Since Prince Mekhi joined the royal house of Castle Curley, his family has become our Framily. One of his sister’s also calls me “Mama #2”, and I’m the closest thing to a sister that Lisa, Mekhi’s bio-mom, has ever had. I took her for a medical procedure earlier in the year, and I was supposed to take her again in earlier this month for another outpatient surgery, but something came up in her blood work. We are listed as emergency contacts for her, and Lisa is designated as a Duchess of Castle Curley. She’s still working on the paperwork to grant us official guardian status of Mekhi should (Gods forbid) anything happen to her, or if (Gods forbid) we need to take him to the emergency room (ER) again.
My Son is Full of Sh!t (literally)
In my first blog entry this year, I briefly mentioned an emergency incident with Mekhi that made me freak (and you’d think someone trained in first aid and other emergency preparedness wouldn’t freak, but I did); now for the details.
Mekhi and I were headed to his karate class one cold January night when he started feeling abdominal pain so severe that he didn’t want to go to class. Of course, my first freakish thought was appendicitis, and I wanted to rush him to the ER; yet I couldn’t because I had no legal right to do so. I frantically called Lisa, then drove Mekhi to her home. They spent the majority of that evening in the local ER, but the doctor suggested waiting overnight to see if the pain diminished before subjecting (then nine-year-old) Mekhi to either an X-ray or surgery.
The next day Lisa texted us; they were back at the ER on the advice of Mekhi’s school nurse. Brian and I rushed to join them, then spent the afternoon waiting in typical ER fashion. Although Mekhi was grounded from electronics for bad behavior at school, we three parents agreed that restriction could be lifted when the nurse gave him a tablet to keep him entertained (and not worried) while waiting. Eventually we were told to take him to the pediatric ER at UW Hospital.
The place was under construction, but still functional. The doctors ordered an X-ray that came up inconclusive. Mekhi either could have appendicitis or constipation. Obviously the first course of treatment would be for the latter; an enema is far less invasive than surgery, although infinitely more embarrassing for a nine-year-old. Mercifully the nurse was cool (tattoos, piercings, and spiked and colored hair), professional, and very quick with this most embarrassing part. Then Mekhi had to run to the nearest bathroom, which was further away than usual due to the aforementioned construction.
Actually what was (and still is) more embarrassing for Mekhi is all the crap jokes that Lisa, Brian, and I told and have been telling since that night. He still turns bright red when we mention it, or when he gets constipated again and we have to “reboot his butt” with a laxative designed for children. Upon informing him that we’d be telling this story at his wedding, Mekhi declared, “That’s why I’m never getting married.”
Easter 2015
Last year for Easter, we tried going to my brother Fran’s house for his family’s egg-hunt, but we didn’t make it due to car trouble halfway there. However, earlier in the day, when I dropped my Easter basket full of candy, both Mekhi and Brian applauded my fumbling my dexterity check. (For the record: the Easter baskets are almost all candy and one toy; I really don't spoil Mekhi - much.)Mercifully later in the day when Brian tripped in a parking lot, Mekhi knew better than to applaud. I have a lovely picture of Brian and Mekhi working on our car together.
Quick Wit
On a similar road trip, I said to Mekhi, “Have I ever told you the story about how I quit smoking?”
My little prince replied, “No, Mom, and I don’t want to be here for the next five hours.”
Hm. Mekhi also was not interested in seeing the large scar from a surgery that was done on my back when I was younger than he was.
When we told Mekhi the saying about Wisconsin weather (If you don’t like it, just wait five minutes, and it’ll change.), he replied, “but in five more minutes it’ll change back.”
Other Treasured (and not so-) Moments in Parenthood
When Mekhi joined our family, he didn’t like to read. Brian had the best idea to encourage him to read: comic books. Since then while trying to talk with Mekhi, I frequently have received the look, “Can’t talk; reading.” Makes me smile.
Because Mekhi is African-American, I worry about his perception of police and their perception of him. Earlier in the year, he went outside to play with a toy gun that was missing the orange cap which identifies it as a toy.
Tonight, Mekhi goes for his red belt with black stripe in American Taekwondo. I must remember to bring tissues as Brian frequently has something in his eye during these events. So proud.
Pog ma thoin!
-Lori
“You just gotta love the children; reach your hands out to them, and they will hug you back.” -Lee Fair, father of nine foster children, on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Monday, April 18, 2016
The Fish is in the Tree…
…along with the snowman.
I have been a fan of Highlights magazine ever since I was a child. Who hasn’t leafed through the magazine while in the waiting room of a doctor’s office? I especially love the Hidden Pictures, but I hate it when someone already has found them and marked them. We’ve subscribed Mekhi to Highlights for about two years now, as well as their Hidden Pictures series of puzzle magazines. Since then I have purchased not only their Hidden Pictures book for adults (and found all the pictures in a weekend), but their mobile apps as well. Brian, the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH), teases me about playing the games over and over again, but I admit that I’m still a kid at heart.
Mother Nature: the best artist, and the best practical joker
I’ve blogged about the weird Wisconsin weather before. March went out like a lamb because it went in like a lion. Mother Nature gave us Midwesterners a great April Fool’s Day prank: April 1st was beautiful; the rest of the month, not so much. We had a mild winter, and Mother Nature seemed to be making up for that by giving Wisconsin snow. In April. That’s not what I think of when I hear April Showers. At least it’s beautiful now. We hope to take the dogs to the bark park soon.
Odyssey Con
Earlier this month, Brian and I attended Odyssey Con (OC). We’re no longer on the ConCom, so we went only for Saturday (but we paid for the weekend to contribute to the cause). The most interesting thing I saw were three t-shirts:
1. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for” with #5, a Cylon (1978), Marvin (2005 Disney Movie version), Robby, Data, and Rosie in a police line-up.
2. “Free throat hugs.” with a closed-fist Darth Vader
3. “Science: one accident away from being a supervillain.”
Yep, these are my kind of people.
The best news out of OC, other than they are still in existence after a mass defection from the ConCom last year, is that the President of the Odyssey Con Society, Inc. is getting married! Yes! This is the man who is the doppelgänger of Adam Savage, although with a much weirder voice, and who has been retired for many, many years. He is calling his wedding a May-December match, and he’s the one with the birthday in May. :)
New Game Campaign
We started our Icons campaign a couple of weeks ago. Our friend Brian Stewart, who is notoriously later than I am, actually arrived one minute early. Then we spent the next two hours sitting around while he completed his character. For the record: we all completed our characters over a month ago. I’m playing a Senegalese Wizard. While we waited, the conversation turned to music, and I wound up playing Eric Cartman’s version of Styx’s “Come Sail Away.” As much as I like South Park, especially the funniest epilepsy joke I ever heard on television (“Kenny, please turn off the blinking lights; they offend epileptics.”), their abhorrent cover of one of my favorite songs ever is something that I can never forgive.
My husband was glad to be a GM again, but he was annoyed at all the table chatter. That’s just part of the game, and he knows it.
Sometimes when the game room (gamers don’t have formal dining rooms) is not in use, we’ll see our cat Crown Prince Harry in the GM chair. Brian says Harry is running his own game: Critter Avengers.
More from the WGH
Last fall, I ordered the Red Zone Channel (RZC) from DirecTV because the WGH likes watching the highlights from all the football games being played. Even though the RZC did all the channel surfing for him, Brian still had the remote control in his hand the entire first day watching. When the Pro Bowl was played, Brian and I both had the same sentiment, “Who cares?”
I really need to add some new definitions to the Urban Dictionary (UD) based on Brian’s suggestions:
Spin Time – waiting for the hourglass on the computer to stop spinning and finish the program it’s running.
Spin Lock – when the hourglass never stops spinning or locks in the spin position.
Although UD does have an intriguing definition for the latter, it’s something completely different. And Canadian.
On April Fool’s Day, the Intranet at the Day Job was down. My Colleague C. had an excellent description of the problem, “The network is [effed].” My husband also suggested another term: roached, but that also has some intriguing definitions in the UD.
Pog ma thoin!
-Lori
“We need to clean out under the bed; we’re running out of forks.” – Brian the WGH
I have been a fan of Highlights magazine ever since I was a child. Who hasn’t leafed through the magazine while in the waiting room of a doctor’s office? I especially love the Hidden Pictures, but I hate it when someone already has found them and marked them. We’ve subscribed Mekhi to Highlights for about two years now, as well as their Hidden Pictures series of puzzle magazines. Since then I have purchased not only their Hidden Pictures book for adults (and found all the pictures in a weekend), but their mobile apps as well. Brian, the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH), teases me about playing the games over and over again, but I admit that I’m still a kid at heart.
Mother Nature: the best artist, and the best practical joker
I’ve blogged about the weird Wisconsin weather before. March went out like a lamb because it went in like a lion. Mother Nature gave us Midwesterners a great April Fool’s Day prank: April 1st was beautiful; the rest of the month, not so much. We had a mild winter, and Mother Nature seemed to be making up for that by giving Wisconsin snow. In April. That’s not what I think of when I hear April Showers. At least it’s beautiful now. We hope to take the dogs to the bark park soon.
Odyssey Con
Earlier this month, Brian and I attended Odyssey Con (OC). We’re no longer on the ConCom, so we went only for Saturday (but we paid for the weekend to contribute to the cause). The most interesting thing I saw were three t-shirts:
1. “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for” with #5, a Cylon (1978), Marvin (2005 Disney Movie version), Robby, Data, and Rosie in a police line-up.
2. “Free throat hugs.” with a closed-fist Darth Vader
3. “Science: one accident away from being a supervillain.”
Yep, these are my kind of people.
The best news out of OC, other than they are still in existence after a mass defection from the ConCom last year, is that the President of the Odyssey Con Society, Inc. is getting married! Yes! This is the man who is the doppelgänger of Adam Savage, although with a much weirder voice, and who has been retired for many, many years. He is calling his wedding a May-December match, and he’s the one with the birthday in May. :)
New Game Campaign
We started our Icons campaign a couple of weeks ago. Our friend Brian Stewart, who is notoriously later than I am, actually arrived one minute early. Then we spent the next two hours sitting around while he completed his character. For the record: we all completed our characters over a month ago. I’m playing a Senegalese Wizard. While we waited, the conversation turned to music, and I wound up playing Eric Cartman’s version of Styx’s “Come Sail Away.” As much as I like South Park, especially the funniest epilepsy joke I ever heard on television (“Kenny, please turn off the blinking lights; they offend epileptics.”), their abhorrent cover of one of my favorite songs ever is something that I can never forgive.
My husband was glad to be a GM again, but he was annoyed at all the table chatter. That’s just part of the game, and he knows it.
Sometimes when the game room (gamers don’t have formal dining rooms) is not in use, we’ll see our cat Crown Prince Harry in the GM chair. Brian says Harry is running his own game: Critter Avengers.
More from the WGH
Last fall, I ordered the Red Zone Channel (RZC) from DirecTV because the WGH likes watching the highlights from all the football games being played. Even though the RZC did all the channel surfing for him, Brian still had the remote control in his hand the entire first day watching. When the Pro Bowl was played, Brian and I both had the same sentiment, “Who cares?”
I really need to add some new definitions to the Urban Dictionary (UD) based on Brian’s suggestions:
Spin Time – waiting for the hourglass on the computer to stop spinning and finish the program it’s running.
Spin Lock – when the hourglass never stops spinning or locks in the spin position.
Although UD does have an intriguing definition for the latter, it’s something completely different. And Canadian.
On April Fool’s Day, the Intranet at the Day Job was down. My Colleague C. had an excellent description of the problem, “The network is [effed].” My husband also suggested another term: roached, but that also has some intriguing definitions in the UD.
Pog ma thoin!
-Lori
“We need to clean out under the bed; we’re running out of forks.” – Brian the WGH
Monday, March 21, 2016
Which Fandom?
I have the Green Bay Packers (GBP) logo tattooed on my left wrist, and when I was out with my Best Friend Betsy RN MSN and her daughter Samm, we discussed future tats that we all three want. Betsy has a lovely hybrid bird/flower image on her back that represents her three children. Her conservative prick of a husband hates it, but it’s her body and her money. Betsy wants something on her leg, but I don’t remember the details. Samm will have to wait another year until she is 18, but I imagine her tattoo will be something to do with one of her many fandoms.
Samm is a very kewl teenager: she does cosplay at conventions such as Geek Kon and Comic Con; She knows her Doctors Who; and she is a member of her high school’s Strategy Games Club, which was called the Chess Club back in the day when Betsy made me join so she wouldn’t be the only female (FTR: I am a horrible chess player). Samm may also be one of the few people on the planet who is paler than I am. With my Irish-German heritage, I make pasty-white Brits look tan.
Not too long after my first tattoo, I decided that I would like more. A friend of mine is deathly allergic to nuts, so she has the MedicAlert (MA) logo tattooed on her arm. I’d like that, too, but additionally, I’d also like my MA diagnoses (epilepsy and hypertension) and my ID # in addition to the MA toll-free number tattooed on my wrist. The logo would be on the back of my left wrist, with the information on the inside, but in the same line as the current GBP logo.
Because I tried to commit suicide when I was fifteen, Brian suggested another tattoo: a semicolon. Project Semicolon is for survivors of suicide (one’s own attempt(s) or the success of a loved one), mental illness, and self-harm. “The semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.” As a wannabe writer, I like that philosophy, so I will add a semicolon tattoo to my left wrist.
The final tattoo that I need to decide upon is fandom; the main problem is which fandom. Do I choose the sci-fi/fantasy books I loved as a child and still love to this day? Do I choose the Star Wars Rebel Alliance logo or the Star Trek: the Next Generation insignia? What about a die for the many board and roleplaying games I’ve enjoyed over the years, and if so, should the die be a D6 or a D20? Plus, I’ve enjoyed many video and computer games over the years; should I choose a Triforce or a Tetris piece or even Ms. Pac-Man?
I guess I’ve known all along that I would go with my original fandom: Star Wars, which I first saw when I was ten. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for all the tattoos I want.
Pog ma thoin!
-Lori
“When the designs are chosen with care, tattoos have a power and magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul.” — Michelle Delio
Samm is a very kewl teenager: she does cosplay at conventions such as Geek Kon and Comic Con; She knows her Doctors Who; and she is a member of her high school’s Strategy Games Club, which was called the Chess Club back in the day when Betsy made me join so she wouldn’t be the only female (FTR: I am a horrible chess player). Samm may also be one of the few people on the planet who is paler than I am. With my Irish-German heritage, I make pasty-white Brits look tan.
Not too long after my first tattoo, I decided that I would like more. A friend of mine is deathly allergic to nuts, so she has the MedicAlert (MA) logo tattooed on her arm. I’d like that, too, but additionally, I’d also like my MA diagnoses (epilepsy and hypertension) and my ID # in addition to the MA toll-free number tattooed on my wrist. The logo would be on the back of my left wrist, with the information on the inside, but in the same line as the current GBP logo.
Because I tried to commit suicide when I was fifteen, Brian suggested another tattoo: a semicolon. Project Semicolon is for survivors of suicide (one’s own attempt(s) or the success of a loved one), mental illness, and self-harm. “The semicolon is used when an author could’ve chosen to end their sentence, but chose not to. The author is you and the sentence is your life.” As a wannabe writer, I like that philosophy, so I will add a semicolon tattoo to my left wrist.
The final tattoo that I need to decide upon is fandom; the main problem is which fandom. Do I choose the sci-fi/fantasy books I loved as a child and still love to this day? Do I choose the Star Wars Rebel Alliance logo or the Star Trek: the Next Generation insignia? What about a die for the many board and roleplaying games I’ve enjoyed over the years, and if so, should the die be a D6 or a D20? Plus, I’ve enjoyed many video and computer games over the years; should I choose a Triforce or a Tetris piece or even Ms. Pac-Man?
I guess I’ve known all along that I would go with my original fandom: Star Wars, which I first saw when I was ten. Now I just need to figure out how to pay for all the tattoos I want.
Pog ma thoin!
-Lori
“When the designs are chosen with care, tattoos have a power and magic all their own. They decorate the body but they also enhance the soul.” — Michelle Delio
Monday, February 15, 2016
More Geekdom
I am a Geek on multiple levels, and here’s more proof:
• I saw PEBCAK on a license plate and laughed.
• I got the joke when I saw a toddler named Clark wearing a Superman logo t-shirt.
• When watching an episode of Sleepy Hollow, I made the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH) stop and rewind. Two characters were discussing artifacts in a museum, and one called an item “…a gift from King Phillip II of Spain to Elizabeth I.” “Wait a minute…no effing way!” Phil was Mary I’s husband, and Mary imprisoned her younger half-sister Elizabeth. I doubt Phil was inclined to give Elizabeth a gift.
• Very esoteric: saw a license plate that said TK42One; had to think a moment because somewhere in my brain I knew the reference. I actually was telling a story to the WGH (one he hadn’t heard before; miracle of miracles), and I stopped mid-sentence. When I finally remembered where I heard it, I laughed a lot. Then I had to finish the story and ask the WGH if he caught the reference. When he couldn’t place it, I said, “Would it help if I added ‘Why aren’t you at your post?’?”
Speaking of Star Wars (I will give ample warning for spoilers)
Brian and I went to see Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (VII) on Christmas Day, and as I said in my WordPress blog, answering the question: “What did you get really, really, really excited about? At the moment, I cannot think of anything. Not even Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (I am cautiously optimistic about Disney films.) Isn’t that sad?”
I have a love/hate relationship with Disney films. I grew up watching animated features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, 101 Dalmatians, etc. I loved the live-action films such as Pollyanna, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Darby O’Gill and the Little People (with a singing Sean Connery). The combination of live-action and animation movies were fun too, such as Mary Poppins, Tron, and I saw Bedknobs and Broomsticks at a local drive-in.
When it comes to adaptations of literature, Disney either does phenomenal or terrible; I don’t see much in between. I personally enjoyed Popeye, and the comic-book reading WGH thought The Rocketeer was good, but I’m sure Victor Hugo is spinning in his grave over Disney’s animated musical adaption of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I never will forgive Disney for what they did to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; and even though they started well with my beloved Chronicles of Narnia, adaptations of the second and third books lacked the magic of the first film, and the fourth seems to be in development hell.
So when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, I was happy that the final trilogy would be made, but I also was worried about the production quality – not the special effects or even the cast, who all are fantastic; but the story, script, and execution were my main concerns.
I had cause to worry.
When I reviewed Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (III; the acronym ROTS was not a good sign), I said, “Lucas has said that he will not make the third and final trilogy in this saga, and I agree he shouldn’t unless he wishes to apologize to his fans. The only apology I would accept is if Lucas would write the final trilogy stories, then leave screenwriting and directing to someone else…” I thought J. J. Abrams, after his successful re-boot of the original Star Trek series in film, was a good choice, as he obviously has the qualifications; however, I’m not sure if Episode VII is what Lucas envisioned.
Okay, here’s where the spoilers start
Please don’t misunderstand. VII is a good film, but when the WGH and I discussed the film on a road trip to the Dells, we both agreed that it had the same plot as IV: A New Hope: a cute little droid has information that a rebel group needs to fight the evil dictatorial government. Along the way, the droid meets a helpful person deserted on a desert planet, who teams up with an unlikely ally; and they share adventures that include incredible flying through the galaxy, meeting with rogues, and an intergalactic bar of dubious clientele. Finally the good rebels must battle a planet-sized weapon (or in this case, a planet turned into a weapon) in order to survive to fight another day.
The casting was fantastic, but with the exception of Ford and Fisher (that woman still turns in one helluva performance!), I felt most of the cast were underused. For example:
Max von Sydow, whom I know for his roles as villains, is only in the movie for a few shining moments before his character is killed. I think the late Christopher Lee had more screen time in ROTS, and Peter Cushing – an actor of similar experience and caliber when he starred in IV – most certainly had a larger role as Grand Moff Tarkin.
Lupita Nyong’o is an Academy Award-winning actress of considerable skill and talent, plus she’s beautiful beyond belief; and Abrams has her voicing a CGI character.
While Andy Serkis is the definitive CGI/motion capture actor since his work with Peter Jackson, his character is confined to an oversized throne and an undersized part and isn’t very convincing as a powerful bad guy.
Of course, the tiniest role goes to my personal favorite: Mark Hamill (who thirty-six years after I fell in love with his tukhus still makes my fantasy list). Unfortunately he is relegated to nothing more than a non-speaking cameo. The character’s name has more screen-time in the opening crawl than Hamill does in the entire film. In fact the scene to walk up the island where Skywalker is hiding takes more screen time (or as the WGH put it, “and she’s walking, and walking, and walking…” á la MST3K).
The newbies cast as protagonists all turned in excellent performances, and I can’t wait to see how their characters develop, but I was less convinced by those portraying the members of the First Order. Adam Driver, playing the grandson of and wannabe badass like Darth Vader, seems too stiff and restrained in his role as main antagonist Kylo Ren (plus his ears and the expression on his mask-less face reminded me of one of my nephews). Domhnall Gleeson (son of the fabulously talented and handsome Brendan Gleeson), Gwendoline Christie, and all the others portraying officers and higher-ups in the First Order all seem too young to have climbed the chain-of-command so high, especially because Ren doesn’t seem to kill off the staff the way Vader did.
The similarities between VII and IV were so much that during the main lightsaber battle, both the WGH and I were wondering if someone was going to lose a hand. Mercifully no one did.
My score for VII is B-/C+. In the words of Wil Wheaton in “The Opening Night Excitation” episode of The Big Bang Theory, “I liked that more than I thought I would.” but remember that my expectations were low before I saw the film. I knew that I was going to miss the old 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare, but I was glad they didn’t replace it with the Disney castle logo and “When you wish upon a star” music because that would not have felt right from the start.
Am I going to see the rest of the sequel trilogy? Of course. The WGH and I will continue our Jewish-like Christmas tradition of having Chinese food for dinner and going to see Episode VIII in 2017. I’ll even go see the ancillary series that Disney has planned in their attempt to cash in on this cow for as much as they can. My love-hate relationship with them continues ad nauseum.
Just don’t get me started on Disney’s sucky novelizations and “Journey to The Force Awakens” crap.
Pog ma thoin!
-Lori
“I’m just afraid I’ll disappoint you.” – WGH, on his 2015 Christmas gifts for me
“Sweetheart, the only one who can disappoint me on Christmas Day is J. J. Abrams.” – Me
• I saw PEBCAK on a license plate and laughed.
• I got the joke when I saw a toddler named Clark wearing a Superman logo t-shirt.
• When watching an episode of Sleepy Hollow, I made the World’s Greatest Husband (WGH) stop and rewind. Two characters were discussing artifacts in a museum, and one called an item “…a gift from King Phillip II of Spain to Elizabeth I.” “Wait a minute…no effing way!” Phil was Mary I’s husband, and Mary imprisoned her younger half-sister Elizabeth. I doubt Phil was inclined to give Elizabeth a gift.
• Very esoteric: saw a license plate that said TK42One; had to think a moment because somewhere in my brain I knew the reference. I actually was telling a story to the WGH (one he hadn’t heard before; miracle of miracles), and I stopped mid-sentence. When I finally remembered where I heard it, I laughed a lot. Then I had to finish the story and ask the WGH if he caught the reference. When he couldn’t place it, I said, “Would it help if I added ‘Why aren’t you at your post?’?”
Speaking of Star Wars (I will give ample warning for spoilers)
Brian and I went to see Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (VII) on Christmas Day, and as I said in my WordPress blog, answering the question: “What did you get really, really, really excited about? At the moment, I cannot think of anything. Not even Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens (I am cautiously optimistic about Disney films.) Isn’t that sad?”
I have a love/hate relationship with Disney films. I grew up watching animated features such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, 101 Dalmatians, etc. I loved the live-action films such as Pollyanna, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Darby O’Gill and the Little People (with a singing Sean Connery). The combination of live-action and animation movies were fun too, such as Mary Poppins, Tron, and I saw Bedknobs and Broomsticks at a local drive-in.
When it comes to adaptations of literature, Disney either does phenomenal or terrible; I don’t see much in between. I personally enjoyed Popeye, and the comic-book reading WGH thought The Rocketeer was good, but I’m sure Victor Hugo is spinning in his grave over Disney’s animated musical adaption of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. I never will forgive Disney for what they did to the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy; and even though they started well with my beloved Chronicles of Narnia, adaptations of the second and third books lacked the magic of the first film, and the fourth seems to be in development hell.
So when Disney acquired Lucasfilm, I was happy that the final trilogy would be made, but I also was worried about the production quality – not the special effects or even the cast, who all are fantastic; but the story, script, and execution were my main concerns.
I had cause to worry.
When I reviewed Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (III; the acronym ROTS was not a good sign), I said, “Lucas has said that he will not make the third and final trilogy in this saga, and I agree he shouldn’t unless he wishes to apologize to his fans. The only apology I would accept is if Lucas would write the final trilogy stories, then leave screenwriting and directing to someone else…” I thought J. J. Abrams, after his successful re-boot of the original Star Trek series in film, was a good choice, as he obviously has the qualifications; however, I’m not sure if Episode VII is what Lucas envisioned.
Okay, here’s where the spoilers start
Please don’t misunderstand. VII is a good film, but when the WGH and I discussed the film on a road trip to the Dells, we both agreed that it had the same plot as IV: A New Hope: a cute little droid has information that a rebel group needs to fight the evil dictatorial government. Along the way, the droid meets a helpful person deserted on a desert planet, who teams up with an unlikely ally; and they share adventures that include incredible flying through the galaxy, meeting with rogues, and an intergalactic bar of dubious clientele. Finally the good rebels must battle a planet-sized weapon (or in this case, a planet turned into a weapon) in order to survive to fight another day.
The casting was fantastic, but with the exception of Ford and Fisher (that woman still turns in one helluva performance!), I felt most of the cast were underused. For example:
Max von Sydow, whom I know for his roles as villains, is only in the movie for a few shining moments before his character is killed. I think the late Christopher Lee had more screen time in ROTS, and Peter Cushing – an actor of similar experience and caliber when he starred in IV – most certainly had a larger role as Grand Moff Tarkin.
Lupita Nyong’o is an Academy Award-winning actress of considerable skill and talent, plus she’s beautiful beyond belief; and Abrams has her voicing a CGI character.
While Andy Serkis is the definitive CGI/motion capture actor since his work with Peter Jackson, his character is confined to an oversized throne and an undersized part and isn’t very convincing as a powerful bad guy.
Of course, the tiniest role goes to my personal favorite: Mark Hamill (who thirty-six years after I fell in love with his tukhus still makes my fantasy list). Unfortunately he is relegated to nothing more than a non-speaking cameo. The character’s name has more screen-time in the opening crawl than Hamill does in the entire film. In fact the scene to walk up the island where Skywalker is hiding takes more screen time (or as the WGH put it, “and she’s walking, and walking, and walking…” á la MST3K).
The newbies cast as protagonists all turned in excellent performances, and I can’t wait to see how their characters develop, but I was less convinced by those portraying the members of the First Order. Adam Driver, playing the grandson of and wannabe badass like Darth Vader, seems too stiff and restrained in his role as main antagonist Kylo Ren (plus his ears and the expression on his mask-less face reminded me of one of my nephews). Domhnall Gleeson (son of the fabulously talented and handsome Brendan Gleeson), Gwendoline Christie, and all the others portraying officers and higher-ups in the First Order all seem too young to have climbed the chain-of-command so high, especially because Ren doesn’t seem to kill off the staff the way Vader did.
The similarities between VII and IV were so much that during the main lightsaber battle, both the WGH and I were wondering if someone was going to lose a hand. Mercifully no one did.
My score for VII is B-/C+. In the words of Wil Wheaton in “The Opening Night Excitation” episode of The Big Bang Theory, “I liked that more than I thought I would.” but remember that my expectations were low before I saw the film. I knew that I was going to miss the old 20th Century Fox logo and fanfare, but I was glad they didn’t replace it with the Disney castle logo and “When you wish upon a star” music because that would not have felt right from the start.
Am I going to see the rest of the sequel trilogy? Of course. The WGH and I will continue our Jewish-like Christmas tradition of having Chinese food for dinner and going to see Episode VIII in 2017. I’ll even go see the ancillary series that Disney has planned in their attempt to cash in on this cow for as much as they can. My love-hate relationship with them continues ad nauseum.
Just don’t get me started on Disney’s sucky novelizations and “Journey to The Force Awakens” crap.
Pog ma thoin!
-Lori
“I’m just afraid I’ll disappoint you.” – WGH, on his 2015 Christmas gifts for me
“Sweetheart, the only one who can disappoint me on Christmas Day is J. J. Abrams.” – Me
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