Science Fantasy - Blog Posts
This drawing idea got me out of my Artist’s block. Weep before it.
Review: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2017)
Rating: 9.8 of 10
We all know how it ends. Princess Leia got ahold of the plans to the Death Star, a moon-sized weapon capable of destroying an entire planet, which she then give to R2-D2 at the beginning of Star Wars: A New Hope. This is a story of that first victory of the Rebels.
While the Star Wars trilogies focus on the Force-wielding people, Rogue One is the story of the struggle of the ordinary people. The closest thing to a “Chosen One” character is Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), daughter to Galen Erso (Mads Mikkelsen), a high-ranking officer of the Empire. But while his father had sympathy for the Rebel’s cause, Jyn has grown apathetic since she was left abandoned at 16 years old. She has connections, but it was her choice to help the Rebels that determines her character.
Other characters include Captain Cassian Andor (Diego Luna), a true believer of the Rebel’s cause with willingness to do anything for it; K2SO (Alan Tudyk), an unlikely friend in the form of reprogrammed Imperial droid; Chirrut Imwe (Donnie Yen) and Baze Malbus (Jiang Wen), a couple of warrior monks and sworn protector of the Kyber Crystals; and Bodhi Rook (Riz Ahmed), a defecting Imperial cargo pilot.
This is Star Wars, like you can live and breathe in it. Rogue One is definitely grittier than the trilogies, more grounded–less quip from the likes of Han Solo, no flashy lightsaber fights, or even the cuteness of a BB-8. It’s street-level Star Wars, but Rogue One does have lighter moments too (’I’M BLIND!’ is definitely the best line the movie IMO), and it is most definitely not without hope.
Hope, after all, is the stuff that Star Wars is made of. These people do not need to have the Force, or be the best of anything, they are just willing to do what it takes to make a difference and change the galaxy for the better. Nothing is going to be easy, and maybe not everyone is going to make it until the end, and yet, somehow it’s all going to be worth it. Devoid of Jedis or a Chosen One, Rogue One only has characters distinguished by their believes and their choices, and that’s okay. That’s kinda the point.
Rogue One did excellently to introduce us to all these new characters, and we fall in love with each of them effortlessly, each for different reasons. Most importantly, Rogue One succeeded in accomplishing what prequels and spin-offs should always do: make the universe feel bigger, more fleshed out. In it, we get to see the different corners of the galaxy and the people who inhabit it–the people who built and lived by it. I found Saw Gerrera (Forest Whitaker), an almost Vader-like rebel extremist leader, to be a very interesting part of Star Wars history (We'll get to see more of him in Star Wars: Rebels series!).
Rogue One had to do so many things for it to succeed. It had to live up to the legacy of the original and prequel trilogies, not to mention The Force Awakens; fit the timeline and canon; and tell a compelling story with entirely new characters. It succeeded in all accounts. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story maybe is not a perfect movie (because nothing is), but to me it is a perfect Star Wars story.
Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Rating: 9.5 of 10
Finally, it's time for Star Wars: The Force Awakens (TFA for short)! I'll try to keep this review vague because I don't want to delve into any spoiler, but first, let's talk about how this is an actual NEW Star Wars movie! I was meh for the prequels (and did not see them on the theaters either), and wasn't alive yet for the original trilogy so I never experienced what the hype felt like. When I went for TFA, I couldn’t shake a jarring feeling when the theater darkened, the stars and the title font appeared, then the crawl text came into view and I read it and it's a text I haven't read before. My mind couldn’t comprehend that it was a new Star Wars movie I was watching, and I can't imagine I'm the only one who felt that way, so it goes to show how important it was for this movie to be good (arguably we could also say that about the prequels, and we lived through them, so take that as you will). Of course, there were the Expanded Universe and animated series, and while they're good (I particularly kept hearing about how good The Clone Wars was), they're not the same. This time, it's a cinematic movie, and everyone is excited.
One thing I could say about TFA is that it's definitely a Star Wars movie. It wasn't like how JJ Abrams tried to "translate" Star Trek from the 60's to 00's; TFA is Star Wars. It's more Star Wars than what the prequels ever hoped to be. I might even go as far as saying that it does have all the good, but also bad, of the originals, but for the most part it's a very entertaining and well-executed movie.
TFA is basically a homage to the originals, and that's the only way for any Star Wars sequel can be done, honestly. The cast and crew are fans too, and they can't just ignore the huge legacy of the franchise. And they did it brilliantly, I say. In TFA, Jedi had evolved into a myth, in the same way that Star Wars had lived and grown in cultural conciousness throught these years. However, TFA very obviously drew its DNA from the original trilogy. Depending on the person, it could be a good thing or a bad thing. Nostalgia is abound (not in a bad way) and you could basically pin point which traits in each new characters are like Han, Luke, Anakin, etc. I myself didn't mind, because it wasn't like A New Hope (or as some others would call it, simply Star Wars) had the most original story ever. But what’s most important for me, all the visual spectacle and world building that made the franchise so famous, were there too. The various aliens, the lived-in technology, the dog fights, the visually cool villains--even down to the cantina, and also the appearance of sand (not Tatooine), and ice (not Hoth), and green (not Endor) planet. There's a shot that I particularly liked; it was about the first time we see new character Rey (Daisy Ridley), in a long shot near a spaceship wreckage, and it was both beautiful and had amazing sense of scale. It was the moment I knew the movie wouldn't disappoint me for being Star Wars.
Rey, Finn (John Boyega), and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) are the new additions to this movie, and viewers won't have problem falling in love with them. Kylo Ren is especially interesting, psychologically, and I'd like to know more about him. The old characters too, namely Luke Skywalker, now General Leia Organa, and Han Solo are also worthy and natural addition to the story. And BB-8! I was a fan of R2-D2 and BB-8 is an excellent progeny of R2-D2, and an even cuter one. And oh, the movie is extremely funny. It had great comedic timing that don't interfere with the actual movie and it's very fun.
TL;DR A fun, hearty movie with great worldbuilding unique to Star Wars, this movie won't disappoint newly introduced viewers or old fans.
The Navigator
My next chapter just dropped. I hope you like it.
Coming in April to Kindle Vella
Renegade on Kara: The Great Basin Roger was the gifted top student at a university dedicated to magic so large it took up several continents of the infinite universe known as Kara. That prestigious university was simply called The University. But not all the students accepted that the AIs rated him higher than they. One managed to goad him into an illegal duel. In winning, he loses everything,…
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Fun Facts About Jira, my world building project #2
Jira can largely be classified as a Science Fantasy world but because of the scale of the Jira project it's more accurate to categorize the different eras of Jira into different genres. For now they are as follows:
Prehistory - Speculative Biology
Surface era - Medieval Fantasy
Dispace era - Underground Fantasy
Early Island era - Fantasy
Era of science - Steampunk
Modern Era - Modern Contemporary
Cyber era - Scifi
Post Cyber era - Eco Scifi
LEGEND OF ZELDA: SHATTERED STARS
The Triforce is lost, the Ocarina is shattered, and for untold millennia the holy cycle of Hero, Goddess, and Beast has remained stagnant. We have forsaken our birth-world of ancient Hyrule, and the eternal war between the Church of Hylia and the armies of Demise has spread bloated and carnivorous to the very stars. Blink-ships of the Great Sages and agents of the Gerudo Sisterhood comb world after world, fulfilling their centennial mission to find their reincarnated leaders and groom them for a life as figureheads in a war with no victor.
But now, for what may be the first time in the recorded history of our wizened cosmos, the winds of change blow through the aether and rattle the foundations of a ruinous system. The newest reincarnation of the Beast has escaped his Gerudo handlers, and the Hero and Goddess have evaded discovery for twenty years now. Rumors grow of the Red Lion- a lone ship crewed by a smuggler named Link, a warrior-cyborg named Zelda, and a mutant technomancer who is reticent to use the name of Ganon.
Have the fates spun a new tale? Have the reincarnated three found each other anew, free from the machinations of the Church or the Sisterhood? And if they have, what are three outlaws against all the horrors of this dark future- a future which has known only war?
This is fucking wonderful, it appeals to my love for fantasy and my love for science, I need a book showcasing the mermaid biology.
tired: mermaids are all women
wired: much like elves, merfolk are mistaken by sailors for being all women because they have long hair and are very pretty
Vampires
Dear Science Side of Tumblr,
TW: Blood, Suicide
How come vampires don't suck the blood out of people's wrists? Wouldn't it be easier than sucking it out of the neck? It would be easier to convince someone to give you their hand than it would to be their neck, right? Plus, maybe they would frame the murder as a suicide by slitting the victim's wrists? Do they just do it from the neck because it looks cooler?
Sincerely, an idiot