Skeleton Crew: Season 1

Set five years after Return of the Jedi . . .

Wim and his friends live a peaceful, if boring, existence on At Attin. But all that is about to change . . . for a chance discovery will send them on an adventure of a lifetime. Now if only they can find their way home . . . it's a big galaxy out there.

I can't review this fully without revealing some spoilers, so I'll keep it high level. There is a cool story here (or elements of one) and some fun characters (like the droid SM-33). It is basically Star Wars meets Indiana Jones and/or golden age of piracy. But it is at its heart a typical coming-of-age tale—a Disney channel special set in the Star Wars universe—where kids rule the day (and magically know how to do things) and adults are either helpless bystanders or bad guys to be outsmarted. That annoyed me. The cool elements raise the grade for me, but it could have been so much better.

Rating: C+

Forever Evil (Various)

The Crime Syndicate—"malevolent doppelgangers" of the Justice League—have come to Earth and declared it theirs. The Justice League has been defeated and is missing . . . and the Syndicate appears victorious. The only ones standing in their way? Lex Luthor and other supervillains. Can the bad guys save the day?

This is the first volume in a mini-series that appears to be a cross-over with other titles in The New 52 line (a 2011 revamp of all DC Comics titles). I picked this up at the library because it is well-regarded and popular enough to headline an expansion in the DC Deckbuilding Game, so I wanted to learn more about the story. It was fine. The art was good, the story was mildly intriguing, and there were elements of redemption that were worth reflection. I didn't understand why the Crime Syndicate had to be counterfeit  copies of the Justice League heroes, but perhaps there are [likely-unintentional] echoes of the Biblical notion that sin and evil are corrupted versions of good things.

I believe familiarity with other story arcs in The New 52 line would have been helpful here and heightened my understanding and enjoyment. But as a stand-alone tale, it was decent.

Rating: B-

North! Or Be Eaten (Andrew Peterson)

Shortly after book one . . .

The Igibys are safe in a forest hideout . . . but not for long. The Fangs are on their trail, so north they most go. But how can they prevail, when they have to find a way across the Mighty River Blapp, evade the fearsome Stranders, stay hidden in Dugtown, and survive the icy prairies on the way to Kimera? The journey itself is perilous, and with secrets and traitors at every turn, hope may fade. Yet they have no choice if they are to survive.

Here, the series takes a markedly serious turn—the silliness (from book one) is toned down and the suspense continues throughout the whole book with barely a moment to breathe. The story is starting to come into focus, with a powerful message and wisdom accompanying the adventure. Peterson does a good job progressively revealing the reason for some strange things seen in the first volume. I really enjoyed this one.

Rating: A+

Han Solo & Chewbacca: The Crystal Run (Part 2)

Picking up where Part 1 left off . . .

Han has been left for dead, injured and abandoned on a random world. Chewie is locked up on a prison planet. And yet, the heist they were working continues . . . can they heal, escape, reunite, and hit it big?

This one is better than the first part, but only just. There are some interesting moments, and cool tie-ins or references to characters seen in Solo and Episode VII, but the relevance to the wider story is still unclear and conclusion is open-ended and unsatisfying . . . until/unless they tie up loose ends and have some sort of point. 

Rating: C+

Han Solo & Chewbacca: The Crystal Run (Part 1)

In the days before the Rebellion, smuggler Han Solo and his sidekick Chewbacca work for Jabba the Hutt. He sends them (with an old 'friend') on a heist that could yield the payday of a lifetime. But such things are never easy . . . with twists and surprises galore, can our heroes win . . . or even survive?

There was also a one-shot "Life Day" issue at the end of this, where Han and Chewie reflect back on this wookiee holiday through the years.

Meh. It has been nearly four years since I last read a Star Wars graphic novel*. Things like this remind me why. I was at the library yesterday and picked up some graphic novels; this one looked promising. It was . . . uninspiring. The art was fine, the story oh-so-very predictable, and I'm not quite sure what the point was. (That said, I hope to cover part 2 tomorrow to see if there is a satisfying conclusion.)

Aside: in a universe like Star Wars, any tale should either

1) develop the overall story arc in some meaningful way, or

2) explore a side character/event in a meaningful way (that may impact the overall story OR have a message of some sort)

I felt like this graphic novel did neither. 

Rating: C-

*The Force Unleashed II

The War of the Rohirrim

200 years before Bilbo Baggins and a certain ring . . .

Helm Hammerhand rules in Rohan, and trouble is brewing. A Dunlending lord is set on his son (Wulf) marrying Helm's daughter (Hera). Unwilling, Helm fights the lord and banishes Wulf, who swears vengeance. Years later, he'll get his chance . . . and Helm's people will flee to a familiar fortress, the Hornburg, and try to survive the ensuing siege. Will they survive? Or is hope lost?

This movie was a mixed bag for me. It was exciting to see another film set in Middle-Earth. The animation style (anime with realistic backgrounds) was cool if jarring/disorienting at times. The plot was . . . underwhelming and cliche. It also borrowed too heavily from the original Lord of the Rings films, packing in plenty of scenes/plots/phrases as a deliberate homage to that trilogy (in places, it felt like they simply mashed elements from the films together, put them into anime style, and put it on the big screen). The main message was "women are powerful, too," which was fine. It had its moments, but overall, I rate this just above the third Hobbit movie and below everything else (to include Rings of Power). 

Rating: C+

So Begins 2025

image from here

Happy New Year! As is my custom, this post lays out goals for the year. The goals themselves are in italics, with explanation following in regular font.

Spiritual
- Be disciplined in reading/prayer routines (and reduce putzing).

- Do devotionals with the family twice a week.  
- Serve better, but in fewer roles.

- Focus more on others. Figure out balance with competing needs.

I fritter away too much time by 'putzing' (meaning a few minutes web surfing here, a few minutes playing a game there, etc.). In 2025, I want to minimize that and replace it with better routines. A subgoal here is devotionals (books broken into daily readings): I have three I want to read personally in 2025, plus one I want to do with the family.

I am also stretched too thin right now, and there are some big changes coming for my work and my wife's. So I need to step back in a few areas so we can manage everything in a way that glorifies God and blesses others. I don't know what that looks like, but some things need to change.

Nutritional/Fitness
- Get (and keep) weight under 185 lbs.

- Eat more fruit/vegetables. Eat out less.

- Improve gut health.
- Complete 270 workouts; bike 1200 miles.

I want to lose 5-7 lbs, eat more fresh fruit and vegetables, figure out what is going on with my gut, and keep working out consistently. I would love to bike 1200 miles this year.

Reading
- Read 50 books.
- Read 15 works at my American Reading List.
- Minimize my owned-but-unread pile

I've done 50+ books the last few years, and this should be easily reached. My American Reading List is 200 books; I'm about a third done and aim to read 15 more this year. And it is always good to not let unread books accumulate in the home.

Household Management
- Minimize stuff in the home.

- Figure out ideal home organization.

- Buy less/budget better.

I get stressed with all the clutter around the house. I want to find a way to minimize it and keep it out of sight. Part of that is home organization; we have a few areas that we want to re-work to improve their appearance and utility. And buying less is always wise.
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The goals above are not earth-shaking . . . I should be able to hit all of these. To 2025!