Echoes in the Force: Some of the parallels between A New Hope and The Force Awakens

One of the most persistent criticisms of Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens is that it borrows too heavily from the previous movies, especially A New Hope. Some of the parallels are obvious, to the point that some of the characters even comment on the Starkiller Base being similar to the Death Star. Personally I find the similarities to be interesting, and I think they add an extra layer to the film rather than detracting from it.

But just how many parallels are there? I thought it might be fun to see how many I can identify. I am sure that I am not the first to try this, but I'm not going to let that stop me!

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens initial thoughts

I think enough time has passed now that I can post this without worrying about spoiling the movie! That said, this post does contain spoilers, so if you have not seen The Force Awakens yet... go see it first!

Star Wars is pretty much the best thing ever. I have loved Star Wars all my life, so I approached The Force Awakens with a little trepidation. Could the new trilogy live up to the original trilogy in a way the prequel trilogy hadn't?

I must confess that, by the time the movie came out, I had utterly failed to keep my expectations low. I got hyped about the trailers and I loved the interviews with the actors as they promoted the movie. I went and saw the movie as soon as I could in order to avoid spoilers. As I waited in line with my wife, I was genuinely worried that some troll who had seen the movie already would pass by and shout out a spoiler. That was how worried I was that something would ruin the experience for me!

Our hours of waiting in line were rewarded when we got into the theater and sat down in our favorite seats. The movie began, the music kicked in, and I felt my heart pounding in my chest. This was it. I remember thinking that, no matter what, in the next two hours I would see the new Star Wars movie. After all those months of waiting and anticipation, it was finally happening. As the first scenes played, I was struck by the realization that I would no doubt rewatch these scenes through my life.

I was still worried about whether the movie would live up to my expectations. Things seemed pretty dark as the First Order attacked the village, and I hoped the film would not get too grim. Then Poe said, "So, who talks first?" and I couldn't help but laugh out loud. That moment was like J. J. Abrams telling me: Relax. Enjoy.

How voice acting made all the difference with two Mass Effect characters

A lot has been said about the different voice acting choices made by Mark Meer, who voices the male Shepard in Mass Effect, and Jennifer Hale, who voices the female Shepard. I like them both, but I wanted to share my thoughts on some other voice acting in the series. Specifically, I would like to share two occasions where a character who looks bland on paper became much more interesting thanks to the way the voice actor portrayed the character.

When I first read about a Zaeed Massani, a new DLC squad member in Mass Effect 2, I was not impressed. It sounded like his whole character was defined by being the galaxy's best bounty hunter, so I immediately wrote him off as a Boba Fett ripoff. The picture they provided didn't help much: scarred, tattooed, and wearing asymmetrical armor, his design was a mess. When I met the character in the game, he made a bad first impression. Shepard comes across Zaeed beating up his previous target, so it seemed like the game was trying too hard to make him look cool. When Zaeed immediately offered to join my party, without any sort of recruitment quest, I was even more let down. If Zaeed were worth having, I thought, he wouldn't be so easy to recruit.

Then I started talking to him.

Tales of Alethrion is back on Kickstarter for a full season!

As you know, I was a huge fan of The Reward, the short animation by Sun Creature Studio about two characters in a fantasy world who become friends over the course of their journey.

Then I got excited about the Kickstarter for the first episode of a series set in the same world.

Well, now that episode is done! You can watch the video right at the top of this page.

The folks at Sun Creature Studio now have a new Kickstarter, this time to fun a season of Tales of Alethrion. Each episode needs $80,000 to happen, so for every $80,000 they raise, they will make another episdoe! So far, they have already raised enough for one more episode, and they're on their way to the next.

If you like fantasy adventures, animation, and tales of friendship, I recommend checking out the Kickstarter.

Why I wish Wolverine--and only Wolverine--would appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

I've been meaning to write this post for a while, and recent news spurred me to action. Hugh Jackman posted this image to his Instagram today:

WOLVERINE ...ONE LAST TIME. HJ

A photo posted by Hugh Jackman (@thehughjackman) on Mar 28, 2015 at 10:40am PDT

It sounds like Hugh Jackman will only play Wolverine one more time, and I have to say, I hope it ain't so. Nobody else could ever play Wolverine like Hugh Jackman, and I dearly hope Wolverine can someday join the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Throne of the Crescent Moon: A Different Kind of Fantasy Adventure

I love fantasy adventures: brave heroes wielding magic and skill to face evil monsters and protect the land. I have read, watched, and played in countless such stories, but somehow it never really occurred to me how similar they tended to be. The heroes were almost always white men. The setting was almost always some variant of medieval Europe.

Throne of the Cresent Moon is different. In this novel, Saladin Ahmed creates a story set in a fantasy world inspired more by the Middle East than Europe. Instead of having a young man as the hero, the main character is a portly, older man who fights more with his knowledge than with brawn.

But don't worry. it has all of the excitement and adventure that you would want from a fantasy novel!

I'm beginning to like her: Thoughts on Princess Leia Organa

Ever since bluefish and I wrote posts about Han and Luke, I've been wanting to round out the trio of Original Trilogy stars by sharing some things that make Leia great, too. Today is International Women's Day, so I figured now was the time to do it!

Of all of the characters in the Original Trilogy, Leia may be the one who is the most complex. Some of her characteristics seem to be contradictions at first glance, so I will explore some of those contradictions to see how they make Leia a fantastic, well-rounded character.