Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Special

Stardate 11-25-2008

Check out this trailer for a movie called Special, starring Michael Rappaport. It was an indie film that came out couple of years ago. Its finally found some footing and will receive a nation wide release. Its about a timid nice guy who loves comic books. After trying out an experimental antidepressant, he discovers that has developed super powers. He amazingly has telepathy and the ability to levitate and run through walls. As any good superhero lover would do, he decides to use his powers to fight crime.

The twist is what makes this movie look incredibly funny. Are his powers real or just a psychological side effect to the experimental drug?

Enjoy

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Thrawn Trilogy

Stardate 11-13-2008

I recently finished reading the Thrawn Trilogy. The trilogy takes place in the Star Wars Expanded Universe and was written by Hugo Award winning author Timothy Zahn. The first book in the series was the first book written for the Star Wars Expanded Universe and many still claim that these are the very best Star Wars books out there. The first book takes place 5 years after the evens of Star Wars VI: Return of the Jedi.

I really enjoyed these books. My favorite part about the books was the author's ability to bring Han Solo's personality to life. He was able to capture the voices of all the characters, but Han stood out the most for me.

In addition to the regular cast of characters, Zahn introduces us to some great new characters. They are: Talon Karde, a smuggler whose operations have filled the void left by the death of Jabba the Hutt. Mara Jade, the former Hand of the Emperor who after finding herself unemployed after the Emperor's death, has found a job working for the smuggler Karde. Master Jorus C'baoth, a once master Jedi turned mad clone by the emperor. All of these characters are great, but the best by far is Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is neither Jedi nor Sith. He is the last living Grand Admiral and commander of the Imperial Fleet. He is dead set on finishing the Emperor's work and destroying the New Republic. His character brings so much fun to these books. He is incredibly brilliant and a master strategist. The book is full of incredible, creative and well thought out war strategies. As a reader, you never know what Thrawn is going to do next, but after a while you become convinced that the New Republic doesn't stand a chance.

The three books in the series are: Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command. Check them out. You will be happy you did.