#dansden

[dansdenstuff]

SYML's You knew it was me

I've been returning to old memories, because I always find comfort in history. One of those is SYML's You knew it was me, which remains as beautiful as ever.

It’s been almost a year since this album was shared with the world, and I find myself immersing in it ever still. The issue with abstract art is that, unless the artist has left behind some guidance for interpretation, there is never just one perspective of viewing the work – the same goes for wordless music. As subjective as the colours on a canvas can be for the viewer, so too are the melodies…

[dans-den]

Crimson Star and his girl Dark Heart (from @staticthepegasus ) dancing at @annualponyprom

[overvloed-aan-gedachtes]

nul vijf - nul vijf

5 mei dag van vrijheid dag van blijheid waar glimlachen dansden op gezichten van zij die leden onder eigen soort moesten lijden in tijd uit hun pijnen bevrijd die zij hadden opgelopen van gevechten in hun hoofd van gevechten daarbuiten bevrijd uit goedheid bevrijd door de mensheid die de moed gevonden had tegen eigen soort te gaan om eigen soort te bevrijden

5 mei dag van vrijheid dag van blijheid waar mijn binneste wonden langzaam maar zeker begonden de helen veroorzaakt door tijd nu eindelijk bevrijd van boze dromen door oude herinneringen die zorgden voor leed gered door liefheid iemand uit de mensheid die wonden genezen kan ze opvult met liefde en littekens laat verdwijnen

[sanneopsicilia]

Ciao lieve lezers!

“Come stai?”
“Si, met mij gaat het goed!”

Week nummer drie kan ik ook alweer afvinken. Wat gaat de tijd hier eigenlijk toch ook snel.. Over een week ben ik alweer een maand op Sicilië en de gedachten om al naar huis te gaan, is ver te zoeken.

Afgelopen zondag, was het echt vreselijk weer hier in Palermo. De hele dag heeft het geregend en het bleef maar door gaan en het bleef maar doorgaan.. Maar wij, als echte Nederlanders zijn dit gewend, dus besloten toch naar de supermarkt te gaan. We hadden zin in pannenkoeken. Maar na 3 minuten lopen waren we al helemaal nat geregend, het water kon niet weg in de straten, dus auto’s reden langs en er kwamen echt stralen water over ons heen. Mijn paraplu begaf het na enige tijd en het water stond ons in de schoenen. Eenmaal aangekomen bij de supermarkt, werd de dag nog een stukje beter.. De supermarkt was gesloten. Toen hebben we nog even getwijfeld om 20 minuten door te lopen en naar een andere supermarkt te gaan, maar de beslissing was al snel genomen. Terug naar huis en bij een snackbar toch maar een pizza punt halen, want ja, je moet toch eten! Maar in de snackbar kon je alleen met losgeld betalen.. Gelukkig deed de man niet moeilijk en gaf het ons gratis mee. Ik koos voor een pizza punt met patat erop, want ik had zoveel zin in patat, na 3 weken! Maar wanneer je aan patat denkt, denk je, lekker zout en knapperig. Dit was alles behalve zout en knapperig. Het was klef en droog, nooit meer nemen dus.

Diezelfde avond moesten Benthe en ik toch iets nuttigs gaan doen. Dus besloten we een waslijn te maken. Onze kleren waren zo zwaar dat de kapstok het niet hield, dus besloten we met onze creatieve geest om ons wasrek aan de kapstok te hangen met twee waterflessen. En je zult je misschien afvragen, waarom maak je een waslijn, wanneer je een wasrek aan de kapstok ziet hangen? Nou, dit is om de roest aan het wasrek.. Maar tip van de week! Wanneer je geen goed wasrek hebt, met een stukje touw en een vuilniszak kun je een waslijn maken!

En nu even over de klunzigheid van mij en Benthe. Nou ja, misschien iets meer over die van mij. Je zult misschien denken na het waslijn verhaal, wat zijn die twee handig. Maar dat is niet zo. Voordat ik naar Palermo ging met Benthe, kenden Benthe en ik elkaar al en gingen altijd samen met elkaar om op school en soms ook buiten school. Je zult dan verwachten elkaar goed te kennen, maar Benthe is in haar mening veranderd. Mijn klunzigheid had ze nooit zien aankomen. Echt, als ik samen met haar toch eens kon vertellen hoevaak, ik knoei met eten, met drinken, met koken, met afwassen, hoevaak ik me stoot, hoevaak ik bijna val omdat ik struikel over een stoeprandje en noem maar op. Kunnen Benthe en ik een heel boek gaan schrijven. Gelukkig kunnen Benthe en ik er samen erg om lachen. Ze verbaasd zich nog elke keer en van de week met drinken schudden heb ik haar nog even extra gevraagd of ze me wel vertrouwd aangezien de dop er bij mij ieder moment af kan vliegen en alles onder kan gaan zitten..

Van klunzigheid, naar perfectionisme. Benthe en ik zijn échte perfectionisten. Alles moet goed, recht, strak en mooi zijn in onze ogen. Net zoals onze nieuwe muur stickers. Ziet er goed uit toch, als je naar de foto’s kijkt?! Na een aantal keer opnieuw te hebben geplakt en stukjes muur hebben meegenomen, zit het toch perfect aan de muur. Dit dankzij onze waterpas en meetlint..

Benthe en ik hebben een ontdekking gedaan. Ik kan me niet herinneren dit ooit in Nederland gezien te hebben, maar hier, in Palermo, hebben ze het. De broodrooster pizza. Echt, wat een uitvinding. Wij hebben geen oven of magnetron, maar wel een broodrooster. En deze pizza’s, met een plakje verse salami? Zijn écht heerlijk!

Afgelopen week zijn we ook nog naar stage geweest en wanneer Benthe en ik nu binnen komen worden we begroet met “Goede avon(d)!” Die d uitspreken blijft een ding. Maar het klinkt zo leuk. Wat ik vooral ook heel leuk vind is dat een Gambiaanse jongen weet dat ik ook van Afrikaanse muziek hou en de Azonto ken. Dit is een dans. En wanneer hij mij nu ziet, danst hij heel even de Azonto. Hij vertelt er ook met trots over, dat wanneer hij nog in Gambia woonde dat de mensen daar tijdens het uitgaan, in groepen de Azonto dansden. Ik zie dit helemaal voor me en het lijkt me echt mooi om die sfeer een keer mee te maken. Maar laat ik eerst nog maar even hier 4 maanden blijven en deze ervaring beleven.

Wanneer de mensen hier ook aan ons vragen of we al terug naar Nederland willen, zeggen Benthe en ik ook heel duidelijk nee. Palermo is echt fijn wonen en vooral heel gezellig en relaxed. Alles komt op zijn tijd en iedereen is aardig tegen je.

Dat alles op zijn tijd, heeft voordelen en nadelen. Bijvoorbeeld dat je elke dag om nieuwe wifi vraagt, het een dag later om half12 word beloofd gebracht te worden maar uiteindelijk moet je toch half7 in de avond, met de huisbaas, achter op de scooter om nieuwe wifi te halen.. Zeg dan maar doei tegen je planning, want je wacht de hele middag tot hij langskomt en kunt moeilijk even de stad in gaan. Maar het op de scooter zitten heeft ook weer wat leven in mijn dag gebracht. Goed vasthouden, ogen open, benen heel dicht tegen de scooter aanhouden en je gaat kriskras tussen elke auto door, of de auto’s nou rijden of stilstaan voor het stoplicht. Ik was erg blij dat ik levend thuis was aangekomen, want het was een heftige rit..

Gisteravond zijn we met de andere drie meiden uit geweest. Dit voor onze tweede keer. Maar nu in één van de belangrijkste clubs/pubs van Palermo. Mooie bomen, lichtjes aan de muren, parasollen opgezet en iedereen in stijl aangekleed. Als je overdag kijkt naar de kledingstijl van de mensen, zul je niet bepaald snel zeggen dat ze echt een stijl hebben, zolang je maar wat aanhebt, of de combi nou mooi is of niet, ze vinden het hier prima. Maar in de avond, wanneer je uitgaat, zie je mensen in nette kleren, de mannen in blousen met een nette broek, de vrouwen in jurkjes of kanten topjes met een rok of zwierige broek aan. Baarden strak en haren gekruld. Dan kan ik echt zeggen, de mensen hier hebben stijl en een gevoel voor mode!

Wat ik een fijn en ook wel raar idee vind, is dat Ardi vandaag op de bank zat, bij mijn ouders en broer. Hij ging er even op bezoek, om te kijken hoe het me ze gaat! Ik kreeg snaps van mijn broer dat ze samen op mijn kamer waren, met mijn jas aan.. Echt lief! Had er toch ook wel graag heel even bij willen zijn.

En nu ben ik weer uitgetypt. Ik zal jullie de volgende keer even een home tour geven, met wat foto’s van het appartement. Maar dan moet ik nu eerst opruimen en schoonmaken!

Oja, Benthe en ik zijn begonnen met sporten! In een eigenlijk te dure en luxe sportschool. Ik kon goed merken dat ik niets meer gewend was, zelfs op stage lachte de begeleiding ons uit en een van de begeleiding vroeg zelfs waarom we zo stijf liepen toen we uit de woonkamer kwamen waar alle jongens zaten..

Een hele fijne week toegewenst en veel liefs,

Sanne ❤

[knottydans]

1990’s flashback to when it was DansDen and I made fly rods and tied flies 🎣 https://ift.tt/2LxCXMI

[dans-den]

Elvis Movie Review

Hey what's going on everyone! Dan here and I'm gonna be reviewing the Elvis Movie!

To be honest I didn't think I was gonna review this film at all, but it left a real impression on me that I didn't think a biopic could do. I've seen many biopics of celebrities before and normally they're alright. But the Elvis Movie experience was not a typical biopic on a celebrity, this was a real rollercoaster ride. I felt all sorts of emotions here and a great deal of that comes from the cast giving it their all and how this film did not stray away from the darker parts of Elvis's career and personal life. I mean all Biopics do go into the bad stuff of each celebrity but only a little bit while they highlight the good stuff mostly. Here, it was half good and half bad, nearly a perfect blend.

I do wanna give credit to the cast and the director before I keep going. Baz Luhrmann directed this film and I best know him for The Great Gatsby film from 2013. Here, He made the settings very much so like they were in the 1950's-1970's and how the nation had a racial divide and made sure each character had depth to them. This was Austin Butler's major film debut since he was best known for his television work like on Zoey 101, The Carrie Diaries and The Shannara Chronicles. Butler killed it in this film, he truly did the role of Elvis Presley justice. It wasn't like some cheap impersonator or impression, he truly became Elvis and got his moves down, his singing voice, mannerisms and charisma down. Austin blew the audience away and I look forward to his future film projects. Tom Hanks did a phenomenal as The Colonel and he truly became a villain. Tom Hanks is best known as a hero like Woody, Forrest Gump, Hell even as Mister Rogers, he's always been a kind character or a hero. This time, he truly became a villain here which shocked me and he was convincing, he became a true fiend and it was honestly a bit frightening at how well he played the character.

The plot itself is about the rise and fall of Elvis Presley, so it's not like were getting this unique story since a lot of people know about Elvis. That being said, This film gives us a pretty good idea of how Elvis came to be and how his life was during his career and in his personal life. We all know he had serious drug problems and bad habits later in his life and how he was a polarizing figure. We've all made the Elvis jokes and roasted him for being fat and the whole "dying on the toilet" joke, we've all made those jokes and impressions of him. We've all seen Elvis referenced in almost every source of media in cartoons, tv shows, commercials, etc. He's a well recognized pop icon and that's something even the film touched on as well. Elvis was marketed to everyone and the goal was to make him a household name by any means necessary. I am a little salty they didn't mention his peanut butter and banana sandwich his iconic food, I tried that because of him and it's actually not bad, even with bacon in it. Since this is a Biopic, things will be exaggerated and certain parts of the story will be dramatized just like the Winning Time series or any other biopic about a celebrity. Though if I am gonna be honest, I think the film is very much faithful to the real story. I like to believe what the film presented was at least 90% true with some exaggeration here and there.

What I enjoyed most about this film is highlighting Elvis at his highest and his lowest points and the film holds nothing back. We know about his twin brother Jessie who was stillborn, we know how Elvis was discovered by the Colonel and given his big break, we see how his mother died and the press hounding at Elvis and his father at their home, and we see Elvis when he revives his career with the infamous performance "If I Can Dream" in 1968 during a time when the US was going through a rough divide causing violence and destroying itself. Despite a lot of the things we know about Elvis, you can't deny that he was a kind soul and wanted to end the senseless violence happening during this time. I felt that his performance here was the kickstart to a lot of celebrities and musicians speaking out against the horrible things going on around this time. The film portrayed each of Elvis's biggest moments in the best way possible sticking as true and faithful to the story as one can be.

Now it's time to talk about the things I didn't like about the film, I don't have too many complaints but I still feel they're worth mentioning. Even though this is a two and a half hour film, there are times they kind of rush through the story telling and they skip over some details that I feel are important at least. Another complaint I have is when they put modern music into the film which at it times kills the immergence of the film settings. Like we cut to the 50's and 60's and I hear music from todays artists in the movie or remixes of music from the times periods. I would prefer if they stuck to music from those time periods to keep me immersed, just sayin. My last complaint and this is another fact about Elvis, He met his wife during his time in the Army in 1959 where he met here when he was 24 and when she was 14. Again, it's another fact about Elvis and this is his wife so they were obviously going to touch on that. However, they had the 24 yr old character and the 14 yr old character kiss....I don't know if it actually happened though I wouldn't put it pass me if they did. Hopefully it was nothing more than that if that's the case. Though why did the film feel the needed to include that? I understand its a romantic moment but its still between a 24 yr old man and a 14 yr old girl, I don't think its a good idea to normalize or romanticize relations with a minor for obvious reasons. I'm not saying Elvis is like R. Kelly, but I do hope they never did anything that would cross into illegal territory.

What made this stand out from other biopics is the self destructive path and the toxic environment around Elvis and how the film held nothing back. Straight Outta Compton was a pretty dark biopic holding nothing back from the police brutality and racial discrimination and I feel Elvis accomplished the same level of dark themes here from racial discrimination, drugs, adultery, manipulation, etc. Keep in mind, we see Elvis up to the very end of not only his career, but his life and it was a sad ride ladies and gents. This showed just how overworked and abused Elvis truly was by his management and even his own father. I couldn't tell who was worse, Colonel or Vernon Presley. Normally we stop at a good point in a celebrities career, but Elvis didn't get a good ending, he had a sad downfall towards the end. The only silver lining is that The Colonel was investigated and sued for his abusive management of Elvis, he truly treated the King like a circus monkey. The film and Butler did an excellent job of portraying Elvis as someone who wanted to get better but was always manipulated and brought back in and by the time he wanted out, it was too late.

Overall, the film served as a great biopic and cautionary tale to never let yourself be taken advantage of. Elvis was the King of Rock and Roll creating music that is still played generations later, and lived a sad life where he was overworked and taken advantage of by the toxic people around him. The film did him justice, Austin Butler did him justice and was a great experience.

Rating this, I'd give it:

7.5/10

I recommend watching this film and hopefully you're as entertained as My family and I was.

That's it, see ya next time!

[dans-den]

Crimson: man this perm is poofy, I don’t know how Dark does it with a thick mane

(Crimson is in his 80’s style prom attire for @annualponyprom with Dark Heart from @staticthepegasus )

[dans-den]

My boi Crimson Star asking his girlfriend Dark Heart (from @staticthepegasus ) out to @annualponyprom 2022!

[dans-den]

The Bad Guys Review

Hey everyone! its Dan here and today I'm going to be giving a review for the DreamWorks animated movie, The Bad Guys!

If you have not seen the film yet, SPOILERS AHEAD!

I just wanna start off by saying that the animation is amazing, it goes for that 2D/3D hybrid style almost similar to the Spiderman multiverse movies and the art style is definitely its strongest point. I enjoyed watching the movie and watching the animation play out the way it did. DreamWorks has always had some banger animation for their films, my favorite films include Shrek, Kung Fu Panda, and How to train your dragon. Those films were all done using 3D and CGI VFX, but each one was distinct and you can tell which one was from which film franchise. The Bad Guys animation is far more unique compared to previous DreamWorks projects and I thought it was aesthetically pleasing and fun to watch.

The cast did an excellent job of bringing these characters to life, my personal favorite performance was done by Sam Rockwell himself aka Mr. Wolf. Now I only really know him for his role as Justin Hammers from Iron Man 2 and that's how I recognized his voice in Mr. Wolf. Rockwell played a smooth talking charismatic villain in Iron Man 2 and he's done it again in Mr. Wolf for The Bad Guys movie. Sam Rockwell just knows how to play the sly smooth talker in these roles. Zazie Beetz did a great job in her role as Diane Foxington as well as Richard Ayoade as Prof. Rupert Marmalade. Awkwafina, Anthony Ramos, Craig Robinson, and Marc Maron did an exceptional job as the bad guys as well they all had me laughing and enjoying the heists the characters would pull off. I would like to give a big shout out to the Director of the film, Pierre Perifel. Perifel has been with DreamWorks for a number of years helping animate the best DreamWorks animated films we all know and love. This was his first major film he directed and he did a phenomenal job with the film as I enjoyed watching it.

The plot itself is where I start to get into my nitpicking and criticism, it's a classic "Don't judge a book by its cover" story much like Megamind and it's nothing new or groundbreaking it's just a simplistic plot. It's about the bad guys going good since these guys are all predators of the animal kingdom so it would make sense people would fear them and see them as monsters. As the movie progresses you'll start to see how predictable it gets with its twists and turns. I'm starting to see more human and anthropomorphic animal's all in the same setting now. I've seen that in anime, but now were getting that more in big screen projects, Sonic the Hedgehog films helped popularize that I feel. That's not a complain I just felt like something to be pointed out which I think is cool. Now my nitpick is why in some scenes we have anthropomorphic animals who walk and talk like people and regular animals who are literally on all fours and unable to talk? Like the scene where they try to bust out Guinea pigs from a test lab and they're all regular animals but Prof. marmalade is able to walk and talk? that's a weird one to me. My other criticism is that the plot feels rushed, like I know its an hour and 40 minute movie but that doesn't mean you need to rush certain parts and cram it all in. Like in the beginning the heist for the gold dolphin award they literally just talked about their plan while they were enacting their plan then in the middle Wolf saves a cat from a tree in which Marmalade was recording on social media and now suddenly everyone loves them which I thought was kind of goofy but I digress.

I understand this film is more geared towards kids and that's fine, like there is fart jokes here and music and dance number as well. None of that kills my vibe for the movie its fine and it's a little fun at times I'll admit, but there is subtle humor for the adults to enjoy. Like the scene where the Bad Guys dress in onesies, Wolf specifically is dressed in sheep pajamas which is based on the old saying "A wolf in sheep's clothing." which I thought was clever I like subtle jokes like that. That's basically what the story is about, never judge a book by its cover and there will always be that wolf in sheep's clothing, but it may not always be that easy to figure out who. The film did an excellent job conveying that message to the audience. Another detail is that Wolf will constantly break the 4th wall which is some real Deadpool powers, he's always talking to the audience from the beginning to end, sometimes its fun, sometimes it's a little overdone. I still had fun with his shenanigans it added to the charm of the film.

Overall, I think the film was fun to watch and I enjoyed it. Yes it was a simplistic plot but still a fun time. Pierre Perifel made an amazing Original DreamWorks animated film after years of sequels and I'm looking forward to any future Dreamwork's projects and any projects by Perifel himself.

Now putting this into my rating I'd give this bad boy:

7.5/10

I'd recommend giving this film a watch for anyone looking for a fun movie to watch, or if you need to watch something with the kids or family then I highly recommend this for you guys.

that's about it, see ya!

[dans-den]

Obi-Wan Kenobi Series Review

What's up everyone! Dan here! Today I'll be reviewing the limited series, Obi-Wan Kenobi on Disney Plus!

Spoilers ahead! You've been warned!

I want to make it clear, I am a HUGE Star Wars fan and I loved the Original Trilogy as well as the Prequels. Sequels I did not like and I liked all the Star Wars animated series as well as the Mandalorian and even Book of Boba Fett. The idea of a Kenobi anthology movie or series has been an idea I've been curious about for years and would have liked to seen come to fruition. With that said, the series here....doesn't quite deliver.

I went into this series with reasonable expectations thinking that it would mainly be about Obi-Wan and his time spent of Tatooine where he is watching over Luke and learning how to Master the Force even after death in secrecy while hiding under the Empires radar. This series does the complete opposite of everything I was expecting for a Kenobi series.

The cast itself was an interesting cast I'll give it that, lots of diverse talent here. Ewan McGregor reprising his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi was awesome, I love Ewan's performance as Kenobi in the prequels and he did a decent job with it here, Ewan's acting performance is great and despite the material he had to work with, it was still enjoyable watching him as Kenobi again. Hayden Christensen came back to reprise his role as Anakin/Darth Vader alongside James Earl Jones providing the iconic voice which was another treat I appreciated. I always liked Christensen's performance as Anakin/Vader I think he brought it all to life in the Prequels and like McGregor he gave a great performance despite what he had to work with. There was also talent such as Kumail Nanjiani (who starred in the Eternals movie), Moses Ingram who gave a decent performance as the Third Sister, Reva, Vivien Lyra Blair who gave an okay performance as a young Leia and surprisingly, O'Shea Jackson Jr aka Ice Cube's son was in this series as Roken a rebel leader kind of guy and he gave a good performance as well.

Deborah Chow was the Director of the show and she's known for her work on the hit series The Mandalorian. This was her project to do and it was not what I expected. The plot of the series is completely opposite what I think me and other fans were expecting in a Kenobi series. Obi-Wan is sent on this wild cross galaxy adventure to save a kid Leia from criminals in an attempt by Reva to lure him out of hiding and presenting him to Darth Vader. I'm all for adventure series where you go planet to planet each episode and that works for something like The Mandalorian who doesn't have a established setting rather he goes job to job to different places. Here for Kenobi, it doesn't quite work as well. Kenobi's main task after the Jedi Purge and defeating Anakin is to remain on Tatooine and watch over and protect Luke until he's ready for his Jedi training. That has always been established in the films, tv series, and the books. But here in this series, Kenobi briefly leaves his duty to protect Luke to save Leia and this really raises questions now. This means that Leia personally know Kenobi, she personally knows a Jedi and that they exist. The charm that the original series had was that the Jedi were nothing more than a Myth at that point and that the were all wiped out during Order 66 but with this series, Leia now knows that they're very much real which somewhat dilutes the original trilogy and the impact it has when it reveals that the Jedi are still around.

My next complaint is Darth Vader and the Inquisitors, I'll start with the Inquisitors first. The Grand Inquisitor was established in Star Wars: Rebels and his character in that animated series was intimidating and crafty as oppose to here where he's more...how do I put this....comical and stuffy. Here he doesn't have the same intimidation and craftiness but rather he's a stuffy general type who also has an annoying voice compared to his animated counterpart which was frightening and eerie. They also did something to him that almost retconned his character and Rebels but luckily episode 5 of Kenobi fixed that.

Reva's character overall was just too over the top in most of the series and it felt like she was just there for the sake of checking a minority check box. She didn't add a whole lot to the series and she revealed she knew who Darth Vader truly was which again raised so many questions since that is a secret only Vader and Sidious knew up until that point. I will say that episode 5 improved her character. It answered how she knew Anakin was Vader and what her true intentions were, I felt the fifth episode was definitely the best episode for Reva and the best episode of the entire series. The sixth episode was a decent conclusion though I would have preferred if the Character had died and taken Vader's secret to the grave but that's not what happened and now it's up to speculation what happens to Reva after that.

Darth Vader is always exciting to have in any Star Wars content whether its brief like Rogue One or he's a main villain in season 2 of Rebels. However, he's not used in the best way possible here. Him and Kenobi fight it out twice in this series and I felt it was unnecessary. The action itself was fun to watch, but I felt this went against the lore of the Star Wars universe. In the films, its established that those two hadn't faced each other since Revenge of the Sith and would not meet again until A New Hope. Here they throw that out the window and adds two duels between the two which dilutes their final meeting in A New Hope, it's not as impactful as it use to be. In Star Wars legend, Obi-Wan discovered Anakin lived via Cantina broadcast showing Vader conquering a planet and him seeing Vader for the first time in his new cybernetic suit. They didn't have to meet face to face to learn this, they should have just let Obi-Wan discover the terrible truth himself like in the comics. The meetings between the two felt over the top and unnecessary and it felt like it went against the source material and everything we knew. I'd also like to point out that they showed a flashback of a Padawan Anakin and a young Master Kenobi dueling it out and they did not look young at all. Everyone's using that De-aging CGI on everything now, why couldn't they do that here? they both look older than they should be. I see what they were going for here but to me it didn't work well and didn't add anything significant to the lore and story. The writing in the last episode was underwhelming with Kenobi saying "Then my friend is truly dead." which is a reference to Return of the Jedi when Luke said to Vader "Then my father is truly dead.". Kenobi also sliced Vader's helmet revealing half of Anakin's face on the left side and this was also meant to reference Star Wars: Rebels where Ashoka sliced Vader's helmet and revealing half his face on the right side which is where his iconic scar is and that was more impactful in Rebels than it was in Kenobi.

The setting as I mentioned is a cross galaxy adventure and I felt that this story should have stayed on Tatooine. I know fans complain about how a lot of Star Wars content is always on Tatooine or some other desert planet to which I agree, but here it would have worked. Kenobi's mission was to stay on Tatooine and protect Luke until he's ready all while Kenobi is learning to master the force through the guidance of his old master, Qui-Gon Jinn and how to become one with the force even after death. That's how this series should have gone, not this John Wick in space wacky adventure. Kenobi is in a rough time in his life where he feels he's no longer the Jedi he once was and I like that aspect, but it's not executed well here. They made him like a retired spy or soldier to carry out a mission one last time and that felt nonsensical for Kenobi. To be fair, the last episode ended with Obi-Wan seeing Qui-Gon's force ghost and him starting his force training and it was a nice touch, but I felt that should have been the series to begin with. Obi-Wan hearing Qui-Gon's voice and training to become one with the force again and by the end, he sees Qui-Gon's ghost and reaches enlightenment. Unfortunately they didn't go for that, instead went for something over the top and lackluster. Some of the settings like in the second episode didn't look like Star Wars settings, looked more like assets from Guardians of the Galaxy. It had some nice Easter eggs like my favorite one is where in episode 2 we see an old Clone Trooper homeless and begging for credits like an old war veteran and that was a nice nod to the Clone Wars and shows the Clones were victims just like the Jedi.

Overall, this series had a lot of promise behind it but fell short in terms of story, significance and adding on to the Star Wars lore. The action scenes are good, the acting is decent, and I enjoyed the Easter eggs. Episode 5 was the best episode and it salvaged and saved the series from completely bombing. I heard they got a different writer for episode 5 and I tip my hat to them for saving this series. But the series as a whole was just lackluster.

Rating this series I'm giving it:

5.5/10

A real shame because I had high hopes for this series and was let down. I personally didn't care for most of it and would not recommend to any Star Wars fan out there. It's serviceable enough for the average person to binge and watch something mindless, but this is definitely one of the weaker Star Wars series I've seen, worse than The Book of Boba Fett.

That's all I have to say, See ya next time!

[dansdenstuff]

The Tale of the Traveling Troubadour

In this tale of friendship, adventure and community, I speak with Paul Thompson about his musical journey and the unique ways in which he shares his music with the world.

Paul Thompson was at a roundabout in Aylsham 30 years ago, hitchhiking back to Sheringham when a car pulled over and offered him a ride. “I’m headed in that direction,” said Tim Jefferson, a stranger to Paul at the time. However, the drive back to their hometown made quick change of that. It just so happened that both Paul and Tim were musicians in their own right; Paul, a spritely 18-year-old…

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Black Lives Matter and (Re)Writing Whiteness

Black Lives Matter and (Re)Writing Whiteness

A chunky part of me refuses to believe that letter-writing is falling to the wayside, disregarded as another token of nostalgia like cassette tapes, pagers and the scream of a connecting modem. There is and always will be something inherently poetic in the identity of someone’s handwriting for something as simple as ‘See you later’ – no matter how messy or delicate. In an era when technology is…

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Overturning Roe v Wade

Without falling any further down the rabbit hole than this writer already has, the issue here is not about the morality of abortion; the issue is why it is happening in the first place

On Friday, June 24, the Supreme Court of the United States overturned Roe v Wade, a case which held that unduly restrictive state regulations of a woman’s reproductive health was unconstitutional. In 1973, the Court stated in a 7-2 ruling that Texas statutes, which criminalized abortions, infringed on a woman’s right to privacy, an implicit liberty that was protected in the Fourteenth Amendment…

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Review: Blue Hours

I miss banjos, man. I miss that folky, slap-ya-knee earthy grit that takes you to the heart of Godknowswhere; it’s the sound of my people gathered around a fire, reminiscing over ancient folklore. Much to my despair, it seems as though the once-were folk legends of our generation are pruning off their indie roots and moving to greener pastures. Mumford & Sons, The Tallest Man on Earth, Of…

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Depp v Heard and the future of the MeToo Movement

Has Amber Heard frustrated the social credibility of other women who come forward with sexual assault allegations? Possibly. Does that mean the work and progress of the MeToo movement should also be discredited? Absolutely not.

When allegations of sexual assault were released against Hollywood mogul, Harvey Weinstein in 2017, a floodgate was opened that spurred the trending of the MeToo movement. Although #metoo went viral in the same year, the organisation had already been around for more than a decade. This collection of advocates was established in 2006 by Tarana Burke who wanted to disrupt the systems that protect…

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Happy 420 everyone! Have a Tankmen or I should say…Dankmen! (I don’t own this character, this character belongs to Newgrounds)