as a space gladiator, but is a powerful, reassuring hero.  He-Man is like Orion who is fated to be locked in a final battle with Darkseid.  Skeletor’s soldiers, not exactly Para-demons, are moving the defeated resistance through the rocky terrain.  They have black armor and helmets that almost look insectoid.  One of the prisoners, Gwildor (Billy Barty) is being carried in a net.  Gwildor, a new character, replaces Orko from the cartoon.  Barty was well known as a character actor playing Screwball in Legend (1985) and later High Aldwin in Willow (1988).  He passed way in 2000.  Gwildor has a shock of orange hair, long ears that flip, and a wizened face.  The closest character in New Gods would be Metron.  His character is goofy, brilliant, and fun.  

He-Man takes on Skeletor’s soldiers using his sword and laser rifle.  He is joined by allies, Man-at-Arms (Jon Cypher) and his daughter, Teela (Chelsea Field).  Cypher later played Howard Millhouse in 1988 episodes of Probe.  Field starred in the action movie, Commando (1985).  Man-at-Arms has left the goofy, grey helmet, yellow and green armor, with loincloth for a blue helmet and armor that matches his daughter.  Teela instead of having red hair and the white swimsuit with brass breastplate armor, wears a form-fitting, blue and grey outfit.  Man-at-Arms explains that their forces were overwhelmed by Skeletor.  Gwildor tries to get himself free of the net and the others help untangle him from the net.  He takes everyone to his cave home filled with his inventions.  He brings up a cylindrical device which Gwildor calls the Cosmic Key.  He activates the prototype with swirling spikes and music that Gwildor explains can “open a doorway to anywhere.”  It would be similar to the Mother Boxes that were in the Justice League (2017) movie.  He-Man realizes that Skeletor used the device to slip into the city and take the defenders by surprise.  Gwildor says that Evil-Lyn stole the Cosmic Key.  He worries that using the Cosmic Key will allow Skeletor to track them.  

Karg (Robert Towers) is in charge of the search for Gwildor.  He is a new character, strange, reptilian face with pale, rockstar hair.  An alert sends the heroes to Gwildor’s secret passage under Castle Greyskull.  He-Man and the others find the Sorceress trapped in an energy field.  She says she has until moonrise to resist Skeletor.  He-Man has Gwildor use the Cosmic Key to get past the energy field.  They find that the soldiers have arrived with Evil-Lyn and Skeletor.  He-Man defies Skeletor.  Evil-Lyn realizes that Gwildor has another key!  The battle begins and while He-Man holds off the laser blasts, Man-at-Arms has Gwildor use the Cosmic Key to escape.  The gate opens and Man-at-Arms and Teela leap in!  The Cosmic Key is blasted out of Gwildor’s hands.   He-Man takes Gwildor into the gate, Gwildor sends out his grappling hook to snatch the Cosmic Key before the gate closes!  The gate opens in a forested area and they find themselves in a strange world.  Gwildor realizes that the key is missing.  Then, they encounter an “alien life form”, a cow!  This is Earth, He-Man’s mother, Queen Marlena, was from Earth.  Never seen or mentioned is He-Man’s other identity as Prince Adam.  

This shifts to a fast food restaurant, Robby’s Ribs `n’ Chicken.  Then, we are introduced to Julie Winston (Courtney Cox) who is working her last day at the restaurant.  Cox is of course known for Friends and also her role in Scream (1996) which is returning in 2022.  She is planning on leaving her home after her parents were lost in a plane crash.  Julie goes to see her boyfriend Kevin Corrigan (Robert Duncan Macneil).  McNeil is known for playing Lt. Tom Paris in Star Trek: Voyager.  He is an aspiring musician who is fascinated by the Cosmic Key which they find at the cemetery.  Gwildor uses his grappling hook to snatch a bucket of ribs from the back of a car.  The others tuck in to the ribs, Teela is repulsed that it came from an animal, but Man-at-Arms doesn’t mind.  Very funny.  When Kevin starts to play notes on the Cosmic Key, it is detected by Evil-Lyn.  She assembles mercenaries under Skeletor’s orders.  This includes Blade (Anthony De Longis), a bald and very deadly swordsman, Saurod (Pons Maar), a lizard man creature, Beast Man (Tony Carroll), the only original Skeletor henchman, and Karg.  They are hunting He-Man and friends.  Also caught up in the adventure is Detective Lubic (James Tolkan) who was of course also a nuisance to Marty McFly in the Back to the Future movies.  A new movie is in development, but we still have the original!  Masters of the Universe polishes its past as toy and cartoon, has enough fun to be a good adventure, with a comic book vision!  "Good Journey."    

Four Cosmic Keys out of Five! 

#MastersoftheUniverse, #GaryGoodard, #DolphLundgren, #FrankLangella, #JonCypher, #ChelseaField, #BillyBarty, #MegFoster

Iron Mask Review!

Iron Mask is a b-movie of some martial arts action, CGI effects that are off the shelf, and tons of characters with clunky dialogue.  It is also known as Viy 2: Journey to China.  This is a sequel to Forbidden Empire (2014) also known as Viy which featured Jonathan Green traveling to Transylvania.  The film is directed and co-written by Oleg Stepchenko who also directed the previous movie.  His direction is very disjointed, some parts are meant to be funny, but the movie may have worked if it focused on an individual piece like the village.  The other screenwriters include Dmitry Paitsev and Alexey A. Petrukhin.  Jackie Chan and Arnold Schwarzenegger are producers, but their parts are cameos. 

It is a co-production from the Russian Film Group Corporation and China Film Co., Ltd.  The movie opens with a very CGI scene, it looks like early computer game graphics, of a mountain in the clouds in the shape of a dragon.  It was meant for 3D with obvious “coming at ya” shots.   There is heavy dubbing which is strange because even the actors speaking in English have stilted dialogue and there is no attempt to learn new languages.  A narrator explains that this is the Great Dragon.  It apparently has eyelashes that creates a tea that heals people.  The dragon has a magical Seal that is watched over by the Master, and his daughter, the Princess.  A witch and her army takes over the cave and puts the dragon to sleep.  The Master and the Princess were captured and imprisoned at “opposite sides of the world.” 

This resolves to a bearded Master (Jackie Chan) asleep.  One of Chan’s recent movies was The Foreigner (2017).  This is the first time that we get a real person in this long sequence.  Then, we get the Tower of London in England, guards move through the prison, and a door is opened by a captain with a mustache (Schwarzenegger).  There is a chained man (Yuri Kolokolnikov) in an iron mask.  The actor played Vokov in Tenet.  Kolokolnikov tries to play along with the goofy tone of the movie.  There is of course a nod to Alexandre Dumas’ novel.  It was made into a film with some awkward sword work in The Man in the Iron Mask (1998).  The masked man lays out seeds to capture a homing pigeon.  The message is a letter to Miss Dudley.  Then, we have the appearance of Miss Emma Dudley (Anna Churina) and Jonathan Green (Jason Flemyng) from the first film.  These are the two characters from Forbidden Empire.   

Churina has a larger role, attempts at comedy, and action in the vein of Elizabeth Swann in the Pirates films.  Flemyng is also known for another 18th century adventure, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), playing Dr. Jekyll.  Jonathan is almost a side character, connecting the two films, a hapless inventor which reminds me of Steve Coogan’s Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (2004) also starring Jackie Chan.  In bed, they are startled by her father, Lord Dudley, played by Charles Dance also returning from Forbidden Empire.  Another cameo, Dance doesn’t get to meet his co-star in Last Action Hero (1993).  The narration is taken up by Jonathan who says he has invented a way to measure distances using a coach which he calls The Fifth Wheel.  Jonathan explains that he traveled to Transylvania and then to Russia.  He meets with an ancient creature with flaps that reveal tiny eyes called Viy.  Still, he is able to escape to Moscow which looks like a snowy set with obvious matte paintings.  All a recap of the Forbidden Empire.  

The tone of the film seems to be like Van Helsing (2004).  He is taken into a party, wants to see Peter the Great, and then taken into a dungeon for his insolence.  Watching the fallen Jonathan is a mysterious prisoner played by Xingtong Yao.  She was also in CZ12 or Chinese Zodiac 12 (2012) written and directed by Jackie Chan.  The masked man writes on the note to Miss Dudley and then sends it off on the homing pigeon.  At the Dudley palace, Miss Dudley is busy shooting plates with a rifle when she sees the homing pigeon.  She brings the message to her father who is with her child.  The rest of the message is written by Peter the First held in the Tower of London.  The Ambassador (Rutger Hauer) arrives at Moscow in a cart hauled by several pigs.  This is a final part for Hauer and another cameo.  Jonathan is taken from the prison and brought by the Ambassador as we see the other prisoners are brutally punished.  

He is pardoned by the Ambassador and makes an arrangement to map the East.  Jonathan spares the person who showed kindness to him in prison from whipping.  The name of the person called a boy is Cheng Lan and rides on top of the carriage with an umbrella.  It is a massive carriage that is driven by only two horses.  A tree blocks the way of the carriage in a forest and men come out to ambush it.  Jonathan is quickly taken captive by the thugs.  One is surprised by the flying, furry beastie that sneaked away in Russia.  Cheng takes the distraction to go into martial arts mode with an umbrella.  The music is strangely uninterested in the fight scene.  They are aided by the beastie which Cheng calls a Kho Tchai.  Jonathan sends a homing pigeon message to Miss Dudley and she takes a carriage to London.  She is looking for James Hook, the captain, and finds him in a pit fighting prisoners.  

Three men volunteer to his challenge of reaching the top of the prison.  This is the Liu Brothers.  They want to go back to China to help Cheng Lan.  One brother reaches the top and leaps down to fight with his brothers and James frees all of them.  Then, James tells all of the prisoners to exercise in Arnie fashion.  Miss Dudley is there to explain a prisoner is the tsar, Peter, but James says the only Russian prisoner is a spy.  She wants to talk to the prisoners alone with James listening in.  She reads Jonathan’s last letter and the Master is intrigued at her mention of Cheng Lan.  The Master tells Miss Dudley that Cheng Lan is his daughter.  This leads to a prison escape, James takes on all of the prisoners with the guards, as the Master searches for the seal in James’ files which he gives to Peter for his escape.  Peter and Miss Dudley make their way onto a Russian ship that is run by a captain (Martin Klebba).  He is known for playing Marty in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.  A storm takes the ship so a mutiny confines the captain, but he becomes helpful later on.  

The strange part is that the cultural values of the film seem to be locked in that time period.  It is a modern film, but it seems like the filmmakers think it is controversial for a woman, Cheng Lan, to travel alone with a man.  On the other hand, it is not unusual for Miss Dudley to travel on a ship with pirates.  I would imagine that the unusual part is that in all of the years of homing pigeon correspondence, Miss Dudley never mentions to Jonathan is a father.  Poor communication.  The two groups reach China, we find that a village is defended by Li Hong (Mengmeng Li), and the ruler is the Witch (Li Ma).  Li would be interesting if the film was just set as a rebellion.  Ma is the typical supernatural villain.  The film undercuts the supernatural by having Lan’s face made into masks.  The Witch has three giant enforcers that are almost steampunk.  Jonathan and also Peter get caught up in the Witch’s plans.  So everyone has to sort out what is happening and join the rebellion against the Witch.  There is one cool image of waves crashing over rocks in the shape of the dragon at the end of the movie.  Iron Mask is a mash up of films, a host of characters using awkward dialogue, and whirling around some strange plot points with some cheap VFX.   

Three Dragons Seals out of Five!  

#IronMask, #OlegStepchenko, #JasonFlemyng, #Anna Churina, #XingtongYao, #JackieChan, #ArnoldSchwarzenegger

The Outpost, “Go Ahead and Run”, Review!

Last episode, we had the revealation that the zinj is spreading all the way to the Capital and as a host, it is killing Gwynn!  Gwynn is riding up to the Capital with Yavalla and Tobin.  The remaining Three watch them approach.  They find the commander is not following their order, One is destroyed, it is not clear exactly what blue energy disintegrated him.  The last of The Three is put in prison.  The people of the Capital cheer the arrival of the new trio.  At Janzo’s lab, he is busy with Wren examining rats.  They tell Talon the Zinj can’t be surgically removed.  Garret is at the tavern with Zed sharpening his blade.  He says Zed’s hatred of him is probably his relationship with Talon.  Zed admits that he has Garret’s back and uses his zinj to have Garret hit himself!  Janzo brings up fire to destroy Yavalla.  He gives them a bomb that “destroys living tissue”!  Science is fairly destructive.  The killing of a leader to free others is like vampires.  

THE OUTPOST - - “Go Ahead and Run” - - JESSICA GREEN, JAKE STORMOEN, REECE RITCHIE  - - Photo: Aleksander Letic/NBCU International © 2020 Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment.

At the marketplace, Talon puts Janzo in charge of The Outpost, Zed gives Wren rings to contact him.  Wren worries that they are going to kill her mother.  At the Capital, a figure of Yavalla stands in a square, Gwynn declares herself as queen and Yavalla as a god.  A dissenter is infected with a Zinj.  Janzo is at the throne when Wren enters and wants him to work on the Zinj problem.  Zed, Garret, and Talon run to see soldiers kill the infected.  The commander, Jaaris (Sam Callis) says they are headed to The Outpost and say that the Prime Order is gone.  Talon lets them pass and they continue running down the road.  Janzo is looking at the refugees with the mouse cage used to detect the infected. A Zinjed woman controlled by Yavalla slips past and gets some cheese from Munt.  Morning, Garret wakens followed by Talon and Zed.  She admits to Zed what she likes about Garret is his honesty.  

Garret encounters a strange woman that he thinks is infected.  A man comes and leaps at him!  The man tries to infect Garret, but his knife kills him.  Garret sends away the woman, he was suspicious about her, and returns to the camp.  The woman watches them and Yavalla knows that they are on the way which she tells Gwynn.  Janzo goes to the battlement to see the soldiers that are barred from entering The Outpost.  He gives in and has the gates opened!  It is clear that these soldiers are trouble, but Janzo allows them in which makes him responsible for their actions.  They might take over The Outpost with Talon and Gwynn absent.  Garret, Zed, and Talon enter the Captial walls.  They see the gate is guarded.  At the tavern, Walita tries to tell the soldiers that the tavern is closed, Jaaris wants a kiss from her, and he is threatened by Munt.  Janzo tells him that he can be banished.  

THE OUTPOST - - “Go Ahead and Run” - - ANAND DESAI-BAROCHIA, IZUKA HOYLE, ADAM JOHNSON - - Photo: Aleksander Letic/NBCU International © 2020 Outpost TV LLC. Courtesy of Electric Entertainment.

Wren reveals that Janzo is the commander of The Outpost.  He notes that they can be given rations and the commander realizes that there is food in the storehouse!  At the Capital, Garret has a found a way in tunnels, to find refugees and asks them about the queen and Yavalla.  The boy reveals that the last Three is in prison.  Jaaris goes to the storehouse and then is met by Wren who summons Locuri by blowing on the ring (whistle rings were goofy toys) that surround the soldiers.  Jaaris has a red Zinj that causes pain in the Locuri and then the townspeople.  He tells Janzo that he took the Zinj an acolyte that had it.  Jaaris has Janzo give in and holds a sword to Wren.  He seems to be weak after using the Zinj’s power.  Jaaris orders the arrest of the Blackbloods!  The Zinj used by The Three is unusual since humans shouldn’t be able to use them.  At The Outpost, Janzo asks for Wren’s rings that control the Locuri.  He kills one villager and then uses his power to cause pain in others.  Jaaris says that anyone who resists his rule will be taken down by his power.  

The trio sneak up to the courtyard.  They run in and start to battle and find Yavalla is missing only a double is there.  Garret cuts free of the quarters and escapes with the others.  Janzo is at the walls and uses the rings to bring three Locuri.  He speaks what he wrote in the Blackblood language.  The demons leave to go hunting.  Talon doesn’t want to leave until they get Gwynn and Tobin.  Munt pours himself a drink and Janzo bursts in to take him to find the Locuri.  At the wall, they find some animals brought by the demons, Janzo wants to be called Lord of the Demons!  Talon, Garrett, and Zed get into a fierce battle with guards.  They knock down drum that barrels into guards.  They disguise themselves as guards and hide the bodies of the others.  Janzo and Munt give out rations.  The Zinjed woman asks Janzo about the location of the food.  The disguised guards enter the throne room as Gwynn and Tobin are given reports.  She looks sickly and Talon tells Garrett she is dying!  It is unfolding in this episode that there is a new threat with Jaaris beyond saving Gwynn and defeating Yavalla.   

Three Zinjes out of Five!  

#TheOutpost, #GoAheadandRun, #Jaaris, #SamCallis 

D23 Creating Fantastic Worlds Panel!

The D23 Fantastic Worlds Celebration finished yesterday, November 20th, with the panel Creating Fantastic Worlds: A Journey Into Disney Worldbuilding.  The event featured streaming panels, but this one was an exclusive for D23 Gold Members.  The host was Justina Ireland, the author of Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage and Star Wars: Lando’s Luck (2018).  Ireland had interesting questions and was a fun host.  Her favorite world was Wakanda so I hope she writes a Black Panther novel or trade paperback.  There was a number of creative people on the panel across the Disney spectrum.  Paul Felix is a production designer at Walt Disney Animation Studios.  He is working on Raya and the Last Dragon, he was also production designer for Big Hero 6, and worked in visual development of Mulan (1998).  

Noah Kocek is a production designer at Pixar Animation Studios.  He helped design Onward (2020), he was the set designer for Wall-E (2008), and digital artist for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003).  Walt Disney Imagineering senior creative executive, Luc Mayrand, worked on Mission: Space and Treasure Cove at Shanghai Disneyland.  He had models of spaceships on his bookshelf.   Ryan Meinerding, VP of visual development at Marvel Studios, helped design the look of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from Iron Man (2008).  Next is Andy Park, director of visual development at Marvel Studios, he is working on WandaVision and Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.  He had mini-statues of Marvel characters in display.  Another member of this prestigious group is Mark Miller, executive creative producer of  ILMXLab, he has worked on Vader Immortal and Star Wars: Tales of the Galaxy’s Edge.  

They were asked about inspiration of Disneyland and the parks.  Meinerding mentioned seeing the EPCOT souvenir book which showed concept drawings of Living Seas.  Andy Park spoke about growing up in Anaheim, “Disneyland has a special place in my heart.”  Miller discussed the inspiration behind Vader Immortal, “I was always wondering what Vader was doing between Episode IV and one.”  Paul Felix noted that Tarzan started out as a television animation project.  The objective was to capture the “pulpy quality” of the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novels.  Research trips gave perspective especially at the “rainforest in Africa.”  Ryan Meinerding spoke about developing the visual style of the Marvel Studios films.  It was about “problem solving about the character” and “trying to legitimize the superpower.”  

Mark Miller during the course of working on Vader Immortal ended up with discussions about “How many troops Vader would have at his castle.”  His team also worked with the question, “Why is this story in VR?”  The question about “creating rules of these worlds” had Noah Kocek explaining that for Onward, “New Mushroomton was originally going to be set in the Mid-West.” Ultimately, the design team realized “This needs to be in the big city.”  Paul Felix was discussing Big Hero 6 and how designing San Fransokyo led to research trips to Tokyo and noticing, “overloaded power lines” that was used in the film.  Mark Miller discussed talking with Imagineers for Star Wars: Tales of Galaxy’s Edge, “we started talking to the people who were building Galaxy’s Edge before they were building it.”  The game explores areas beyond Black Spire Outpost.  

Luc Mayrand talked about working on a themed land and rides, “you have to compose it” in a world of 360 degrees.  It has to be “multi-sensory” and a “shared experience” with different guests.  He said about rides that hold 30 people, “enough to be a mini theater”, has to engaging for all of the riders.  Noah Kocek noted one research trip, “For Wall-E we got to check out the dump”, which got some laughter.  Mark Miller went to the set of Rogue One and talked to the director Gareth Edwards for Vader Immortal.  Paul Felix said that research trips were taken to Bali, Cambodia, and Laos, for Raya the Last Dragon.  Andy Park said about research trips, “ours was a trip to the comic book store.”  Which was funny, but you don’t need a passport to be swept away in a comic book world.  All of the panelists and host brought insight to the thinking behind some of the best films, animation, and theme parks that are a part of Disney’s Fantastic Worlds!   

#D23, #CreatingFantasticWorlds, #JustinaIreland, #PaulFelix, #NoahKocek, #LucMayrand, #RyanMeinerding, #AndyPark, #MarkMiller 

The Mandalorian, “Chapter Twelve: The Siege”, Review!

Last episode, we had the Razor Crest seemingly repaired by a Mon Calamari and his crew, but the opening of this episode starts with the ship’s systems wheezing and failing in flight.  Of course this episode is directed by Carl Weathers, there is an understanding of everything great about the series, and this episode has it!  Mando is working on getting the ship running and calls for Baby Yoda to get the red wire in a small compartment.  He tries to give instructions to The Child.  The wires are oppositely charged and Baby Yoda doesn’t follow instructions closely enough.  The ship won’t reach Corvus.  Baby Yoda is sipping a soup and watches Mando sip the soup through his helmet.  Mando says he needs to get repairs on Nevarro, the planet of season 1.  The two sipping soup together is great!  Aliens ransack the Mandalorian Forge!  These are Aqualish, the Walrusman aliens, like Ponda Baba whose arm is severed by Obi-Wan.  One is about to chop up a weasel-like creature from a cage until they hear sounds.  The Aqualish are taken down by what one calls the Marshal, Cara Dune!  She tells the weasel creature that she has to get the goods to their owners.  

Mando pilots the Razor Crest to Navarro’s surface as it seems systems are failing in the wire strapped cockpit.  Cara and Greef Carga, Cara smiles at the landing of the ship, it is great to see the return of the duo after three episodes!  Mando gets an arm shake from Greef who says his people will help repair the Razor Crest.  The town seems to be thriving, restored by the work of Cara and Greef.  It occured to me that we had Cobb Vanth on Tatooine and now Cara as marshal, which is lawmen in charge of protecting towns in the Old West.  Also, bounty hunters and cantinas.  The cantina, once part of a battle, has now been restored into a classroom(!) of young students taught by a protocol droid (her voice is by Kathryn Elise Dexter).  We keep getting more of the SW culture from The Mandalorian.  Greef leaves The Child at the classroom and Cara gives her word that Baby Yoda will be safe.  He places Baby Yoda in an empty seat and he becomes the talk of the class.  The teacher doesn’t seem to notice the new student or the distraction of the class and continues the lesson.  A student is muching on blue crackers, refuses to share with Baby Yoda, so he uses the Force to bring it to his desk.  

The Mythrol (Horatio Sanz), blue amphibious alien that was the bounty in the first episode, he was appointed to watch over Greef’s accounts, but ran off.  Mando threatens him.  They have brought Mando there to get help from him.  Cara shows him a holographic map and an area that she doesn’t keep safe, a former Imperial base that was the source of troops in their last battle.  They take a landspeeder through a canyon along with the Mythrol as pilot.  Greef orders him to take them directly to the base taking 100 years from his 300 year sentence.  The landspeeder gets to a door at the bottom of the base.  While the Mythrol works on cutting into the door controls, Mando uses his jetpack to reach a platform.  A stormtrooper screams and falls to the ground and the door opens to a turbolift.  They reach the platform with Mando standing over several fallen stormtroopers.  The Mythrol notes an Imperial Troop Transport (which we saw last season) would be worth a fortune in the black market.  An Imperial officer tries to check on the security monitors, Cara chokes him out!, Creef takes one of his code cylinders.  Mando has found from the console the location of the heat shaft where they will find the reactor to blow up the base.  

They move past some stormtroopers and Mando wants the Mythrol to slice into a door leading to the reactor.  A slicer is a hacker that was introduced in Star Wars by Heir to the Empire (1991).  Greef gives the Mythrol the code cylinder to slice the door.  This infiltration is very Death Star.  Greef orders the Mythrol to overload the reactor on a control tower similar to Obi-Wan Kenobi releasing the tractor beam.  Except below it is the lava and it starts to surge with the Mythrol’s tampering.  Two technicians are sabotaging a console when the others blast them!  They are stunned to find captives in some sort of liquid.  Cara realizes that the base is a lab.  The Mythrol tries to get information from the console and gets a hologram of Dr. Pershing (Omid Abtahl), the doctor that was experimenting on Baby Yoda!  His report was that the blood from Baby Yoda is not working with the captives.  They are being sustained in the tanks, bacta?, but are not freed!  We finally get more of the plot that the Imperials had for Baby Yoda and it looks like some sort of duplication of Force powers.  The report was for Moff Gideon.  Mando believes Gideon is dead, but the Mythrol says the report was made three days ago, they know the truth!  

After taking down some stormtroopers, Mando says that he has to return to get Baby Yoda, The Child is in danger with the Imperial remnants looking to get more of his blood!  He leaves saying he will use his jetpack and the others have to escape with stormtroopers all around them and the reactor about to explode!  Mando reaches the reactor chamber, finishes off a few stormtroopers, and then jet packs to save The Child!  The others reach the hangar and find themselves under blast fire from stormtroopers.  Cara runs for the Troop Transport to give Greef and the Mythrol cover.  The hangar door closes and Cara sends the Troop Transport off of the hangar, plunging down the canyon, and smashing the landspeeder!  Out of the hangar are several speeder bikes, it’s not over yet!, Cara gets Greef to man the transport’s cannons.  I get the feeling that Weathers not only directed the episode, but got a wish list fulfilled starring in it!  She is excellent as a leader as well as a fighter.  It is an excellent chase, but then we find four TIE fighters deployed from the base!  Seeing the Troop Transport in action, now it would be great to have as a toy!  There is a cameo with Captain Treva and a little more background to Cara.  Also a hint of Moff Gideon’s plan!  This series keeps developing in fascinating ways always with call backs to what we like about Star Wars and pointing the way to new additions!    

             

Five Bars of Beskar Steel out of Five!  

#TheMandalorian, #TheSiege, #GinaCarrano, #CarlWeathers, #HoratioSanz, #OmidAbtahl 

Strolling through the (Theme) Park One Day: Buena Vista Street!

Today was the opening of the Disneyland Resort parks in the form of Buena Vista Street after eight months!  I heard rumors of people sleeping overnight, the truth was the earliest I heard was 5 a.m., I was getting supplies and got to the Harbor Boulevard entrance at 8 a.m. There was a line that wrapped around from the temperature check area and down the fence behind Disney’s California Adventure.  A cast member announced that Mickey wouldn’t be there today and about the procedures.  So let’s discuss this, wearing masks properly, covering the nose.  I saw two cast members at the start and end of my trip remind guests to put on their masks correctly.  The other part was socially distancing, 6 feet or more, almost every part of the extended line had markings.  I felt very comfortable in this environment, it was not crowded to the point of feeling you can’t get distance, more on this later.  I had the chance to talk to MigVee and Jannell, youtubers at Magic Journeys, they are completely nice and fun vloggers that cover the foods and treats at the parks!  I went down the line to see how it ran and then it suddenly started moving so I hustled back to get to my place.

                   Buena Vista Street, Disney's California Adventure, photo by the author. 

There was a K-9 unit that went through the line and also at the check point.  I had my temperature taken, standard Downtown Disney procedure, and had my bags checked.   I found out from that point that you needed your phone to scan a QR code.  My phone was not cooperating.  A cast member manually entered my info to get a reservation and waited until I got the text notice.  Then, I had some time to wander Downtown Disney.  I went to World of Disney, looked at some of the Christmas decorations, and also the Star Wars Trading Post.  I saw the Star Wars pop-up store, reservations were gone into next year, the former ESPNZone just had Mickey decorations.  I returned to the queue waiting for my second text notification.  It was about an hour about 11:20 a.m.  Then, it was another queue with social distancing markers to slowly move towards the Disney’s California Adventure gate.  This was at the side of the DCA entrance towards La Brea Bakery Cafe.  I finally entered welcomed by cast members.  There was a hand washing station, I was excited to see the closed Oswald’s Tires station, then there was the rest of Buena Vista Street. 

       Red Trolley car at Hollywood Land, Disney's California Adventure, photo by the author. 

This is DCA’s version of Main Street.  There were two lines, one of the stores with Elias & Company and the right side was Trolley Treats.  Elias & Company had a line, but the actual entrance was at Five & Dime towards the front of the park.  The same with Trolley Treats which had a queue that goes to Mortimer's Market.  Both shopping destinations covered three stores.  Past that sweet shop was Fiddler, Fifer & Practical Cafe.  They offer breakfast sandwiches and I was a little more hungry than a sandwich.  I then went to Hollywood Land, it was just great to walk the street again, there was the red trolley car next to the backdrop.  The trolley was roped off and was there for photos.  It was next to the Hollywood Studios sign and the Animation Academy building.  Award Weiners was open in that section.  In the center of the promenade is Carthay Circle Lounge.  It features alfresco dining and I heard reservations were gone by 10:30 a.m.   All of the dining options were outdoors with a number of tables and spacing.  There were some carts at the waterfall area.  You could walk over to see the construction walls for Avengers Academy.  There were some carts at the waterfall area.  

                        Avengers Campus, Disney's California Adventure, photo by the author. 

You could walk over to see the construction walls for Avengers Academy.  There was a Stark red brick building, several cranes that seem to be part of the Spider-Man attraction, and other buildings that look like they are ready to open.  The rope at Golden Vine Winery allowed me to see the Cars Land sign and Pacific Wharf.  At the promenade fountain, I saw NathanFilms and Lizzie, his page is at NathanFilms on youtube.  So I headed back to Grizzly Peak with Smokejumpers Grill.  This was the restaurant that I frequented the most at the park, but I settled on getting food there.  This was another QR code, but I was able (with help from cast members) to order through the Disneyland AP.  Mobile ordering is required for most of the restaurants.  There, I also saw youtubers, Steve & Kai.  They have their youtube page under Steve & Kai, check it out!   A common sight was youtubers recording, talking to their phones, and filming with cameras.  When I was leaving, I heard that reservations to enter Buena Vista Street were closed at 2:30 p.m.  Last part, the cast members were incredibly helpful and friendly.  Incredible THANKS to every cast member who helped make the day perfect!  I finished the day donating some toys at the donation bin at World of Disney, please donate what you can at the donation bins or at https://www.toysfortots.org/, kids need a little joy more than ever at these times.  It was great just to walk in Disney’s California Adventure and I would like to return soon.  

#BuenaVistaStreet, #DisneysCaliforniaAdventure, #MagicJourneys, #NathanFilms, #Steve&Kai