Old What’s Her Face and I went to the new Star Wars movie yesterday. It’s too early in the game to include spoilers, so I won’t break it down. Suffice it to say we had a great time, and enjoyed the story.
It went places I never expected, had a bit of a plot foible, along with one that involves gravity and atmosphere in space. Nothing unusual for commercial science-fantasy. It also didn’t include some of what I wanted to see. (Rose Tico) I’m fine with that, because I didn’t write it. I was there to be entertained, and I was. It was hard to avoid all the fanboy stuff ahead of time, so I knew a few things before I walked in.
I feel for Disney in a way. They have to take a gigantic franchise, and if it’s to continue, live with what’s come before. They have to dispose of the original characters before they can get people invested in new ones. I think they did a reasonable job of this, and don’t envy them their task. I enjoyed the film, and will watch it again when it comes to cable or Disney+ eventually.
We also checked out The Witcher on Netflix. Everyone is touting this as the new Game of Thrones — it isn’t. It isn’t bad, but it’s no GOT either. We watched a few episodes last night, and the plot still isn’t firmly established. It looks like there are three characters we’re supposed to be following, but we don’t have any kind of goal established.
It’s pretty cool visually, and the action scenes are outstanding. The timeline is maddening, because the last one we watched involved a bunch of people who were killed in the first episode now suddenly back to life. That’s only in the Witcher’s timeline, the other two characters appeared to be in the current timeline. I don’t get it, and whatever they were trying to get across isn’t explained well enough.
We’re going to keep watching it, and I suppose that places it in the plus column. The Superman dude still can’t act, but he may have found a part that doesn’t require too much of him. Gerralt, the Witcher, mostly grunts, nods, and fights. Might work for one season.
In other news, the free days for The Playground are down to free hours. With your sharing, I moved a ton of copies. Maybe it will bring some new eyes to my work. If you didn’t get a copy, and still want one, chop-chop. Here is the link http://a-fwd.com/asin=B01D6EF6RI
We made it into single digits at one point. I think that’s pretty fantastic, and might consider another free push in the future. Now that I’m writing series, I can see some merit in doing a push for the first volume after a few more exist.
Hope you’re all having a great weekend. Mine appears to be all about cinematic drama, so there is no writing going on. If I’m feeling ambitious, I have some critiques I can address to make sure Lanternfish stays on course.
I’m determine to go see the new Star Wars this week. It sounds like I may like this one. I’m not sure if I’ll watch The Witcher yet. Great stats! Enjoy the Holidays:)
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It seems fans of major franchises will always find something to complain about. The last film was the same way. I walk in with an open mind and always have a good time.
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Good way to approach it. And yes people will always find something to complain about. For me its more the loss of the older characters that haunt me.
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Sounds like a fun weekend. I want to try The Witcher, but I read the first book, and I can see why it would make a great gaming story. For me, it left a little to be desired as a written story.
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Fair enough. Not everything is for everyone. It hasn’t made a huge impression on me yet either. I’ll watch a bit more, though.
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It sounds like you had fun. I hope your freebie folks get interested in your other books.
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It has been a fun weekend. That’s the hope with a freebie, but some people just grab something because it’s free. Then they never read it. I’ve seen it before, so it’s not like I’m expecting 300 new reviews or anything. Could get one or two, and that’s great.
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Do you ever worry about pirates?
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Only the ones I’m writing. I’m not making any money off these things, so they probably aren’t either.
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Hahahaha.
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Sounds like a great weekend, even if no writing was involved. Glad you enjoyed the new Star Wars movie.
No writing time here either, because hubby and I focus our holiday celebrations around the Winter Solstice, and that happened this weekend. Well, technically I could have found some writing time. But I promised hubby I’d take a few days off to relax and recharge, so between holiday activities I hung out with the furkids, watched TV shows I’m working my way through right now, and did some reading.
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That’s kind of how I was. I could have molded some time to write, but I just didn’t. I don’t regret it either.
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I’m not sure when I’ll get around to seeing Star Wars. I rarely get to the movies anymore, and I used to love going. Sounds like you had a pretty fun weekend. And huge kudos on the numbers for The Playground. That’s awesome!
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We’ve cut movies out of our budget, but planned ahead for this one. I love the movies, but they’ve gotten too expensive for a simple date night. We had a great weekend. Hope you did, too.
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I’m looking forward to the new Star Wars movie, but not ready to fight the crowds just yet. 🙂 Sounds like a good weekend. I also haven’t watched any of The Witcher, but may during the holidays. I hope you and your family have a fabulous Christmas!
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Thanks, Jan. Merry Christmas to you and yours. I never thought about the crowds, and parking was a nightmare even at matinee hours.
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I saw Star Wars. It was fun while it lasted but afterward dissatisfying. In a non-spoilery way, I can say I have issues with the pacing. They tried to stuff two movies into one, in my opinion. None of the actors were given time to, you know, act!
Actually, the whole issue of pacing in fiction might be something I look at in my blog, going forward.
I’m interested in your thoughts on The Witcher, which I’ve heard both good and bad about. I’ve heard it’s got amazingly choreographed fight scenes which, however, are ultimately gratuitous. My husband is very enthused and will probably insist I watch some.
I’ve never been a Game of Thrones fan, in any format. As a writer, I’m not into violence and sex for their own sake. I want meaningful characters. So, as a fellow writer, how are the characters in The Witcher?
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Witcher doesn’t have developed characters, and the timeline is a disaster. Different episodes happen in different timelines and it changes from week to week. This could be the television version of your Star Wars observation. A season is only 8 episodes, and they would have been better spent dealing with less issues and letting the characters develop. The hunchback lady gets the most development, but not quite enough in my opinion. Having read your comment, I think you’ll be disappointed. It’s visually appealing and action packed, but lacks on depth.
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The Mister took the girls to see Star Wars yesterday too, and they all enjoyed it.
He was lookin at The Witcher last night. Me, not so muches.
We’re watching Die Hard now 🙂
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Die Hard sounds good. Old What’s Her Face is using Netflix to watch every old Christmas film in existence. I don’t dare interfere.
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Some people do try to sell Die Hard as a Christmas movie, though.
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Ha! Like me.
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My son-in-law saw the new Star Wars. I have only seen the first one. I didn’t like it enough to invest in the rest of the franchise. Just not my thing. Glad you liked it. Happy Happy!
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Hope you have a wonderful new year.
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Glad you enjoyed Star Wars – so did I, but like you, I had a few issues. I’ve got The Witcher in my queue, so hoping to start it soon. Finishing up Treadstone on my DVR.
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Happy New Year, Teri.
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