Farewell 2016. Hello There 2017. It the start of a brand new year, and I hope everyone here on Deviantart has enjoyed their christmas and New Year celebrations for the past week. A new year means new goals to meet, new obstacles to overcome, new challenges to be undertaken...so that means more work for me since I am more or less finishing my university modules soon. Since it's my last year in university, so that means I would be probably looking for a job so as to administer to my planning for the future, which would in all likelihood means I would have less time to spend on my interests and writing. I can't promise anything, but I would post journal entries and any of my brand new fanfiction writings when I have the chance. Life here in the sunny red dot island of Singapore is still hot and humid with a dash of cooling rain, so that means it's business as usual, nothing out of the ordinary. Other than keeping an eye on various international news, I would say that I am still waiting to see how this year would turn out...for better or worse. Anyway, I wish everyone who knows me as well as my watchers all the best for the new year ahead, and until next update, folks!
MOVIE REVIEWS SPOILERS GALORE - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Movie Name: Rogue One - A Star Wars Story Rating: 4.5 Availability: Now Showing Tvtropes Page: tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php…
Comments: I have kept an eye on this movie since its announcement, and I must say I am impressed with this movie entry into the Star Wars anthology of films. While The Force Awakens last year was good in its own right, Rogue One was definitely way better than the previous mentioned movie because of its wonderful cast of a ragtag bunch of misfits fighting against the Empire to retrieve the plans for the Death Star. Serving as the prequel to A New Hope and a Sequel to Revenge of the Sith, Rogue One has definitely proven itself to be a sparkling diamond that catches the eye of both new and devoted fans of the Star Wars franchise. With a likable core group of characters (which I wished they would have developed more over the course of the film), the movie stands out due to its breath-taking set pieces as well as massive battles that takes fans back to the memorable space battle sequences in the Star Wars franchise. (Return of the Jedi and Revenge of the Sith, I am looking at you.) The plot of Rogue One expertly weaves into A New Hope seamlessly as well as the overarching Star Wars Universe, with easter eggs and references galore that will cause Star Wars fans to geek out endlessly (I know, because I was looking for those stuff when I was watching the movie...and yes, loving the references to Star Wars Rebels!) Each character introduced was also pretty nice too, and I especially liked Felicity Jones role as Jyn Erso who initially just wanted to get away from the war before finding the conviction to stand up against the Empire. We also learn that the rebels who fight against the Empire aren't always white against the Empire's black, and there are many shades of grey within since both sides have done rather questionable things in the service of their superiors and for the Greater Good. Alan Tudyk holds his own as the snarky and rather hilarious K-2SO Imperial droid, and I especially loved his humourous lines as well as fighting moments. The battle sequences during the movie's final act was definitely the highlight of the film, with X-wing fighters duking it out with TIE Fighters with the larger scope of Star Destroyers fighting the Rebels Spacecrafts, all the while rebel commandoes fought against hundreds, if not thousands of stormtroopers bolstered by the newcomers known as the Deathtroopers (oh man, those are scarily awesome!) I also especially loved the planet where the imperial archive was located, known as Scarif, which looked more like a tropical retreat than a high security storage facility...which was pretty beautiful and I wished I was there to walk through the sandy beaches and lush greenscape, minus the war thank you very much. And before I forget, Darth Vader delivers one of the most AWESOME movie scene in history, showing us WHY he should be feared and how effortlessly he could crush the rebellion if he wanted to. Props to the rebels for throwing in their all to steal the Death Star plans and eventually making the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that someone (you know who, if you watched the original movies) would find a way to destroy the Death Star for good. I sincerely hope that the next entries in the Star Wars Anthology movies, which are the Han Solo and Boba Fett stand alone ones, would measure up to this movie in their own unique and awesome ways.
Oh, and by the way, don't forget to check out the novelisation which included a lot of much needed information on the Rogue One characters and the rebellion as well as the Empire, as well as the prequel movie Catalyst which sows the seeds for the events taking place in this movie. Other than a few characters that would have contributed more if given significant development and some tiny nitpicks in the overall story, this movie is a love letter written to the Star Wars fans by a cast and crew who LOVED Star Wars. Definitely one of the shinning gems of the catalogue of movies shown in 2016.
As usual, my top 5 moments of this wonderful movie: (in no order)
1. THE ENTIRE BATTLE OF SCARIF IN THE FINAL ACT. Do I need to say more? The battle scenes, the choreography, the sheer amount of troops and war material being poured into that final battle sequence, it was definitely topping one of the most memorable and awesome science fiction war sequence in history!
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2. Darth Vader's appearance. I feel so sorry for those rebels who have to face him, and I am very impressed by his entire fighting scene. It really shows why the rebels fear him, and how effortlessly he could just go through them like hot knife through butter. Heh, if there's one good thing the dark side has, it has the awesome badass dark lord known as Darth Vader.
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3. How the Rebel Fleet takes down two Star Destroyers. An X-Wing destroys a Star Destroyer's shield generator, the Y-Wing squadron disables it using ion bombs, then a Hammerhead-class corvette flies head first into the disabled ship, then pushes the damn thing into the nearby functional Star Destroyer, shearing the command deck and turrets clean off. Not only that, the debris of both ships are sent crashing into the space station that orbits Scarif, destroying it and punching a hole through the planetary shield that the Rebels up until then couldn't even scratch. This allows Rogue One to finally transmit the plans out, which the shield had been blocking. That one ship saved the Rebellion. It was one of the most daring tactics the Rebellion has ever pulled. And that corvette actually both survived the maneuver and managed to escape before Vader showed up. That ship's crew deserves a mountain of medals. (from tvtropes)
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4. Chirrut Îmwe takes down several stormtroopers with a staff, and he's also a crack shot with his own BFG, up to the point of shooting a TIE fighter with it (which crashes into an imperial facility). Oh, and, did we mention that he's blind?!
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5. Galen Erso's explanation for why he helped build the Death Star is not only an example of great delivery from Mads Mikkelsen, but also shows that sometimes the path to doing the right thing can lead you to some pretty dark places. Galen reveals that he soon realised if he took his life or got himself killed that it would only delay the project, not stop it. So instead he endeavoured not only to complete the Death Star but make himself seem invaluable to its creation. This allowed him to be in the perfect position to create a seemingly insignificant design flaw within the Death Star, one that if exploited would annihilate the entire space station. He gave the galaxy a fighting chance. Or as his daughter Jyn Erso puts it: "My father's revenge.He put a flaw in the Death Star. He put a fuse in the middle of your machine and I've just told the entire galaxy how to light it." PURE AWESOMENESS.
...and may the force be with you!
BOOK REVIEW
Book Name: The Path of Heaven - Riding out from the storm Rating: 4 Availability: Now Available
Comments: A sequel to the Horus Heresy novel Scars, The Path of Heaven follows the Khan and his sons as they fight their way to Terra to join in the final battle which takes place at the climax of the Horus Heresy. Filled with references to the navigator houses as well as the ways the Imperium use to travel the warp, I especially loved the in-depth look about the culture of the White Scars as well as the Khan's willingness to save his sons throughout the battle happening in the book. The battle sequences were impressive, and I think I saw a reference to the space battles of Star Wars in the first few chapters when the White Scars sprung their attack on the unsuspecting traitor convoy fleet. Among the highlights I especially liked the loyal Thousand Son sorcerer as well as the various White Scar commanders in the story, each with their unique personality, motivation as well as fighting skills. I also love the stormseer and his human companion who plays a vital role in securing a route that will lead the White Scars to Terra. On the warmaster side, we get some more information on Mortarian's thoughts as well as the schism happening between the various traitor legions even before the Battle of Terra starts, and hints towards what would be the eventual damnation of Mortarian to how he would become who he was in the current 41st millennium. It's a wonderful adventure, filled with a couple of twists and references to the current Warhammer 40K universe, and I especially enjoyed the final battle in the warp between the White Scars and the daemons of Chaos, with the Khan fighting the Keeper of Secrets sword to blade, which was by far one of my favourite scenes in the Horus Heresy saga.
As usual, my top 5 moments of this memorable novel: (in no order, and from tvtropes)
1. One appears in the opening chapter: a transport of Traitor convoy ships carying supplies to worlds conquered by the Emperor's Children notes a fleet emerging from the Warp near to their position. The captain in charge of the convoy becaomse suspicious because, while they may have become degenerate monsters, the Emperor's Children are still sticklers for arriving on time, before noting the newcomers are transmitting a message to them. The transmission is a three line badass Boast: OATHBREAKERS. YOU HAVE BEEN JUDGED. WE ARE THE PUNISHMENT. Cue the White Scars fleet beginning their attack.
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2. The second and final duel between Shiban Khan and Prefector Cario of the Emperor's Children. Shiban, having seen Cario cut down his fellow legionary Jochi moments before, goes on a roaring rampage of revenge, his fury compensating for the hindrance provided by his augmetics and hammering the Third Legion swordsman until Cario, who can feel himself losing his battle to stave off Slaaneshi corruption, drops his sword, acknowledges Shiban as a Worthy Opponent and requests a Mercy Kill so he can die as himself.
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3. The redemption of Torghun Khan and the sagyar mazan. Yesgeui's sacrifice has opened a path into the Webway for the White Scars to escape back to Terra, but with the Death Guard flagshipEndurance closing in, Jaghatai knows his fleet will be slaughtered unless his flagship, Swordstorm stays behind as a rearguard. Knowing Mortarion will not destroy the Swordstorm because he wants to kill the Khan in person, Jaghatai and his staff transfer to the Lance of Heaven, while Torghun Khan and 132 of the returned exiles stay onboard to fight the Death Guard in the hopes of finding atonement for their sins by making a last stand to allow the rest of their legion to get away. Outnumbered, facing Terminators and a Primarch, not a one of them falls back; every one of the Sagyar Mazan dies defiant to the end, laughing and spitting defiance at their enemies.
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4. The final battle between Jaghatai Khan and the Keeper of Secrets Manushya-Rakshasi, which is every bit as epicly awesome as Path of Heaven's cover art makes out; the Primarch and the Greater Daemon tear each other to bits until the Khan's sword shatters and the Slaaneshi Greater Daemon bats him aside. Before Manushya-Rakshasi can kill its true target, Revuel Arvida, the Khan gets back to his feet, throttles the daemon into submission, impales it through the chest with its own sword and then rips the daemon's heart out off its chest. (OMG, pure epicness!)
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5. And finally...a smaller one appears at the very end. Having survived traversing the Webway, what's left of the White Scars' fleet arrives near to Terra to be confronted by an Imperial fleet headed by the Space Wolves' flagship, Hfrankel. Jaghatai teleports over to the Hfrankel, where he is greeted by a furious Leman Russ, surrounded by dozens of Space Wolf legionaries all with their bolters trained on him. Russ angrily bellows that many of his Legion died at Alaxxes when the White Scars left them to face the Alpha Legion alone because the Khan believed Russ, not Horus was the traitor and wanted to be sure of the facts about the Heresy. Russ also threatens that, given so many in the Imperial Court think the White Scars have turned traitor, he could easily kill Jaghatai to avenge his head and ho one would bat an eyelid. Jaghatai looks him in the eye without fear and tells Russ that he can kill him if it will make things better, but nothing, not even the Emperor will stop the Khan from bringing his Legion where they need to be, and that Russ would do better to save his anger for the Traitors following behind him. After a few moments, Russ bursts out laughing at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
A Brand New Year - 2017 
