Star Wars: The Force Awakens

After the disappointment the prequels brought, I wasn't very psyched when Disney bought Lucasfilm and proceeded to announce that they would be producing an entire new trilogy to keep the saga going.

Then the cast was revealed...

...and I felt so much more hopeful about Episode 7. My enthusiasm built up even more when I found out that John Williams would also be returning to score for the new films because Star Wars wouldn't be the phenomenon that it is without Williams' memorable music. The news that J.J. Abrams would be directing it didn't sound so bad either.

On November 6, an official title was finally divulged: "Star Wars: The Force Awakens". And, I admit, it didn't feel particularly inspiring. I actually kind of hated it but, now that I've had some time to dissect the possible implications of the title, it doesn't sound as awful as it initially did.

Yesterday, the first teaser was released:

My initial reaction to the voice over was that it sounded a bit Ultron-ish then "hey, that's Tatooine!" And out pops a scared John Boyega dressed in Stormtrooper armor. Next came droids, Stormtroopers, and Daisy Ridley, dressed in an outfit reminiscent of one of Leia's outfits in one of the first three movies, riding a clunky-looking speeder. Then Oscar Isaac in the cockpit of an X-Wing(?) fighter and more X-Wings skimming the surface of a lake. And we see the (possibly) new Sith villain turning on a crossguard lightsaber. Isn't he going to hurt himself with those crossguards? 

And finally came that shot of the Millenium Falcon accompanied by the Star Wars main theme... GOOSEBUMPS! I am now totally back on the Star Wars train again. :L

2015 is going to be a great year for my geeky heart.


Listening to: Star Wars Main Theme by John Williams

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Things I Love: Supernatural

I've never been one to follow a TV series for longer than 5 seasons and that's IF the show even lasts that long. It usually gets too tedious to watch after a while but Supernatural has become that exception.

Image credit beata101 on deviantart

Supernatural is the story of two brothers, Dean (Jensen Ackles) and Sam (Jared Padalecki) Winchester, who are carrying on the family business of  "saving people, hunting things". Their journey begins 22 years earlier when their father, John, wakes up in the middle of the night to find his wife, Mary, pinned to the ceiling of their baby's nursery, bleeding from the stomach before bursting into flames. John was able to save his sons, 4-year old Dean and 6-month old Sam, but the loss of his wife left him devastated. He set out on a mission to find the being that murdered his wife and, as a result, raised his sons to fight all things supernatural.

200 episodes and 10 seasons later, the boys (yes, the Supernatural fandom will always refer to Sam and Dean as "the boys", no matter how old they get) have been through hell and back, have died and been brought back to life, have killed everything from monsters, demons, angels, gods, all the scary things that inhabit your nightmares, and more. And despite the neverending life and death situations the brothers get themselves into, there is humor. A lot of it. Plus classic rock.

That said, the show isn't perfect. It definitely isn't groundbreaking television. For me, they peaked in season 5 but that somehow didn't stop me from still watching each and every episode. And the reason, I think, is the Winchester brothers' bond. No matter where the show takes its audience, at the core, it's still about family and that's something we all can relate to. I've become emotionally invested in knowing how it all turns out for Sam and Dean at the very end.

Sam and Calliope's short convo in episode 200 also helps sum up the mythos of Supernatural:

Sam: "So why this story, huh? Why, uh, 'Supernatural'?"

Calliope: "Supernatural has everything. Life, death, resurrection, redemption. But above all, family. All set to music you can tap your toe to. It isn't some meandering piece of genre'd wreck. It's... epic."

Listening to: Carry On Wayward Son

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My life is a Cameron Crowe movie

I'm sure you're familiar with some of Cameron Crowe's films. My personal favorites are Say Anything, Almost Famous, and Elizabethtown. One or two of Crowe's films were critical raves while others were panned but there's one thing that they all have in common: awesome soundtracks.

Crowe has a way of choosing the perfect song to complement a scene, or sometimes he just allows the music to tell part of the story by itself.

In that sense, my life becomes a Cameron Crowe film because throughout the day, whether I'm at home, driving, waiting, thinking, or just feeling, I always have music playing. It will be something that fits my current state of mind, emotional status, or situation.

I'm currently in the middle of reorganizing and updating my iTunes library and playlists and I know it's going to take me a few weeks to sort through hundreds of songs and music pieces before I'll be satisfied. Thankfully, we finally have Spotify in the Philippines. Fellow music-lovers share their own playlists there and all I have to do is browse for the one that can provide the soundtrack to my every day life while I'm working on my personal music library.

Anyway, here's a Cameron Crowe playlist of all the music from his movies. Enjoy!

Note: You need to have Spotify installed to be able to listen to the playlist.

Listening to:

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