Forced

I felt impelled by an unseen power that compelled me to the movie theater last night. I was powerless to resist. I am a victim of my youth and the promise exhibited in the First Star Wars trilogy that was never redeemed in the prequels. The less said about Mr. Binks and the Portman-Christensen acting chemistry the better. My wife was fully prepped; brought into the galaxy far, far away fold by viewing the first six films over the past couple weeks. She’d resisted my geekiness until overpowered by the constant marketing we’ve all been exposed to. At least it kept the politicians at bay for a while.

The promise is redeemed. The Force Awakens completely recaptured the feel of that first Star Wars movie before Lucas “updated” it with CGI. All of the original characters are back, appropriately aged and arced. The story itself is disturbingly similar to the original but that too is forgivable since the new actors, especially Ms. Ridley, are so engaged and likable. There is CGI but it doesn’t become the end all be all that so damaged the prequel trilogy. It was everything I could have hoped for (which is saying a lot) and more.

There is a cleverly developed shock near the end but the overall feeling of hope against a monolithic evil is preserved. When the screen went dark followed by the iconic John Williams score and the letters disappearing into the immense star field I was transported back to 1977 and that youthful sense of wonder. It takes a lot for this jaded version of that 1977 moviegoer to be giddy but last night I was and still am. The semi-suppressed inner geek is in full flower today.

I felt the need to reach out to a fellow Star Wars nerd when I got home. I knew my favorite son was fast asleep but luckily the West Coast is not so encumbered. I texted “Just saw IT!!!! The force is strong in this one!” to Wingman. There was no need to explain what “IT” was, of course. He had just returned from his own second viewing of the film and said I needed to go to Reading, Massachusetts, wherever the hell that is, to see it in (and I quote) “laser projected IMAX”, whatever the hell that is. So I have a quest. In my own self-interest that will have to wait until my wife’s deployment to Panamá in January. I have it on good authority this blockbuster film will still be showing then.

So Embarrassing!

My daughter, not to be outdone by a mere movie (cinematic landmark status notwithstanding) sent along a video of the First Blog Reader. It was the usual exceedingly charming vision that is my granddaughter. I then saw the accompanying text and turned up the volume to hear the accompanying sounds. It seems she has inherited her father’s somewhat legendary prowess with the release of intestinal gases. My wife would claim she gets it from both sides of her gene pool. I’ll have to take her word for that. At least she bred true. More dignified photos of her are provided here: