Tag Harry Potter

An Andor, “That Would Be Me” Review

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

SERIES: Star Wars: Andor
EPISODE: S1:E2 – “That Would Be Me”
STARRING: Diego Luna, Kyle Soller, Adria Arjona, James McArdle, Antonio Viña
WRITERS: Tony Gilroy
DIRECTOR: Toby Haynes
PREMIERE DATE: September 21, 2022
SYNOPSIS: Cassian must work discretely in the shadow of the Pre-Mor Authority.

***New around here? Check out our Star Wars review archive!***

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

About 15 minutes in, I had to stop the episode because I was falling asleep. I think this is the first Star Wars movie or show to get me to do that. That’s not exactly an honorable distinction…

But let’s give it the benefit of the doubt and say I was tired.

Fiona Shaw plays Maarva Andor, Cassian’s (presumably adoptive) mother. She’s been in a variety of things. But Harry Potter fans will recognize her as the actress who played Petunia Dursley, Harry’s aunt.

If I’m not mistaken, Shaw and Warwick Davis are the only two actors to have been in both Star Wars and Harry Potter movies. Jude Law will join them when Star Wars: Skeleton Crew comes out next year.

Alex Ferns plays Sergeant Linus Mosk. He has a pretty decorated resume. Most people might recognize him as Commissioner Pete Savage in The Batman.

It’s a little frustrating that these flashback scenes with young Cassian don’t have subtitles. Generally they’re used when someone speaks a different language in Star Wars. I’m not sure why they aren’t being used here.

I don’t dislike the tribe stuff itself, though. Occasionally I’ve pictured young Anakin being from a tight-knit tribe and jungle environment like this in Episode I, as opposed to recycling Tatooine from the original trilogy. It might have been a very different movie. Perhaps a better one?

Stellan Skarsgård joins the Star Wars universe as Luthen Rael. He’s a solid addition to any cast. Granted, he doesn’t do much of anything. But he’s there…

That’s more or less the story of this episode, actually. Nothing really happens. We set a few things up, like the alliance between Syril Karn and Linus Mosk, Bix lying to Timm about what she’d been doing, etc. We also introduce Luthen Rael and Maarva Andor. But as far as the plot actually moving along? The spot we’re in at the end of this episode isn’t much different from where we were at the end of the premiere.

I can’t deny that there’s an audience for this darker, more gritty side of Star Wars. One might, tongue in cheek, call it “the dark side of Star Wars.” A lot of people liked Rogue One. And as we now have various Star Wars TV shows coming out, there’s a place for this kind of thing. But here’s one thing I’ll say…

Mrs. Primary Ignition is a casual Star Wars fan. She really liked The Mandalorian. She tolerated The Book of Boba Fett until it essentially became The Mandalorian, at which point she enjoyed it. She was initially interested in Obi-Wan Kenobi, but eventually lost interest. After seeing these first two episodes of Andor, I realized I can’t put this show on for her because she’ll fall asleep. I’m the big Star Wars fan in the house, and if it put me to sleep, what hopes does she have?

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

A Teen Titans Academy #10 Micro-Review – Proper Use of an Invisibility Cloak

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

***This is where we keep it nice and simple. Comic book reviews in 100 words or less. Straight, concise, and to the point.***

Teen Titans Academy 10, cover, 2021, Rafa SandovalTITLE: Teen Titans Academy #10
AUTHOR: Tim Sheridan
ARTISTS: Mike Norton, Tom Derenick, Alex Sinclair (Colorist), Jeremiah Skipper (Colorist), Rob Leigh (Letterer). Cover by Rafa Sandoval & Alejandro Sanchez.

RELEASED: December 28, 2021

Raven has a line in this issue where she tells Stitch that a magic invisibility cloak isn’t meant for sneaking around. I found that both hilarious, and a little stupid. From an in-universe perspective, what else would you use an invisibility cloak for? Perhaps we should ask Harry Potter.

As this series has gone on, we’ve learned bits and pieces about Red X. In this issue, the details air on the sympathetic side. While we still don’t know who it is, that does give this mystery character a bit of a teenage flair. That’s an interesting little twist.

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

Rob Watches Star Trek: Spock, Sulu, and the Sword

Rob Siebert 3 Comments

***What happens when I, a 30-something-year-old fanboy, decide to look at the Star Trek franchise for the first time with an open heart? You get “Rob Watches Star Trek.”***

SERIES: Star Trek
EPISODE: S1:E4. “The Naked Time”
STARRING: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, George Takei, DeForest Kelley, Nichell Nichols
GUEST-STARRING: Bruce Hyde, Majel Barrett, Stewart Moss
WRITER: John D.F. Black
DIRECTOR: Marc Daniels
ORIGINAL AIR DATE: September 29, 1966
SYNOPSIS: Members of the crew find their inhibitions lowered after contracting an infection from a dying world.

By Rob Siebert
Wants a Sword, Doesn’t Have A Sword

“Oh wow. We’re here already?”

That’s one of the first things I said when I did my initial research on this episode. I have no idea why that shot of Sulu and the sword is so iconic. Perhaps it’s the sheer absurdity of it. Perhaps it’s the ludicrous amount of oil on George Takei’s chest. Either way, I wasn’t ready to come upon it so soon. I’m still not ready…

“The Naked Time” is widely considered one of the best Star Trek episodes ever produced. But until the last 20 minutes or so, this one was more annoying than anything else. The previously unseen crew member singing over the ship’s intercom for minutes at a time just didn’t do it for me. Then we got to Spock and Nurse Chapel and everything clicked.

There’s a line early in this episode that initially irked me. Bones is examining Spock after he comes back from what’s essentially a crime scene on that dying world. Moments later, he says:  “Your blood pressure is practically non-existent, assuming you call that green stuff in your veins blood.”

I understand why lines like that are there. They separate Spock from the pack and establish him as one character on the show that’s really different. But in that moment I actually felt indignant for him. We’re only a few episodes in, and already Spock has saved the crew multiple times. Hell, in the very first one he plays a pivotal role in taking down someone they think is Bones’ old girlfriend! Yet the good doctor can’t help but sneak that little remark in there at Spock’s expense.

We’re reminded in this episode that he’s half human, half Vulcan. As is evidenced by Spock’s behavior up to this point, Vulcans operate via logic, as opposed to emotion. Thus, he works hard to purge himself of emotion. But when an illness spreads through the crew that causes their inhibitions to drop, naturally (or unnaturally as it were) that emotion comes out.

For me, that Bones line is volleyed later in the episode when Nurse Chapel, under the influence of the illness, confesses her love for Spock. Came out of left field, mind you. But it’s a really nice, “You’re not alone” moment. But ironically, as of course Spock doesn’t end up with Chapel, in the end it only served to remind us that he is alone. Alone and torturing himself emotionally, yet still cared for.

Then we get to the crying scene., where a now infected Spock suddenly finds himself overcome with emotion. Oye. Poor Leonard Nimoy. Some actors can bawl their hearts out on command. Some simply can’t. It would seem that at this point in his career, Nimoy fell into the latter camp. This was right up there with Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban as one of the most cringe-worthy crying performances I’ve ever seen. Not even a hint of wetness or redness on his face. Do Vulcans not cry? Is that it?

Then the poor guy gets smacked around by Kirk for being a wuss. Supposedly it’s to try and snap him out of it. But let’s be honest: Kirk bitch-slapped him.

I wonder how many times this poor pointy-eared bastard said to himself, “What the hell am I doing here? I’ve done nothing but bail these shaved monkeys out of trouble since day one. And I have to do this for five years???”

On an unrelated note, Sulu’s first name is Hikaru. Hikaru Sulu. I mean, it is kinda fun to say…

Email Rob at primaryignition@yahoo.com, or check us out on Twitter.

SDCC Trailer Reactions: Aquaman, Fantastic Beasts, and More!

Rob Siebert Leave a comment

By Rob Siebert
Fanboy Wonder

A butt-load of trailers dropped at San Diego Comic Con this weekend.

Let’s talk about some, shall we?

Aquaman:

Yes, this looks pretty in an Avatar sort of way. But I’m not super optimistic about this one. Aquaman as a dude bro didn’t work for me in Justice League, and it certainly doesn’t work as its own movie. I see people rejecting this movie, much as they rejected Green Lantern. So it’s fitting in that sense that I can’t look at Jason Momoa without seeing Roman Reigns…

SHAZAM!

Kinda wish they’d gone a little younger with Billy Batson. But other than that, I can’t bring myself to complain about much here. SHAZAM! looks like it might be fun. And if these DC movies have been lacking one thing above all else, it’s that. Plus, Zachary Levi is a good choice.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters

In the first one, they overhyped Bryan Cranston’s role in the movie to the point that it looked like Godzilla vs. Walter White. Then they got rid of Cranston in the first act. This one looks like Godzilla vs. Eleven. So if it’s anything like last time, we’ll see Millie Bobbie Brown about as much as we saw Darth Maul in The Phantom Menace.

This trailer only served to remind me that we have to wait another year for the next season of Stranger Things…

The Walking Dead, Season 9:

It’s fashionable to crap on The Walking Dead nowadays. And in all fairness, the bloom is indeed off this undead rose. But I’m still into it. Especially Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan.

So with Andrew Lincoln (Rick) and Lauren Cohan (Maggie) both leaving the show, The Walking Dead season 9 has the unenviable task of writing out two major characters. The downside there is rather obvious. But the upside is that the show is going to look markedly different than the comics from here on out. From a predictability standpoint, that’s a great thing.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald:

“What Mr. Scamander fears above everything else is…”
“Having to work in an office, sir.”

Join the club, kid.

Mrs. Primary Ignition will end up taking me to see this.But honestly, I’m having trouble caring. Call me when they start covering what happens after Deathly Hallows.

Email Rob at PrimaryIgnition@yahoo.com, or follow Primary Ignition on Twitter.

A Batgirl Annual #3 Review – Ladies Night

Rob Siebert 1 Comment

Batgirl Annual #3TITLE: Batgirl Annual #3
AUTHORS: Cameron Stewart, Brenden Fletcher
PENCILLERS: Bengal, David Lafuente, Ming Doyle, Mingjue Helen Chen
PUBLISHER: DC Comics
PRICE: $4.99
RELEASED: July 29, 2015

By Rob Siebert
Editor, Fanboy Wonder

In my experience annuals are, by and large, nothing to get too excited about. More often they’re not, an annual is simply a bonus standalone issue of a series that’s a little longer, and a little more expensive. No more, no less.

Batgirl Annual #3 is a rare exception to that rule.

Penned by series writers Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher, the issue pairs Babs with a several different heroes as she works to uncover the secret of a superweapon with a power to destroy the world. The mystery willl reunite our hero with Dick Grayson (sort of) and Batwoman, as well as introduce her to The Spoiler, and later Olive and Maps of Gotham Academy.

Batgirl Annual #3As good comics are prone to doing, Batgirl Annual #3 switches artists to coincide with Batgirl switching partners. Bengal gets the lion’s share of the issue with our inciting incident, and Barbara’s run-in with Dick and the Spyral crew. Bengal’s European/Asian style is a nice fit for this version of Batgirl. It’s light and funny when it needs to be, and has a certain intensity when it’s called for. As for the story itself, Babs and Helena Bertinelli agree to work together in a manner so quick it’s unintentionally funny. It takes less than a page. You’d think someone as smart as Barbara Gordon would be a little more cynical about a new partner in the field. As for Dick and Barbara, their being so close, with the latter completely oblivious, is seemingly played for comedy at times. At one point their fingers are nearly touching, yet Batgirl can’t tell there’s another human being mere inches from her. Purely from a fan perspective, I was feeling Dick Grayson’s agony at deceiving her. So the comedy not only landed with a thud, but was out of place.

Bengal passes the baton to David Lafuente for Babs’ brief meeting with The Spoiler. As a huge fan of the Stephanie Brown Batgirl series, seeing Barbara and Steph at the same age is surreal. Still, I suppose they mesh well. Lafuente is certainly no stranger to drawing teenage superheroes (see Ultimate Comics Spider-Man), so I’ve got no issues with his work. Stewart and Fletcher also do Stephanie justice.

From a writing standpoint, the Batgirl/Batwoman team up is fine. But Ming Doyle’s art is, at times, very awkward. This is particularly true of her work on Barbara’s face, so much so it takes you out of the story. Her figure rendering, particularly during a battle scene, leaves something to be desired as well. Doyle has done some great work, but it won’t be found here.

Batgirl Annual #3, Mingjue ChenWe cap things off with what looks like something out of an old Disney 2D animated film. In this case, that’s a good thing. Minjue Helen Chen very much captures the spirit of Gotham Academy. Olive, Maps, and Batgirl hunt for answers in the school library in a sequence that’s very reminiscent of Harry Potter, Hogwarts, etc. Chen captures some of the manga vibe that Karl Kerschl brings to the monthly book, while adding her own sense of wonder and excitement. She’s tailor made for this “Youth Gotham” line DC is marketing.

 It’s very much fitting that Batgirl Annual #3 is the exception to the annuals rule. For the past year, the series itself has been the exception to what were seemingly a lot of rules about the Bat-books. Gotham City can, and should, be a dark and scary place. But it should also be a fun place to read about, and lose yourself in. That’s the true appeal of Batgirl, and the Young Gotham line in general: DC remembering that comics can be fun.

Image 1 from the outhousers.com. Image 2 from newsarama.com.Image 3 from @mingjuechen.

Follow Primary Ignition on Twitter @PrimaryIgnition, or at Facebook.com/PrimaryIgnition/