Category: Other Publications

Documentary Reviews: Elstree 1976 & I Am Your Father

Posted on by Elliot

Documentary Reviews Elstree 1976 and I Am Your Father

The making of the original Star Wars trilogy is stock full of adventure and pitfall nearly as famous as the on screen antics of Luke, Han and Leia. The telling of these behind the scenes stories is a crowded space (see for instance J.W Rinzler’s outstanding Making Of series) with newer additions sadly often treading familiar ground. It’s encouraging then to see a handful of documentary filmmakers looking for more obscure tales from those who may have been on the Star Wars set only for a day, or for a couple of weeks, but who nonetheless have carved their own little slice of history and have the scars to prove it. Continue reading “Documentary Reviews: Elstree 1976 & I Am Your Father” →

Young Reader’s Review: Backstories: Princess Leia: Royal Rebel

Posted on by Chris

Princess Leia Royal Rebel (Backstories)

In a world where everything – everything – is canon, you never know where the latest offerings may come from. While there have been obvious offerings like movies or comics, there have also been sticker books, atlases, and finally, young reader’s books. And, hey, would you believe it – young readers are given a treat most of us would rather pass over in Backstories: Princess Leia: Royal Rebel!

Continue reading “Young Reader’s Review: Backstories: Princess Leia: Royal Rebel” →

Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide Review

Posted on by Chris

Rogue One The Ultimate Visual Guide

If you have ever wished that you could know more about a film than would ever be necessary, then Pablo Hildago has an incredible gift for you. Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide contains a galaxy’s worth of knowledge within its pages, giving a depth to Rogue One’s lore that makes it feel like a franchise all its own.

Continue reading “Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide Review” →

Young Reader’s Review: Rogue One: Rebel Dossier

Posted on by Chris

Rogue One Rebel Dossier

Recently, massive multi-media pushes have accompanied everything from films to new TV shows to video games. Battlefront was accompanied by the Twilight Company novel, while Rebels gained a little supplementary material from My Rebel Sketchbook. The Force Awakens got two supplementary young reader’s books: both Rey’s Survival Journal and Poe Dameron: Flight Log, or even retellings such as Finn’s Story. Similarly, Rogue One released alongside the Rebel Dossier. How does this dossier stack up against the previous supplements?

Continue reading “Young Reader’s Review: Rogue One: Rebel Dossier” →

Young Reader’s Review: Poe Dameron: Flight Log

Posted on by Chris

Poe Dameron: Flight Log

Poe Dameron: Flight Log is the latest series of in-universe journals written from the perspective of a main character. Poe’s edition follows another from The Force Awakens: Rey’s Survival Guide. It also follows two from Rebels: Ezra and Sabine. Is this book worth the $10 ticket price?

Continue reading “Young Reader’s Review: Poe Dameron: Flight Log” →

Young Reader Review: The Force Awakens: Finn’s Story

Posted on by Chris

The Force Awakens: Finn's Story

-Spoiler Review-

Set in the same vein as Rey’s Story, a young reader’s adaptation of The Force Awakens which showed the events of the film through Rey’s eyes, released earlier this year, comes Finn’s Story. Jesse Holland re-tells the narrative of The Force Awakens through Finn’s eyes, maybe one of the most undeveloped points of the view in the Sequel Trilogy so far. Is there enough worth gleaning from Finn’s eyes to justify another retreading of the film?

Continue reading “Young Reader Review: The Force Awakens: Finn’s Story” →

Young Reader Review by Chris: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!

Posted on by Chris

Beware the Power of the Dark Side

With the media onslaught for the release of The Force Awakens, Disney formed a new line of retellings of the Original Trilogy movies aimed at kids. Rather than acting as new novelizations of the film, these adaptations were loose translations of the Original Trilogy, recast in a new light for kids (and adults) to get a new angle on the story in a new age. Alexandria Bracken’s The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farmboy reimagined A New Hope through the eyes of Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker, where each character’s unique viewpoint covered a third of the movie each. Adam Gidwitz’s So You Want to be a Jedi? Is a second-person retelling of The Empire Strikes Back, putting you into the boots of Luke Skywalker as he trains to be a Jedi. Tom Angelberger’s Beware the Power of the Dark Side! is a young adult/YA adaptation of the script for The Return of the Jedi.

Continue reading “Young Reader Review by Chris: Beware the Power of the Dark Side!” →

Young Reader Review by Chris: So You Want to be a Jedi?

Posted on by Chris

So You Want to be a Jedi

-Spoiler Review-

With the media onslaught for the release of The Force Awakens, Disney formed a new line of retellings of the Original Trilogy movies aimed at kids. Rather than acting as new novelizations of the film, these adaptations were loose translations of the Original Trilogy, recast in a new light for kids (and adults) to get a new angle on the story in a new age. Alexandria Bracken’s The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farmboy reimagined A New Hope through the eyes of Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Luke Skywalker, where each character’s unique viewpoint covered a third of the movie each. Angelberger’s Beware the Power of the Dark Side! is a young adult adaptation of the script for The Return of the Jedi. Adam Gidwitz’s So You Want to be a Jedi? might be the most..unique adaptation of the three: it retells the story of The Empire Strikes Back through a second person narrative through the eyes of Luke Skywalker, putting you into his shoes and seeing the events of the movies through his eyes. Continue reading “Young Reader Review by Chris: So You Want to be a Jedi?” →

Novel Review: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: The Empire Striketh Back

Posted on by Head Butler Ryan

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: The Empire Striketh Back

Ian Doescher brings everything he learned from his first William Shakespeare-ian adaptation, Verily, A New Hope, and gives the film most Star Wars fans cite as their all-time favorite the enjoyably rousing adaptation it deserves in William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: The Empire Striketh Back. Continue reading “Novel Review: William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: The Empire Striketh Back” →