The Truce At Bakura (1993) - Kathy Tyers - Book Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

As times goes on, more and more people who are discovering Star Wars for the first time are discovering the, 'pre-quel' series of movies that George Lucas (Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace) started making  at the tail end of the 1990s... I find this to be a shame!

Don't get me wrong, there are more then plenty truly great moments in the pre-quel series to be had by all, but there is just nothing like watching the exploits of Luke, Leia, Han & Chewie as they travel through out the universe stopping the plans of the evil Emperor, and his side kick, 'Darth Vader'!

The reason that I mention this is because when I was in High School, I got really in to reading these novels, and enjoying the latest exploits both pre and post the time when the Rebellion has finally destroyed the evil, 'Emperor', and the latest exploits that this truly awesome team gets involved in, in their continuing struggle to restore the, 'Republic' to it's former glory!

There was one book, 'The Truce At Bakura', by: Kathy Tyers, that I found particularly interesting... Well simply put, because at the time, it was unheard of to bring, 'Imperials' together to fight alongside the Rebellion that is kicking their asses!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="643"] Luke, Leia & Han will find an unexpected ally when they decide to help the dying Empire save one of their garrisons![/caption]

 

Well other then that, the truth is, is this novel which tells the story of how after receiving a distress call from a distant Imperial garrison that had been meant for the Emperor... Luke Skywalker and his rebel forces, whom after the celebration of the death of the Emperor and Darth Vader & the defeat of the second Death Star before it could be built, decide to help what remains of the garrison on, 'Bakura' and stop the invasion of an Alien race!

Now the truth is, is there is nothing particularly wrong with this novel, the problem is that I think you need more then an uncommon teaming up of unlikely allies to make a great novel... And the truth is, is where as there was nothing particularly exception beyond what I mentioned before, there is also nothing particularly wrong with the novel either... To be honest it is just sort of one of those ones you read and enjoy it while you can, but in the end turns out to be pretty unmemorable afterward!

Star Wars: Episode 4 - A New Hope (1977) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_415" align="alignright" width="300"] Official Score = 4 Devils[/caption]

What can I say about the original Star Wars movie that hasn't already been said? I mean if you were born in the last decade or so, you would have heard about this movie… right?

This movie which launched such an epic franchise of movies/comics/cartoons/books as well as other forms of media that have been so exceptional and so prolific that even  George Lucas (The creator of the series) having announced after the end of Star Wars Episode 3: Revenge Of The Sith (2005) that, that was going to be all of the new, ‘Star Wars’ movies that were going to be released…With the purchase of Lucas Films and the series by Disney recently, it does appear that there is going to be a continuation of the series for a fresh young audience to enjoy!

With that in mind, I am very well aware of the fact that just now I have been talking about the new movie, so for the rare lot who haven’t seen this movie, this movie stars: Mark Hamill (Corvette Summer), Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Carrie Fisher (Hollywood Vice Squad), Peter Cushing (Dracula A.D. 1972), Alec Guinness (Bridge On The River Kwai), Anthony Daniels (Conjure), Kenny Baker (The Cage), Peter Mayhew (Dark Towers), David Prowse (A Clockwork Orange), James Earl Jones (The Hunt For Red October).

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) as he faces off against Darth Vader (David Prowess) on board the Death Star in one of the first truly epic light saber battles of the entire series![/caption]

Now even though, series wise, this movie probably should have been the third sequel in the series… (Being as they did call it, ‘Episode 4’ and all, it isn't and it is so good that it actually doesn't have to be!)

You see this movie starts off the story with the evil, ‘Galactic Empire’ ruling the galaxy, and with most of the people with in this great, ‘Empire’ believing that being in the Empire was the greatest thing in the universe!

Well like all, ‘Great’ Empires, it isn't, with people being scared and intimidated in to submission and the like! Well in the case of this Empire, a dark lord, and his assistant, ‘Darth Vader’ (played by: David Prowse) and voiced by James Earl Jones) rule over many worlds.

During this time, a resistance movement has begun to form (which of course the Empire is not happy about and hunts as many people as they can down)…. One such person they hunt down is a Princess from the planet of Alderaan, by the name of Princess Leia Organa (Fisher)….

Now as Darth Vader closes in on her and attacks the Space craft that she is on, the Princess decides to send a message with her android and robot assistants, (the soon to be famed R2D2 (played by Kenny Baker), and C3PO (Played by: Anthony Daniels)) down to the planet below in an escape pod, so that they can get in touch with General Obi-Wan Kenobi (Guiness)!

Now General Kenobi is a Jedi (A powerful master protector that follows a philosophy of peace and that he can also kick ass with both his mind and a light saber when he has to!)

Once they get their though, R2D2 and C3PO are kidnapped and sold off to a farmer by the name of Owen (played by: Phil Brown), and the day after, Owen’s nephew by the name of, ‘Luke Skywalker’ (Hamill), gets them cleaned up. R2D2 goes on his mission to find Obi-Wan Kenobi (with Luke and C3PO in hot pursuit)… Once they find this old hermit though and Luke begins to get a little insight in to who his father really is, Luke goes home… Only to find out that both his Aunt and Uncle are dead!

After this, he heads off with Obi-Wan Kenobi, C3PO, R2D2, a human smuggler by the name of Han Solo (Ford) and Chewbacca (Mayhew) on an adventure that they will never forget and neither will the rest of the Galaxy (and believe me when I say that neither will you the watcher of this film either!)

Now here are just a few of the reasons that this movie is truly an epic masterpiece of cinema…
Before this movie, you would see a lot of truly campy special effects… Sometimes those campy effects were good and sometimes they were not… But in the case of this movie, a lot of the special effects that are truly modern day marvels get there humble beginnings from this movie and the series that spawned because of it!

Without George Lucas’s vision of this movie, and the work that he put in to making this movie what it ended up being, I am convinced that this movie would not be near as good as it was!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A green, 'Luke Skywalker' (Mark Hamill) as he looks off in to the future...[/caption]

As far as acting goes… Besides the fact that everyone in this film did a fantastic job in it individually, I also thought they gelled so well that they did a really believable job in portraying the people they were and how they related to each other!

And the last thing that I thought that I should mention here is just how epic this story is in the written sense… I won’t say much beyond that expect that they really don’t make to many Science Fiction movies that have spanned as much as this anymore and I think that the difference in writing styles definitely shows in all that!

In the end, this movie is a true masterpiece, and if you haven’t seen it yet, then I would recommend it, I think you might find that you really like it!

http://youtu.be/9gvqpFbRKtQ

Star Wars: - Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace (1999) - Movie Review

[caption id="attachment_330" align="alignright" width="220"] Official Score = 2 1/2 Devils[/caption]

Now In all truth and fairness, the original Star Wars movies that George Lucas made in the 1970s were great! I mean they had (for their time), ground breaking special effects that at the time had been not much further than a pipe dream (and I am sure since then have been a lot of the basis for a lot of modern Space Adventure movie’s special effects of similar ilk…)

Another thing that made the original Star Wars such an amazing good time, was obviously the action/stunt work that both the actors and any stunt men would have had to do in those movies (I mean who doesn't like a good, ‘explosion’ or, ‘Light Saber’ duel, you know?)

And the next thing that I wanted to say that made this original series so fantastic, was the cast in this movie! I mean this movie helped to launch Harrison Ford’s career (who would go on to do many great films, but whom in my opinion is most recognizable for the work that he did as, ‘Indiana Jones’ in another George Lucas classic of the same name, as the role he maintained as, ‘Jack Ryan’ in the classic movie series that are based around the character of, ‘Jack Ryan’ and that had originally been written by Tom Clancy (The Hunt For Red October) as well as playing Han Solo in the original Star Wars movie series!

These movies would also help make legends out of such amazing talents as, Mark Hamill (Corvette Summer), Carrie Fisher (When Harry Met Sally), as well as Billy Dee Williams (Batman) to name a few…

And lastly, I think the top person that made this great (because in all honesty, a lot of this really was his vision), is George Lucas (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)!

With all of this in mind though, the series itself was incomplete!

As great as the original series was, in all, the three original movies, had actually been (from a story stand point anyway, the final three sequels in the entire saga!) So George Lucas would embark on a journey to bring what happened that led up to a Galactic Empire seizing control of the Universe and the Rebels that will stop at nothing to try and take it back!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Before Luke Skywalker was fighting his father in the original Star Wars saga, Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi were fighting Darth Maul in, 'Star Wars - Episode 1: The Phantom Menace' (1999)![/caption]

The first movie, which starred Liam Neeson (Taken), Ewan McGregor (Big Fish), Natalie Portman (V For Vendetta), Jake Lloyd (Madison), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Anthony Daniels (Doctors), Kenny Baker (U.F.O.), Frank Oz (Zathura: A Space Adventure), and Ian McDiarmand (MI-5) to name a few; tells the story of how the Star Wars saga began… You see, during this time, The Republic (the pre-cursor to the Empire) is having some serious problems, and a war has broken out between the, ‘Naboo’, and the, ‘Trade Federation’… Now during this time the head of the government sends 2 Jedi’s to mediate this latest crisis, by the name of ‘Qui-Gon Jinn’ (Neeson) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (McGregor)…

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="600"] 'Qui-Gon Jinn' (Neeson) and his apprentice, 'Obi-Wan Kenobi' (McGregor) as they prepare to fight there way through the Trade Federation ship![/caption]

After they get their though, they are held captive, and the, ‘Trade Federation’ people try to have them killed, so after they escape and make it to the, ‘land based’ Naboo government, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with Queen Amidala (Portman), and eventually a spirited pre-Darth Vader, Anakin Skywalker (played by: Jake Lloyd) will head out on a journey of discovery that will not only affect them, or the Naboo, or even the Trade Federation, but the will set events in motion that will affect the entire Galaxy in a way that no one will ever forget!

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="381"] Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Queen Amidala, and Anakin Skywalker as they prepare to fight their way in to history![/caption]

In the end, I have heard said that this movie was pretty bad, because of the Jar-Jar Binks factor (a particularly annoying Alien from the movie), and the truth is, is if that character hadn’t been in there, the movie would have been a lot better… But the truth is, is that I liked the movie, and if you can get past Jar-Jar then I think you might like it to… I did!

http://youtu.be/I6hOlI9cg4o